Page 252

                              PAINTING IN PASTEL.
  The color of the paper, or ground, is a matter of choice, and can only
be regulated by the
nature of the subject.  Paper of a gray tint is most generally preferred.
  In laying in the masses, and in blending the tints, both the stump and
finger may be used, as
well as a bat of cotton, or a soft rag.
  The Swiss crayons are universally considered to be the best.  Crayons put
up in paper are
most convenient for sketching, as they are thus rendered less likely to be
broken in the pocket or
in handling.  The colored pencils prepared by Wolfe and Sons, of London,
and sold under the
name of Creta Laevis, are admirably adapted for sketching, besides possessing
the property of
adhering very firmly.
  Having sufficiently dilated upon the most generally-practised methods of
painting to answer
all reasonable requirements of beginners, we have only, in conclusion, to
urge upon them the
importance of perseverance in their attempts, and that they should ever bear
in mind that the
leading principles of the art and their application are common to all methods
and subjects.  Let
them not be disheartened by failure, nor assume unwarrantable confidence
from partial success,
unless it be attended by comprehension of the means by which it has been
achieved.  Doubtless
there may be many who have felt di~appointed to find so little done for them,
and so much depen-
dent upon their own exertions, and who may still imagine that they only require
more minute
directions to reach the attainment of excellence.  rro such we would quote
the reply of Rem-
brandt to one of his scholars: "Try to put in practice what you already
know; in so doing, you
~vili in good time discover the hidden things which you now inquire about."