that, among the upper classes of this country, the young learn to speak correct English from their earliest days. Were all English children trained in such schools, the language would be everywhere well and grammatically spoken. Consequently, could we place our students in cultivated nurseries, they would soon speak and write their mother tongue with correctness and propriety. We are unable to accomplish this. We cannot place the young of the working classes in cultivated nurseries, but we may attempt to do the next best thing; and that is to bring forth and set before them, in a living and organic form, the spoken language of such nurseries. And this shall we undertake, the rather because, as the mother is the child's natural educator, or, to speak more correctly, as the mother is an educator of God's own appointment, so every system of education will be good and effectual in proportion as it is in form, substance, and spirit, motherly.
We must add that we write for the English student. We write also for the uneducated and for the young. Having these facts before our mind, we shall study plainness and simplicity. Yet do we hope to be able to write in such a manner that scholars may not disdain to cast an eye on these pages. However that may be, we shall make it our first object and our last so to express our thoughts as to be fully understood, if not also readily followed, by the now large and meritorious class who are endeavouring to educate themselves. To labour for those is a very great pleasure. We ask for their confidence, and will endeavour to reward their attention.
LESSONS IN DRAWING.—I.
INTRODUCTION.
Before we enter upon the subject of drawing, and how to draw, it will be of great service to some of our readers who may make up their minds to practise from our instructions, to give some little advice respecting the materials necessary for their use. First, the paper: the best and cheapest kind is that called "drawing cartridge," the imperial size is the most convenient, which when cut up into quarto, or four portions, will afford sufficient room for the subjects we intend to place before our pupils. Drawing books made of this paper, as well as the paper itself, with pencils, drawing boards, and other drawing materials, can be obtained from the publishers. The next and most important of all the materials are the pencils: for free-hand drawing—that is, drawing without the use of instruments—we recommend hb, b, and bb. The b pencil is first used for marking in the general proportions and character of the subject; this pencil must be used lightly, then the errors may be very easily effaced without disturbing the surface of the paper; and what is equally important is, that after the whole subject is arranged the drawing may be reduced in tone—that is, made lighter to receive the finished outline—to be done with the hb, which makes a cleaner and more definite line than the b. The b may also be used for shading, especially the broad or flat tones of shade: the bb is the finishing pencil for the extreme depth of tone in the darkest parts. For plan and geometrical drawing, an hh pencil is the most suitable. Be careful that the pencil is cut evenly with a sharp knife, not hacked or jagged as in Fig. 1. Fig. 2 represents the most suitable form of point. You must have a deal drawing board, half-inch or three-quarters thick, according to size, upon which the paper is to be laid and pinned down with flat-headed drawing pins. For highly-finished and important drawings it would be better to fix the paper in the following manner:—Wet both sides with a sponge, being particular that the paper is not rubbed, wetted only; turn the edges up all round about three-quarters of an inch broad, and paste the under-side; wait a minute or two until the paper has sufficiently expanded (which is caused by the wetting), then, having placed it evenly on the board, turn the pasted edges down and press them close to the board, under a cloth or piece of waste paper; once more wet the paper gently all over except the pasted edges, and lay the board down flat, somewhere, to dry; the pasted edges must dry first, or the paper will fly up, because as it dries it will contract. If the pupil is able to fix his paper successfully, he will see for himself the advantage of having a firm and smooth surface to work upon. The most convenient size of board is twenty-three inches by sixteen inches—-this will take half of an imperial sheet of paper, very useful for plan drawing and working plans; these, with a piece of india-rubber, will be quite sufficient to start with. Thus, having provided ourselves with implements, we will proceed to open our subject.
Many believe that the art of drawing can only be acquired by a favoured few—vis., by those who are supposed to possess a power which is but sparingly bestowed amongst mankind in general. This power or gift is by them called genius, and they would almost deem it an act of presumption to undertake the practice of the art unless they were previously assured that they possessed this gift, or power, or genius, or whatever else it may be termed. There are many who, after making a few attempts towards acquiring the power of drawing, give it up, and excuse themselves from further efforts by saying, "Oh, I have no genius for this; I must be born with the talent, or I cannot succeed." Such a mistake is very common; there will be scarcely a reader of this who could not furnish one or more cases in proof of the statement. That genius is not absolutely necessary, we know from undeniable evidence; there are and have been thousands of men who have proved themselves to be able draughtsmen, without adding to the list of our Raphaels and Turners; and there are very few indeed, considering the number who exercise the art, and whose success in drawing we must acknowledge to be great, who can rank as first-rate artists. Knowing, then, this to be the case, we relinquish all attempts to create genius, and confine ourselves, by simple, practical instructions, to open a way by which any one who has the courage to persevere may acquire the power of drawing from natural or artificial objects, and enable him to represent his ideas in a way of which no other art is capable. For purely mechanical drawing—that is, the exact representation of the forms of objects, be they animals, trees, machinery, or anything else—no extraordinary genius beyond an earnest desire is required. Only let the pupil commence and proceed with a determination that nothing shall daunt him, to follow out certain leading principles, which having mastered, he will then discover that the application of these principles will render the art not so difficult as he at first imagined. Nevertheless, it is one thing to be able to draw a simple object, or a combination of these objects, and it is quite another thing to expect that having acquired this power it must, without fail, result in producing a talent for the higher qualifications of the artist. No; a great deal may be done towards gaining a full mastery of the principles of drawing applicable to a faithful transcript of any object whatever, before arriving at the stage which introduces us to that exalted position where genius is necessary for the full development of the poetic, or more elevated results of the artistic mind. In order, therefore, to enable a student to overcome the difficulties of drawing, he undoubtedly must be fully prepared and determined to attack every impediment he may meet in his progress; and for any one who is earnest in his work there is this encouraging thought, that if he meets with a succession of difficulties, and manages by perseverance to surmount them all one after the other, he must be making sure progress, whereas if none present themselves he may be assured he is standing still.
Our purpose in these lessons on drawing is first to enlarge upon the leading principles, and, taking these for the groundwork, we intend to apply them to all subjects, whether they be still-life (or objects), figures, or landscape drawing.
It is important to mention that, to draw a line successfully, much depends upon the position of the body, the hand, and the arm. The pupil must sit as uprightly as he can, having the copy and the paper he is drawing upon in a direct line before him; he must be able to see both his copy and his own drawing without having to raise or lower his head; he has no need to stoop over his work—it is bad for his health, and bad for his picture. We do not sit in the same position to draw as we do to write. The pencil is not subject to the same rules as a pen; it must be so held that if dropped from the hand whilst in the act of drawing the line, it would fall on the paper at a right angle with the line. For instance, to represent a perpendicular line (see a to b, Fig. 1), the pencil must be held as shown in the engraving; if a horizontal position is represented, as in Fig. 2; if an inclined line, as in Figs. 3 and 4. By attending to this rule we have such a command of the pencil that without moving the wrist we can reach either end of the line, or that portion of the line we wish to draw, without any danger of its being directed out of its proper course.
The pupil, very probably, will have noticed that there are but two kinds of lines to draw by which all objects whatsoever are represented—viz., straight lines and curved lines. It is the
