vent that happened in the course of the Italian revolution gave his
inevitable failure the appearance of a fortuitous accident.

Parliament, which had been prorogued on the 26th of August, was to
open on the 15th of November. Anarchy, black and red, was in the air.
Though disorders were expected, Rossi made no provision for keeping
the space clear round the palace where Parliament met; knots of men,
with sinister faces, gathered in all parts of the square. Rossi was
warned in the morning that an attempt would be made to assassinate
him; he was entreated not to go to the Chamber, to which he replied
that it was his duty to be present, and that if people wanted his
blood they would have it sooner or later, whether he took precautions
or not. Two policemen to keep the passage free when he reached the
Chamber would, nevertheless, have saved his life. As he walked from
his carriage to the stairs, an unknown individual pushed against him
on the right side, and when he turned to see who it was, the assassin
plunged a dagger in his throat. He fell, bathed in blood, to expire
without uttering a word.

In the Chamber, the deputies proceeded to business; not one raised an
indignant protest against a crime which violated the independence of
the representatives of the nation. The mere understanding of what
liberty means is absolutely wanting in most populations when they
first emerge from servitude.

After the craven conduct of the deputies, it is no wonder if the dregs
of the people went further, and paraded the streets singing songs in
praise of the assassin. The Pope summoned the Presidents of the two
Chambers and Marco Minghetti, whom he requested to form a new
ministry. But the time for regular proceeding was past; the city was
in the hands of the mob, which imposed on the Pope the acceptance of a
ministry of nonentities nominated by it. The Swiss Guard fired on the
crowd which attempted to gain access to the Quirinal; the crowd,
reinforced by the Civic Guard, returned to the attack and fired
against the walls, a stray shot killing Monsignor Palma, who was in
one of the rooms. The Pope decided on flight. He left Rome in disguise
during the evening of the 25th of November. After gaining the
Neapolitan frontier, he took the road to Gaeta. The illusion of the
Pope Liberator ended with the Encyclical; the illusion of the
Constitutional Pope ended with the flight to Gaeta. Pius IX. was only
in a limited degree responsible for his