Page:The Granite Monthly Volume 6.djvu/174

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��THE GRANITE MONTHLY.

��encircled with close-clipped beard, that covers the chin and throat to the ears. The hair drawn back on top, parted on each side, falls in curls behind, over the immense double ruff, three inches wide and as thick, fluted in double flutes.

The costume — for the outer cloak shows in front only over the arm — is a short, close frock scarcely coming to the knees, belted in by a wide bdt fastened by a triangular buckle, the point down ; the sleeves have narrow caps at the shoulders, wide cuffs at the wrists, which seem of some corded or finely tucked material, turned back and trimmed with an inch wide edging, laid in folds. The full bag-breeches garter the long hose below the knees with wide ribbons tied in bow-knots with long ends on the outside ; high-heeled, nar- row-toed shoes with large puffed ro- settes, a puff in the center, on top of the foot.

"Richard S. Greenough, Sculpsit, 1875." The execution to the minutest detail is very fine, the block snowy white, the pedestal softly veined.

THE NATION'S MARTYR.

Near the center of the Hall, on the west side, is Vinnie Ream's (now Mrs. Hoxie) statue of Lincoln. Very much criticism has been lavished upon it. The subject was statuesque only in soul and in idiosyncrasies. Some western men who knew him, and such should decide rather than the artistic, say it is as good as the average ; and a few praise it, aside even from the fact that it is the work of a woman. The head droops forward, the hair thrown up on top parted each side, clipped beard on chin and throat to the ears, the face with deep care-lines on the forehead — is sadder and rougher than Mrs. Ames' fine bust, and has a dream- iness about it — as if not out of his brown study though risen to propose the Act of ^^mancipation, — that must often have been his mood. The right hand holds the' wide, flat roll — held rather low as if not yet presented ; the left gathers up the outer cloak half fallen

��off, a mass of it tucked under the arm is held by the elbow, covering also the right arm to the wrist though showing the coat sleeve without cuff and the inside linen. The cravat is close with a low collar turning over it, plain linen front, vest and frock-coat with buttons down each side ; the pantaloons much wrin- kled over the instep of the boots. The pedestal of veined marble polished, bears the name in front — the honored and revered name, Abraham Lincoln, 1870.

Next on the west stand the New York bronzes, life size — that last winter ex- changed cambric-covered boxes for fine bases of the rich, dark chocolate Tennessee marble that adorns the Capitol — the faces of the pedestals bearing the inscription " From the State of New York."

Robert R. Livingston, first Chan- cellor of the state, who as such had the honor to administer the oath of office to Washington, a resident minister to France and negotiator for the trans- fer of Louisiana to the United States, stands in an attitude of calm repose, and in the rich, dark bronze, looks the med- itative sage. The right arm in the coat sleeve with narrow line of embroidery along the edge, falls naturally at the side, with the Act on a roller with or- namented tip or knob, the end unrolled to show the inscription " Cession of La. 1803," in the hand. The hair crowning the wide, but not very high, lined forehead, is parted in the middle, thrown up at each side and tied behind in a " club." The deep cav- erned eyes, very friendly, long, thin nostrils, close compressed lips with lines at the angles — except Trumbull's — the oldest face there, is one that grows upon you. The necktie is close with pendent artistic laces, and the closed vest shows half-a-dozen buttons ; below the left hand, like the other with deep, full laces at wrist, draws together the surplice or chancellor's robe of office that drapes all the figure to the narrow buckles of the shoes in a most effect- ive manner. The name is on the bronze plinth, "Robert R. Livingston,

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