The Benton weekly record. [volume] (Benton, Mont.) 1880-1885, 1881-12-08
G q. WI D ] ~ y, .E' u. a.
From ana Obscure ADenmagogu4e to
Deputy and HoictsatOa'.

Deputy and Die ctator.
Some eight or nine years ago, Alphonst
Daudet published little volume Of sketch
es entitled E'Lettres a=a5n AbseRt." One O
them, entitled 'sLes Dictateurs,' is Of pc.
cular interest to-day. It gives picture
Of dingy dining-rootn in the Hotel dr
Senat in Paris, where a dozen young mel
all from the South-as assembled every
evening to take their humble dinner, which
has one advantage in their eyes, for every
dish il strongly Favored with onions, gar
lie and other odorous spices of Provence
and Gascogne. They constitute crowd
Of big-headed, pale-faceu men, with black
shaggy hair and boards, and large, hooked,
fleshy noses. One Of them, the noisest of
all, with head bent forward, uncouth man
ners and ungraceful bearing, talks more
than all the rest in his shrieking, inhar-
moni0us GascOn accent. AsaIle enters the
room with a heavy, slouching gait, dozen
hoarse voices shout, Aht uoiJa Ganabettol-
Ghambettah, they pronounce it. He sits
down, spraWls on the table, shouts and
laughs, frowus and smiles, upsets the
dishes, tears the table cloth, splits on the
floor, and talks himself into a paroxysm of
intoxication without drinking a drop. Who
would have recognized in this full-blos-
somed Gascon from Tarn-et- -Garonne the
future deputy and dictator? Yet it is SO.
The obscure demagogue Of the Hotel lu
Senat is to-day the most prominent man in
European politics.
Gambetta has just been elected to the
temporary presidency 6 the chamber Of
deputies. Its well known that he has no
intention Of permanently resuming the
position which he has held since MacMa-
hons fall. He became candidate to find
out what majority he would have in case
he should be- asked by n. Greyy to form
cabinet. Telegrama within the last few
days inform us that this will happen very
shortly; indeed, prominent members Of
the future cabinet, including Leon Say,
De Freycinct and Jules Ferry, have al
ready announced their willingness to serve
under him. Gambetta can no longer play
q comparatively inactive part in the gov
ernment Of France. His ministry will
only be the prelude to 0 greater and more
responsible office. It is perfectly safe to
prophesy that the successor of NJ. Grevy,
and the future president Of the French Re
public, will be Leon Gambetta. Thepeace
Of Europe, and the solution of the most
vital issues which can arise in the Old
World will then, ina large measure, de-
pend upon the will of this man. To-day
he is in conference with the statesmen of
Germany, Austria and Russia, who, in
many respects adhere to the traditions of
5he feudal ages. No positive contradic-
ion has been given to the rumor of his in
5eryiew with Bismarck. He travelled un-
Ter the strictest incognito in Germany and
some Of the German newspapers publish
accounts of NJ. Gambetta's
They also show that long
interval of time is unaccounted for, during
which he might easily have gone to Varzin
or even to- st. Petersburg. Neither the
North German Gazette, Prince Bismarck IS
organ, nor the Repu6lique Iruncaise, which
S inspired by NJ. Ganlbetta, has printed
me line.in contradiction Of the runor, and
here seems no reasonable cause for doubt
ng that an interview has taken place.
But the Gambetta OF to-day is no longer
he idol Of BelleYille OF Of the working
nen Of Marseilles and Lyons. He is still
he same ardent patriot, the same enthusi-
st for democratic government; but his
rdor has been tempered and his enthusi-
SIN cooled. Above all he is no longer a
The habitue Of the. Hotel du
Senat now resides in a palace which was |
,uilt by the Bourbons; he. receives
,rincely income and carries his high Office
With prineely dignity. His black name of
lair and his beard have become thinner
nd are streaked with gray. His e1oquence
! as overwhelming as ever, only more
in expression, both when he
,lames and when he praises; his CONVEX
alton flowing in an inexhaustib1e stream,
$ full Of natural grace, free from the jar
son Of the rostrum and the bombast of the
cademy.
Gambetta has q great mission before
i'm, and everything points to the belief
hat he will fulfil it. ButshoaId he disap-
oear from the feldof action to-day, history
vill say Of him, that he was one of the
trongest men his country has ever pro-
iuced--a faithful inlefatigabIe champion
4 light, liberty and progress, 4 mighty
eader IN parliamentary strife, an organ
ger Of inexhaustible resources and an en-
husiasffe patriot he Hoar.
! One Of the Williams brothers who n1ur-
Tered q. sheriff and his deputy in Pepin
To-, Wisconsin, has been captured. The
We're tracked 70 4 ranch in Ne
oraska and af1erga struggle Ed. Williams
vas caught, his arofhec Lon escaping.