407 
PIEDMONT. 
slid to purfue the fame route to Alexandria ; but Sam- 
bugo, having received an intimation from the capital, re¬ 
futed to confign it to him. 
Such was the date of things on the 10th of March : 
when, on the morning of the nth, there arrived unex¬ 
pectedly from San Salvario, which is diftant from the 
capital not more than a mufket-fhot, Capt. Ferrero, with 
a company of his legion, openly declaring for the confti- 
tution. About a hundred young men, the greater part 
itudents, nearly all armed, haftened to unite with them, 
crying out with a loud voice, “The Conftitution of 
Spain !” On arriving at San Salvario, they reared the tri¬ 
coloured flag, and affembled round it, refolved to die ra¬ 
ther than abandon the held. 
The conftitutional ftandard waved over the city from 
nine in the morning until two in the afternoon. The 
king affembled his minifters in council, mute, pale, and 
irrei'olute, while the troops of the garrifon were drawn 
up between San Salvario and the capital, in the fear that 
tiie conftitutionalifts would enter the city. The colonel 
of the legion, thinking to induce Ferraro’s company to 
abandon him, fet out for San Salvario, and harangued the 
foldiers. He was defired to withdraw, but perilling, a 
ftudent difcharged a piftol in his face, loaded with pow¬ 
der only, which proved fufficient to confound him and 
caufe him to be taken prifoner. It was now two in the 
afternoon: the minifters remained in council, and thofe 
affembled at San Salvario were calling out “ Live the Con¬ 
ftitution !” when one of the members of the council (Sig¬ 
nor Ravina), under the fear that bloodfhed would enfue, 
fuggefted to the minifters the expedient of withdrawing 
the troops oppofed to the conftitutionalifts into the city. 
They had fcarcely entered the gates before the conftitu¬ 
tionalifts ft ruck their flag, and marched to Alexandria. 
At eight in the morning of the lath another council of 
minifters was held. A mournful and myfterious fllence 
reigned within the city. At noon two difcharges of can¬ 
non were heard from the citadel, which announced to 
thofe who were in the fecret that the fortrefs had declared 
for the conftitution. In an in flan t the draw-bridges 
were lowered, and the conftitutional ftandard was dis¬ 
played. This event confounded the minifters, who now 
believed that there remained no other way of evading 
the univerfal wifh that manifefted itfelf fo rapidly but by 
evafton and-fubterfuge. They judged it proper to re¬ 
commend to Vidlor Emanuel the abdication of his crown 
in favour of his brother Charles Felix, duke de Genevois. 
Thus it would not be in the king’s power to take the 
oath to the conftitution ; the abfence of the duke de Ge¬ 
nevois, who had gone to Modena a week before, would 
render it equally impoffible for him to do fo; and the 
prince of Carignano, who was appointed regent by the 
afl of abdication, could only accept it fubjeft to the new 
king’s ratification, at leaft according to their mode of rea- 
foning. 
The day after his abdication, Viffor Emanuel fet out 
for Nice ; the prince a (Turned the reins of government, 
and promifed that on the following day a conftitution, 
conformable to the wifhes of the people, fliould be pro¬ 
mulgated. It was ftrongly feared left this fhould prove 
the I rench conftitution, or fame other code founded on a 
fsmilar bafis, winch would be nothing better than a legal 
tyranny. This fear colle&ed an immenfe crowd before 
the palace of the prince, among whom were the molt re- 
fpeffable portion of the inhabitants; and their cries for 
the “ Conftitution of Spain” were fo univerfal and fo 
energetic, that it was accepted and fworn to by the prince, 
at the fuggeftion of the decurional body, for the minifters 
had abandoned their charge. 
