42 THE GREAT EXHIBITION

tion beyond the page of holy writ, poetic fancies, or the graceful imagery of classic befal.
Monumental tributes, indeed, she did not deem, unworthy of her genius; but then the
"storied urn and animated bust" were chiefly devoted to the memory of the great, to
the hero, the poet, or the scholar. She has now, however, begun to trifle with her art,
and adopt subjects of lesser importance, familiar or domestic. Roubilliac appears to
have been one of the first who began to clothe his figures in the costume they usually
wore, a practice we should like to see generally adopted. It has been so arranged with
respect to the drama, owing to the good taste of the late John Kemble; for the time was
when Cato wore a modish court-dress, bag-wig, ruffles and all; and Garrick performed the
parts of Macbeth and Othello in a full suit of modern regimentals. " Reform it alto-
gether," as Hamlet advised, and if our statesmen and orators must strut in marble, let
them not figure in a Roman toga, with the incongruity of a shaven chin and military
whiskers. "We remember seeing in an artist's studio at Home, to our great astonish-
ment, a full length of Prince Albert as a Greek warrior! Ilisu teneatis ? But to
return from this digression. The sculptor Cibber, the father of the poet, has shown,"
in his admirable statues of the two maniacs over the portico of Bethlehem Hospital,
how much may be done in marble to illustrate passion and emotion in ordinary life;
and Thorn, in his Tarn O'Shanter and Souter Johnnie, long afforded diversion to the
town, and furnished an additional proof, that it is not alone in the stately, the solemn,
or the classical, that the genius of sculpture can display its excellence.

We make these remarks, to introduce to the notice of our readers two subjects of
this grotesque description, which attracted a good deal of notice from the visitors to
the Crystal Palace; more favourable notice, indeed/than the gigantic Crusader by the
same artist, who "towered above his sex" in the same locality. The subjects we
allude to were known as the Happy and the Unhappy Child; the first a little urchin,
stretched at length and at his ease, was admiring the outre physiognomy of a pun,hi
nello with which he was playing; while the other was blubbering over the drum he had,
probably through excessive energy in beating it, most unluckily broken. We will now
pay our respects to the " Greek Slave," by Hiram Power, an American sculptor, of great
talent, who has been for some years past a resident in Florence, where he has executed
many admirable works, several of which have found their way to this country. The
modest dignity expressed in this figure, its beauty, and the delicacy of its execution, are
deserving of the highest praise. The talented JPrederika Bremer bears the following
testimony to the excellence of this piece of statuary:—" This so-called Greek Slave, this
captive woman, with her fettered hands, I had seen many times on the other side of the
Atlantic, in copies of the original—cold weak copies of that original which I saw here
for the first time. The copies had left a cold impression on my mind. The original
seized upon me with an unusual power, as no other statue in marble had done. This
noble woman, with her bound-down hands, who so quietly turned her head with its
unspeakably-deep expression of sorrow and indignation—scorn is not a sufficiently noble
word—against the power which bound her; that lip which is silent, but which seems to
quiver with the tumult of wounded feeling, with the throbbing of her heart;—1 wonder
whether Power himself comprehended the whole of its significance!" Gibson presented
us with a "Greek Hunter,"and a fine basso-relievo representing the "Hours leading
forth the Horses of the Sun." Both of these were noble and spirited productions, and
may fairly take their places among the most celebrated works of antiquity. Not far
from these, we noticed a "Narcissus," by Theed, a graceful and classic figure. He was
represented leaning upon a boar-spear, gazing upon the fountain which was supposed to
reflect his beauteous image, while the flower which bears his name and perpetuates his
memory, was springing up at his feet. A "Prodigal Son," by the same artist, was