The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1875-09-11
JOHN MATTHEWS'S GRAVE.
TIE MOST TIsITED or AM TIE
GREENWOOD MONUMENTS.

GREENWOOD MONUMENTS.
Thirty Thousand Dollars worth Of Sculpture
Over the tsreat soda Water Man-Some-
thing for the Lovers Of Art to Notice.
The most curious, attractive, and costly
monument Of the thousand that oil Greenwood
Cemetery, Is that OF John Matthews, the soda
water man, who died In 1870. The monument
has been erected little over a year, and In that
time has excelled as an attraction TO visitors the
romantic burial plot OF Charlotte Canda, and Its
highly wrought tombstone. The Matthews mon
ument Is near Lawn avenue, to the right Of the
entrance to the cemetery. It Is built from. a
granite base to deep-COlOrcd Nova scotia
stone nniil In media val style 81 architecture,
which n 1t can he classed at all. Il Is with the
novelties and surprises .han any old Gothic
cathedral ever vouchsafed. The base Of the
monument Is single block OF American gray
granite, six feet wide and ten feet long, winch
weighs sly tons Upon 1t rests richly SOUP
tured marble safcophagus eighteen inches hgh,
on which lies the full lenath recruitment statue
OF John Matthews, his long white beard spread-
Ing out over marble quilt, and MS head res,ing
on n low pillow with a sculptured embroidery
covering The drapery which covers the ngure
IL treated with great severity Dy Tue sculptor,
but 1t Is complete IN all " the details. On the
face Of the sarcnptnCus. at the foot OF the
are sculptured in high relief, representing
daughter and grandchild OF John Matthews
who are buried beneath.
pEATH-BED SCENE.
On the rear face Of the satcuphagus, In the
cen 10 of the dt9on / y nels, inside OF which
are chiselled flowers aud foliage modelled from
nature, Ia sculptured family recollection,
which represents the death hed scene Of Mr.
Mntihews's married daughter The husb1nd.
who IL represented a. weeping, Is bowed down
as " 10y grief at the side Of the bed Around
the bed stand John Matthew. his wife and
sons, and Dr.. GurdOn Buck II New York city.
On the wall IN the rear Is the fllster bust of a
hreman. he figures IN the mcdallion are all
modelled from life. a traccry Of foil igc that
extends from the di 'gunal panels surrounds the
carving. On the face ~ the sarcoDhaeus. below
hA hAU ~ hA afN IL IA Ina Enl al fII ~
three Marys at the sepulrhre, and one lie ~
them is the prm full-leng figure Of "A little
bow and ON the other side that Of n little girl,
sOn and daughter OF the successful manufac-
turer. At the four corners Of the -arcophagus,
disc9nnocted from " ma resting on the granite
block. are four M lrble bases, winch support the
polished deep red granite shafts. which hold
gigantic marble tablet, from which RI .es the
decorated Gothic canopy and s,ro OF N,vl
Scotia stone, thirtysiX feet high. Each capital
that rests ON the granite shafts weighs "A quarter
OF ton, and the total amount OF carving on the
four caps forms solid line tnirty.twb feet long
The white marble tablet which rests ON the
capitals was imported from Italv especially for
the III 4ce which II mis-. II Ia seven feet wide
thirteen feet long, and weighs seven tons. On
the lower side Of the tablet, which forms cell
Ina above the ful-lengih recumbent statue OF
incident in the life of the dead man which may
be conceived as dream of the figure below it,
ANOTHER PICTURE.
II represents JOnn Matthews at twentv-one,
leaving England for America a great ship lies
IN the dock a man Is carrying a trunk up the
ganeway aud the young wife and her two chill
dren are bidding goodby to the departing man.
On the ceiling at the foot 81 the statue Is rep
resentitton Of young Matthews serving his APP
premiership In London, IN the shop of Jusern
Hramah the inventor Of the pcruut ttiOn bank
lock- tie h,drostatic press, and otne- articles
In the foreground Of the shop Is an immense
bronze casting that was ordered bN the British
Government. AZ the other end OF the tholet.
