ITALIAN BIOGRAPHY : ALFONZO LA MARMORA.* So many illustrious patriots

adorn the reign of Victor Em- manuel, that the biographer must sometimes feel puzzled as to a choice of a subject, in so rich a field. " Leave me the glory of dying poor," exclaimed Luigi Carlo Parini, when his country- men wished to give him some substantial proof of their grati- tude for his services; and this Cincinnatus-like language of the 'modern dictator was not more disinterested, than that of the other distinguished men who were associated with him in work- ing out the national independence. " Nations," said D'Azeglio, when called upon by Austria to surrender the Lombard rebels, after the crushing defeat of Novara, "nations, like individuals, should perish, rather than dishonour themselves. We will not surrender our Lombard brothers,—not to save Piedmont from annihilation !" " If you wish a war to the death," said Victor Emmanuel to Radetsky, " be it so. Sooner than submit to such conditions, I would lose a hundred crowns ; my house knows the road of exile, but not of dishonour." " I am ambitious only to serve my country," said Cavour, speaking of the cession of Nice and Savoy, "and for her, I willingly jeopardise my fame and popularity." These were not the idle vaunts of inexperienced youths; they came from men who had already passed through fiery trials, and who, no one doubted, were ready to translate their bold words into equally bold deeds. Amongst this noble assemblage, there was none more loyal, pure, and self-sacrificing than the !Talent soldier who is the subject of this notice ; and when the record of these past thirty years comes to be written by the im- partial historian—if such a thing is possible—one of the fairest pages of his story will be that on which is inscribed the name of Alfonso la Marmora. Owing to peculiar circumstances, he was never sufficiently appreciated in his lifetime, except by a section of his own countrymen, and it was only just before his death that his name was cleared from the gross and calumnious charges brought against him by his enemies. For years he had lived under a cloud which embittered his life. He had been publicly and brtitally attacked by Prince Bismarck, slan- dered and persecuted by him to the utmost degree to which a foreign Minister could pursue the subject of another State; and, as generally happens in such cases, people gave more heed to the attacks than to the defence, and with those who were not inter- ested in following the case to the end, there remained a vague impression that there was some sort of dishonour attaching to the man who as a soldier and a statesman carried his chivalrous loyalty to the point of imprudence. Even since bis death, "An Old Diplomatist" has renewed these insinuations with regard to falsified despatches, &c. To those who were really interested in La Marmora's reputation, however, abundant evidence of his integrity has been produced in the last six or seven years, and almost every month some fresh bit of intelligence comes to light which places him still higher in public esteem.

• Alfonso Is Manners: Commemerazione. Per L. Chiala. Firenze : G. Barbers. II Generale Aifenso Is Marmara. Per Giuseppe Masseri. Firenze: Barbera.

Much of his private life and correspondence was given to the public by his friend Captain Chiala, on the anniversary of his death, in a most interesting and unpretentious little volume, called Commemorations, published anonymously. Since that,

a more important work has been brought out by the famous biographer, Signor Massari, who has given much time and study to it. And however familiar the reader may be with the history of our own times, he will still find a considerable extent of un- trodden ground opened to him in the secret councils of Cavour and La Marmora. The author enjoyed the personal friendship of the General, and, during the years that he held office, he was often admitted to the private conferences between him and his great colleague, Cavour. This intimacy our author is rather fond of airing, but it is a pardonable weakness to be proud of. the confidence of two such men, and we cannot quarrel with it, since it procures us the privilege of seeing the General off parade, and the Minister off the diplomatic stilts. It is refresh- ing to find them in their private apartments, using the brotherly ter, instead of the formal Lei, laughing and jesting sometimes, between their serious discourses about the fate of nations. Per- haps they would have been more reserved, had they known that Signor Massari's biographical mind was working all the time- We think it would have been only fair, when he made a third at those sittings, to have said,—

"A chield's amang you, taking notes ; And faith, he'll prent it !"

