New-York tribune., 1882-03-10

shown at once how strongly the world desires 10
see her great children as they looked when among
men, and how far that desire Is from being accom-
plished. Italy early found o type from which 10
recreate the lost face Of Danteperhaps its earliest
appearance il the fountain In the public square
of Perugia, where tho figure OF Logic has the un-
mistakable features of Dante-and the Frencn nave
accepted the classic ideaizing of Napoleons race
by David and Canova rs the one that best satisfies
their sentiment. We are fortunate in the iact 'ha'
Houdon did not try like Ceracchi to make WASH
ington look like Roman general but gave HIM to
us as he was so far as in him lay. More could no'
have been expected of the great sculptor OF tne
statue of Votairc than he did in the case OF WASH
ington He was only two weeks at Mount vernon
arriving on Sunday October 2, and leaving on the
17h and it was not until five days after MS ARRIVAL
that he was able to secure portrait. curious
anecdote is ouoted from The Philadelphia Bulletin
of January %, 1869: "At last it happened one
morning there came down to Mount Vernon from
Alexandria n horse Jockey with span OF horses
which the General thought of purchasing. The
Frenchman on. Houdon) was asked by his host 10
90 ont and take a look at the animals They were
clean lmbed satin coated, shapely horses of bigh
action yet perfectly docile and well broke. The
General expressed his satisfaction with them and
demanded the price. The jockey said, 1.-TWO
thousand dollars at that tine most exorbitant
figure. The evident attempt to extort an unreason-
able NOV ed WashIngton's indignation that
he bade the fellow bcgone. An said Houdon IN
an ecstasy this is the position for my statue!
have it l have itp Taking out his pencil he
hastily sketched the attitude thus accidentally as
suned by the General and atterward fixed it IN en-
during stone with his matchless chse" Perhaps
the worthlessness of anccdote of this sortand how
many examples could be given-was never more
amuSingly illustrated. Let the reader turn from
this story 10 the statue ITSELF still. immOvable,
without the slightest attempt to express IN face OF
gesture any emotion whatever, and he will easily
sec for himself what the anecdote is good for He
will read beside on page 1913, what HOudon did
really endeavOr to convey by the attitude, however
clumsily he failed in expressing his intention.
The account of the statues of Washington Is suh-
cienuy complete, and the illustrations range from
that of IoudOn, and from the fno work of Henry x.
Browne in our Union Square, down TO the
gimcrack performance Of Mr.. Clark Mills in which
that person runs race for the prize of absurdity
with his own Jackson. We are fortunate in the
fact that by ntrustng the execution of the statue
of he hero to be placed on the steps of the Custom
House IN Walst. to AIr. Ward we have been saved
from the disgrace of a statue by the hands that set
mp at West Point the outra geous caricaturc OF
Custer-an insult such as never offered to
brave man and generous people-and which has
also made of one Of cheerful minor poets
laughing. stock and a by-wOrd forever i'll the statue
of Halecl in the Central Park. Heaven and earth
were moved to secure the commission for the
Wal-st statue for this vfer of his kind, bat for
tunately it late in tie day for such attempts to
succeed. If an artist like Mr., Ward could consent
for once to walk in the footsteps of another, we
might almost wish he could give us the Houdon
figure in the essentials OF its dress and dlmensons-
believed to have been accurately measured from he
person OF Washington-plus that life and animation
that our American would know so well TO bestOw.