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THE HAXTHORNB PAPERS . ' - " . . ' ' No . L ¦ ' . ¦ " ¦' ¦ - In one of his essays , Emerson remarks , that what Nature at one time , provides for use , she afterwards turns to ornament ; and be cites in illustration the structure of a sea-shell , in which the parts that have for a while formed the mouth are at the next season of growth left behind , and become decorative nodes and spines .
It has often occurred to me that this same remark might aptly be extended to the progress of Humanity . Here , too , the appliances of one era serve as embellishments to the next . Equally in institutions , creeds , customs , and superstitions , we may trace this evolution of beauty out of what was once purely utilitarian in its purpose . The contrast between the feeling' with which we regard portions of the earth's surface still left in their original state , and the feeling with which the savage regarded them , is an instance that naturally comes first in order of time . Rambling some months since over Hampstead Heath , and remarking to myself how strongly its picturesqueness
was brought out by contrast with the surrounding cultivated fields and the masses of houses lying in the distancey and reflecting further , that , had this gorse-covered surface extended on all sides to the horizon , it would have looked dreary and prosaic rather than pleasing ; it struck me that to the primitive man a country so clothed presented no beauty at all . To him it was merely a haunt of wild animals , and a ground-out of which roots might be dug . What have become for us places of relaxation and enjoyment—places for afternoon strolls and for gathering , flowers- —were his places for labour and food , probably arousing in hisjmind none but utilitarian associations . «• ~
Ruined castles afford , perhaps , the most obvious instance of this metamorphosis of the useful into the beautiful . To feudal barons and their retainers , security was the chief , if not the only end , sought in choosing the situation and structure of their strongholds . Probably they aimed as little at the picturesque as do the builders of cheap brick houses in our modern towns . Yet what were erected for shelter and safety , and what in those early days fulfilled an important function in the social economy , have now assumed a purely ornamental character . They serve as scenes for- picnics ; pictures of them decorate our drawing-rooms- ; and each supplies its surrounding districts with legends for Christmas Eve .
Following out the train of thought suggested by this last illustration , we may see that not only do the material exuviae of past social states become the ornaments of our landscapes , but that past habits , manners , and arrangements , serve as ornamental elements for our literature . The tyrannies that , to the serfs who bore them , were harsh and dreary facts ; the feuds which , to those who took part in them , were very practical , life-and-death affairs ;
the mailed , moated , sentinelled security that was irksome to the nobles who needed it ; the imprisonments , and tortures , and escapes , which were stern and quite prosaic realities to all concerned in them — have become to us material for romantic talesmaterial which , when woven into Ivanhoes and Marmions , serves for amusement in leisure hours , and becomes poetical by contrast with our daily lives .
Thus , also , is it with outworn creeds . Stonehenge , which in the hands of the Druids had a governmental influence over men , is in our day a place for antiquarian excursions , and its attendant priests are worked up into an opera . The ancient sculptures , preserved for their beauty in our galleries of art , and copied for the decoration of pleasure grounds and entrance halls , once lived in men ' s minds as gods demanding obedience ; as did also the grotesque idols that now amuse the visitors to
our museums . Equally marked is this change of function in the case of minor superstitions . The fairy lore , which in past times was matter of grave belief , and held sway over people ' s conduct , has since been transformed into ornament for A Midsummer Niyht's Dream , The Tempest , The Fairy Queen , and endless small tales and poems ; and still afford material for children's story-books , themes for ballets , and plots for PlanchcV burlesques . Gnomes , and genii , and afrits , losing a \\ their terrors , give interest to
the woodcuts in our illustrated edition of the Arabian Nights ; Whilst ghost ^ sfcoiies , and tales of magic and witchcraft , after serving to amuse boys and girls in their leisure hours , become subjects for jocose allusions that enliven tea-table conversation . . , ¦ . » ¦ ¦ Even pur serious literature and our . speeches are , very generally relieved by ornaments drawn from this source . A Greek myth is often used as a parallel b y which to vary the monotony of some grave argument . The lecturer breaks the dead level of his practical discourse by illustrations drawn from bygone customs , events , or beliefs . And metaphors , similarly derived , give brilliancy to Parliamentary debates , and to Times leading articles .
