bronzed beneath a fervid sun, was the next member of the _dramatis
personæ_. He desired to see some silk pocket-handkerchiefs; India
silk--no other would do. A variety was placed before him, together
with some of British manufacture, greatly superior to the veritable
Bandanas! It might be so--they were more beautiful, certainly; but
India handkerchiefs he must have--ay, and with the true peculiar
spicy smell; that odor only to be acquired by a four months' voyage
in company with cinnamon and sandal-wood. After a little delay, even
this desideratum was achieved. A dozen were cut off, each folded in a
separate paper, and each and every one directed by his own hand! During
this ceremony, a very contagious smile irradiated his features, which,
gathering strength with every name he wrote, finally exploded into an
uncontrollable fit of laughter. Grave people turned round to stare and
frown; and the youth, rather abashed by the sound of his own laugh,
murmured something in an apologetic tone, and, hastily paying for his
purchase, quitted the shop. There was something odd in all this. At
length the truth flashed on my mind. The youth had just returned from
India, and was gifted with a goodly train of unreasonable cousins,
all of whom "had expected some trifle from the Land of the East."
Poor fellow!--as though a hundred a year were a greater fortune in
Hindoostan than in England, or self-denial a whit easier of practice
on the banks of the Ganges than the banks of the Thames. At length,
his means admitting of a partial satisfaction of his expectants, he
had taken the only means in his power to amend his short-comings. Poor
fellow!--may his pious fraud meet with a rich harvest of gratitude;
and, above all, may he have wit enough to keep his own counsel!
For a few minutes the little stage that had afforded me so much
interest was vacant. It was, however, shortly filled by a group well
calculated to afford
"A bright atonement for the brief delay."
It consisted of a lady of some five-and-forty years, with face and
figure well preserved; and which, though lacking the delicacy of youth,
was redeemed by an expression scarcely less attractive. She took her
seat with a quiet dignity of manner--the result, I fancied, rather of a
well-balanced mind than of conventional attainment. She was accompanied
by a pretty sentimental girl of about eighteen, a brisk little maiden
of twelve, buoyant with delight at having escaped the school-room at an
unwonted hour, and a staid-looking Young Person, probably a dependent
cousin.
The party seated themselves with some regard to personal comfort, as
though their business was likely to be of some duration. Their commands
were, the indispensables of a lady's outfit. During this period, the
young lady looked on with a kind of lofty indifference, and, when
appealed to, gravely declined interference, leaving the matter to
be arranged by the lady mother and the useful cousin. These affairs
satisfactorily adjusted, the externals were next in demand. The smile
of the child betrayed the secret--they were purchasing the _trousseau_
of a bride. In vain was the sentimentalist appealed to in the articles
of handkerchiefs and gloves--she was cold, polite, but indifferent.
This I thought strange, till I remembered she was a _fiancée_, almost
as good as a married lady already, and had therefore some dignity to
sustain. At length the brilliant externals were spread before her. What
young lady of eighteen could maintain the appearance of indifference?
It was not in nature--not in female nature. The statue descended from
its pedestal; entered quietly and gracefully into the details before
it; made selections with the taste of an artist and knowledge of a
woman of fashion (two qualities rarely combined); bought various
trifles adapted for presents, and would have chosen as many more had
not mamma held up a banker's check! The warning was understood--one and
ninepence was received in change of a bill of one hundred pounds--and
still they lingered. The bride elect had a purchase of her own to make.
A shawl--a good, but not a fine one--was selected and paid for by
herself, and presented, with a kind pressure of the hand (which would
elsewhere have been a kiss), to the useful cousin. The carriage drew
up, and the party retired in search of the millinery elsewhere!
Scarcely was the seat of honor vacated by the bridal party, when it
was filled by another matron and her fair daughter; but no comfortable
carriage set her down--no obsequious footman ushered her into Messrs.
