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Ilf 9 NiMH ^t* It III In IftM I ^fillil£H*r»«* HtHfWt, Km|.( ike mMmv lt;1 »**«*tutrfwHin* *»** l»r*r*4 befere th# Merca*Hit Library AmmkImIom t**t •r««tciiu lo * ter?satletr# than Ml chi kavt Mu anticipated.('Untljfifili# Ilk filkAilllinM nf (hi ilMeli ftfktl lhlhad weather. Tho Hall ww wall AIM, a good proportion of the audience being ladle*.Mr. MeWUIe, la appearance, it about such amaa m oat might mo from reading Ms works; aa adventurous, determined traveler, free lathe expression of opinions, and yet a close observer of mstters passing around him. He makes no attempts at sloqusnoe, bnt appears upon the rostrum as though reading from one of his own descriptive works of whst he taw. Hecommenced with a very finely expressed introduction, and than branched into the subject of his lecture—“ The Statues of Rome.”— He described the approach to that city from Naples through the gate of St John, as guarded by a group of colossal figures, in stone, which attest at the entrancethat it is the “ Eternal City,” and at the same time, greet and welcome the traveler. As the observer progressed within its walls, he would meet every where, in street, squares, dwellings, churches, on every hand, statues which would form his chief acquaintances—that bid the observer a silent welcome, and yet imparted a sense of reality that could be realized by a perusal of history alone.These statues, the speaker remarked, convey to the looker-on an impression of the original, and impreased upon the mind a reality which could not be effaced. The statue of Demosthenes of Titus, that flits across the page of Tacitus, embodied in the marble the idea of the living man, while the bust of Socrates, at a first glance, scarce gave one an idea of his character. At a first glance it reminded one of the head of an Irish comedian, bnt a closer observer would see the simple-hearted, yet cool, sarcastic, ironical cast, indicative of his true character. Julius Csesar looked like a man that thepresent practical age would regard as a good representation of the President of the New York and Erie Railroad, or any other magnificent corporation. And such was the character of the man—practical, sound, grappling with the obstacles of the world like a giant And yet the appearance of these statues of the mighty dead, whom history made great in their day, d$sap pointed the observer. We all looked for adme-thing wonderful—something beyond preseal experience, and were disappointed. 'The same remark was true,of Seneca and his apostate pupil, Nero, and we could scarce realize that we looked upon the face of the latter without finding something repulsive, half-demoniac in the expression. And yet, the features were those of a fast young man of the present day, whom daily experience finds upon the race course—with instincts and habits ofhis class, who would scarce be guilty of excessive cruelties. To look at the statue of Plato, one would not think that he woald pomade his hair and beard, and discuaa grave subjects while making his toilet But his long flowing locks, nicely dressed, looked as though; like Louis IV., he could muse over documents while he smelledhis Cologne bottle.The lecturer described the various statues andgroups of the Vatican, the streets, churches and private palaces of Rome, and referred to the description of Milton as “a Vatican done into verse;” gave a vivid picture of a marble group representing Lucifer and his companions cast down from Heaven, cut out of a single block of marble, amidst which appeared the unbroken, defiant form of Satan, his whole body breathing revenge, and his attitude one never to submit orHe described the statue of the Venus deyieldMedicis, as contrasted with the Appollo, and the figures of the various heathen subjects which history so elaborately describes in words which convey but a faint conception as compared with the impression upon the mind, made by the marble representatives in the “Eternal City.” The lecturer closed by a very beautiful description of the villas and private gardens of Rome, in which every breath of air that stirs isperfumed, and which reminded us that iu a garden originated the dread sentence, Dbxth— that it was amidst such perfumed grottoes, bowers and walks, the guests of a Lucretia Borgia were welcomed to a feast, but received withgjjj' ;'r:fly's:The lecture throughout was rather interesting than otherwise, although the interest excited in the opening passages was not maintained to the close. The manner of Mr. Melville istoo quiet, common-place and unobtrnsive for a popular audience, but he talks as he writes— without the pretension of those who make lecturing a business.CiIwi
Newspaper Details
Cincinnati Daily Gazette
Cincinnati, Ohio, US
Wed, Feb 03, 1858
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Cincinnati A.
OH, USA 22 Jan 2023
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