The hatch cover was closed, and Arthur put his precious "drink" in a safe place, climbed into an oil drum and ate meat and biscuits. When he was done www.biquge.info he curled up and slept on the filthy floor, and for the first time in his life he slept without praying. In the darkness, rats ran around him. But the constant noise of rats, the jolting and disgusting smell of oil from the cargo ship, and the fear of seasickness tomorrow did not keep him awake. He doesn't care about all of this, just like he doesn't care about the discredited broken idols. Only yesterday, they were the gods he worshipped.

Thirteen years later......

One evening in July 1846, several acquaintances gathered at the home of Professor Fabrizzi in Florence to discuss plans for future political work.

Several of them belonged to the Mazzini party, and they would not be satisfied without the establishment of a democratic republic and a united Italy. The rest ranged from constitutional monarchists to varying degrees of liberalism. But on one point, they are unanimous. That is, they were dissatisfied with the censorship of the press in the Duchy of Tuscany. So the well-known professor convened the meeting, hoping that at least on this issue, the representatives of the various parties would discuss it for an hour, without arguing or arguing.

It had only been two weeks since Pius IX issued the famous amnesty for the release of political prisoners in the papal domain at the time of his accession to the throne, but the resulting liberal fervor had already swept across Italy. In the Duchy of Tuscany, even the government seems to have been affected by this astonishing event. In the eyes of Fabrizzi and several Florentine celebrities, this was an opportunity for a bold reform of the press law.

"Of course," said the dramatist Lygar, after the subject was first raised, "unless we can change the law on the press, we will not be able to create a newspaper." We should even publish the inaugural issue. But we might be able to publish some pamphlets through press censorship. The sooner we start, the more likely we are to change this law. ”

He was explaining his theory in Fabrizi's study, and he believed that liberal writers should take that line for now.

"There is no doubt about it. Someone interjected and said that it was a gray-haired lawyer who spoke slowly. "In a way, we have to take advantage of opportunities like this. We can use this to push forward with real reforms, and there will never be such a favorable opportunity again. But I doubt the use of publishing pamphlets. They only anger the government, it scares it, but it doesn't bring it to our side, and that's what we're really going to do. If the authorities start to think that we are dangerous and engage in incitement, then we will not have a chance to get help from the authorities. ”

"So what do you think we should do?"

"Petition. ”

"Is it a petition to the Grand Duke?"

"Yes, it is necessary to relax the scale of freedom of the press and publication. ”

Sitting by the window was a sharp-eyed, dark-skinned man who turned his head and laughed.

"You'll get a lot out of your petition!" he said. "I thought the outcome of Renzi's case was enough to wake up to the fact that they would never do that again. ”

"My dear sir, we have not succeeded in preventing the extradition of Renzi, and I am as worried as you are. But let's be honest - I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but I think we failed because some of us were impatient and overacted. Of course I don't want to—"

"Every Piedmontese is like that," interrupted the dark-skinned man sharply, "I don't know anyone who is too aggressive and impatient. The barrage of petitions we have submitted is mild-mannered, unless you can find fault with it. In Tuscany and Piedmont, this may be considered excessive, but in Naples we do not consider it particularly excessive. ”

"Fortunately," said the Piedmontese man bluntly, "the excesses of Naples are confined to Naples. ”

"Alright, alright, gentlemen, that's it!" the professor interjected. "Neapolitan customs have their own merits, as do Piedmontese customs. But now we are in Tuscany, and the Tuscan custom is to hurry up and deal with what is in front of you. Gracini voted in favor of the petition, while Galli opposed it. Dr. Riccardo, what do you think?"

"I don't think there's any harm in the petition, and if Gracini drafts one, I'll sign my name with joy. But I don't think anything else will be done by just petitioning. Why can't we both petition and publish a pamphlet?"

"The simple reason is that those pamphlets will make it impossible for the government to accept petitions. Gracini said.

"The government won't make concessions anyway. The Neapolitan got up and walked over to the table. "Gentlemen, you are not doing the right thing. Pandering to the government won't do any good. What we have to do is to arouse the people. ”

"It's easier said than done. But where are you going to start?"

"Didn't think to ask Gary, did he, of course, smash the inquisitor's head first. ”

"No, I certainly wouldn't do that," said Galli flatly, "you always think that if a man comes from the South, then he must believe only in the cold iron rod, and not in reasoning. ”

"Well, what do you have to offer? Shhhh ”

All the people have been divided into groups of two, groups of three, and they have been discussing separately all the time. Then they gathered around the table to hear what was going on. Gary raised his hands to comfort everyone.

"No, gentlemen, it is not an offer. Just a suggestion. There was a lot of excitement about the enthronement of the new pope, which in my opinion was actually very dangerous. For he has laid down a new course and has issued a general amnesty, and we only have to - all of us, the whole of Italy - throw ourselves into his arms, and he will bring us to the promised land. Now, like all of you, I would like to express my admiration for the Pope's actions. Amnesty is indeed a remarkable action. ”

"I'm sure His Majesty the Pope will be flattered—" said Gracini with disdain.

"Alright, Gracini, let him finish!" Ricardo interjected. "It would be a big oddity if you two didn't bite when you met like cats and dogs. And then on, Gary!"