“This man was called, from his wily but inexorable
temper, Il Bizarro. He was captain of a
gang of banditti, whom he governed by his own authority, till he increased them
to 1000 men, both on foot and horseback, whom he maintained in the mountains of
Calabria, between the French and Neapolitans, both of which he defied, and
pillaged the country. High rewards were set upon his head, to very little
purpose, as he took care to guard himself against being betrayed by his own
gang, the common fate of those banditti who become great in their vocation. At
length a French colonel, whose name I have forgot, occupied the country of
Bizarro, with such success, that he
formed a cordon around him and his party, and included him between the folds of
a military column. Well-nigh driven to submit himself, the robber with his
wife, a very handsome woman, and a child of a few months old, took post one day
beneath an old bridge, and by an escape almost miraculous, were not perceived
by a strong party whom the French maintained on the top of the arch. Night at
length came without a discovery, which every moment might have made. When it
became quite dark, the brigand, enjoining the strictest silence on the female
and child, resolved to start from his place of shelter, and as he issued forth,
kept his hand on the child’s
| NAPLES—JANUARY, 1832. | 343 |
“His wife had never been very fond of him, though he trusted her more than any who approached him. She had been originally the wife of another man murdered by her second husband, which second marriage she was compelled to undergo, and to affect at least the conduct of an affectionate wife. In their wanderings she alone knew where he slept. He left his men in a body upon the top of an hill, round which they set watches. He then went apart into the woods with his wife, and having chosen a lair in an obscure and deep thicket, there took up his residence for the night. A large Calabrian dog, his constant attendant, was then tied to a tree at some distance to secure his slumbers, and having placed his carabine within reach of his arm, he consigned himself to such sleep as belongs to his calling. By such precautions he had secured his rest for many years.
“But after the death of the child, the measure of
his offence towards the unhappy mother was full to the brim, and her thoughts
became determined on revenge. One evening he took up his quarters with the
usual precautions, but without the usual success. He had laid his carabine near
him, and betaken himself to rest, when his partner arose from his side, and ere
he became sensible that she had clone so, she seized his carabine, and
discharging it in his bosom, ended at once his life and his crimes. She
finished her work by cutting off the brigand’s head, and carrying it to
the principal town of the province, where she delivered it to the police, and
claimed the reward attached to his head, which was paid accordingly. This
female still lives, a stately, dan-
| 344 | LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. |
“The dog struggled extremely to get loose on hearing the shot. Some say the female shot it; others that, in its rage, it very nearly gnawed through the stout young tree to which it was tied. He was worthy of a better master.
“The distant encampment of the band was disturbed by the firing of the Bizarro’s carabine at midnight. They ran through the woods to seek the captain, but finding him lifeless and headless, they became so much surprised, that many of them surrendered to the government, and relinquished their trade. Thus the band of the Bizarro, as it lived by his spirit, was broken up by his death.
“Among other stories respecting the cruelty of this bandit, I heard this. A French officer, who had been active in the pursuit of him, fell into his hands, and was made to die the death of Saint Polycarp that is, the period being the middle of summer, he was flayed alive, and, being smeared with honey, was exposed to all the intolerable insects of a southern sky. The corps were also informed where they might find their officer, if they thought proper to send for him. As more than two days elapsed before the wretched man was found, nothing save miserable relics were discovered. I do not warrant these stories, but such are told currently.”
