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[218]

Chevalier Howe.

The finest modern statue in Berlin is that of General Ziethen, the great Hussar commander in the Seven Years War.1 He stands leaning on his sabre in a dreamy, nonchalant attitude, as if he were in the centre of indifference and life had little interest for him. Yet there never was a man more ready for action, or more quick to seize upon and solve the nodus of any new emergency. The Prussian anecdote-books are full of his exploits and hairbreadth escapes, a number of which are represented around the base of the statue. He combined the intelligence of the skilful general with the physical dexterity of an acrobat.

Very much such a man was Samuel Gridley Howe, born in Boston November 10, 1801, whom Whittier has taken as the archetype of an American hero in his time.

If a transient guest at the Bird Club should have seen Doctor Howe sitting at the table with his indifferent, nonchalant air, head leaning slightly forward and his grayish-black hair almost falling into his eyes, he would never have

1 Von Schliiter's statue of the Great Elector is of course a more magnificent work of art.

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Samuel Gridley Howe (2)
Ziethen (1)
Whittier (1)
Von Schliiter (1)
Chevalier Howe (1)
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November 10th, 1801 AD (1)
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