gifted and distinguished men in Italy were sent to that Parliament in Turin, and were received by the Subalpines with an enthusiastic and brotherly welcome; and the robber king congratulated himself and his accomplices on the great work of spoliation successfully accomplished.

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CHAPTER XVIII.

KING OF ELEVEN MILLION SUBJECTS. A.D. 1860.

VICTOR EMMANUEL was now at the head of a kingdom containing about eleven million inhabitants, as the emperor had calculated in a conversation with the Sardic ambassador before the annexations, to which he was a consenting party, had been effected. It was a glorious triumph to be made ruler of those provinces which had forced themselves, so to speak, into his kingdom-to gain the jurisdiction of which not a drop of blood had been shed; and no man could enjoy more thoroughly such a triumph than King Victor. But there is no rose without a thorn. The price had to be paid for French aid in the recovery of Lombardy and the tacit consent of the emperor to the annexation of the Central Provinces. Victor Emmanuel had already sacrificed his daughter on the altar of Italian independence; she, filled with the enthusiasm of her family, like Jephtha's daughter surrendered herself willingly; nevertheless the sacrifice wrung the paternal heart.

And now the second instalment of the debt to his 'august and generous ally' had to be rendered in the cession of Nice and Savoy-the latter the dearest pro

vince of all his kingdom-the cradle of his race. Besides his personal feelings, which were very strong on the subject, England—who had openly approved of the annexation of the duchies, and had been very kind and encouraging with regard to the encroachments on the patrimony of the Church-did not like this proposition of taking a slice off Italy and putting it on to France; and Victor always liked to be on good terms with England. On the other hand, France had given active and efficient aid to the national cause, when England had withheld hers. He undoubtedly owed a great debt to the emperor, who represented to him that the enlargement of the frontier was necessary to persuade Frenchmen that there was nothing to be feared from the increasing power of the Sardinian king. This was true enough, for there was a great dread in France of a powerful rival kingdom growing up at her door. M. Thiers and others spoke strongly against Italian unity, and warned the country to beware of the insatiable ambition of the Wolf of Savoy.' Distinguished Italians sojourning in France, who had an opportunity of judging of the state of feeling, urged Cavour to assent, saying that if the treaty were not signed they would lose all French sympathy and friendship. Cavour wanted to save the provinces by putting the case to arbitration and paying a large sum, but he found it was impossible; and all he and the king could do was to stipulate for the people the right of giving their opinion. The emperor could not object to a plébiscite; so Victor Emmanuel was able to say to the

deputations who waited on him with affectionate reproaches, that the question should be decided by their votes. It was hard to tell his faithful subjects, who had been so devoted to him and his dynasty, that they must transfer their allegiance to another sovereign, and that he wished them to do so. He did it, however, saying that, though he felt the separation to be a terrible sacrifice, he knew they would be equally prosperous when united to France; he hoped they would be good subjects to the emperor, but he begged them not to forget the old country, as he never could forget the proofs they had given of devotion to him and to the national cause.

On March 24 the treaty was signed, and at the same time the king issued an address to the inhabitants of Nice and Savoy, trying to reconcile them to the change by reminding them of the affinity of race, language, and customs between them and the French. Unwillingly the Savoyards gave their consent to be disunited from the mother country; but the transfer was effected without any serious disturbance, in spite of the passionate protests of a few fiery spirits like Garibaldi. Nice was the birthplace of the great volunteer, and his grief and indignation knew no bounds when he learned that it had been transferred to a foreign rule.

The Parliament was opened on April 2 with unusual pomp. The representatives of the new states, the most distinguished men of Southern and Central Italy, mingled with the Sardinian and Lombard senators and deputies in taking the oath of allegiance. It was a roll-call of illustrious names, among which were Man

zoni, Capponi, Ricasoli, Farini, Mamiani, Poerio. Great enthusiasm prevailed, and loud acclamations followed the swearing-in of the new members. Then a profound silence followed, and the king delivered his speech, every paragraph of which was received with applause, with one exception.

The King's Speech.

Gentlemen Senators,-Gentlemen Deputies,-The last time I opened Parliament, when Italy was sunk in sorrows, and the state menaced by great danger, faith in Divine justice comforted me, and augured well for our destinies. In a very brief space of time an invasion was repelled, Lombardy liberated by the glorious achievements of the army, Central Italy freed by the marvellous merit of her people; and today I have here assembled around me the representatives of the rights and of the hopes of the nation. For so much good fortune we are debtors to a magnanimous ally, to the valour of his and our soldiers, to the self-abnegation of the volunteers, to the persevering harmony of all the peoples; and let us render to God the merit of it all, for, without superhuman aid, such enterprises, memorable in present and future generations, are not accomplished.

In gratitude to France, for the good of Italy, to consolidate the union between two nations that have common origin, principles, and doctrines—and finding it necessary to make some sacrifice-I have

a