Death of Cavour. 825 



It was a state of consternation, and no wonder ! Every one 

 felt that the greatest and best man of this century has 

 been taken away before he had completely emancipated 

 his country. All the progress is due to him, and to him 

 alone; the revolution has called forth men of much 

 talent, yet the whole are immeasurably his inferior in 

 every respect even your friend, Ricasoli, who is most 

 able, and the best successor that can be found, is, com- 

 pared with Cavour, as Tuscany to Europe. Happily the sad 

 loss did not occur sooner. Now things are so far advanced 

 that they cannot go back, and I trust that Ricasoli, who is 

 not wanting in firmness and moral courage, will complete 

 what has been so happily begun. I am sorry to say he 

 is not in very good health, but I trust he will not fall 

 into the hands of the physician who attended Cavour, 

 and who mistook his disease, reduced him by loss of 

 blood, and then finding out his real illness, tried to 

 strengthen him when too late. There was a most ex- 

 cellent article in the " Times " on the two statesmen. 



[My mother's recollections continue thus : 



One night the moon shone so bright that we 

 sent the carriage away, and walked home from 

 a reception at the Marchesa Ginori's. In crossing 

 the Piazza San Marco, an acquaintance, who accom- 

 panied us, took us to the Maglio, which is close 

 by, to hear an echo. I like an echo; yet there 

 is something so unearthly in the aerial voice, 

 that it never fails to raise a superstitious chill 



