lish-His departure for Dresden-I am sent with my brigade into the Abruzzi, and a little later to Ancona-Perplexity of Treaty between Joachim and Austria-Siege of the citadel of Ancona Expedition to Macerata and Fermo - The King arrives in Ancona-Incidents which occur between him and me-I bring about an association of Generals to force the King to grant us liberal institutions, and to dismiss all the foreigners employed in the civil and military administrations in the king- dom-I approach Parma in order to support the Austrians- Retreat Our columns continue to advance-Combat before Reggio-I enter that city-My brother arrives there from Dantzic-Lord William Bentinck arrives-Secret treaties be- tween Joachim and the Viceroy-Movements of the Carbonari in the Abruzzi-I resume the command of the vanguard-In sight of Piacenza, we receive the unfortunate intelligence of the Memorable earthquake in Calabria-My birth-My education in the Royal College-My flight from it twice on account of my desire to embrace the military profession-I am entered at the Military College. THE period of my birth, which occurred in February, 1783, was one in which Nature had inflicted a most cruel visitation upon my native province of Calabria. A terrible earthquake was experienced on the 5th of February. The first shock was succeeded by another, no less violent, towards the latter end of March, destroying in the short space of scarcely two months, upwards of sixty thousand inhabitants. The earth had been so much convulsed, that nearly all the public buildings and the houses of two hundred towns and villages were thrown down, and, in great part, destroyed. The small, but extremely ancient town of Squillace was the place of my nativity. I was born soon after the first shock. My father was Gregorio Pépé, and my mother, Irene Assanti. As our large family-mansion had been entirely destroyed by the earthquake, my mother had been obliged to fly from it. She was then far advanced in pregnancy, and notwithstanding the extreme rigour of the season, she gave birth to me under a hastilyerected tent, the only shelter which the misery of those days afforded her. My parents had a family of twenty-two children, more than half of whom were boys. I was one of the youngest. In despite of the difficulty of rearing so numerous a progeny, my excellent father turned all his endeavours towards procuring us the best possible. education. As soon as my brothers arrived at the age of ten years, they were sent to the best colleges of Naples, for the sake of better instruction; and before I had completed my seventh year, I was placed in the Royal College of Catanzaro. This establishment only admitted thirty boarders, and these by favour. Although learned and worthy professors were employed here to inculcate certain laws of discipline, the general tone of education was inferior to what it ought to have been. The reason was, that the remuneration given to the teachers was so small, that instead of such offices being held by men fit for such employments, they were in the hands of ignorant priests, in every respect unworthy of the duties entrusted to their charge. Amongst the superiors of the establishment, one alone was not in priest's Orders, and had been chosen out of one of the first families of the province. This was the Governor, Gaetano Sanseverino, Baron of Marcellinara, of whose kindness I shall ever retain the most grateful recollection. Whether from my extreme youth, or from the fault of my teachers (who were but ill-calculated to inspire children with the love of so dry, yet important a study,) I know not; but from the very earliest period of my entrance into that establishment, I conceived the most decided and insurmountable aversion from the Latin language. Such a feeling, however, did not extend itself to the studies either of ancient history, geography, rhetoric, and elementary mathematics, all of which I pursued with a degree of ardour which astonished my superiors, and which often led me to devote my hours of recreation to the cultivation of them. My elder brothers, as I have already mentioned, had been sent to Naples. The two youngest, Ferdinand and Florestano, were placed in the Celestine Convent of Saint Peter, at Majella; but were subsequently removed to the Convent of Salmona, which establishment was exclusively devoted to the education of young men of the best families of the capital and provinces. Here they were treated with great luxury: notwithstanding this the convent gave to the country many learned monks. Nothing could be better, indeed, than the education bestowed upon their pupils by the monks, or kinder than their general conduct towards their youthful charges. Nevertheless, my brothers, although still young, had both of them expressed so firm and unconquerable an aversion from the ecclesiastical profession, that my father allowed himself to be overcome by their prayers and en B 2 |