and by never abandoning a path traced by nature, and matured by the most sublime philosophy. Pursuing our path in the subject of design, we at once come to the human form. The whole of our readers have, no doubt seen in the elementary treatises on drawing, the series of curves which form the human structure; to illustrate this, however, in' the readiest way, we may turn to that great master of design, Raphael. It is proportioned by similar principles: the large disk makes the body, inclining right and left upon the end of the oval. The neck and leg are both made from the smaller oval disk; the dotted lines to the ovals of the leg. The handle and concave lip of the cup, are made by an application of the same disk. The altitude contains four parts, the body two parts, the leg one part, and the neck one other part; the handle rises one eighth above. Every portion of In this beautiful group, representing the Holy this figure is created by the two disks previously Family, the principle of the circle advancing to an named. The foliage rises from below and descends oval is beautifully portrayed. In childhood, the cirfrom above, one fourth of the whole height of the cle predominates, but at a later period of life the face body to the commencement of the concavity of the is elongated, and now though much of the prettiness neck, where the beading runs round. It has been begins to pass away, it is succeeded by the markremarked, that by adhering to regular proportional ings of a higher degree of intellect. The deeper quantities of one and two, three and five, two and and more powerful workings of the mind succeed to five, seven and two, &c., and using elliptick disks the infantile simplicity which marked the first dawnor curves, very great beauties are derived. ing of reason. The motion of ships at sea is described in gentle elliptick curves; the wings and plumage of birds assume the oval and elliptick curves; all the fibres of their feathers have that form; some flattened, others more rounded; the pine-apple and numberless fruits have all an oval character of outline. Many take the character of eggs, pointed at one end, and large and blunt at the other extremity. The leaves of trees have the oval shape more than any other; the bend of the branches, and the whole external form of many trees, are oval. There is no form of created things which may not be found to correspond in all its dependant shapes, to ovals and ellipses of various disks: even objects which at first sight seem to contradict the possibility of meeting this system. The Greek artists so confined themselves to certain rules and principles of unerring consequences, in the production of beauty, grace, or grandeur in their figures, that all their compositions depended upon the same species of rule and order. It is much to be regretted that fashion is in all countries the destroyer of taste; that it unfits the mind for fixed principles; that where it dominates, there taste will be always fluttering and never settle, nor have a sure dominion. The Greeks do not appear to have suffered themselves to be diverted from a pure course of design in their studies, and, as such, arrived at a very high degree of perfection in most scientifick pursuits, by following sure principles as their guides, In the beautiful curves which composed the vases first noticed, the forms must of necessity be the same under all circumstances; hence it will be obvious that the difficulty increases very considerably when we come to the varying characters, ages, and passions of mankind. There is more of skilful design essential to a right arrangement of the folds in the drapery of a figure than the young artist is apt to imagine. The ancients | Frank Howard, in the pictorial art, stand highexcelled in picturesque, but not in natural drapery.-est in the power of imbodying what is beautiful in An example of the latter will be found in the fore- the ancient school with the more natural character of real life. The dramatick illustrations of the latgoing figure, designed by Flaxman. ter form a distinct era in art. CLOTHING OF CHILDREN. Brit. Cyc. We have heard of sculptors who design their drapery by laying layers of wet and flexible clay over the figure they are about to execute, but by such a process as that, little of real excellence could be produced. The ancient masters appear to have arranged their draperies as the upholsterer nails his curTHE general rule which reason suggests in regard tain, in faultless form, and perfect order-nothing to the clothing of children, is that "a child have no was left to chance. Now, to give a piece of drapery more clothes than are necessary to keep it warm, the slightest claim to a natural character, its whole arrangement must be that of chance; and no person can examine the simply natural masses, shown in the previous figure, without at once observing the vast inferiority of the ancients under this head. We must not, however, forget that this simplicity may easily degenerate into vulgarity, and poverty of conception. We may take as an example, the exquisite piece of drapery introduced by Chantrey, in his bust of the late Sir W. Scott. Now this has been copied by other inferiour artists, and they have attempted, by the aid