Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1892-12-25
W. " l. I0E,0Ig ia0o. aans as nggsr 49, .nur

~ by reason Of lts compact fasbiopIDs
s ~ SLOW , angel remained many dars'
s e..n was visited BY throngs Of nso3i,
rim aii tne country around.
~ was this Christmas Snow Ana, -
t .,au .D,,aitleboro green that frs1 NJ.
eraeted to the boy the attention ~ ~
noted artist, Henry Kirke Rro, ~
whose pupil he became later on ias,s,
h hi perseyering energy had eushlsi
Mn, MN 70 graduate from Dart,nnuthS
WIN thls master he made such mr.
49, mat soon he was commissioned
snuugh very young, to make the noble
statue Of Ethan Allen, which no,v
Suorhs the capitol at washington
Chly lew turns away in the same
= beautiful building, there Is n conv ~
tue SNOW Angel, whose creatiob no
entered into Brattleboro histor,, a ,.' -
I tnaue oy order Of Milton I.ongstreet 81
Slnelnnat, who thus sienifed his an.
prSelation OF the young artist,
Not long after this the people OF all
the Green mountain villages bordering
the vermont Central road nocked n
tne railway station to catch a elimpse
~ the colossal emblem Of their state.
lhen on its way 10 Montpelier. whosn
legislative dome Il was to crown. This
nohly. typical figure Of Vermont was
also inc conception Of the artist OF the
Snow Angel. 49, w
az the beginning Of the civil war the
can Tor volunteers, echoing among the
green hills, stirred the soul of the
young sculptor 70 hasten to his coun,
trys service. The skin and facility
ana strong character Of his drawings
were well known; there were tens Of
thousands of brave men to carry
and to WELD arms. but the men
OF the pencil and the pen, whose power
was so great In those times, were com
paratlvely few, so, our Vermont lad,
abandoning marble and chisel for card
ana crayon, was soon In the advance
guards of Mcclellan and Hancock, and
Badly Smith and Stewart. and hisviyid
sketches brought the perils and the
needs Of war home 70 the hearts OF Har-
per's readers.
Once, while on accommodating tour
Tor the clear survey of the land whose
plan he had been hired to bring TO head
quarters, he climbed towering tree far
out on the line. A grey-unitormed
sharp-shooter spied him and sent his
bullets whistling through the air all
about him till IL seemed he must bear a
charmed life. The young artist who
had an important duty to perform, sat
there cool and intrepid as one Of his
own statues until his work was fully
accomplished
At the close of the war, Mr.. Mead
n fol
coived by Hiram Powers and other art
ists-partly for the sake Of his own
genial self, and partly By reason Of the
promise Of his works whose fame had
preceded him.
After remaining q short time in
Florence, he went 10 Venice for three
years and then returned to Florence
which is still his home.
While no was in Venice, the novelist,
Howells, then United States consul gen
eral at Venice, returned to America
for his marriage; and as the bride was
our oculptors sister, II was an event In
which he naturally felt the greatest in
terest.
During Mr.. Howell's absence, Mr..
Mead admirably fulfilled the duties OF
substitute; and IL was while performing
this service as consul that he saw, dur
ing the hour Of fashionable promenade
in the square OF San Marco and tho
Royal Gardens, the beautiful and
patrician Venetian girl who has now
for many years been the light Of his
Florentine home.
Not word OF Italian did he then know
and, try hard as he would, not person
IN HE.I 20, ttA
service af presentation TO the yonng
Indeed, were to tell Of all
the expedients TO which he resorted for
the fulhllment Of the wish that had
grown so dear to him; OF the frlitless
efforts and weary wnitings, his return
to Florence and then to Venice again
before he met Marietta di Benvennto,
they would form volume of romance.
Suffice it now, that at last the meeting
did take place to tho mutual satisfac-
ton OF the young couple.
OF Mr.. Meads earlier works perhaps
few have been more popular than
his carefully studied Columbus Appeal
ing 10 Isabella Of Spain, and that touch
ing souvenir OF his battlefield
experiences" The Returned Sol
dier,r that everybody knows
so well. The Listening Echo
that he chiscllcd very soon after
opening his Florentine studio, and that
somehow strangely suggests his boy
hoods dreams and hopes, was sold for a
large sum before It was completed. The
noble national Lincoln monument. re-
Gently inaugurated with imposing cere-
monies in Springfield, ILL.,, will be, for
all time, inseparably identified with
the great emancipation. His has relieis
Tor tho Washington monument are
art and history and portraiture
80.