Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-08-27
SAGASTA.
The willy Old Fox Uncle sam Must
Meet In Diplomatic Array.
Nondon Sum-

iLOuuou Oull'J
Sagasta, the present Spanish Prime
Minister, is a stiffly built, fros-faced
man, with a strong jaw, a wide, insin-
cere smile. and black, filmy eyes. as OF
an Arab or a gypsy. He has the glib
word. the expansive manner, and the ex-
uberant gesture of the South. There Is
one charge which his most embittered
enemies dare not bring against him-that
of cowardice. His convictions may be
centred upon himself, but most erphati-
cally he has the courage Of them. over
and above his vast astuteness of thought
he is a man of action. II for many years
he has proven himself as supple as
serpent, his earlier history showed him
to be as brave as a lion He fought
against ODonnell in the streets of Ma
drid i'm 1856 at the head OF regiment
Of militia.
Before that, as a lad of IS, when a
student at the College OF Engineers at
Logrono, his native place. he hesitated
not TO Withstand the behests Of the
dreaded NervaeZ. Whenever the time
came for fighting he was ready 10 take
his share; yet without impeaching that
undeniable physical pluck Of which he
has given many proofs, IL is not sur
prsing 10 find that he made IL his first
duty as q soldier TO prevent himself
from being unnecessarily killed. Hence,
in the summer Of 1856. while many of his
colleagues stuck 10 their barricades IN
the streets of Madrid and were maSSa-
cred. Sagasta underwent the much more
convenient fate of being condemned 10
the uncomfortable death Of the garrotte-
in his absence.
Thenceforward. for two years. London,
Paris, and Ostend were the centres OF
his activity and IL walls could speak, a
certain restaurant of BishopsSate street
could tell some strange stories. He en-
gineered the revolution Of 1866 and drove
Isabella IL. from the throne. and this
time fortune favored him. When Topete
and the feet had been won over and
most of the army was squared the signal
was given. Sagasta and Gorilla Gas pure
a patriot ever lived, but too honest
and consistent 10 be "A successful modern
Spanish politician, with Prim as a ser
want in livery sailed under assumed
names in the steamer Delta. from Lon
don 10 Gibraltar, early in the September
OF thirty years ago.
/ cannot be surprised at our American
cousins lOathing the very name OF Sa-
gasta with the keenest of hatrcd-second
only 20 that which they have for General
Weyler. II was because OF his direct
action in 1873 that the Infamous General
Burril shot eight Americans IN one day,
and four days afterward shot Captain
Fry. General Ryan, and fifty-eight more.
Indeed, of all Prime Ministers that Spain
has ever had, Sagasta has been the most
merciles3 and unreliable. He is Taley-
rand-Bismarck, with strong flavor OF
TOrquemada.
Even now the old mans astounding
good luck may be depended upon 10 bring
him TO the surface again, although he
has just exceeded mans allotted span.
But there Is a more patient and logged
enemy than the paltry politicians who
are In opposition 10 Sagasta. This Is no
less person than General Weyler him
self. The two men have clashed for
years. and when Sagasta dismissed his
enemy and put Blanco in mis- place as
Captain Of Cuba he made a
most unwise move for his own interest
and for the peace OF his closing years.
Weyler has too much OF the slow-moving
Dutch blood OF his father to act without
discretion, So he watches and waits.