192 ON TASTE IN ORNAMENTAL DESIGN. Part II. 



and a still better opportunity for correcting the ordinary taste 

 has been since afforded by the varied collection of the Syden- 

 ham Palace. 



The want of museums in our manufacturing and other 

 provincial towns has been a great evil. Hence the English 

 manufacturer, or the decorative artisan, has long been in the 

 habit of borrowing designs from France ; the beauty of which 

 is only comprehended by him because he finds they have been 

 approved in the country of their birth. It is not his choice 

 that teaches him to admire or adopt them, and he only appre- 

 ciates their merits in proportion as they " pay." Nor is this 

 to be imputed to him as a fault, for he cannot acquire taste 

 when his eye is uneducated ; and his inventive genius, if he 

 has any, finds nothing to direct or develop it. The English, 

 indeed, are particularly in need of such instruction : and the 

 readiness with which artisans and others seek to profit by it 

 when offered to them, is shown by the published " Eeport of 

 the Department of Science and Art." It is, therefore, with 

 great satisfaction that we hail the establishment of schools in 

 various parts of the country, for primary instruction in draw- 

 ing, and the means afforded to masters for studying at the 

 central institution in London, preparatory to their taking the 

 management of provincial schools. But this is not all that is 

 required to give general taste. All cannot and need not 

 draw, though all should be able to accustom their eyes to see 

 and appreciate what is beautiful ; and this can only be done 

 by large 'public collections, and the constant contemplation of 

 well-selected objects of art. 



The schools of drawing, and the liberal manner in which 

 books and useful models are offered for the study of artisans, 

 as formerly at Marlborough House, and now at the South 

 Kensington Museum, as well as the admirable lectures to 

 which students may listen, cannot fail to operate satisfac- 

 torily ; and even in some country towns the energy and exer- 