Swan and Edgar's emporium. The lady before me--for she was a lady,
despite her russet gown and plain straw bonnet--had originally been as
richly gifted by nature as her predecessor; but care, not time, had
evidently wrought its ravages on her countenance. She looked faded and
worn, took her seat with an air of embarrassment, and with a slight
nervousness of manner asked to speak with "one of the principals of the
establishment." During the brief interval previous to his arrival, her
countenance underwent many changes, as though she were nerving herself
for some painful effort. The arrival of the official, however, at once
restored her self-possession. With a calm, sweet voice, she stated her
business. She said she was the wife of a naval officer of limited means
about to emigrate, and wished to make rather an extensive purchase,
but that, as under such circumstances quantity rather than fashion
was the object of her attainment, she desired to know if she could be
thus supplied on terms of advantage? The reply was in the affirmative,
and, with a delicacy of feeling that did honor to the speaker, he
himself superintended her commission. He felt instinctively that he
was addressing a gentlewoman in the best sense of the term; as much
material was paid for by a fifty pound note as would have clad a dozen
people. The fearful plunge once over, the manner of the lady became
more assured, her daughter looked fairer than ever, and I felt, despite
the frowns of fortune, she was an enviable woman.
How much, how very much, said I to myself, are the unavoidable evils of
life felt, when (as in the present instance) they fall to the lot of
one gifted with the step-dame dower of acute sensibility. To such the
privations of poverty are far less galling than the ever-present dread
of the "proud man's contumely." To minds thus constituted, misfortune
feels like crime, and nothing short of the wisdom that is from above
can enable its possessor to bear the burthen unrepiningly. I looked
upon the lady before me, and felt, despite the lowly attire and faded
form, that of the many whose riddle I had read, she was to me the
heroine of the day.
The present was forgotten; my mind had travelled to scenes beyond the
Atlantic. Already had I
"Built them a bower,
Where stern pride hath no power,
And the fear of to-morrow their bliss could not mar."
Should the brave lieutenant, the beau cousin of that sweet girl,
accompany them? Or should the handsome curate follow after? I had not
decided the matter, when I was cruelly aroused from my delightful
reverie, to decide, where no difference was, between two rival satins
of the purest white, and after exercising much ingenuity in discovering
the favorite of my friend, I boldly declared for the opposite
candidate, maintained my opinion with very becoming pertinacity, and at
length gradually and graciously suffered myself to be convinced; and
again in the words of Milton I admitted her choice to be
"Wisest, virtuousest, discreetest, best."
The principal business of the day being thus happily accomplished,
we resolved to leave the rest till to-morrow, and returned home
mutually charmed with each other. My friend had labored diligently
in her vocation, to engraft her own good taste on half a dozen dowdy
cousins, whilst I retired to fill another page in the note-book of a
day-dreamer.
GODEY'S COURSE OF LESSONS IN DRAWING.
Drawing has been generally looked upon as an accomplishment, not
considered as an essential--as ornamental rather than indispensable in
the education of the rising generation. The pleasures and advantages
of its pursuit have been almost solely enjoyed by the rich; while they
have been, to a certain extent, as a sealed book to the great majority
of those now designated emphatically the people. So far from looking
upon a knowledge of the art of drawing as necessary merely to the
artist or designer, we hold that it should form an essential part of
general education; that its proper place is in the daily school; that
its principles and practice should be inculcated in the daily lessons;
in short, that equally with reading or writing, drawing should be
deemed one of the branches of everyday tuition. We are now fully alive
to the importance of cultivating what are designated "habits of taste,"
and the appreciation of the beautiful in art; and this chiefly--if
for nothing else--from the practical value derivable therefrom in the
improvement of our arts and manufactures. By a thorough understanding
of the details of drawing, an accuracy of perception and a facility for
marking and retaining forms and arrangements are readily available. It
is, then, of importance to place within the reach of all a means by
which the art in its varied branches may be easily communicated. The
design of the present article is to contribute to this desideratum.
We shall make our remarks as plain as possible, and as concise as
the nature of the subject will admit of; and shall give unsparingly
well-digested illustrations, believing that in this subject, at least,
much is to be imparted to the pupil through the medium of the eye. It
is to be hoped that this union of the pen with the pencil will be of
great utility in quickly imparting a knowledge of the subjects under
discussion. Before proceeding to our more immediate purpose, we shall
offer a few remarks elucidatory of the plan or bearing of the system,
by which we mean to be guided in presenting the requisite knowledge to
the student.
On the supposition that the pupil at the outset is utterly ignorant of
the art, we commence our instructions by elucidating FIRST PRINCIPLES.