of a small handkerchief, or towel, to give the massive folds and beautiful contour of the original, and the consequence has been failure of the worst kind. Great depth of finish is not essential to good drapery-but just conception, and an acquaintance with the mechanical character of different fabricks. In proof of what we have now been advancing, we may take one of the most beautiful groups probably in existence, and to which our artist has done ample justice. Cupid and Psyche possess in a peculiar degree all the graces of the antique school. It has in this respect also its peculiar faults. The waist of the male figure is encircled by a double row of drapery, forming unbroken lines of small aits-now this is neither natural, nor yet picturesque. The drapery of Psyche much resembles that of the Caryatides, and is as quaint Flaxman and as it is unnecessarily indelicate. Canova, among modern sculptors, and Retsch and and that they be quite easy for its body." In conformity to this rule, the dress of children should be simple, clean, light and cheap-free, wide and open, so as neither to impede the vital functions, nor the free and easy motions of the body, nor prevent the access of fresh air, and be easily put on or taken off. Pins should be used as little as possible, and the clothes fastened with strings, which would prevent the occasional scratching of their tender skins, and those alarming cries which so frequently proceed from this cause. Such a light and simple dress would induce children to live with less restraint in [Simple dress of a little girl.] the society of each other; and check that silly pride which leads them to ape the fashions of their superiours, and to value themselves on account of the finery of their clothes. During the first months, the head and breast may be slightly covered; but as soon as the hair is sufficiently long to afford protection, there appears little necessity for either hats or caps, unless in seasons of rain or cold. By keeping the breast and neck uncovered, they acquire more firmness, are rendered hardier, and less susceptible of being affected with cold. Besides, a child has really a more interesting aspect, when arrayed in the beautiful simplicity of nature, than when adorned with all the trappings which art can devise. The following anecdote, related by Herodotus, illustrates the advantage connected with a cool regimen of the head: "After the battle fought between the Persians, under Cambyses, and the Egyptians, the slain of both nations were separated; and upon examining the heads of the Persians, their skulls were found to lasts should nearly correspond, after having ascer tained the curve of the upper part of the foot. With regard to the clothing of children, in general, it is the opinion of Dr. Faust, that from the beginning of the third to the end of the seventh or eighth year, their heads and necks must be free and bare, the body clothed with a wide shirt, and frock with short sleeves, the collar of the shirt to fall back over that of the frock, with the addition of a woollen frock, to be worn between the shirt and the linen frock, during winter, and that the feet be covered only with a pair of socks, to be worn in the shoes." Such a cheap and simple dress, if generally adopted, would undoubtedly be beneficial to mankind in general, and tend to promote the strength, beauty, and graceful foolish propensity of parents to indulge their children in flimsy ornaments and finery, beyond what their means can afford. At present, children are frequently muffled up with their caps, hats, bonnets, cravats, pelisses, frills, muffles, gloves, ribands, and other paraphernalia, as if they were to be reared like plants in hot-beds; so that the shape and beautiful proportions which nature has given them can scarcely be distinguished. I shall only add, that the dress of children ought to be kept thoroughly clean; as dirty clothes not only gall and fret their tender skins, but tend to produce disagreeable smells, vermin, and cutaneous diseases; and no mother or nurse, how. ever poor, can have any valid excuse for allowing her children to wallow in dirtiness. be so thin and tender, that a small stone would immediately perforate them; while, on the other hand, the heads of the Egyptians were so firm, that they could scarcely be fractured by the largest stones." The cause of this remarkable difference was attributed to the custom of the Egyptians shaving their heads from earliest infancy, and going uncovered in all states of the weather; while the Persians always kept their heads warm by wearing heavy turbans. Attention ought likewise to be paid to the proper covering of the feet. It is scarcely necessary for children to use shoes before they are a year old; or if they do, the soles should be thin and soft. The form of the human foot is such, that at the toes it is broad, at the heel narrow, and the inside of the foot is longer than the outside-a form which is evident-attitudes of children, and at the same time check the ly intended by nature, to enable us to stand and walk with firmness and ease. It is therefore a dictate of Nature, that shoes should be made in the same form as the feet, and be sufficiently roomy for the toes to move with ease; and