Part 9

Let me add my thanks to the rest of the world for the mental enjoyment afforded by your _Beatrice_. My share is the greater for the handsome and honourable mention you make of me. I am proud of your approbation and good opinion, and am doubly grateful for the rank in your esteem which you have so generously bestowed on me. The book has met with unusual success here. It has converted many. Whether the name has attracted the public, or the compactness has excited the idle, or the cheapness the economic, or all together, I know not, but it has been much read and admired. Italians and Tramontani are all full of it. I think in general they are grateful for the light; although it destroys a romantic illusion, which has been much cherished, especially on this spot, but which they cannot now entertain, except at the expense of adhering to an absurdity, or rather many absurdities. Some, however, are too far committed, and have too much vanity to acknowledge themselves wrong--the vulgar and the selfish in particular.

For my own part, I have found the Ragionamento in part a renewal and condensation of what I had already learned from your former works, divided and spread through them. In this first Ragionamento you have not given the demonstration (I suppose it will follow in a succeeding one) of Boccaccio’s fault respecting May-Day, which is so complete and curious in the _Misteri Platonici_....

The most important of your decisions is confirmed and strengthened in this volume: I mean your identification of Beatrice and Filosofia. Your three reasons at the top of p. 20 are new and unanswerable. How completely Dante blindfolds the superficial reader (which I was, till you taught me to fathom him) by making one believe that the lady at the window was _mundane philosophy_, and that Beatrice, or _Divine Science_, reproaches Dante in Purgatory for having yielded to her attractions for a short time....

I am so engrossed by your work that I am carried away and not answering your very kind and most friendly letter. A thousand thanks for it. I know how your time is filled, and have always wondered how you can get through all. I fear even writing you, but you desired me to send you all I think of _Beatrice_. My letter would be long indeed if I touched on all its beauties: I should copy the book. There are many additional discoveries in the weaving of this mystic web which the book is rich in. You still surprise those whom you have already convinced. You are certainly an extraordinary Unraveller--a Disentangler--and I will say that, notwithstanding the dry task of unpicking knots, tight-drawn on purpose to resist skill and force, you have performed it with a skill and elegance that render it exciting and delightful to follow.

You desire all my “opposizioni.” Lord help me! Can I find an error or two of the press?...

I am longing for the next Ragionamento; I don’t know if others want much more to convince them, but in general the first part seems to have had that effect.

Mr Lyell judges me, as you do, too partially. All I have learned I owe to you; and I confess to you that I have often found it difficult, even with your powerful help, to remove the substantial screen which Dante has built up _purposely_ to conceal and protect his secret. But, when I think of you, who have, alone and single-handed, knocked over so many formidable barriers, and shown us the gardens and roses, the groves, the apples, the laurels, the olives, the flowers, the stags, and all the magic machinery of secret romance, I am lost in thinking how you found your way in such a labyrinth, and what immense and curious courses of reading you must have gone through, turning all you obtained to the accomplishing your will and determination to penetrate an untrod region, without a track or vestige to guide you. I wish I had the ability to write a description of your _Misteri_. Perhaps I could be of use in lending a hand merely, as I have studied them much; but _my_ tools are paint-brushes, and I am not practised in the art of writing. My education has been too defective for me ever to have ventured in print. A weak defender is more dangerous than a strong opponent, and all I could hope would be perhaps to hit on some thought that might have escaped others; but without some help from the third heaven (which a good friend of mine knows of) I should not be able to clothe it so as to render it decent.

I observe what you say on the subject of necessary reserve on certain subjects. You are quite right. You cannot be too careful in your situation and with your family. From your letter I see that your opinions are nearer mine than I supposed. But, as I am living out of the world and am perfectly free from it, I can safely be as explicit as I please. I have no reserve, and, if ever _the_ cause require a word beyond the customary and necessary limits, call upon me to say it, or say anything for me against priestcraft and kingcraft. That is my religion.

