ary honours. With instinctive tact he had donned
his old and rather shabby uniform of a major-general in the Sardinian
army; the admiral's course was, therefore, marked out, and Garibaldi
received the same salute as the two generals who followed him. After a
foolish attempt on the part of the Neapolitan officers to make
themselves disagreeable, which was repressed with dignified decision
by Admiral Mundy, business began, and things went smoothly till the
fifth article of the proposed convention came under discussion: 'That
the municipality should direct a humble petition to his Majesty the
King expressing the real wants of the city.' 'No,' cried Garibaldi,
starting to his feet, 'the time for humble petitions to the King, or
to anyone else, is past; I am the municipality, and I refuse.' General
Letizia grew excited at this declaration, but afterwards he agreed to
submit the question of quashing the fifth article to his chief,
General Lanza. The armistice was prolonged till nine the next morning.

As soon as he was back on shore, Garibaldi issued a manifesto, in
which he announced that he had refused a proposal dishonouring the
city, and that to-morrow, at the close of the armistice, he should
renew hostilities. There was a splendid audacity in the threat; his
powder was literally exhausted; nothing was left for him to do but to
die with all his men, and to do this he and they were unquestionably
ready. The conduct of the citizens was on a level with the occasion.
As soon as the manifesto came to be known, the inhabitants rushed to
the Palazzo Pretorio, where the man who had so proudly answered in
their name, addressed them in these terms: 'People of Palermo; the
enemy has made me propositions which I judged humiliating to you, and
knowing that you are ready to bury yourselves under the ruins of your
city, I refused.' Those who were present say that never did Garibaldi
seem so great as at that moment. The answer was one deafening shout,
in which the women and children joined, of 'War! war!' In the evening
the city was illuminated as on a feast-day.

Once more in history, the game of greatly daring succeeded. Appalled
by the reports of the dreadful threats emanating from a population
without arms, and a handful of volunteers without powder, distrustful
henceforth of the courage of his soldiers, and, if the truth must
be told, of the fidelity of his fleet, Lanza sent General Letizia
to Garibaldi betimes, on the 31st of May