nction the use of many
bright colours. They are indeed worthy of all admiration; so also are
flowers, in which we find the most beautiful assortment of colours;
but nature has shaded and blended them together with such exquisite
skill and delicacy, that they are placed far beyond the reach of all
human art; and we think they are, to use the mildest terms, both bold
and unwise who attempt to reproduce in their own persons, with the aid
of silks or satins, the marvellous effect of colours with which nature
abounds. And yet it may be observed in nature, how gay colours are
neutralized by their accessories; how the greens vary in tone and tint
according to the blossoms which they surround. The infinite shades and
depths of colour with which nature is filled render it impossible
for anyone to attempt to imitate it beyond a certain point of general
harmony. This is now more generally understood than it used to be; but
still we often stumble across some glaring instance in which a gaudy
eye and taste have been allowed to run riot, and the result has been
the reproduction of something not very unlike a bed of tulips.

It is in a host of little things such as these that good taste
lies, and shows itself. We remember an instance of a lady, who was
conspicuous among her fellows for her exquisitely good taste in dress,
being severely commented upon by two showily-dressed women, who were
the wives of wealthy merchants in one of our great seaport-towns.
This lady appeared in church quietly dressed in black, with a handsome
Indian shawl, of which the colours were subdued and wonderfully
blended. The two representatives of the "nouveaux riches" looked
at the lady and then at each other; they turned up their noses, and
shrugged their shoulders, and gave vent to their feelings, as they
came away from church, in loud exclamations of disdain: "Well! did you
ever? No! I never did; and she a lady too! For their part they would
be ashamed to wear such a shabby old shawl." The shawl was worth about
its weight in gold; but because it was not showy, it found no favour
in their eyes.

As it is so intricate a matter, and one of which a very slight thing
can turn the scales, it is not easy to lay down rules by which good
taste may be acquired. But there are instances of bad taste which can
be avoided, and among them there is one which is self-evident, and
does not relate either to harmony or to variety of colours. We allude
to the good taste of d