From the Pantheon they passed to the Capitol, amid the playing of bands

of music which showered through the streets their hail of sound. The

magnificent hall was crowded by a brilliant company in silk dresses and

decorations. An address was read by the Mayor, reciting the early

misfortunes of Italy, and closing with allusions to the prosperity of

the nation under the reigning dynasty. In his reply the King extolled

the army as the hope of peace and unity, and ended with a eulogy of the

President of the Council, whose powerful policy had dispelled the

vaporous dreams of unpractical politicians who were threatening the

stability of the throne and the welfare of its loyal subjects.

The Baron answered briefly that he had done no more than his duty to his

King, who was almost a republican monarch, and to his country, which was

the freest in the world. As for the visionaries and their visions, a few

refugees in Zürich, cheered on by the rabble abroad, might dream of

constructing a universal republic out of the various nations and races,

with Rome as their capital, but these were the delirious dreams of weak

minds.

"Dangerous!" said the Baron, with a smile. "To think of the eternal

dreamer being dangerous!"

The King laughed, the senators cheered, the ladies waved their

handkerchiefs, and again the Baron remembered Roma.

The procession to the Quirinal was a prolonged triumph. Every house was

hung with flags, every window with red and yellow damask. The clubs in

the Corso were crowded with princes, nobles, diplomats, and

distinguished foreigners. Civil guards by hundreds in their purple

plumes lined the streets, and the pavements were packed with loyal

people. It was a glorious pageant, such as Roma loved.

The mayors of the province, followed by citizens under their appointed

leaders and flags, came up to the Quirinal as the Baron had appointed,

and called the King on to the balcony. The King accepted the call and

made a sign of thanks.

Returning to the house the King ordered that papers should be prepared

immediately creating the Baron Bonelli by royal decree Dictator of Italy

for a period of six months from that date. "If Roma were here now,"

thought the Baron.

Then night came, and the state dinner at the royal palace was a moving

scene of enchantment. One princess came after another, apparently

clothed in diamonds. The Baron wore the Collar of the Annunziata, and

the foreign ambassadors, who as representatives of their sovereigns were

entitled to precedence, gave place to him, and he sat on the right of

the Queen.




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