The English in Italy [by C H Phipps]

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER IX. Soon after passing Novara, Lord Tara began to encounter groups of military, and single soldiers, hurrying towards the Austrian frontier. In vain his Lordship stopt and questioned them as to the cause of their flight: all that they could inform him was the existence of gran romore at Turin, and...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER IX. Soon after passing Novara, Lord Tara began to encounter groups of military, and single soldiers, hurrying towards the Austrian frontier. In vain his Lordship stopt and questioned them as to the cause of their flight: all that they could inform him was the existence of gran romore at Turin, and a fearful rumour it certainly must have been, to have frightened away such a sturdy band of armed men. Arriving at Ivrea, he was greeted with the delightful sounds of Viva il Costituzione, and upon questioning the exulting soldiery who shouted forth these glorious words, they seemed as little able to give an account of their victory . as the fugitives had been to give of their discomfiture. In such blessed ignorance were these living machines of war, that the army of the realm had divided into opposite parties, and were commencing a civil war, each under the influence of such officers as chance had set over them, and guided by them, just as these better order of swordsmen were guided by hazard. Both parties, however, promised themselves some variety, better pay, and a campaign of plunder; but as for any ideas of either loyalty on the one hand, or a love of liberty on the other, they had none; not as yet at least, since the generals on either side had not sent forth proclamations, nor put heroic words thereby into the mouths of their followers. Every reader is aware of the leading events of the Piedmontese revolution?of its early attempts proving abortive in the capital, but successful at Alexandria, from whence the troops, who had been seduced to, or rather surprized into declaring for the constitution, marched, bringing liberty triumphant into Turin. The old king, who had secretly promised the neighbouring power that overshadowed him, to grant no form of liberal go...