shall augment instead of detracting from its aspect of grandeur; it must
be magnificent, for if not it will be ridiculous. The engravings of Mr.
Bartholdi's statue represent a woman clad in a peplum and tunic which
fall in ample folds from waist and shoulder to her feet. The left foot,
a trifle advanced supports the main weight of the body. The right arm is
uplifted in a vigorous movement and holds aloft a blazing torch. The
left hand grasps a tablet on which the date of the Declaration of
Independence appears; this is held rather close to the body and at a
slight angle from it. The head is that of a handsome, proud and brave
woman. It is crowned by a diadem. The arrangement of the draperies is,
if one may judge from the pictures, a feature of especial excellence in
the design. There is merit in the disposition of the peplum or that
portion of the draperies flung back over the left shoulder, the folds of
which hang obliquely (from the left shoulder to the right side of the
waist and thence downward almost to the right knee,) thus breaking up
the monotony of the perpendicular lines formed by the folds of the tunic
beneath. The movement of the uplifted right arm is characterized by a
certain _elan_ which, however, does not suggest violence; the carriage
of the head is dignified, and so far as one may judge from a variety of
prints, the face is fine in its proportions and expression. I do not
find the movement of the uplifted arm violent, and, on the whole, am
inclined to believe the composition a very good one in its main
features. There will be an undeniable heaviness in the great masses of
drapery, especially as seen from behind, but the illusion as to the size
of the figure created by its elevation on a pedestal and foundation
nearly twice as high as itself may do much towards obviating this
objection. The background of the figure will be the

... Spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue etherial sky,