ss
true that in many of these cities there was some small but active centre
of opposition, the salon of some gifted woman who was working might and
main for the final triumph of the principle of Italian control in Italy.
Napoleon had penetration enough to take such opposition at its just
valuation. Women had already given him many a _mauvais quart d'heure_ in
Paris; Madame de Stael and, later, the beautiful Madame Recamier were
forced to go into exile because he feared their power, and here in Italy
he resolved not to be caught napping. Among the number of these Italian
women who were daring enough to oppose his success, one of the most
influential and best known was the Countess Cicognara. Her husband,
Count Leopold Cicognara, was an archaeologist of some reputation, who is
to-day best known by his _Storia della Scultura_; he was precisely the
type of man whose friendship and good will Napoleon was anxious to
obtain. Cicognara kept his distance, however, and in his determination
to hold himself aloof from all actual participation in the new order of
things he was ably seconded by his wife, who was a most ardent partisan.
In Milan her salon was known to be of the opposition, and there gathered
all the malcontents, ready to criticise and blame, and wholly refusing
their aid in any public matters undertaken under French auspices. Here,
at Milan, Madame de Stael came to know the countess in the course of her
wanderings through Italy, and, as may readily be imagined, the two women
were much drawn to each other by reason of their similar tastes,
especially with regard to the political situation. Later, at Venice, the
Countess Cicognara was again the centre of a group of free-thinkers, and
there it was that she first felt the displeasure of Napoleon. The count
had been summoned by him in the hope that he might finally be won over,
but Cicognara conducted himself with such dignity that he excited no
little admiration for his position of strict neutrality; his wife did
not fare so well, inasmuch as she was harshly criticised for her active
partisanship. Also, Napoleon caused it to be known that he would look
with disfavor upon all who continued to frequent the salon of the
countess; the result of this procedure was that of those who had
formerly thronged her doors but two faithful ones remained--Hippolyte
Pindemonte and Carlo Rosmini, both staunch patriots and men of ability.

After Waterloo and the fall of Napoleon, the French