, 1888-11-17
Interview with SignOr Crispi.
From the Daily Telegraph.)

SOAoA POPuiOA ~ hCIt hSCANO
country as is at the present moment SignOr
Francesca Crispi, the enterprising states.
man and staunch patriot who for some
time past, as the saying goes, has "made
rain and fair weather. throughout the TIA
Ian Peninsula. This popularity, take it,
Is not so much due to his cleverneSs as to
other of his attributes. The great majority
OF Italians IS composed of clever men;
downright billiards are as remarkable for
their rarity in this country as military he.
rOes i'll Servia, OF light.hearted testers in
Germany. 1t is nothing out of the way for
all Italian to be talented but it is unusual
that he should be Industrious and perse-
vering AS we'll. That Sigror Crispi, being
chief of a Cabinet which commands a com
Portable working majority in the Chamber,
should be a person Of conspicuous ability
goes almost without saying, What has
awakened and kept up his frllOw-cOuntry,
mems admiration for him is his sustained
energy, inexhaustibie power OfappIicaliOn,
constant readiness to taxi trouble, and IN
appeaSable appetite for hard work. The
Italians are essentially an indOlent people;
no wonder that Gun hOmme remudnt,' a
man who is never happy unless busy, fer,
tile IN projects, fond of detail, indifferent to
fatigue, and chrOnically on the lookout to
secure some advantage for his country at
the expense of its neighbours, appears to
them the very person of all others to whom
the direction of their State affairs ought to
bp unreservedly entrusted. AS night be ex-
pected in so many sided and capable a
public servant as SignOr Crispi, that gen
tleman is a pluralist, as far as Office is
concerned. Besides being President OF the
Council of Ministers he holds the two most
important portfolios in the Cabinet, those
Of Foreign and Home Affairs. Hence he
il also q p~luralist aS to residences, being
the tenant of a magnificent suite Of apart
ments in the COnsulta, which he has gal
lalItly coded to u Princess of the Royal
family for the duration of the t8teS, as well
as of a more modest dwelling in the Home
Office, and of a spacious Gtl0ggjo in the
Via GrcgOrina.
1t was to SignOr Crispi's official resi-
dence in Palazzo Braschi-a huge edifce,
situate at the southern end of the stately
Piazza N~avona-that | bptOOk myself last
Wednesday evening, in obedience to an
official communication Informing me that
"the President of the Council would be
happy to receive me" at such and such an
hour and place. Though | sent in my card
to his Excellency a few minutes before the
appointed time, [ was called upon to exec
else the virtue of patience throughout dv0
successive quarters of an hour for just aS |
arrived the ~PreSidentof the Chamber was ad-
mitted into SignOr Orispi's sanctum, where
these two perS0nageS remained shut up to-
gether in confidential conference from five
to Il quarter past SIX p. m. At length, how,
ever, the Italian Speaker, a brisk little
grey-whiSkered man of about sixty, step
ped lightly into the ante room where | was
sitting in crepuScular solitude, struggled
into his drab Overcoat, and hurried away
with an air of being pressed for time that
WAS Irritating, considering how long he
had been the means of keeping ma wait
ing. A minute later | was uShered into
the presence of the Prime Minister, whom
[ espied standing by a Ow doorway at the
farther end of a long dark room and who,
as soon as be caught sight of me, advau ;ed
some steps to meet me, shook hands with
me very cordially, and bale me welcome TO
Rome; "the capital of United Italy.n
Signor Orispi is a short, compactly built
Sicilian, some threescore years of age [
should imagine, white-haired, and grey
mustachioed, with a round,, we'll balanced
head,sa firmly set mouth, and II pair of
keen, quick eyes, conveying the impress.
sion that their owner has kept them open
to no inconsiderable purpose for many, II
year past. His is a watchful, earnest, eIel.
getic face, the prevailing stern expression
of which is only softened for a second or