ricts
marched towards Capua. The river Volturno, which runs by that
fortified town, was now chosen as the line of defence of the Bourbon
monarchy.

On the 5th of September the King and Queen with the Austrian,
Prussian, Bavarian and Spanish ministers, left Naples for Gaeta on
board a Spanish man-of-war. The King issued a proclamation of which
the language was dignified and even pathetic: it is believed to have
been written by Liborio Romano, the Prime Minister, who was at the
same moment betraying his master. Be that as it may, the King's
farewell to his subjects and fellow-citizens might have touched hearts
of stone could they but have forgotten the record of the hundred and
twenty-six years of rule to which he fondly alluded. As it was, in the
vast crowds that watched him go, there was not found a man who said,
'God bless him;' not a woman who shed a tear. Had any one of the
bullets aimed at Ferdinand II. taken fatal effect, it would have been
a less striking punishment for his political sins than this leaden
weight of indifference which descended on his son.

In the Royal Proclamation Francis II. stated that he had adhered to
the great principles of Italian nationality, and had irrevocably
surrounded his throne with free institutions; nevertheless it is
alleged on what seems good authority that in those last days he veered
round to the party of the Queen Dowager, who was doing all she could
to provoke the lazzaroni to reaction. It was also believed at Naples
that he left orders for Castel Sant' Elmo to bombard the town if
Garibaldi entered.

The Dictator was so much pleased with Colonel Peard's telegraphic
feats at Eboli, that he sent him on to Salerno to repeat the farce.
Peard's despatches determined the departure of the Court, and it was
to him (in the belief that he was Garibaldi) that Liborio Romano,
three hours before the King embarked, addressed the celebrated
telegram invoking the 'most desired presence' of the Dictator in
Naples. With this document in his hand, Peard went out with the
National Guard to meet the real Garibaldi who was on his way from
Auletta. The Dictator hailed his double with the cry of 'Viva
Garibaldi,' in which Cosenz and the other officers cordially joined.
The entry of the Liberator into Salerno was greeted with the wildest
enthusiasm, the wonderful beauty of the surroundings seeming a fitting
setting for a scene like the vision of some freedom-loving poet.

Next morning at half-p