118 General Sir Richard Church's Narrative of the [Feb. 



of evils resulting from the interference of incompetent persons. In 

 the critical state of affairs, I made it a point of duty to confer generally 

 twice a day with the viceroy, and to take his commands upon all affairs 

 relative to the movements of the troops. At one of these conferences, 

 on either thciOth or the lltli of the month, I informed his excellency 

 that I intended to reinforce the troops at Palermo, by a battalion of 

 the 9th Light Infantry from the garrison at Trappani — the nearest gar- 

 rison capable of furnishing a small reinforcement ; and that this move- 

 ment was connected with the plan of concentrating an effective force 

 in Palermo. I was anxious to receive the reinforcement from Trap- 

 pani as soon as possible, in order to diminisli the heavy duty, 

 and to augment the numbers of the garrison during the festival of Santa. 

 Rosalia, when the public tranquillity might be exposed. My project, 

 however, was overruled ; and I was requested by the viceroy to sus- 

 pend all military movements until after the festival, as both the viceroy 

 and the Chevalier de Thomasis thought that the arrival of troops would 

 alarm and provoke the populace. This opinion, most opposite to my 

 own, prevailed, and the battalion was not called in from Trappani. The 

 arrival of this battalion would, perhaps, not have prevented what hap- 

 pened : but the circumstance is mentioned to shew how the chief mili- 

 tary authority was fettered, by the decrees of persons not overwise in 

 military calculations. The Chevalier de Thomasis is celebrated for ex- 

 traordinary talents ; it has been, however, remarked, that he is also 

 one of those profound persons, who at times shuffle off important 

 business with a mauvais bon mot. 



• On the night of the 11th the viceroy, anxious to have official infor- 

 mation from Naples, suddenly sent off on that service the Sirena fri- 

 gate, of whose departure I knew nothing until an hour before she sailed: 

 thus depriving himself of the only ship of war at Palermo. 



From the 11th to the evening of the 14>th no news arrived from 

 Naples, and this silence created alternate hopes and fears, according to 

 the wishes of the dift'erent parties. 



The days and nights from the 11th to the 14th were fully occupied 

 by the ceremonies of the festival, the preparations for which had com- 

 menced before my arrival in Sicily. The crowded state of Palermo 

 (even if no political events had been connected with it) required all the 

 precautions in the power of the Government and the police, to maintain 

 public tranquillity. What the arrangements were on the part of the 

 senate, the civil magistrates of the city best know ; the military dis- 

 positions were such as the strength of the garrison would allow, of 

 which one-half was on permanent duty daily, and the other (with the 

 exception of a few men from each corps allowed to see the fire-works 

 at night, according to established custom) ordered to remain in their 

 quarters, where each corps had as strong a reserve or picquet as its 

 strength allowed, under arms, ready to turn out in an instant upon any 

 emergency. Besides these dispositions, I appointed to each corps 

 its particular alarm post; on repairing to which, in the event of the 

 garrison being obliged to form under arms, the whole of the troops 

 would have in an instant found themselves formed in order of battle, 

 and ready to act against either the town or country. As Palermo had 

 no local troops whatever (save the fevf already mentioned), all the mili- 

 tary duties fell to the lot of the regulars, and in such a manner, that the 

 diflerent guards might be looked upon as lost in the event of a popular 



