n the degree of heaviness with which
windows are ordinarily painted, and this to some extent is a just
criticism. But I cannot go the length of thinking that all matt-painting
should be avoided, and outline only used; or that stained-glass material
can, except under very unusual conditions and in exceptional situations,
be independent of this resource. As to the
slab-glasses--"Early-English," "Norman," or "stamped-circles"--which are
chiefly affected by this question, the texture and surface upon which
their special character depends is sometimes a very useful resource in
work seen against, or partly against, background of trees or buildings;
while against an entirely "borrowed" light perhaps, sometimes, it can
almost dispense with any painting. The grey shadows that come from the
background play about in the glass and modify its tones, doing the work
of painting, and doing it much more beautifully. But this advantage
cannot always be had, for it vanishes against clear sky. It is all,
therefore, a question of situation and of aspect, and I believe the
right rule to be to do in all cases what seems best for every individual
bit of glass--that each piece should be "cared for" on its merits and
"nursed," so to speak, and its qualities brought out and its beauty
heightened by any and every means, just as if it were a jewel to be cut
(or left uncut) or foiled (or left unfoiled)--as Benvenuto Cellini would
treat, as he tells you he _did_ treat, precious stones. There is a
fashion now of thinking that gems should be uncut. Well, gems are hardly
a fair comparison in discussing stained-glass; for in glass what we aim
at is the effect of a composition and combination of a multitude of
things, while gems are individual things, for the most part, to be
looked at separately. But I would not lay down a rule even about gems.
Certainly the universal, awkward, faceting of all precious stones--which
is a relic of the mid-Victorian period--is a vulgarity that one is glad
to be rid of; but if one _wants_ for any reason the special sparkle,
here or there, which comes from it, why not use it? I would use it in
_stained-glass_--have done so. If I have got my window already brilliant
and the whites pure white, and still want, over and above all this, my
"Star of the Nativity," let us say, to sparkle out with a light that
cannot be its own, shall I not use a faceted "jewel" of glass, forty
feet from the eye, where none can see what it is but only