History of Springfield, Illinois, its attractions as a home and advantages for business, manufacturing, etc. Pub. under the auspices of the Springfield board of trade, by J. C. Power.

104 SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, AND
broken Sept. 9th, 1869, with ceremonials lief, the glorious banner of the republic.
appropriate to the occasion. * * * At the foot of the fasces reclines
When all were assembled at the spot a crown of laurel-that crown which
chosen, Hon. Jesse K. Dubois, the Vice mankind have unanimously placed on
President, gave a statement, in detail, of the head of the great citizen.
the assets of the Association, which "But art stops when life is to be infusamounted to $158,663 46.. Its liabilities ed into inert matter; and then inspirawere:-Contract with W. D. Richardson tion must be summoned, to express the
for building the architectural part of the feeling and sentiment of a soul, which
monument, $136,550, and with Larkin reflects, as in a mirror, the grandeur of
G. Mead, for the bronze statue of Mr. the hero whose figure she would model.
Lincoln, $13,700, and the,coat of arms, * * * In this work Mr. Mead has sur$1,500; making a total of $151,750; the passed our expectations.
payment of which would leave a balance "The Florentines admire the works of
of $6,913 46 in the treasury. The monu- Mr. Mead, and desire to do homage to
ment would then be complete, except the the memory of Lincoln, who no longer
four groups of statuary. belongs exclusively to America, but to
It was expected that the architectural the whole world-an honor to the human
part would be completed by Jan. 1, 1871, race."
but the delay by the railroads in trans- Hon. W. M. Springer and lady were
porting the granite from Quincy, Mass., in Florence at the time the above crimade it.necessary to defer part of it until ticisms were made, and he alludes to
the present season. Mr. Richardson now them in one of his letters to the Jourlal
has all the materials on the ground, of thiscity
with a full force of men, and he confi-.'"Thle comments of the Florentine padently expects to have it completed by pers are very complimentary, and you
the 4th of July. pers are very complimentary, and you
have a right to conclude that the statue
The plaster model of the statue of Mr. merits all that is said of it. Here, here
merits all that is said of it. Here, where
Lincoln, commenced in 1869, was com-
are found the finest works of Michael
pleted and shipped to Chicopee, Massachusetts, together with the coat of arms, Angelo and Canova, and the renowned
in October, 1870, there to be cast from chefs d'o3uvre of Greek sculpture, every
work of this kind must stand upon its
cannon donated by the United States Con- own merits. ill who havn seen sr.
gress for that purpose. As a work of art
Mead's statue of Air. Lincoln admire it."
it is regarded by competent critics to be
a perfect success. The coat of arms was completed before
A newspaper, called La Riforma, pub- the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Springer. A
lished in Florence, Italy, in its issue of photograph of it, by L Powers, a son of
February 22, 1870, contains a criticism, Hiram Powers, who has a gallery adjoinfrom a translation of which I make te ing the studio of his father, is before me.
following quotations: It was presented by Mr. Mead to Mrs.
"The statue, which will rise in colossal Springer.
proportions from the monument, holds in The coat of arms is in bas relief; the
the left hand a scroll, upon which is shield with part of the stars obscured,
written "Emancipation," and in the other supports the American Eagle. The olive
the pen with which Lincoln blotted from branch, having been tendered, until it
human history the stain of slavery. As was spurned by the foe; is cast under
a symbol of union, to which he devoted foot, and the conflict rages until the
his existence, the fasces are placed near chain of slavery is torn asunder, one porthe statue, upon which is thrown, in re- tion remaining grasped in the talons of