Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1842-01-06
Correspondence Of the Gazette.

liE Hf3t ~ tHt1ifht ~ "a ~ ~ -" $3.50
polls, is the Capitol; and the other day found
myself one of the throng which was pouring into
the Rotundo fiom the Western entrance. The
grounds about the Capitol had Lost much of their
original beauty to me, from the fact that | had
seen them before. twice, and the last time vas
in summer; and the recollection Of their tlen
blooming appearance, forced me to turn from them
though even in their Writer gnib ,here;s much
{, attract.
hurried into The Rotundo, 10 see the great oh
iect Of remarkable statue Of WasLiHgton. From
lime to time, | he'd seen notices Of it in the papers,
and I felt an ardent d.siIe to look upon the great
Man in marble; and the reflection that it was tile
work Of an American artist, increased my curiosity
# ia placed IN the centre of the Rorundo, in pre-
cisely the same position which Tie bronze statue uf
he sage Of Monticello occupied. The face looks
to the Eastern front, and the Statue is mounted on
a pedestal some ten or twelve feet from the floor.
You will remember the enconiums showered upon
The artist for the design and execution Of the Sta
tue; and it may be expected that should endorse
them all. But this | canno; do. And if | lay my
self obvious 10 ths charge OF presumption, in daring
10 dissent from amateurs. | cannot help 1t. am
no ~pirtHoso. to fall in love with a piece Of marble
because il may haze been dug out of the ruins OF
antiquity or because ii is the result OF some emf
Dent masters chisel. And it may be, that this
frse-thiuking propensity abou, sculpture and PAINT
ing, hes led me to conclude that the stotue 81
Washing ton is no very great thing Had the
marble been cut and carved to represent an ancient
hero, | would not object: but to represent the Fa
ther Of his County quasi nudus, as lie /, | con-
slider to be wholly out of plsce. II may be that
classical effect is gained by the ~sculPtoi; but men
cannot divest themselves Of the recollection thnt
Washington lived in he nineteenth century. In
his day, cropped heads, cooked hats, leather shoes,
and close fitting clothes formed the costume. TIE
statue Of NJ. J, iTcrson represents the dress Of 70;
The statue of Washington represents an ege littlr
'oStrrior TO hat Of Adam, judging from the scarcity
IF mantle. Imagine yourself, Tor il you object TO
thai inpgininc) any one ehse, seated on an old
]uslioned chair, with a ieee Of three quarter mus
in drawn loosely hom the little toe Of the light
fpot over the knee of the right leg-lhence over the
high Of he left-aroupd the trunk, and crossing
the back diagonaIly. falling over the upper part Of
The tight arm-which is elevated towards heaven
and you have an idea of the Statue of Washington
The left arm is extended almost horiz1ntaliy-snd
the hand srasps a sword, shich he seems 10 lie in
The act of surrenderiug.
walked round and round the Statue, AID view
ed it from all points. tried 10 think myself into
a good opinion Of it-but it was no go. o. The
mass Of observers who gnzs at it daily. l have found
few who applaud. On a late visit | found a num-
Der Of gentlemen standing BY, and criticising the
Statue-And on drawing nigh, found them tohe
Virginians. They all condemned it: and their OBJ
jections tailed so well with my own-that | Joined
HIM, remarking that 81 too, was a Virgininn; and
desired to express my agreement with them in
opinion" "Sir," said one, "if we had this Statue
on tiis.water we would hurl it into the seal"
The bronze statue Of Mr.. j aeison stands about
midway between the eastern entrance to the Ro-
tundo and that to tie Hall Of the House of Repre-
sentativesi and | assure you that cold red jacket"
in his republican dress, inspired more of patriotism
and called up more historical recollections than the
naked ma, bic did. Even the merit OF originality
in design must be denied to Mr.. G4eenough-since
any one at all conversant with rooke's Pantheon,
will see that the artist knew something OF the sta,
tues of |Jupiler!
But we will walk into the Senate Chamber. The
day on which | was present (Tu,s dey Ia.t) was not
marked by ans IF ,rts Of Senators The SENATORS
who SPOKE whilst | was in the gallery, were Messrs.
Hendc son, Benton. Wight and Calhoun. The
subject was the posiponement Of The operation OF
the Bankrupt law. | smiled when the South Caro-
lima Senator arose and mentally ssid-"I will
wager my head that if he objects to the bill, it will
be on constitutional grounds!' He had not spo-
ken thee minutes, before | heard him exclain n, 81
/, believe it 10 be big with frsud-l believe it to be
unconstitutional" My wager was saved!
In conspicuous, places, are placards, %notifyin all
? spectators that the front seats in the circular gale
~ Of the Senate chamber are reserved for the La
E dics-but il is not specified whether for The purpose
p Of enabling the unmarried Senators to ogle the snil-
$ ing faces duly assembled there; or through abstract
, respect for Them. conclude that this gallant res
a olution was adopted through sinister motives on
The par, Of tho "Conscript Fathers for | OBJ
4 served that Senator Buchanan vas inuall,
cssting sly glanoes nj a squad of ladies just above
n him. watched closely, the old fellow-and wal
: amused to find in him evidences of youthful FIRE
"Oh, ii. love. it's love.
That makes the world go round"
When | recro,sed the Rotnndo, discovered
thu, the House had adjourned. On a subsequent
day, | found the House in session-and it is sufh'
, Glen, to say that, under Wing auspices. ii is as noi',
and boi.,erous, as under the former dynasty! On
I the calling of the ayes and noes on some motion o.
no importance, heard our Representative respond
G to his name and lower down on the list, the name
OF a western member was called, when he bounced
up. and declared he did mt know what The subject
before the House was whereupon. the speske'
, enlightened him, and he voted in the negative! ]
Q heard the whole ssbject-though | was standing IN
II The circular gallery Of the House. at a point farthest
= from tho SPeHker.-Aad the Inference with me
was that that western man va, asleep or-druuk,