Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1860-11-01
43
srsonal sketches.of G eg,baldi.

| IrOpaDly Ao Hian III EUROPE OccupleG &
larger share of The attention of the world ct
this time than the hero of Italy-the lion
hearted Garibaldi. Everything, therefore,
relating to him or his movements, must be of
interest to the reader, and the following per-
sonal sketches, the best and most graphic we
have yet seen, we take pleasure in transfer
ring to our columns The first is by corre-
spondont of the Paris Presss, and the second
from an English lady in Naples:
have heard Garibaldi speak, have seen
him near; he is admirable. His nature is
that of the lion. His voice is resolute, his
hands large, and his body short and thick:
When angry he must be terrible. But habit
rally be has placid eye and sweet smiis.
lie is not SO much man of genius as an
apostle. lie walks onward in faith, without
fear Or hesitation, and works miracles. He
is man to quit his boat in the storm and
walk upon the waters. He believes in his
mission es others believe 10 their star.
The other day, during disturbance in the
Carnine, when some soldiers fred few
musket shots, and even some cannon shots
upon the people, he never stirred. lie offer
ed cigars to the National Guard about him,
saying, Smoke while you wait for them"
But be has keen scent of danger, and when
he sees it anywhere he is wont to say, CI va,
do 10 [ will 60 myself) and then nothing
can stop him. One of the most striking trails
of bis character is his singular simplicity
lie is the only great man l know who never
acts part. His speeches like those of all
men of strong convictions are somewhat
grandlloquent, but in private his manner is
the most familiar and cordial that can be
conceived lie listens to all comers with the
patience OF martyr, not keeping them at
distance or speaking to theM like an oracle.
lie is simple and good. To mention one
trait out of thousand. At Messna one Of
his old companions in arms knelt down be-
fore him on both knees, saying he had an i'm.
mense favor to ask. The man was long be-
fore he could be brought to explain himself,
but at length he stammered out that he vans
ted one of Garibaldi's buttons to wear as an
amulet round his neck and then he was sure
he should not die. The Dictator at once
tore eft button and then gave it to the spps
plant.
An English lady writes as follows from
Naples:
have seen to day Che face of Garibaldi,
and now all the devotion of bis friends il
made as clear as day to me, You haYe only
to look into his face, and you fesl that there
is, perhaps, the one man in the world in
whose service you would take your heart in
your hand and follow him 5lindfolded to
death. l never altogether understood that
feeling until his presence made it clear to
me. 1t is the individual man and his perso,
nal influence that are SO strong; but then il
is the man exalted and sanctifed, as it were,
by his own single-minded devotion 10 and
faith in holy cause and it is that which
you see in his face, as though written in lot.
ters Of light, and which carries on your tho'ts
from him as the man to him as the type and
representative of his cause. One could love
the cause without seeing him. but in seeing
him one seems to be suddenly gifted with the
power of seeing it as he sees it, and you love
1t better for sis sake, and you wholly honor
and admire him for its sake. have often
asked our marine officers who have seen him
to describe him to me. They get on swim,
mingly about his shoulders, and chest, and
head, and beard; and then they desire with
all their might to describe his expression
but there they stop and gasp. Neither can
describe it to you. I can only say that il
explains that devotion to the death, and,
what is more, that faith in doing what the
prudent world at large considers ga impossis
hility, for his sake; it makes that feeling ap-
pear to you the simplest and most natural
thing in the world. His wonderful simplic-
ty and forgetfulness of self, win the love Of
all /; it ia not the grand iron-Willsd hero who
determines of his own strength to carry his
undertaking through. / do not wonie at
the conviction which prevails of his having
been raised up by Providence; be seems to
feel that this is the work given him to do,
and that he could not leave it undone, bet
that is no moro credit to him than il is to o
joiner to make a stool, whose mission it is to
make stools. 1t is face in which the whole
character is Tri:ten-simple, grand, and Toys
ing.