Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1872-11-06

UNWILLING THE SCOTT STATUE.


The unveiling Of the memorial statue of
Sir Walter Scott took place Saturday. The
statue is of colossal size, and represents the
great novelist seated, and as though in deep
meditation. There has been no attempt 70
ldeailze the subject, bat 1t is faithful pro-
duction OF Scott as he may have appeared In
everyday life, with his dog crouching at his
feet. 1t is well known that this statue Is
production of the one by the same srtist
which adorns the Scott monument at Edin-
burg, and which is familiar to many Ameri-
cans, either through personal observation or
through the prints which are very general
throughout the country. The pink Aberdeen
granite pedestal is a simple pillar with three
pllnths, and bears the inscription. walter
Scott" on the front On the rear face is in
scribed, in gilt letters: presented to the
city OF New York By resident Scotsmen and
their sons, on the 10th August, 1872, the One
Hnndreth Anniversary of tue birth Of Sir
Walter Scott. Baronet." The proceedings
were participated in by the seventy ninth reg
iinent (Highlanders.) who, accompanied by
81. Andrews Society, New York Caledonian
Club, New York Burns Club, Thistle Benev-
olent Association Of Brooklyn, and various
New Jersey societies, met the executive COM
mittee, consisting of Richard Irving, William
Patton, \. NJ. Stewart and others, together
with the park commissioners and William
Cullen Bryant, at the Casino. The pupils OF
the public schools were also present.
After the overture Guy Mannering,
by Dodworth's Band, the exercises pro-
ceeded as follows Presentation address. by
Richard Irving; unv.eiling of the statue, by
Mr.. William Wood; address OF acceptance
on behalf of the city. by Controller Green
and Grafton by William Cullen Bryant. MIR
Bryant spoke as follows:
The Scottish residents OF this city whose
public spirit and reverence for genius have
moved them to present TO the people Of New
FORK the statue of their countryman, which
has just now been unveiled to the public gaze,
have honored me with the request that
should so far take part in these ceremonies as
to speak few words concerning the great
poet and novelist, of whose renown they are
justly proud. As / look around on the as
semply l perceive few persons of my own
/ age-iew who can remember as can the ris-
ing and setting of this brilliant luminary OF
modern literature. l we'll recollect the time
when Scott, then thirty-four years of age
gave to the world his Lay of the Last Min
strel, the first Of his works which awakened
the enthusiastic admiration that afterward at
tended all that he wrote. In that poem the
spirit Of the old Scottish ballads-the most
beautiful of their class-lived again. In it
we had all their fire, their rapid narrative
their uniabored graces, their pathos, anima
ting story to which he had given a certain
epic breadth and unity. We read with scarce
ly less delight his poem of "Marmion," and
soon aiterward the youths and maidens of
our country hung with rapture over the pages
of his Lady Of the Lake l need not en-
| umerate his other poems but this will say OF
them all, that no other metrical narratives in
our language seems to ME to possess an equal
power of enchanting the attention of the
reader and carrying him on from incident 10
incident with such entire freedom from wea
riness. These works, printed in cheap ed-
tions, were distributed all over our country;
they found their way to almost every fireside.
and their popularity raised up, both here and
there and in Great Britain, multitude OF i'm
itators now forgotten.
This power over the mind of the reader
was soon to be exemplifed in Il more remark.
able manner, and when at the age Of forty
three, Scott gave.to the world without any
indication of its authorship, his romance of
'Waveriey,' all perceived that a new era in
the literature of fiction had begun. Here
they said, is a genius of new order. What
wealth of materials, what free mastery IN
moulding them into shpae, what invention,
humor, pathos, vivid portraiture of character
nothing oyercharged or exaggerated, yet
all distinct, spirited, and life like. Are we
not they asked TO have other works by the
same hand" The desire thus expressed was
soon gratified. The expected romances came
forth with a rapidity which amazed their rea.
ders. Some, il is true ascribed them to Scott
as the only man who could write them. Ii
cannot be-, said others; Scott is occupied
with writing histories and poems, and editing
work after work, which require great labor
and research; he has no time for writing ro-
mances like these. So he went on, throwing
~ tba rIohl wnrlo Tho
OF them had been but a pastime, and fairly
bombarding the world with romances from
his mysterious covert. 1t was what like in
the neighborhood of this city we see on fine
evening of the Fourth of July, when rocket
after rocket rises from the distant horizon
and bursts in the air, throwing off to right
and left Jets OF flame and fireballs of every
brilliant hue, yet whose are the hands that
launch them we know not. So we read and
wondered and lost ourselves in copjectures as
to the author who mnistered to our delight.
and when at length, at public dinner in the
wear 1927, Scott avowed himself to be the
sole author OF the 'Waverly Novels the in.
terest which we felt at this disclosure was
hardly less than that which we heard of the
issue of the great battle of Waterloo"
"And now as the statue of Scott is set up
in this beautiful park, which, a few years
since, possessed no human associations. his
| torlcal or poetic, connected wlth IT'S snades,
its lawns, its rocks and its waters, these
grounds become psopled with new memories
Hencefor,h the silent earth at this spot will
be eloquent of old traditions, the airs that
stir the branches Of the trees will whisper OF
feats of chivalry to visitor. All that vast
crowd of ideal personages created by the i'm
agination of Scott will enter with it's sculp-
tured effigy and acknowledgement and Flora
McIvor, Meg Merrilies and Dirck Hatteraik,
the Antiquary and his Sister and Eddie Ochil-
tree, Rob Roy and Helen Macgreg0r, and
Baillie Jarvie and Dandie Dinmont, and Di.
ana Vernon and Old Mortality-but the night
would be upon US before could go through
the muster roll of this great army. They
will pass in endless procession around the
statue of him in whose prolific brain they had
their BIRTH until the language which we speak
shall perish, and the spot on which we stand
shall be again woodland wilderness.