FOOTLIGHTS AND THEIR USE. 159 



ordinary paraffin lamps, such as those made to hang 

 upon a kitchen wall, would answer his purpose. For, 

 in order that the drawings should show out to the hest 

 advantage, it was necessary that the light should come 

 from below. If it proceeded from above it merely 

 dazzled the eyes of the audience when reflected hack 

 from the screen, and prevented them from seeing the 

 sketches at all, while side-lights were almost equally un- 

 satisfactory, and so were tabooed also. But light from 

 below brought out the full effect of the colours, and 

 showed them out in bold relief with the dull black 

 of the canvas ; and if there were no other light in 

 the hall at all, the result was even more satisfactory 

 still. 



Of course some of his sketches were more striking 

 and remarkable than others. One of his best was that 

 of two ants fighting, in which jaws, limbs, and antennae 

 were hopelessly interlocked, and yet the individuality 

 of each insect was clearly preserved. There was a 

 drawing of the spermaceti whale, too, in which the spine 

 came first, and then was followed by some of the other 

 bones and internal organs, while, finally, a line was 

 quickly run round these and the whale seen to be com- 

 plete, with every part in due proportion. And the 

 drawing of the male stickleback in all the glories of his 

 courting array always elicited a special round of ap- 

 plause. The odd thing was, that no line was ever 

 rubbed out, no alteration ever made. The sketches 

 were hastily executed, but were always perfectly exact 

 in every particular. No measurements seemed to be 



