Science, Art, And The Drama.

Science , Art , and the Drama .

DEATH OF JOHN RUSKIN . A great man , a giant of intellect , has departed from us , and all educated England mourns his loss . John Ruskin was born in Billiter-street , London , Sth February , 1819 ; he died at Coniston , Lancashire , 20 th January , 1900 . At a very early age he gave fair promise of his future greatness . He began his literary work at the age of nine— " Endosia ; a poem on the Universe . " On leaving school , he went to Oxford , where he gained the Newdigate Prize for Poetry ; his poem was " Talsette and Elephanta . " His first work which

attracted public notice was " Modern Painters , " the outcome of his championship of the painter Turner , whose style he upheld , writing most scathing criticisms on those who opposed his judgment . Soon after his return from foreign travel , he published "Seven Lamps of Architecture , " shortly followed by " The Stones of Venice . " He was a warm supporter of Holman Hunt Millais , and other leaders of the pre-Raphaelite movement . His

, book , " Unto this Last , " was a fierce diatribe on Society , and caused great general indignation . Having previously lectured at Cambridge , where he created great astonishment by his out-spoken condemnation of modern art , as taught and practised , he was appointed Slade Professor of Fine Arts at Oxford . His original views , warmly espoused by a few , were opposed by the majority of the students ; he was not understood , and consequently

unappreciated . We cannot undertake to give the details ot the lite ot this extraordinary man . He had many varied phases of character . A beautful writer , with a thorough mastery of the English language ; a critic , artist , political economist , scientist , philosopher , religionist , poet and seer ( prophet ) , in all of these he was great . He stands out as one of the noblest figures of the dying century . His personal manner was rough and

uninviting ; but this was , perhaps , owing to his dislike to intrusion . To those who really knew him his temper was sweet and sympathising—as it occasionally happens , " sweetest nut has sourest rind . " Like Carlyle , to whom in character he bore a marked resemblance , he was the sworn foe of all sham , and whenever he met it , opposed it with powerful earnestness . For many years , during the latter part of his life , he

occupied himself with his " Preterita "—an autobiography — unhappily unfinished . As a writer he had a marked style of his own ; it may appropriately be called highly poetical prose . As an instance we give a quotation from " The Two Paths . " The author has been describing Nature herself as a wonderful artist , and how lavishly she offers her pictures for her children to admire . He says , " How they have been

painted there is no manner of question . All those beautiful violet veinings and variegations of the marbles of Sicily and Spain , the glowing orange and amber colours of those of Sienna , the deep russet of the Rosso A ntico , and the blood colour of all the precious jaspers that enrich the temples of Italy ; and , finally . Jall the lovely transitions of tint in the pebbles of Scotland and the Rhine , which form , though not the most precious , by far the most

interesting portion of our modern jewellers' work ; all these are painted by Nature , with one material only , variously proportioned and appl'ed—the , oxide of iron that stains your springs at Tunbridge Wells . But this is not all , nor the best part of the work of Iron . Its service in producing these beautiful stones is only rendered to rich people , who can afford to quarry and polish them . But Nature paints for all the world , poor and rich

together ; and while , therefore , she thus adorns the innermost rocks ot the hills to tempt your investigation or indulge your luxury , she paints , far more carefully , the outsides of the hills , which are for the eyes of the shepherd and the ploughman . Have you ever considered , in speaking as we do so often of distant blue hills , what is it that makes them blue ? To a certain extent it is distance , but distance alone will not do it . Many hills look

white , however distant . That lovely dark purple colour of our Welsh and Highland hills is owing , not to their distance merely , but to their rocks . When you sec this dark colour , dashed with russet and blue , and coming out in masses among the green ferns , so purple that you can hardly tell at first whether it is rock or heather , then you must thank your old Tunbridge friend oxide of iron . But this is not all . It is necessary for the beauty of

