tati un po'
troppo furiosi davvero, signora;' _that_ came to be the general
conviction. Out came the portraits again in the sun, and the Emperor's
bust, side by side with Victor Emanuel's, adorns the room of our
'General Assembly.' There are individuals, of course, who think that
through whatever amount of difficulty and complication, he should have
preserved his first programme. But these are not the wiser thinkers. He
had to judge for France as well as for Italy. As Mr. Trollope said to me
in almost the first fever, 'It is upon the cards that he has acted in
the wisest and most conscientious manner possible for all,--or it is on
the cards etc.'

The difficulty now is at Naples.

There will be a Congress, of course. A Congress was in the first
programme; after the war, a Congress.

But, dearest Mona Nina, if you want to get calumniated, hated, lied
upon, and spat upon (in a spiritual sense), try and do a good deed from
disinterested motives in this world. That's my lesson.

I have been told upon rather good authority that Cavour's retirement is
simply a feint, and that he will recover his position presently.

What weighs on my heart is Venetia. Can they do anything at Zurich to
modify that heavy fact?

You see I am not dead yet, dear, dearest friend. And while alive at all,
I can't help being in earnest on these questions. I am a Ba, you know.
Forgive me when I get too much 'riled' by your England.

You will know by this time that the 'proposition' you approved of was
French.

What made the very help of Prussia unacceptable to Austria was the
circumstance of Prussia's using that opportunity of Austria's need to
wriggle herself to the military headship of the Confederation. Austria
would rather have lost Lombardy (and more) than have accepted such a
disadvantage. Hence the coldness, the cause of which is scarcely
avowable. Selfish and pitiful nations!

Dear Isa Blagden writes me all the political news of Florence. She is
well, and will come to pay us a visit before long. We remain here till
September ends, and then return to Casa Guidi.

I had a letter from Bologna from Jessie, which threw me into a terror
lest the Mazzinians should come to Italy just in time to ruin us. The
letter (not unkind to me) was as contrary to facts and reason as
possible. I was too ill to write at the time, and Robert would not let
me answer it afterwards.

[_The remainder of this letter is missing._]

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