Out with Garibaldi

om the general, when he heard a sudden outburst of firing a

rived from the south of the island, or Bosco's column returned from their fool's errand in search of us. If so, we are in a desperate mess. Six thousand Neapolita

he Neapolitans, that it was only on the previous day that they had learned that the enemy, who they believed were fugitives, had entered Palermo with their whole force. Furious at having been so tricked, t

e. Say that you have come from me, and that I sent you to say that the Porto Termini is attacked, I know not with what force, and that I

hed the long street leading to the gate, he saw that the enemy had already forced their way in, and that a barricade was being desperately defended by

e general's headquarters. Here is a five-franc piece.

signor; you can

t the defenders must speedily be overpowered. Numbers of men were running along the street; he shouted to them: "The barricade

hen he stopped at the door of a house at the corner of a lane at right ang

d: "we will defend thi

tched out furniture and piled it against it. They were assisted by five o

ve," Frank said to them, "to the windows of the f

, when they saw that the barricade could be no longer defended. Along both sides of the street, preparations similar to those he had ordered had been hastily made; and the men who were still coming up were all turning into the houses. Directly the Neapolitans crossed the barricade, they opened fire down the street, which was speedily

re close," he said, "but it is as g

F THE DOOR WE

in the houses. He could mark the progress made, as women threw themselves out of the windows, preferring death that way to being murdered by the infuriated soldiers. It was not long before the head of the column approached the house; then Frank gave the word, and from every window a discharge was poured into the

ad indeed broken the lock, and it was only the furniture piled against it that kept it in its place. Already, by his instructions, the women had brought out on to the landing sofas, chests of drawers, and other articles, to form a barricade there. Frank ran down the stone stairs with six of the men, directing the o

ed the staircase, those who were in front using their bayonets, while the men in the passage below fired over their heads at the defenders. Momentarily the little band decreased in number, until but two remained on their feet by the side of Frank. The women, knowing that no mercy would be shown, picked up the muske

hung helpless by his side. He took his pistol, which he had reserved for the last extremity, from his belt, and looked over the barricade. At first he co

hind him, who were standing paralysed by the explos

hips-of-war were again at work bombarding the town. One of their shells had passed through the house and exploded under the stairs, carrying them away, with

der the stairs?" h

firewood, sign

said. "We are safe from the enemy; but we are not safe fr

, si

aken out there; let the rest examine all the bodies of the m

agment of stone, the other was still breathing; only three of the others were found to be alive, for almo

ld the women to fetch a chair, a chest of drawers, and a large blanket, from below. The chest of drawers was placed against the wall separating the terrace from that of the next

lf badly." With her aid, however, he had no difficulty in getting up. There were several women on the next roof, but they had not heard him, so inten

en and four wounded men down to

raised it until Frank and the woman beside him could get hold. Then they lowered it down on the other side until the women

bring up your valuables, and move along two or three houses farther. You cannot go out into the street; you would only be shot down as soon as you issued out. I think that if you

with apathy. They went down quietly to bring up their children and valuables, and with them one woman brought a pair of steps, which greatly facilitated the passage of the remaining walls. One of the wounded

u will carry these wounded men along as you go from roof to roof? I have my duties to perform and cannot stay here longer. Of course, if the fire spreads all the way down the lane, you must finally g

en said earnestly: "you do not think that we could leav

last house, opened the door, and ran round the corner, and then made his way along the streets until he reached the spot where the combat was raging. Garibaldi had, on receiving his message, hurried with what force he could collect to the scene of conflic

ed unabated. General Letizia was already on board, with the conditions of the proposed convention. To the first four articles Garibaldi agreed: that there should be a suspension of arms for a period to be arranged; that during that time each party should keep its position; that convoys of wounded, and the families of officials, should be allowed to pass through

ldi. Letizia then folded up the paper and said,

eat meeting of the citizens explained the terms to them, and stated the condition that he had rejected. It was greeted with a roar of approval, and the citizens at once scattered with orders to increase the strength of the barricades to the utmost. The work was carried on with enthusiasm; the balconies were all lined with mattresses, and heaped with stones and missiles of all kinds to cast down upo

the wounded on board. This Garibaldi readily granted, as it would give time for the barricades to be made almost impregnable, and for him to receive reinforcements, while it

anza must have felt his position to be desperate. He accordingly sent Letizia back again to arrange that the troops at the royal palace, the finance office, and the Termini gate should be allowed to move down towards the sea and there joi

