The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1894-11-10
ITALIAN PREMIER.
Interesting Side Lights on the Pri-
vate History of France SEQ
Crispi.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ACTION
Relative to the Approaching Rei-
gious Marriage Of the Pre-
mier to His Wife,

San Amerlcan Traveller" writing from
Milan to the New York Sun, under date
of October Is, discusses Crispi and his
attitude toward the Church Pope Leo.
says the writer, is a man of remarkable
vigor, but in the ordinary course of ma
! ture the day cannot be very far off when
the princes If the Church must be con-
! yened to select 8 successor TO the glnri-
ous reigning Pontiff, When that day
comes the attitude toward the Papacy of
the government Of King Humbext will
suddenly and sharply concern every
nook and corner of the civilized world.
AS things stand, the government of King
Humbert will then be welded, as it is
now, by francesca Crispi.
lis prudent, therefore, continues the
writer, to assume that the Pope who
shall be chosen to succeed Leo XIII,
will be chosen at conclave inevitably
! subjected to all the various and subtle
forms Of pressure which can be brought
to bear upon its deliberations by one OF
the subtlest, most ingenious and most
resolnte Of living Italians, absolutely de-
voted from his childhood up to the
! dream Of Italian unity, and now in his
green old age controlling and managing
the reality Of it. What then is the real
attitute of francesca Crispi toward the
! Catholic religion and toward the incarna-
| tion of that religion III the Papacy? Is
he to be ranked with the anti-reljgious
| reyolutionists of Italy and OF France
| with whom at SO many different epochs
| of his life and in SO many varying con-
juactures Of modern Italian history he
has co-operated?
Answering the above questions the
correspondent says:
It WAS announced not long ago that
the only daughter CT Crispi, Il very clever
| and charming girl, for whom her father
is known to entertain the deepest affsc-
tion, Is about to be married TO Sic1llan
nobieman Of ancient family and very
large possession, the Priuce OF Lingua
Glossu. Like most of che Siciilan aris
tocracy, the Prince OF Lingua Glossa is a
very good Catholic, and not long after
his engagement to the daughter OF
.Crispi was announced it becams known
that the Italian Premier intended, before
the nuptials took place, to go through
the ceremony of religious marriage with
his own wife, the mo her of the intended
bride. Thereupon arose mighty clam
Or. The extreme Radicals of France
and of Italy broke into chorus de-
nouDcing Crispi as a renegade from the
orthodox church Of scientific unbelief
He was reviled for his hypocrisy and
charged with unworthy condescension to
the bigotry and prejadices of the aristo
cratic class into which his daughter was
about TO be received. OF course, too, it
was plain that his appearance With his
wife at the matrimonial altar Of a Cath
olic church must pre1igure an act of po
iltical treason to united Italy and the &C..
c7ptance of all the demands OF the Vati-
can.
Now, what are the facts? francesca
Crispi, [ have reason to believe, is now
and always has been Catholic, in the
sense in which ninety. nine hundreths Or
more of the whole Italian people are
Catholic.
Not ony was Crispi born Catholic;
in his early youth it was bis intention to.
make himself q priest among his own
people in Sicily. From the intention he
was diverted by the influence which in
l846 and 1847 blew the embers of revo-
lutionary feeling all over the continent
of Europe into fame. He took part pas
sionately in the unsuccessful insurrec-.
ticn of that time against the Bourbon
dynasty of Naples. Threatened with
the dungeon or with death, he escaped
to France, and there, studying law, he
formed Intimate relations with other
Italian refugees, one of whom, lady
possessing some property, materially
aided him in completing his legal studies&
and remained throughout her life his
steadfast friend. When. it became pos
sible for Crispi to return to Italy, he es-#
tablished himself as lawyer at Milan,
and in that city formed the acquaintance
Of the lady who is now his wife. She
was at that time married to another per
son, but after the death of her first hus-2
band, Crispi was married to her by 81
OWL ceremony for reasons probably
enough arising out Of the relations Of!
Haorid and active hostility, which at that
time existed between the Italian reyolu-.