Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-11-01
Death OF "a holdIer Of Fortune.

The Swiss papers announce the deatf
of General Castella, a Swiss politician
and soldier Of fortune. His career wa
a very remarkable one, full OF adyen'
tuTe and yicissitude. n native oil Can
ton Fribourg, he took prominent par;
in the instruction which broke out
in that canton Immediately after
the conclusion of the Sonderbund
war. The rising, however, was
promptly suppressed, and CaStel-
la, falling into the hands Of the
Radical Government Of the day, was
lodged in the prison Of Bulle and
treated with the greatest rigor. But
after few days confinement he sue
cecded in making his escape, and
reached Diyonne, in the French de-
partment Of Ain, near the Genevan from
tier. where he met Bishop Marley, OF
Fribourg, who had been banished from
his diocese by the Swiss Radical Gov
eminent, which Castella had tried to
overturn. AS the latter, who was then
quite a young man, intended to take
service in the POntitical army, the
Bishop gave him a letter Of recon-
mendation to the Pope's secretary,
and dismissed him with his blessing
In order to reach Rome the fugitive had
to travel by way Of Geneva, where he
learned from friend that the police
had orders to arrest HIM and give him
up to bis enemies at Fribourg. On this
Castella. with characteristic audacity,
went straight to the Hotel de Vile and
obtained an interview with james
Flazy, then in the zenith of bis power,
and virtually dictator Of the canton,
told his story, and demanded his pro-
lection. Whether it was that Flazy
desired to gain credit with the Catho-
lies of Geneva, who took a warm In
terest in Castella's fate, or that the
frank speech and bold bearing of the
yourg fellow won his favor, the dictator
promised that if he would remain quiet
and get out Of the place as quickly as
possible he should not be molested.
Castella wanted nothing better, and the
day after he was on his way to Rome.
Thanks to the Bishops recommends
tioD, he had no difficulty in procuring a
commission in the POntiiical army, and
he served the Pope until the temporal
power was terminated by the capture
Of Rome. in the various com
bats that preceded the occupa
ton of the Eternal City by the
Italian troops Castella bore himsel
with distinguished gallantry. On quit
ting Rome in September, lo1OJ Cas-
tclla went to the Government of Ma
tional Defence, which conferred on him
at once the brevet rank of general, and
gave him a command in the Army o.
the East under Bourbaki. lie shared
in all the operations undertaken by that
unfortunate force, and in January, 49, |,
crossed with all that remained Of it the
Swiss frontier, surrendered to an army
Of his own countrymen at Neyrler, and
was interned in Switzerland until thC
conclusion of the war. But his pas
sion for fighting was still unsatiated
and, when Don Carlos raised the
flag of Instruction in Spain, Castell'
left his retirement in Switzerland, join
ed the rebel army, and held higl
command in it until the final disper-
sion of the insurrectionary forces
From that time until his death, the
other day, the late General lived a
Bulle. in his native canton, interesting
himself warmly in its politics, and
above all, in its military Organization
a subject on which he wrote severa'
noteworthy pamphlets, for, besides
being soldier of fortune, Castella was
a patriot of patriots, and would proba
bly, have liked nothing better than tC
fight in defence Of his native noun
tainS