CHAPTER XIII.

THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES.

"THE foregoing clears away, as it were, the dust of ancient and the dirt of modern Italy. It is time now to speak of the kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which is more especially the object of your researches. If I were writing to those who it was requisite to captivate by ornament, or entice to consider truth, I might render the latter more seductive, by the flowers of rhetoric; but I prefer the cold style of conviction : I wish to make you participate in my feelings, aware that you will strip my writings of its ornament as a skeleton of his covering, and only consider the cold reality. A physician justly esteemed in Europe, remarked, 'that in speaking of physic, he knew no other language than

that of mathematics;' and in speaking of politics, I know no other than history.

"Let us now pass in review what Naples has been. There is no other country in Europe which has groaned under foreign domination, since its political organization, more than Naples. Refer to the page of history.

"At the fall of the Western Empire, Naples shared the fate of all Italy, and was invaded by the barbarians of the North, who remained but a short time, when Naples fell under the dominion of the Eastern Empire. The possession by the Greeks was not without its advantages, for Naples retained the sacred spark of civilization which their conquerors had bestowed upon them. The stern, thoughtful character of the Greek colonists, with whom the schools of Pythagoras had been familiar, the commercial intercourse with Sicily, which island was held by the Arabs, famous for their knowledge of science and medicine, soon brought into existence the medical school of Salerno, Amalfi retained within its walls the Pandics of Justinian, which might be called the Will of ancient legislation, in favour of modern civilization; whilst Naples itself, in its philosophical discussion, again maintained

the civilization of Christianity amongst the dark hordes of savages-a rainbow over the waters of barbarism. It is requisite to quote these facts, to confirm in the minds of the inquisitive the great part which Naples once played in the theatre of the world.

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Under the sway of Frederick of Aragon, Naples shone forth in all the splendour of intellectual glory; but with the domination of the Spaniard, began the dark gloom of her misfortunes; the taste for tortures in the holy cause of religion was in full force in Spain, and Naples was commanded to erect an inquisition. An insurrection was the consequence; the people, firm in their resolution and confident in their victory, obliged Ferdinand, the Catholic of Spain, to withdraw his decree. Often as it was attempted to establish the Inquisition in Naples, so often it failed-so often was revolt victorious. And when the government of Spain, avaricious, capricious, and tyrannical, pressed too heavily with its iron hand upon Naples-the revolution emancipated the city.

Amidst all her vicissitudes of fortune, and under the various governments of different strangers, Naples has always retained and

spread the germ of civilization. The reign of Charles III., the commencement of the present dynasty of the Two Sicilies, was a happy epoch in the page of Neapolitan history.

When the monarch cherishes the arts and sciences, great men arise; nor were there many greater in his day than Antonio Genovesi, the first in Europe who ever lectured on social economy. He was followed by many writers of great and distinguished talent, who sought to solve the problem, and whose writings were marked as those of the Christian and philosopher.

"Charles III., being called to the succession of Spain, his son Ferdinand became king of Naples, and ruled his country with moderation; but soon appeared that host of men, victorious everywhere, the outpourings of Republican France. Ferdinand placed his army under the command of Mack, but accompanied it himself, for a short time; Mack made an opposition, and checked the invaders, but the tide of victory soon ran in favour of the French-their advance was that of the torrent sweeping away all opposition. The king fled to Naples, and there embarked

on board an English man-of-war, retired to Sicily, leaving his Vicaire Pignatelli to make the best defence which it was yet possible to make.

"The remains of the scattered Neapolitans again offered a respectable opposition; and although the whole nation was ready to revolt to oppose the invaders, the Vicaire Pignatelli, seeing the futility of further contest, capitulated at Capua, disbanded his army, and the French were soon the possessors of Naples. The city was theirs-but the fleet had been destroyed.

Two distinct classes separated the capital -one inoculated with democratic ideas, then much in vogue; amongst these were many of the nobility, who had imbibed these liberal notions, and were not averse to the success of those opinions.

The common people, less instructed, looked only on the actual fact, and saw in their invaders and conquerors but a horde of republicans, who had abolished religion and overthrown monarchy; and, on the arrival of the victors in the vicinity of Naples, began a succession of insurrections. Those who were believed to participate in the French cause