PROCLAMATION OF GARIBALDI TO THE INHABITANTS OF NAPLES.
"To-morrow, Victor Emanuel, the king of Italy, the elect of the nation, will cross the line which has divided us from the rest of our country for so many centuries; and, listening to the unanimous voice of this brave population, will appear here among us. Let us receive, in a becoming manner, him who is sent by Providence, and scatter in his path, as a pledge of our rescue and of our affection, the flower of concord, so grateful to him, so necessary to Italy.
"No more political distinctions! no more parties! no more discords! Italy one, as the people of this metropolis have expressed it, and the gallant king, be the perennial symbols of our regeneration and of the greatness and prosperity of the country.
"G. Garibaldi."
Victor Emanuel and Garibaldi entered Naples together, on the 7th of October. The following animated description of the scene is from a letter of that date.
"King Victor Emanuel and Garibaldi entered Naples together, for it would have been a grievous thing if, as had been feared, the apostle of Italian liberty, the man of a century, had not been united with the sovereign on this great occasion. When they left the railway en route for the cathedral, there were Victor Emanuel and Garibaldi on his left hand, and the pro-dictators of Sicily and Naples sitting opposite them in the same carriage. The suite followed, and all along the railway to the Duomo there was a perfect ovation. The streets, which are very narrow, and scarcely wide enough to admit of more than two fat persons abreast, were festooned with flowers and evergreens, hung from window to window; pictures, tapestry, banners, and all the adjuncts of a great fête in Naples were there, but looking as triste and downcast as heavy rains could make them. On arriving at the Duomo, or the cathedral, the piazza of which was beautifully decorated, his majesty was received by the authorities, and conducted to the high altar, amidst such a storm of shouts and applause as could only be compared to the storm which was raging outside. 'Viva Victor Emanuel!' 'Viva Garibaldi!' 'Viva Italia Unita!' Such were the cries which rose, not from one, but from a united body of many thousands, who waved their hats, and handkerchiefs, and flags, as the royal party advanced to the high altar; and this in the cathedral church of San Januarius, the special protector of the Bourbons, whose favor (the saint's) Baron Brenier not long since requested as an honor for M. Thouvenel.
"The king did not take his seat on the throne, but stood a little below it, and wiped his hands, and then his face, with his pocket-handkerchief, and then looked round with that bold, undaunted aspect which indicated an iron nerve. Shortly after, the ceremony began, and his majesty knelt at the prie-Dieu (a stool for kneeling), whilst Garibaldi, the pro-dictators, Farini, and others, stood behind him. The Te Deum was sung in magnificent style.
"As soon as the ceremony was over, they came down the aisle, and I had an admirable view of the king and the Liberator face to face, and as a gleam of sun shone out on the monarch, every line was visible. 'Humanity' came first, and 'Divinity' after. The difference in the two expressions could not fail to strike the most insensible. I looked at Victor Emanuel's unvarying face and bold glance, and said, he is the Re Galantuomo, true to his word, and ready to maintain it with his sword; but I looked on Garibaldi, and felt all the moral grandeur of his character—not a statesman, because he is something much higher—he carries in his face his character: an amiability which wins all hearts, and an energy which overcomes all difficulties. The crowd around each was immense, though the soldiers round the church on either side did all they could to keep the path open, but it was all of no use; one of the poorest of the poor laid hold of his sovereign's hand and walked with him; and the people clung to Garibaldi and kissed and embraced him as a father. He was the greater idol in a temple of idols; and so the royal party walked down the church, and entered their carriage in the midst of the bursts, and long-continued storms of applause, as heretofore. The king was dressed, let me say, as a general of division, and Garibaldi in the same simple dress in which he had conquered the Two Sicilies and given away a kingdom.
"As the cathedral clergy refused to officiate on this occasion, the clergy of the palace offered their services."
On the 8th of November, the day after his entry into Naples with the king, at eleven o'clock, Garibaldi, followed by the ministry, presented to his majesty, in the throne-hall, and in the prescribed form, the Plebiscitum, or Vote of the People. The Minister of the Interior and Police thus addressed the king: