246 FIELD AND HEDGEROW. 



mind is so exquisitely rendered in the picture that he 

 seems verily to speak with intelligence. I love that dog 

 though he does but exist in ink ; he is the true image of 

 a real dog, and his mind shines through his body. This 

 effect upon me as the spectator is produced by a clever 

 arrangement of lines upon the plate from which the 

 etching was printed, thin lines cut into the copper with 

 curious sharp tools, behind a screen of tissue-paper to 

 shield the eyes from the light, done in the calm of the 

 studio, thoughtfully, with artistic skill. Given the ori- 

 ginal genius to conceive such a dog, the knowledge how 

 to express the ideas, and the tools to work with, and we 

 sec how it became possible to execute the etching. But 

 suppose the artist supplied with a piece of smooth ivory 

 for his plate, and a sharp penknife for his etching needle, 

 and set behind a boulder to watch the mammoth and 

 sketch it by incision on the ivory, and there would be 

 produced very much the same kind of picture as the 

 Cave-man made. It could not have the delicate shading, 

 the fine edge, the completion and finish of the dog ; it 

 could not visibly think as that dog thinks. It would con- 

 sist of a few quick strong dashes, conveying the weight 

 and force and image of the elephant in as few strokes as 

 possible. It would be a charcoal sketch ; broad and pow- 

 erful lines that do not themselves delineate, but compel 

 your imagination to do the picture in your mind, so that 

 you see a great deal more than is drawn. So that the 

 Cave-man was really a great artist his intense interest 

 in the chase supplied the lack of academies and scienti- 

 fic knowledge and galleries to copy from. This primeval 

 picture thus tells you that the high]}' educated artist of 

 the present day, removed from his accessories, away from 

 his liquid colours, easels, canvas, prepared paper, and so 

 forth, can only do what the Cave-man did, But still 



