«No one can explain it better than Professor Boggio, whose position allows him access to information and instructions from the highest source, to which he is very close. Please continue, Professor.»
«You see, Avvocato Simonini,» Boggio began, «no one in Piedmont admires that generous, upright man General Garibaldi more than I do. What he has achieved in Sicily, with a handful of courageous men, against one of the best armies in Europe, is miraculous.»
This introduction was enough to make me think that Boggio was Garibaldi’s worst enemy, but I preferred to keep my silence.
«Yet,» Boggio continued, «though it is true that Garibaldi has assumed dictatorship over the territories he has conquered in the name of our king, Vittorio Emanuele II, the person behind him does not support this decision at all. Mazzini is hanging over him, breathing down his neck, anxious to ensure that the great insurrection in the south leads to the creation of a republic. And we know the great persuasive power of this fellow Mazzini, who, comfortably ensconced abroad, has already persuaded many foolish men to go to their deaths. Among the general’s most intimate collaborators are Crispi and Nicotera—Mazzinians through and through. They are a bad influence on a man like the general, a man incapable of seeing malice in others. Let us be clear: Garibaldi will soon reach the Strait of Messina and continue across into Calabria.
The man is a shrewd strategist, his volunteers are enthusiastic, and many islanders have joined them, out of either patriotism or opportunism. And many Bourbon generals have already proven to be such poor commanders that some suggest their military prowess has been compromised by secret payments. It is not for us to say whom we suspect to be the author of such payments. Certainly not our government. Sicily is now in the hands of Garibaldi, and if Calabria and Naples were also to fall, then the general, with the support of Mazzini’s republicans, would have the resources of a kingdom of nine million inhabitants at their disposal and, being surrounded by an irresistible popular prestige, he would be stronger than our own sovereign. In order to avoid such a disaster our sovereign has only one possibility: to head south with our army, passing, not without some difficulty, through the Papal States and arriving in Naples before Garibaldi. Is that clear?»
«Yes. But I don’t see how I—»
«Wait just a moment. Garibaldi’s expedition has been inspired by feelings of patriotism, but to intervene in order to control it, or shall I say neutralize it, we must be able to show, through well-grounded rumors and newspaper articles, that the whole venture has been compromised by people who are unreliable and corrupt, thereby creating the need for Piedmont to step in.»
«In short,» said Avvocato Riccardi, who had not yet spoken, «our task is not to undermine confidence in Garibaldi’s expedition but to weaken support for the revolutionary administration that has followed it. Count Cavour is sending La Farina to Sicily. That great Sicilian patriot has spent many years in exile and should therefore enjoy Garibaldi’s trust. But at the same time he has been our government’s faithful collaborator as well as the founder of the Italian National Society, which supports the annexation of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies into a united Italy. La Farina has been appointed to investigate some very disturbing rumors.
It would seem that Garibaldi, out of good faith and ineptitude, is establishing a government that is the negation of all government. Clearly the general cannot control everything. His honesty is beyond doubt. But in whose hands is he leaving public affairs? Cavour is waiting for a full report from La Farina about possible misappropriation of public funds, but Mazzini’s men will do all they can to keep him away from the people, by which I mean, those segments of the population from whom it is easiest to gather up-to-date news about any scandals.»
«In any event, our department trusts La Farina only to a certain extent,» added Boggio. «Not that I wish to be critical, far from it, but he’s also Sicilian—fine people, no doubt, but different from us, don’t you think? You will have a letter of introduction to La Farina, and can obtain his assistance, but you’ll have greater freedom to move around. And you’ll not be required simply to gather documented facts, but (as you have done on previous occasions) to fabricate them when they are lacking.»
«And in what manner and under what capacity shall I travel there?»
