THE PICTURESQUE. 



THE picturesque is that visible quality in any scene or 

 object which, without positive beauty, awakens an agree- 

 able sentiment ; or, in other words, any quality in an ugly 

 or homely scene that yields it the charm of one that is 

 beautiful. The picturesque is, indeed, only a synonyme 

 of relative beauty. When we have learned the connection 

 between certain scenes and certain interesting . events or 

 incidents, and these have become familiarly associated' in 

 our minds, we may be affected more agreeably by the sight 

 of them than by the most beautiful colors and forms. But 

 the word " picturesque " cannot, in strict accordance with 

 its literal meaning, be applied to scenes of indefinite ex- 

 tent. Properly it should be used to designate only limited 

 portions of a landscape, capable of being easily embraced 

 in a picture. But it is very generally applied to either 

 narrow or extensive prospects, to express certain qualities 

 which would be more definitely described as wild, dreary, 

 pastoral, or romantic. Like other abstract terms, applied 

 to the face of nature, it has a vague signification, and con- 

 veys a poetical rather than a distinct image to the mind. 



Rudeness seems to be a favorable groundwork for the 

 representation of rural objects, but it is not a neces- 

 sary ingredient of the picturesque. A huge rock in mid- 

 ocean, exposed to the fury of winds and waves, is suffi- 

 ciently rude, but it would require certain accompaniments 

 to render it poetical or interesting. If there were a light- 

 house upon this rock, containing one solitary family, it 

 would partake of this quality in a high degree ; and every 



