While we write, a very sensible little volume has l)ecn laid on our table, entitled 

 " Hints oonccniing Greenwood, its Monuments and Improvements, by N. Cleve- 

 land," from which we make a few brief extracts to the point : — 



" St/mholic Devices. — Symbols, in monumental sculpture, if happily conceived 

 and well executed, arc always frratifyiiifr. The rareness of success shows the 

 ditticulty of the umlertakinjj^. On the other hand, in no do])artment of art, per- 

 haps, is failure so j^larintr or so shockinjr. It is painful to be forced to smile at 

 objects which arc designed, and which ought to compose and to elevate our 

 thoughts. Let the man who contem})lates such a work, remember that he is 

 about to invite scrutiny, and to challenge criticism. Ijct it be well considered, 

 lest, peradvcnture, he record some expensive folly, in a material whose durability 

 would then be its greatest objection. Such a work should call into rccjuisition 

 the choicest talent and the highest skill. Genius and i>iety should furnish the 

 design ; judgment and taste should superintend the task. 



" Ou a point of this nature, our suggestions must, of necessity, be general. 

 Not a few derive their symbolism from the ancients. The lachrymatory, the 

 mutilated column, the inverted torch, are very frequent. To be classic is the 

 highest ambition of some. With them, ai)propriatencss and consistency are 

 matters of small importance. Were there no other objection to the class of 

 objects in question, it would, in my mind, be sufficient, that imitation and repeti- 

 tion are fatal to sentiment, and nullify, if they do not reverse, the intended eU'ect. 

 Let it also be considered that these symbols are pagan, not only in origin, but 

 in purport. They are the mute language of a grief, to which consolation was 

 unknown — the sad hieroglyphics of despair. They say nothing of faith, or hope, 

 or immortality, or heaven. What have Christians to do with such emblems ? 



" One other kind of mortuary memorial asks our attention, and it is the highest 

 of all. I refer to personal representations in the form of statues and reliefs. 

 These may be copies from nature, or ideal forms ; they may be human, angelic, 

 or allegorical. They all belong to the province of sculpture, and many of her 

 best triumphs have been won on this field. Would that it were far more common 

 to resort to this mode of adorning the tomb and commemorating the dead. 



" To those who have the desire and the means of securing these most beau- 

 tiful and expressive of all memorials, our advice is summed up in a word : em- 

 ploy the sculi)tor. The term is sufficiently definite, and certainly does not include 

 all who have learned to chip and hew in stone. Here, as in poetry, to fall short 

 of excellence, is to be nothing, or worse. When commissions in sculpture shall 

 be confined to able and educated artists, we shall, at least, be spared some gross 

 absurdities. Cherubs, with babies in their arms, will no longer be seen in down- 

 ward Q]ght ; and marble seraphs will cease to tceep, and break their harps, because 

 a mortal has exchanged the woes of earth for heavenly bliss." 



The danger incurred by copying other monuments, is set forth in the following 

 passages : — 



" In naming examples with commendation, let it not be imagined that we 

 advise any to copy them. To this, there are weighty objections. Towards the 

 sculptor or the architect who conceived the beautiful design, such a course is 

 meanly piratical. It invades also the rights of the proprietor, who has paid 

 liberally that he might have something peculiar and unique. 



" A copy made by common workmen (and no others will attempt the wrong) is 

 rarely successful. Often it is only a caricature. To copy is slavish, as well as 

 mean. It discourages originality, and creates that monotony which is a positive 

 vice in the province of taste. If you see a design which you like, apply to the 

 artist who jiroduced it. If he deserve the name, he will give you, not a repetition 



