In Letter 1, Ruskin had written:
The moment a Republic was proclaimed in France, Garibaldi came to fight for it as a ' Holy Republic '. But Garibaldi could not know, — no mortal creature could know, — whether it was going to be a Holy or Profane Republic. You cannot evoke any form of government by beat of drum. The proclamation of a government implies the considerate acceptance of a code of laws, and the appointment of means for their execution, neither of which things can be done in an instant.
The hero of Italian unification, Garibaldi had been disappointed by the failure of the Republican movement in his native country. The newly united Italy was a kingdom.