The truth is, that Rome, at the present day, lives upon her visitors, as much or more than Ramsgate or Margate, for I should be disposed to consider the native commerce of either of these bathing-places quite as remunerative as that of the Papal capital.  The Vatican is the quietest and the least showy of European courts; and of itself, whatever it may do by others, causes little money to be spent in the town.  Even if the Pope were removed from Rome, I much doubt, and I know the Romans doubt, whether travellers would cease to come, or even come in diminished numbers.  Rome was famous centuries before Popes were heard of, and will be equally famous centuries after they have passed away.  The churches, the museums, the galleries, the ruins, the climate, and the recollections of Rome, would still remain equally attractive, whether the Pope were at hand or not.  Under a secular government the city would be far more lively and, in many respects, more pleasant for strangers.  An enterprising vigorous rule could probably do much to check the malaria, to bring the Campagna into cultivation, to render the Tiber navigable, to promote roads and railways, and to develop the internal resources of the Roman States.  The gain accruing from these reforms and improvements would, in Roman estimation, far outweigh any possible loss in the number of visitors, or from the absence of the Papal court.  Moreover, whether rightly or wrongly, all Romans entertain an unshakeable conviction that in an united Italian kingdom, Rome must ultimately be the chief, if not the sole capital of Italy.

These reasons, which rest on abstract considerations, naturally affect only the educated classes who are also biassed by their political predilections.  The small trading and commercial classes are, on somewhat different grounds, equally dissatisfied with the present state of things.  The one boon they desire, is a settled government and the end of this ruinous uncertainty.  Now a priestly government supported by French bayonets can never give Rome either order or prosperity.  For the sake of quiet itself, they wish for change.  With respect to the poor, it is very difficult to judge what their feelings or wishes may be.  From what I have seen, I doubt, whether in any part of Italy, with the exception of the provinces subject to Austrian oppression, the revolution is, strictly speaking, a popular one.  I suspect that the populace of Rome have no strong desire for Italian unity or, still less for annexation to Sardinia, but I am still more convinced that they have no affection or regard whatever for the existing government; not even the sort of attachment, valueless though it be, which the lazzaroni of Naples have for their Bourbon princes.  It is incredible, if any such a feeling did exist, that it should refuse to give any sign of its existence at such a time as the present.