The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1871-03-30
Tho zoe Monuments.

IN thu al>t instant died Charles carter
-, fhr last surviving brother OF Robert
= Ice, Thus in the brief space Of one
tnsr have fallen the. three brothers and
bowcvrr little the last may have bcen
rnown 10 the present generation, ave can.
mn; hut feel that another cord that bound
y. 10 the living image OF our great chieita,n
:, broken. Although General Ice name
vil hr ever freshly remembered, in few
,rqrs we fear the itying features Of his face
vii I've but tradition. The fading colors
~ the artists pencil since the DAYS OF John
Han E,ke cannot resist the hand OF time,
.,rs II rroilrcS the more enduring bronze
nr marble 10 pcrpctuatc the very features Of
,br man. Last November, in this city, ut
crr,t meeting of southern soldiers and
,t1:cSuen. il was resolved 10 erect III bronze
ar marble monument worthy OF MIN ana
n ourselves: but from the slow manner III
which subscriptions arc received 1t would
arprar that those resolutions were no
sooner spoken than forgotten.
We are clad TO learn that this is-not so in
Lexington. In that mountain home, where
The sunset o.! General Lees life was spent,
hi- attached friends are about TO erect TO his
memory one oil the most impressive memo
rial monuments anywhere TO be found.
shortly before General Lees Inst illness the
>,uIplor Valentine was invited to LeXing.
Ton 10 model bust Of that great man, and
every aid was rendered to him both 10y the
General and his family TO secure an accu-
rate likeness. Mr.. Valentine succeeded
80 well in his work that, after Gene
raj It,'> death. at the request Of Mrs.
Les. he proceeded to model tomb to
be placed over the grave in the libra
" beneath The chapel. No limit was
>ct 10 the cost, and The design was lett
entiIely to the sculptor. This model is now
nearly completed. and although on very
snail scale. is one OF the most impos-
lnr monuments we have ever seen not
even excepting Queen Louisa, near Pots
dam. by Eauch, or the Duchess Of Mas
>au. al Wieshaden. hy Holgarlcn. Being
a pupil of Hiss, MIR. Valentines monument
/. o! the severe Berlin school, but not so
severe - those at CnarIottenburg or that
Of the Countess Henckel Won Donneis-
marck. in the Tyrol. There is in it less OF
the rrpelling awe Of maiesty and more OF
the attractive calm Of the Christian soldier.
The great warrior rests on u couch support.
cd by four columns, with the arms of Wiz.
gnia on the panel OF the sarcophagus to the
right, and those Of the Lee family on that
10 he left. his head being slightly turned
towards the shield of his mother state
We do not know whether to call it sleep.
or her twin sister, death, So calm AND
peaceful and yet so serenely happy does he
liz. No care or pain now shadows hi,
brow but u scarcely perccptible smile
s"clne 10 radiatc his face. as though ray
OF immortality played over his features tt
SoI"cc the mourner standing by. His mill
tayv cloak covers his body, and his RICH
hid thrown across his chest gathers III
one OF lis folds. His sword is lying OH tn
left side, with only the hilt appearing
The simple Latin cross under which b,
Won his last victory is at the head Of tn,
snrcophaguS. and IN Inscription Of hi
name and the dates of his birth and deatl
At the foot.
Although this monument is still on yer,
small scale. il vel belongs TO that category
Of AT which is evidence of great genius aE(
ability. TIE more il is looked III, the more
does ii attract ; and. rs when gazing on the
tomb OF The great queen and mother Louis;
OF Prussia. we look with silent awe anC
dare not break the sacred silence that sur
rounds her in that unbroken sleep O
death, so 10 one can look in the present III
stance al the image Of Robert L. Lee lyin.
30 cain and serene and yet telling of tkt
great triumph over mans arch-encmv
without feeling the awful imprcssivenc>s o
death, and that there Is yet victory over it
Ii Mr.. Valentines monument, when com
pteted, be equal to his model, we shall owe
TO MIN one OF the greatest memorial mOnu
mrnts i'll the world. Ihe superiority o
The Cbasle school of Berlin over the mere
triciouS schools OF France, the groteSqut
monuments IN the cathedrals OF Enslaut
TO knightS and bishops, and even over man!
OF those in Florence and Rome marks ;
great era in memorial art. 10 those VIII,
have seen the works of Rauch and Kiss thi:
VIII be al once evident.
We regret much that or limited space
will only allow lis to mention it. Like the
Madonna di San SiSto, however severe
when 1T first seen. the more we study then
the more attractive they become, and the
solemn awe with which we come TO look
on them can be only expressed by the 81
cred silence which we observe when in
their presence. -