¥798.} 
feizing the moft happy moment of refem- 
blance. He catches the genius and we 
racter of the perfon, and gives fpeech to 
the marble. ‘The abilities of this artift 
are evinced by his butts of Voltaire, 
Rouffeau, Gluck, Diderot, Caghiotivo, 
Barthelemy, Franklin, and W ASHING- 
TON. His whole-lengt!t heures, with- 
out pofleffing any thing of the ideal, have 
alfo their merit. © His naked Diana in her 
light courle—the little chilly g girl, and 
the young maid full. of and 
crowned with flowers, reprele nting winter 
and fpring-—his young Veftal, whole tea- 
tures belpeak perfect ferenity of foul— 
are known even in Germany. 
Hovupown has finifhed a ftatue of Ge- 
neral WasHINGTON, in marble, for the 
commonwealth of Virginia. Atthetime 
of my vilit to Paris, it lad already been 
fent forward to the place of its deftina- 
tion, Richmond, where it is to be erected. 
‘To execute that likenefs, the artift had re- 
paired toPhilacelphia, and lived fix months 
in WASHINGTON’s family. I have feen 
the model of that ftatue in Houpon’s 
work-fhop. ‘The character and attitude 
ef the fannie: and defender of American 
liberty—of the reprefentative of a happy 
and peaceful nation—of the proteétor of 
agriculture, that abundant fource of na- 
tional wealth—are happily imagined, and 
as happily executed, in his performance. 
It was particularly this lait-mentioned 
character, the agricultor, that HouDON 
had in view. The fimple co/fime of the 
fizure, exprefsly cholen with that View, 
has been much criticifed in America, 
where tafte is yet in its infancy. The 
Americans wifhed to contemplate a Ro- 
man hero decorated with all the attributes 
of a conqueror : vhereas HOUDON, on 
the contrary, aimed to reprefent the pre- 
tector of the arts, of peace, 2 and of liberty. 
It was the interpofition of WaAsHING- 
TON himfelf which decided in the gene- 
ral aflembly the execution of the ariift’s 
ide: " 
The ficure is arra ryed 1 in the fimple and 
noble drets of 2 man in rurallite, ali che 
piaited veft half buttoned, fandals on his 
feet, with a cloak, faitened on his breaft 
and flowing over rs and back, 
gF aces 
his fhoulde 
fuited to protect an agricultor from the 
inclemency of the weather. One hand is 
fupported by a ftaff; the other refts on 
the republican aes crowned with a cap 
of liberty.. At his feet isa plough. 
HouDON was indebted to his excellent 
and amiable wife for his prefervation 
from the hands of Robefpierve and his aa- 
herents, who had con{pied againt all 
\ 
Anecdotes of the Sculptor Haudon. 
- annals of that difaltrous a 
who had any pretenfions to genius. “The 
sera contain nw- 
merous examples of truly Roman great- 
nefs of foul difplayed’ by French wives 
who. either te bound for or faved 
their hufbands. An enumeration of 
thole heroic deeds uld tupply a rick 
theme tor 4 poem, and would furnifh the 
fineft eulogy of the moft noble portien of 
< 
vi 
the women of the prefent age. Thofe 
traits of héroic virtue and forvitude have 
as powerful a claim to our homage, as 
the domeitic Yirtues: of cur wives, their 
fabmiftion, their affectionate attachment, 
have to our admiration and gratitude, 
During the mof violent ttofms of the 
revolution, mumbers of French wives, 
animated with intrepidity, and forgetful 
of tl heir own perfonal dangers, infeparabiy 
adhered to their hufbands, and in their 
company participated al} the horrors of 
their fate. Forefeeing the peril whic 
threatened them, they averted it with 
prudent dexterity, er advanced to meeg, 
it with undaunted courage: and, their 
peter at length yielding to the felon e” 
of the affaffin onde: they fortified their 
bofoms ca angelic refignation, and fol- 
lowed their deatly-beloved lords to the 
{cattold. and the crave. 
The hatred and perfecution which tbe 
diSator levelled againft genius, penetrat- 
ed into the peaceful abodes of the artilts 
who inhabited the Louvre. In his eye 
they were all ariftocrats, confoirators 
acainft that liberty which himlelf was 
labouring to crufh, and again& their 
country which he was daily ravaging. 
ae tyrant’s myri midons had the auda- 
to proclaim aleud —** when the bloed 
Se atl the quondam eveatand rich, of all 
the prietts, and all the artifts, fall have 
ye fhed, then. the ee may enjoy 
{ec curity and peace.’’« “Phe nocturnal ar- 
refs, the threat of the guillotine, were 
the order of the day with the terrorift ¢ 
vernment, even for the arfilte of Be 
Louvre, who had ee confented 
t 
ta the abolition of the former academy of 
{ciences. 
Howpon was one of their number ; 
and {ufpictons were entertzined of the 
p2 itriotifn of that peace eable, irreproach- 
and wortay citizen. Et was im- 
puted to him as a crime, that he had not 
vet prefented any patriotic production cf 
his art—an omiffion which was conftrued 
to imply, beyomi a doubt, that he enter- 
tained eountenrevelutionary views. He 
threatened with imprifonment ; non 
would the numerous ftatues and bufts of 
his wor ii ad which reprefented the 
luminaries 
able. 
was 
223: 
