The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-07-24
ANECDOTES or LEO XIII.
Incidents Of the Famous Pom
tiff S Boyhood.
FOND OFDARIEG FBATSIN HUNTING

EUNU OE Dhhlhd I GAl6 LIZ
A Companion Of His Youth says tIle
Pope Uaed to Jump c1aaaIn% and
Scale precioicess Meme othcra Dag
ed Attcmpt--lEow re Arrested "a
Band of snlu~~-1nrs-y.l4 l-ia1l4csa
to an American G1rt.
Pope Leo XIII. was at n time one
of the most stout limb6d and daring
hunters in Italy, says Iit-E,iss.
a companion OF those days, now
known as Father S%elyasni, The aged
priest Of Carpineto, referring to the
friend of his boyhood. once said:
"yVhat hunts we had together! We
were up bright and early, securing the
forest; but Sir Nino was ever more
fearless than l. lie climbed to the
very top of Melaina anG the i'ageta,
Jumping chasms and scaling p4ecipices
none others dared attempt"
1t was just midway between Traf-
algar and Waterloo that "Nino" first
opened his eyes on the hills of Carpi-
neto. the eighth child of Ludovico
Pecci, a colonel in the Italian army.
1t was through his mother, however,
that he derived his strength of charAc-
ter and brain. and she in turn was a
true daughter OF Cola di ItienZi. the
great tribune" whose dream it was to
give a new birth to the Roman re
public.
His mother always regarded Nino as
a special gift from heaven. and ever
when he was in his cradle she used to
prophesy that one day he would sit on
the "throne OF st. Peter Her letters
are full of the wonders of this new
child. whom she named after her hero
V%incenZo Ferrer, and when his age
was measured by months she wrote:
.My little Vincenzo walks alone al
ready and goes everywhere. He is pas,
sionately fond of horses. Although he
is so small that you can hardly see hin
he jumps up and rides all the furniture
without waiting for help from any
one. You may we'll imagine that this
child is not the cause of much melan
choly, Titta, an older brother, does
nothing but make affairs. The church
has a great attraction for him. Ant
yet, how strange it is. Titta was thu
only one of the family of nine children
to marry. and Nino. who had all thu
early instincts of q soldier. was to be
come pope.
An interesting story is told of thes'
very early days. One day Il peasan
woman brought n basket of cheeses t
the Pecci home. and the little Nino
stopping in curiosity to look at tn
cheeses, fell into the basket.
What do yon want, brother?" tn
peasant asked laughingly.
81 am not a brother!!" the child an
swered, with a pout.
"What then. n cardinalT'
mo" answered the child's mother
taking him up proudly in her arms
|'he is my little pope" And so it wa
to be, more than sixty years later.
AS a boy Nino was the ringleader !
everything that was miscellaneous G
risky. and If there was a bully to co
or a daring feat to be done it was a
ways Nino Pecci who was in demant
And yet. through all these. boyis
pranlks, the boys great future migl
have been seen by a discerning eye. 4
school his beautiful face earned If
him the nickname Of "the little ange,
and "mother of piety," and if thel
was an act of kindness to be done
was always the first to think of and
do it.
One day on his way home he found
peasant boy lying hurt by the roadsid
He had been knocked down by II ca
and feared that his leg was broke
Nino ran to Il n~eighboring spring, file
his cap with water, gave the boy son
to drink and with the rest batled h
leg. When he was sufficiently reco
cred he raised the boy and. half su
porting, half carrying him. started
the long journey home.
At this point Nino's tutor overto'
him and gave him !; lecture on his il
prudence.
"Wllat will you parents say T
teacher asked. "when you take tt
dirty ragamuffin homer
."They will say that | have do
flSul, MILO pIOuOiy dii9't'HN q
so unusual. then, to help IL hurt chill
Wouldn't every one do as | am tryil
to dor"
The Rome correspondent OF the II
Mall Gazette relates this experience
the pope with some smugglers:
Leo XIII. remembered with intere
the mission given him by Pope Gregg
XVI. when he was only twenty-elg
and only a few weeks after he b
celebrated his first mass. At that til
the province Of Benevento, which
longed to the Papal States. but W
... ..,ro,D1,d hv tho territory