Recollections of Massimo D'Azeglio

Front matter

Jtliata, Hew iwH

■titftte miatocital liihrara

THE GIFT OF PRESIDENT WHITE

Chapter I

Ignorance of family traditions — Wise reply of my father — Antipathy to the family name — Opportunity of learning its history — Originally from Brittany — The Brenier Capels — they remove to Dauphiny — one of them settles at Savigliano — Another version of Monsignor deUa Chiesa — Queen Joan invests the house of Taparelli with the fief of Genola — Purchase of Lagnasco — Brenier, a man-at-arms, acknowledges us (sixteenth century) — My grandfather the Count of Lagnasco — his portrait — Eccentric reputation of the family — Eemedy for court deceptions used by my grandfather — his death — Cesare my father — Cristina my mother — Doubt whether I ought to write about her — Portrait of my father— his birth and enlistment — Garrison life — Manners of the superiors of that date — his early life — he enters the king's household — Society at that period — Aristocracy — its faults; its merits — Consequences — Conversion — State of opinion — The cause of his change — Reflections page 15

Chapter II

Bad health — ^Anxiety of the doctor for our race — AUianoe with the House of Morozzo — Scrupulous sincerity of my father — Establishment of the family — Number of children — Decay of the cwoalieri serventi system — Joke on matrimonial unions «. la mode — Ulnesa of my father — he leaves the court — Isolation of Piedmont — Outbreak of war— My father aide-decamp to the commander-in-chief — My shameful ignorance — Anecdote — Piedmontese proverb — He is made prisoner — Galvi CONTENTS OF VOL. I.

lantry of a young drummer— A new Pylades— tis originlie contrives to be taken with my father— Tliey are Bent to Montbrison— are obliged to ask alms— Generosity of a peasant girl— Death of Robespierre- Improved condition— Horrible reaction— His wife and famUy believe my father dead— his will— he refuses his release on condition of not bearing arms against the Kepublio— The French government acknowledges this act of loyalty— Eeflections— Return of my father— Return of Pylades — his death — Pylades and Alexander the Great i'*?* 35

CHAPTER ni.

Italian disasters—My brother Enrico—My birth— Domestic life of my father— Poverty of the Piedmontese nobles— Error of our rulers— Habits of my family— Distress at the public calamities—Beginning of the century — Endeavours of my father to make himself useful— He settles at Florence with his family — J^i*— Is Florence a place of exile ? — My father hates the foreign yoke — Exiles at Florence .... page 59

CHAPTER rV.

My apotheosis — Vittorio Alfieri and Fabre — I am persecuted by two girls — Anecdotes — Alfieri's bolt — The Marchioness Prie — End of my acquaintance with Countess d' Albany and Fabre — A catastrophe — My father's occupations — A sonnet addressed to Alfieri — Alfieri and Metastasio — Sonnet by the former in the Piedmontese dialect — he reads Alceste and Myrrlia to my parents — Last days of Alfieri — He takes the sacraments — Clementina Prifi-Iucontri — Last Ulness of Alfieri — his death.

CHAPTER T.

DetaOs of education — Matilda and I — Bad health of our mother — Theory of my parents on primary education — They did not flatter us — "We were taught endurance — Children's rights — Liberty consists in obedience — Respectful criticism — Anecdotes — It snows on the soup — Balateo — Reform of Italian conversation — On my knees to Chacolin — Accustomed to pain

CONTENTS OF VOL. I. Vll

— I break my arm — Warnings — How I used to be awoke — Abate Lena — Serpent-hunting — Unmerited ovation — Woods at night — Meritorious action — I possess a carriage — A generous gift — La Rochefoucauld and the Gospel — Mock Christian civilisation page gz

CHAPTER VL

Instruction and education — A new department of state — The porter of the Scolopi Fathers my first tutor — Napoleonic tyranny — Compulsory return — Letter from the King — My father gives in his temporary adhesion to the French Government — Return of the family to Turin — T7nexpected surprise — I am raised to the dignity of cavaliere — My grandmother and her castle — My great-grandmother Da Camino — Ancestress of one hundred and seven individuals — Don Andreis, the second priest — he bothers me too much — Another bore of a priest — Things go from had to worse — The black Virgin of Oropa — St. Ignatius and spiritual exercises — Another priest — I am guilty of a sonnet . . . page 1 1 1

CHAPTER Vn.

