Italian Yesterdays, vol. 2

by Mrs. Hugh Fraser

He goes on to remark upon the reliance to be placed upon the word of the Kings then struggling against Napoleon, “for, if kings promise to-day, they will break their words to-morrow.”

The other finishes his address, in which he advises Murat to let France bleed to death by herself, thus:

“Above all, I beseech you not to be caught by false glory, but to believe that there is only one way to preserve your reputation, which is to preserve your Throne!” The military element seems to have been of the same opinion as number two, but Joachim wavered—as well he might, for both parties to the discussion were right. Even if he joined himself to the Allies, it was quite likely that his throne would be taken from him at the first convenient moment. The Bourbons were everywhere, and Spain, Italy, Austria, and presently France, would be filled with them. Their clamour would rise in a hurricane, and what could those who professed to hold their own crowns as gifts from the Almighty say in answer to them? If the Emperor of Austria ruled by Divine Right, he must believe that Ferdinand did the same. If the Divine Right could be disregarded in one case, it could be disregarded in all, and there were plenty of evilly disposed persons who desired nothing better. It would be a weapon in their hands, and they had plenty of weapons already.

In spite of this, and in the face of it, Francis of Austria, by a treaty concluded on the 11th of January, 1814, acknowledged Joachim’s dominion and sovereignty over the States he ruled, and Joachim, as a matter of form, returned the compliment.

Thus Naples was definitely placed in the ranks of France’s enemies, Austria agreeing to furnish thirty thousand men for Italy and Naples thirty thousand, the allied forces to be under the command of the King of Naples, or, in his absence, of the officer highest in rank in the Austrian army.

This, together with a promise that Francis would use his good offices to bring about a reconciliation between Naples and England, as well as with Austria’s allies, was the published treaty, but there were several secret clauses, some of which seem to indicate a lack of humour in the high contracting parties.

Francis, having acknowledged Joachim’s sovereignty, pledged himself to obtain the renunciation of it from Ferdinand (as though the consent of that individual made any difference to anybody!), while Joachim promised, on his part, to indemnify Ferdinand, thereby acknowledging that his own claim was that of force majeure and nothing else; and yet the principle of Ferdinand’s Divine Right was never called into question! But at the same time Murat was in correspondence with General Miollis, commanding the French troops in Rome, and with Barbou and Fouché, assuring them of his devotion and attachment to France, and endeavouring to explain away his treaty with Francis on the ground of political necessity!

Miollis withdrew into Sant’ Angelo, and the Neapolitan troops forced the little body of French under Lascolette to shut themselves up in the citadel of Civita Vecchia. But now, after having inaugurated his campaign, Murat’s indecision prevented him from giving any definite orders, and his generals instantly began to suspect him of playing them false.

Proceeding into the States of Rome, he found anarchy prevailing in every direction, and, already torn with conflicting emotions, he found himself the target of generals, magistrates, and Austrian ministers, who maintained that he had not acted up to his part of the treaty.

That roused him, and he woke up from his lethargy long enough to start the Neapolitan troops forward and to settle the civil administration a little. A good many Frenchmen still remained in the Neapolitan army and, in order to retain them, and have some company in his matricidal course, he assured them that the treaty was a feint and that he was working heart and soul for his beloved country. But he so entangled himself with lies that he presently found it difficult to move in any direction without finding the net of them about his feet. The Neapolitans disliked and distrusted the French, because they saw in them a drag upon Joachim’s wheel. The French despised the Neapolitans and presently departed, seeing clearly whither they were being led. Since the only officers of any value in the Neapolitan army were these Frenchmen, Murat was now compelled to rely upon the Germans—that is to say, the very men he had fought against in the preceding year.