1822.] 
men; and of the best patriots} were de- 
ceived like himself. ‘The people‘alone, 
who, by the very sn esti cof their 
notions, are often’ better judges'in par- 
ticular casesothat’ many’ ‘statesmen, 
the people were not deceived as to the 
effects) of the (King's‘departure, Al- 
though‘ the’ message’ of) ‘the 7th: of 
December imported both the abolition 
of the existing constitution; andthe in- 
ténded departure of the king, the first 
‘popular’ criés* ‘ih the “vestibule ‘of ‘the 
parlianient' were; Let not'the king 
depart!?%as if they) foresaw’ that so 
‘great: a blunder im’ political’ conduct 
avould) pYove. far more irremediable 
dhan'any-attempt' against the consti- 
‘tutions: "However, ‘the English and 
Frénch flects* anchored: in the bay of 
Naples ; four or:five'thousand soldicrs 
of! the guard; ready’ to: fall: upon ‘the 
people, land, above all, the firm deter- 
Mination of the king’ himself, leave it 
stil doubtful whether it’ would have 
been possible; or useful, to:prevent his 
departure. »' sr 
‘s When finally, after many fallacious 
expectations’ entertained by the good 
Neapolitans from justice, the right of 
nations, ‘and similar principles, child- 
ish, ‘whenever unsupported by power, 
the: congress at Laybach (self-consti- 
tuted judges in this cause,) sentenced 
ithat> the free government should be 
4mmediately*put'duwn at Naples, wil- 
lingly'orby force); and that, even if the 
‘nation consented to her own infamy, 
filty thousand “foreign; troops should 
‘e1iter the kingdom to’ secure the dura- 
tion of absolute power. Then, indeed, 
alb' awoke ‘from their long credulity, 
sonié designed to betray their country, 
‘and many became’ panic-strack, 
» But) Galdij* though ~he) had ‘now 
scarcely any farther hope in'the’safety 
of the state, was not intimidated. “Yet 
his. courage still) was, as it had ever 
béen) that? of a philosopher, rather 
‘thanof?a ‘statesman. ‘He ‘attempted 
not toseck inthe boldness of iparlia- 
mentary counsels any safety to the na- 
‘tion froni its imapending ruin, but) he 
iscemed sto résign himself to’ fortune. 
Already sinking under the fatal effects 
of a dropsys° he did not find ‘in ‘his 
breast a daringinessvequal to sogreat’a 
| publics danger bathe felt 4he ‘eon- 
fidence ofophilosophys which the had 
Jever' practised > Seeing the king in 
othe Hands of thecenemy) a: powerfal 
Austrian‘ariiry advanciog towards thie 
frontier, theperplexities of the Regent, 
and ‘he little trust that smany, who 
Account of Matteo Galdi, the Neapolitan Patriot. 
523 
‘were’ to manage the defence of the na- 
tion, deserved, Galdi exclaimed to his 
friends: “* I ‘shall not long’ still be the 
sport of tyranny.” And he now better 
foretold’ his own'death, than hehad 
before thesafety of his country. 
After the engagement ‘of Rieti, and 
the disbandment of the 1st corps ‘com- 
mandéd’by William’ Pepe ‘in! the 
Abbruzzi; all the old abettors' ‘of! des- 
potism,; and the’ false ‘friends ‘to li- 
berty, hastened to ruin every thing in 
afew days,’ to render’vain the many 
means of defence which yet remained 
ito the nation, and to strive for the ‘re- 
establishment of that absolute power, 
from: which some expected a reward, 
and others a ‘pardon. Treasonable 
expectations, however, were now, ’in 
mhany cases; disappointed, as they have 
often been inall times. But’ Galdi 
remained honourably firm to his duty 
as’ a representative and ‘as a ‘citizen. 
Every artifice was practised toyhave 
the parliament dissolved, that it might 
not retire into Calabria or into ‘Sicily, 
as had been already resolved upon. 
In the continual secret committees, 
one of ‘the deputies, possessed of the 
most influence, treated the public 
cause as desperate, advised every one 
to retire ; and, when out of ‘doors, en- 
deavoured, aside, to alarm one aftet 
the other, by the most insidious exag- 
gerations. Much less would have been 
sufficient, under such circumstances, 
to have dispersed most of those men, 
of upright intentions indeed, but little 
experienced in, or accustomed to, po- 
litical storms, : From the’ 10th of 
March, 1821, they diminished’ day by 
day, till at length the corps ‘of Car- 
rascosa” being also disbanded, only 
twenty-four deputies remained assem- 
bled in parliament at Naples, with a 
noble’ constancy, but useless” to their 
country. Galdi was “among” them. 
At the very moment whenmany, recol- 
leeting “the legal. massacres which 
‘elosely followed the Néapolitan’ re- 
public twenty-three years’ ago, would 
ihave ‘ardently wished” to “have: their 
names, if possible, obliteratéd’ from 
every political act, “Galdi, bemg con- 
‘fined to his hotise*by infirmities, sent 
brépeated? Messages to the ‘parliament, 
during the last day of its political exis- 
1énce, ‘to havé his’ name mentioned in 
tha verbalproééssy as present-at the in- 
{ended solemir protest. This protest, 
whieh; in our day, is perhaps the most 
instriietive Monument of a high politi- 
cal injustice, and of unavailing virtue 
¥ 