As all drawings are reducible to certain lines and figures, we hold it
necessary to enable the student to draw these elementary parts with the
utmost facility; leading him, by a series of examples, from the drawing
of a simple line up to the most complicated sketch or object which may
be offered to him; and then, by an advance to the more intricate rules,
making plain the laws of vision (the foundation of perspective), so as
to delineate correctly the various views in which they may be presented
to his notice; the aim of the introductory lessons being to enable the
student thoroughly to understand the reason why every operation is
performed as directed, not merely to give him a facility for copying
any determined object without reference to principles.
The student may, by dint of practice, acquire a facility for this
merely mechanical style of imitation or copying; but, unless he is well
grounded in fundamental principles, his operations will be vague and
uncertain. It may be considered true that the better we are acquainted
with the first principles of an art, its basis or foundation, so much
more intimately conversant shall we be with all the intricacies of
its diversified practice, and the less easily damped by its real or
apparent difficulties. Students too frequently expend much time almost
entirely in vain, from want of attention to this truth, trite and
commonplace as it may be deemed. In acquiring the practice of this
art, they are too eager to pass from the simple rules, the importance
of which they think lightly of. A sure and well-laid foundation will
not only give increased security to the building, but will enable
the workmen to proceed with confidence to the proper carrying out of
the design in its entirety; on the contrary, an ill-laid foundation
only engenders distrust, and may cause total failure. We are the more
inclined to offer these remarks, being aware that students at the
commencement of a course of tuition are apt, in their eagerness to be
able to "copy" a drawing with facility, to overlook the importance of
the practice which alone enables them satisfactorily to do so. It is
the wisest course of procedure to master the details of an art before
proceeding to an acquaintance with its complicated examples.
We would, then, advise students to pay particular attention to the
instructions in their ENTIRETY which we place before them; if they be
truly anxious to acquire a speedy yet accurate knowledge of the art,
they will assuredly find their account in doing so. Instead of vaguely
wandering from example to example, as would be the case by following
the converse of our plan, yet copying they know not how or why, they
will be taught to draw all their combinations from simple rules and
examples, we hope as simply stated; and thus will proceed, slowly it
may be, but all the more surely, from easy to complicated figures,
drawing the one as readily as the other, and this because they will
see all their details, difficult to the uninitiated, but to them a
combination of simple lines as "familiar as household words."
LESSON I.
OUTLINE SKETCHING.
Before the apparent forms of objects can be delineated, it is
absolutely necessary that the _hand_ shall be able to follow the
dictation of the _eye_; that is, the pupil must, by certain practice,
be capable of forming the lines which constitute the outlines and other
parts of the objects to be drawn; just as, before being able to write
or copy written language, the hand must be taught to follow with ease
and accuracy the forms which constitute the letters; so in drawing,
the hand must be tutored to draw at once and unswervingly the form
presented to the eye. Thus the handling of the pencil, the practice
to enable the hand to draw without hesitation or uncertainty, and the
accurate rapidity essential in an expert draughtsman, may be considered
as part of the alphabet of the art of free pencil sketching. Nothing
looks worse in a sketch than the evidences of an uncertainty in putting
in the lines; just as if the hand was not to be trusted, or at least
depended upon, in the formation of the parts dictated by the eye. The
eye may take an accurate perception of the object to be drawn, yet
its formation may be characterized by an indecision and shakiness (to
use a common but apt enough expression), which, to the initiated, is
painfully apparent. In beginning, then, to acquire a ready facility
in free sketching, in which the hand and eye are the sole guides, the
pupil should consider it well-spent time to acquire by long practice an
ease and freedom in handling the pencil, chalk, or crayon with which he
makes his essay.
The first lessons may be performed with a piece of pointed chalk on
a large blackboard; some of our celebrated artists have not in their
early days disdained the use of more primitive implements, as a piece
of burnt stick and a whitewashed wall or barn door. The larger the
surface on which the lessons are drawn, the better, consistent, of
course, with convenience. If a blackboard cannot be obtained, a large
slate should be used. Until the pupil has acquired a facility for
copying simple forms, he should not use paper and pencil; as, in the
event of drawing in a line wrong, it is much better at once to begin a
new attempt, than try to improve the first by rubbing out the faulty
parts and piecing the lines up. As the pupil must necessarily expect to
make many blunders at first starting, it will save paper if he will use
a board or slate, from which the erroneous lines can be at once taken
out, a damp sponge being used for this purpose. By this plan any number
of lines may be drawn.