I don’t wonder at Mr Lyell’s exultation at your _Beatrice_. There are some master-touches amongst the new proofs, both in matter and manner, both close reasoning and light....

The three pomegranates in Giotto’s fresco are so uncertain in their appearance, from injury and time, that I was doubtful about them, but a word from you decides the question in my mind. They are chipped and much obliterated; and, from their seeming a sort of double outline, and no shade or colour but the yellow drapery on which they are painted, I took them for an embroidery on the breast of the Barone. Some remains of fingers and stalk, however, had led the Florentines to consider them as melograni, and they were puzzling their brains to find a meaning....

Your whole-length portrait of yourself is full of nature and character, and therefore it must be very like: I thank you for it. And here is mine:--a little thin old man, 54, formerly dark, now very grey. Fond of fun, but not often tempted to indulge in it, and seldom depressed. Living alone in an old tower with two dogs only--a servant coming daily for a few hours. Disliking much to go into company, and especially to dress in cold weather, being slovenly even in my younger days. I live very temperately and never take wine. I am very active, more from lightness than strength, for I feel the effects of years and illness. Just now I boast, for I have had extraordinary health this autumn and winter. I paint a little, and read a good deal. I ought to do more in both, with opportunities and perfect liberty, but I am slow and stupid. My memory, too, is weaker than it was.

Lord Vernon has twice desired me to present his best compliments and remembrances to you. He hopes you have received his book (through Molini). There is an outline in it from my tracing of Dante’s head, and, though it is not very correct, it is the best yet done....

When will your new edition of _Iddio e l’Uomo_ come out? I admired it much in its former state. Forgive the length of this letter, and remember me to Eastlake and Keightley.

Believe me, with sincere affection, Your faithful friend, SEYMOUR KIRKUP.

NO. 4.--LETTERS (OR EXTRACTS FROM LETTERS) FROM GIUSEPPE MAZZINI--ELEVEN TO ROSSETTI, AND ONE TO ANOTHER CORRESPONDENT

The following are the only letters from Mazzini that remain among my father’s papers--except some other three or four, too trifling to be printed. The originals are naturally in Italian; the translation is mine. Letters A. and B. relate to a certain Galassi and Vantini, whom I do not remember, but the letters explain themselves well enough. Mention is also made of a “little book” by my father, which was _Rome towards the Middle of the Nineteenth Century_. Letters C, D, and E, refer to a school which was got up in London, by some leading resident Italians interested in the lot of their fellow-countrymen, for the instruction of the poorer and hitherto much neglected members of the colony--organ-grinders, plaster-cast vendors, models, waiters, journeymen, etc. The ice-cream purveyor did not exist at that remote date. This school, held in the Hatton Garden quarter, went on for some few years, dignified by the countenance of Mazzini, and greatly indebted to the practical work of (among others) Filippo Pistrucci, who was a painter, teacher, writer, and improvisatore, brother of the celebrated medallist. Rossetti of course concurred, but without taking any very active part. Letters F, G, and H, refer mainly to a MS. which my father wished to send to Paris--being, I take it, the selection of his poems, many of them youthful, which were published at Lausanne, under the title _Versi_. There is also some mention of the Conte Giuseppe Ricciardi, named on p. 91 of the present book. He belonged to the Mazzinian sect, but sometimes kicked against the traces, and one can see in the correspondence that the great chief found him on occasion a little exacting and tenacious. Letter I has reference to a _fête_ which Signor Giovanni Antonio Delavo, who had erected a villa on the site of the Battle of Marengo, got up on the anniversary of the conflict. He had induced my father to write a poem for that commemoration; and Mazzini, it seems, was invited to obtain the insertion, in some English newspaper, of the poem, or of some other writing connected with the occurrence. In this letter, and in the following one (J), the observations about political events deserve notice. The final letter (K) seems to belong to a late date in 1848, and to imply that various Italians, including Mazzini himself, had addressed the Swiss Diet in consequence of some complications arising out of the Italian military reverses, in conflict with the Austrians, towards the close of that memorable year of unmeasured hopes and cruel disappointments.