Religious instruction — Reflections on its place in education — I do not argue with Atheists — The teacher should educate honest men — Extra-dogmatic reasons to induce the pupil to be so — Faults of the religious instruction I received — Importance of the sense of respect — Examples of the Romans — Third element in a good education — Jesuit-teaching — History — I become a day-scholar at college — Shameful examination — Good sentiment — A stolen prize — My character is being spoilt — I enter the University — I begin to write — Excursions — I am taken for a highwayman — Gymnastics . . page 130

CHAPTER VIIL

My Jesuit — our friendship — Jesuits' life — ^What my brother was — his habits — Black and Red Jesuits — Jesuits and Englishmen — Napoleon gives him a nomination to St. Cyr — Napoleon and Dr. Jenner — Roberto becomes auditor to the Council of State —

Vlll CONTENTS OF VOL. I.

Prospero is liberated— Matilde— her death — our grief— Giorgio Bidone— his affectionate advice — Political life of my Father — Persecution of Pius VII. — My Father's solicitude for imprisoned Priests — their merits — First tidings of the disaster of Moscow — Joy of everybody except those who lost their appointments — The debacle — The folly of mankind — Belief to the wounded page 146

CHAPTEE IX.

Fall of Napoleon — Germans and French — A hint to France — Love for the detested German — Civic guard — Emancipation and farewell to Don Andreis — I become a sportsman — A few words to my priest — My first excommunication — it does not last long — Pious fraud and^ie credendum — Entrance of Victor Emanuel I. — The royal family going about — My father Minister ad interim at Borne — Arrival in Bome — State of Europe and Bome — Blunders of the restoration — Napoleonico- Jesuitic despotism — "We settle in Bome — Our acquaintances — Art and literature page 16%

CHAPTEB X.

We explore ancient and modern Bome — Viscontl — Malvotti — Beginning of a bad period — Man is to be judged by his sincerity, and not by his flag — I acquire a taste for Painting — My first Master — I take to Music again — VioUcemhalo — Music is a mystery — Dreams on Music — Similitude between the human mind and body — Diplomacy — Murat — ^I am made a Cornet — My Brother joins the Jesuits — Wish to make me a " Monsignore" — My impressions of Bome — Fleuve du tendre — Canon Spaziani — Donna Teresa Bracucoi — Monsignor Brancadoro — Boccaccio and John Huss page 187

CHAPTEE XI.

The helmet is secured — Eeaction — Curious recomposition of the army — My father a bad courtier — Courtiers, and true danger for princes — End of Don Andreis — I definitively join the regiment — Injustice of my promotion — Well-founded humility —

CONTENTS OF VOL. I. IX

I learn my drill conscientiously — Follies of our masters — My love of justice — My dislike of aristocracy, and absurd ideas on democracy — I become corrupted, and live with rowdies-r- Quarrel with a brother-officer — My father is informed of it — His visit — ^Advice to young men .... page 206

CHAPTER Xn.

Derangement of health — Eetum of Napoleon from Elba — Counsels of Bidone — Eeflections on 'the charms of a currycomb — By Bidone's advice I quit the active service, and enter the provincial militia — Defeat and expulsion of masks from the Carignano Theatre — My triumphal entry into Turin — I go to Milan, and there sell my ancestors — A warning to young men against running into debt — The choice of Hercules — Bidone's maxims — his quotations — Glory and popularity are more highly paid than they deserve — At seventeen I was pining for glory — " Learn art, say I ; then lay it by" — Complete conversion — Gossip of my companions on the subject — I am declared a downright lunatic page 223

CHAPTER Xni.

An act of pride — Training for sacrifice — My diligence — I fall ill from over-exertion — I have an organic complaint — Mania for going to Rome — Lassitude of my mother, and her patience in suffering — Abate Natali — My mode of life — My occupations — Poetical sins — ^^neas an odious hero — Other preqepts of Bidone — Yestri the actor, and my vocation for the stage — My rage for Alfieri — Alfieri has discovered Italy — What I would now say to Alfieri — My mother a subtle literary critic.