«As usual, we have thought of everything,» said Bianco with a smile. «Monsieur Dumas, whom you will know by name as a celebrated novelist, is about to reach Garibaldi in Palermo, sailing in his own yacht, the Emma. We are not entirely sure what he intends to do down there. Perhaps he simply wants to write a few fictional stories about Garibaldi’s expedition, or perhaps he is a vain man seeking to flaunt his friendship with the hero. Whatever it is, we know that in two days’ time he will be stopping off in Sardinia, in the bay at Arzachena, and therefore on our own doorstep. You will set off tomorrow morning for Genoa and board our vessel for Sardinia, where you will join Dumas, carrying a letter of introduction signed by someone to whom Dumas is greatly indebted and whom he trusts.
You will appear as a correspondent for the newspaper edited by Professor Boggio, sent to Sicily to celebrate Dumas’ enterprise as well as that of Garibaldi. In this way, you will be part of the novelist’s entourage and will land with him in Palermo. Arriving in Palermo with Dumas will give you prestige and place you beyond suspicion, which would not be the case if you arrived alone. Then you can mingle with the volunteers and with the local people. Another letter from a well-known and respected person will provide you with an introduction to one of Garibaldi’s young officers, Captain Nievo, whom Garibaldi has apparently appointed deputy quartermaster general.
It is believed that on the departure of the Lombardo and the Piemonte, the two ships that took Garibaldi to Marsala, he was entrusted with fourteen thousand of the ninety thousand lire that made up the expedition’s funds. We are not sure why he appointed Nievo to carry out this administrative duty. We are told he is a man of letters, and it seems he has a reputation for being a most upright man. He will be delighted to talk with someone who writes for the newspapers and presents himself as a friend of the famous Dumas.»
The rest of the evening was spent agreeing on the technical aspects of the undertaking and on the question of payment. The following day I closed the office indefinitely, gathered together a few essential odds and ends and, by some stroke of inspiration, took with me the cassock that Father Bergamaschi had left at my grandfather’s house and which I had salvaged before everything had been handed over to the creditors.
7. With the Thousand
29th March 1897
I don’t know whether I could have recalled all those events, and especially what I felt, during my travels in Sicily between June 1860 and March 1861, had it not been for a bundle of dog-eared papers I found yesterday evening while rummaging through some old documents in the bottom of a bureau downstairs in the shop. There I had noted down what had happened, and I had probably written them as a rough draft of a more detailed report for my paymasters in Turin. The notes are incomplete, and I obviously recorded only what I thought was relevant, or wanted to seem relevant. What I might have left out I do not know.
By the 6th of June I am on board the Emma. Dumas welcomed me with much cordiality. He was wearing a pale brown lightweight coat and looked unmistakably like the half-caste he was—olive skin, protruding, fleshy, sensual lips and a head of frizzy hair like an African savage. Otherwise he had a lively, wry expression, a pleasant smile and the rotund figure of a bon vivant…I remembered one of the many stories about him: some impudent young Parisian had made a malicious reference in his presence to the latest theories suggesting a link between primitive man and lower species. Dumas replied: «Yes, sir, I do indeed come from the monkey. But you, sir, are returning to one!»
He introduced me to Captain Beaugrand, the second-in-command Brémond, the pilot Podimatas (a man as hirsute as a wild boar, his face so completely covered by hair and beard that he appeared to shave only the whites of his eyes) and, in particular, the cook Jean Boyer—Dumas seemed to regard the cook as the most important member of the crew. He traveled with a retinue, like some grand lord from the past.
As he showed me to my cabin, Podimatas told me Boyer’s speciality was asperges en petits pois, a curious recipe, since peas were not among its ingredients.
We rounded the island of Caprera, where Garibaldi hides out when he’s not fighting.
«You’ll soon be meeting the general,» said Dumas, and his face lit up with admiration at the mere mention of the man. «With his fair beard and blue eyes he seems like Jesus in Leonardo’s Last Supper. His movements are full of elegance, his voice has an infinite gentleness. He seems an even-tempered man, but when the