A few notes of my own on minor points are appended to the correspondence.

Besides the eleven letters to my father, I give one letter, of far larger purport, which is quite unconnected with my family. It was lately purchased by a daughter of mine, simply as an autograph. On the purport of this document I need not enlarge, as it speaks for itself. It stands numbered at the close “15” in Mazzini’s handwriting, and would seem therefore to be one missive in a sustained correspondence. The recipient (or some one) has written upon it in Italian, “Letter from Giuseppe Mazzini”; moreover, the peculiar handwriting is quite unmistakable. It bears no date, and, for reasons readily surmisable, no postmark. In the course of the letter the addressee is spoken of as “My Corso”: I presume, therefore, that his surname may have been Corso, but this _might_ also be a Christian name, or might merely mean “Corsican.” A name is written by Mazzini on the back of the letter; it has been partly inked over, and looks to me more like “Mr Clare” than anything else.

The letter shows that the addressee had some relations with Vincenzo Gioberti, the celebrated Churchman and Minister of State, whose leading work, _Il Primato d’Italia_, was published in 1845. Perhaps 1846 or thereabouts may be the date of the letter. It mentions Tommaseo, a multifarious man of letters, whom English people may remember as having written the inscription on Casa Guidi, Florence, for Mrs Browning; Buonarroti, a member of the house of the great Michelangelo; and Bozzelli, the Liberal politician in Naples, who came to precarious power in 1848. My father has mentioned him on p. 98. Libri appears to be the Librarian of that name, settled in Paris, who succumbed under a charge of serious frauds. The names of Malmusi and Bianco are not recognized by me.

A.

4 YORK BUILDINGS, KING’S ROAD, CHELSEA. _28th March 1841._

MY DEAR SIGNORE ROSSETTI,

You warmly recommended to Vantini one of our brother exiles, Galassi. You recommended him for some employment, and that is well. But to discover an employment is a lengthy affair, and Galassi has not a halfpenny in the world, and I, for the last month and a half, have been assisting him so far as my means allow--or indeed _don’t_ allow. However, an expedient has offered, equally acceptable to Galassi and to us--that of sending him to Spain. What between the friends that he has there, and others whom we could obtain for him, and his knowledge of the language, and other points, he would not find it difficult to procure occupation; here, not understanding, nor perhaps making himself understood, he would not succeed in a hundred years. Also a ship has been found which would convey him to Bilbao or Santander for a sum of £5; so that, with some few other pounds to get along with at the first start, Galassi might have a chance of better fortune. Now the ship will leave on the 30th of this month, and I can and will do my share--not the whole. Therefore I appeal to you and to other good Italians. And from you, as being better than many others, I wish for two things instead of one; I would like that, if you _can_, you would inscribe your name for some shillings on the accompanying subscription-list--and that, if you _will_, you would write off to Vantini, informing him that your client is preparing to depart, and does not need to be assisted save this one time, and you would send on the list to him. Vantini is indeed one of the best-hearted of them, and this I know by experience. I would myself write to him, but have recommended so many to him that I dare no more. Besides, it seems to me better, since _you_ made the beginning, that you should bring this good work to a close. None the less, I shall be grateful to you, as if you undertook it now, and solely for my sake.

Meanwhile I am greatly obliged to you for the little book you sent me; good and useful. We perhaps do not wholly agree as to the remedies to be applied to our Italy; but certainly we do agree as to her wounds, and you do a beneficial work in laying bare unremittingly one of the most pernicious. For the rest, I trust in God that one day we shall understand each other, and that you will be unwilling to hold aloof from our National Association, now re-organized in all quarters, and on the way to power.

Believe meantime in the affectionate esteem of your GIUSEPPE MAZZINI.

B.

4 YORK BUILDINGS, KING’S ROAD, CHELSEA. ? 1841.

MY DEAR SIGNORE ROSSETTI,

I have managed with Vantini through a different method; anyhow, I thank you for the intention, and for what you did for my client.