The conduct of the prince during the firft few days 
was ambiguous; then fufpicious ; and afterwards trea¬ 
cherous and deceitful. He fled from the capital on the 
night of the sad, without faying a word either to the pro- 
vinonal government created by himfelf, or to the minif- 
ters who were of his own appointment. The night of 
his departure he had appointed a new miniftry; and to 
the very laft moment he pretended devotion to the com¬ 
mon caufe. Never, fay the Italians, was there a mortal 
born to a more glorious deftiny, or who made a pin trijia 
fignra. A native prince, in the firft dawn of life, bleffed 
with a fair reputation, to which the fond partiality of his 
countrymen added a thoufand noble qualities, and in¬ 
truded with the high charge of giving liberty to Italy; 
all thefe advantages he fpurned from him. He proceeded 
fecretly with a divifion of light artillery, and two regi¬ 
ments of the Savoy light-horfe, whom he met by appoint¬ 
ment at fome diftance from the city, to put himfelf under 
the orders of the count de Latour, governor of Novarro. 
About this time, the emperors of Ruffia and Auftria 
had a conference. Diredlions were given to form a new 
Auftrian army in Lombardy of 70,000 men, exclufively 
of the troops fent to Naples and the garrifons that occu¬ 
pied Venetian-Lombardy; and 100,000 Ruffians were or¬ 
dered to advance towards the theatre of war. In Upper 
Italy, a confiderable Auftrian force w as already affembled: 
Mantua was full of troops; and Milan was ftrongly gar- 
rifoned. Thus all communication was cut off with Pied¬ 
mont: the bridge over the Teffino was deftroyed ; and 
8000 Auftria ns advanced by forced marches to Pavia. 
At Genoa the people were effentially revolutionary: 
but the garrifon, confifting of 6000 men, remained tran¬ 
quil for Tome time under the adminiftration of admiral 
Defgeneys, the governor-general, notwithftanding what 
had happened at Aleffandria and Turin. The in [urgent 
party, however, at length prevailed; and the populace, 
aided by the troops, conftrained the admiral to fign his 
own depofition, and the nomination of an adminillrative 
commiffion. This revolt animated the infurreftion at 
Turin ; and the count de Santaroffa iffued, in quality of 
“Regent of the War,” an appeal to the Piedmontefe 
youth to take arms, and a fort of formal declaration of 
war a gain ft Auftria. We find, however, that the de¬ 
crees of the junta, orders of the day, proclamations, &c. 
did not create a Piedmontefe army capable of taking the 
field, though the queftion was evidently of fuch a nature 
as only to be decided by arms. The invafion of Naples 
alfo began to dift'ufe a confiderable panic ; and, though 
the Piedmontefe revolution had "raifed the hopes of the 
Pa rift an Carbonari, who no longer difguifed their fenti- 
ments or their projects, and who are faid to have avowed 
their connexion with the Carbonari of Italy, the Liberales 
of Spain, and the Radicals of England ; yet their pro¬ 
jects were wholly difconcerted s order was reftored at 
Grenoble, where an attempt at a rifing had been made; 
and the Piedmontefe revolutionifts were thus deprived of 
one of the principal fupports on which they had calcula¬ 
ted. The committee of the Carbonari at Milan had been 
put down by the count de Bubn3; and Chamberry and 
Savoy had been kept quiet by the precautions of the 
count Salmour d’Andezeno, governor-general of Savoy, 
and the fenate of Chamberry. In the mean while, 
Charles Felix, inverted, by the abdication of Victor Ema¬ 
nuel his brother, with all the powers of the monarchy, 
had declared null and void all public afls pofterior to that 
abdication. Nice alfo, as well as the duchy of Savoy, 
was unmoved by the revolutionary fpirit; and the royal 
family, who fought a refuge in that city, were received 
with acclamations. 
Aleffandria was the focus of the Piedmontefe revolution. 
Here a fpecial junta was eftablifhed calling themfelves 
“The Italian Federation,” who infcribed.on their flags 
Segno d'Italia; and the (Indents were formed into regi¬ 
ments, under the name’of the Legion of Minerva. They 
had already exterminated, on paper, the Auftrian armies, 
and announced to the Sardinian king that they would re¬ 
cognize him under no other title than that of King of 
Italy . This junta, however, had excited the jealoufy of 
the junta at Turin, and it was foon diffolved by the revo¬ 
lutionary chiefs of that city. At length the iffue of the 
Neapolitan infurrettion was made known, in fpite of 
every 
