Indiana American. [volume] (Brookville, Ind.) 1833-1861, 1857-03-20
THE LEGEND OF SABINE.
THE MAIDEN ARCHITECT oTsrRAssuSo.
An, how sslllfai grows tho hanl
Thai ohcyelh loves command
ftls the heart. and not the brain,
That 10 Tho hlghesi doth attain.

How many arc daily lamcnting that fc
malc vocations nro so few, and that do
,ondcncc must therefore DO tho lot OF tn
great majority Of women who aro no
among tho very small number born I,
fortune. Would It not bo wiser than lam
| entailon to examine carefully how far Gus
tom or prejudice have unnecessarily restric
ted tho careers Of industry and aFi, Il
which. tho delicate ta-to and scnsi,iv,
refinement Of the female mind nigh. lnd
such fitting exercise?
The Legend Of Sabine, tho daughter o
Erwin dc s.slhbach. tho architect Of S,ras
bours. is m illustration Of tho beautiful
adapiiyencss Of feminine talent to the high
est walks Of art; even tho most sublime
combinations Of architecture upon til,
most gigantic scale.
In tho fourteenth century, many Of III,
greatest OF tho vast CathedaIs OF ccnlm
Europe were rising toward completion
their frc,ted towers piercing tho heavens t
an elevation that tho greatest works o
antiquity never attained; the whole 0
these s;upcndous structures so covered
with carvings OF such minute and cxqui
site beauty, that ono might fancy myriadi
OF lace-woFking aiomies had wrought tthcsl
sculrtured mountains from tho livin,
rock, In the slow progress Of countless ages
as the coral worm gradually builds sup trop
ic continents from tho base OF tho fathom
less deep.
So great was tho enthusiasm with
which these vast Christian temples werc
reared, so abundant tho supply Of artistic
skill, that at the time Erwin do Sloinbacl
submitted bis plan Of tho great tower oI
Strasbourg TO Bishop Conrad, OF Lichicn.
borg, tho most skillful artisans fockcd IN
such mul,itudcs to tho work, that tho
chroniclors Of tho time compared them tc
a whole population engaged upon Il. form
ing. rs they state, ono OF the most extra
ordinary spccialos Of tho time. And suel
was tho ono-mndedncss with which this
mass Of artists conducted their simnlla
necus labor. that no single namo is pres.
erved prior 10 that OF SIolubaeh. OF the
original rlanncr oil tho vass temple. Of all
tho cunning carycs Of tho countless
s,atnes, and oil tho quaint aad excellent
devices so highly wrought, so carefully
finished IN every part tho names nro all
unknown--all absorbed In this vast Labor
OF love and faith.
The namo Of Sabine alone is snatchcd
from tho goncrnl obacuTiiy by trait oI
sentImen. which proves. rs tho beautiful
lines OF Longfelow. q. the head Of thi,
article 30 sweoIly express IA that
81 the heart. an.l uot tho hrain,
That 10 thu hlshvst doth attain"
Erwin do s.oinbaeh died, % 50 many
had dono before him. Gro tho completion
Of the temple, ana dying With tho ambl.
ton Of trua ar,lli. copIared hls son jean
and his daughte Sabine (bolh devoted
with suecens 10 The art of their father
not TO allow any namo but that Of Stein.
bach 10 become associated with tho ter.
mlnatlon Of tho rapidly advancing slruc.
,ure.
II waa dccrscd that tho completion Of
tho work should 10 eon6ded 10 tho arcl-
lect who should, within twelve days, pro.
duec tho most excellent plan Coz tha, ob.
Iee,. Among those who had worked IN
tho vas. aisl'ers Of Erwin, wero two youth.
fu arehIloet.seuplors, who had behcll,
not without tho deep sympathy Of artists,
IA we'll as lovers, tho ialcut tho devotion,
and tho beauty OF Sabine The elder of
these was Dernanl DO Sunden. q Sllcslap,
a youth Of mild character, tine.urei with
as,Tong cast Of tho deep devotion, which
animated many Of the grcalcst workers
Of that high period Of Christian art. The
younger was known by the namo Of 20.
lydorc. and was native OF Doulegne; Of
reckless and ambitious character. On
the eleventh day ho exhibited plan for
completing tho work; il was magnificent
design. full Of the boldncss and daring
which distinguished tho character of It's
author.
Sabine saw Il, wondered at It's beauty.
and retired to small cell In the old
otelser, which was her own peculiar studio,
to weep; forshc saw that her brother Jean
was vanqui-hed also--thc meek Bernard,
vino who hal found moro favor in the Sc
crct heart Of the artist-maidcn, than tho
daring Polydorc.
Night camc a. last 10 hilc her litter
tears, and She wcpt herself to sleep. But
in that sleep the highest regions Of art
seemed miraculously opened to her. She
saw in the dreamland OF her artist vision
temples and palaces in which the highest
beauties of Gothic art wcrp carried fsr be-
yond all she had seen On earth; aud walk
ing, the dream was 30 T pable, SO clear,
that she traced tho temple Of the splendid
vision upon a sheet OF parchment with
such accuracy, that il seemed realization
Of her dream. It was the twelfth day
the prizo was adjudged to Sabine.
Tho work advanced rapidly, tho match.
less sculptures of the portal Of tho great
clock.tower excited great enthusiasm, and
all expressed the dcepcs. admiration ex-
cept Polydore, who had daringly deman-
dcd the hand Of the maldcn-archiicct, and
been refused. But what excited the great
est wonder was, the npil progress olihosc
intricate and elaborate sculptures, which
every morning seemed even moro adj
vanced and more beautiful than tho night
before; insomueh that Il was deemed mi
raculous. and superstition whispered
strange stories of bands of onrcis foilino