poet, and did not need any further help to see the picture than that furnished by the text of the play. At the present time, however, the great mass of the people have not any such power of mental imagery, and so the scenes have to be acted out for them as near to life as possible. It would seem, nevertheless, that the work in drawing in the schools is beginning to be felt in this regard, considering the success of Everyman and other plays of that nature. This power of mental imagery is helpful not only in making pictures, but also in almost any kind of mental calculations, and in the mind's eye to see his conceptions precisely as they would appear in the finished state. So in talking his subjects always seemed before him for portraiture." In the actual application of these faculties to everyday life it would seem as if they would be of value to the railroad engineer, the marksman, clerks in handling money, the jeweler, watchmaker, gunsmith, bookbinder, etc., and to the playwright, author, musician, poet, etc. Some one has said "beauty is more useful than the useful"; some one else has said that "beauty should be the end of life"; also that beauty is the clearest manifestation of perfection." What 66 ever this quality of beauty may be, it certainly is most desirable, and the question immediately arises as to how it can be obtained. Of course, there is only one way to learn anything now-a-days and that is to learn it at school. And how can a sense of beauty be cultivated any more quickly or easily than by drawing? Exercises of this kind open the mind to the beauties of form and color without doubt, and also to more abstract qualities. An appreciation of the beauty of balance must, it would seem go hand in hand with a keener sense of the difference between right and wrong. A study of proportion must, it would seem, help a person to No. 3. I regret that I have not been able to find a satisfactory definition of beauty. Emerson says that "If eyes were made for seeing, then beauty is its own excuse for being." But unfortunately just now we are not looking for excuses, but for a definition. So I have taken the liberty of making a statement for myself. It is this: That inanimate objects which are not unsightly are beautiful. For example, any lifeless object which is not distressing to look at ought to contain some element of beauty. Of course, I do not say that this definition is absolutely true; I do not know whether it is or not, but for the experiment which I would like to try I think it will suffice. In plate No. 2 there are a few tones of color and value. The people to whom I have exhibited it have assured me that they did not experience any unpleasant sensations in looking at it. And so I have taken it for granted that this piece of canvas contains some element of beauty. Plate No. 3 is a piece of paper with some lines on it. People have assured me, again, that this diagram was not absolutely repulsive in appearance, so I have inferred that it also NYMPH LIBERTY contains some element of beauty. In plate No. 4 we have another piece of paper with some more lines on it which, it seems to me, is also suggestive of something pleasant. And in plate No. 5 we have another somewhat similiar. These are, of course, but four elements out of many thousands. Now supposing we combine these elements, what do we get? We get plates Nos. 6 and 7. Plates Nos. 2 and 3 represent one degree of beauty and plate No. 6 another. Plates Nos. 4 and 5 represent one degree of beauty and plate No. 7 another. "The mountain nymph, sweet liberty.” No. 7. You have probably seen pictures based on either plates No. 2 or No. 3, and also pictures based upon the second idea in plate No. 6; but which is the more beautiful I leave for you to decide. This experiment may be interesting because it is sometimes said that "to most persons art is a small book written in a strange tongue." There are a great many degrees of beauty. But on the other hand, every person has a right to his own opinion of what is beautiful and what is still more to be admired. This experiment, maybe, will also be of help in deciding how advanced a degree and what particular qualities of beauty can best be understood by varying classes. It has been said that in literature we do not begin with Wordsworth and Emerson, nor in music with the Ninth Symphony; why should we begin the study of plastic art with its most exalted forms? If we study the various subjects on the school program with regard to their relations to each other, we find that they do not correlate with one another very well. If we look for any relation between geography and arithmetic we must look in vain. Neither do I see any connection between the study of Latin and the study of music; in fact, in my opinion, the other subjects taught at school stand for themselves, and do not help one another to any marked degree. When, however, we come to investigate the correlation of drawing with these other subjects,—and by correlation we mean the degree in which drawing enters into and helps in the understanding of other subjects,-we find this: "Successful instruction in nature study requires the use of objects and illustrations. The just aim of the science lesson is to train the child's power of observing the objects of nature and to use his eyes and hands in this work. Children should be encouraged to collect specimens and to report what they see in their visits to parks or other places of natural interest." This is an extract from the report of a superintendent of schools. It seems to me that the correlation here is very close, because if the pupils are able to draw they can make sketches of the trees or flora which they have seen that will fix their habits much more firmly in their minds. Even drawing from the flat copy will help them to distinguish between the various kinds of flora and the other objects in nature study. However, I should like to call your attention to the fact that while a considerable degree of the success attending the nature lesson is dependent upon the training which the children have had in drawing, I do not see that the progress in drawing will be particularly accelerated by the lessons in nature study. The point which I want to make here is that there are a great many subjects in the school curriculum which are very much benefited by the study of drawing, and that a great many persons do not fully realize this, but think that the only results. produced by the drawing lesson are the few simple sketches. made during the drawing period. Drawing is then a helpful correlative to all subjects requiring the ability to observe, the ability to retain visual images and manual dexterity. Consequently a training in drawing will be of assistance in nature study, manual training, physiology, reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, geography, and history. Drawing also correlates with almost every other subject so far as illustrating them with pictures is concerned. Besides this, skill in drawing is useful in arranging and decorating various school leaflets and exercises. In studying English sketches are also useful in describing the operations of daily life, such as ploughing, haying, lumbering, etc. In geography pictures or sketches made out-of-doors are helpful in leading the pupils to an understanding of what islands, peninsulas, promontories, etc., are. A common brook will often furnish all the examples necessary. The problem which the educator has to solve is this: He has |