Buonaparte, was a poor lawyer; and his mother, Letitia Raniolini,* was handsome enough to have attracted the attention of the French commander, the Count de Marbœuf, who, it is even asserted, was the real fatner of our hero. This is no ways improbable, as it is well known that the French troops landed in Corsica in the year 1768, and that Napoléon was born on the eighth month of the year following.
But, be what it may about his being a legitimate son, or a bastard, it is a well-known fact, that the Count de Marbeuf paid his assiduous addresses to his mother;† and that he honoured the whole family of Buonaparte with a parental care. It was through his protection that Napoléon got admittance into the Royal Military school, where
* Some people think that his mother's name is Fesch, because the new-fashioned Cardinal Fesch is qualified as an uncle to Napoléon.
But, whatever be the relationship between those wonderful personages, the maiden name of our hero's mother was always known to be Raniolini. Thus far about the illustrious genealogy.
+ That chaste dame has lately turned excessively pious. + Those who attach some importance to Buonaparte's family, will be glad to know that he has four brothers, Joseph, Lucien, Louis, and Jerôme; and three sisters, Madame Baciochi, Madame Murat, and the widow Leclerc. It is, therefore, evident that neither the account given by Volney, nor the biography published in London by Phillips, is accurate on that head. As to Napoléon's infancy, it is not worth mentioning; and his person is already sufficiently known.