EMILIO DANDOLO'S ITALIAN VOLUNTEERS. * Thu author of this volume was

the friend and adjutant of Luoiano Manara, the commander of the bands of volunteers who enrolled themselves on the retreat of Itadetzky from Milan, continued in arms till the final defeat of Charles Albert, and then retired in military state from the vicinity of the Tyrol, under a sort of con- vention with an Austrian General. The more respectable and soldierly portion of these volunteers subsequently withdrew into Piedmont, and were formed into a regiment under the title of the Lombard Rifle Corps, with Mauara as their Major. After the fatal battle of Novara and the abdication of Charles Albert, the Rifle Corps, to escape dismissal, proceeded to :Rome; and served throughout the siege till the triumph of the French compelled their dissolution; the regiment having lost in this service the greater portion of its officers, including Mana.ra Morosini, and Enrico Dandolo, (the brother of the author of this volume,) and been reduced from nine hundred to four hundred effective men.

The object of Emilio Dandolo in his history of the Italian Vo- lunteers is to give a plain unbiassed narrative of what came withal his own knowledge as to the conduct and character of the corps, perhaps with the ulterior purpose of defending his friends from the attacks that have been made upon them, and of placing the zeal and services of the better portion of the Volunteers clearly before the world. Secondary in object, but essentially involved in the narrative, is the irremediable defects of volunteers in a military point of view—they can become useful for a campaign only by ceasing to be volunteers ; and there are incidental accounts of the causes (obvious only after the event) which rendered the efforts of the national party (for the movement could hardly be called national) hopeless from the beginning. It is likely that Emilio Dandolo may be somewhat biassed by personal feeling as regards his friends, and by his political opinions in respect to a general judgment upon events ; though there are no obvious traces of either influence, and the impression which he leaves upon the mind is similar to that produced by other writers. The Italian Volunteers is a useful and interesting book. Unlike most of its predecessors on the same subject, it is in the main a personal narrative ; the author describing events which he actually saw, or which he learned from the immediate actors at the time of their occurrence. His polities seem to be those of the earnest but respectable, careful, and rather conservative Italians ; men who are averse to Republicanism, at least in the actual state of affairs, and who would be well satisfied with a federal Italy, and constitu- tional governments for each state, in lieu of the Italian unity and nationality of Mazzini and his followers. This class, it would ap- pear, are religious : not Papists, or blindly obedient to the Pope, but Catholics, and strict observers of the forms of their religion. In this last feature Emilio Dandolo and his friends differ from Mariotti ; but their political conclusions are similar ; while both books have an apparent inconsistency, arising o from the same cause —the opposite characters engaged during 1848-'49 in the work of Italian liberation.

The narrative relates to three distinct subjects,—the first cam- paign of 1848 in Lombardy ; the second of 1849 in Piedmont; and the defence of Rome. From the nature of the service and the object of the author, neither account furnishes a story of the whole war. The defence of Rome is the fullest, and as respects military adventure the most interesting : the campaign in Pied- mont chiefly relates to the circumstances which induced the Rifle Corps to depart for Rome ; the account of the war being very brief, from Dandolo's having been with the army of Ramormo (subse- quently shot for disobedience); and, abandoned by his leader and

without orders, Dandolo's exploit merely- i

consisted n a clever run- ning retreat before the Austrian advance. In the Milanese cam-

* The Italian Volunteers and Lombard Rifle Brigade; being an Authentic Nar- rative of the Organization. Adventures, and Final Disbanding of these Corps, in 1848-'49. By Emilio Dandolo. Translated from the Edition published at Turin in 1849. To which are added Original Letters and important Historical Documents relating to the late Italian Movement of Reform. Published by Longman and Co.

reign, the volunteers with whom Dandolo was connected were mainly employed in endeavouring to revolutionize the Tyrol, and subsequently in watching it; the actions in which they were engaged were secondary or unimportant ; but the account of the formation and conduct of the body is a striking picture of the Italian ideas of the period, and of what may be looked for from volunteers in general. When Radetzky withdrew from Milan to reach the base of his future operations, the Milanese were so exalted that they considered the expulsion of the Austrians accomplished. When the Piedmontese army reached Milan, they were welcomed with the salute, "We have driven out the Croats—here are more of them." The Provisional Go- vernment issued a proclamation inviting the young men of Milan to enrol themselves under Manara as volunteers. Ow- ing, says Dandolo, "to the delusive idea which prevailed of all being already accomplished, but very few young men pre- sented themselves during the first days, and the 'Army of the Alps' (which was the pompous name given to this moveable legion) was composed of 129 armed men,—a discouraging evidence of the careless security which had taken possession of the minds of those very men who had performed such wonders in the streets of Milan." This inertness passed away, and several thousand were afterwards enrolled. A good many of the number were foreign ad- venturers, or the refuse of society at home : these men, however brave in action some of them might be, brought discredit on the cause by acts of violence and plunder, and very soon alienated, as Merlotti noted, the Tyrolese peasants they went to free. Num- bers, indeed, were young men of character and family, who would bear any privation rather than resort to excesses of this kind. But they were almost as mischievous in another way : they were as little amenable to orders, or attentive to the minute routine of ser- vice, as the worst mauvais sujet. The corps had no uniformity in arms or clothing,---which perhaps was solely the fault of Govern- ment; they had little or no discipline either in the sense of instruc- tion or conduct ; the camp seems to have been an aggregation of clubs or debating societies ; 'while individual will or popular appeal was substituted for that instant obedience to orders without which war cannot be effectively carried on. The following is an illus- tration of volunteer habits. The Government had permitted the passage of certain provision-waggons to some well-affected peo- ple in the Tyrol, who would otherwise starve ; the general had granted a safe conduct and an escort ; but the Volunteers, excited by some camp orators, determined that they should not pass.