hill scenery that Nature should colour , not only her soft rocks , but her hard ones j and she colours them with the same thing , only more beautifully . You have heard of' porphyry' as among the most precious of the harder massive stones . The colour which gave it that noble name , as well as that which gives the flush to all the rosy granite of Egypt , is still owing to the same substance—your humble oxide of iron . And , last of all , the noblest colour seen on this earth is still mysteriously connected with the

presence of this dark Iron—the crimson of blood , with its vitality , depends on the existence of iron , as one of its substantial elements . Is it not strange to find this stern and strong metal mingled so delicately in our human life that we cannot even blush without its help . " Writing such as this will never sink in oblivion . It has been truly said " A great man never dies , immortal Fame Renews the lustre of his glorious name . "

STORAGE OF WATER . Under ordinary circumstances the open storage of water tends to improvement in quality , caused by the beneficial action of aeration and light , the only exception being that of well water . Experience , however , has shown the desirability of covering reservoirs in the vicinity of towns , so that dust and other matters floating in the air may be excluded . Different methods have been resorted to to carry out this purpose . At Vienna , the main

distributing reservoir is covered in by a roof supported on granite pillars in other places on the continent and in Great Britain arched roofs supported on cast iron columns , or by groined arches , have been largely employed , and the latter form of construction is chiefly followed in the United States . Perhaps , one of the most interesting contributions to hydraulic engineering literature , of recent date , has been a paper presented to the American

Society of Civil Engineers . The paper in question evidences careful study and research , whilst the tabulated results add materially to its value . It is mentioned by the author that all the examples of the groined arch in waterworks engineering which have come to his notice , are to be found in the United States . As we have already indicated , such applications are by 110

means new in Europe , and the reservoirs of Menilmontant , Belleville , and Montsouris , all in France , include notable instances of such construction . The last named has arching in the " Gustavino" method , which , as a matter of fact , was recently introduced into America . Many advantages are , no doubt , offered by groined elliptical arches ; the quantity of material

Science, Art, And The Drama.

is moderate , there is clear head room in each direction and the arrangement is favourable for ventilation . Brick has been hitherto chiefly employed as the material , but the use of concrete is now becoming more popular . As a general rule , the cost of the latter may be taken at one half that of brick masonry , and it is suitable for almost any kind of arch . Piers are more frequently built of brick , and it is probable that no financial or

other advantage is to be gained by departing from this practice . There can be no doubt that masonry coverings are pleasing to the eye , and are at the same time , in every way satisfactory . The cost is , nevertheless , unnecessarily high , and it is likely that other designs will ultimately supersede groined arches . Concrete and steel tie bars combined , are equally durable , strong , and efficient , besides being considerably cheaper .

THE NEW GALLERY , REGENT STREET . EXHIBITION OF FLEMISH PICTURES , INCLUDING A SELECTION FROM THE WORKS OF SIR PETER PAUL RUBENS . [ Third and Concluding Noticei ] In our two previous notices we have briefly traced the origin of early Art in the Netherlands . We will now consider the work of some of the artists , whose pictures are now exhibited . It cannot fail to strike the beholder ,

even in a mere casual survey , how good and conscientious is the work . One reason may be assigned from what we have already stated , that the training in Art was so thorough that a true artistic feeling was encouraged , that pupils loved and revered their instructors . They had every confidence in them , and a laudable feeling of amour proprc urged them not to disgrace , by careless work , the master whom they served . When the pupil , in due

time , himself became a master painter and member of the guild , he felt himself bound by duty and honour to render himself worthy of his community . As so many of the master painters received commissions from Monasteries , Cathedrals , & c , to paint sacred subjects , a strong religious feeling urged the artist to devote his best [ talent to the efficient carrying out the ideas of his genius ; thus it was , that actuated by this strong

religious duty he strove to render his work Titling to the dignity of the subject he undertook lo pourtray . Let any one carefully observe the pictures of Hubert and Van Eyck , Van Gossaert , called Mabuse , Jacob Corneilissen , Hans Memling , Ghaeraert David , Lucas Van Leyden , Qaintin Matsys , Hugo Van Der Goes , and the numerous examples ol' the early Flemish School , 7 , 15 , 16 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 15 , 45 , 64 , 66