' Indeed , on following up the idea , I think it will be found that we turn to purposes of beauty nearly everything in the past that is at all conspicuous . The busts of great men in our libraries , and their tombs in our churches ; the once useful but now purely ornamental heraldic symbols ; the monks , nuns , and convents , that give interest to a . certain class of novels ; the bronze mediseval soldiers used for embellishing drawing-rooms ; . the gilt Apollos
that recline on time-pieces ; the narratives that serve as plots for our great dramas ; and the events that afford subjects for historical pictures—these and other like illustrations of the metamorphosis of the useful into the beautiful are so numerous as to suggest that , did we search carefully enough , we should find that in some place , or under some circumstance , nearly every notable product of the past has assumed a decorative character .
And here the mention of historical pictures reminds me that an inference may be drawn from all this bearing directly on the practice of art . It has of late years been a frequent criticism upon our historical painters that they err in choosing their subjects from the past , and that , would they found a genuine and vital school , they must render on canvas the life and deeds and aims of our own time . If , however , there be any significance in the foregoing facts , it seems doubtful whether this
criticism is a just one . For , if it he the process of things , that what has performed some practical function in society during one era becomes available for ornament in a subsequent one , it almost follows that , conversely , whatever is performing some practical function now , or has very recently performed one , does not possess the ornamental character , and is , consequently , inapplicable to any purpose of which beauty is the aim , or of which it is a needful ingredient .
Still more reasonable will this conclusion appear , when we consider the nature of this process by which the useful is changed into the ornamental . The essential pre-requisite to all beauty is contrast . To obtain artistic effect , light must be put in juxtaposition with shade , bright colours with dull colours , a fretted surface with a plain one ; forte passages in music must have piano passages to relieve them , concerted pieces need interspersing with solos , and rich chords must not be continuously repeated . In the drama we demand contrast of characters , of scenes , of sentiment , of
style . In prose composition an eloquent passage should have a comparatively plain setting ; and in poems great effect is obtained by occasional change of versification . This general principle will , I think , explain the transformation of the bygone useful into the present beautiful . It is by virtue of their contrast with our present modes of life that past modes of life look interesting and romantic . Gradually . as , by the growth of society , we leave behind the customs , manners , arrangements , and all the products , material and mental ,
of a bygone age—gradually as we recede from these so far that there arises a conspicuous difference between them and those we are familiar with—so gradually do they begin to assume to us a poetical aspect , and become applicable for ornament . And , if so , it follows that things and events that are close to us , and which are accompanied by associations of ideas not markedly contrasted with cur ordinary associations , are essentially inapplicable to purposes of art .
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CHRISTMAS PIECES . ' In three or four Country Houses of England there exists at this moment a very pleasant superstition to the effect that Christmas without the presence of Vivian is the holly without its berries , the pudding without its citron > enjoyment without its last grace and refinement . A very agreeable superstition , I say ! Let no man tamper with it ! The consequence is that , instead of displaying my
critical acumen in the dissection of Pantomimes and Burlesques , I am deeply engaged with mistletoes , polkas , tricks with cards , flirtations , and pistol firing . It is quite clear that being more than a hundred miles from London , I can't tell you what my personalimpression is of these Pantomimes . But there is the 7 ' m » w—a journal whichwill " repay perusal" ( as a clergyman I know once gravely said of the Bible!)—and from it I will extract enough to satisfy your curiosity . Vivian ..
