=Realism in Art.=--It is frequently claimed for graphic art that when it cannot faithfully imitate it is permissible for it to interpret. Quite so; and it is in just such a light that engraving is or ought to be regarded. A picture, whether illustrating a story or recording an artistic impression, is never so great as when it enchants the imagination with an ideal presence. Absolute realism is not always desirable either in pictorial art or pictorial expression. No matter how realistic it may be, it is a doubtful gain to introduce into the composition of a picture a mass of detail which might only prove disconcerting, and distract attention from the main issues of the subject. The partial or complete isolation of a central idea often adds to the vigour and general effectiveness of the whole. Rarely, indeed, does it render it less picturesque. After all, it is not Nature so much as Nature's expression which should be represented. Its infinity of secondary effects, its superabundance of detail, may, often with advantage, be left out. =A Retrospect.=--While in this critical mood, it may be worth while noting that the sincere and painstaking work of the old-time engravers is deserving of some praise and an ever tolerant criticism. It manifests incongruities and exaggerated metaphors which are at times painfully unconventional or grotesque, yet they have a directness of representation which admits of no doubt as to their meaning, and bear few traces of a perfunctory art. "Our arts are happy hits. We are like the musician on the lake whose melody is sweeter than he knows, or like a traveller surprised by a mountain echo whose trivial word returns to him in romantic thunders."--Emerson. INDEX Ackland, Sir Thomas, 47. Analysis, 68. Ancient drawings, 1. Antiquity of engraving, 2. _Apocalypsio sue Historia_, 7. Art representative, 3. Artistic purpose, 68. Artistic restoration, 63. Arundel, Duke of, 41. Assyrian antiquities, 4. Audran family, 4. Baillie, Captain, 46. Baldine, Baccio, 20. Bewick, Thomas, 9, 67. _Biblia Pauperum_, 7. Block books, 6. Botticelli, Sandio, 20. Cave dwellings, 1. Caxton, William, 26. Character, building up of, 52. Chinese playing cards, 5. Clever contrasts, 53. Colour dissection, 64. Commercial advantages, 13. Comparisons, 12, 13. Composition, 52, 53. Concise expression, 52. Constructive elements, 51. Controlling influences, 68. Cousins, Samuel, 47. Criticism, appreciative, 66. Dallaway, 26. Dante, 20. Degradation of tone, 54. Details, combination of, 52. Du Maurier, 60. Durer, Albert, 8, 21, 24, 40. Dutch masters, 67.