When he had left Violetta at her house in the Corso, Merthyr walked briskly for exercise, knowing that he would have need of his health and strength.  He wanted a sight of Alps to wash out the image of the woman from his mind, and passed the old Marshal’s habitation fronting the Gardens, wishing that he stood in the field against the fine old warrior, for whom he had a liking.  Near the walls he discovered Beppo sitting pensively with his head between his two fists.  Beppo had not seen Count Ammiani, but he had seen Barto Rizzo, and pointing to the walls, said that Barto had dropped down there.  He had met him hurrying in the Corso Francesco.  Barto took him to the house of Sarpo, the bookseller, who possessed a small printing-press.  Beppo described vividly, with his usual vivacity of illustration, the stupefaction of the man at the apparition of his tormentor, whom he thought fast in prison; and how Barto had compelled him to print a proclamation to the Piedmontese, Lombards, and Venetians, setting forth that a battle had been fought South of the Ticino, and that Carlo Alberto was advancing on Milan, signed with the name of the Piedmontese Pole in command of the king’s army.  A second, framed as an order of the day, spoke of victory and the planting of the green, white and red banner on the Adige, and forward to the Isonzo.

“I can hear nothing of Carlo Alberto’s victory,” Beppo said; “no one has heard of it.  Barto told us how the battle was fought, and the name of the young lieutenant who discovered the enemy’s flank march, and got the artillery down on him, and pounded him so that—­signore, it’s amazing!  I’m ready to cry, and laugh, and howl!—­fifteen thousand men capitulated in a heap!”

“Don’t you know you’ve been listening to a madman?” said Merthyr, irritated, and thoroughly angered to see Beppo’s opposition to that view.

“Signore, Barto described the whole battle.  It began at five o’clock in the morning.”

“When it was dark!”

“Yes; when it was dark.  He said so.  And we sent up rockets, and caught the enemy coming on, and the cavalry of Alessandria fell upon two batteries of field guns and carried them off, and Colonel Romboni was shot in his back, and cries he, ’Best give up the ghost if you’re hit in the rear.  Evviva l’Italia!’”

“A Piedmontese colonel, you fool! he would have shouted ’Viva Carlo Alberto!’” said Merthyr, now critically disgusted with the tale, and refusing to hear more.  Two hours later, he despatched Beppo to Carlo in Brescia, warning him that for some insane purpose these two proclamations had been printed by Barto Rizzo, and that they were false.