ut the soldiery were turned
against them, and the King showed himself alike inaccessible to their
caresses and their prayers. "One king only," said Thiers from the
tribune, speaking of Italy, "he of Naples, presented the sword's point
to the people who were flocking around him, and that people fell on it."
The impulsive Sicilians fixed January 12, 1848, as the day beyond which
their patience would not extend. The King made no concessions, the day
came, and the island was revolutionized, the troops everywhere giving
way before the excited populace. Within a fortnight the inhabitants of
Naples followed their example; and before the fight began, the King's
heart failed him, and he granted all that they asked. The Ministry was
changed, a constitution was resolved upon, and its fundamental
principles were announced on January 29th, while the Administration
pledged themselves to publish it complete within twelve days. The King
came out to meet the crowd, who were cheering him, and intimated his
purpose to surpass the other sovereigns of Italy in the magnitude of his
concessions. How sincere his promises were, the lapse of a few months
fully showed; but at present everything wore a cheerful aspect.

The Pope had now reached the climax of his fortunes, the furthest limit
of the good which he was permitted to accomplish by his own free will,
and the sky began to be overcast. The enthusiasm of his people became
unmanageable, and the volcanic force of another French revolution was
soon to burst and to prostrate half the governments in Europe by the
explosion. Constant excitement for twenty months had made Rome noisy and
turbulent, and the populace had been gratified so often that they now
expected everything to succumb to their wishes. Busy agitators were in
the midst of them, intent upon prosecuting the plans of Mazzini and
Young Italy, and turning reform into revolution. The people were mad for
a declaration of war against Austria, though the military strength of
the Roman States was grossly inadequate for such a conflict, and the
head of the Catholic Church was naturally reluctant to come to
extremities with a Catholic power which had long been the firmest
support of the papacy. Then a cry was raised to exclude all
ecclesiastics from office, or at least to admit so large a portion of
the laity into the Administration that Rome would be secularized and
lose its distinctive character as an appanage for the head of the
Church. The