Ion in Talfourd’s Tragedy—the boy-hero, in all the tenderness of extreme youth, already self-devoted and touched with a melancholy grace and an elevation beyond his years—is so essentially statuesque, that I am surprised that no sculptor has attempted it; perhaps because, in this instance, as in that of Myrrha, the popular realisation of both characters as subjects of formative art has been spoiled by theatrical trappings and associations. [Illustration] FOOTNOTES: [1] “_Sancta Simplicitas!_” was the exclamation of Huss to the woman who, when he was burned at the stake, in her religious zeal brought a faggot to light the pile. [2] Canova’s bust of Helen is such a counterfeit; whereas the Helen of Gibson is, for a mere head, singularly characteristic. [3] There is a fine translation of the German Iphigenia by Miss Swanwick. (Dramatic Works of Goethe. Bohn, 1850.) [4] 1848. At the moment I transcribe this (1854), a very charming statue of the Lady Godiva (suggested, I believe, by Tennyson’s poem) stands in the Exhibition of the Royal Academy. [5] For example, the statue of Modesty executed for Josephine’s boudoir. LONDON: A. and G. A. SPOTTISWOODE, New-street-Square. End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Commonplace Book of Thoughts, Memories, and Fancies., by Anna Jameson