Rensselaer Union, Volume 1, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 December 1868 — A Visit to the Sculptor Power. [ARTICLE]

A Visit to the Sculptor Power.

A writer in ilia Providence Journal des. onhosa visit so lliyam Powers, the sculptor, •in hia studio fit Florenoe: “lie seemed glad to us because We art r* Americium uffafjw, and*especially the awt»l tragedy which hail so recently oo&anad in Washington, the ossassiuotion of President Lincoln. Through courted and petted by the Kngbsht, Power* him HfWhys bemi firne to his country, loyal to tha core. Dr. W. reminded him of a little incident which occurred some four months before, and which Powcighadattudedtoat That time, in a" .conversation with Dr.. W. An English or some other lady of Moeesiou proclivities hod Jinked him if he had ever executed a H)tof Jtvff., Davis. ‘No, nun in in,'♦ip I he. his bright eyes flashing, with fire. Thopfi that before long an artist of excutiug, not the bust, but the man himself,’ >Ve spoke of thill readiness of the EngHshi tfi J#> on ■oftr side now that sue ess Lad crowned our 'arms. ‘Ah.’ said he,' I know not.which is tho more vexatious find annoying, whon you are dragging a heavy loud up hill, to bavo some ouo bitch on bis horses behind, and pull von back, oi\ >yheu you are going downhill, to bave him \ii»X on his horsei lietore and dash away with all buy.' to the risk of upsetting your load and breaking ■your n»ck. And thus we talked on for nil hour about Americau affairs, when I said,. •Mr. Powers, we have cheeifhlly allowed love of eountiy tt» take precedence of our Tovoof art. Now let us, if you please, look at some of these bcautif.il things which lie about ns iu bucU profusion in your studio.' “He smiled and proceeded to grptify our desires; among other things wc saw the model of his ‘American,’ n female of fauit--1«M proport-ons. with her foot upon a brokeit ehaiu signifying her conquest over.her cifffmies. It was ordered by Congress during tho aduiiuistrution of President Frank Pierce, aud was designed to crown tho summit of the Capitol domf at Washington. But I presume, some lovoif of the ‘peculiar institution- suspected that the] symbol might be of the nuturo of a prophecy, hinting at the overthrow of slavery, no i so it never found it# way to the spot for which it was dlB gpcd. j, tlijnk J’owcrK said that the Rtntue was then in New York boxed up, an.l put away iti somo out-of-the-wayp’aco. it occurred to nie that if Would be a good time to bring it forth to t£e light, and lift it up in the sight of all nations, a sign that America hail broken the, manacles of the bondsmen and let the ensluved go free. “As we were preparing to leave tile studio Mr. Fowcrs n ited ns to but ournum-s in tiis ‘Visitors' Book., Il said that yvo should regnnt it ttS'bnfflT Ith honor and a pleasure to ilo so. ‘Perhaps not.' said lie. •when I slunv yah one name;' and opened bis book he pointed to the name juid residence of ‘IL W. Hamblcdon. Coutederate States of America,' anil across it rowers had drawn so broad a black mark as Almost to obliterate the letter, One other written in a similar way had received the same treatment. ‘I don’t want my Register,’ said ho. 'to be disgi aced in anv|such way us this.’ It was refreshing to meet a mau of such thoroughly loyal spirit, and toknow that at times when our cause was unpopular with so many men who prided themselves as being the great patrons of art, this foremost among modern sculptors bad not swerved from his political integrity, nor proved a traitor to his country in the hour of her p>ril.” —The Saxouy flouring mill ot Leonhard & Scheuricht, onLombard street, St. Louis,was partially deetruvedby fireon the 21th. Loss, *17,000; insured, *IO,OOO.