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for the scene of his operations, he would get a series of lines from the 

 ruts, gutters, footways, and houses more suggestive of a geometrical 

 design than a pleasing representation of an inhabited thoroughfare (Fig 1). 

 The same remarks apply to the point of sight as were made in reference to 

 the horizon in the undesirability of giving it a central or middle position. 

 It should be placed, more or less, either to the right or left of the centre, 

 so that, by presenting more of the subject on one side than another, 

 formality is avoided, and the angles of the general lines are more advan- 

 tageously varied (Pig. 2). 



Having determined the position of the horizon and the point of sight, 

 it should next be seen how the lines of the landscape compose them- 



selves. Many methods have been advanced for the most perfect ar- 

 rangement of lines, but in the infinite variety of subjects which are 

 presented it is almost impossible to be guided by precept alone- 

 Parallel lines should always be avoided, as, apart from their tendency 

 to suggest a geological diagram, they serve to conduct the eye from 

 side to side of the composition, a defect which should be carefully 

 guarded against (Fig. 3). Lines which guide the sight perspectively through 

 the picture, or which lead the eye from the foreground through the 

 middle distance on to the horizon, are always the most pleasing and agree- 

 able, and should invariably be selected in preference to all others (Fig. 4). 

 Lines which have a tendency to encircle a view should not be lost sight 

 of, as, in addition to the help they afford of keeping the eye in the 

 picture, they also assist to concentrate the attention on the chief 

 point of interest beyond. As instances of this effect I might cite A Peep 

 betucen Trees, or a pathway through a wood, in which the stems and 



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