Washington sentinel. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1855, 1853-11-20

rhapsody, "Dat head is suthine dat head
should be cut off; oh, dat horrid uniform; cut
| dat head off" Here he ceased for they say
the sentinel walked him out, before fixed
| bayonet!
When Amateur" objected to the use of
| fatty or saponaceous matters in making moulds
| from marble, he did it on three reasonable
grounds; the general observation that it was
| prejudicial; that sculptor abroad advised
against its use, and the belief that there was a
| decomposition ;-he really did not do it for the
| school-boy" reason, that it made the marble
| sticky and dirty.
1t is generally believed that soaps are
oleates, stearates, &c, the alkaline bases en-
ployed in their manufacture, such as potash,
soda, dc. Most people know that if hard
water (say dependant ON the sulphate of lime,
| for instance) is used with soap, the latter is
decomposed and the oleic, stearic acid, &c.
unite with the lime of sulphate of lime to form
insoluble oleates and stearates of lime, while
the freed sulphuric acid seizes the potash or
soda alkaline base which was previously oc-
cupied by the fatty acids. The same may be
said when the hardness depends on the carbo-
nate of lime. This was the reason why "Ama.
teur" proposed the plaster Of Paris experiment,
and objected to the use of saponacvN0 matters
to marble, and not because they m.ae it dirty
The reason why he objected to the use Of
oils, &C., may readily be traced in similar
manner. aItH t4
Let us apply a little Naples soap, beaten into
an emulsion with olive oil to the surface of the
statue, corroded thus terribly by an apneous
solution of carbonic acid, and suppose the mu.
tation to take place, let the alcohol and ether
be applied to dissolve the product, and must
we not expect a crumbling condition of sur
face, or disintegration The plaster mould,
IT is said, Theoretically covers the statue, now
this can only be by intimate approximation and
Will require some force, acting against the at
mospheric pressure of Is lbs. to the square inch,
to separate the surfaces. Is it not reasonable
to expect something of the injured surface to
be brought away by the violence?
Il The plaster moulder has several methods Of
casting from marble, not the worst Of which is
application of delicate leaves of metallic foils
and Others besides, unnecessary to mention. A
little ingenuity and scientific knowledge could
devise others, and modify those already known,
so as to operate without danger to the original
" Amateur" never accused Mr.. Hubbard Of in
juring the statue, nor did he ever accuse those
who preceded him he threw out suggestion
merely, that perhaps acids might have been
used IN dilute state to remove the effects of
greasy applications, but could not ccnscien-
tously say it had been done, as he did not
know it.
Mr.. Hubbard says that he did not use them,
and Amateur" is really rejoiced to hear such
is the case, and will reiterate his qualification
if Mr.. II. can get good bronze cast without
any injury to the original. With these remarks,
and though probably not agreeing in some
views, it is to be hoped that Mr.. Hubbard will
not object if the author gives this final article
the signature OF 8f fla AMATUER.
Nocember Z, 1853.