CHAPTER II.

“ λαμπάδια ἔχοντες, διαδώσουσιν ἀλλήλοις.” "They, bearing torches, will pass them on from hand to hand." PLATO. Repub. 328.

IN Genoa, Mrs. Butler obtained many useful introductions from Signor Matteo Prochet, President of the Commission of Evangelisation in Italy. Signor Prochet had pondered the subject of Mrs. Butler's mission for some time previously, and was not in ignorance of the evil effects of the regulation system in Genoa. He wrote, after seeing Mrs. Butler, to several well-disposed men of learning in the University of Pisa and elsewhere, preparing them for the awakening on this subject which he saw was inevitable, though it might be delayed by the reluctance which men in general feel (and pure and honorable men not the least) to face the subject truthfully and fearlessly.

In the month of March, only two months after Mrs. Butler's conversation with Signor Prochet, two Genoese journals, the "Voce del Popolo" and the "Movimento,' were counted among the many papers in Italy which have written on the question of the abolition of legalized vice, and advocated the views of the abolitionists. About the same time, among several individual adhesions from that city, the following was received from Signor Virgilio, President of the Philological Association of Genoa, a

ABOLITIONISTS IN GENOA.

31

gentleman who has been long in the front ranks of every advanced and enlightened movement in that city

:

"To Madame Edith Leupold, of Sestri di Ponente, near Genoa.

"Egregia Signora,—

"I fully agree with you and your respected aunt, Mrs. Butler. The Government may not be able to eradicate vice, but at least it must not sanction and legalise it. Why does it punish gambling? To be logical it ought to legalise the 'roulette' and other games. The fate of

these poor unfortunate beings, who, having once fallen, can scarcely rise again, and who, in the hands of the police, are no longer human beings, but brutes, has ever excited my indignation and grief. Neither mules nor dogs are treated as these women are, of whom the 'Questore' (Chief of Police) disposes as he likes, without any responsibility. Legalized vice is an outrage and a stain upon civilization-a stain which all who are not deaf to the voice of duty must combine to efface. It is a beautiful thing that the movement should have been initiated by a woman, to whom the speaking of such things is more painful than any physical wound or illness. Social hypocrisy is great, and few hear the voice of duty so clearly and deeply as to hold themselves above the ridicule of scoffers; so much the greater the merit of the truly virtuous, who appreciate how much it costs a woman to overcome these prejudices.

"I should only too gladly participate in the apostleship of your noble cause in Genoa, but you know how many other grave questions I have on my hands, how many enemies I have against me, how many battles I have to fight. Nevertheless, as your views coincide entirely with my own, I shall not be slow in propagating them; and may God help us!

My regards to Mrs. Butler, whom I admire for her virtuous

courage, too rare in a woman; yet, what is the character of the Christian worth without courage?

(( VIRGILIO "

Mrs. Butler wrote from Genoa: "We had been to the cemetery to visit the grave of Mazzini. When we got back to Sestri, I found letters from home; one from Emilie Venturi, the friend and biographer of Mazzini, who asked me to make the acquaintance, if possible, in Rome, of Joseph Nathan, whose family were also friends of Mazzini, Joseph being called after him. She told me of his recent overwhelming sorrow and bereavement which seemed for a time to have broken short the promise of a noble young life, and which has had so serious an effect on his health as to alarm his mother and friends. Mrs. Venturi spoke of his ability, and earnest soul, and believed that if some call to work were to come to him which he could recognize as authoritative or providential, it might be to him a revival of life, and of motive for accepting life, even after all its sunshine was gone, for him. I wrote to him at once, saying I hoped he would be able to help me a little when I came to Rome.”

The wonderful progress of the work in Italy, mainly due, under the guiding hand of God, to the singleness of purpose and untiring energy of Mr. Nathan, (a gentleman of English birth, but Italian extraction) invests with a tender solemnity this first summons received by him to join the abolitionist cause. This call, reaching him in his weakness and sorrow, seems to have come to him with something of the prophetic force, imperfectly recognized though it may have been at first, of the salutation given to the young Hebrew warrior: "the Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour."

From Genoa, Mrs. Butler, leaving her sons with their relatives at Sestri, travelled with Mr. Butler and Professor Stuart, by Pisa, to Rome. The following fragments

CONFERENCE AT NAPLES.

33 of letters from Mrs. Butler to various friends will continue the narrative:

"These few days in Rome have been delightful. The morning after our arrival was a beautiful day, with a really Italian sky, cloudless. My husband is so good a guide in Rome, that we need none other; he seems to know every stone of it, at first sight, and all about that stone, even to the disputes historians have had over it! We have made the acquaintance of Mrs. Nathan and her son. He lost no time in coming to see us. I was much touched by his appearance. We have been to the Catacombs. It must have been a real martyrdom to live there, if the atmosphere was as stifling in the days long gone by as it is now. I am going on alone to Naples, leaving my husband and Mr. Stuart here.

To Mr. Butler.

"Naples. January, 13. "We have had an excellent meeting here. The circumstances which led to it were very affecting, and I must tell you all when we meet. You know that my one object in coming here was to see my darling Hatty, and to rest awhile with her in her beautiful home. I neither planned nor expected a continuance of my mission here: but God ordered it otherwise, and without our seeking it at all, the work came to us. Two gentlemen called and gravely desired to learn whether I would address a company of friends on the subject of our mission, if they undertook the arrangements. I was much touched, and somewhat surprised. I said I could not refuse their request. They then asked me to accompany them to the office of the English. Consul, to ask him to preside at the meeting. We parted at the Consul's door, they to get circulars of invitation printed, and to make other arrangements, and I to confer with Hatty about the ladies who would be most likely to support us. In every step, however, the initiative was taken by others, and we only followed.

the guidance which was so distinct that we could have no doubt at all about 'the Voice,' saying, 'This is the way; walk ye in it.' How often have I longed to have Hatty, my childhood's beloved companion, associated with me in this holy work. You can imagine how sweet it is to me; and how full, and tender, and penetrating are her sympathy in, and her understanding of, the whole matter. The children are very good, Thekla a most loveable little maiden. Our days are very pleasant. Hatty takes me in her carriage the most beautiful drives. The first evening the sunset was lovely. Capri and Ischia were bathed in a sweet, pale, rosy light, and the feathery cloud resting on Vesuvius was reddened and golden, and all these were again reflected in the smooth, pale, blue waters of the bay. I wish every moment that you were here. . . . At the meeting we had no expressed opposition, but I was aware of an opposing current of thought and opinion in the room, which we were able to trace to its source, namely, an English doctor. I thought he looked ominous as he entered with a great bundle of the Lancet under his arm; and I observed him whispering impatiently to his neighbours on each side as I spoke. It almost makes one smile to see that miserable Lancet brought forward as an authority in a great moral and humanitarian question like this. You can believe that Hatty and I returned to the house with our hearts full of thankfulness to God, and having arrived there, that the word of command, "Tea! Giovanni," was given with more thirsty eagerness than usual. Hatty says she believes Giovanni thinks our afternoon teas are a species of 'culto' which we 'pagani' observe with great solemnity and punctuality. It was an afternoon meeting, as you will see. I should tell you that a resolution was passed, of sympathy with the work and the workers. Our friends here look anxiously to what may be done in Rome, and think that if some of the deputies and leading men would take up the question,