"The presence of our 400 students supplies the place of signatures."
The last clause is open to question. The plain fact is, that the
students could not get their courage up to signing point. A government
of priests never forgives or forgets, and their vengeance though slow is
very sure. Any student who had actually affixed his signature to the
address would have been a marked man for life; and instead of wondering
that the whole body had not sufficient moral resolution to express their
sentiments in writing, I am surprised that they had the courage to
protest at all, even anonymously. This hesitation, however, afforded the
government a loop-hole, which they were wise enough to take advantage of;
Cardinal Antonelli declined at once to give any reply to the address, on
the ground that he could take no notice of an unsigned and unauthentic
document; so the matter rested. Logically, the Cardinal had the best of
the dispute; but, practically, the remonstrants triumphed. The students
kept away from the classes, and after a short time the Sapienza college
had to be closed, in order, if possible, to weed out the liberal faction
amongst the pupils. Numbers of the students were arrested or exiled. As
instances of Papal notions of justice and law, I may mention two
instances connected with the government inquiry, which came to my
knowledge.
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