The Jews in ancient, mediaeval and modern times . arerepresentatives of a class of great bankers. Much ofwhatever success and glory the Second Empire canlay claim to is due to the work of Achille Fould,four times Finance Minister ; and in the times since,how frequent upon the lips of men hav^e been thenames of the republican deputies Cremieux andGambetta. Gambetta!- A year or two since, there was per-haps in the world no more interesting name. In thehumiliations of his country, in 1870, his efforts tosave her were colossal. He was afterwards, aspremier, virtual ruler of France, and was almost
The Jews in ancient, mediaeval and modern times . arerepresentatives of a class of great bankers. Much ofwhatever success and glory the Second Empire canlay claim to is due to the work of Achille Fould,four times Finance Minister ; and in the times since,how frequent upon the lips of men hav^e been thenames of the republican deputies Cremieux andGambetta. Gambetta!- A year or two since, there was per-haps in the world no more interesting name. In thehumiliations of his country, in 1870, his efforts tosave her were colossal. He was afterwards, aspremier, virtual ruler of France, and was almost ascertain to become the real ruler had he lived as if theunswerving primogeniture of the old regime werestill in force. He was descended from Jews of theItalian city of Genoa. A curious story is told of himin boyhood, which is of interest as betraying in himthat strange characteristic intensity of the childrenof Jacob, and which in Gambetta was manifestedconstantly afterward in his career. His father sent * Certain Men of Mark : Gambetta, GAMBETTA. 300 THE STORY OF THE JEWS. him to a school which for some reason was distastefulto him. He wrote home that if he were not takenaway he would put out one of his eyes. His fatherlaughed at the threat and disregarded the request,and was presently shocked at hearing that the boyhad actually put out one of his eyes, at the sametime coolly writing that if he were not removed fromthe hated place he would put out the other. Only aJewish boy could have resorted to such a measure,so outre, so grotesque in the midst of its horrors, forbringing his parent to terms. In 1868, the day came atlast when Gambetta, then an active, ambitious younglawyer, was to take the first step toward a wade defence of newspapers arbitrarily handled by thecensors of Napoleon III., he made a speech which,for vivacity, strength of invective, and beauty, is saidto be almost without parallel in the French was delivered on a dull afternoon in D
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookpublisherlo, booksubjectjews
