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Notes on the Inscriptions

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Scallop shells, a Hazard family crest image, also appear on the fabric the weaver is working on.

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NOTES ON THE INSCRIPTIONS

 

  • In the RI Vertical file at Peace Dale Library, a letter dated October 15, 1968, from Susan Bacon Keith (Caroline Hazard’s niece) to Librarian Emily Hoxie responds to an inquiry about the source of the lines above the sculpture. Here are the relevant lines from that letter:
  • “I was there for the unveiling, by chance, with my eldest child in a baby carriage.
  • “The whole thing was Miss Hazard’s idea from start to finish, and she wrote the inscription and debated about it with my mother [Helen Hazard Bacon, Caroline’s sister] as to whether it was suitable or not. I don’t remember the details but I know it was discussed and the wording improved in a few places.”
  • Other inquiries have focused on punctuation. The inscription on the monument contains none, and looks like this:
  • LIFE SPINS THE THREAD TIME WEAVES THE PATTERN GOD DESIGNED
  • THE FABRIC OF THE STUFF HE LEAVES TO MEN OF NOBLE MIND
  • However, the printed program from the event shows the verse like this:
  • “Life spins the thread Time weaves; the pattern God designed;
  • The fabric of the stuff He leaves to men of noble mind.”
  • Another difference between the dedication booklet and the monument, appears on the back of the monument, where the word “commonalty” appears. In the printed booklet, the word is “commonality”.
  • As noted elsewhere, the uncredited lettering could be the work of sculptor Evelyn Beatrice Longman, who worked with French on other projects, including the Lincoln Memorial that was in progress at the time of The Weaver's creation.

Jessica Wilson

 

The Inscriptions