in order to this, they must be formed upon two separate lasts, corresponding to the right and the left foot. How shoes came at first to be made tapering to a point at the toes, almost like a bodkin-how high heels became the darling fashion of the ladies-and how a small foot came to be reckoned genteel-I pretend not to determine; but certainly nothing can be more absurd and preposterous. Such opinions and practices, along with many others which abound, particularly in the fashionable world, have a direct tendency to counteract the benevolent intentions of Nature, and are nothing short of an attempt to arraign the wisdom of the Creator, in his arranging and proportionating the different parts of the human frame-as if puny man, by his foolish whims, were capable of improving the workmanship of Infinite Intelligence. The following figures (taken from Dr. Faust) plainly show the absurdity of the shapes which have been given to shoes. Fig. 1 shows the original shape of the sole of the left foot: Fig. 3 shows how the sole of the left shoe ought to be formed; and Fig. 2 shows clearly that the shoes usually worn, and made on one last, cannot correspond to the natural shape of the foot. If they taper towards a point, the large toe, and some of the small ones, must be crushed and pressed against each other, causing pain to the wearer, and producing corns. The simplest and most accurate mode of taking the true measure and form of shoes, is to place each foot upon a sheet of paper, and then draw its shape with a pencil, to which two separate THE RESTLESS ONE. BY LIEUTENANT G. W. PATTEN, U. S. ARMY. As it floated on in pride, They lured him from the presence Of the cherish'd and the true, Was the smile she had for him. She knew they must be parted He left the song of Beauty For pæans o'er the slain : And yet that sweet lyre chorded, For him were garnered all its notes, For him it sung alone. Time was, Love's smiles might conquer And he strikes the doubling drum. Dick. MATHEMATICKS. WHEN the dimensions of the mason-work of a nouse are required, the different parts of the building, which require separate calculations, as the sidewalls, the end-walls, the gables, the chimney-stalks, &c., should be separately delineated; and if such delineations are not found in the books where the questions are stated, the pupil, before proceeding to his calculations, should be desired to sketch a plan of the several dimensions which require his attention, in order that he may have a clear conception of the operations before him. Such questions as the following should be illustrated by diagrams. "Glasgow is forty-four miles west from Edinburgh; Peebles is exactly south from Edinburgh, and fortynine miles in a straight line from Glasgow.-What is the distance between Edinburgh and Peebles?" This question is taken from "Hamilton's Arithmetick," and is inserted as one of the exercises connected with the extraction of the square root; but no figure or explanation is given, excepting the following foot-note: "The square of the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle, is equal to the sum of the a window thirty-three feet from the ground on one side of the streets; and by only turning it over, without moving the foot out of its place, it will do the same by a window twenty-one feet high on the other side. Required the breadth of the street?" The foregoing is the representation that should be given, which, with a knowledge of the geometrical proposition mentioned above, will enable an arithmetical tyro to perform the operation, and to perceive the reason of it. By this figure, the pupil will see that his calculations must have a respect to two right-angled triangles, of which he has two sides of each given to find the other sides, the sum of which will be the breadth of the street. DRUMS. Dick. to have been introduced among the Europeans in the time of the Crusades. The kettle-drum, the base-drum, tambarine, and other kinds, are all common in the East. The drum, as a military instrument, is used both to beat the march and to give signals. No man, who had not experienced it, can imagine the exciting power of the drum. The fatigued and exhausted soldier is at once animated by its sound; and in battle it preserves order, and inspires courage in a body attacking en colonne. The French drummers perform admirably, and, under Napoleon, a great number were attached to each battalion. A drum which has acquired historical celebrity, is that which, by the order of Zisca, was covered with his own skin, that he might still ard in battle, where he had so often commanded, even after he had become blind. THE drum is an instrument which produces sound by means of a tightly-extended skin; they are com- In cases of doubtful morality it is usual to saymon in almost every part of the world. The tam- "Is there any harm in doing this?" The best methbarine is found among most nations; the ancients od of answering this question by the genuine dictates called it tympanum. All these instruments are used of the conscience, is to ask another: viz., "Is there both for profane and sacred purposes. But the any harm in letting it alone ?" or, "Is it good and peculiar use of the drum for military purposes seems proper to be done?" |