a long bit in my head, that I wanted to write, about St. George
of the Seaweed, but I've no time to do it; and those few words of
Tennyson's are enough, if one thinks of them: only I see, in correcting
press, that I've partly misapplied the idea of 'gathering' in the leaf
edge. It would be more accurate to say it was gathered at the central rib;
but there is nothing in needlework that will represent the actual excess by
lateral growth at the edge, giving three or four inches of edge for one of
centre. But the stiffening of the fold by the thorn which holds it out is
very like the action of a ship's spars on its sails; and absolutely in many
cases like that of the spines in a fish's fin, passing into the various
conditions of serpentine and dracontic crest, connected with all the
terrors and adversities of nature; not to be dealt with in a chapter on
weeds.

14. Here is a sketch of a crested leaf of less adverse temper, which may as
well be given, together with Plate III., in this number, these two
engravings being meant for examples of two different methods of drawing,
both useful according to character of subject. Plate III. is sketched first
with a finely-pointed pen, and common ink, on white paper; then washed
rapidly with colour, and retouched with the pen to give sharpness and
completion. {115} This method is used because the thistle leaves are full
of complex and sharp sinuosities, and set with intensely sharp spines
passing into hairs, which require many kinds of execution with the fine
point to imitate at all. In the drawing there was more look of the bloom or
woolliness on the stems, but it was useless to try for this in the
mezzotint, and I desired Mr. Allen to leave his work at the stage where it
expressed as much form as I wanted. The leaves are of the common marsh
thistle, of which more anon; and the two long lateral ones are only two
different views of the same leaf, while the central figure is a young leaf
just opening. It beat me, in its delicate bossing, and I had to leave it,
discontentedly enough.

Plate IV. is much better work, being of an easier subject, adequately
enough rendered by perfectly simple means. Here I had only a succulent and
membranous surface to represent, with definite outlines, and merely
undulating folds; and this is sufficiently done by a careful and firm pen
outline on grey paper, with a slight wash of colour afterwards, reinforced
in the darks; then marking the lights with white