The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-03-22
GAMBETTA LIS A MAN.
An Old Friends Recollection
Of His Student Days.
HIS ENTRANCE INTO POLITICS.

HIS ENTRANCE INTO POLITICS.
Associates Of the Great Rspublican-His
secret Love ARaIrs-Not Killed
by His Mistress.
MARsErLLEs, March Especial Cores
pondence. lon October 20, 1859, Gambetta
attained his majority. Being born in
France and the child Of foreigner, he
made, in the presence of NJ. Bessieres,
mayor of Cahors. the declaration pre-
scribed by article of the civil code. This
act assured him naturalization and the
rights of French citizenship. Being at
that time considered as foreigner, his
name did not appear on the list of young
men whose turn 1t was to draw lots for
military service in 1859, but was inscribed
the following year and appears on the list
for 1850 with the number G. Having lost
an eye, Gambetta was exempt from mill
tary service. On what hairs breadth
fate depends! Had he not been blind
of an eye it is more than probable
that Gambetta would not have become
. naturalized French citizen-in any case,
not at that particular time. His father,
who kept tight grasp on his money bags,
would never have consented to run the
risk of having to pay considerable sum
of money in order to free his son from the
obligation of military service. He would
certainly have compelled Leon to retain
his Italian nationality. This is proved by
the fact that Gambetta, senior, was never
willing to become a naturalized French
citizen himself Even when his son occu-
pied the most splendid position in France
he perseveringly refused to change his
own nationality, in spite of the many en-
deavors which were made to induce him
to do so.
When Gambetta came home with his
law diploma, the question which agitated
his family was: Shall he practice in the
local courts at Cahors or shall he remain
at Paris? His father, anxious to come to
the end of his disbursements as soon as
possible, was in favor of the first alterna-
tive. He looked forward to his sons sue
cesses at the assizes of the department of
the Lot and saw IN him an advocate who
would outstrip all the legal celebrities of
the locality. The mother, always conf
dent in her sons future greatness, took
her cue from Gambetta, and theoretically
maintained that he ought to remain at
Paris. At Cahors," she said, .'the legal
profession is overstocked; good briefs are
extremely rare and barristers have only to
plead in cases arising out of disputes con-
corning party-walls. Icons talent merits
a wider field of labor" The controversy
between the father and mother was long
one. In the end the latter triumphed. The
matter was clinched by the offer of G am
betta's aunt, M'dlle Jenny Massabie, to
accompany her nephew to Paris and keep
house for him, thus withdrawing him
from the restaurants and brasseries which
his father appeared to dread.
Gambretta'S aunt went to Paris, there
fore, with her nephew and presided over
the young man. $ household, first at No. Is
Rue Vavin and then on the fourth floor of
No. As Rue Bonaparte. Her HON ely old
maidish appearance and lame walk soon
became familiar to Icons friends, who,
like him, called her "Tata." She was like
a mother to Gambetta and knew how TO
take troublesome persons down peg or
two as we'll as to shut her eyes to anything
irregular there might be in her nephew's
habits. Once week Leon gathered round
his table the friends of. his childhood
Pepham, Funzal, Cayla, Miriam. Edoux
and Beral. It was their custom to partake
of a home-country dish, the traditional
tTipc anu SdlIOu, 10 QTilk uOttte Oh OiO
Cahors wine, to talk patois and to COM
municate news from their native town
the recollection of which rendered Gam
beta homesick more than once. All GAM
betta's friends know how devoted ..Tata"
was to her nephew and could realize the
great grief he felt when she died at Nice in
1873.
Gates oath at the SEES sion of the first cham
Der of the court of appeals of Paris, in the
presence of NJ. Dayienne, the president
He wore his beard and narrowly escaped
getting into scrape on account of this
irregularity. On July ~ he Dire up a
request to the bdtonnier, or president Of
the bar, to be called to the bar, and on
August 6 his name was inscribed on tho
rolls. Henceforth his one pre-occupa ton
was to hold brief.
Il fear I shall be afraid. he wrote to
his father. For time he was EMPLOYED
in the offices of solicitor named De Luv-
mes and then in. the chambers of NJ. La
chand, the weil-known advocate At
length, than ks to the Recommendation of
his friend, Clement Laurier, the journalist
and politician, he obtained an engagement
as secretary to Cremieu, the barrister and
famous republican politician. The letter
of the celebrated advocate promising to
employ Gambetta in his chambers was
framed and for long time hung up be-
hlnd the counter OF the "Genoese Bazaar, -
between two sugar loaves.
1t was in Cremieux's chamber that Gam
beta became polished lawyer. He
scarcely ever took part In criminal trials.
however, but was at once attracted to no.
litical cases and press offences. His first
client was man named Buette, foreman
in Calls great machine factory, who was
i'm plicated in political secret society af-
fair. Gambetta's pleading at the trial
created quite sensation at the court
house. BY some means or other he
brought in paraphrase of the trial of
Christ which amazed his hearers His de-
fence of Ernest d Hervilly, W ho was prose-
cuted for publishing an indecent article in
the Main jaime, revealed a new side of his
talent. Gambetta was an ardent admirer
of Rabeiais. whose works he kept by his
bedside. q have before me his copy. pre-
scented to me by his family. 1t is covered
many pages are torn.) His speech sparkled
with wit, and he spiced his pleadinrs with
"gauloiseries," which made even the Judges
smile.
Among other talents Gambetta possessed
brilliant conversational ability. Every
day, either at the Cafe Procope, at the Cafe
de Madrid, or at the Cafe de Londres he
presided over an assembly of Young men
who were all destined to attain distinction
either in politics or in literature. Spuller.
deputy; Challemel-Lacour, senator: All.
laln-Targe, deputy; Brisson, ex-prime min
lister; Leon Cladei, the author: Paul
Arene, deputy Aurelien Scholl, the brill
liant journalist, etc. In this somew hat
boisterous assembly, the question of the
day was discussed (samhptta was af,ro,,