It seems to
me that there is much profit and enjoyment to be derived
3io POT-POURRI FROM A SURREY GARDEN
from an occupation which brings into the home none of
the irritation so often produced by the piano or violin.
Music, no doubt, not merely in cases of real talent, but also
when only ordinary proficiency is attained, is the most
sociable of hobbies. It brings other musical people to
the house, and gives far more pleasure to those among
non-performers who like it, if more annoyance to those
who do not, than drawing. Many natures, however,
have the temperament of genius without its creative
power, and I doubt very much whether music gives the
same vent and the same satisfaction to these which even
a slight taste for drawing affords when cultivated. There
is a rare delight in the exercise of creative power, however
limited ; and this pleasure is given by drawing, even at its
most elementary stage. What was a piece of white
paper has something on it, and you have put it there. It
has also the great advantage that it can be practised at all
times and in all places — when travelling, at the dull sea-
side lodging, in town, or at the empty or sad backwater
times of life that everyone experiences. Its danger to
each individual is the same as that of all other pleasures
and occupations to which we give our hearts, it en-
courages selfish absorption. But everything has its
reverse side ; and I am sure that, to the person with no
ear for music and no taste for independent study in
science or literature, drawing may prove a lasting delight,
a source of peace and content, a stimulus to moral and
intellectual growth. The occupation, to those who have
learnt to love it, causes time to fly on the wings of
pleasure ; it adds new interest and zest to life, opening
the eyes to a whole world of beauty which has hitherto
lain unknown or unnoticed. Balzac said : ' The genius
of observation is almost the whole of human genius.' If
this aphorism is not comprehensively true, it serves at
least to prove how life is enriched even for stupid by
AMATEUR ARTISTS 311
cultivating observation; and yet how many go through
life without it ! As one branch of ' the genius of observa-
tion,' the artistic pursuit educates the taste in the highest
sense of that j much-abused word. It increases immensely
the appreciation of works of art, both ancient and
modern. It often leads to a reasoned study of the
history of art, its interesting evolution, and its bio-
graphical and critical literature. Besides these, to come
to more homely matters and the most feminine side of
a woman's life — namely, the management of her dress and
the decoration of her house — the knowledge of colour and
the study of form will make both these more beautiful
and less commonplace. They will also give her assurance
to free herself from the often tasteless tyrannies of the
dressmaker and the upholsterer.
Page 183
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It seems to
me that there is much profit and enjoyment to be derived
3io POT-POURRI FROM A SURREY GARDEN
from an occupation which brings into the home none of
the irritation so often produced by the piano or violin.
Music, no doubt, not merely in cases of real talent, but also
when only ordinary proficiency is attained, is the most
sociable of hobbies. It brings other musical people to
the house, and gives far more pleasure to those among
non-performers who like it, if more annoyance to those
who do not, than drawing. Many natures, however,
have the temperament of genius without its creative
power, and I doubt very much whether music gives the
same vent and the same satisfaction to these which even
a slight taste for drawing affords when cultivated. There
is a rare delight in the exercise of creative power, however
limited ; and this pleasure is given by drawing, even at its
most elementary stage. What was a piece of white
paper has something on it, and you have put it there. It
has also the great advantage that it can be practised at all
times and in all places — when travelling, at the dull sea-
side lodging, in town, or at the empty or sad backwater
times of life that everyone experiences. Its danger to
each individual is the same as that of all other pleasures
and occupations to which we give our hearts, it en-
courages selfish absorption. But everything has its
reverse side ; and I am sure that, to the person with no
ear for music and no taste for independent study in
science or literature, drawing may prove a lasting delight,
a source of peace and content, a stimulus to moral and
intellectual growth. The occupation, to those who have
learnt to love it, causes time to fly on the wings of
pleasure ; it adds new interest and zest to life, opening
the eyes to a whole world of beauty which has hitherto
lain unknown or unnoticed. Balzac said : ' The genius
of observation is almost the whole of human genius.' If
this aphorism is not comprehensively true, it serves at
least to prove how life is enriched even for stupid by
AMATEUR ARTISTS 311
cultivating observation; and yet how many go through
life without it ! As one branch of ' the genius of observa-
tion,' the artistic pursuit educates the taste in the highest
sense of that j much-abused word. It increases immensely
the appreciation of works of art, both ancient and
modern. It often leads to a reasoned study of the
history of art, its interesting evolution, and its bio-
graphical and critical literature. Besides these, to come
to more homely matters and the most feminine side of
a woman's life — namely, the management of her dress and
the decoration of her house — the knowledge of colour and
the study of form will make both these more beautiful
and less commonplace. They will also give her assurance
to free herself from the often tasteless tyrannies of the
dressmaker and the upholsterer.