286 NEW LIGHTS. 



to take the portrait of a horse from his window, 

 sketch the outline in pencil on the canvass, make a 

 minute or two to this effect "light bay, one hind 

 leg white half up, the other pastern white, small star 

 on the forehead." With this the ceremony ended : 

 he knew where the lights and shades fell on the 

 generality of horses, so set it down as certain they 

 must thus fall on the one he intended to paint. It 

 was then in most cases considered exceedingly like, 

 and as he carefully marked the nail holes in the shoes, 

 this added to the white -star being there, the very 

 groom declared it was as " natural as life" 



Now, as to one horse being more muscular than 

 another, or being more or less so than usual in any 

 one part of his frame, never entered people's heads 

 in those good days ; and that, in consequence of such 

 different formation, light and shade would vary, was 

 an idea not even contemplated. Horse painters 

 merely then went upon the principle that where there 

 was a convexity there must be a lighter colour to 

 show that rotundity ; and when a concavity existed 

 a darker colour must be used to show it. This 

 would be all well enough in painting a ploughed field 

 or a drab driving-coat, or indeed any subject without 

 gloss on its surface, and placed out of doors in a 

 sombre grey light ; but a horse in a stable, or under 

 the influence of sunshine, is quite another thing. 

 Then come their uncertain and adventitious lights 

 produced by the gloss of the horse's skin in the 

 strong light in which we place him. These together set 

 any thing like rule at defiance ; and, on any movement 

 of the animal so placed, change like the hues of the 

 charnelion. It might be supposed that black and 

 white, with the intermediate shades to be made by 



