PICARD PICHEGRU. 



553 



shepherds' boys amuse themselves with it while 

 tending their flocks. 



PICARD, Louis BENOIT, born at Paris, in 1769, 

 early began to write for the stage with success. 

 The friendship of Andrieux who assisted him with 

 his advice, was serviceable to him, and he soon be- 

 came an actor, making his debut at the Theatre 

 Louvois (Ode'on), where his dramas were also repre- 

 sented with much applause. In 1801, he became 

 the manager of the theatre, continuing to perform 

 ami write at the same time. He soon after (1806) 

 withdrew from the boards, was admitted to the 

 French academy, and intrusted by government with 

 the direction of the opera. While at the head of 

 the opera, he ceased writing, but, in 1816, resumed 

 the direction of the Ode'on, and again began to write. 

 He died in 1828. Picard, on account of his skilful 

 delineation of character, was called by the French 

 Le petit Holier e. He was the author of more than 

 seventy larger and smaller pieces, besides several 

 romances. Among the latter are Le Gil Bias de la 

 Revolution ; Uhonnete Homme, &c. 



PICARDS. See Adamites. 



PIC ARD Y ; formerly a province of France, in the 

 northern part of the kingdom, lying on the British 

 channel, to the north-west of Normandy, and south 

 of Artois. (See France, and Department.) It was 

 for some time in possession of the British crown. 



PICCINI, NICCOLO, born at Bari, in the kingdom 

 of Naples, in 1728, was designed by his father, who 

 was a musician, for the church. But the young 

 Piccini soon displayed such a decided taste for music, 

 that he was placed at the Conservatoria di Santo 

 Onofrio, at the head of which was the celebrated 

 Leo. After spending twelve years there, he left the 

 conservatory, thoroughly grounded in the science of 

 irusic, and animated with a glowing imagination, 

 which wanted only an opportunity to show itself. 

 The prince of Vintimille mentioned him to the direc- 

 tor of the Florentine theatre, and Piccini set the opera 

 Le Donne dispetose, which was performed with ap- 

 plause. He soon after composed Le Gelosie, and 

 // curioso del proprio Danno. The latter was per- 

 formed with applause during four successive years. 

 His composition of Zenobia (1756) displayed his 

 genius in the serious opera. In 1758, he was invit- 

 ed to Rome to set Alessandro nelC Indie ; and in 

 1 760, appeared his celebrated Cecchina, or La buona 

 Figliuola, which had an unexampled run in Italy. 

 The next year, his Olimpiade, a serious opera, had 

 the same success. In this piece, the duet was first 

 presented free from pedantry and technicality, in the 

 new musical form, which has since been universally 

 adopted. Piccini continued to compose for the 

 theatres of Rome and Naples for fifteen years, during 

 which time he enjoyed the undisputed supremacy in 

 the public favour ; but, after the appearance of An- 

 fossi one of Piccini's operas failed at Rome, and, in 

 consequence of the mortification which this occasion- 

 ed him, he fell sick, and, after his recovery, deter- 

 mined to devote himself solely to the theatres in 

 Naples. In 1776, he accepted an invitation, on very 

 favourable terms, from the French court, and went 

 to Paris. At that time, besides numerous oratorios, 

 cantatas, &c., he had composed 133 operas. Being 

 entirely ignorant of the French language, he receiv- 

 ed instruction from Marmontel, and, with his assis- 

 tance, brought out the Roland of Quinault, which, 

 notwithstanding the opposition of Gluck and his 

 friends, was successful. Although Gluck and Piccini 

 were personally reconciled, yet the war between 

 tlieir respective admirers continued (see Gluck} ; and 

 in order to compare their merits, the two rivals com- 

 posed the same subject, Iphigenia in Tauris : in this 

 contest, Gluck had the advantage. In 1783, Piccini 



produced his Dido, which is considered his chef 

 d'eeuvre. He had been appointed director of the 

 royal singing school in 1782, but the revolution de- 

 prived him of his appointments, and he returned to 

 Naples in 1791, where the king granted him a pen- 

 sion, and employed him on various occasions ; buij 

 having imprudently expressed revolutionary senti- 

 ments, he was exposed to much hard treatment, and 

 finally returned to France, where he died in 180O. 



PICCOLOMINI ; a distinguished family, origin- 

 ally of Italy. The most celebrated members are 



1. jEneas Sylvius Bartholomaeus, who, under the 

 name of Pius II., ascended the papal throne in 1458. 

 He was one of the most learned popes, wrote tha 

 life of the emperor Frederic III,, and a hintory of 

 Bohemia. He was secretary to the council of Basle, 

 and defended the rights of the councils against the 

 popes ; but, when he was made pope, he recanted 

 all that he had said against the extent of the papal 

 power. His favourite plan of uniting the princes or 

 Europe in a war against the Turks was frustrated 

 by his death, in 1464. 



2. Octavio Piccolomini was born in 1599, became 

 one of the distinguished generals in the thirty years' 

 war, was a favourite of Wallenstein, who intrusted 

 him with a knowledge of his projects, when he pur- 

 posed to attack the emperor ; but Piccolomini be- 

 trayed him, and was one of those who were charg- 

 ed to take Wallenstein alive or dead. He v/as made 

 prince of the empire, but disgraced his military re- 

 nown by his cruelty. He died in 1656, in Vienna. 



PICHEGRU, CHARLES, general of the French re- 

 public, born in 1761, at Arbois, in Franche-Conte, 

 of poor parents, was educated at that place in a 

 monastery of the Minims (but without entering the 

 order, as has been falsely asserted), and afterward? 

 studied at the college of Brienne, where he distin-r 

 guished himself so much by his progress in mathe- 

 matical science, that the recitations of his class were 

 intrusted to him while yet a scholar. Bonaparte 

 was at that time his pupil at Brienne. At an early 

 age, Pichegru enlisted as a common soldier in the 

 first regiment of artillery, and was soon made a ser- 

 geant. Towards the end of the American war, his 

 regiment was ordered to America, and lie thus had 

 opportunity of becoming acquainted with the land 

 and sea service. After his return, he was appointed 

 sergeant-major, and company-adjutant ; and on the 

 outbreak of the revolution, he embraced its prin- 

 ciples. He was president of the political club in 

 Besancon, when a battalion of national guards with- 

 out subordination, discipline, or commander, arriving 

 in the city, the Besancon club proposed Pichegru as a 

 suitable person to command them. His first care 

 was to establish order and discipline a task winch 

 he accomplished with energy and skill, and then led 

 his battalion to the army of the Rhine. Here he dis- 

 tinguished himself so favourably, that, in 1792, he 

 entered the general staff, and became colonel, gen- 

 eral of brigade, and, in 1793, general of division. 

 Meanwhile the reign of terror had commenced in 

 France. Custine, Houchard, Biron and others per- 

 ished under the guillotine. The suspicions of those 

 in power at Paris rendered it more dangerous, at 

 that time, to be at the head of an army, than to 

 storm a hostile battery ; but Pichegru undertook the 

 command of the forces, disorganized by the loss of 

 the Weissemburg lines, restored discipline, and led 

 the disheartened troops to a series of brilliant vic- 

 tories. To resist the numerous and better disciplin- 

 ed troops of the enemy, supported by an excellent 

 cavalry, he introduced the system of sharp-shooting, 

 and at the same time, by his skilful use of the 

 mounted artillery, succeeded in paralyzing the tactics 

 of the enemy. Hoche commanded at that time the 



