Giovanni Piroli, aged 31, was down on his luck. So off he went in rags to the Royal Palace. To the guard on duty he said: "I want to see King Victor Emmanuel, for whom I fought and bled."
When King Victor heard that a mutilatto,*wished to see him he granted the audience at once. In the Royal presence, Piroli's legs declined to support him and the King, sensing his predicament, invited the maimed soldier to sit beside him.
"What can I do for you?" asked the King, after he had listened to a long...
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