[Illustration: Fig. 1.]
[Illustration: Fig. 2.]
Having provided themselves with the necessary materials, pupils
may begin by drawing simple lines. These must be drawn without the
assistance of a scale or ruler, by the hand alone. The line _a_,
Fig. 1, will be parallel to the side of the board or slate, and
perpendicular to the ends. Pupils should endeavor to make the line as
regular as possible, and to run in one direction---that is, inclined
neither to the right nor left. They should next draw horizontal lines,
as _b_, beginning at the left and going towards the right hand. In
drawing lines as _a_, pupils should begin at the top and go towards
the bottom; in a more advanced stage they should try to draw them from
either end. The oblique lines, _d_, _e_, and _f_, should next be drawn.
In all these exercises the lines should be drawn boldly, in a length at
a time, not piece by piece; the hand should not rest on the board or
slate while drawing, but should be free, so that the line may be drawn
in at one sweep, as it were, of the arm or wrist. Irregular or "waved"
lines should next be drawn, as at _c_; this style of line is useful in
drawing broken lines, as in old ruins, trees, gates, stones, &c. &c.
Pupils must not content themselves with drawing a _few_ examples of the
lines we have given. They must practise for a long time, until they can
at once with ease draw lines in any direction correctly; they ought to
progress from simple to difficult, not hastily overlook the importance
of mastering simple elementary lessons. With a view to assist them in
arranging these, and to afford not only examples for practice, but
also to prove by a gradation of attempts the connection--too apt to be
overlooked by many--between simple lines and complex figures, simple
parallel lines, as _a_, _b_, _c_, Fig. 2, should be drawn; but not only
must pupils endeavor to keep each line straight from beginning to end,
free from waviness and indecision, and also parallel to one another,
but another object must be kept in view; that is, the distance between
the lines; hitherto they have drawn lines with no reference to this,
but merely to their position and direction. No mechanical aids must be
allowed to measure the distances, this must be ascertained by the eye
alone; and a readiness in this will be attained only by practice. The
eye is like the memory; it must be kept in constant training before
it will do its work. By inspecting the diagram, it will be perceived
that the lines marked _c_ _c_ are farther apart than those above. All
gradations of distances should be carefully delineated; and if, after
the lines are drawn, the eye should detect, or fancy it detects, any
error in this respect, let the lines be at once rubbed out, and a
new trial made; and let this be done again and again until the lines
appear to be correctly drawn, both as regards boldness and correctness
and distance apart. After drawing the horizontal lines, the student
may then proceed to perpendicular lines. It may here be noted, to
save future explanation, that when we use the term perpendicular,
we mean it to be that applied to a line or lines which run parallel
to the side of the board or slate; and horizontal, those parallel to
the ends. Strictly speaking, both lines thus drawn are perpendicular
to others which may be drawn parallel to their opposite sides. We,
however, suppose the surface on which the pupil is drawing to be in
the same position as this book while held open for reading; the sides
to represent the sides, and the ends, the ends of the drawing-board or
slate. Lines are horizontal when parallel with the lines of type, and
perpendicular when parallel with the sides of the page; it is in this
sense, then, that we shall use the terms horizontal and perpendicular.
Perpendicular lines, as in Fig. 3, may next be drawn, close to one
another at the sides, at _a_ and _c_, and farther separate at _b_; they
may also be drawn horizontally in the same way; this practice will be
useful in more advanced stages. As the pupil will observe, the lines
thus drawn give the appearance of roundness; it is, in fact, the way by
which engravers obtain this effect: the pupil will find it useful in
fine pencil drawing.
[Illustration: Fig. 3.]
[Illustration: Fig. 4.]
The drawing of diagonal or oblique lines may next be practised, as in
Fig. 4. In all these examples, the board or slate should never be moved
or reversed; the end forming the topmost one should always remain so.
