THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF BARON RICASOLI.* Tint progress of Italy,
and therefore, in some measure, the future of Europe, depend upon the character of the Tuscan nobleman who has been raised, so unexpectedly, to the premiership of the Italian king- dom. The politicians of Europe as well as of Italy are watching eagerly to discover how far the mantle of Count Cavour has fallen on the shoulders of a worthy successor. At the present moment, then, few works would be more welcome than a really valuable memoir of Baron Ricasoli. To such a character the little work before us has but scanty pretensions. It is nothing more than a translation of Dell' Ongaro's shilling memoir of Ricasoli, published some months ago in the Galleria Nazionale of Turin, a fact which we are old- fashioned enough to think might, without harm, have been stated in the advertisements of the book, as well as on its title-page. The work, slight as it is, is written for an Italian public, and as no notes or explanations are added, a great many of the allusions and state- ments will be unintelligible to the ordinary English reader. More- over, the translator's work has been done hastily and inaccurately. There are many vassages which we have only been able to decipher by turning the English words into their literal Italian counterparts, and then reflecting on what the real meaning of the Italian words must have been. In fact, all we can say for the English translation is, that it is beautifully printed and very nicely got up, and further, that it is the only memoir of Baron Ricasoli which, to our know- ledge, has yet appeared in England. liven with regard to the original Italian version, we consider that the publishers of the Galleria Nazionale have, in this instance, been unfortunate in their selection of a biographer. Signor Dell' Ongaro is a Venetian gentleman of considerable literary ability, who for a short time was Professor of Dramatic Art at Florence, where he was well known and deservedly popular in English society. He writes elegantly and with grace, but rather as a partisan than as a historian. An old follower of Mazzini, he still looks with sympathy on the theories of his former teacher, though, like all educated Italians, he has forsaken Mazzini as a practical leader. He is still, however, a staunch Garibaldian, and a prominent member of what is termed in Italy the party of action, and was, we believe, exiled from Tuscany by Baron Ricasoli for presumed complicity in the abortive Nicotera expedition. His sympathies, therefore, are opposed, to say the least, to the statesman whose policy has hitherto directed the course of the Italian revolution, and, in consequence, he does but scant justice to Baron Ricasoli, while he shows an ill-concealed hostility to Count Cavour. A writer, whose comment on the late Premier of Italy's death is that "a few saw" (in this event) "an obstacle to the ulti- mate good of Italy removed," is not, in our opinion, well qualified to judge fairly of contemporary Italian history.
Still, though we do not regard this memoir as a thoroughly reliable one, we may gather from it some facts which throw light on Hicasoles character. The Ricasoli family are one of the oldest, if not the * Bares Ricasoli, Prime Minister of Italy: a Biography. Saunders, Orley, and Co.
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Iciest of the Tuscan noble families, and the castle of Broglio, the residence of Bettino Ricasoli, has been in possession of his race for upwards of six centuries. He is also a man of very large landed property, and, like Count Cavonr, was in no small measure indebted to his birth and to his wealth for his first entrance into public life. Of Ricasoli's early career and private life, Dell' Ongaro has next to nothing to tell, and the casual allusion to the peculiar circum- stances, which are said to have signalized the later years of his married days, is so vague as to be unintelligible to any unacquainted with the gossip of the " eascine." Just as the first public act of Cavour's life was a proposal to call on Charles Albert to grant the Sardinian constitution, so, curiously enough, Ricasoli first distin- gaished himself in political life by presenting a memorial to the Grand-Duke of Tuscany in 1847, advising the establishment of re- presentative institutions. The next act of his career brought him into relations with Charles Albert. In the Almateach de Gotha for 1847, Lucca appears as one of the sovereign States of Europe; in the edition for 1848, Lucca has disappeared from the index. The history which accounts for this circumstance, is one of the most glaring of the many outrages which Austria and her petty viceroys committed on the independence of Italy. It would take up more space than we can afford to explain all the dynastic arrangements by which, in total disregard of the interests and wishes of the subject states, Parma, at the death of the ex- Empress Marie-Louise, in 1847, was ceded'to the Duke of Lucca, Lucca itself sold to Tuscany, and Fivizzano transferred to Modena. It is enough to say that the Duke of Modena, Lord Normanby's protigi, was not content to wait for his share in the bargain, and seized by force on the town of Fivizzano. Tuscany was then on the eve of the revolution, and the Tuscans, irritated by the threats of the Duke of Modena that he was backed by three hundred thousand Austrian troops, called on the Grand-Duke to retake Fivizzano by arms. In his distress the Grand-Duke Leopold called upon Charles Albert to use his good offices with the Duke of Modena, and Ricasoli was sent to Turin, to conduct the negotiation. In this mission he displayed considerable diplomatic ability, and succeeded in having the cession of Fivizzano accomplished in such a manner as to satisfy the susceptibilities of the Tuscan people. To us, the most remarkable incident about this mission is the insight which the Tuscan envoy showed into the position and character of Charles Albert. Writing, in the autumn of 1847, from Turin, about the King of Sardinia, he used these words : " Fears from within will urge him to strengthen his power without, and for what cause he will strengthen is not doubtful ; certainly for the cause of the liberal princes, one of whom he is. The King of Piedmont must be engaged in the Italian move- ment."
