4801.] 
could juftly affirm that, when he wanted 
zo fet his mind on religious medifations, he 
would take a walk either under the grotto 
of Puzzuoli, or under the galleries of Pig- 
watell’s warehoufe. 
During thefe tranfaétions, Prince Pig- 
natelli was preferred, by degrees, .to the 
ranks of brigadier and field-marfhal ; and- 
the latter was his condition in the begin- 
ning of the year 1783, when the ever- 
~themorable earthquake took place in Ca- 
labria, He was {ent there as a vicegerent 
and reprefentative of his Majefty to re- 
lieve the diftreffed province, and took with 
him fome officers belonging to the impure 
remnants of the body of the Battaglione, 
who were intended as his agents in the 
feveral diftritts. Were the Neapolitan na- 
tion, at large more informed than it is ; 
or, at leaft, were it lefs carelefs of the pub- 
lic profperity, this very moment would 
have enabled it to appreciate M. Pig- 
natelli’s juft value. The officers under 
his command in Calabria rendered them- 
felves guilty of the greateft enormities, 
both from ignorance and wickednefs. Vi- 
olences and depredations were fo widely and 
fyftematically committed, that the poor 
Calabrefe confidered the miffion of M. 
Pignatelli as a greater calamity to their 
unfortunate country than the dreadful 
¢arthquake which had lately defolated it! 
He himfelf was guilty of no rapacity, nor 
of any intentional oppreffions ; however, 
he was of a defpotic and ambitious temper; 
and, on the other fide, deftitute both of 
law and hiftory. He occafioned, from 
fuch difqualifications, as many diftrefles, 
at feaft, as his inferior agents from their 
calculated crimes. ‘The court being fen- 
fible that he might commit fome errors for 
want of legal-knowledge, gave him an 
affeflor taken from the body of magiftracy. 
This election fell on M. Vanvitelli, chief of 
the provincial tribunal of Catanzaro, one 
of the beit magiftrates in the kingdom, if 
not from extentfive learning, from clearnefs 
of conception, affiduity of labour, fobriety 
of manners, and love of juftice. He 
_ proved, indeed, a temporary check to def- 
potic prefumption. But the vicegerent 
was too powerful not to get rid of him. 
A few months after his appointment, he 
reprefented to.the court his great abilities 
and fignal fervices, and folicited for him, 
as afreward, a preierment in the fupreme 
courts of jultice in the metropolis ; ftating, 
at the fame time,that he had met with,among 
the inferior affeflors of his agents, a very 
eminent civilian, whom he defigned to be 
his ‘fucceflor. The court fell into the 
fnare, M, Vanvitelli was foon promoted 
Memoirs of Prince Pignatelli. 
~ 
323 
to the metropolis, and Mr. Zurlo was ap- 
pointed his fucccffor in: the afleflorfup of 
the vicegerent. ‘This Zurlo was a young 
man who had never been at the bar; he was a 
native of a fmall village in the neighbour- 
hood of Campo Baff, and of an obfcure 
extraction. He had been brought to 
Naples in order to ftudy the law, but he 
never fo much as took the trouble of read- 
ing the elements of it. He was noted for 
indolence and idlenefs to fuch a degree as 
to prefer poverty and diftrefs to any thing 
like labour. He was, on the other hand, 
ambitious, cunning, inveftigating, in- 
triguing, and aflumed airs of importance 
by converfing with literary men, to whofe 
fociety he was indebted for a fuperficial, 
unconnected, and defultory information, 
ten times more dangerous than ignorance, 
In the courfe of his excurfions, he 
met with an officer of the name of Mi- 
cherou, more ignorant than himfelf, and, 
happily for him, lefs malicious, With 
this officer, he repaired to Calabria, and 
by this means he was noticed by M. Pig- 
natelli! This was the eminent civilian ! 
One of the projets now upon the car- 
pet for the regeneration of Calabria, was 
the fuppreffion of all conVents fallen a 
prey to the earthquake! This was cer- 
tainly an exorbitant meafure, as it implied 
the confifcation of their eftates, which had 
been held until then by as good titles as 
any fecular proprietory. The Prince was 
zealous for the intereft of the treafury 
whilft he feared to give any offence to the 
Holy See. He prevailed on the court to 
fupprefs the convents, with the approba- 
tion of his Holinefs, and he fet off himfelf 
for Rome, as an extraordinary ambaffador, 
for the purpofe. ‘This was one of the 
moft remarkable abfurdities and contra- 
diétions. lately exhibited by the governs 
ment of Naples! Whilft the ative pla- 
toon of lawyers and canoniiis, under the 
protection of the minifter for ecclefiaftical 
affairs, were ftrugeling for the fupport of 
the royal prerogatives upon the ecclefiafti- 
cal difcipline in the kingdom, and fo 
many fatal blows had already been given 
by their.Philippics to the court of Rome, 
a vicegerent of his Majefty, with the ap- 
probation of the minifter of war, goes to 
Rome, acknowledges the authority of the 
Holy See as paramount to the royal jurifdic- 
tion, and gives of courfe an implicit difa- 
vowal to his colleagues in the government! 
On the other hand, the appointment of M. 
“Zurlo to the affefforthip fully anfwered the 
purpofe! He was the meaheft and moft 
deyoted Matterer of the vicegerent; what- 
ever the latter was doing, he approved ! 
Ttz a ee 
ll 