"The presence of Manua himself proved unavailing ; notwithstanding the energy which he displayed, notwithstanding the attachment of all the Volunteers for their chief, even he could not make himself heard. They pitied him, as one who from an excess of good faith was so blinded as not to see the danger and the ill-effects of an unpardonable compliance. In their delusion they did not perceive that it would have been better to furnish food to the enemy for a month, than to have been guilty of one such ruinous of- fence against the rules of discipline.

"The General was speedily informed of the lamentable state of affairs ; and the principal officer of the staff who had signed the safe conduct hurried to the spot, accompanied by brave Captain Oslo, an aide-de-camp. "The regiment was assembled, and these two officers, with Manara, ad- dressed themselves to each company separately, laying before them the se- rious nature of the fault they were committing, and admonishing the most outrageous with judicious severity. Their addresses were received in pro- found silence. One after another the companies were consigned to their re- spective quarters, numerous sentinels were placed to hinder all communica- tions, and the two delegates passed on to the second battalion.

"These men were under arms, and the waggon was still waiting at the entrance of the bridge. The frank address, the repeated command to sub- mit to the orders of the General, seemed to have some effect : the soldiers began to hesitate ; they appeared to understand the importance of the deci- sion which was expected from them. A moment more, and the indispen- sable exactions of discipline would have been acceded to, when a voice was heard from the ranks, 'No, by God, the waggon shall not pass!" Who has dared to answer ? ' exclaimed Menem. 'Here I am,' replied the voice ; and the volunteer R—, a young man of ardent character, and till then an excellent soldier, though somewhat too hot and headstrong, came forward. The others whispered in an undertone among themselves, and exchanged significant glances. Manara repeated the order to open the gate of the bridge. No one moved, and R— smiled triumphantly, quietly leaning on his musket. Oh, why did not Manara consent, as I then suggested to him, that effrontery so unheard of and so ruinous should be instantly and terribly chastised?

"Four men were ordered to arrest the rebel : they looked on each other I and remained motionless. The whole company witnessed, unmoved, this most extraordinary scene. Several officers rushed forwards to accomplish the arrest : a menacing shout then burst forth on every side ; R— was surrounded and carried off in the midst of applause.

"Things were now arrived at such a pitch, that the battalion was on the very verge of offering the horrible spectacle of civil war. Two companies took arms in favour of the revolt; the others showed themselves stilt dis- posed to maintain the cause of right and discipline. But on this occasion the commanders evinced a blameable weakness. It— was expelled; they did not, however, venture to arrest him in the presence of the companies. It was not till he arrived at Brescia that lie was secretly imprisoned for a month. When he came out, at the time of the general retreat, he returned, entreating to be readmitted into the battalion : he was received, and ever after, as if nothing had happened, he showed himself an obedient soldier. The waggon was sent back amidst the hisses of the troops, and thus the spirit of insubordination triumphed in the most scandalous manner."

The story of the siege of Rome is not only interesting from greater action but for its greater freshness ; no other book that we have met with having given any original account of that event. Dandolo's narrative is not indeed complete as a whole view, but there is plenty of variety, incident, and life. The Lombard Rifles were employed in the expedition under Garibaldi against the Neapolitans- who had advanced upon Rome. The following is a picture of that chief and his band. "We encamped on the magnificent site of the villa of Adrian ; and the numerous fires which glistened among the ruins, and lighted up their sub- terraneous caverns, produced a strange and picturesque effect. The singular

aspect of the camp seemed in unison with the wildness of the scene. Geri-. baldi and his staff were dressed in scarlet blouses, with hats of every possible form, without distinctions of any kind, or any pretension to military orna- ment. They rode on American saddles, and seemed to pride themselves on their contempt for all the observances most strictly enjoined on regular troops. Followed by their orderlies (almost all of whom had come from America) they might be seen hurrying to and fro, now dispersing, then again collecting, active, rapid, and indefatigable in their movements. When the troop halted to encamp or to take some repose, while the soldiers piled their arms, we used to be surprised to see officers, the general himself in- cluded, leap down from their horses, and attend to the wants of their own steeds. When these operations were concluded, they opened their saddles, which were made so as to be unrolled and to form small kind of tent, and their personal arrangements were then completed. If they failed in pro- curing provisions from the neighbouring villages, three or four colonels and majors threw themselves on the bare backs of their horses, and, armed with long lazzos, set off at full speed through the campag,na in search of sheep or oxen : when they had collected a sufficient quantity they returned, driving- their ill-gotten flecks before them ; a certain portion was divided among- each company, and then all indiscriminately, officers and men, fell to killing, cutting up, and roasting at enormous fires quarters of oxen, besides kids and young pigs, to say nothing of booty of a smaller sort, such as poultry, geese, &c.