We are aware that some parties have greater facilities for drawing
lines in one direction than in another; thus, the majority of beginners
would draw lines sloping from right to left with much more ease than
in the reverse position. We have seen cases where, in lessons like the
foregoing, the lines sloping from right to left were drawn first, the
board reversed, and lines to represent those sloping the reverse way
drawn in the same direction exactly; the board was then turned to its
original position, when the sets of lines appeared sloping different
ways, while, in reality, they were done both in the same manner. This
practice is not honest either to the teacher or pupil, and should at
once be discarded.
[Illustration: Fig. 5.]
The examples now given have had reference only to one peculiar position
of the lines to be drawn; that is, they have all been horizontal, or
all perpendicular or oblique; placed in the same relative position to
one another. We now give an example where the lines go in different
directions with respect to one another. Thus in drawing the lines
_b a_, _a f_, _d c_, and _c e_, Fig. 5, care must be taken to have
the lines perpendicular to one another; that is, supposing the lines
_a b_, _c d_, to be drawn first, the horizontal lines _a f_, _c e_,
must be drawn so that the points or ends _f e_ shall be neither above
nor below the ends or points _a_, _c_--that is, _f_ and _e_ must be
exactly opposite _a_ and _c_. In the present case, no mechanical aid
is allowable; the eye is to be the only guide. Attention should also
be paid to keeping the exact distance between the lines _a b_, _a
f_, and _c d_, and _c e_. The pupil must not imagine that all these
modifications of lines are worthless; a little patience and reflection
will suffice to show him that they are, in truth, part of the
groundwork, without which he can never hope to rear the superstructure
of perfect drawing. We now proceed to a little more interesting labor,
where simple figures are to be drawn; these, however, being neither
more nor less than the lines already given variously disposed. Draw
the lines _a c_, _b c_, Fig. 6, meeting in the point _c_; these form
a certain angle; care should be taken to draw the lines as in the
copy. Next draw the horizontal line _a b_, Fig. 7, and a figure is
formed which the pupil will at once recognize. Draw the horizontal
line _a b_, Fig. 8; perpendicular to it, from the ends _a b_, draw the
lines _a c_, _b d_, taking care that they are of the same length as
_a b_; draw the line _c d_, a square is at once formed. As it is an
essential feature in this form that all the sides are equal, if the
pupil, after drawing it, perceives any inequality therein, he should
rub it out and proceed to another attempt. Some little practice should
be given to the delineation of squares, angles, &c. If a parallelogram
or oblong--vulgarly called an oblong square--is wished to be drawn, it
may be done by making two opposite lines shorter than the others; the
line _e_ denotes the fourth outline of an oblong, of which the side
is _a b_. If two oblongs be drawn, care being taken to have the inner
lines the same distance within the outer ones all round, by adding
a narrow line outside these, as in Fig. 9, the representation of a
picture-frame is obtained; the diagonal lines at the corners, as at _a_
and _b_, being put in to represent the joinings at the corners of the
frame, the "mitre" joints, as they are termed. By first drawing the
simple outlines, as in Fig. 10, the foundation of a door is obtained by
filling in the extra lines, as in the figure.
[Illustration: Fig. 6.]
[Illustration: Fig. 7.]
[Illustration: Fig. 8.]
[Illustration: Fig. 9.]
[Illustration: Fig. 10.]
OH, LAY HER TO REST!
BY FLORUS B. PLIMPTON.
Oh, lay her to rest where the myrtle can grow,
Among the green grass that shall over her wave,
That not only in summer, but in winter's cold snow,
'Twill be green as the love that encircles her grave
Her heart was a treasure of trust to a friend,
A mirror reflecting warm sympathy's glow;
It was patient to anger, and feared to offend,
And suffered in silence what no one can know.
Oh, lay her to rest! let no monument tell
That she dwells with the perfect, the good, and the just,
Nor let flattery's homage emblazon her cell,
But bear her in silence and tears to the dust.
Oh, lay her to rest! of earth hath she known
Sufficient of sorrow, sufficient of pain;
She pined for the world where her spirit hath flown,
Though she wept for the love that recalls her in vain.
THE LLOYDS.
BY MRS. S. J. HALE.
CHAPTER I.
"To me, what 's greatness when content is wanting?
Or wealth, raked up together with much care,
To be kept with more, when the heart pines,
In being dispossessed of what it longs for
Beyond the Indian mines?"
MASSINGER.