In January 1882, Grigore Sturdza was being labeled a "Slavophile" by the Austrian press, which reported on his "conventicles" of Iași in connection with a visit by Miroslav Hubmajer, known for having fought in an anti-Austrian rebellion in 1875. The "Beizadea" remained unrelenting in his critique of Brătianu's foreign policies, exposing Austria-Hungary for using the Danube Commission to limit Romania's navigation rights. His speeches drew attention from a "Junimist" poet-journalist, Mihai Eminescu. In an 1882 piece, he declared his admiration for Sturdza's "so very clear, so very beautiful" Romanian oratory, stripped of neologisms and verbosity. Eminescu mused that the effect of using "good, direct, informal Romanian", or what he termed the "old language", was like introducing pagans to Christian music by Palestrina.