If you will send an order to Rolandi to deliver, to some one on my behalf, a certain number of copies of your booklet, I will send them, four days hence, by an opportunity to Spain. At present I have no opportunity as to Switzerland, but I have correspondents there; and, were the chance to present itself to you sooner than to me, address to Signor Fanciola, Postmaster at Locarno (Ticino) for “Signor Pietro Ol----”; and the copies will be distributed in accordance with your intentions.

I have promised to send to a friend in New York the copy of the Papal Excommunication of Carbonarism--launched, I think, in 1820. Do you happen to know where I could find it?

I am aware of your circumstances;[93] but what is requested of you would be no more than the influence of your name among the Italians who know you. The object is to have you as our brother in our Association, so that to any inquirer one could say--“All those who truly love the cause of their country have comprehended that unity of country cannot be founded without unity of association.” There would be a slight monthly contribution fixed by yourself; there would be (and this is the most serious condition, but, as you will see, inevitable) the certainty that, in writing about our country, you would leave off recommending monarchic constitutionalism, and repeat with us: “May God and the People be the salvation of Italy!” And these, for us who are abroad, are about the only conditions of the Association. For the rest, I believe that a copy of our _General Instruction_, given to you by Pistrucci, has remained in your hands. The whole of our thought is there expressed; and, if one day you feel able to say “I accept it and make it mine,” you will be received by us with joy and sincere brotherliness.

Meanwhile good-bye, and believe me

Yours, GIUSEPPE MAZZINI.

If you like, you should place at my disposal a certain number of copies for Marseilles, and for Italy in that direction; I will provide for their reaching.

C.

LONDON. ? _November 1844._

MY DEAR SIGNOR ROSSETTI,

I transcribe verbatim a letter that I have received.

“To Signori Rossetti, Pepoli,[94] and Mazzini. A Special Committee chosen by the Italian Working-men begs you to come together on Sunday 4th December 1844, at the hour and place most convenient to yourselves, to receive a communication of high importance; and, in the confidence that you will grant us this favour, we thank you meanwhile. The members of the aforesaid Committee--Odoardo Villani, G. B. Soldi, A. Berni, Giuseppe Gandolfini.”

I don’t know anything about the object of the meeting. I know the four signatories, and they are good worthy Italians. In the impossibility, for lack of time, of corresponding as to hour and place, I take the liberty of fixing for the meeting my house, between 1 and 2 P.M. I am notifying to Pepoli and to them. Try and come if you can; or, if perchance you cannot, write so as to relieve me of responsibility.

Believe me always Yours, GIUSEPPE MAZZINI.

D.

4 YORK BUILDINGS, CHELSEA. ? _May 1845._

MY DEAR SIGNOR ROSSETTI,

We have decided to have on an early day in June a concert for the benefit of the school; Pistrucci, I suppose, will give you all the particulars of the project, or I will give them myself. You will then see how far and in what way you may be able to aid towards a good result. But meanwhile I have to beg you urgently for one thing. I have a letter of introduction to Miss Kemble,[95] and I want to request her to sing: singing for a school is quite a different thing from singing in a theatre. I know that she at one time asked Giannone[96] for a letter to you, and that you saw her. I don’t know on what terms you have remained with her, but, knowing _you_, I presume good terms. Could you add a letter to the one which I hold? or could you join me in a visit? or, if nothing else, write to her on your own part?--and, in this last case, on Monday or Tuesday. Thus assailed at one moment from two sides, she would perhaps surrender.

Whatever you decide, please oblige me with a couple of words in reply, and with the lady’s present address,[97] if you can give this.

Wish me well, and believe me Your very affectionate GIUSEPPE MAZZINI.

E.

108 HIGH HOLBORN. _31st October 1845._

MY DEAR SIGNOR ROSSETTI,

Pistrucci told me that he would undertake to beg you to allow your voice to be heard, in one way or other, at the Anniversary of our School, 10th November.[98] Still, I will join to his my poor request. The fact of the School is an Italian fact; and it ought, even with a view to the English, to have the moral support of all Italians who, like yourself, do honour to the name of our common country.