CHAPTER XIV.

Journey to Naples — The friends I met there — The Carbonari — Greeting to Cardinal Amat and Count della Margherita— Our travelling-chaise passes over my body — ^Visit of my father — he sees my works — M. de Blacas — Miss Knight — English friends and my shame — Miss Knight and one's native country — The Emperor of Austria at Rome — General yearning for

X CONTENTS OF VOL. I.

peace in Europe — I catch the malaria fever — My master Martin Verstappen — his character — his school — We were pupils • and servants as in the fifteenth century — Our impertinence to the master — My mind slowly ripens — Period of moral distress — Dreams of the future — Method of study I proposed to myself—Flights of fancy— Modified political ideas — Cardinal Consalvi — Love appears upon the scene . . page 263

CHAPTER XV.

First love — How many sorts of love there are — DiflSoulty of understanding them, and still more of naming them, except one — Love in the literature of the reign of Louis Philippe — Little love-making in the world — Silence on my love-adventures — Love is the father of lies — Theory of fidelity — Sad end of every love-adventure — Least bad way of getting out of it fairly — Conclusion f avoiu-able to women — It is useless to preach abstinence page 290

CHAPTER XVL Return from Rome to Turin — Francis IV. of Modena — Excursion to Venice — State of Turinese society in the year 1820 — I have always avoided secret societies ; and the advantages I have derived from so doing — Remarks upon the political events of 1821 in Piedmont — MUitary revolutions are the worst of all — Passive resistance to bad governments generally preferable to violence — Examples taken from the Lombardo- Venetians — Conclusion of this subject — Summer of 1820, and Count Benevello — Tribute to this worthy nobleman — DiflSoulty of living in peace in the society of Turin at that time — I persist in my intention of leaving the army, and going back to Rome to continue my artistic studies — My parents consent after much hesitation — Criticisms and gossip of the town — Dialogue giving an idea of high Turinese society in 1820.

CHAPTER XVIL Plutarch and the Marchioness of Crescentino agree in their opinion about the cultivators of art — I should have done better

CONTENTS OF VOL. I. XI

to learn science and the art of government rather than painting — Democracy of reprisals, and democracy fairly understood — Examples — Comparisons between a financier, a general, an administrator, a painter, a dancer, and a singer — It is right that professions whose object is to please should be better paid, but unfair that they should be more esteemed than useful ones — The worship of certain arts is a sign of decline — My parents consent to my return to Rome — At Genoa I meet Albert Lamarmora and Cesare Balbo — I embark for Leghorn, and arrive at Borne via Florence — I adapt my mode of life to my financial resources — My horror of debt — Lessons on history and literature, by Signer Garello, before sunrise — The Bospigliosi riding-school — Academy for the nude kept by Antonio — I work in real earnest to escape from my pecuniary difficulties — Curious expedients to which I am driven by necessity — Excursion to Castel Sant' Ella to visit Verstappen.

:paffe 345

CHAPTER XVIII.

I start for Castel Sant' Elia with Verstappen's brother-in-law — A night at Nepi in the inn of Veleno — Adventure — Description of that part of the Roman Campagna — Castel Sant' Elia and its owner. Count Panimolli — Michele Paeetti and I arrive at Castel Sant' Elia, and hasten to visit Verstappen — ^We lodge in an old house ransacked at the time of the Republic — We extemporise the best sleeping accommodation we can for ourselves and Michele's ass — The kitchen department — Studies from nature, and the abatino ^aij attendant — Remarks on art, and especially on landscape-painting — Academies of fine arts and encouragement societies — Life of Verstappen at Castel Sant' Elia — I study the new society which surrounds me, and find that I'Twmme est le mimepaHout — I am discovered to be Marquis Massimo d'AzegUo page 369

INTRODUCTION.*

Eather more than twelve months ago, the Marchioness Eicci, only daughter of the illustrious Massimo d'Azeglio, whose death Italy had mourned a year previously, published the Memoirs of her father, in compHance with a wish expressed by himself in his last days, although they did not comprise the whole period contemplated in his original design, which the premature close of his existence prevented him from completing.

