ar as not to unsheathe
the sword against him, and to prepare some difficulties for his
adversaries, and occupy a portion of their attention. Such friends the
king hopes to find in Italy; and to attain this object, I would ask
counsel and help of your worship."

"And in how far is it thought that I can be useful in this matter?" said
the prior, thoughtfully.

"Your worship has a second brother, who is minister of the King of
Sardinia, and it is well known he is the king's especial confidant and
favorite."

"And my noble brother, Giovanni, merits fully the favor of his king!"
said the prior, heartily. "He is the most faithful, the most exalted
servant of his master!"

"In all his great and good characteristics, he resembles his brother,
the Prior of San Giovanni, and I hope, in this also, that he is the
friend of the King of Prussia!" said the stranger.

"But I fear neither the friendship of my brother Giovanni nor my own
can be useful to the King of Prussia. I am a poor and powerless
monk, suspected and watched. My offence is, that I have not, like the
fanatical priests of the Church, wished for the destruction and death of
the great Frederick. My brother is the minister of a king, whose land
is neither rich enough in gold to pay subsidies, nor in men to place an
army in the field."

"Well, then, we must take occasion to increase the territory of the King
of Sardinia!" said Baron Cocceji. "We must give him so large a realm,
that he will be a dangerous neighbor to France and Austria. This is the
plan and the intention of my king. Upon these points turn the proposals
I will make in Turin, for the furtherance of which, I pray your
assistance. The King of Sardinia has well-grounded claim to Milan, to
Mantua, and to Bologna, by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle; why not make
himself King of Lombardy? Unhappy Italy is like unhappy Germany--torn to
pieces. In place of obeying one master, they must submit to the yoke of
many. The dwellers in Italy, instead of being Italians, call themselves
Milanese, Venetians, Sardinians, Tuscans, Romans, Neapolitans, and I
know not what. All this weakens the national pride, and takes from the
people the joyful consciousness of their greatness. Italy must be one
in herself, in order to be once more great and powerful. Let the King of
Sardinia take possession of Upper Italy, and he will, with his rightful
inheritance, and as King of Lombardy, be a powerful prince--feared by
his enemies, and