( i<; ) 



scattered objects, the assistance of east shadows, and the necessity of 

 having interest in the portion in Hght. 



To determine the most suitable manner in which we may introduce our 

 figiures, and to find the most appropriate position to place them in, must 

 be our next endeavour. 



Figures, &c. 



There are but few scenes in nature, however beautiful they may be, 

 upon which the eye can rest with continued pleasure unless they exhibit 

 some signs of animated life ; consequently, few landscapes are complete 

 without the introduction of figures or animals, which shall enlist our 

 sympathies on behalf of the scene presented to us, and, moreover, furnish 

 us with a scale by which we may judge of the extent of the view and the 

 size of every other object it may contain. 



Who does not know how greatly a wild stretch of mountain and moor 

 is enhanced by the presence of deer, shaggy cattle, or horned sheep ? and, 

 supposing it to represent a spot even too dreary to afford sustenance for 

 these, how welcome is the dark form of a cormorant rising with heavy 

 beat from a peat-stained tarn, whose waters, chafed by the flapping wings, 

 break into silver ripples along its course to the opposite shore ! Or, to 

 take a pastoral scene, who will deny the increased interest manifested in 

 the contemplation of an old timber waggon with its team of horses and 

 rustic attendants, whose demeanour, perhaps, suggesting some slight 

 incident, no matter how trivial in itself, not only gives to the whole an 

 air of reality and truthfulness, but lends an additional charm to the 

 prospect presented. 



Views which consist in a large measure of water, be it river, lake, or 

 sea, find their proper embellishments in ships' barges and fishing craft of 

 all conditions of shape and size, and of every possible description. 



It is very essential in choosing an object or figure to remember it 

 should be " in keeping" with the rest of the picture. Thus, in a village 

 scene consisting of thatched cottages, with trees, a tiny brook, and 

 distant country beyond, it would be highly injudicious to introduce an 

 individual whose chief attributes consist of a stove-pipe hat, with coat 

 and trousers of the latest West-end cut and design, to say nothing of 

 " spats" upon his feet, and a stick and glass complete, very proper, no 

 doubt, to his mind, for Piccadilly, but utterly unfit for the purpose we 

 require. Eather let us look about for one whose clothes bespeak honest 

 labour, which have long since lost the creases they once possessed in the 

 shopman's windows, having, in part, become moulded to the form which 

 lives beneath them. 



Another point I should like you to consider is the " pose'" of your 

 figures. It must be admitted that, in many cases, there is a lack of 

 grace in country-side folk and a certaia amount of crudeness, or angu- 

 larity, call it what you like, about their natural attitudes. Perhaps no 

 one better than a painter knows the great difficulty there is in overcoming 

 this unfortunate effect, the most trying part of which is, that, the more 

 you endeavour to get your models into a pleasing attitude, the more rigid 

 and angular they become. They have the knowledge they are being 



