St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1858-10-14


whose house she was guest. This gen
tlemanJ as. a God-speed to the young ar
tlst on her journey to Rome, sent her, OF
the eve Of departure, an order to {. large a
mount for the first figure she should moo
Eel, leaving her entirely free to- select he'
own time and subject. A statue Of Qjnone
was the result, which is now in the house
OF Mr. Grow, at St. Louis, and which gave
such satisfaction to his fellow townslnen
that an order was forwarded to Hiss Ho-
mer tor a statae for the Public Library at
st. Louis, in the same liberal and consil:
crate terms. Beatrice Cenci, exhibited
at the Royal Academy last year, and
which won SO many golden opinions frora
critics and coanoisseurs, was on its way to
st. Louis, In fal1lment. of this order.
The summers in Rome are, as every one
knows, full Of danger to ioreignero. Dr..
1iosmer having seen his daughter finally
sett1sd, returned 10 America, leaving her
with strict iniunctions to seek SONG salu-
brlo'ls spot in the neighboring mountains
tor the summer, if indeed she did not go
into Switzerland or rEugland. Rome, now
ever, was the centre Of attraction; aud, af-
ter the first season, which was spent at
Sorrento, on the bay Of Naples, Miss Hos
mer could not be prevailed upon to 90 out
OF sight and reach OF its lordly dome and
noble treasures Of arts The third sum
mer came, and, listening to the advice of
her friends, and in obedience to the ex-
press wish Of her father, she made ar
rangements for a visit to England The
day was settled, trunks were packed, she
was On the eve Of departure, when let
ter from America arrived, informing her
OF heavy losses sustained BY her her,
whica must necessitate retrcnchnlch: in
every possible way, a surrender Of her ca
reer IL Rome and an immediate return
home. The news came upon her ike
thunderbolt. Stunned and bewiltered,
she knew not what to do. An only child,
and hitherto indulged in every wl,iim and
caprice, the position was indeed startling
and perplexing. The surrender Of her
art career was the only thing which she
felt to Ee impossible; whatever else might
come, tha5 could not, should not be. Aud
now come into play that true indepen-
dence of character which hitherto had
shown istef mostly in wild freaks ana
tricks Instead Of falling back upon those
friends whose means she knew would be
at her disposal in this emergency, she de-
spatched messenger for the young sculp-
tor who had shown the daguerreotypes to
,;'lr. Gibson, and who, hin1self dependent
upon his professional exortions, was, she
decided, the httest person to consult with
as to her own future career He obeyed
the hasty summons, au1 found the joyous,
laughing countenance he had always
known, pale and changed, as it were sud
denly, from that Of a young girl to ,vo-
man full Of cares and anxieties. He
could scarcity credit the inteIli yence, but
the letter was explicit, the summons home
peremptory. 'sGo I will not, was the on
y coherent resolution he found 50 the
Two laid their heads together Miss Hos
nler was the owner Of q handsome horse,
and an expensive English saddle; these
were doomed at once. The summer in
Rome itself, during which season living
there costs nothing, WAS determined upon,
and during those summer months Miss
Hosmer should model something so attrac-
tive that it should ensure speedy order,
and, exercising strict economy, start
thence forth on an independent artistic
career, such as many Of those around her
with less talent and training managed to
carry on with success. No sooner said !
than done; the trunks were unpacked,
the friends she had about to accompany
her departed, her fathers reverses were
simply and straightly announced, and she
entered at once on the line ofindustry and
economy she and her friend had struck cut. |
The summer passed away, and neither
fever nor any form of mischief attacked |
our young friend. She worked hard and
modelled a statue Of Puck, SO full Of spir-
it, originality and fun that it was no soon
er finished and exhibited than orders to
put it into marble came. 1t has since
been repeated again and again, and du-
ring the past winter only, three copies
have been ordered for England alone, one
for the Duke Of Hamilton Thus, fairly |
started on her own ground, Miss Hosmer
has met with that success which talent, |
combined with industry and energy, never
fails to command.
The winter before last, while the
Cenci was being put into marble, she was
engaged in modelling a monument to che,
memory Of a beautiful young Casholiei
lady, which is destined for niche iu: tho
Church Of San Andrea della Flattee, in
the Via Mercede, close upon the piazza di
spagna. A portrait full length figure of
the young girl life size, reelinos ppon al
low couch. The attitude is easy and
graceful, and the tranquil sleep Of death
is admirably rendered in contra distinc-
ton to tho warm sleep Of life in the
@Cecl. ".-r' On %@... ~ t.a4a @.s y
M.oer Il lo, L,.~~