THE ENTHUSIASTIC PATRIOT,
OR,
COBLER OF MESSINA.
THERE is a Sort of Enthusiasm in public Spirit which renders it politically prudent in corrupt Statesmen to discourage it, and yet there is something so great and so Divine in this Enthusiasm, that Statesmen of a better turn, though they dare not encourage, yet cannot but admire it. We have a shining and surprising Example of this in the Cobler of Messina, which happened in the last Century, and is at once a Proof that public Spirit is the Growth of every Degree, and which is a Point that our great Men ought to consider with Attention, that whatever Corruption becomes flagrant and universal, this heroic Lunacy of public Spirit is most likely to appear.
This Cobler was an honest Man, and I was going to say poor; but when I consider that he maintained his Family, and was above Dependence, I cannot prevail upon myself to make use of the Expression. He was also a Man of Reflection; he saw the Corruption, Luxury, and Oppression; the private Frauds, the public Robberies, the enormous Violation of Justice, under which his Country laboured. He saw Rapes unpunished, Adulterers unreproved, barbarous Murders either screened by C--Sycophants, or atoned for by Money; in a Word, he saw an universal Degeneracy of Manners, partly from the Want of Power, in the Government to chastise Offenders. In this Situation he resolved to undertake the arduous Task of reforming these Disorders, and thought it both lawful and expedient to assume the Authority of Avenger of the Innocent and the Terror of the Guilty.
Full of this romantic Resolution, he provided himself with a short Gun, which he carried under his Cloak; and, equipped with a Powder Pouch on one Thigh, and a Bag of Balls on the other, he fallied out in the Evenings, and as proper Opportunities offered he dispatched such as he knew to be incorrigible Offenders, to that Tribunal where he was sensible they could not elude Justice, and then returned Home full of that Satisfaction which is the sole Reward of public Spirit. As there was in Messina a great Number of these overgrown Criminals, the Cobler in the Space of a few Weeks, did very great Execution. The Sun never rose without discovering fresh Marks of his Justice: Here lay an Usurer, who had ruined Hundreds; there an unjust Magistrate, who had been the Curse of Thousands; in one Corner a Nobleman, who had bebauched his Friend's Wife; in another a Man of the same Rank, who through Avarice and Ambition had prostituted his own; but as the Bodies were always untouched, with all their Ornaments about them, and very often with considerable Sums in their Pockets, it was visible they were not dispatched for the Sake of Money, and their Numbers made it as evident that they did not fall Victims to private Revenge.
It is not in the Power of Words to describe the Astonishment of the whole City. Things came at last to such a pass, that not a Rogue of any Rank whatsoever durst walk the Streets; Complaint upon Complaint was carried to the Viceroy, and Magistrates, Guards, Spies, and every other engine of Power, were employed to no Manner of Purpose. At last, when no less than fifty of these Examples had been made, the Viceroy took a serious Resolution of putting a Stop to these Mischiefs, by the only Method that seemed capable of reaching the Evil: He caused public Proclamation to be made, that he would give the Sum of 2000 Crowns to any Person who should discover the Author or Authors of these Murders, promising at the same Time the like Reward, with an absolute Indemnity, to the Person who had done them,
if
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if he would discover himself; and, as a Pledge of his Sincerity, he went to the Cathedral and took the Sacrament that he would punctually perform every Tittle of his Proclamation.
The Cobler having either satisfied his zeal of Justice, or being now in a Temper to secure his own Safety, after having, in his own Opinion, done so much Service to the State, went directly to the Palace, and demanded an Audience of the Viceroy, to whom, upon his declaring that he had something of great Importance to communicate, he was admitted alone. He began with putting his Excellency in mind of his Oath, who assured him he meant to keep it religiously. The Cobler then proceeded to the following Harangue: "I, Sir, have been " alone that instrument of Justice who dispatched in so short a Time so many Criminals. In " doing this, Sir, I have done no more than what was your Duty to do. You, Sir, who in " reality are guilty of all the Offences which these Wretches committed, deserved the same " Chastisement, and had met with it too, had it not respected the Representative of my " Prince." He then entered into an exact Detail of all the Murders he had done, and the Motives upon which he had proceeded. The Viceroy, who was thoroughly convinced that he told him no more than the Truth, repeated his Assurances of Safety, and thanked him very affectionately for the Tenderness he had shown him; adding, after all, he was ready to pay him the 2000 Crowns.
Our Cobler returned the Viceroy his Compliments, in his rough Way; but told him, after what had passed, he believed it would be but prudent in him to make Choice of some other City for his Habitation, and that too in some Corner of Italy not under the Jurisdiction of his Catholick Majesty. The Viceroy thought his Reasons had Weight, and therefore, after thanking him in the most gracious Terms for supplying that Power which the Government wanted, he ordered a Tartane to transport him, his Family, his Effects, and 2000 Crowns, to one of the Ports in the Territory of Genoa, where this extraordinary Person passed the Remainder of his Days in ease and quiet; and the City of Messina felt, for a long Time after, the good Effects of his Enthusiastick Zeal for the public Good, and for the strict Execution of Justice without Respect to Persons.
This Story, however Strange, is exactly true; and as Philip of Macedon kept a Page who, to moderate his Ambition, and to put him in mind of his Duty as a Prince, was wont to awake him in the Morning with this Salatation, "Remember Philip, that thou art a Man," so I think it would be happy for the Ministers, who are either entrusted by their Masters, or acquire to themselves a boundless Authority, supported by boundless Influence, if they would write in a Table Book, and from thence refresh their Memories, frequently with this Sentence, "What if the Cobler of Messina should revive?"
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