Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1859-04-07
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PENMANsHIP EXTRAORDINARY.

One OF the m0St extraordinary examples
of the combination Of. psrsevering industry,
constructive taste and manual skill that we
have ever known or heard of may be seen at
this time in the works of Mr.. David Da-
wilson, an artist of character so peculiar
that it will be necessary at least briefly to
describe his works in order that it may be
understood. The branch of art to which
Mr.. Davidson has been led to devote him.
self, by some attraction that seems more than
human, is that of penmanship; and surely
his success is great and complete to wonder.
He draws, engraves, paints; but the lines
of his drawings are not lines, but minute
yet legible words, complete in every letter
and every stroke and angle. Thus his pic
lures are all histories, each face or figure TEL
ling its own lifelong story. The specimens
we have seen were hanging on the walls of
the retiriug-room of the House of Repre-
sentatives, and there is that in them which
speaks of more than skill or patience; they
show that to a mind bent on greatness wheth-
er material, artistic, intellectual or moral, it
is hardly wise to deem miracles impossible.
Mr.. Davidson is by birth Pole, and but a
few years in America; yet he speaks fairly
aud transcribes our language most accurate
ly. He is quite blind in one eye and near
and imperfecty sighted in the other, yet no
flaw in his works is any where discernible.
He writes the lines that compose the shadings
of his pieces without pencil or ruler, and yet
their parallelsm is perfect to all appearance,
and must be so in fact or they could not fit
in at the corners so admirably. In his choice
of the subjects for his extraordinary works
there is an accuracy.in in the closings, pro-
prietary in the breaks, and general perfec-
ton in minute as we'll as leading parts that
produces in the spectator surprise not less
than profound We can do no more than
rapidly mention the pieces on exhibition
There is a miniature likeness of Mayor Tie
mann, of New York, done in history Of
his life; an elevation of the Maryland In
stitute; drawn in description of the insti-
tuition by Mr.. Vansant; the new Capitol of
the United States, done out in Horizons Life
and Services of Mr.. Buchanan; likeness
of the President from the same work; the
two tables of the Mosaic law in beautiful
Hebrew characters, surrounded with an a.
mazing elaborateness of work and taste by
the whole book of Exodus in English, and
large portions of it in Hebrew; Washington
at Trenton, done in history of the battle
from Sparks; Paul Morphy at his chess table,
drawn in the history of his life from the
Chess Monthly and, lastly, a copy of Trum-
bulls painting of the Declaration of lnde-
pendence, drawn in the text of the Declara-
tion itself; the articles of confederation, the
Constitution, Washington's Newburg papers,
Farewell Address, and several others of his
memorable writings. Great as these things
are, we understand there is a greater in New
York, by the same author, seventy:eight
Inches long by sixty wide, in which the SUBJ
iect is drawn in the text of the whole Bible,
written out at length, and, it is said, with
out error or omission. n.-National Mtelligen-
Ger,