There are some passages in the lives of statesmen, perfectly honourable in themselves, with which it is just as well the unthinking multitude were not made acquainted. For instance, that famous grido di dolore, which agitated the nation from end to end, when uttered by the Re Galantuomo,—where was the use of removing the romance which had hung round it these thirty years ? We knew he did not invent it himself, but we would rather not have known that it was the suggestion of the French Emperor. And if a severe love of truth was the motive of revealing it, why was it not told in its proper place, in the Life of Victor Emmanuel ?

Signor Massari, as in the case of his other biographies, ignores his hero's private life ; he is careful to record every particular in his character of soldier, statesman, and citizen, but he is silent on the subject of family relations. This is the more surprising, because the reasons which controlled the bio- grapher's pen, in the case of his late lamented sovereign, did not exist in La Marmara's. His severe and lofty character hardly presented any vulnerable part, at which an enemy might aim, or over which a loving friend would wish to throw a veil. He was in truth what General Dabormida described him,—" Le chevalier sans penr et sans reproche."

Alfonso Ferrero la Marmora was the son of the Prince Masserano, a very ancient Piedmontese family, connected with the Sardinian throne. A race of soldiers they were, and Alfonso was the fourth son who adopted the profession of arms. Every Piedmontese gentleman was bound to know something of the art of war, and even Camillo Cavour spent some years in the military academy. But the La Marmoras took to it eon amore, studied it with devoted attention, and laboured to improve the state of the army. Alfonso always considered his brother Ales- sandro—the founder of the Bersaglieri—as his superior ; but the latter, equally modest, was proud to serve under his younger brother, to whom he was fondly attached. Amongst the numer- ous friendships which La Marmora made at school and carried through life, was one particularly strong and tender,—that with Dabormida, a soldier, like himself, and like him intensely patriotic, and passionately devoted to the House of Savoy. They had both been engaged at different times in instructing the Princes Victor Emmanuel and Ferdinand, and this strength- ened the tie that bound them to the throne afterwards. Their correspondence, written with the careless frankness of brothers, is perhaps the most interesting part of La Marmora's life, be- cause it reveals so much of the shy, reserved, proud man, so often misunderstood by others. For years our hero worked quietly and silently, travelling in foreign countries to study their military systems, and labouring to apply his knowledge to the army of his own country, till the time came to test its strength. He was only a colonel when the war of 1848 broke out. He behaved admirably then, and by extraordinary presence of mind and courage saved the life of Charles Albert. He broke through the raging mob with a handful of troops, rode to the palace, and carried off the King to a place of safety before the city knew what had happened. When Victor Emmanuel ascended the throne he entrusted La Marmora with the dangerous and delicate mission of restoring order in Genoa, then the seat of Republican anarchy. La Marmora,

fearing that the 50,000 bayonets which Austria so generously offered Victor Emmanuel, and which he declined, might be

put in motion without the permission of the King, made haste to subdue rebellion by taking the city by storm, and putting Garibaldi in prison. Under his firm, wise rule, order and obedience to the laws were quickly restored. Austrian bayonets had no pretext for intervening, and even the King of Naples expressed his admiration of La Marmora to the Sardinian Minister.

D'Azeglio, who was then Prime Minister, was much amused at the old enemy of Piedmont commending one of her sons. " Dearest Cousin," he writes, in his playful manner, " I am filled with envy to hear that the King of Naples admires you and not me. It was the bombardment that pleased him, of course, and so I have no chance of winning his esteem." There was at this time in Genoa a rich English lady, Miss Bertie Mathews, whose acquaintance the General had made in Turin ; she was a recent convert to Catholicism, and, like all new converts, very devout. Why Miss Mathews should have preferred to be bombarded and held under martial law with the revolutionists of Genoa, instead of remaining in the pleasant and peaceful capital, does not appear. La Marmora was too modest a man to suspect that he had "overcome more than his enemies," but, though quite ignorant of the state of her feelings, he was not insensible to her influence, and yielded to a growing inclination towards her, all the more willingly because his sister had praised her warmly, and represented her as possessed of so many excellent qualities, that she would be a treasure as a wife. Difficulties presented themselves in the way of their marriage, because of the lady being a convert, consequently a bigot, and opposed to the liberal principles of the La Marmora family. But by this time he had grown too fond of the girl to give her up, and he resolved finally to take his chance of happiness with her. La Marmora was now a member of the D'Azeglio Ministry, and though a good Catholic and a Moderate of the Moderates, his wife was persuaded by her Jesuit advisers that he was treading the dangerous road that leads to destruction, and that it was her duty to try to stop him. It is easy to conceive the un- happy state of affairs that this idea occasioned. But by degrees the husband's influence became paramount, and the Signora La Marmora, though always a devotee, subsided into a most admiring wife. " She does not love, she worships you," wrote Dabormida to his friend in the Crimea; and he repaid her affection by a life-long, chivalrous devotion.

