Memoirs Of The Freemasons Of Naples.

from which he had risen some ten minutes before in health and strength . An hour afterwards the undertaker arrived with a coffin intended for the ex-King ' s mortal remains , but lo ! he found a headless corpse . * The mutilated body was then undressed , and prepared for burial . Next his heart were discovered , some Masonic tokensand a lock of his

, wife ' s hair . These were handed over to General Nunziante , who delivered them , w-ith the sjjecial letter to which we have referred , to his wife . The Freemasons were the more determined to take no part in the political struggles of the day , less from a desire of serving Ferdinand , whom they considered

their lawful sovereign , than from the continual increase of new secret societies , whose doctrines became daily more degrading to every lover of his country . The success of the Carbonari is attributed to the policj " of Queen Caroline of Austria , whose emissaries , in 1812 organised it as the means of subverting the

, authority of Murat . The association had spread so rapidly in Abruzzo ancl Calabria , whence it extended all over the kingdom with so great activity , that the number of the initiated exceeded 200 , 000 . The leaders of this society thought it advisable , in 1813 , to exclude such members as they regarded less suited for the execution

of their projects , aud those rejected associated themselves under the name of Calderari ( braziers ) , and , from resentment and rivalry , entertained implacable hatred against their late associates . The more powerful sect of the Carbonari having become an object of suspicion to the ministers of the Crown , in consequence of the free

principles they exercised , were treated with caution , yet leniency , until the Prince of Canosa became Minister of Police . He declared himself the chief of the Calderari , from whom lie exacted an oath that they ivould pay implicit obedience to his commands , and try all expedients to exterminate the Carbonari and the Freemasons , between which associations a mysterious union he declared to

exist .-j- This Prince of Canosa was born , in Naples , of a noble family ; he lived in rolireicent till the age of thirtyfive , when , in compliment to hi * birth , he was admitted into the Municipal Council . This took place in 1798 , when the French army , led by Championnet , was at the gates of Naples . There was neither King nor Regent in

the city , for all had fled : the army was disbanded , and the people in revolt . Tiie Municipal Council were sitting to provide against the clangers impending over the city , when Canosa declared that the King had justly forfeited his throne for having abandoned his kingdom , and that a new form of government was necessary for the state ,

which he proposed should be aristocratic . This absurd proposition ( since onl y two forms of government were practicable—a monarch y or a popular form ) excited the derision of all present , and soon afterwards brought trouble upon the speaker , when he fell under the suspicion of the republican government established bthe

cony queror , and was thrown into prison . At the hill of this government he was left in confinement , and as his foolish wish to establish an oligarchy was as invidious to the monarchy as to the republic , Canosa was condemned to five more years' imprisonment . Out of six votes , three wove for the punishment of death , hut the more merciful

sentence prevailed . The only time that the Junta of State was known to show any pity was in the case of this man , who was destined , a few years later , to be the cause of the destruction of thousands . Canosa was still undergoing his punishment , when , ~ b y the peace of Florence , he was released , and returned to the privacy and obscurity of private life . Butin 1805

, , when the Neapolitan Court again fled , he offered his services to the Queen , and having been accepted , he went to Sicily , and there became associated with Fra Diavolo , Eonca , and Guari glia , and became the leader of a band of conspirators , who went to the island of Ponza , wherethrowing open the prison doorsthey were joined

, , by the prisoners and galley-slaves and the worst characters of the island ; and during five years he organized conspiracies , rebellions , and crimes of every description . For some fancied services rendered to Ferdinand and his Queen , he was promised the office of Minister of Police , whenever it should please Heaven to restore the lawful

King to the throne of Naples . This fatal promise was fulfilled in 1816 , and he shortl y afterwards became the leader of the notorious Calderari , which was composed of men ofthe worst character , numbering amongst them many that had escaped when the prison was burst open by the conspirators . He increased

then-numbers , distributed patents and arms , gave his orders andaclvice , established secret signs and ceremonies quite distinct from Freemasonry or the Carbonari , and planned a conspiracy by which he hoped to seize all the members of the hostile societies in one day . Anxious to gain the King ' s favour , though a man of depraved habits and generally intoxicated , he ostentatiously observed the rites ofthe Church , and was thought pious by Ferdinand , as well

as by the lower classes , who , in most Catholic countries , are led by outward show . " It was a strange sight , " says Colletta , "to behold this man kneeling before the altar , muttering prayers and kissing holy relics ; and still more strange to see him in his own house , plotting deeds of iniquity beneath the image of the Saviour and the saintswhile his rooms were filled with informers

, and assassins , along with confessors and friars , noted for their sanctity . " AVe should here observe that mendicant friars or street preachers have hacl at all times a great influence over the Neapolitans , ivho , as our readers must know , are dear lovers of idleness and gossiping . As evening draws on , the streets of Naples will become

thronged in such a manner that the busiest parts of London or Paris will in this respect bear no comparison to them . _ The stranger ivho enters at such a time the Strada di Toledo or the Quays , must think there is some popular commotion . He would find a confused medley of human beings of every classconditionsexand

, , , age ; soldiers , priests , monks , women and children , mechanics , fishermen , itinerant traders , servants innumerable in gaudy liveries of all colours , paupers ragged and half naked , conversing in a screaming tone , and with the most violent gesticulations . To give an idea of street preaching at this period , we must take an extract from

Dr . Mayer . * He says , "Amongthe mendicantfriarsorstreetpreachers of Naples are to be found men who exercise an astonishing influence over the lazzaroni ; of one of them , Eocco , a Dominican , a posthumous fame is preserved for witty sayings and happy allusions , which , if collected , woulcl fill volumes . He was reckless whom he attacked , ancl often said things which from any one less popular would have drawn down the vengeance of the public authorities ;