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Pellico , remembering the emperor ' s words , began to count the days when they might be fulfilled . * If I live till 1828 , * thought he , ' seven and a half years of my imprisonment will be over , equivalent , according to what I was told , to the fifteen announced at first . But if I reckon from the publication of my sentence , and not from the commencement of my imprisonment , the seven and a half years will not expire till 1829 / He was not , in reality , released until August , L 830 , together with Maroncelli , each having
then been under confinement ten years . But we anticipate : this poor Italian friend had a long course of intense bodily suffering to pass through previous to the day of release . A tumour had formed on the knee , which gradually increased in size ,, and occasioned great agonies . It was now Pellico ' s turn to nurse him . The patience and cheerfulness of the sufferer were
admirable ; he sung , made verses , and talked at intervals , in order to hide his pains from his friend ; but he could neither eat nor sleep , became delirious at times , and daily lost strength . It was at last granted him to have additional medical advice . The surgeon , who looked at the knee , said little , and went away ; but the usual attendant returned , and told Maroncelli that there was but one
course which could save him—amputation ; but that such was his weakness , that they hesitated whether to venkire on the operation . Maroncelli had no hesitation , however ; he earnestly desired the experiment might be tried , but was told they must wait for the emperor ' s permission before they could venture to take off a prisoner ' s leg ; and it was a week before this arrived . He behaved most heroically , never uttering a cry ; but when the
amputated limb was removed , said to the surgeon , ' You have delivered me from an enemy , and now I have no means of rewarding you . ' On the window stood a glass , in which was a rose . * Be kind enough to bring me that rose , * said he to Pellico . It was brought , and he gave it to the surgeon , saying , It is all I can give in testimony of my gratitude . The surgeon burst into tears , as he took it .
This brave man recovered at length , and is now , we are informed , in Paris , giving lessons ; and as cheerful in heart and looks , as if no such place as the castle of Spielberg had ever existed . What is become of the author of the narrative , since his return home , we know not ; but we are deeply indebted to him . He has confirmed to us noble thoughts of human nature ; and has made us cry out , with tenfold pity for nil persecutors , 4 Oh ! the curse To be the awakener of divinest thoughts , Father and founder of exalted deeds ; And to whole nations , bound in servile straits 7 The liberal donor of rapacities More than heroic ! This to be , nor yet Have sense of one connatural wish , nor yet Deserve the least return of human thanks !'—Excursion ^ book 7 ,
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412 Silvio Pellico .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 2, 1833, page 412, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2616/page/52/
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