La Marmora was opposed to the Crimean alliance, particu- larly at first, when it was proposed that the Piedmontese should be subsidised by England. He never would have taken the command of a band of mercenaries ; as equals and allies they should fight, or not at all. He thought it better not to fight at all. He had statesmanlike qualities of a high order, but Cavour had the daring of a genius which probes through a question without the labour of pondering it. It was as if a lightning flash from heaven illumined a page of future history for him while it remained dark to the others. He was absolutely alone in his opinion about the alliance, every member of the Cabinet being opposed to him ; and it was confidently prognosticated that with the Treaty would be signed and sealed the ruin of the national cause. The King, however, was with him, and by persevering arguments, and bringing the sovereign influence to bear upon the Assembly, it at last surrendered, one member only resign- ing. General Dabormida had "nailed his colours to the mast," and though he adored Victor Emmanuel and admired Cavour, they could not win his consent to the measure. La Marmora yielded to the overwhelming torrent of Cavour's eloquence, and he was appointed Commander-in-Chief. He had a difficult and delicate mission, acting with his two powerful allies ; and in his book, Un Po' Paz di Luce, he complains of the vagueness of his instructions. When Cavonr and he stood on board the vessel at Genoa, with hands clasped, the General said, " Will you not give me those blessed instructions ?" "Exercise your wits," replied the Minister, embracing him. He had his reasons for being vague, for he knew La Marmora would not have accepted such instructions then as he was obliged to make the best of later, when he arrived at Constantinople; and Cavonr knew he might safely leave much to La Marmora's tact and wisdom. His conduct through the campaign was admirable in many respects, and won him a great reputation ; his praises were sounded all over Europe by the allies and the correspond- ents, and he came home covered with glory. But he had bong% it dearly ; for he had suffered indescribable pain watching the ravages which the cholera effected in his brave little army, every man of which he regarded almost like a son ; and by it he lost his dearest brother, Alessandro, who acted as his lieutenant in the war, and whose death was the severest blow that could then have befallen him. "There was nothing so touching," said the French General Ghazal, "nothing which showed so much the military spirit and chivalrous sentiments of this noble family as the devotion of the elder brother to the younger, his superior in rank and his commander."

La Marmora's relations with the King were not always.

pleasant. As governor and pupil they had often disagreed, and as sovereign and minister they not nnfrequently came into collision. But this did not lessen the devotion of the subject, nor the esteem of the sovereign for him. One incident, very characteristic of both men, is worth record- ing. In the year 1859 the King had, without consult- ing La Marmora, who was not then in command, deter- mined on a retrograde movement. On hearing it, the General hastened to the Royal quarters, and though the King, who was closeted with Marechal Canmbert, had given orders to admit no one, he insisted so strenuously that Victor Emmanuel, recog- nising his voice, called out to the servant to let him pass. A very warm discussion followed on the propriety of abandon- ing their positions. At last the King, in extreme irritation, commanded him to drop the subject. Nothing daunted, the General continued his remonstrances with increasing fervour. The King, he said, had a right to put him under arrest or have him shot; but he would fulfil his duty, and tell him the truth. " You will be lost, Sire," he cried, in a frenzy of despair; " allies and enemies will have a right to despise us; we shall be dis- honoured. It is my duty to you, to whom my life belongs, to hinder, at any cost, what I consider an immense misfortune." Canrobert here intervened, and as he, on the whole, agreed with La Marmora,Victor Emmanuel reluctantly and haughtily yielded the point. "Paisgue vows is voulez et pus vow is croyez indis- pensable, je conserve nos positions." They separated in a high state of indignation, La Marmora having declared, in the course of the discussion, that if the army retreated he would not retreat, as he preferred to fall into the enemy's hands to becoming the object of merited contempt. This is not the language to which royal ears are attuned, and Victor Emmanuel's resentment was natural. But it was shortlived, for no one could better appreciate this sincere and manly devotion, which knew no compromise and cared nothing for the King's displeasure when the King's interest was at stake. It was like Victor Emmanuel to atone the day after for his burst of temper by writing an apologetic note, thanking the General for having prevented the departure of the troops ; and not only that, but writing also a letter to Cavour praising him warmly. He had had a hundred proofs of his devotion, but custom had not made the honest King accept every sacrifice as his right, and when La Marmora wished to take the re- sponsibility of an unpopular peace to shield his Sovereign from blame, he would not permit it ; with tears in his eyes he pressed the General's hands in both his own, and said, " This is too much, dear La Marmora; I must have my share." But, alas !-

