In some, an inclination to pursue the arts appears at a very early period of life, and it is often difficult to ascertain the circumstance which gave that particular impulse to the mind; though there must always be some accidental circumstance, not depending upon ourselves, that creates in us that desire.

When a boy is possessed of good talents, and has so strong a passion for the arts, that scarcely any thing can restrain him, there can be little fear of his doing well, if suffered to follow the bent of his inclination; but without this, nothing should induce him to engage in a profession of so arduous a nature, and which requires such unwearied application. He may learn to draw the correct outlines of buildings, and other regular objects, by the rules of perspective; but the forming fine pictures, so as to affect the mind, is an art not reducible to rule; and though much may be taught, yet much more will ever depend upon the mind of the artist. Here it is that the existence of a quality which distinguishes one man from another is so obvious. This has been denominated by various appellations, none of which are capable of being correctly defined. It has been called genius, taste, soul, mind, and a variety of other terms, all of which are indefinite, and prove that we know but little of our

own nature.

It will be foreign to our purpose to enter into any discussion on this subject; but we shall add a passage relating to it from the lectures of the late Sir Joshua Reynolds: "There is one precept," he observes," in which I shall be opposed only by the vain, the ignorant, and the idle. I am not afraid that I shall repeat it too often. You must have no dependence on your own genius.

If you

have great talents industry will improve them: if you have moderate abilities, industry will supply their deficiency. Nothing is denied to well-directed labour; nothing is to be obtained without it. Not to enter into metaphysical discussions on the nature or essence of genius, I will venture to assert, that assiduity unabated by difficulties, and a disposition eagerly directed to the object of its pursuit, will produce effects similar to those which some call the result of natural powers. Though a man cannot at all times, and in all places, paint or draw, yet the mind can prepare itself by laying in materials, at all times and in all places.

proper

"I cannot help imagining that I see a promising young painter, equally vigilant, whether at home or abroad, in the streets or in the fields. Every object that presents itself is to him a lesson. He regards all nature with a view to his profession, and combines her beauties, or corrects her defects. He examines the countenances of men under the influence of passion, and often catches the most pleasing hints from subjects of turbulence or deformity. Even bad pictures themselves supply him with useful documents; and, as Leonardo da Vinci has observed, he improves upon the fanciful images that are sometimes seen in the fire, or are accidently sketched upon a discoloured wall."

"The artist who has his mind thus filled with ideas, and his hand made expert by practice, works with ease and readiness; whilst he who would have you believe that he is waiting for the inspirations of genius, is in reality at a loss how to begin, and is at last delivered of his monsters with difficulty and pain."

"What then," exclaims Gesner, "must be the fate of those who do not join an inflexible labour

to an habitual meditation? Let the artist who despises or neglects these important means make no pretension to the recompense due to active and sensible minds. There is no reputation for him, to whom a taste for his art does not become his ruling passion; to whom the hours he employs in its cultivation are not the most delicious of his life; to whom the study of it does not constitute his real existence and his primary happiness; to whom the society of artists is not, of all others, the most pleasing; to him whose watchings, or dreams in the night, are not occupied with the ideas of his art; who in the morning does not fly with fresh transport to his painting-room. But, of all others, unhappy is he who descends to flatter the corrupt taste of the age in which he lives, who delights himself with applauded trifles, who does not labour for true glory, and the admiration of posterity: Never will he be admired by it; his name will never be repeated; his works will never fire the imagination, nor touch the hearts of those fortunate mortals who cherish the arts, who honour their favourites, and search after their works."

The Drawing of Landscapes.

Every one who wishes to learn to draw landscapes should begin by the study of perspective. This will enable him not only to understand and draw all the parts of buildings which so frequently form a principal feature in views of places, but will also give him true ideas of the method of expressing distances, the winding of roads, and a variety of particulars that are continually occurring.

Having made himself master of the principal difficulties in perspective, he should next copy

some good drawings; and here it is of great importance that what he copies first, should be very excellent; for it is an absurd notion, that indifferent drawings will do to begin with, or to bring the hand in, as it is termed; but, it has been justly observed, the most likely effect these can produce will be to put the hand out.

In choosing drawings to copy for beginners, particular attention should be paid to select those where the outlines or forms of the objects are dis tinctly and correctly drawn, and not those in which a good effect only has been principally aimed at. The first thing to be studied, is to be able to express with the black-lead pencil, decidedly and truly, the forms of all sorts of objects; and till this is attained, no attempt should be made at finished drawings or pictures.

Black-lead is the most useful material for drawing the outlines of landscapes, which are best executed with this alone, and should not be gone over afterwards by the pen, which, except it be very judiciously managed, generally gives an appearance of hardness.

Indian ink alone should be used for the shadows till the student has advanced very considerably; nor till then should colours of any kind be used. Beginners are always desirous of producing pictures and making coloured drawings; but nothing is more hurtful than the practising this too early. The first thing to be learned, is to draw forms correctly; next, the mode of shadowing objects truly; then the neral light and shadow of a drawing, and with this good composition. All this is best learned by using black lead, black chalk, white chalk, Indian ink, and these separately or combined, according

ge

to the taste of the student; avoiding colours till he has made considerable progress.

When colours are employed, they should be used with great caution and judgment. Nothing is so disgusting as to see coloured drawings where the reds, greens, and blues, are laid on in the most violent manner, without any regard to harmony. Those who execute such vile daubings will say, in their defence, that nothing can be greener than grass, nor bluer than the sky; but they should consider, that nature employs such a multitude of little shadows, and such a variety of different tints intermixed with her colours, that the harshness of the original colour is corrected, and the effect of the whole is very different from a raw and distinct colour laid upon white paper. Though we should have recourse to the study of nature, in preference to any master, for the study of colouring, yet it requires some judgment to know what part of nature is to be studied, and what is to be avoided; for in nature herself, there are many parts which are bad; and to copy them, would do more harm than good. The student in colouring may examine, with every possible attention, the colouring of old walls, broken and stained by time and the weather, old thatch, old tiles, rotten wood; in short, all objects which are covered with moss, stains, and tints of various kinds; there he will find all that is most perfect and harmonious in colouring. Let him copy these with every possible care, and avoid as bad all new buildings, new railing, and objects which are of a uniform decided colour. This has been the practice of all the great masters who have excelled in this captivating part of the art. In short, after learning the first principles of