The national Republican. [volume] (Washington City [D.C.]) 1866-1870, 1869-07-09

upon q small Portuguese ship, and at last
reached Europe. His family had long given
him up for dead.
Mrs. Ames' Bust Of Abrahans Lin.
colin.
In corner of the PERCEPTION room" Of tho
Union League Club House, on tho floor,
waiting I'LL 1t can be set upon pedestal and
suitably displayed, Is q copy In marble Of
size, We called attention to year or more
ago. Tho original, II will be, recollccted,
was, at the instance Of Mr.. sumnef, put.
chased by Congress for the Capitol, where
II will do something to redeem art aud Mr..
Lincoln from reproach. We hope that this
copy will be permitted 10 do the same good
service In New York. The service Is needed,
for II has seemed az IL The scuplpe image OF
Mr.. Lincoln was destined TO be lost by ex-
ecssiye copying, like the famous portrait OF
Beatrice Cenci, which In our shop windows
IL the face Of a dancing girl; or, to speak
more TO the point, like the majestic counte-
nance Of George Washington, which In
country parlors suggests lordly squire
dropping asleep after dinner.
The removes from the original likeness of
Mr.. Lincoln have been so rapid that In the
course Of little time nothing seemed likely
to be LEFT Of him but few craggt bits OF
natural featured vast eyebrow oyerhang-
ing lack.luster eye, a huge and shapeless,
nose, q cadaverous check, corrugated fore
head and check bones Of pretcrnatural dimen-
sions. In bis case, art. which should have
made an effort to conquer the disposition TO
caricature, ran into It with most unbecom-
ing speed. Mr.. Lincoln was not handsome
mani but that supplied no reason for repre-
sentlng him so hldeously ugly rs to suggest
the possible alliance of man with the ape.
He was u great historical figure, the greatest
since Washington but that furnishes no
excuse for posing him like herd, giving q
conscious toss to his head, or wrapping him
round with the flag. He never wrapped him!
self round with the flag; he never struck an
attitude; he never put on the stage look; he
was never conscious OF standing In fine
clothes with the banner staff In his hand,
gazing rnpturuusly into the heavens, as II to
catch the eye of the national bird, or look
Ing pitfully down on q negro slave.
He was homely, but his homclIncss was
human. lie was the historical parsonage
Of most memorable epoch, the agent of a
marvellous Providence, the representative
figure Of momentous crisis; but he filled
the place assigned to him without gesture
or u look that disclosed sense of the posi-
ton he held. He had not the study, the
scenic capacities of the time, but Its human
Significance entirely; aud that he Interpreted
through these strong elements Of character
which show their presence and their work.
Ing In the countcnancc alone.
All that We want, therefore, to recall Mr..
Lincoln Is q worthy head Of him. For prl-
vate purposes this Is enough. And this, no
more, but this, Mrs. Ames has given with
faithiulness of appreciation that places her
image apart from every other. II Is the
head OF the man, as II was In It's best truth.
There is no glazing over Of roughness; no
smoothing down of hardness; no trick of
poise or posture to conceal ungalniness.
The features are all presented uncouth and
luinpy, as nature made them. But as nature
made them, too, they are untouched by the
faintcst shadow Of ailectation or sclf-con-
scious importance. There Is no smirk or
shipper; no knitting Of the brow; no despair
ing gloom In the eye; no grim construction
Of the mouth; no haggard expression, as Of
the man of destiny and Of SORROWS, which
Mr.. Lincoln was unqucstionably, but which
he never thought OF calling himself or be-
lieving himself
The absence of sclf-consciousness, as of
self-assertlon, Is Its Characteristic, as 1t was
his characteristic. The general cast Of the
face Is downward, throwing up the powerful
moral structure of the head; but the look Is
one of thoughtnlncss, not of depression.
The mouth Is sweet the unshapcly nose tells
Of unbounded but rather promiscuous good
nature; the remarkable line and lift of the
right eyebrow Indicates the humorous quality
OF the man; the eye, II 1t had color, would
be gently, but not gloomily, sad; something
else than care sits on the high forehead SOW :
Ing seeds of trust In the anxious burrows.
The firm jaw, the sudden, strong chin, the
hard stubblc of the beard, tell of the In
domtablc steadfastncss, the stubbornncss
some call ii, that lay like the granite rock
beneath all this play of the human elements
above.
The face, as the artist has modelled 1t, Is
such n study as the man himself was. There
was a good deal of the woman about Mr..
Lincoln, and 1t is quite likely that woman
of womanly stamp has been able to detect
traits OF character In him that have escaped
the eye Of men. At all events, II she has
not discovered everything In him, she has
discovered In him not only something more
than other artists have, but something diff.
fcrent and something better; so much better,
in fact, that In her work the repeatedly mar.
tyred victim appears like one after many OK.
ecutlons, risen from the dead.
So excellent Is this bust In the grand fca.
lures of Its treatment, so fine In Its intcrprc
tatlon Of delicate properties, that We pass by
without criticism certain defects of manipI
laton, that would be bemishcs on fceblcl
head. The lack of perfect mechanical and
technical skill In the artist becomes almost
a merit in a case like this, where too much
nicely would be suro to spoil. We do moi
know whether the league Is to secure Thu
bust for the club-housoj but II has been long
since worthler work Of art was within II,
walls. At any rate we hope the bust may
not be suffered to leave New York.-N Y
TribUHc.
CoAL-PRoDUCSG COUNTRIES or EUROPE
England stands first aud Germany second OF
the list of European coal-produclng coun
tries. In 1850 the English mines yielded
500, 100000 centners, (the eentner being
equal to 1i04 pounds,) those Of Belgium
l5O,OO0,000, those of France l00,0O0,OoO
while not more than 10000, 900 were gained
from the German coal fields. The total con
sumption of Europe In that year has beer