TALBOT6188

[illegible deletion] Rome
Sunday
19^th Nov^r 1848.

My dear Henry

It is such ages since you have written to either of us that you hardly deserve a letter, but I am impelled to write fearing you will hear an exaggerated account of the troubles here & be alarmed for our safety. I did not think we should have another revolution this winter & indeed from all we had heard of this people we thought it would never come to anything of that sort. It began with the horrible murder of poor Rossi ¹ on the stairs going up to the opening of the chambers on Wednesday. He was jostled in the crowd & on turning his head the dagger was plunged into his neck – He actually mounted a few more steps & then fell & expired immediately – the chamber actually took no notice of the event – the President coolly desiring the proceedings to go on – M. d’Harcourt ² was so disgusted at such barbarous indifference that he got up & left the house followed by all the Corps diplomatique. It was evidently a coup montée, ³ they say by Sterbini, ⁴ P^ce de [illegible] & others of that violent party – but the people seemed to regard it rather with feelings of satisfaction than horror – the Epoca even talks of the interference of Providence. Some of the mob actually went at night under the windows of M^me Rossi yelling & hissing & calling out è ben morto! ⁵ Was there anything so brutal! I was glad to hear M^r d’Harcourt had sent for her to his Hotel to be safe from such insults. Thursday morning we heard the people were going up to the Quirinal to demand of the Pope to appoint for Ministers Sterbini, Mamiani ⁶ & 4 others – C. & L^d M^t E. ⁷ drove up there & saw them arriving, & to their great disgust, the Carabinieri joining (who were supposed to be faithful & very good soldiers) – indeed there were many more of them than of Guardia civica. The Pope asked for 2 or 3 days to consider w^h discontented them very much, & they increased in number & violence till just after C. had left the Piazza, they began to throw stones & actually set fire to one of the doors of the Palace – whereupon the Swiss guards fired out of the windows, & the mob set off running like mad. M^r Fayrer said it was quite ludicrous to see the civici waving their swords & scampering down the hill, crying out fermi! ⁸ all the while. They came back however afterwards & actually brought 21 cannon opposite the Palace – the poor Pope held out till evening when finding no hope of support f^m the troops, dragoons & all turning against him & fraternising with the people, he at last gave in & consented to their demands – protesting however before the foreign ambassadors, that he only yielded to force. They had the audacity after that to require him to dismiss his Swiss guards who are only about 100, & have been for time immemorial the Papal guard. – The only one he has to defend him, & who w^d certainly have died at their post had the Palace been forced. It really makes ones blood boil, to think of such horrible ingratitude to a Pope who has done all in his power to benefit them, & even his detractors can only find fault with [him] for being too good. Quiet is now restored but for how long I know not. Yesterday we heard that the people of the provinces are not at all pleased with these violent proceedings, particularly at Bologna, where Rossi was very popular. Gen. Zucchi (who is a real old soldier of Napoleon’s time) is there now & they say has 800 Swiss – perhaps if he were to march them here it might alter the aspect of affairs. I fear now all chance of any friends from England arriving is at an end. I think the Romans will begin to repent of their follies before the winter is over, as so many depend on the money spent by foreigners. The poor artists were nearly starving this summer already. Lord & L^y Acheson ⁹ are arrived, but going on to Naples – L^d & L^y Morton ¹⁰ & his son L^d Aberdour, ¹¹ whose wife is dying – L^d Walpole – & poor L^y Lincoln, ¹² all alone – I have not seen her yet. C. has taken Mondays to be at home – P^ss Doria has Fridays. It is very nice having Jane ¹³ here again & living much nearer, so we can see her comfortably. Adieu dear Henry I now console myself for your not coming to these troubled waters with all your chicks ¹⁴ – perhaps they are better in quiet England. Kiss them all for me & give my love to Constance. ¹⁵ I hope she & A. ¹⁶ do not feel the bad effects of the cold. It has already begun here & I think we shall have a winter in the style of 1822 – I will write if any more revolutions take place –

Y^r aff sister
Horatia

C. wrote to Constance lately & I to A. – Nothing is settled in Sicily yet! – M^r Temple ¹⁷ expected at Naples but never arrives – He has been 18 months en congé ¹⁸ in these times! –

Pray write.

There was a splendid aurora borealis Thursday night – in the old times it w^d have been thought a portentous omen.

[envelope:]
[note added inside flap:] It is[text missing under seal] unusual in these latitudes - it was bright red with white streaks - extending over great part of the sky. In the middle ages the Pope might have turned it to some account

Inghilterra
W. Henry Fox Talbot Esq^re.
Laycock Abbey
Chippenham
Angleterre