228 Gene^-al Sir Richard Church' s Narrative of the [March, 



in the stern of the boat, and remained without uttering a word, with my 

 hand on my sword, and my eyes fixed on the sailors. 



The officers vainly endeavoured to change the resolution of the boat- 

 men, and remained constantly near me ready to repel any attack. A 

 death-like silence continued for full a quarter of an hour ; till the cap- 

 tain, somewhat recovered from the surprise into which my menaces and 

 furious manner had thrown him, at last approached me trembling and 

 pale as death; in an instant he threw himself at my feet, and said in 

 a faint but persuasive tone, " I am not a traitor, General : I am your 

 best friend ; I am a man of honour ; I have lived for many years on the 

 bread of the English and that of my sovereign, non sono Traditore 

 Excellenza, sono vostro amico." He then called together the sailors who 

 had just come from Palermo, and desired them to relate the scenes they 

 had witnessed : which they detailed at full length, and added, that the fort 

 of Castel a Mare, the only post of some little strength in Palermo, had 

 been given up to the populace by the troops in consequence of an order 

 from the viceroy, from whom the populace en masse had forced it ; that 

 they had thus obtained ten or twelve thousand stand of arms and artillery, 

 and that they M'ere committing every sort of excess. I then asked what 

 the troops were about : to which the sailors replied, that they were on 

 the side of the populace, with the exception of a few ; that these few 

 were quietly fixed in their quarters, and that many of the military, with 

 the emblems of Carbonari displayed, were parading the streets with the 

 armed mob. The captain then assured me that he had received fresh 

 orders to proceed instantly to Trappani, and not to remain on any 

 account another moment on the coast; that he dared not disobey, as 

 he valued the lives of all on board ; that his hurry and violence in getting 

 up the anchor, and his disregard to my expostulations, proceeded 

 from the absolute necessity of going to Trappani. He concluded by 

 saying, " I can give you no better proof of fidelity than the assurance 

 that I and the crew have left our wives and families in Palermo, in 

 danger of being massacred, in order to obey your orders and save your 

 life !" The man burst into tears, and it was impossible not to read 

 fidelity in his expressive countenance, and in those of several of the 

 sailors, who, by every variation of features and gestures, corroborated 

 what the captain said. I then called the sailor whom I had sent to 

 Palermo, and asked him why he did not return there with the letters I 

 had given him ; he replied, that he had risked his life the first time, and 

 dared not go again — that his going was useless, but that he took the 

 letters and went on shore, not knowing how to refuse my request. He 

 then said that, when he arrived in Palermo, he found the viceroy's 

 house surrounded by the armed populace, that with great difficulty he 

 got into it, and informed his Excellency that a seaman of the gun-boat 

 No. 5, had a secret communication to make to him ; upon which 

 General Naselli went into a back room, into which he was called ; that 

 he gave the letters to him while the mob was violently crying out for 

 various concessions: that the viceroy, taking him to a corner of the room, 

 ordered him to go back as fast as possible to the boat, and tell General 

 Church his situation : that it was impossible for him to write, but that 

 his orders were that he should sail instantly for Trappani, nor remain 

 where he was a moment longer : the viceroy then left him. Passing 

 through the crowd, he went to the mole to General Staite the com- 

 yjiandant of the navy, from whom he received similar orders for the gun- 



