Harper's New Monthly Magazine, No. IX.—February, 1851.—Vol. II.Various
General
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, No. IX.—February, 1851.—Vol. II.
Various
American literature -- Periodicals; Civilization -- Periodicals; Culture -- Periodicals
At the New England Society's Dinner, Mr. WEBSTER made a most felicitous
allusion to the _Mayflower_, à propos to a confectionary model of that
vessel which graced the table: "There was," said he, "in ancient times a
ship which carried Jason in his voyage for the acquisition of the Golden
Fleece; there was a ship at the battle of Actium which made Augustus
Cæsar master of the world; there have been famous ships which bore to
victory a Drake, a Howe, a Nelson; there are ships which have carried
our own Hull, Decatur, and Stewart in triumph. But what are they all, as
to their chances of remembrance among men, to that little bark
_Mayflower_? That Mayflower was and is a flower of perpetual blossom. It
can stand the sultry blasts of Summer, resist the furious tempests of
Autumn, and remain untouched by the gales and the frosts of Winter. It
can defy all climates and all times; it will spread its petals over the
whole world, and exhale a living odor and fragrance to the last syllable
of recorded time!"
Mr. STEPHENSON, of Charlestown, has lately completed a statue of great
merit both in conception and execution. It represents a North American
Indian who has just received a mortal wound from an arrow; he has fallen
forward upon his right knee, the left leg being thrown out in advance.
The right hand which has drawn the arrow from the wound, rests upon the
ground, the arm with its little remaining strength preventing the entire
fall of the body. The statue is wrought from a block of marble from a
quarry just opened in Vermont, which is pronounced not inferior to the
famous quarries of Carrara.
The literalism of the Panorama has lately been invaded by an effort
toward the Ideal. Pilgrim's Progress has been made the subject of an
extensive work of this kind by two young artists of New York, Messrs.
MAY and KYLE. They have met with great and well deserved success. Their
work embodies the spirit of BUNYAN, and presents all the scenes of any
interest in his famous dream. The seizing of the popular preference for
panoramas for the purpose of converting it from a wondering curiosity at
the reproduction of actual scenes, to the admiring interest awakened by
an imaginative subject, was a happy instance of tact too rarely found in
artists; and the eagerness with which the public welcomed the change is
another evidence of the general advancement in taste to which we have
before alluded.
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