and over the head Of the statue, there IL sculp-
tured renre-.utaion Of Mr. Matthews a. he
was often seen fl his last years after he nal re-
tired from business. sitting in front OF nj, resi-
dcnce la Seventy-ni ~ street, New orh, reading
anewspaier. puneu-up turkey gODOler Is Dy
Ia al a ii ~ f.lNl NI fNtta
head. Is cut Eat mitch cow, and on the CORE
spending side NJ the foot /. a ramp Mt u fish
Ion representative Of the native country Of
MIR. Matthew'S
Tho ba .cs Of the granite shafts that support
the tablet ere sculptures with form, OF amin Is
ana birls, there beins different design each
OF the sixteen sides The most clapufate work
OF the mouuuent l. put on the massive capt l.,
hlhhIhR OF tICn one most cum us arr " OF
portraits, busts. flowers ana animals. On the
angles Of tue capital, there are four nguto, OF
the evangelists and twelve y rtrait nu,ts. Ca the
first cninet OF tue capt. 4 To be seen 81 coming
up Hillside uatb l. the bust Of carl Ndlirr.
the sculptor Of tins elaborate monument. His
working csp Is ON his mead. Between tie nr.i
and second cpruef. counting q lett, - a fun
iehgth rpftrat niue inches long = Mr.. Mat
thews. who Is standing with monkey wrench
In his hand ana a little dog ut his feet. The
representation Is IRON potii 1T that was taken
some years before his death. ON another side
~ the portrait OF GEORGE Matthews. a living son
and opposite to 1t isa portrait Of Mrs. Matthew's,
his widowe mother, and on another sid Il the
portrait Of j Ohn Matthews, another iying son.
BusTs.
On an Inside corner Is the bust OF ~. Matthew
with hook in MS hand. aud on the fourth
corner Is bust 81 the deceased daugh .er,
whose dcathbed scene is scuipturei on the
rear OF the sarcOphagus. All aDodt the portraits
and busts there Is carved a mass of II ,wers ana
foliage, IN wnlch there can be distinguished the
mock orange. the bleeding heart, the Wild rose,
and a careful drawing Of peculiar weed. on
carved a representation Of two llttle Chickens
nghting over worm 10 front Of outer cup.
The second capital AT the night of the foot OF
the statue nas at Its four corners PORTRAIT busts
OF John Matthews when IS years old. two busts
nj VFHff IA Land and
head.Of ~. Luke. Between the lust, on the
respective sides OF the capital are heals Of
buffalo, aran bun and deer, surronniei by
carvings of the crown imperial and other Il wv
ers. The base OF the column l. rived with
VOLTS and an eagle head. On the tnird cauital
there are the busts u 81. John with his emble ~,
the eagle, bust II niece OF Mrs. Matthews,
and Of Jonn Matthews. On the rear side OF the
capital Is a miniature copy Of the celebrated
piece OF SCULPTURE, Tue minsirels curse" which
IA now In Europe and for which the sculptor
Carl Muller received gold medal from the
French salon Of lsi9. wren he was p years OF
age. Around this ana other miniatures Is carved
tue pitcher plant and the lily )f the valley. On
the bass Of the column are carved tragic and
four busts, inf mt grlndchid. with It's hood on,
little daughter. one OF the eyanseli-ts and the
widow. and all the way around the cap the but
tercups and leaves are carried,
just over the capitals are four grOtesque gar
goyles with open mouths from which pour the
streams oil water tn IN RAINY days fall on the
abrupt roof VI the CANOPY. All above the tablet
Is built Of deep-cOorcd Nova Scotia stone,
which enters into numerous architectural
freaks. The unOpy rests at four points on the
tablet. an rises In transeit form In Gothic
arches aud terminates in pointed gables, which
In turn end In nni ills representing smaller
arches, from under which project heads Of
watch dogs and dogs oi:the chase the larger
arches are wrought In rich moulding and sculp-
tured foliage, and carved with squirrel, and ~
ards represented as moving up and down the
arch. In The arches over the transept there arc
the same devices and the gables ale faced with
highly wrought croche,s enriched with foliage
The ridges Of the gables are surrounded by
scuptured h-lres of bears In various attitudes.
TIM OTHER EMBELLISHMENTS.
Under the large canopy which the transept
forms Il a yelled figure Of woman Sc tel In a
richly-cdrycd char. dog looks out from be-
meath her, and on the back Of the chair hangs a
garment and medal bearing Matthew's name.
Above the lntersecti n Of the ga les, nanked by
Fix towers, rises the spire. On an uinauenttd
base stand eight columns Of polished deep rcd
granite, supporting small second canopy,
which covers the lfe-slze portrait bust 81 one ~
MIR. Matthew's daughters. There are four twin
capitals surmOunting the granite shafts. From
above the foliage which adorns the base ut the
spire there project marble medallion heals,
studies from lille and from the sculatOi's scrap
book. Above them, on the sides Of the octag pnal
shalt, are full-ength figures Of The laborers who
did the stone cuttin on the upper part Of the