Page:Margaret Fuller by Howe, Julia Ward, Ed. (1883).djvu/184

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CHAPTER XIII.

PERIOD OF AGITATION IN ROME.—MARGARET'S ZEAL FOR ITALIAN FREEDOM.—HER RETURN TO ROME.—REVIEW OF THE CIVIC GUARD.—CHURCH FASTS AND FEASTS.—POPE PIUS.—THE RAINY SEASON.—PROMISE OF REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT IN ROME.—CELEBRATION OF THIS EVENT.—MAZZINI'S LETTER TO THE POPE.—BEAUTY OF THE SPRING.—ITALY IN REVOLUTION.—POPULAR EXCITEMENTS IN ROME.—POPE PIUS DESERTS THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM.—MARGARET LEAVES ROME FOR AQUILA.

The period in which Margaret now found herself, and its circumstances, may best be described by the adjective "billowy." Up and down, up and down, went the hearts and hopes of the Liberal party. Hither and thither ran the tides of popular affection, suspicion, and resentment. The Pope was the idol of the moment. Whoever might do wrong, he could not. The Grand Duke of Tuscany, described by Margaret