Your letter confirms me in the opinion I had
formed. The intrusting of the great statue of Washington to a man
like Siemering is a job and an outrage. It is clear that he is a mere
pretender, since he has erected no statue as yet in Berlin. That
statue of the Father of our Country ought to have been intrusted to
native talent. I have a son fourteen years old who has already
greatly distinguished himself. He has modeled a number of figures in
butter and putty which all my friends think are most remarkable. I am
satisfied that he could have produced a work which, by its originality
and power, would have done honor to our country and to art.
Yours very truly,
— —.
