Letters from France and Italy (1847-1852)

century preached in the desert. There is not enough faith in the Pope for the lack of faith in him to stir spirits, and there is not enough religious interest for attacks against religion to attract the attention of the masses. Catholicism will die out at the same time as Christianity in Romagna, and not only in Romagna. I lived in Piedmont at the time when the priests mutinied against Siccardi. The King finally made the decision to have the Archbishop of Cagliari arrested and expelled from the country. The population of the island is very backward; it was feared that they would take the side of their prelate. The minister sent two or three companies of bersaglieri sharpshooters with an official charged with arresting the archbishop. But on the contrary, the bersaglieri had to spend all their time defending the poor archbishop against the indignation of the people, against their mockery, accompanied sometimes by thrown stones.

The liberals—those Protestants in politics—are in their turn more frightening than the conservatives; behind the changes to the charter and the constitution, they caught sight, turning pale, of the specter of socialism and they became afraid. There is no reason to be surprised; they have enough to lose and to fear. But we are in a completely different position; we relate to all social questions much more simply and naively. The liberals fear losing their