THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
179 
of affording pleasure to himself, and his 
friends and relations, and herein lies his 
great strength and the advantage of 
his position, for he can leisurely devote 
his energy to the attainment of excellence 
in any special line for whicli he has apti- 
tude, and so may develop therein an indi- 
viduality from which his work may ac- 
quire a high intrinsic value in addition to 
the estimation in which, if it becomes a 
gift, it may be held from its associa- 
tions. 
Where the design is intricate— other 
than mere repetition of detail— or fanci- 
ful, or of such a nature that the time 
which would be occupied ui)on it by the 
pottery-artist, and l)y the amateur who 
has achieved some facility in the use of 
his brush and colors, would be about the 
same, or generally oi strictly limited in- 
terest, the advantages are altogether on 
the side of the latter, whose taste and 
fancy may be exercised on objects of the 
greatest variety. Among the pieces to be 
had are spill-vases, flower-vases, flower- 
pots, breakfast-cups and saucers ; espe- 
cially, if I may make a suggestion to 
some fair student, moustache-cups, often 
most acceptable to the recipient ; dessert 
and tea-services in which the decoration 
is elaborate, or contaiiis much miniature 
or vai'iegated gold work, afternoon tea 
sets, plaques of various shapes, round, 
oval, oblong, or square, and suitable for 
pictures for wall decoration, such as 
scenery, or family portraits, for covers for 
albums, for inlaying in clocks and cal)- 
inets, or for setting as brooches or in 
bracelets, dishes for the wall or for set- 
ting as card trays, dress buttons, soli- 
taires, etc., etc. "These, and the paintings 
on them, might be all objects of s[)ecia.l 
interest ; and the articles named are only 
a few of those which the amateur may 
decorate with most advantage. 
11. Principle of Selection. —These con- 
siderations reveal the priiiciple which 
should guide the amateur in selecting his 
work, if he would not be at a loss both of 
time and of money. He must emulate 
the true artist, not the mere painter. He 
must engage in work wliich appeals to his 
head as well as to his hand, not in what is 
only routine or mechanical. 
miat to Avoid.— At the pottery there is 
opportunity for the greatest economy in 
the use of paint, and every convenience is 
at hand for firing the painted article with 
the least delay, as often as may be neces- 
sary, and at the smallest expense. Hence, 
in the painting of a tea, coffee, chocolate, 
dinner, dessert, or toilet-service, which 
may have to be fired more than once, and 
which consists of several pieces, the de- 
coration of each of which may be after a 
set design of whatever kind, it will be 
found that the work can.be done better, 
more cheaply and more quickly at the 
factory, than at home — the standard of 
work being of course regulated by the 
cost, 
(To he continued.) 
An " Arrangement in Brown Paper." 
Suggestions for Inexpensive Framing for 
Prints and Etchirgs. 
BY J. W. GLEESON-WHITE. 
UKING a past dispute between 
two men of light and learning^ 
concerning the merits and de- 
merits of certain harmonies irt 
blue and silver, and arrangements in 
grey, a brochure was issued in defence of 
liis works by the artist who considered 
himself insulted, clad in covers of homely 
brown paper, which was happily nick- 
named by the phrase I have taken for my 
title— one which, from its utter lack of 
any definite hint of the subject, may be, 
to an ordinary mind, in keeping with the 
first cause of the pamphlet itself. 
But the arrangement here to be talked 
over and suggested (though by chance 
first api)lied by myself to a charming 
etching by Whistler) has no other con- 
nection with the cause celehre than a 
vague trace of the picturesque, and refers 
to a somewhat novel application of an old 
rough and ready way of framing pictures 
that has often been used before, but hith- 
erto chiefly in connection with very com- 
mon and small articles, pictures oidy by 
courtesy, proving, however, capable of a 
different treatment, and admired by many 
artists and art lovers ; it has been also 
(sincerest flattery) imitated by nearly 
every person who "has seen it, that to the 
many who now may first make acquaint- 
ance with it, it will, I hope, prove accept- 
able from its two great merits— cheapness 
and sim])licity. 
In almost every home now one finds 
l^rints, etchings, pencil drawings, or pho- 
tographs, sometimes issued with a popu- 
lar peiiodical, or reminiscences of travel 
that are, while not quite worth framing, 
yet too good, or with too pleasant associ- 
ations to destroy. These litiger on, hav- 
ing no definite place, never to be found 
when required, and helping rather to lit- 
ter than beautify the house, until they 
ultimately disappear in tha.t mysterious 
\isita,tion, known familiarly as the 
" si)ring cleaning," when so many val- 
uable treasures swiftly and suddenly van- 
ish away, and never are hea.rd of again. 
If these forlorn pictures were once framed 
or kept with the intention to do so at a 
quiet time, not only would they be spared 
the sad end to which I have referred, but 
the habit of taking care of them once 
formed, would lead to the finding and 
saving iiiany other suitable subjects. It 
is astonishing how any idea once adopted 
