Why should it follow our advice? What
necessity was there for yielding to our arguments? Our soldiers
continued to mount guard, to present arms, to fall down on one knee,
and patrol regularly round all the old abuses.
In the end, the pertinacity with which we urged our good counsels
became disagreeable to his Holiness. His retrograde court has a horror
of us; it prefers the Austrians, who crush the people, but who never
talk of liberty. The Cardinals say, sometimes in a whisper, sometimes
even aloud, that they don't want our army, that we are very much in
their way, and that they could protect themselves--with the assistance
of a few Austrian regiments.
The nation, that is the middle class, says, our good-will, of which it
has no doubt, is of little use to it; and declares it would undertake
to obtain all its rights, to secularize the government, to proclaim
the amnesty, to introduce the Code Napoleon, and to establish liberal
institutions, if we would but withdraw our soldiers. This is what it
says at Rome. At Bologna, Ferrara, and Ancona, it believes that, in
spite of everything, the Romans are glad to have us, because, although
we let evil be done, we never do it ourselves. In this we are admitted
to be better than the Austrians.
Our soldiers say nothing. Troops don't argue under arms. Let me speak
for them.
"We are not here to support the injustice and dishonesty of
a petty government that would not be tolerated for
twenty-four hours with us.
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