t was arranged that all should be taken on to their ships, and the forts, as well as the town, evacuated. The gene

ir toils and their losses. The men who had marched with Garibaldi from Marsala were glad indeed of the prospect of a short time of rest. For nearly three weeks they had been almost incessantly marching or fighting, exposed for some days to a terrible downfall of rain, without shelter and almost without food. Si

shments was ameliorated; schools for girls established throughout the island; a national militia organised; the poorer part of the population were fed and employed in useful work; the street arabs, with whom Palermo swarmed, were gathered and p

s and two thousand men arrived the evening before the Neapolitan troops had finished their embarkation; Cosenz shortly afterwards landed with an equal number; other contingents followed from all the Italian provinces. Great Britain was represented by a number of enthusiastic men, who were formed into a company. Among these was a Cornish gentleman of the name of Peard, who ha

he island; the right wing, commanded by Bixio, started for the south-east; and the left, under Me

recognised as a power. He had a veritable army, well supplied with funds-for in addition to the million he had found in the treasury, subscriptions had been collected from lovers of free

ccess of the expedition, that he had done his best to hinder. He desired, however, that Garibaldi should resign his dictatorship and hand over the island to the King of Sardinia. The general, however, refused to do this. He had all along declared in his

been altogether put aside by the royalist commissioners and generals, his plans would have been thwarted in ever

him stuck all over the city, and sent to all the towns of the island, with the words, "Vote for immediate annexation under the rule of Victor Emmanuel." The Sicilians neither knew nor cared anything for Victor Emmanuel, whose very name was almost unknown to the peasants. It was Garibaldi who had delivered them, and they were perfectly ready to accept any form of government that he recommended. Garibaldi at once told Fa

; and two weeks after Frank received the wound, the care that had been bestowed upon him and his own excellent constitution enabled them to state confidently that he need no longer have any anxiety upon that account, as his recovery was now but a question of time. The general thanked Frank for the early information sent by him of Bosco's arr

d to within some twenty miles of Messina, and had had some skirmishes with a force of six thousand five hundred picked troops with a powerful

the guns of the fort. She lay there for twenty-two days, when the strong remonstrances of the American minister forced the government of Naples to allow her to leave. She now arrived just in time for those on board to take part in the opera

actus hedges, which screened the defenders from view, and could not be penetrated by an attacking force, except after cutting them down with swords or axes. The centre was posted across the road leading along the shore. Its face was defended by a strong wall, which had been loopholed. In front of this

ad day before the fight began. As soon as the force had assembled they advanced across the plain, which was covered with trees and vineyards, and as they approached the enemy's position they were received with a heavy fire by the unseen foe. For hours the fight went on. In vain the Garibaldians attempted to reach their hidden enemie

along the shore, until, unobserved, they reached a point on the flank of the enemy's left wing; then, pouring in a heavy volley, they dashed forward, captured a gun, and drove the Neapolitans from their line of defence. Suddenly, however, a squadron of the enemy's cav

lying enemy into the town. Here a sanguinary contest was maintained for some hours, but at last the Neapolitan troops were all driven into the fortress, which, now that the town had been evacuated by their own men, opened fire upon it. The gunners were, however, much harassed by the deadly fire maintained by Peard and his companions, all of whom were armed with rifles o

ly concluded. All artillery, ammunition, and the mules used by the artillery and transport, were left behind, and the troops were to be al

centre of the island, to inform him of the general's advance, and to state that probably he would be in Messina in a week. He said that some little time must elapse before the arrangements for the passage across to the mainland could be effe

r's son. You have already distinguished yourself greatly, and have fought as fearlessly and as steadily as the best of my old followers. Surely it would be impossible for me to give you higher praise than that. In the next place, you are not yet fit for the hard

hand to me her noble gift, and secondly to search the prisons in the towns we might occupy, for her father, and possibly her husband. She knew that, going with me, you must share in the perils and honours of the campaign. You have done so gloriously, but in that way you have done enough. Grievous indeed would it be to me had I to write to yo

ss the straits: it is there that your mission will really begin, and it is best that you should reserve yourself for that. The battle I go to fight now will be the last that will be needed, to secure at least the independence of Sicily.

nt a little disappointment that I was not to take part in the next battle. I will start at once to join General Bixio. Will it

favour, as they are here. They are doubtless glad to be free, but the agents of the revolutionists have been at work among them, and, as you know, with such success that I have been obliged to send Bixio with a division to suppress the disorders that have arisen. I have not freed Sicily to hand it over t