CHAPTER XLIX. THE PURSUIT
Heaven has apparently willed that the highest pitch of human greatnessshall be in its turn contrasted with the lowest depths of nationalhumiliation. Witness that body of cut-throats now called the "_Roman_army," compared with the "Roman army" which once conquered all theknown world. None but priests could have produced such an astounding andmonstrous transformation.
While the hours had passed as above related, the General placed at thehead of the Pope's troops arrived at Viterbo, with all the forces he hadbeen able to gather, and called his superior officers to a council inthe municipal palace. Among the number was one martial gentleman witha nose like a small melon, covered with slips of sticking-plaster, andthis warrior was he who had received the blow from Silvio at the inndoor. His face was flushed besides with wine, of which he had beenpartaking copiously to drown his chagrin, and he urged the Generalvehemently to proceed at once to assault the "_brigands_." The General,however, considered that it would be better to wait till daybreak beforethey made a move, for he was by no means certain that the soldiers couldstand to their arms at that late hour, nearly all being more or lessdrunk; and, after some further discussion, the General's view wasapplauded by the council and adopted.
At daybreak, therefore, the champions of the altar and the tiara obeyedthe bugle-call; but it required some little time to get these ornamentsof warfare into order. Some were footsore by the rapid march from Rometo Viterbo, others by their flight from the Ciminian hill, others illwith potations, and therefore it was not until the sun rose high abovethe Apennines that the army was in marching order. Even then many werethe delays, for the General was at the mercy of the native guides, whovery unwillingly conducted him through the intricacies of the forest, ofwhich he was of course ignorant.
The proscribed, who were thoroughly acquainted with it, had begun tomove at early dawn, so that when the sun rose they had already reachedthe summit of the mountain, from whence they could survey the wholecountry, and were reconnoitring, to see if any troops were advancingfrom the town. The coming of the troops was thus directly perceived.
Orazio--whose assumption of the command no one had disputed--dispersedabout a hundred of his men, under Muzio's direction, as skirmishers overthe low lands and amongst the underwood bordering upon the road on whichthe enemy was advancing. The remainder he arranged in column on therising ground, ordering them to be in readiness to charge at thefirst signal. Having thus disposed his main force, he summoned CaptainTortiglio, and questioned him about the different officers in command ofthe enemy, who was still at some distance, ascending the mountain side.
"He who commands the vanguard," replied Tortiglio, "is Major Pompone, abrave officer, but a bully of the first order."
"If I do not deceive myself," said Silvio, who was watching the enemy'smovements through his telescope, "that is the very fellow who wanted meto carry his luggage for him, for his nose is unmistakable."
"And who is that on horseback, leading what I suppose to be theprincipal body?" again asked Ordzio.
"Lend me your telescope," said Tortiglio, and, having pointed it atthe individual in question, exclaimed, "_Per Dio!_ that is thecommander-in-chief of the Papal army; and see, his mounted staff is justappearing!"
"What is his name?"
"His name is Count de la Roche--de la Roche Haricot. These FrenchLegitimists, representatives of the feudal times, have names nearly allcommencing with de, which are very difficult for us, 'of the _Si_,' topronounce."
"You, then, belong to the language of the _Si_, Signor Spaniard?" askedOrazio rather roughly.
"_Como no!_" (and why not?) articulated the captain in Spanish; "areyou alone the sons of the ancient Latins, and the possessors of thatuniversal language? Leant that there is as much in common between theItalian, Spanish, and Portuguese languages as there is between the faceof a Calabrian and that of an Andalusian, who indeed resemble each otherlike brothers."
"Bravo, Captain Tortiglio," said Attilio, who had just arrived, havingleft the division he was in command of for orders; "you are a fortunatescholar! We unlucky Romans are only taught by the priests to kiss hands,kneel, and attend the mass, but are left in ignorance of what goes on ingrammars and polite learning outside the walls of Rome."
But the Papal army was advancing, and Orazio, like an experiencedcaptain, kept measuring its progress, without being in the leastdiscomposed, yet feeling that anxiety which a leader must experiencewhen in command of a body of troops of any kind, and in the presence ofa numerous enemy about to attack.
