ing and fond of books, his uncle and aunt
decided that it would be better to put him at the seminary, with a view
to his ultimately taking holy orders. Leon's father does not seem to
have much liked this scheme, for he had no second son who could succeed
to his business; but he had a great love for his bright-witted boy, and
having conceived a high respect for his talents, yielded to the pleasing
idea that he would some day become an ornament to the Church. This
belief may be explained by the fact that Leon was, as a child, ardently
religious. When twelve years old he wrote an ode dedicated to his
"patron, St. Leon, and to all the popes called Leon," and this
composition was printed in the Catholic journal of the diocese. In
after-years some of his political enemies tried to get hold of a copy,
but failed, and published a spurious one which they gave out for his.

The career of Leon Gambetta must continue to exercise over young
advocates and journalists the same kind of fascination as that of
Napoleon I. does over young officers; and, indeed, the fact that
Bonaparte and Gambetta were both of Italian origin, and came to sudden
and great power while they were very young, was often quoted to draw a
parallel between the two. But there is this difference between Bonaparte
and Gambetta, that whereas the latter made his mark in life later by
some three or four years than the former, brilliant destinies were
prophesied for him by others besides his relations, when he was still a
child. While Bonaparte was a pupil at the school of Brienne, his masters
predicted that he would make a poor officer, because he had no aptitude
for mathematics; when Gambetta was at the seminary, his tutors foretold
that he would make a great figure in life, "but never," they regretfully
added, "as a churchman." The boy began well, but he had evidently no
vocation for the strict discipline of the Church; he was too
disputatious, not meek enough about taking blows without returning them,
and in short, too headstrong. Anticipating the judgment which M. Grevy
passed upon him when he was thirty-three years old, his ecclesiastical
masters reported of him that he was _un esprit rebelle, turbulent_, and
they advised his removal to another school.

Young Gambetta was accordingly sent to the _lycee_--that is, the lay
public school--of Cahors, and here he immediately won golden opinions
by his cleverness, his industry, and the happy vivacity of his
character. O