Confiding in your willingness to hearken to our request, believe, dear Signor Rossetti, in the full friendly esteem of

Yours, GIUSEPPE MAZZINI.

F.

19 CROPLEY STREET, NEW NORTH ROAD. [? _January 1847_].

VERY DEAR SIGNOR ROSSETTI,

An opportunity has arisen. Will you give the MS. to the bearer? He will be leaving to-morrow, or at latest on Tuesday.

I thank you for your good wishes for the year now commenced; but I have no hope of joy, save one alone--that of bearing witness in death, as I have endeavoured to do in life, to my Italian faith. Pray that this may occur within this year, and believe me always

Your much attached GIUSEPPE MAZZINI.

G.

19 CROPLEY STREET, NEW NORTH ROAD. [? _January 1847_].

MY DEAR SIGNOR ROSSETTI,

The Manuscript has gone off--not anything else. Ricciardi, Janer, Pistrucci, will have patience, and await other opportunities which I shall have towards the end of the month. We cannot, for exhortations and sonnets, be guilty of an indiscretion towards English travellers, who consider they have stretched a point if they accept letters, and are quite capable of throwing in your face a “Why not employ a bookseller?”--which I should not like. However, I undertake, for love of you, to get all the things off, but distributing them among various travellers. A slight delay will not spoil matters; nor will the exhortations to return to Paris accelerate to any great extent the progress of French civilization.

I was unable to charge my traveller--an Englishman, young, and an officer--with the eight shillings, for he would probably have forgotten them. But I have written that you had given them to me, to be paid to Ricciardi--and probably they will be paid one of these days.

Believe me, with all esteem, Your much attached GIUSEPPE MAZZINI.

H.

17 CROPLEY STREET, NEW NORTH ROAD. _8th February_ [1847].

MY DEAR SIGNOR ROSSETTI,

To your MS. has happened what often happens to our Italian affairs: in trying to do good, one does harm. If we had waited patiently for that Italian traveller of mine of the 24th January, the MS. would at this date be in Paris. But, urged on by my own wishes, and also by the strong pressure, I seized the opportunity of an Englishman, Captain Boulton, and consigned the volume to him. He, as he said, was to leave on the following day. And, knowing nothing to the contrary, I supposed him to have departed, in fact; until, five or six days ago, becoming suspicious from the silence of my correspondents, and making active quest for the officer, I found that owing to some family incident or other he had deferred his departure, and had indeed gone off to the country--whence he writes that he will be leaving in seven days!!

You should, therefore, be under no alarm for the MS. Like yourself, I regret the delay, but it is not my fault. If, earlier than the seven days, I get an opportunity, I will see that the MS. goes off before the officer; if not, not.

I felt anxious to reply to you about the MS., as the matter of most importance. As to Ricciardi’s eight copies, please inform Ricciardi that one can’t tell a tourist, “Take with you a boxful of things”; that it is a miracle if I found some one to convey the eight; that, sooner or later, I shall find some one to convey the others; and that moreover I would not have undertaken, except for wishing to do a service to you whom I greatly esteem, to send off either the eight or the sixteen. Neither would I set going from Paris to London, and then from London to Paris, copies of my own performances, but would order them to be burned or given away.

And believe me ever Your much attached and affectionate GIUSEPPE MAZZINI.

I.

19 CROPLEY STREET, NEW NORTH ROAD. ? _ May 1847._

DEAR SIGNOR ROSSETTI,

I cannot succeed in the endeavour. Among the leading newspapers, I had no hope save in the _Morning Chronicle_, and this one declines. The quantity of matter, electoral movements, literary articles already promised, etc., form the pretext. The true reason, I think, is that the apotheosis of Napoleon has no grateful sound to English reminiscences. Besides, a short paragraph upon the celebration of the 6th[99] had already received insertion in several journals when your letter arrived, and they are not fond of repetitions.