Etchings

VT7HE art of etching, the results of which i. have füiiuil such favor with lovers of art can hardly be treated as a uew feature in picture making. It is generally conceded that Durer was the first to try the experiment of niakin pictures throuijh the medium of acids aud platee, but the process failed to reach anythini; like a etate of perfection uutil liemhrandt tried the experiment as a novclty, feil in love with it, and flnally acquired a proficiency that has left some of the finest etching extant ag the result of his work. Since that period the art has had suuh votaries M Van Dyke, Turner, Fortuny, Potter, Delacroix and a host of other llghtsof greater or less magnitude. The list includes artista of reiiown in every puriod 60 that the process inay be said t} huve never been without an able representative. The process at lirst consisted of covering a copper or eome other meta] píate with a proper varnish or "ground" made of resinous wai. The design was scratched through this with a needie; nitric acid was then introduced iuto tlie lines thus bared, eating into or corroding the exposed parts. The "ground" was then removed hy the use of turpentine. Ink wss smeared over the plate and iuto the lines, after whlch the ink wa removed from the part of the plate which had been proteuted by the wax. The plate was then in proper coudition for taking impressions, which was done by U6ing fine Japan paper, which was placed on the plate and pressed into the lines with a heavy roller which was passed over the plate. Some minor changes have been made to expedito the process, but the cardinal principies reraain unchanged. Compared to the arti6t who works In color, the etcher has an easy time of it in suiting the public. If the etcher can draw well and is fairly posted on the effects of light and sbade, etching will come easy. On the other hand the colorist must be able to draw and then use his colors in such combination as will remove all chances for the "good drawing but poor coloring" criticism which is so often heard at art expositions, and from which the etcherTs work is safe. One reason why there is such a diversity of opinión in regard to etchings may be accounted for by the lack or possession by individuáis of what must be termed artistic instinct. To a purson of artistic temperament a few lines, with the help of the imagination, may be turned into a bower of beauty, while to the other class they remain lines pure and simple, and half the beauty of the picture is never discovered. Still the etchers as a rule are in love with their work, which is said to be a most fascinating employment, and it is safe to predict that they will keep pace with the other classes of artists "whoso end both was and is to hold the mirror up to nature." Thomas Mat. Umbrellas are regarded as the most solernn symbols of state throughout the east. The King of Burmah's tille in India is "Lord of the Twenty-four Umbrellas." A vermillion umbrella everywhere in the east signifles imperial authority. The gift of a white umbrella, having 100 ribs, is calculated to insure the giver a place in Indra's heaven. But the most important umbrella of all is the nava-danda, used ouly on state occasions by royalty. The stem, the sliding frame and the ribs are of pure gold. The handle is a pure ruby, aud the knob at the end a diamond, atul the cover of silk, of the choicest colors, aud fringed with 32 looped 6triugs of pearls, with 32 pearls on each string. "When our dally ut{ is done let us regard the work of others, and let us not hasten to say it is not good becauso it is different. It is better to proflt than to contradlct, and often one does not profit because he wishes only to criticise." It is probably only with relation to art the idea seems to obtain with the general public, that the best person to teach it to those who know nothing of it is one who hlmself knows very little. The battle-axes used by the wild tribes are identical in form with those found among the prehistorie remains of man in Europe, perhaps because they have all been instinctively modeled from the teeth of carniverous animáis. The beautiful colors and designs found In the early basket work 'of the Pacific coast Indians are almost Identical with those fouud today in the doru palm fiber weaving of the Nubian tribes. Every brain is a gallery of art, and every oul Is, to a greater or less degree, an trtist