The Portland daily press., 1876-02-29

woman-her tenderness, her self-sustalned
obedience to duty, her shrinking timidity, yet
the young hands casped into discrimination,
and above all, the modesiy wnlcn CLONES ner
like garment OF all ideal conceptions of
womanhood know not one which embodies
tenth of that which is found in this perfect
child. Nothing in antique which 1 have seen
comes near it. The high-minded, Christian
woman, gifted by God with creative genius,
could only have produced in marble this reali-
cation of SO tender get SO sublime an IDEAL"
The painting OF s'The Death of Won Weber,
is known in America by engraving. A lady
writes to the Home Journal OF a recent visit
she made the artist, Ncasse de Keyser of Ant
werp He brought out the original picture,
saying-"You see it is Won Weber, lying back
dead, as they found him. ashen pale, among
the cushions, with his hands on the piano, and
the Last Thought rising heavenward from I'M
der them. You see how the morning light
streams in through the window over his face"
He had no portrait, and painted ideally; but
one day Moscheles, who had seen Won Weber,
that death morning, visited his studio, stood
before the picture awhile, and burst into tears.
The next day he came and showed the artist
the well know piece, "The Last Moments of
Weber," which his work had inspired. The
monument to the composer was shortly after
being erected in Dresden, and de Keyser's pic.
ture was exhibited there, by consent of its own
err at that time, to help the subscription fund.
Max Won Weber, the composers son, wrote
letter to the artist, ''and told me that the re-
semblance to his father was perfect, and in
proof of that sent me the mask taken after the
death of Won Weber, saying that had earned
the right TO be its possessor. mon Dieu," I
said, Elf had only known of the existence of
that beforeF The lady proceeds to say: "And
here de Keyser opened an old carved cabinet
and took from shelf plaster cast of Won
Weber's face and held it up against the win
dow, that the light might fall upon it at the
same angle as on the face in the picture. The
likeness was perfect. The strong, calm, firm
mouth, the poetic brow, the heroic profile were
the same in BOTH.
A unique artist in animal forms was, some
little time since, described by 'H. A." She
found this original worker in Bowlder, Color
ado; Mrs. Maxwell, who has had for many
years passion for collecting birds and beasts,
and has there very remarkable museum, the
second of the kind she has made; while her
ambition is to make complete museum of all
the animals of Colorado. Mrs. Hunt thus
describes dramatic group at one end of the
room: "Here are arranged mounds of earth.
rocks aad pine trees, in imitation of a wild.
AoSoJ iohonSopC3 auu onuOuS tuCm SIOdpou dul-
mails in pairs or singly. and every one in life
like and significant attitude. doe is licking
two exquisite little fawns, while the stag looks
on with proud expression A bear is crawl
ing out of the mouth of cave. A fox is sly
ly providing along, ready to spring on rabbit.
A mountain lion is springing literally through
the branches of tree on deer, who is rum
ming for life, with eyes blood.shot, tongue out,
and every muscle tense and strained. Three
mountain sheep-father. mother, and little
one-are climbing rocky preclpice. A group
of ptarmigans shows three colors-winter,
spring and summer A mother grouse is cluck-
ing about with brood of chickens in the most
inimitably natural way. And in alttle out-of-
way corner is a touch of drollery-a little wood
en- house, and COMING out of the door a tiny
squirrel, on his hind legs, with tiny yellow
duckling hanging on his arm. The conscious
strut, the grotesqne love-making of the pair is
of positive and ludcrous as anything ever seen
In German picture-hook." Another amusing
thing, reminding n. H." of Boards paint
ings, is a group of monkeys playing poker
High on a tree limb perch row of owls; Mrs
Maxwell let out a fluffy gray owlet from
cage, ami it flew instantly up, perched itself
solemniy IN the row, and sat there motionless,
or left: The effect of this on the whole row OF
stuffed owls was something indescribable. 1t
would have surprised nobody if one and all
they had begun to loll their heads" Mrs
Maxwells originality, however, has not yet
been told: 1t lies in the fact that she s-not
taxidermst, but-a sculptor. 'She molds the
animal first of plaster, just as she wishes it
to stand. Then she covers it with the skim
fitting the skin to it. instead of stuffing the
skin out till It is in the shape of an animal. 1t
seems that there is twice as much skin on an
animal as it needs to cover it, and that one rea-
son stuffed animals ordinarily look so fright
fully unnatural is that the skin is stuffed till it
is stretched out of all proper proportion. Hers
scnlptured animals, covered with skins appro-
PIRATE to their kind"