234 APPENDIX. 



&c. &c., I think he would be compelled to admit 

 that he had undertaken a task which would at least 

 require time and patience for its completion ; but if, 

 in addition, the said person was to be removed to a 

 distance, so that the artist could only see him with a 

 powerful telescope, and had to follow his motions as 

 well as he could, and be content to catch a glimpse of him 

 crossing his field of view now and then, according to the 

 humour and good pleasure of the said individual, I 

 think the worthy limner would begin to think that after 

 all there was some difficulty to contend with. 



Now this case I conceive to be an exact parallel to 

 that of drawing living objects with a microscope. 



Their incorrigible restlessness so baulks and baffles the 

 artist, that he is frequently compelled to lay down his 

 pencil to regain his lost temper, and fresh courage to 

 proceed : in many cases his best resource is to study the 

 object till he has got all its features by heart then to set 

 them down on paper study again, and gradually cor- 

 rect them : by the time he has made half a dozen rough 

 sketches he will get pretty near the truth : he may then 

 commence a regular drawing. I can safely say that I 

 have drawn many of my objects jive or six times over 

 before I could arrive at my portraiture. I have heard a 

 great deal about shutting one's eyes after having made an 

 observation, and drawing from the impression left on the 

 retina. This, I suspect, is better in theory than in prac- 

 tice, and it is evident that, unless the object is stationary, 



