88] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1814. 



The journal treats these machina- 

 tions with great contempt ; we 

 learn, however, soon after, that the 

 army of Naples had been raised 

 to its full complement of 50,000 

 men, corps of which were daily 

 reviewed by his Majesty. The 

 military division of Naples, on 

 September 1st, presented a very 

 loyal address to King Joachim, in 

 which they affirm the sentiments 

 of the army to be " eternal at- 

 tachment to his Majesty and his 

 dynasty, entire obedience to his 

 orders, and inviolable fidelity to 

 his throne;" and they pledge their 

 lives to his service, after the ex- 

 ample of all their brothers in 

 arms who have had the honour of 

 serving under him. That he 

 might not appear indifferent to 

 those devotional feelings which, 

 in the midst of the grossest licen- 

 tiousness, the Neapolitans are so 

 fond of indulging, Joachim and 

 his queen, with all the royal fa- 

 mily, paid a visit in great cere» 

 mony to the sanctuary of the 

 Virgin, called the Foot of the 

 Grotto, and displayed all the usual 

 marks of piety on the occasion. 



About the close of September, 

 Neapolitan troops were continu- 

 ally arriving at Ancona by sea and 

 land. Nothing could now be of 

 greater importance to Joachim 

 than to secure the friendship of 

 the Emperor of Austria, with 

 whom their co-operation before 

 the termination of the war had 

 connected him more intimately 

 than with any other power. The 

 Duke of Rocca-Romana, his Mas- 

 ter of the Horse, having been sent 

 on a mission to that Emperor, ar- 

 rived at Portici on October 29th, 

 on his return, bringing with him 

 .u ratification of the treaty of alli» 



ance between the two powers, to- 

 gether wirh assurances of the Em- 

 peror's constant friendship, and his 

 unalterable disposition to support, 

 by all the means in his power, the 

 interests of his ally, and the tnui- 

 quillity of Italy. The accounts 

 from Naples in the remainder of 

 the year relate dubious movements 

 of the troops towards the territo- 

 ries of the church. The last, 

 dated from Fundi, December 4th, 

 mentions that the corps of re- 

 serve, organized at Naples and 

 Benevento. and 20,000 strong, was 

 put in motion, and that the ad- 

 vanced guard was expected on the 

 next day in Fundi. Also, that the 

 two divisions of Macdonald which 

 had returned to the Abruzzos, 

 had been ordered to advance ; and 

 the three divisions of Campana 

 which occupied the Marche of 

 Ancona, had been directed to hold 

 themselves in readiness. It was 

 supposed that the King in person 

 would set out on Jantiary 1st. In 

 this increasing state of preparation, 

 of which, however, no distinct 

 object was assigned, the year 

 closed. 



Theisland of Sicil3', which thecir- 

 cumstances of the war had so long 

 almost converted into an English 

 garrison, naturally returned to its 

 pristine condition after the peace ; 

 and in the beginning of July, it 

 was announced from Palermo, that 

 his Majesty Ferdinand III. had re- 

 sumed the reins of government, 

 and that every thing was changed 

 in the ministry and administration. 

 On the 18th of that month, the 

 Sicilian parliament was opened in 

 great state by the King in person, 

 and a speech in his name was read 

 to the assembled houses. It is 

 chiefly observable from the notice 



