The small town of L… where I was bornf used to have, and still has, a civil and military hospital. A part of this vast establishment was specially set aside for the treatment of ill people of both sexes, the number of which never decreased, thanks in part, as I have already said, to considerable additions from the town garrison.
The other part of the house belonged entirely to orphaned and abandoned youths whose births, almost always the fruit of crime or misfortune, had left them without support in the world. Poor creatures, deprived from the cradle of a mother’s caresses!
It was in this refuge of suffering and misfortune that I spent several years of my childhood.
I hardly knew my unfortunate father, whose sudden death took him away from the sweet affection of my mother too early. Her robust and brave soul tried in vain to fight the terrible encroachments of poverty that threatened to overtake us.
Her situation aroused the interest of several noble hearts; they felt genuinely sorry for her, and soon generous offers were made by the worthy Mother superior of the house of L…
Thanks to the influence of an administrator, a distinguished lawyer of the town, I was admittedf to this holy house, where I became the object of particular care, even though I lived among the motherless children, brought up in the pitiful refuge.
At the time I was seven years old and the harrowing scene that preceded my entry still preys on my mind.
That morning I had no idea what was to happen a few hours after I got up; my mother having got me outside as if we were going for a walk, took me in silence to the house of L…, where the worthy Mother Superior was waiting; she gave me the most affectionate caresses, undoubtedly to hide from me the tears which were being silently shed by my mother, who after kissingf me for a long time had sadly distanced herself, feeling that her courage was depleted.
Her departure gripped my heart and I understood that, from now on, I was in the hands of strangers.