Page:Margaret Fuller Ossoli (Higginson).djvu/253

Rh many their final resting-place. Among these was to be seen every variety of age, sentiment, and condition, striplings and blanched heads; wild, visionary enthusiasts; grave, heroic men, who, in the struggle for freedom, had ventured all and lost all; nobles and beggars; bandits, felons, and brigands. Great excitement naturally existed; and, in the general apprehension which pervaded all classes that acts of personal violence and outrage would soon be committed, the foreign residents, especially, found themselves placed in an alarming situation.

“On the 30th of April the first engagement took place between the French and Roman troops, and a few days subsequently I visited several of my countrymen, at their request, to concert measures for their safety. Hearing on that occasion, for the first time, of Miss Fuller’s presence in Rome, and of her solitary mode of life, I ventured to call upon her, offering my services in any manner that might conduce to her comfort and security. She received me with much kindness, and thus our acquaintance commenced. Her residence, on the Piazza Barberini, being considered an insecure abode, she removed to the Casa Dies, which was occupied by several American families.

“In the engagements [which succeeded] between the Roman and French troops, the wounded of the former were brought into the city, and disposed throughout the different hospitals, which were under the superintendence of several ladies of high rank, who had formed themselves into associations, the better to insure care and attention to these unfortunate men. Miss Fuller took an active part in this noble work, and the greater portion of her time, during the entire siege, was passed