Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-18
GIFT HIGHLY PRICED
AMBASSADOR JUssERAND SPEAKS
FOR DAUGHTER OF DANGERS.
Replica of the Bust Of Lafayette Pre-
scented to Daughters Of the Ameri-
can Revolution.

Probably no present which the Daugh-
tiers of the American Revolution have re-
ceived has given them greater pleasure
| than that rendered by the ambassador OF
France. NJ. Jusserand. Three years ago the
Daughters of the American Revolution pre-
scented to France a stately statue of La
fayette, which was dedicated in Paris with
great ceremony. Now daughter of the IA
| nous French sculptor, David d Angers, who,
Ambassador Jusserand says, loves America
| and Americans because America and Amer
leans love Lafayette and revere his mem
Dry, desires to present to the Daughters OF
| the American Revolution replica of the
bust of Lafayette recently presented to the
United States. This bust was designed to
| replace Tie one of which it was replica
and which destroyed by fire in the
Capitol fifty years ago
M. Jusserand spoke in particularly
| happy vein and was applauded enthusiast
| ticahy throughout his brief remarks. He
| said:
THE keeping of family tradition pTe-emi-
nently belongs to the mother. the wife, the
| daughter. The first teachings received in
| life are those given by the mother; the
earliest seed is the one which endures long
| est.
1T is fit and natural that the daughters
of America should have thought of full
filing, and should have fulfilled so well,
their part in preserving the traditions OF
the great American family This splendid
memorial hall endowed with such beauty
and raised with such rapidly, is token
OF what they can do. / confess that when
| heard of the great project two years ago
l had some misgivings. and thought it was,
perhaps one of those buildings of dream
land which look so handsome on paper and
which are meant to remain paper things for
a longer period than the length of our lives.
Dream Becomes Reality.
The dream has, all at once, become
reality; under the guidance of your emil
nent president general, paper has been
turned into marble.
There is French proverb saying, Telles
meres, telles files; such the mothers were,
such the daughters are 1t holds true in
this as can be verified. We know very
well what were the grandmothers of the
daughters of today. We have many con-
temporary testimonies: one being Lafay-
cites. In the first letters he wrote, after
landing in 1777, to his wife his very dear
wife, whom he always calls dear heart he
mentions what strikes him most in the new
country he has just reached; and he does
not forget to describe the women of Amer
lea. You will, l hope, pardon him when
you hear that he alludes first to mere ex-
ternal and superficial qualities; it is fact
that he declares that they are very pretty.
But he adds that their simple and digniied
manners are quite winning; he has only
praise for them, and he asks his wife to
try, for his sake, to make for herself ali
American heart.
There is in this great town another me-
mortal hall, not without some fame of its
own, called the Capitol. | had the honor
some time ago, on an august anniversary.
the day being the 22d of February, to pre-
sent to Congress a bust of Washington, the
work of David dangers.
David was a typical French artist; typi-
cal by his love for his art and his coun-
try. his love for freedom and his love for
hon
he had to model the statue of some of those
heroes whom YOU intend specially TO honor
in this hall; he made busts or statues of
Washington, Lafayette, jefferson. Having
been ordered by the French government to
model a statue of Gutenberg, he set apart
one side of the pedestal for America, and,
under pretense of exemplifying the Benefits
of Printing to Americans, he grouped to-
gether in a bas-relief above fifty among the
more famous of your national heroes.
Franklin is In the middle, holding to view
the new-prnted sheet, on which is to be
read the Act of Independence: Washington,
jefferson, Hancock, Adams, Lafayette and
a great many others surround him. 1t Is
certainly the most interesting of his works
from the American point of view, and one
very little known.
Suffered for Freedoms Cause.
David dangers, devoted as he was to
the cause of freedom, had to suffer for it.
He knew. for a while, the bitterness of
exile, and he rambled some time in Europe,
having for his consolation the company of
young daughter Of his whom he called
his Antigone.
well, this daughter still lives. and she
has inherited her fathers feelings for the
United States. Being a worthy daughter
of France, she wants to show her sisterly
friendship for the daughters of America,
and she has informed me that, if agreeable
to you, she would be pleased to have a
bronze replica of this bas-relief cast from
the original model to be placed, a glft
and souvenir, among your memorials The
work. being in its way a page of history,
would answer the views just expressed,
with SO much eloquence, by Senator Dol
liver.
From what l see and hear | gather that
this gift from Nine. Leferme tsuch is her
name) would be acceptable to you: she will
be informed without delay, and the bronze
work of art will come in due time.