Page:American Historical Review vol. 6.djvu/655

The Republic of Saii Man'iio 645 my lawful prince, the Republic of San Marino ; this oath I now confirm, and thus I swear." The next two touched the book with- out a word, but the fifth, Giuseppe Onofri, said that, while he was ready to take the oath if the Pope absolutely insisted thereon, he would, if His Holiness left him the choice, swear to be ever faithful to San Marino. At these words, the church resounded with shouts of Evviva la Rcpiibblica, and another local hero, pointing to the head of Marinus, exposed on the altar, cried aloud : " Long live San Marino! Long live liberty!" Alberoni, finding that his friends were in a minority, addressed an impassioned discourse to the people, telling them that he had come to free them from tyranny, not to deprive them of their freedom. His oration availed nothing, and the popular indignation became so threatening that he quitted the church, and ordered the pillage of the houses of the five leading " rebels." This cowed the people in the church, and in the evening, overcome by hunger, they swore. A few days later, Alberoni withdrew, leaving a governor and a considerable force behind him. But the cardinal's triumph was of short duration. The Republicans laid their case before the Pope, and the French ambassador threatened the Holy Father with an ultimatum from Louis XV. in the event of his refusal to grant their request. Clement XIL sent Monsignor Enriquez to inquire on the spot into tlie condition of San Marino ; and, as the result of his investiga- tions, on February 5, 1740, the Republic was formally restored, and the day is still kept as an annual festival. Alberoni had to con- tent himself with publishing a Manifesto Storico-politieo-apologetieo siilla Conquista del Titano, to which Cardinal Corsini replied.^ Eight years later, Benedict XIV. confirmed the independence of the Republic. The attempt of Alberoni had an excellent effect on the Repub- licans. They restored the old Council of Sixty in its entirety, and forgot their private quarrels. They had no further difficulties to face until 1786, when the Legate of Ravenna blockaded them for six months, in consequence of their punishment of a certain lawyer who had appealed to Rome. Pope Pius VL took their side, and gave orders for the cessation of the blockade. Four years later, Cardinal Chiaramonti saved the Republic by a timely warning from being seized by the Freemasons. Then came the gravest crisis in the history of the state. In 1797 Bonaparte reached Pesaro, and it might have been imagined that the great conquerer would not spare San Marino. Asked • The best work on Alberoni's occupation is Malagola's // Cardinale Alberoni c la Repubblica di San Marino, published in 1 889.