His great-grandfather, Paul, whose secular name of Alexander he had received, had placed his hand upon the new-born infant's head, and prophesied that he would grow up to become a mighty warrior.

The boy, from his earliest years, seemed destined to verify the prediction.

Though apt enough at his studies, he turned with impatience from his literary tutors to military exercises and the hardiest sports.

The din of arms surrounded his cradle.

The trophies of Ottavio, returning victorious from beyond the Alps, had dazzled the eyes of his infancy, and when but six years of age he had witnessed the siege of his native Parma, and its vigorous defence by his martial father.