98 ON COLOUR. Paet I. 



admirably with gold, but a combination of numerous colours 

 with a large mass of green is seldom agreeable: and if a 

 pattern be introduced on a green wall-paper, it should rather 

 be of another tone of green, and of subdued force ; and a dark 

 green should not be placed on a light green ground. Still 

 less should a dark green ground be spotted over with other 

 colours. A cerise red may, however, be combined with a 

 mass of tea or other green of similar hue as a border to it, 

 or to the draperies in the same room ; and a green may some- 

 times be used with gold on certain grounds, in combination 

 with other colours which would not harmonise with green 

 without the gold. {See pp. 105, 106, 125, and above, p. 17.) 

 V. Colours are opposed to each other in different degrees ; 

 1st. The strongest opposition is by positive contrast, when the 

 colours are of different hues and natures : as black and white ; 

 blue and orange ; scarlet and blue, &c. Of these, Mr. Field 

 says (p. 26) the only two contrasting colours which are of 

 equal powers are "black and white," " orange and blue," and 

 "all other contrasts are perfect only when one of the anta- 

 gonistic colours predominates." 2nd. Opposition, or contrast, 

 of warm and cold colours; among the former of which are 

 reds, yellow, orange, brown, red-purple, &c. ; among the latter, 

 blue, grey, green, blue-purple, white, blue-black, &c. 3rd. 

 Opposition, or contrast, of dark and light colours ; or oppo- 

 sition of tones, is when the colours are tones of the same 

 hue,, one stronger than the other, as dark and light yellow. 

 4th. Opposition, or contrast, of accidental colours, is when a 

 colour and its accidental companion are opposed to each other 

 {see p. 72), as red and green; blue and orange; yellow 

 and purple. And though black and white are accidental to 

 each other, they cannot be said properly to belong to this 

 class ; nor is positive white ever mistaken for its accidental 

 companion, as other accidental colours are, through a defective 

 vision or colour-blindness {see p. 56). These two properly 



