128 PROSERPINA. 



engravings being meant for examples of two different 

 methods of drawing, both useful according to cha- 

 racter of subject. Plate III. is sketched first with 

 a finely-pointed pen, and common ink, on white 

 paper : then washed rapidly with colour, and re- 

 touched with the pen to give sharpness and com- 

 pletion. This method is used because the thistle 

 leaves are full of complex and sharp sinuosities, 

 and set with intensely sharp spines passing into 

 hairs, which require many kinds of execution with 

 the fine point to imitate at all. In the drawing 

 there was more look of the bloom or woolliness 

 on the stems, but it was useless to try for this in 

 the mezzotint, and I desired Mr. Allen to leave 

 his work at the stage where it expressed as much 

 form as I wanted. The leaves are of the common 

 marsh thistle, of which more anon ; and the two 

 long lateral ones are only two different views of 

 the same leaf, while the central figure is a young 

 leaf just opening. It beat me, in its delicate 

 bossing, and I had to leave it, discontentedly 

 enough. 



Plate IV. is much better work, being of an easier 

 subject, adequately enough rendered by perfectly 

 simple means. Here I had only a succulent and mem- 

 branous surface to represent, with definite outlines, 

 and merely undulating folds ; and this is sufficiently 