In so doing the Marchioness Eicci not only fulfilled a duty in thorough harmony with her most sacred feelings, but she felt that this publication would, if possible, still farther increase the respect and veneration the Italian people already entertained for so great a patriot.

* 1. Vltalie de 1847 b, 1865 ; Correspondanoe Politique de Massimo d'Azeglio, aveo une Introduction par M. Eugene Eendu. 1 Tol. Paris, 1866. 2. Les Preewsews Italiens, par M. Charles de Mazade ; Revue des Deua> Mondes, 15 fivrier 1867. 3. Commemoraxione di Massimo d'Azeglio; discorso del Commendatore Masaari. Bari, 1866. i. Nata Biografica del MarcTiese Ricoi. Firenze, 1867; &o.

VOL. I. h

XIV INTKODUCTION.

Shrinking from herself attempting the eulogy of her own father, she could not refrain, as she stated in a short preface, from expressing her belief (which was perfectly well founded) that no biography could be better calculated to illustrate the peculiarities of her father's genius and moral character. From the humblest descriptions, she said, from the greatest eccentricities of comical incidents, he often rises with incredible suddenness and ease to philosophical and political considerations of the loftiest nature ; nor is it a rare occurrence for him to enter quite unexpectedly into historical discussions with true dogmatic erudition, hinting at every step useful advice, wonderfully appropriate to our present day. This was her hope, concluded the Marchioness; and the success of the book confirmed the judgment of filial love, in foreseeing that this last work of her father would be welcomed by the Italians, even when his authoritative voice pointed out their faults and the effects they have yet to produce ; and that the pages his dying hand last penned would be deemed a worthy conclusion to the constant labour of a Kfe which had been devoted mind and soul to the glory and well-being of his country.

Her expectations were fully realised; for these i2ecollectiotis afforded a curious contrast to the sad lack of pleasant readable literature presented by the Italy

INTKQDUCTION. XV

of our days; thanks to tlie mania of modern authors, who, as D'Azeglio says in the preface of his Autobiography, fancy themselves obhged to change their language "when they write, for a stilted, affected style, under pretext of a misconceived idea of elegance.

An able English critic wrote last year: "Massimo d'Azeglio was completely free from this defect. Like all the D'Azeglios (for, as he himself tell us, it was common to the race), he was ' a character,' a man of whims, and oddities, and hobbies, and crotchets, and consequently the last person in the world to remain bound in any conventional thraldom, whether social or Kterary. This character of individuality, which impressed its stamp on his whole life, is charmingly revealed in every sentence of the Memoirs which he has left behind him ; so that, more than any of his previous writings, their mingled homehness and wit and wisdom justify the epithet which I once before ventured to give him when I described him as the ' Giusti of Italian prose.' "

This criticism is singularly to the point, showing how even foreigners appreciated the Memoirs of our famous patriot; and on reading them it at once struck me that a translation would be welcome to the English public. A few days after this had occurred to me. Marquis d'Azeglio received a letter from Florence, in which both the family and the Italian editor, aware

XVI INTEODUCTION.

how much interest Italian politics excite in England, evinced a wish that the Recollections should be translated in London, where many had personally known their author.

But who was to do it ? Italians were not wanting in England possessing such perfect mastery of the English language as to be fully competent for the task. Several English writers, too, are in existence with every qualification for translating the Italian work, although it is written in so familiar a style as to make the real meaning of more than one passage quite puzzling to a foreigner. Yet nobody seemed inclined to undertake the work; and an answer in this sense was on the point of being despatched to Florence. I felt immensely disappointed. Was the best work written in Italy for many a year to remain unknown in England, where the high qualities, the honourable straightforwardness of the author's character were better appreciated than anywhere else, while his friends were most anxious that the reverse should be the case ? Eather than let a refusal be sent off, shall I try it myself? thought I. Here arose a number of objections : Shall I have the capacity ? shaU I have the time ? and a thousand reasons too numerous to dwell upon, and not always of a nature to reassure me about my prospect of success in[|such a hazardous enterprise. StiU the idea

