82 PROSERPINA. 



tend the Garden of Herbs where Love is, and those unclasped, 

 that toss with tangle and with shells. 



***** 



13. I had a long bit in my head, that I wanted to write, 

 about St. George of the Seaweed, but I've no time to do it ; 

 and those few words of Tennyson's are enough, if one thinks 

 of them : only I see, in correcting press, that I've partly mis- 

 applied the idea of ' gathering ' in the leaf edge. It would be 

 more accurate to say it was gathered at the central rib ; but 

 there is nothing in needlework that will represent the actual 

 excess by lateral growth at the edge, giving three or four 

 inches of edge for one of centre. But the stiffening of the 

 fold by the thorn which holds it out is very like the action of 

 a ship's spars on its sails ; and absolutely in many cases like 

 that of the spines in a fish's fin, passing into the various con- 

 ditions of serpentine and dracontic crest, connected with all 

 the terrors and adversities of nature ; not to be dealt with in 

 a chapter on weeds. 



14. Here is a sketch of a crested leaf of less adverse temper, 

 which may as well be given, together with Plate IIL, in this 

 number, these two engravings being meant for examples of 

 two different methods of drawing, both useful according to 

 character of subject. Plate HI. is sketched first with a finely- 

 pointed pen, and common ink, on white paper ; then washed 

 rapidly with colour, and retouched with the pen to give sharp- 

 ness and completion. 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 o 

 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, discontent, 

 edly enough. 



