Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1889-03-14

uniformity and monotony Of
square cities, we have here the in
finite variety of nature heightened
and beautifed, instead OF being
obscured by human art,
Our pleasures in Norwich, aside
from the homecoming were
drive (bad weather preventing our
taking more than one Of tho many
we promised ourselves); attendance
at two of the many excellent
churches and a visit to the Nor
wich Free Academy and its mag
ni6cont annex, the Slater art muse
um. The museum which has Of
late been the object Of some mis-
placed derision, owing to tribe of
contemplate petty scribblers who
do the work Of a class of trashy
Sunday journals in Connecticut,
which has no parallel anywhere,
east or west. Our Howlers, Kick
ers, Sunday Bazoo's and Daily
Sewers must doff their hats to
their brethren of the east. The
Sunday Press of Connecticut is the
sewer of journalism.
But the museum: a collection Of
casts of the choicest works in the
galleries Of Europe and America,
arranged in the order of develop.
ment from early Greek to the late
Italian, showing among other
things that as workmanship inn
proves, conception, the power
of embodying great ideas,
diminishes. The collection reach
ss its climax in handicraft in
wonderful carved pulpit, smooth,
symmetrical, minutely exact, in a
word, perfect in execution, but des-
titute of the artistic spirit, the ar
tistic courage of the early sculpto r
who dared TO represent in stone,
Jupiter Olympus, father of Gods,
all wise and all powerful; or Ven
US, in which he must embody the
very highest ideal OF beauty and
grace; Niobe, or any of the count
less great Thoughts in stone"
which the fertile genius of the
Greeks and that wonderful Itsl-
ian Renaissance have given to the
world. 1t is our wish that our
young people who have shown so
keen an interestin the history OF
the Renaissance period could see
some of the work of its men aud so
learn how deeply their souls were
stirred by the influence Of that
time. How, for instance must the
great soul ofMichael Angelo have
been moved before he could have
taken upon himself so immense a
task as to make an elligy of Moses
descended from the mountain bear
ing the tables of stone and showing
in his face the radiance and exal-
tation of one who had communed
face to face with tho Jehovah; or
again Donatello, whose concep-
tions though lacking the magni-
tude of Angeles were far more
thorough and consummate. Take
for instance his "John the Bap-
list" a zealot wo believed
John, a man of one idea; a great
idea Of course, but one only, and a
mind narrowed down to it; desti-
tute of sympathy, intense and We
hement about his one idea and
motive because owing TO the
narrowness of his mind he saw
that idea and motive out of their
true proportion. This we must con-
fess, was our estimate Of John the
Baptist, and this in all likelihood
we would nave carried to the
grave bad not Donatello left be-
hind his infinitely greater and
juster idea carved in imperishable
stone; a head and a face betokening
the loltiest intelligence, the broad
est, deepest and tenderest sympa-
thy,a majestic soul in short; and all
the time bear in mind the artist pre-
serves the individuality of John
intact; does it violence in no
degree, only showing US that John
was in dead earnest because he was
q man of broader and not narrower
intelligence than other mtn, and
because he had truer sympathy
and clearer insight than they,
We left this work with a wish in
the heart that Donatello had treat
ed with equal boldness and consum.
mateness Him the latchet of
whose shoes John felt unworthy to
unloOse.
Several alcoves were filed with
pictures of the cathedrals and
shrines of Europe, SO numerous,
so elaborate, so exquisite that any
attempt at description would bo
mere foolishness; they must be
seen. And again behind these
cathedrals as behind Angeles Mo