The Washington herald., 1911-02-11

London statues of the past, in the
main, are ignoble things Most of them
deserve the same fate that has befallen
some of the early effigies, demolition or
regulation to obscure and lonely places.
Take, for instance, lie Seur's bronze
equestrian statue of Charles l, in Ira
falgar Square. During the revolution the
Cromwellians removed the statue and it
fell into the hands of brazier. Later
1t became the property of the Crown and
was erected. about 16T, on the site for
merly occupied by the original Charing
Cross, then called Eleanor Cross The
carving ON the pedestal. once supposed
to be from the chisel of Grinlfng Gibbon.
by times ravageS has been robbed of
what beauty it may have possessed. The
horse and rider are not without admirers,
but most people condemn the statue as
'wretched' and long to destroy it,
The hoGse is a clumsy animal OF the
small-headed type found in pictures of
that period. Charles, who seems far too
small for his. steed sits with a certain
rigidity that may have been meant for
kingly dignity. The aims are too short,
and the folds in the long-legged
boots have the regularity of the bellows
of a conCertina Yet. on the whole.
shoulu say the statue has a kind of
archaic charm that may be enjoyed with
equanimity.
To look at the scantfly -draped figure Of
James II in winter makes one feel cold
er, and at other times reminds one of a
cockney figure of a Roman from a
pageant. The statue, however, is an ad-
mirable example of the art of Grinling
Gibbon. who, l think. was discovered by
John Evelyn. 1t was first erected be
hind the banqueting hall Of Whitehall
Palace. in 1856, at the expense of Tobias
Rustat. Centuries later, in 1897. it was
placed in front of Gwydyr House, and
in December. 1893, was erected on its
present side in St. James Park
With these. and perhaps one or two
modern exceptions. I know of no other
statues of royal persOnages worthy. OF
the site they occupy Fire and negli-
gence have mercifuny saved London from
the uglinesS of some of the statues of
George l, II. and III. At one time there
were in London actually four statues of
George l. but now only one survives,
that on st. George Church steeple. Hart
street, Bloomsbury. Horace Walpole
characterized it as a masterpiece OF alb
sUrdity, and a wag of the period wrote:
When Henry VIII left the Pore in the lur.h
The Prutestants made him the head Of the church
But Georges good slbjer1s. the Bloomsbury People
Instead nf the church made him head Of the s;eepIe
There are other versions of this dog
Eerel. The statue of George l. which
stood in Leicester Square. had an igno-
minious existence. When the building
for the 'WyId Great Globe" was erected
in 1871 the statue was taken down and
buried. and when replaced in 1867 it re-
sembled an old master. it wanted a leg
and otherwise was disfSured. In lSi6 iok-
ers painted the statue white. with red
spots and some time later the statue OF
the King. like Humpty Dumpty. had Il
great fall. while the horse with the ''hoI-
low in its back in which the figure had
sat. remained on the pedestal Finally.
in May. 1S72. the monument was sold for
16 pounds sterling.
This eycsOre however, had not been
removed long. when another took its
place in Leicester Square, the reproduc-
ton Of Peter Scheemaker's statue Of
m the Westminster Me
mortal. The right hand of the figure
points 10 the words: There is no dark
ness but ignorance" 1t is all ugly
enough.
Van Nost's statue OF George II. in Col !
den Square. fortunately is too far away
TO offend. John BacOns statue of George
III is a quadrangle of Somerset House
no doubt meets the esthetic taste of the |
of Somerset House and the ter |
riers" who drill in the square. But the |
0rhy admirers of the inane equestrian |
statue of the same King in Cockspur |
street are the newsbOys who use It as a |
shelter and distributing center. Chantreys |