I have seen at the same masquerade, in the
_Teatro Aliberti_, in boxes close to each other, the Queen of Spam (mother
of Ferdinand VII), and the Princess Borghese, Napoleon's sister. In a box
at a short distance from them were Lucian Buonaparte, his wife and
daughters. Besides these, the following ex-Sovereigns and persons of
distinction, fallen from their high estate, reside in Rome, viz., King
Charles IV of Spain; the ex-King of Holland, Louis Buonaparte; the
abdicated King of Sardinia, Victor Emanuel; Don Manuel Godoy, the Prince of
Peace; Cardinal Fesch, and Madame Letitia, the mother of Napoleon.
I had an opportunity of being presented to Lucian, who bears the title of
Prince of Canino, before I left Rome for Naples, as on leaving the Pays de
Vaud I was charged by a Swiss gentleman to deliver a letter to him, the
purport of which was to state that he had rendered services to Joseph
Napoleon, when he was resident in that Canton, in consequence of which he
had been persecuted and deprived of his employment at Lausanne, which was
that of Captain of the Gendarmerie; and in the letter he sollicited
pecuniary assistance from the Prince of Canino.
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