One of the inconveniences a guerrilla band has to sustain in time ofbattle, and which very much preoccupies the chief, is the necessity ofabandoning the wounded in case of retreat, or of leaving them in chargeof the terrified inhabitants, who are afraid of being compromised. Theseconsiderations, and the unequal number of the opposing forces, impelledOrazio to sound the signal for retiring, and the hunter, with thesagacity that distinguished him, gathered in his fifty men with as muchcoolness as he would have shown had he been summoning them to a new beatin the chase. Having communicated his intention to Attilio, and enjoinedhim not to attempt it too precipitately, but to execute the order ofretreat in divisions, Orazio went to Muzio, who was prepared to receivethe enemy, now marching rapidly upon him.
Exchanging a few words with the leader of the vanguard, he ascended tothe highest point of the position, from whence he was able to surveyevery thing, accompanied only by two of his adjutants.
General Haricot was not wanting in a certain amount of gallantry, whichwould have been worthy of a better cause. He was now assailing theunknown position of the Liberals boldly, with his vanguard _en echelon_,being himself in the center of the line.
However it may be--whether in an engagement or in a pitched battle--thecommander-in-chief ought to place himself in such a manner that hecan command a view of as large a portion of the field of battle as thecircumstances permit, and this he can usually best accomplish, by beinghimself at the head of the troops first engaged.
As he must receive information of all that passes during the fight, theGeneral, if he places himself at a distance from the scene of action,subjects himself to serious loss of time, inaccurate reports, and,to what is of still greater importance, incapability to discover at aglance that portion of his command which may stand in immediate want ofrelief, or to note where, if victorious, he ought to send in pursuit ofthe enemy light bodies of cavalry, infantry, or artillery, to completethe repulse.
There was no failing, however, in this respect on the part of thetwo commanders-in-chief in this action. Haricot, emboldened by thesuperiority of his numbers, gave the order to attack without anyhesitation. Orazio, though decided upon a retreat on account of hisinferior force, was determined to give his opponent such a lesson asshould make him more guarded and less precipitous in his pursuit. Theirregularity of the ground, and the dense masses of trees had enabledMuzio to draw his men under cover into advantageous positions. Therehe desired them to await till the enemy came into point-blank range, tofire only telling shots, and then retreat behind the lines of theother divisions. This his valorous companions in arms did. Their firstdischarge covered the ground with the wounded and lifeless bodies of theenemy. The vanguard of the mercenaries was so demoralized as to retreat,and while supports, led on by the intrepid chief, were staying theirbackward progress, the confusion gave the Italians time to make theirretreat in good order.
When Cortez disembarked at Mexico he burned his ships. When the Thousandof Marsala disembarked in Sicily they also abandoned their vessels tothe enemy, and so deprived themselves of any hope of retreat; andtruly these courageous acts conduced much to the success and triumphantconduct of both expeditions.
The proximity of friendly frontiers has often been the cause ofdefection in the ranks of the patriotic Italians. We have witnessed suchscandals in Lombardy in 1848, caused by the tempting neighborhood ofSwitzerland, and also unhappily in the Roman States by the nearness ofthe royal territory. Such was th
e case with the Three Hundred after themany adventures here related. Orazio accomplished his retreat from theCiminian hill without loss, but it was necessary to retire as far as theItalian dominion, and then it happened with his followers just as mighthave been expected, from their want of supplies and the temptation ofsafely.
Although this band was composed of courageous men, it dissolved like afog before the sun when it touched the national frontier. The chiefs,after vainly reminding their men that their country was still inbondage, and that it was the duty of all to prepare for another struggleto free her, found themselves nearly alone. The eight or nine firmhearts with whom we are best acquainted, along with Gasparo and Jack,took the road to Tuscany on their way to Leghorn, where they expected tofind the fair Julia's yacht, and gain some news of their absent friends.And here we will take leave of them for the present, to meet them laterin new and adventurous scenes.
PART THE SECOND.