Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1871-03-09
PRIM.
Personal Impressions OF Gen. Prfm-
His Sincerity and Pat rfotisn.

PRIM.
PERSONAL Impressions OF Gen. Prim-
BY PROF. O. Z. STOWE.
L desire, in few simple words to give
my personal impressions in regard to
Gen. Prim, unmoditied as far as possible
by anything lever heard OF read respect
ing him.
/ was in Spain during the months OF
September and October, 1858. At the
outbreak of the revolution i had lodg-
/ ings in the Alameda Hotel, at Malags
The royal Governor General of Andalu-
sia had his headquarters in the same
hotel, and there were three regiments
of the Queens troops under his COM
mand to quell the first appearance OF
insurrection. Everything seemed per-
fectly quiet and secure. We heard
of the revolt in Cadiz. That evening at
twilight the Governor General paraded
his three regiments ON the Almeda
near the hotel, and began to address
them. Quietly, and without uttering a
word, two of the regiments, with their
arms and music, but without a single
horseback officer, marched off the
ground to the Plaza de Revolution, Il
think it was called) and offered their
services to the revolutionary iunta. -
The Governor General saw at once the
hopelessness of the position, and with
the few soldiers who adhered to him,
and the leading royalists of the city,
withdrew to the old Moorish castle on
the summit of a high hill overlooking
the city and the harbor. The next
morning the chief clerk of the hotel
whispered to me, {" At 10 O'Clock to-
morrow morning Marshal Serrana and
Gen. Prim viii take breakfast here.
with 80 of the leading revolutionists
Early next morning Spanih ship of
war was seen anchored in the harbor
and the streets were thronged with an
expectant crowd. At about s o, clock
m there was procession ofcarriages
from the harbor approaching the hotel,
and Marshal Serrano and Gen. Prim
we're seen sitting together in an open
barouche. Serrsno was a tall, dark
grave looking Spaniard, the very ideal
of a Spanish grandee of the noblest
blood and most ancient line. Prim was
comparativly short and slight, 1.-THE as
an arrow, with complexion less swar-
thy, and evidently all palpitating with
life from the crown of his head to the
sole of his foot, though he kept him
self perfectly self-collected and quiet.
He was like hanpsome music-b lock-
ed up and silent
1t had obviously been arranged that
Terriano should be the pageant
and Prim be kept In the background,
positions which respectively were ad-
mirably suited to the physique of these
two distinguished men. There were
fuglemen unnoticed all along the line,
who led the multitude to shout rivid
Serrdno, to which he gracefully re-
sponded with hat in hand and dignified
bows. Prim sat by his side apparently
unnoticing and unnoticed, with his
arms folded across his breast, his eyes
fixed downward, and entirely notion
less. 1t was evident the multitude
were growing impatient, they were
longing to shout for Prim. In spite of
ell the Preooncerte1 arrangements there
would be heard along the line here and
there, Viro General PriD,, to which
he made no response, but persistently
maintained his unsympathetic position.
But as the barouche approached the
entrance of the hotel the multitude
could no longer be restrained. There
was loud universal T-rd General
Pr-i-m. Still not a movement, on re-
cognition ON the part Of Prim. The
excitement became almost fearful. 1t
was Vi-i-vd General Pri-i-i-n. Prim
at length responded with two or three
short bobbing bows, cap IN hand and
( then the shout was terrific. The whole
atmosphere seemed filed with it, and
the earth seemed to vibrate from its
very center. had no idea that human
lungs could pour forth such q volume
of sound. A dozen Niagaras would be
voiceless in the comparison, yet it was
not noisy. There was a harmony and
majesty in it, as in the roaring of the
sea. It was a voice from the very in
most heart of the people, long sup
pressed and smothered under the
vilest and flthiest of tyranny both IN
church and state.
When the barouche stopped, men
were seen clambering over the wheels,
over the back of the. carriage, over the
very horses, to seize Prim by the hand.
Not one of them succeeded. He per.
sistently refused to shake hands with
any one; not haughtily or supercilious-
ly, but with the calm determination OF
a man who knew he must reserve his
strength for purposes more important.
He arose to speak, and there was 81
lence CT the tomb. | am not an adept
in the Spanish tongue-I have never
of< 20 rvh
read Don Quixote in the original more
than 40 years ago. But Prim's voice
was so clear, his ideas so perfectly
distinct, his words so well chosen, sc
compacted, so utterly free from every
tinge of superfuousness that seemed
to understand him like a book. He
had visited the United States few
years previously, had studied and vel
understood our institutions, and wish.
ed to transfer them to Spain, 80 far as
the genius and habits of the nation
would permit. / cannot pretend Il
give anything like Photographic re-
port of his speech, my want of familiar
ity with the spoken language, and the
lapse of more than two years of time
since Ieard him, would plainly rend
re that impossible; but 1 think car
give the substance of what he said
1--WE must have government. We
cannot, we will not, any longer endure
the tyranny under which for centuries
Spain has been crushed. The executive
and the Legislative branches must b,
seperate, and the money power, tn,
power of taxation, must be with thu
Legislature and not with the executive
We must have entire freedom of speech
and of printing, just as they have il
the United States of North America
and to carry out the idea, we must hav,
free school in every neighborhood il
Spain, just as they have in the fre'
States of North America, and ever,
child must be taught to read and writ
and keep accounts. We must have en-
tire freedom of worship, just as the,
have in the United States of Nort1
,, America; the Catholic church, the Pro
testant chapel, the Jewish synagogue
, the Mohammedan mosque, must b,
allowed to stand side by side withou