IKTRODUCTION, Xvi

haunted me, and gained ground by degrees; till at last it got the upper hand, and I began my work. Alas ! I know not how far its result would have satisfied B'Azeglio, for I am conscious that I am now presenting to the reader the book of a great man translated by — a very small one ! Whatever the verdict of the pubHc may be, I hope that at least the motives which were my incentive to make the attempt will not be forgotten. But I had yet another reason, which was of great weight with me. I must here make a confession. The description of old sturdy Piedmont, of the spirit, manners, and traditions of a society amidst which I grew up; the fact that I was, or am yet, acquainted with the greater part of the persons mentioned in D'Azeglio's Recollections, nay more, am connected with many of them by the closer ties of blood, ojGfered a double attraction, that I was unable to resist : so, once having set to work, I went on. We say in Italian, " Peccato confessato e mezzo perdonato;" and having thus confessed myself with all sincerity, I hope I shall not be denied the benefit of indulgence.

In many parts of the Recollections I have thought it necessary to add explanatory notes, to avoid confusion or misinterpretation. In some cases likewise, where the author adverts to facts that may be known to foreigners, although only in a summary way, I

XVIU IKTEODUCTION.

have ventured to suggest tlie circumstances, sometimes very peculiar, which gave rise to these allusions, hoping my additions vi^ould not be unacceptable to the general public. But to those readers -whose foreign Imowledge is, on the contrary, so complete as to render such an amount of precaution superfluous, I will say, as Massimo d'AzegHo himself very often does in the course of these pages, when a passage occurs which he deems uninteresting — skip it. Having thus eased my conscience on this score, I will merely add, that all the French and Latin sentences contained in this translation are copied verbatim from the original.

Massimo d'Azeglio began these Memoirs within two or three years of his death, hoping, as he says, to bequeath to the rising Italian generation a book that might inculcate the precepts his long experience and patriotism suggested as the best means of securing the good of the nation. But he did not Hve to complete his work, and it was brought to an untimely end just as he was commencing the narrative of the most important part of his political career.

It is impossible not to regret this deeply in the interest of history and politics. Yet was it a good or an evil that these Memoirs should end so abruptly? It is difficult to answer this question. Though we are deprived of a very interesting portion of

INTRODUCTION. XIX the author's hfe, it is, perhaps, as well that simo d'AzegHo did not begin" to write his Recollections at an earlier stage, and was thus prevented from touching contemporary history; it being indeed difHcult for anyone to pronounce an impartial judgment on the men amongst whom he has lived and the events of his own time. For it is impossible to take an active share in politics without being more or less jarred by the conduct and opinions of others. The divergence of ideas that divided D'Azeglio from Cavour, and many other Italian statesmen, often made him unjust to them, and caused him to regard his country, and the phases (unfortunately not always of a satisfactory character) through which a young nation must pass in the early stages of its political regeneration, with a kind of overstrained fastidiousness.

God knows what excellent intentions, how much genuine feeKng, were concealed xmder his occasionally rough warnings and advice, which, had he recorded the second and most conspicuous part of his political life, would perhaps have taken the shape of a diatribe against many men of the day, with little or no profit to the country, nay to its detriment.

We are compensated for the loss of an interesting account of the busy years of Italian revolution by a charmingly dispassionate chat about days long past,

SX INTEODtrCTION.

little known, yet curious for the student and the ob- ■server to dwell upon. "We have eloquent pages, fall of philosophical as well as social observation, political reminiscences, anecdotes, reflections on art and education; while the sketches of national character, under its various aspects during the counter-revolutionary period, are picturesque in no common degree.

The author undoubtedly represented one of the most striking individualities of his time, and spent a life equally full of romantic adventures and practical activity, in uninterrupted service to his country. A painter and novelist, he returned in mature years to his early profession as a soldier in defence of his native land. He was also at once poKtical writer, statesman, and diplomatist; and amid such wonderfully varied pursuits he never swerved from the one chief aim of his life — the liberation of Italy.

Most people know how the Italian revolution was accomplished, but few, if any, are aware how it was prepared. This book will fill up the blank ; and though it barely comprises the preparations for the great movement of the year 1848, it exactly goes over the field where most instruction can be gleaned about the foundations on which the actual social life of Italy is based.

To render this work more attractive to the reader.

