Mr. Ruskin uses no blotting-paper, and, as he dislikes the vulgar method of fastening envelopes, the secretary's work will be to seal them all with red wax, and the seal with the motto "To-day " cut in the apex of a big specimen of chalcedony.

One hesitates how far to go in these minutiæ of portrait painting: some may think the picture more finished for its details, and they may like to know that he writes on the flat table, not on a desk; that he uses a cork penholder and a fine steel pen, though he is not at all a slave to his 'tools, and differs from others rather in the absence of the sine qua non from his conditions. He can write anywhere, on anything, with anything; wants no penwiper, no special form of paper, or other "fad." Much of his work is written in bound note-books, especially when he is abroad, to prevent the loss and disorder of multitudinous foolscap. He generally makes a rough syllabus of his subject, in addition to copious notes and extracts from authorities, and then writes straight off; not without a noticeable hesitation and revision, even in his letters. His rough copy is transcribed by an assistant, and he usually does not see it again until it is in proof. He likes the type-writer, and employs it for fair-copying, of late years. Formerly he set no store by his MSS. His cousin says that her early recollections of Denmark Hill include a vision of crumpled foolscap sticking out of the grate every morning; Mr. Ruskin's copy and proofs kept the house

maids in fire-lighting until she begged the interesting sheets. But there are no complete works of Ruskin in MS., as there are of Scott.

Printers' proofs are always a trial to Mr. Ruskin, and he is glad to shift the work on to an assistant's shoulders, such as Mr. Harrison, who saw all his early works through the press. Mr. Ruskin himself is not an accurate proof-reader; too pressed with other business to give attention, for he usually takes up a totally different subject when he has finished one piece of work, that is, while he is reading the proofs of it. But he is extremely particular about certain things, and knows how to calculate the effect on the reader of the look of his work in print. Mr. Jowett (of Messrs. Hazell, Watson, & Viney, Limited) says, in "Hazell's Magazine" for September, 1892, that Mr. Ruskin has made the size of the page a careful study, though he has adopted many varieties. The "Fors" page is different from, and not so symmetrical as that of the octavo "Works Series," although both are printed on the same sized paper, medium 8vo. Then there is the " Knight's Faith" and "Ulric," in both of which the type (pica modern" this delightful type," wrote Mr. Ruskin) and the size of the page are different from any other; yet both are his choice. The "Ulric" page was imitated from an old edition of Miss Edgeworth. The first proof he criticised thus, -"Don't you think a quarter inch off this page, as enclosed, would look better? The type

is very nice. nice. How delicious a bit of Miss Edgeworth's is, like this!" "Ida" was another page of his choice, and greatly approved. His titlepages, too, were arranged with great care; he used to draw them out in pen and ink, indicating the size and position of the lines and letters. He objects to ornaments in print, and is very particular about proportions and spacing and division of words. Mr. Jowett tells that in issuing "Ulric" in parts, the word "stockings" happened to be divided; "and thus 'stock-' ended one part, and 'ings' began the next! In all my correspondence with him," says Mr. Jowett, "I never knew Mr. Ruskin so annoyed. 'Dear Jowett, — I'm really a little cross with you - for once- for doing such an absurd thing as jointing a word between the two parts. Did I really pass Part II. with half a word at the end?' This unfortunately was followed by many weeks' silence and entire abstinence from any kind of work. The Master had been seriously ill! The silence was broken by the following: My dear Jowett, that unlucky extra worry with "Ulric" was just the drop too much, which has cost me a month's painful illness again."

6

But to return to Brantwood in 1880.

In the morning everybody is busy. There are drawings and diagrams to be made, MS. to copy, references to look up, parcels to pack and unpack. Some one is told off to take you round, and you visit the various rooms and see the treasures, in