Dbvbt Lane . — ' * Old Drury " never looked better . Mr . Bunn . seems to have administered to that elderly personage a goodly draught of the theatrical elixir vita ? . The appearance of the house is very gay and prepossessing , and , for Christmas times , has a peculiar charm when contrasted with the mud , dirt , and fog in the streets . An extremely handsome chandelier lights up the frontage of blue , white , and gold , with distinctness and mellowness ; and the ornamental improvements which , have been carried out by
Mr . Hurwitz , of King-street , Covent-garden , are characterized , by sufficiently simple elegance and taste . The ceiling is decorated after the style of Louis XIV . It is divided into compartments , consisting principally of representative alcoves , which are alternated with shields after the style of Michael Angelo . The figures and flowers introduced- are allegorical of Pear and Fanaticism , Prudence and Counsel , Avarice and Prodigality , Friendship and Enmity , and other elements of tragedy and comedy . The several circles . have all been redecorated . The
dress-circle is divided into panels and pilasters , with blue and gold medallions , and enrichments on a ¦ white ground . The second and third circles are in the same colours , forming draperies of distinct designs ; and the front of her Majesty ' s box is in harmony with the whole . The genius of dramatic propriety , if there be such a person , animated the audience on Friday night , and for once Boxing-night was desecrated by silence and order . " Catcalls " were unheard ; the unfortunate person who is always in danger of being ' thrown over" from the gallery throughout every stage of the performance , was most unaccountably absent ; the porter , orange , and
gingerbeer market seemed to be in a state of unhealthy and inactive plethora ; and the " upper classes" had not that familiar knowledge of persons in the pit and boxes which usually distinguishes them on similar occasions , and the exponent of which is a flight of apple fractions and orange peel . Indeed , the Theatre Francais could not have presented a more staid and composed assemblage ; and the critic in the Si&cle , who affirmed that Boxing-night was so called from the pugilistic encounters in the lobbies , would have been sadly puzzled to account for such a violent paralysis of our national propensities . The curtain rose on the first scene of Milman ' s tragedy of Fazio , in
which Mies Olyn made her first appearance on the boards of Drury-lnne . The energy and undoubted power of this lady have already secure d for her a considerable Bhare of admiration among those who witnessed her performances at Sadler ' s "Wells , and her reputation was increased by some careful and highly finished " readings " on the close of her engagement at that theatre . Mies Glyn last night to a great extent justified the favourable opinion that ha s been formed of her by her friends , and achieved a decided success . A figure tall , massive , stately , and full to luxuriance , a face expressive , well marked , and decided , a voice of much power and force , and
an excellent stage walk and bearing , coupled with apparent keenness of apprehension and passion , give Miss Glyn no ordinary advantages ; but she lacks refinement , the subtle power of colour which marks the nice gradations of sentiment , and , while she revels in the display of all the fiercer emotions , suck as hate and revenge , with undeniable power , her attempts to touch the sympathies , to strike the real key-notes of tragedy , are comparatively feeble and uncertain . Allowing for the dry , hard nature of tho charactor , her performance of Bianca contained many
beauties , which were not muph marred by an exnggeration of attitude and notion , whioh sometimes in almost unpleasant , and is the less pardonable in Mies Glyn , whose physical advantages render fnotk tious aid of tho kind quite unnecessary . At the close of the tragedy Miss Glyn was called for , and was very loudly cheered . The new grand comio Christmus pantomime , called Harlequin Hogarth ; or , the Two London 'Prentices , ** served on Hogarth ' s plates , with extra seasoning to suit the time , " followed , and we regretted to bo © that the usual array of " infantry , "
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We should do our utmost to encourage the Beautiful , for the Useful encourages itBelf . — Goethe .
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Thh Magpie ' s Amusemknt . —There is a story told of a tame magpu . , which was seen busily employed n a garden gathering pebbles , and with much solemnity and a studied air , dropping them in a hole , about eighteen inches deep , miiae to receive a post . After dropping each atone , " it cried , Currack 1 triumphantly / and set off for another . On examining the spot a poor toad waa found in the hole , which the magpie was stoning for his amu 8 QU \ cnU- ~ -2 Vtomjpson ' 8 Paaaions of Animalt .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 3, 1852, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1916/page/18/
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