INTEODUCTION. Xxi

I propose to give a short summary of D'Azeglio's political career from the time these Recollections were cut short by death; for it embraces the most important period of the Italian revolution, and will greatly faci^tate the understanding of the author's remarks and allusions.

His reminiscences stop abruptly in 1846, just including the publication of the pamphlet he wrote in that year, Gli Ultimi Casa di Romagna, and which created a profound sensation throughout the country. D'Azeglio was then recently returned from a tour in the pontifical provinces and chiefly in Eomagna, made at the request of the Liberal party, who had intrusted him with the delicate mission - of first inquiring whether the country was ripe for a movement or not, and then preaching concord and faith to each individual, while he forcibly pointed out the reckless blunders and wickedness of secret societies.

The rash revolutionary outbreak of Eomagna in 1845, which, as usual, only ended in bloodshed, and gave the priestly government a pretext for a fresh display of cruelty, furnished a text for the above little book published under his own name in the beginning of 1846. To sign it was a singular act of courage at that time, and resulted in his banishment from Tuscany (the pamplilet was printed

XXll INTRODUCTION.

at Leghorn), and from the Austrian dominions in the Peninsula.

In a few days the volume was conveyed by hand from one end of Italy to the other. It roused the enthusiasm of the Itahans, and, while urging them, with practical good sense, to abandon the imprudent and always futile attempts of the advanced party, and to follow instead a more regular policy in broad daylight, it encouraged them to persevere all the more in the wise course pointed out by Gioberti and Balbo.

Not long after, the Holy See became vacant by the death of Gregory XVI., and on the 16th of June 1846 Pius IX. was elected Pope. After a month's reign, the new pontiff promulgated a general amnesty. The effect of this measure was wonderful, and took everyone by surprise. It was the confirmation of the national principle, a sanction granted by God's representative on earth to the liberal aspirations of the country, that thus fell from the Vatican. Gratitude and hope gave an immense political significance to that decree. Liberty of the press and other changes soon followed, making all Italy reecho with the name of Pius IX.

D'Azeglio then shared the general illusion that these reforms might become a pledge of perpetual concord between the Eomans and the ecclesiastical

INTEODTJCTION. Xxiii

sovereignty. Like Gioberti, Balbo, and many of their contemporaries, he believed (I lay stress on this fact, for it is a very important one, explaining the subsequent attitude of some of the politicians of that period) that liberated Italy must assume the shape of a confederation of free states with its centre at Eome, and the Pope for its president.

It now seems a dream to recal the popular song then chanted in the streets of every Italian town :

The antithesis with our days is strong, but who dreamt of united Italy at that early stage ? Some few ; but when did they think the vision would be realised? That is another question. A great transformation had still to take place, a new generation to grow up, bold and energetic — that of the sons of revolution.

As soon as Pius IX. had granted these reforms, D'Azeglio felt it a duty to hasten to Rome, where his popular voice powerfully supported the national cause; and his principal object being war to the foreigner, he greatly contributed to the increase of military preparations.

In August 1847, the Austrian troops, contrary to all existing stipulations, wantonly invaded Ferrara,

XXIV INTRODUCTION.

and D'Azeglio flew to Pesaro, in order to be near the pontifical camp of observation established in Romagna. There he struck a fresh chord, and instead of preaching moderation as on his previous journey, he advocated resolution and firmness. His advice vs^as not throvrn away, and a legal protest of the Roman legate caused the Austrians to withdraw. The failure of this usurpation afforded further proof to the Italians how wise D'Azeglio's words were, and also of the necessity of practically following them without loss of time.

He spent the whole of the exciting year 1847 in Rome ; as the signal for the new movement had come from thence, he considered it of the utmost importance to watch the public spirit on the spot, believing the rest of Italy would be obliged to adhere to the liberal policy of the Pope. Indeed, his noble mind entertained the delusive hope that Pius IX. would accomplish a complete transformation in the Papacy ; and so great was his trust in the man who had spontaneously inaugurated a novel era for his people, that he deemed him worthy of the moral leadership of Italy ; not without conditions, of course. " Si Pie IX veut,"* he wrote in his poHtical correspondence, pubhshed by