"For that matter," said the Neapolitan, "I have heard that your
government has had some understanding with these gentry, or at least
winked at them."
"My government?" said the Roman, impatiently.
"Aye - they say that Cardinal Gonsalvi - "
"Hush!" said the Roman, holding up his finger, and rolling his large
eyes about the room.
"Nay-I only repeat what I heard commonly rumored in Rome," replied the
other, sturdily. "It was whispered that the Cardinal had been up to the
mountain, and had an interview with some of the chiefs. And I have been
told that when honest people have been kicking their heels in the
Cardinal's anti-chamber, waiting by the hour for admittance, one of
these stiletto-looking fellows has elbowed his way through the crowd,
and entered without ceremony into the Cardinal's presence.
"I know," replied the Roman, "that there have been such reports; and it
is not impossible that government may have made use of these men at
particular periods, such as at the time of your abortive revolution,
when your carbonari were so busy with their machinations all over the
country. The information that men like these could collect, who were
familiar, not merely with all the recesses and secret places of the
mountains, but also with all the dark and dangerous recesses of
society, and knew all that was plotting in the world of mischief; the
utility of such instruments in the hands of government was too obvious
to be overlooked, and Cardinal Gonsalvi as a politic statesman, may,
perhaps, have made use of them; for it is well known the robbers, with
all their atrocities, are respectful towards the church, and devout in
their religion."
"Religion! - religion?" echoed the Englishman.
"Yes - religion!" repeated the improvvisatore. "Scarce one of them but
will cross himself and say his prayers when he hears in his mountain
fastness the matin or the ave maria bells sounding from the valleys.
They will often confess themselves to the village priests, to obtain
absolution; and occasionally visit the village churches to pray at some
favorite shrine. I recollect an instance in point: I was one evening in
the village of Frescati, which lies below the mountains of Abruzzi. The
people, as usual in fine evenings in our Italian towns and villages,
were standing about in groups in the public square, conversing and
amusing themselves. I observed a tall, muscular fellow, wrapped in a
great mantle, passing across the square, but skulking along in the
dark, as if avoiding notice. The people, too, seemed to draw back as he
passed. It was whispered to me that he was a notorious bandit."
"But why was he not immediately seized?" said the Englishman.
"Because it was nobody's business; because nobody wished to incur the
vengeance of his comrades; because there were not sufficient gens
d'armes near to insure security against the numbers of desperadoes he
might have at hand; because the gens d'armes might not have received
particular instructions with respect to him, and might not feel
disposed to engage in the hazardous conflict without compulsion.
