164 METHODS OF MICROSCOPICAL RESEARCH. 



tion to contemplate what may be seen under such 

 circumstances, can be destitute of an appreciation 

 of art in its most exalted sense. The education of 

 the eye (the basis of aesthetic culture) as exercised 

 by the fascination and mental excitement of micro- 

 scopical research, progresses in a degree hardly 

 yet understood or appreciated ; every student has 

 within his mastery this power ; the manipulation of 

 the instrument, the means of display, the use of 

 materials, are matters of expertness, and are ex- 

 tensively self-taught; possibly some instruction may 

 do more than groping alone, but in the end expe- 

 rience is the best master. It is proposed in this 

 essay to detail such an actual experience in words, 

 directed more to mental judgment than technical 

 education. 



A microscopical drawing may be absolutely true, 

 and an artistic grace secured, by preserving line 

 for line what is actually presented, assuming the 

 preparation to be fairly perfect ; in other words, 

 not drifting into a stilted diagrammatic style, or 

 wandering from close observation, because the sub- 

 ject appears to have a certain regularity ; no two 

 cells, vessels, or fibres are absolutely alike ; to give 

 " life " to a picture, every part of the structure 

 should be a portrait, the pencil deviating from 

 accuracy melts into falsity and confusion, uniformity 

 is fatal, and obscures important differentiation of 

 parts ; again, in order to delineate what is expected, 

 or wished to be seen, aiming at " correction" is to 

 be avoided ; it is better to draw imperfections, if 

 they be present, an overlapping or torn structure 

 often reveals an important fact, so patent is this, 

 that a " fabricated " drawing may be detected in a 



