PUBLISHER'S NOTE T her death Madame Mario left a large pile of A manuscript, the unrevised draft of her memoirs of the Italian Risorgimento. The work was a complete whole, but lacked the arrangement, the curtailment, and the finishing touches which the author would no doubt have given to it had she lived. It was felt that, as might be expected from Madame Mario's unique knowledge of the Risorgimento and the men who made it, the manuscript contained valuable historical and biographical material which ought to be given to the public; but at the same time the form necessary for publication was lacking. In these circumstances, the Duke Litta-Visconti-Arese, whose family played an important part in the Revolution and who is thoroughly versed in its history, kindly consented to edit the work. He has retained as far as possible Madame Mario's own words, deleting passages which seemed to be of small interest or to interrupt the flow of the narrative, and adding where necessary, connecting and explanatory matter. Important assistance in the preparation and revision of the book has been given by Mrs. E. F. Richards, who, as a close friend of Madame Venturi and a keen student of Mazzini's life and work, has been able to elucidate many obscure passages in Madame Mario's manuscript, and to whom are due the notes signed "E. F. R." In the matter of the illustrations, thanks are due to the Mayor of Milan (1908) for his permission to reproduce a large number of portraits from the Museo del Risorgimento; to Dr. Lodovico Corio, Keeper of the Museo, for his kind help and advice in the choice of these portraits; to Madame Villari, who lent the three interesting photographs of Alberto and Jessie White Mario, and of Agostino Bertani; and to Capitano Ferri and the Sidoli family for the loan of the valuable portrait of Giuditta Sidoli. |