The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1883-08-30
Berthsldi,s Great static.

The Immense scaffolding that can
be seen in the direction of the RuH de
ChaSelles, reaching over the highest
houses in the neighborhood, has for
some time been pulling many people
who pass along the Boulevard de
Courcelles. One would fancy that a
high tower was in process of con-
struction. On close examination of
the beams and planks the thing that
at first looked like Il tower displays
the lines of human form and the
gigantic folds of the robe that Grapes
it. 1t is in truth a statue, the greatest
that was ever constructed up to the
present time-the statue of liberty,
of which the sculptor Bartholdi con-
ceived the idea and furnished the
model, and which is destined to serve
as a beacon at the entrance to the
port of New York. Before becoming
one of the marvels of the great Amer
lean city, it is for the present one of
the most interesting curiosities of
Paris.
BY purchasing a little picture of it
that the committee sells to cover eX-
ira expenses the work can be inspected.
From eighty to ninety artisans are
kept constantly employed. The statue
is already completed up to the chest.
Perhaps in its present condition it can
be seen to the best advantage. Its ex-
traordinary proportions can be viewed,
and, as it is not completed it is possl-
bic to take in all the details Of the con-
struction of this. gigantic work, which
will probably remain unequaled
among works of bronze. For an hour
one feels transported out of the real
world, and, without the slightest effort
of the imagination, the spectacle be-
fore the eyes appear fantastic. The
plaster Houlds of the enormous limbs
thrown across the yard, and the busy
workmen covering them with innu-
merable pieces of wood that reproduce
all the contours and lines, remind one
of the Well-knoWn scene Of CULVER
at Lilliput, The men look like tiny
dwarfs endeavoring to bind giant.
And if by miracle that great hand
could become alive and simply open
its closed fingers all that solid wood
work would fly in splinters, and the
immense Scaffolding itself would come
down like a castle of cards.
The flst model was enlarged four
times. Then it WIS cut into slices,
and these slices are taken one after
ther and again enlarged to four times
their original size; and thus the di-
mansions of the colossal statue are
obtained. At present the workmen
are engaged upon the portion that
forms the chest. The model of it can
be seen in the shed. 1t looks like
little hill, oyer which the men are
constantly creeping. When the
draught or model of portion is made
impressions are taken off it. In Or
der to this it is necessary to gather
together hundreds Of little planks,
cut precisely upon the outlines Of the
mode, and in this way wooden
mold is obtained that is divided into
as many fragments as are necessary.
Upon these fragments the copper is
cut and hammered until il copies the
precise forms. Ten Chinese gongS
would not make greater noise than
is made all day long in the corner of
the shed where the copper is hammer
ed; and this continuous and deafening
noise contributes not a little to the
strange impression that one gets from
the visit.
When the shaping of a piece of the
copper is completed it becomes a por-
ton of the statue, and there is moth
ing further to do with it except to put
it Into its place, Just now they are
engaged in the work of finishing the
left hand. The nail of the first finger
would make good sized shield. The
top of the finger would make he'll
met for the largest head, and in de-
fault of a better cuiraSs. William the
Conqueror. who passed for the biggest
man of his time, might easily get
into one of the phalanges.
In six months the whole work will
be finished. There remains only the
chest and the left arm to complete.
The head, which is large enough to-
contain forty people, has already been
exhibited in, 1878, and the right arm
has just come back from America,
where it was sent to give some little
idea of the size OF the statue. After
the Parisians have had ample time to
admire the work it will be taken
down and sent to New York in more
than 300 pieces.