It is difficult to ascertain the truth as to the
relation of the Italian masses to the house of Savoy, but every now and then an incident happens which indicates at least a strong attach- ment. July 29th, for example, is the anniversary of King Humbert's assassination, and in all the Italian cities it was kept as a day of mourning. In Rome, in par- ticular, a vast procession nearly three miles long, bearing fifteen hundred banners, marched to the Pantheon, and "filed round the catafalque dipping their banners before the tombs of King Humbert and King Victor Emanuel." The spectators were counted by the hundred thousand, and the reporter notes their tranquillity and their respectful bearing. That does not look as if "the Savoyards " had lost their charm for the people, or were in the least likely to be sent back to Piedmont. We fancy that in Italy, where, we must not forget, there are no pretenders to the general crown, the throne is, as in England, still the rallying-point. That may not be a philosophic feeling, but all experience shows that it is useful, and. since when was mankind wise?