After the Tuscan Constitution had been granted, Ricasoli was ap- pointed Gonfalionere of Florence ; but when the revolution had assumed a decidedly democratic character, and the Guerazzi Ministry had been accepted by the Grand-Duke, he resigned his office. At no time had he any sympathy for the Mazzinians, and then, perhaps, even less than now. When the republican faction had installed itself in power, when Leopold II. had fled to Gaeta, and when even Gioberti and Cavour advised the Sardinian Government to send troops to re- store the Grand-Duke, Ricasoli considered the return of the Lorraine dynasty a less evil than the establishment of a democratic republic, and joined the deputation, which requested the Grand-Duke to resume his throne as a constitutional sovereign. Still his dislike to democracy betrayed him into no servility towards royalty. The moment he dis- covered that Leopold IL intended, in spite of all promises, to reign as an absolute prince, supported by Austrian bayonets, he loft Florence and withdrew to his estates, where he resided for the next ten years, occupying himself chiefly with a vast and successful scheme for drain- ing and reclaiming the Maremma marshes. During this petiod of re- tirement, he was no stranger to the great movement which in those ten years passed over the mind of Italy. He had learnt by bitter ex- perience that there was no hope for Italy under her petty pro-Austrian potentates ; and when the revolution broke out again in 1859, lie de- clined all idea of a compromise between the Lorraine dynasty and the Tuscans. After the flight of the Grand-Duke, Buoiicompagni was sent as a provisional dictator from Turin, and Ricasoli was appointed Minister of the Interior. But the great epoch of Ricasoli's career began with the peace of Villafranca. " Dopo Villafranca," he is re- ported to have said, " ho sputato sulla milt vita" (I spat upon my life). He at once protested against the proposed return of the Grand-Duke, and when the Sardinian emissaries were recalled, and the Tuscans were left apparently to their fate, he, almost alone, did not despair of Florence. The voice of the people, even more than the choice of his colleagues, called him to power, and, till the annexa- tion with Sardinia was accomplished, Ricasoli remained the dictator of Tuscany. The position was a most trying one. As far as sheer force of resistance was concerned, Tuscany was well-nigh powerless. No free army that any government could have extemporized could possibly have offered any valid resistance to either a French or an Austrian army of occupation. All Ricasoli could do was to organize a sufficient force not to allow an occupation to be effected without bloodshed, and then to rely upon moral force. Any outbreak of re- volutionary violence would have been fatal to the respect that Tuscany had inspired in Europe by her moderation, while at the same time it was essential to maintain the ardour and enthusiasm of the people. This almost contradictory problem Ricasoli solved successfully. The Tuscan people never faltered for one hour in their demand for annexa- tion to Sardinia, while the period of transilfien was unsullied by one e outbreak or disturbance.
e are inclined to think that the author of this memoir exaggerates the amount of resistance which Ricasoli had to exert against the ppro. ject of a French kingdom of Etruria. How far the Emperor Napoleon may ever have entertained the project we cannot say; but we know as a fact, that the Prince Napoleon, during his sojourn at Florence, in command of the fifth corps of the French army, avoided every occasion of putting himself forward as a candidate for the vacant throne. If there had been any deliberate plan of establishing a French dynasty in Tuscany, the French troops would certainly not have been recalled from Florence on the very eve of Villafranca. To all overtures, whether official or officious, Ricasoli returned, we are told, one invariable answer : "If you treat with me, you recognize the Government I represent; if not, I have nothing to say to you." There are many more striking pages in the history of the Italian revolution than that of the Tuscan dictatorship, but there are few: more creditable to Italy. The agitations of the Mazzinians, the re- monstrances of France, the threats of Austria and the vacillations of the Ratazzi Ministry at Turin, failed alike to move Ricasoli from the purpose he had in view. " I am," he said once at this period, " one of a family which numbers twelve centuries of existence. I am the last of my race, and will give the last drop of my blood to preserver the integrity of my political programme?' The final annexation• of Tuscany is due, in great part, to the resolution of the ex-dictator of Florence.
The end, too, of Ricasoli's dictatorship, unlike Garibaldi's, was worthy of its beginning. The moment that the annexation was ac- complished he resigned his power frankly and completely. He was anxious to retire to his estates. But when it was represented to him that his services were still required by his country, he consented to serve as Minister under the Viceroy, Prince Carignan, and to be second, where hitherto he had ruled alone.
Such is the outline of Ricasoli's career before he was called to tile head of the Italian Government, as we gather it from the memoir before us. The prominent feature of the Premier's character, as the author seeks to portray it, is, and we think justly, a stern inflexibility of purpose. What he has resolved to do he will do, or perish in the doing. Happily, a strong vigorous intellect keeps that tenacity of will from degenerating into fanaticism, or being diverted to unworthy, ends. Coupled too with this indomitable force of will, he enjoys the reputation of unblemished honesty. Many accusations have been brought against Ricasoli ; but that he ever sacrificed the public ad- vantage to his private ends or personal vanity, is not one of them. It has always struck as as a most hopeful sign for Italy that of late times the reputation of honesty, political as well as private, is the highest recommendation to popular favour. It is this reputation, whether deserved or not, which in the popular mind of Italy, has out- weighed the many errors of Garibaldi, has ennobled the coarse nature of Victor Emanuel, and has made amends for the harshness of Ricasoli.
As a man, indeed, Ricasoli is not popular in France or Italy. A thorough aristocrat in heart, he has not the kindly bonhomie of Cavour, and personally, is rather respected than loved. Even in the days of his greatest power, the warm-hearted Tuscans received him coldly in public, and proud as they were of him, could get up but little demonstration of outward enthusiasm. In the same manner and from the same causes, he is not cordially liked by the Assembly, or by his political associates. Apart from this absence of those per- sonal qualities, so necessary to success in parliamentary life, it is not clear yet whether Ricasoli possesses great administrative ability. In ordinary tranquil times, we should not expect the present Premier to remain long at the head of affairs ; but if, as seems likely, an hour of sharp trial is still at hand for Italy, then strong will and dauntless courage and unsullied honour will be required rather than diplomatic talent or parliamentary ability ; and if these qualities are called into play, Italy knows no one on whom she can rely more fully—now that Cavonr is dead—than on the Baron Bettino Ricasoli.
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