"Hearts may beat and eyes be wet,

And the souls be strangers yet."

Though they had many things in common, there were some delicate chords in Alfonso's soul which found no response in that of Victor Emmanuel.

Nor was the King the only friend with whom our hero found himself at variance. Though a man of deep and passionate feeling, he was outwardly cold and unexpansive. Cavour said one day, "La Marmora has been my colleague and friend for seven years, and this is the first compliment he ever paid me." Yet we know that he felt keenly the slightest neglect on the part of his friends, and was often wounded unconsciously by them. It added to his grief for his brother, and gave him bitter pain, when he found no private letters of ccndolence in the despatches from Turin. When D'Azeglio, who was his kinsman and friend, published an article in a journal which he thought implied some blame upon the Government, he wrote him a letter begging of him to take his place at the head of affairs. It is a letter which, in its simplicity, modesty, admiration for others' merits, mingled all the time with a sad sense of not being quite appreciated, is touching in the extreme. For some years he and Victor Emmanuel lived apart, and it was only a

few months before the death of both that a reconciliation took

place. He would not during that time make the smallest advance to the King, but he wept all night long when he heard

that he was dangerously ill, and he would not sit at a table where " the King " was not the first toast. He was what might be called a, misunderstood hero.

His last years were miserable ; the cruel calumnies which were circulated about him as to falsifying despatches, dealing treacher- ously with his ally Prussia and playing into the hands of Austria, were not all disbelieved in his own country, and it caused him such bitter anguish of mind that his health sank gradually. He suffered from a complication of diseases, the most trying of which was an inflammation of the eyes, which often interfered with his reading. That notwithstanding, he wrote several books in his defence ; the first, (In Po' Piii di Luce, revealed some inconvenient facts about the Prussian alliance, which so enraged Prince Bismarck-, as well it might, seeing the figure he cuts in those negotiations, that he persecuted to the utmost of hia power the poor General, trying to bully the Italian Government into putting him in prison. La Marmora then wrote Segreti di Stato, in which he threw still "more light" upon the subject. In the midst of these troubles he lost his beloved wife and was left desolate, for he had survived all his numerous relations.

But his spotless fame was vindicated, and illustrious men of all nations, as well as his own, sent him expressions of esteem and condolences in his sufferings. Amongst these was his brave and generous enemy, the Archduke Albert. Prince Umberto wrote him an affectionate letter, with kind messages from the princess ; and the poor old General was overpowered with the tenderest emotions on reading it and all his wrongs, real and imaginary, were forgotten. Victor Emmanuel, too, on hearing of his illness, wrote in his former kind tone, and the friendship which had never been extinguished was once more allowed free expression. Thus comforted in the last three months of his life, his death was serene and happy, as might be expected of a man who had always unswervingly done his duty at any personal sacrifice, and whose simple faith had never been disturbed by any philosophic doubts. Calmly and peacefully, he passed into that land where, let us hope, there are no misunderstandings.