XXII RIVERSIDE LETTERS 169 



I have seen the teasel, fearfully scamped 

 and libelled, even to representing it with grace- 

 fully curved stems. If any plant is precise, 

 straight, and symmetrical it is the teasel ; 

 surely if a graceful, curling line is wanted 

 there are numbers of plants which would 

 have served the purpose. 



Then again, one sees quite modern bred 

 roses introduced into pictures the subjects of 

 which are taken from classic or mediaeval 

 periods. 



This violation of the facts and truths of 

 nature is not confined alone to the repre- 

 sentation of flowers, but is often displayed in 

 other ways. 



I noticed in a landscape this year a wind- 

 mill going merrily round with one wind, whilst 

 the clouds and some trees were evidently 

 blown by quite another. It would do no 

 harm to our painters if those who reviewed 

 their works in the papers had sufficient inti- 

 macy with the ordinary truths of nature to 

 be able to detect, at times, these misrepresen- 



