1898] on" Marked Uncxyloreci:' G69 



made his way to Naples and wrote to Lord Castlereagh that the Due 

 de Gallo and Count Neipperg were most pressing for him to sign, 

 but that he would not, because no reliance was to be placed upon 

 Murat. Bowever, he went so far as to sign on armistice, which was 

 all the Allies could get out of him. He then returned to Palermo, 

 and took up the routine of administration there, leaving the Austrians 

 and Neapolitans gazing at each other in mute amazement at finding 

 so irresponsible a person in so responsible a situation. 



In Palermo he found a despatch from Lord Castlereagh, directing 

 him to inform the Crown Prince that it wus out of the question for 

 the Poyal family of Sicily to hope any more for the restoration of 

 Naples, but that Great Britain would see that they were properly 

 compensated. The Crown Prince was invited to chooge, in order of 

 preference, whatever addition to Siciiy he would like instead of 

 Naples. He might choose from this list, Poland, Lombardy, Saxony, 

 Sardinia, Corsica, the Ionian Islands, or (oddly enough) the West 

 Indian Islands, 'i bus the intentions of England were no less plain 

 than those of Austria. 



Bentinck seems by this time to have felt that something more was 

 expected of him than writing declamatory despatches, abusing alike 

 the cabinet of the Prince Repent, the Austrians and the French. 

 So he made a great display of zeal and energy, resulting (as such 

 displays mostly do) in nothing. He sailed from Palermo on the 

 28th of February, reached Naples on the 2nd of March and made his 

 way by land to Leghorn, which place he reached on the 8th. Here 

 Filangieri, a messenger from King Joachim, reached him, but he 

 would not compromise himself, hurried on to Reggio, which he 

 reached on the loth, and ultimately made his way to Verona by the 

 22nd. Let me remind you that this is just three months after oi'ders 

 for the immediate conclusion of the treaty with Murat had been 

 issued. On the road he favoured the cabinet with some comments 

 on their policy. " All parties," he wrote, " agree in one view, viz. that 

 of augmenting as much as possible Murat's power, and of uniting 

 Italy under his standard." " A stand sbould be made at once 

 against these views of ambition." Verona was the Austrian head- 

 quarters. Here Bentinck met Bellegarde, and, after his usual fashion, 

 made a violent attack upon his probity. " I found the Marshal 

 anxious to believe to be true that which he knew to be false." But 

 Bellegarde would not be bullied, and he civilly, but quite firmly, 

 reminded Bentinck of his government's instructions to keep on good 

 terms with Murat. To be lectured was more than Bentinck could 

 stand from anybody, so he broke up the council of war that he had 

 called, and betook himself to Bologna in a huff. Here he drew up 

 instructions to Sir Robert Wilson to proceed at once to the head- 

 quarters of the King of Naples and piesent his ultimatum. And 

 here I must ask you to consider once more that Bentinck was not 

 empowered to make an ultimatum at all : his instructions were not 

 to seek a quarrel, but to cement a peace. The particular point that 



