were scattered in every direction, the trees were
torn with round shot, and a large château, Casa
Bianca, the property of the Signora Angelina P.,
of Dezenzano, which had been in course of
repair and decoration, had undergone a terrible
pounding. I entered this house with a Pied-
montese officer. It was filled with dead, dying,
and prisoners, and presented a scene of suffering
and desolation not easy to describe, and yet no
worse than many a chapter of war. While
talking to the Piedmontese, a deputation was
sent to him from the prisoners, requesting
that they might not be hanged—but that they
would much prefer being shot! I may add,
here, that some of the prisoners at Brescia, on
being asked why they had sometimes defended
themselves in situations that admitted of no
hope, declared they had been told that, in the
event of being made prisoners, they would in-
evitably be either hanged or burned alive.

On the crest of the position there must have
been about seven hundred dead, among whom
were many officers, distinguishable by their
white hands and feet, rather than their dress,
which is made to assimilate as much as possible
to that of the men. Most of the bodies appeared
to have undergone a hasty search; the chief
part of the contents of the knapsack being re-
moved. In other respects they remained as they
had fallen. I picked up a letter lying beside
the body of a fine young soldier, who had been
a volunteer from Genoa. It was from his wife,
beautifully and touchingly written, with all the
fervour of her impassioned native tongue. It
drew a little domestic picture for the comfort of
him who was the light of their dwelling: there
were the sayings and doings of Felicia and
Brigida; that a pretty dress was being secretly
made for his dear mother; " I pray for you night
and day; pray that you may be restored to live
in health and peace; I have no consolation but
in your dear letters. I send you embraces and
kisses from my innermost heart." Alas, poor wife!
a Tyrolese bullet had stilled for ever the throb-
bings of that which should have been the reply.

It was noticeable among these young soldiers
of freedom how fondly the recollection of the
mother seemed to be cherished. In their letters
and on their tongues " la mia madre" was al-
ways the prominent theme. One poor fellow,
who was severely wounded in the side and head,
had come from the neighbourhood of Padua, and
had, consequently, been separated from his fa-
mily during the whole time of his service—
thirteen years; he talked incessantly of his
mother, rejoicing that, if he lived, he should now
see her, and present himself to her, a captain!

The prisoners informed us that the Emperor
Francis Joseph had been close at hand during
the fight. He had spoken kindly to a Pied-
montese officer who had been taken, and
kept him beside him; but we also gathered
from them that the Austrian soldiers had
treated their prisoners—of which in the three
repulsed attacks they made nearly a thousand—
with much brutality.

A Piedmontese captain, who was present
when the King of Sardinia viewed the cap-
tured position, told me his Majesty was sen-
sibly affected at the heavy loss. It appeared
that he had been somewhat deceived by false
information, and had found the enemy in far
greater force than he expected: the odds were,
in reality, thirty-five thousand to fifteen. A court-
martial was held at the inn at Dezenzano, at
which we stayed, on the day after the battle,
upon one of the treacherous spies; but, though
he was sent away under a guard, I believe that
he had been acquitted. It is a fact that, in
spite of the general hatred of Austrian domina-
tion, Austria is yet not without zealous adherents
in this part of the country.

I asked an old Piedmontese officer what the
battle would be called:

"It ought to be Saint Martino," he replied;
"for it is the strongest position on the line—
and God knows it has cost us dear—dear. But
it is the French who give the names, and they
will most likely call it Solferino, or Cavriana.

Before quitting the ground, we had a fine
view of the French columns as they moved
round our left, preparatory to the general ad-
vance upon Peschiera and the Mincio. Presently,
the Piedmontese divisions likewise got under
arms, and, with bands playing gaily, and followed
by their guns and matériel, marched down the
heights, leaving them tenanted only by the
dead, and those who were engaged in the duty
of committing the dead to their last repose.

That day there had been a terrible alarm at
Brescia, originating, as some affirmed, in a
"tradimento" conspiracy on the part of the
Austrian prisoners, now about four thousand in
number, who had contrived to spread a report
that the Austrians, by a totally unexpected
movement, were advancing upon the town.
Barricades were thrown up, roads broken, trees
cut down, and the wildest confusion reigned.
A battery of French guns that had advanced
some distance on the road on their way to the
front, turned back, and getting mixed up with
a train of wounded, some of the bullock-carts
were upset, and more than one of the sufferers
they carried left dead upon the road.

At Dezenzano we found great numbers of the
worst wounded receiving in the church and
private houses such care as they might. But
the resources of the neighbourhood were quite un-
equal to the constantly increasing demand. Linen
was especially wanted; lemons and sugar—so
necessary for the fevered men—were not ob-
tainable at any price, and not a surgeon was to
be found. One poor fellow, with his arm fear-
fully shattered, told us he had been creeping
about for many hours in search of a doctor, who
he hoped would take it off. The casualties, in
fact, had exceeded all calculation; and we now
learned, in addition, that more than four thou-
sand wounded French were requiring the atten-
tions of the doctors and kind volunteer nurses
of Brescia. My friend, Mrs. C., resolved to
remain at Dezenzano, sending to Brescia for
some of the things most needed for the suf-
ferers, for which our carriage was placed