The Washington times., 1911-05-24

n
when arrived at the steps Of the minis
] ter, she cannot restrain her naughty
temper, and disputes Elsa's rights Of
precedence. The king and Lohengrin
enter, and Lohengrin reproves Elsa for
holding converse with the evii-mindcd
woman. On the way to the church, Tel
ramund approaches and accuses Lohen-
grin of sorcery. The faith Of the king
and his knights in Lohengrin remain
| mistaken, however, and the train
finally enters the church, and they are
united.
Elsa and Lohengrin are alone, and
doubt and suspicion has taken COM
plete possession of Elsa's mind. She
questions her husmand, unmindful of
his cautions that IL she insists he must
reveal his secret and their happiness
must end. When their alteration is at
its height, a murderous attempt is made
upon Lohengrin's life by Telramund
and four of his followers. Elsa hands
Lohengrin his sword, and Lohengrin
Stays Telramund with one powerful
blow. He then places Elsa in the care
Of her ladies, charging them to lead
her into the presence Of the king. Be-
fore the king he meets her once more
and reveals himself to be the son Of
Percival, and a Knight of the Holy
Grail. Being known, he is now bound
to return to its mysterious guardian
ship. AS he speaks the swan, leading
the boat, appears, and to Elsa's I'M
speakable sorrow he bids her an eter-
nal farewell, but before he enters the
boat he descendants the swan, who Is
none other than Gottfried. transformed
by Ortrud's sorcery, and who now takes
rightful possession of his dukedom.
Times Inquiry Department:
VIII you kindly publish in your paper the
history Of St. Gaudens' statue. Grief" in
Rock Creek Cemetery?
Thanking you in advance 1 remain
A READER.
This mysterious monument, which has
upon II no title nor inscription was
erected by Henry Adams, historian, ia
memory Of his wife. 1t was intended by
the sculptor to be symbolical of Peace
of Cod AMI not grief" as many who
see it have believed. In the Decent
Der, 1905, issue of the Georgetown Col
lege journal. an article signed by John
F. Crosby, class Of 1912, lifted the veil
of mystery that has surrounded the
beautiful work of art It is too lengthy
to repuhlish here. but from St Gaudens
himself, the author received letter in
which the artist writes as follows;
80" thank you for your kind words
about my statue. and the photograph
you took of it at Rock Creek. 1t is hard
to put into words what l tried TO ex-
press III the figure, but it was not
grief" John Hay called 1t the Peace
Of I'D 70
more nearly expresses what I wished to
convey than that. Sincerely,
AUGUSTUS SAINT GAUDEES.
The story is that Henry Adams. a his
torian and man of great intellect. mai
ried a woman much younger than him.
self, but with whom he was deeply in
love. He was engaged at the time in
writing a history Of the United States,
and this, together with other lit
erary pursuits, so engrossed him that
he uniutentionally neglected his fond
wife. She, believing herself unloved. be-
came q prey to melancholy, her death
soon following.
Adams was. of course, greatly shocked
at this, and overcome with sorrow,
commissioned Saint Gaudens to carve IL.
her memory the beautiful figure that
now may be seen over her grave in
Rock Creek Cemetery. Nowhere upon
the monument is there any title or word
of inscription by which It may be identi-
fled with its hidden meaning.
Scarcely had it been erected. when a
| heated discussion arose among art crit
| les as to what it was intended to typify.
The majority contended that it was
syElbolical % grief. but in others IL
awakened the widely differinf emotions
of peace. melancholy. despair and medi-
tation. All agreed that it was the most
beautifully exquisite statue in Washing
| ton, and such a distinguished art critic
as Castor Migeon went so far as to say
| Il know of no other analogous work 80
| profound in sentiment. so exalted in its
art. and executed by methods so broad
and simple, since the most telling sculp-
ture of the Middle Ages. In me, per-
sonally. it awakens a deeper emotion
than any other work of art As to its
exact meaning men and artists have al
ways been at variance, and from its
erection, down to the present time, con-
| Trajectory interpretations have come
| from equally prominent sources. The
above letter, coming from the master
| sculptor himself, eterrally sets at rest
| any controversy as to the artists con-
| ception of the work.
IN = :. 8 = ! Z u z