Page:Poetical works of Mathilde Blind.djvu/40

14 visiting Mr. Blind "he praised the Rhine wine we offered, and said, 'Ah, l'Allemagne a du bon vin, l'Italie aussi pouvait l'avoir et en grande quantité; c'est la faute de son gouvernement qu'elle ne l'a pas; mais ce serait une trop longue histoire à vous conter maintenant; ça prendrait des heures, mais I'ltalie est très mal gouvernée, énormément mal gouvernée.' He said, too, 'Les Italiens sont trop mous, c'est la faute de leurs prâtres.' He said all this with great emphasis. When he says something of that kind, his harmonious voice acquires a really grand and penetrating tone. He also said that he wished to speak of Poland—that one ought not to let Poland die—for she gave an example that all peoples ought to imitate; everything ought to be done to succour Poland; she alone threw herself against tyrants, she did not cry for help like other peoples, not for money nor for arms; if she had no sword she took an axe; she would die, but not submit. Ennobling, touching, and unforgettable was the fire with which he said all this."

Mathilde Blind also had the advantage of listening to a conversation between Garibaldi and Ledru-Rollin, from which it evidently appeared that these champions of liberty did not object to a despotism so long as they were the despots, Ledru-Eollin asserting, and Garibaldi agreeing, that the French Republic of 1848 perished for want of a temporary dictator. Ledru-Eollin no doubt thought that the dictator could be no other man than himself, but it is by no means certain that a corresponding idea occurred to the modest Garibaldi. Congratulated on the extraordinary enthusiasm of his reception by the London crowds, he replied, "C'est ma bonne fortune, ce n'est pas mon mérite. J'espère bien que ce n'est pas du feu de paille!"