The King all this time was at his château of Moncaliere; but on hearing of the events above described at once hastened to the capital. His first impulse was to put himself at the head of his troops and attack Alessandria; but he was forced to relinquish this enterprise owing to the unfaithfulness of his soldiers. Thus baffled, he attempted, as a sort of half measure, a proclamation of the French constitution. But it was too late—the insurgents had gained the upper hand. As a last resource, the King sent the Prince of Carignano to the revolutionists in order to ascertain their demands. The prince was received with respect and military honours, accompanied by shouts of “_Viva la Costituzione di Spagna!_” He was told that war with Austria was desired. The King, on hearing this, rather than give way, abdicated in favour of his heir.
On the 13th the royal family left Turin and set out for Nice, and a proclamation was issued that the Prince of Carignano had been appointed regent of the realm. He was soon afterwards installed in full sovereignty, and the constitution of Spain proclaimed.
We may be permitted in closing this necessarily very short sketch of the two revolutions, to quote a passage from that most amusing but slightly erratic writer, Lady Morgan, on the subject of the Piedmontese Revolution:—“Had this revolution not been disturbed by the unprincipled interference of foreign nations it would have led to the happiest consequences. What is to be said of a Government which reduces the great majority of the people to a slavish insensibility to national degradation, to a perfect indifference to national honour?”
It may certainly be asked, on the other hand, how a nation reduced to the state described by Lady Morgan could be entrusted to work out for itself a revolution which “would have led to the happiest consequences.” But liberty in Italy, as elsewhere, must have taken time to grow; even under the most patriotic of leaders a nation does not become suddenly ripe for the blessings of freedom. Nor can it be doubted that by the spirit that moved in 1820-1822, and which burst forth so brightly in aftertime, were laid the first foundations of that structure of Italian unity finally completed by politicians more skilled but not more patriotic than the revolutionists.