From the Pantheon they passed to the Capitol, amid the playing of bands
of music which showered through the streets their hail of sound. The
magnificent hall was crowded by a brilliant company in silk dresses and
decorations. An address was read by the Mayor, reciting the early
misfortunes of Italy, and closing with allusions to the prosperity of
the nation under the reigning dynasty. In his reply the King extolled
the army as the hope of peace and unity, and ended with a eulogy of the
President of the Council, whose powerful policy had dispelled the
vaporous dreams of unpractical politicians who were threatening the
stability of the throne and the welfare of its loyal subjects.
The Baron answered briefly that he had done no more than his duty to his
King, who was almost a republican monarch, and to his country, which was
the freest in the world. As for the visionaries and their visions, a few
refugees in Zürich, cheered on by the rabble abroad, might dream of
constructing a universal republic out of the various nations and races,
with Rome as their capital, but these were the delirious dreams of weak
minds.
"Dangerous!" said the Baron, with a smile. "To think of the eternal
dreamer being dangerous!"
The King laughed, the senators cheered, the ladies waved their
handkerchiefs, and again the Baron remembered Roma.
The procession to the Quirinal was a prolonged triumph. Every house was
hung with flags, every window with red and yellow damask. The clubs in
the Corso were crowded with princes, nobles, diplomats, and
distinguished foreigners. Civil guards by hundreds in their purple
plumes lined the streets, and the pavements were packed with loyal
people. It was a glorious pageant, such as Roma loved.
The mayors of the province, followed by citizens under their appointed
leaders and flags, came up to the Quirinal as the Baron had appointed,
and called the King on to the balcony. The King accepted the call and
made a sign of thanks.
Returning to the house the King ordered that papers should be prepared
immediately creating the Baron Bonelli by royal decree Dictator of Italy
for a period of six months from that date. "If Roma were here now,"
thought the Baron.
Then night came, and the state dinner at the royal palace was a moving
scene of enchantment. One princess came after another, apparently
clothed in diamonds. The Baron wore the Collar of the Annunziata, and
the foreign ambassadors, who as representatives of their sovereigns were
entitled to precedence, gave place to him, and he sat on the right of
the Queen.