Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1870-12-27
CAS- PELAR.

n.y. thus describes the personal APP
poarance of CASTELAR,, the eloquent
Spanish orator and republican lead
er. 1t viii be remembered that we
publish q few months since a re-
port OF Castelar's great speech before
the Spanish COrtes on Emancipation
which was most powerful tribute
to the memory and life Of The lamen
ted Lincoln.
"On the extreme left OF the cham
Der is young face that bears an I'M
mistakable seal Of distinction. 1t
reminds you instantly of Cbantrey's
bust OF the greatest of the sons of
men. The same pure oval outline,
the arched eyebrows, the piled-up
dome Of forehead stretching outward
from the eyes, until tie glossy black
hair, seeing the hopelessness Of dis
putting the field, has retired dscour-
aged to the back of the head. This
Is Emilio CASTELAR,, the inspired tri-
bune OF Spain This people is SO
given to exaggerated phrases of com
pliment, that the highest colored
adjectives have lost their power
They have exhausted their lexicon
in speaking of Castelar,, but in this
instance | would be inclined to say
that exaggeration was well-nigh i'm
possible. 1t is true that his speech
does not move with the powerful
convincing momentum of the great
est English and American orators
1t is possible that its very briliancy
detracts somewhat from its effect
upon Il legislature body. When you
see Toledo blade all damaskeencd
with frontage and flowers and stories
OF the gods, you are apt to think it
less deadly than one glttering in
naked blueness from hilt to point
Yet the splendid sword is apt to be
Of the finest temper. Whatever may
be said Of his enduring influence up
on legislation, il seems to me there
can be no difference Of opinion in re-
gard to his transcendant oratorical
gifts. There is something almost
suporhuman in his delivery. He is
the only man | have every seen who
produces, in very truth, those aston
ishing effects which | have always
thought tho inventions Of poets and
the eXaggerations of biography
Rohertsod, speaking Of Pitts ora
tory, said, ut was not the torrent of
Demosthenes, nor the splendid con-
hagration Of fully" This ceases to
be an unmeaning metaphor when
you have heard Castelar,. His speech
is like torrent in it's uncomfortable
fuency, like blazing fire in its bril-
liancy Of color and terrible energy Of
wonderful current of defamation
checked by the pauses, the hesita-
tions, the deliberations that mark all
Anglo Saxon debate. An entire or
alton will be delivered with precisely
the fluent energy which a veteran
actor exhibits in his most passionate
scenes and when you consider that
this is not conned beforehand, but is
struck off instantly in the very heat
and spasm of utterance, it seems lit
tie short of inspiration. The most
elaborate filing Of fastdious rhetOr
ician could not produce phrases of
more exquisite harmony, antitheses
more sharp and shining, metaphors
more neatly fitting, all uttered with
distinct rapidity that makes the
despair of stenographer7. His nom
DRY is prOdigious and under perfect
discipline. He has the worlds his
tory at his tongues end. No fact is
too insignificant to be retained nor
too stale to do service His action
is almost energetic and impassioned.
1t would be considered redundant in
a Teutonic country. Ifyou do not
understand Spanish, there is some
thing almost insane in his gesticua-
ton. | remember a French diplo-
mat who came to see him, on ono of
his happest days, and who, after
looking intently at the orator for a
half hour, trying to see what he was
saying, said at last in an injured tone,
"Mais cost un pOlichinellO, celula.
1t bad not occurred to me that he lad
made gesture. The whole man
was talking from his head to his feet.
Finally, as we cannot stay even with
Castelar, all night, his greatest and
highest claim to our admiration and
regard is that his enormous talents
have been consistently devoted from
boyh to this hour to the cause OF
political and spiritual freedom. He
is now only thirty-two years of age,
but he was an orator at sixteen. He
harangued the mobs Of 1854 with a
dignity and power that contrasted
grotesqueIy with his boyish figure
and rosy face. During all these
eventful years he has not for one
moment faltered in his devotion to
liberal ideas. In poverty, exile and
persecution, as we'll as amid the in
toxicating fumes of flattery and ia
vor, be has kept his faith unsulied.
With his great gifts, he might com
mand anything from the govern
ment. as the price of his support
Bat he preserves his austere indie
pendence, living solely upon his lit
erary labor and his modest salary as
Professor Of History in the Univer-
sity.
es-Acorns, as food for cattle, are
at present the subject of discussion
in England, some contending that
they are poisonous, while others esti-
mate that the acorn crop of 1870 in
that country is worth more than
s5,000,000 1t is stated that dry and
ripe acOrns. taken in moderation,
are very valuable as food for sheep
and swine, but that domestic ami
mails, permitted to roam about a
park, would overleed themselves
and die of indigestion.
aA- When Senator Revels went to
lecture at Norwich, Conn, the other
day, the landlord Of the hotel began
to canvass among his boarders to see
/ whether they would endure his nres-