63 , 72 , 77 , SS , 244 , 245 , it is apparent that , although the designs of the artists are in many cases , according to our modern ideas , extremely quaint , and also , even out of drawing , still we cannot but acknowledge that in the details , even to the most minute particular , there is evidence of painstaking and honest industry . So laboured are the details , that they strongly remind us of the cabinet pictures of the

Dutch Masters—Gerard Dow , Ostade , and others . Such a fine collection of pictures of the Flemish school we do not remember having seen before . In addition to the pictures in the Flemish School , there is , in the North Room , a selection from the works of Sir Peter Paul Rubens . This is a loan collection . It may be well to remember that our unhappy monarch Charles L , however unfit he was to guide the helm of the State in the

troublous times in which he was compelled , by his position , to take an active part , was possessed of great artistic taste , and was the generous patron of the two great artists of the age—Rubens and Vandyck—both of whom received the honour of knighthood at his hands . Both Sir Peter Paul Rubens and Sir Anthony Vandyck , at the king ' s invitation , visited England , remaining there some time . These two artists , in addition to the higher school of art , were distinguished portrait painters , as is evident by

their fine pictures of Charles I . and his family , also the most illustrious personages of the Royal Court , male and female . The pictures of Rubens , now to be seen in the New Gallery , though possessing evident merit and in the artists' peculiar style , cannot be considered masterpieces . There are also a few pictures of the British School—Angelica Kauffman ( one of the two lady R . As . ) , Sir Joshua Reynolds , Romney , Gainsborough , Sir Thos , Lawrence , & c .

GENERAL NOTES . An interesting account of the great Paris telescope , which , it is hoped , will be one of the features of this year ' s Exhibition , has been published in Nature , from the pen of Sir Norman Lockyer . The council which is superintending the matter state that they hope for such a magnifying power , that the surface of the moon will be seen as if our satellite were , comparately but a short distance from us . The siderostat arrangement has been decided upon , thus avoiding all the expenses of a dome . The siderostat

mirror has a diameter of 2 metres , or about 6 . \ feet , and weighs nearly 8000 lbs . To cast the huge plane mirror a special furnace was made at the Jeumont Glass Works , capable of holding over 20 tons of glass . The cooling of the cast glass lasted a month . The disc finally selected was taken to Paris by special train . The figuring , polishing , and mounting of these enormous discs have been confided to M . Gautier , who , it is stated , has been entirely successful not only with the plane mirrors , but with the two object glasses . The telescope tube is of sheet steel .

The New York 1 < ire Brigade is pressing electricity into its service , and one of the latest additions to its appliances is an electric searchlight apparatus . It is mounted on wheels , like an ordinary fire-engine , and has a boiler and engine ; but instead of driving the pumping machinery the engine will drive a dynamo to supply the current for the searchlights . There are two searchlights , each with iS-in . projecting lens , carried on a platform

behind the driver s seat , but , when necessary , they can be removed and carried about to any convenient spot , connection between the dynamo being maintained by flexible cables . It is expected that these lights will be of great service in lighting up dark parts of streets , when the fireman have to make hose connections , fix ladders , kc , also in searching for missing people .

Mr . Chas . Wyndham definitely has decided to produce " Cyrano de liergerac" at Blackpool on Monday , March 5 th . He will , afterwards , visit Southport , Dublin , Edinburgh , and Glasgow , presenting the play in London some time between the 2 nd and 7 th May , There are 72 speaking parts in Messrs . Ogilvie and Parker ' s version . We understand that Mr . Loring Fernie , who played so successfully in " The Jest , " has been engaged for an important part .