The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1888-03-30

eENoA,s CAMEO eANTo.
A Weird City of the Dead Described by
George R. Sims.

A Weird City, OF the Dead Described BY
George II. Sims.
Imagine a garden surrounded with
noble open galleries lined with mag
nificent white marble monuments and
all shut in by great sunny green hills,
which stand around it like sentinels
guarding the silent and sacred camp
of the dead. Imagine all this. then
put above the roses and the blossoms
and the fragrant trees, and the yellow
immortelles and the green wreaths and
the glorious marble statuary, a. blue
sky and bright sun. and you have a
faint idea of Genoa Holy Field.
But you can not imagine the monu-
ments and the memorial statuary.
You must see them. because they are
so utterly unlike any thing we have in
our cold, prosaic land. In long mar
BILE galleries, open to the air and the
sun, the monuments ut first give the
cemetery the appearance Of. an art
exhibition. You imagine You have
wandered into a sculpture gallery by
mistake; but the wreaths Of flowers.
with broad silk sashes attached, the
swinging lamps. and the memorial tab
lets undeceive you, Each monument
has, as it were, an arch of tho gallery
to itself. and is placed against the
back wall. The figures are rarely ale
gorical. A man in his habit
as he lived stands. life-size. in
white marble above his own
tomb. A little girl in q short frock,
with her lap full Of flowers, seems
dancing on the column that records
her death. Over another beautiful
tomb is family group, Efe-size. The
father Is dying. He Hes on his death
bed and the sculptor has realizeds every
detail of ,drapery. The wife kneels by
the bedside, some of. her daughters
supporting her. The old mother sits
in an easy-chair, her eyes raised to
Heaven, her lips seeming almost &c
move in prayer. On the other side OF
the bed the eldest son stands up and
supports one Of Gle daughters,
who has utterly broken-down.4 IL is q
marvellous piece Of work. 1t is the
Last Adieu" realized in marble, 1t Is
naturalism and it is art 1t is realistic,
and so perfect in>detail that you would
recognize any of that group of mourn
ers if you met them in the street
Over another tomb, wherea husband
and wife lie hurried together, this old
couple sit in two arm chairs, holding
each others hand. On another man
lies dead on his bed, and his young
wife reverently raises the sheet and
gazes for. the last time upon his.face.
Over another tomb is tho statue of
man who lies within. On the steps OF
the tomb stands his wife, 'ttnd she holds
their little girl in her. arms and lifts
her up as though TO kiss the dead papa
| The door of another vault is repre-
sented as half open. The husband lies
dead inside. The wife Knocks at the
door and listens for her dear ones
voice to call her in.
There are hundreds and hundreds OF
these beautiful groups in the Campo
! Santo. What makes them the more
extraordinary to the English traveller
is that the living and the dead are all
habited in modern everyday costume,
/ and no detail is spared TO make the
groups and single figures triumphs OF
! realism. One remarkable piece Of
sculpture have omitted to mention.
/ 1t is over the tomb of a beautiful
Italian lady who died short time ago.
Her bed is represented with perfee-
| ton of detail The lace on the pillow
is perfect The lady IS dead. but the
angel has come to fetch her. The angel
takes the dead lady's hand and the
lady gets out of bed TO. gq- with the
angel to Heaven. This is the moment
depicted by the sculptor The lady
sits on the edge of the bed and the
angel points upwards in. the direction
they are to travel together.
All this is very beautiful, but its in
tense realism may jar on some. IL did
on me after time. felt that some
thing of the sublimity of death was
taken away in the process. and
turned with little sigli Of relief to
some Of the humber graves which
dotted the sunny garden Of fragrant
roses that lay so bright and beautiful
under the blue Italian sly.--Ge1soa Cor.
London Referee.