"Garibaldi, in the meanwhile, if the encampment was far from the scene- of danger, lay stretched out under his tent. If, on the contrary, the enemy were near at hand, he remained constantly on horseback giving orders and visiting the outposts ; often disguised as a peasant, he risked his own safety in daring reconnaisances, but most frequently, seated on some commanding, elevation, he passed whole hours examining the environs with the aid of a telescope. When the General's trumpet gave the signal to prepare for de- parture, the lassos served to catch the horses which had been left to graze at liberty in the meadows. The order of march was always arranged on the preceding day, and the corps set out without any one ever knowing where they might arrive the day after. Owing to this patriarchal simplicity, pushed perhaps somewhat too far, Garibaldi appeared more like the chief of a tribe of Indians than a general : but at the approach of danger, and in the heat of combat, his presence of mind and courage were admirable ; and then by the astonishing rapidity of his movements, he made up, in a great measure, for_ his deficiency in those qualities which are generally supposed to be abso- lutely essential in a good general. "The Garibaldi Legion, which numbered about a thousand men, was com- posed of a most incongruous mixture of individuals of all description. Boys of twelve or fourteen years old, stimulated by noble enthusiasm, or by the restlessness of their age ; veteran soldiers, attracted by the fame of the cele- brated chief of Monte-Video ; and, mingled with these, a number of indi- viduals anxious to find impunity and license in the confusion of war : such were the elements of this truly original corps."

Dandolo complains that the example of Oaribaldi's Legion had a. mischievous effect upon the Lombard Rifles; which no doubt it. had : but though the morale of the Legion might be bad, its mili- tary efficiency was sustained, and obedience to orders enforced Garibaldi, for example, would have made his safe conduct re- spected by his men, and with no words about it. The moral of regular discipline in war is, however, the great lesson of the book, as it is of most of the other books that have been written upon the late Italian campaigns. A country may be favoured with a "hea- ven-born general," or get one quickly made, but an army, like any other institution, is a work of time. The defenders of Rome seent to have been as well organized as it was possible with such impro- vised bodies, yet a vital position was lost in a way scarcely possi- ble with thorough soldiers : even if treachery were really at work,. it must have taken some other form than catching the defenders of a breach napping. "On the night of the 21st, the second battalion of Reg. linione mounted. guard on bastion 6. All was quiet. Lieutenant-Colonel Rossi, whose duty it was to make the general round of inspection, found everything in order ; the soldiers at their post in perfect silence. He continued the round as far an the neighbouring gate Portese.' On his return, when near the breach, he was stopped by the Qui vive ? ' of the sentineL As the Romans also when on duty were accustomed to employ alt qui viva !' he gave the watchword and was going on, when he found himself surrounded and made prisoner.. What on earth had happened ? In the space of half an hour the French had occupied the breach, not as if it were a post held by the enemy, but as they might have relieved guard in a fortress. "Not a single shot had been exchanged, nets drop of blood had been shed. The sentinels had fled; the drowsy pickets were aroused by the enemy silently shaking them' enjoining them to decamp to a place of security ; it may well be imagined, that, astonished and terror-struck, they did not wait for a re- petition of the advice. The whole circumstance was involved in inextricable mystery : there were suspicions of treachery ; some of the sentineLs, when interrogated, affirmed that the French had made their appearance from under ground, and had compelled them to fly. Their contradictory assertions only served to bewilder the interrogators. Last of all it was reported, that the. French had discovered a secret door which opened into a subterraneous pas- sage leading from the outer base of the wall into the city, and that by this means they had suddenly, in the dead of night, made their appearance in the midst of the terrified sentinels, who, seeing themselves surrounded on every side, had yielded without a struggle. On the same night, bastion No. 7, ancL the wall which united it with No. 6, fell, after a rigorous resistance, into the hands of the French.

"This event produced a dreadful sensation in Rome itself. The French now commanded the site of our camp, and as soon as their cannon could be planted on the breach, our ruin would be accomplished. They immediately set about fortifying the position they had gained. There was a great differ- ence of opinion within the city. The Roman General, Roselli, urged the ne- cessity of our instantly making an attack, in order to regain at the point of the bayonet all that we had recently lost. Garibaldi, better acquainted with the discouragement which that morning pervaded even the best in the ranks, who had begun to suspect some treachery, and looked upon all as hopeless, opposed himself warmly to Roselli's proposal. Thus were these precious hours lost in useless discussions : evening drew on; the French had already crowned the breach, and the enterprise had become impossible. "From that moment we all saw that the fortune of Rome was lost."