scientific discoveries of modern times, they would succeed in making a
more useful one. This, indeed, they offered to accomplish, provided
the present Statue were preliminarily destroyed; but as they were
well assured that this offer would never be accepted, it was generally
treated by those who refused it as a braggadocio. There were many also
who, though they in general greatly admired and respected the present
Statue, affected to believe that, though the execution was wonderful,
and the interior machinery indeed far beyond the powers of the present
age, nevertheless the design was in many parts somewhat rude, and the
figure altogether far from being well-proportioned. Some thought the
head too big, some too small; some that the body was disproportionately
little; others, on the contrary, that it was so much too large that it
had the appearance of being dropsical; others maintained that the legs
were too weak for the support of the whole, and that they should be
rendered more important and prominent members of the figure; while,
on the contrary, there were yet others who cried out that really these
members were already so extravagantly huge, so coarse, and so ungenteel,
that they quite marred the general effect of a beautiful piece of
sculpture.

The same differences existed about the comparative excellence of the
three metals and the portions of the body which they respectively
formed. Some admired the gold, and maintained that if it were not for
the head the Statue would be utterly useless; others preferred the
silver, and would assert that the body, which contained all the
machinery, must clearly be the most precious portion; while a third
party triumphantly argued that the iron legs which supported both body
and head must surely be the most valuable part, since without them the
Statue must fall. The first party advised that in all future reparations
gold only should be introduced; and the other parties, of course,
recommended with equal zeal their own favourite metals. It is
observable, however, that if, under these circumstances, the iron race
chanced to fail in carrying their point, they invariably voted for gold
in preference to silver. But the most contradictory opinions, perhaps,
were those which were occasioned by the instruments with which the
Statue was armed and supported. Some affected to be so frightened by the
mere sight of the brandished sword, although it never moved, that they
pretended it was dang