with a sheet of green paper. We shall | case of the sunset it is a question of then see that our purple shadow the same yellow and blue contrast changes into a greyish blue-green as upon a red ground-color. soon as it reaches the margin of our green paper, while it, of course, continues to show up of a purple color up to the edge of the white paper. But our simple black and white, yellow and blue, and green and red contrasts, even when quite unrelieved by any ground-color, are quite agreeable in comparison with such double-color contrasts as result from a juxtaposition of either a distinct yellow-green with We need not pursue this matter further, for we have already sufficiently illustrated the principle that every difference of illumination on a uniformly a distinct blue-red, or of a distinct colored surface will be associated with a change of color which is due to the appearance of an after-image phenomenon upon the shaded areas. orange with a distinct blue-green. Color-combinations such as these can only be tolerated when the saturation of the colors is reduced either (as, for We may now pass on to consider the instance, in the modern "art-colors ") part which the after-image phenomena by a large admixture of grey, or (as in which we have been discussing play in colors seen in bright weather out of determining the character of the color-doors) by the large excess of colorless combinations as aesthetically agreeable light which falls upon them. or disagreeable. notorious that we can bear many things It is But as a preliminary step we must, in the way of colors in the bright sunof course, arrive at some understand-light out of doors which would be intoling as to what constitutes an aesthet-erable in a room. But even in the ically agreeable color-combination; and world out of doors we may note a cerwe have not to go very far in search tain disagreeable quality in the double of a principle which will, at any rate, contrast of yellowish red against bluish serve as a basis upon which the matter green which we note in the unripe can be discussed. We may lay down berries as contrasted with the bluethat no combination of color is agree-green foliage of the holly or mountainable which involves the juxtaposition ash. When the berries ripen we have of violently contrasted colors. A satu- instead an agreeable contrast of a bluerated blue does not look well in combi- red upon a blue-green. nation with a saturated yellow; nor Having now a basis of principle to does a saturated red combine well with work upon, we may proceed to detera saturated green. But these color- mine the part which the after-image combinations acquire a very consid-phenomena play in the determination erable æsthetic worth as soon as the of the aesthetic worth of every colorover-vivid contrast is toned down by the employment of a ground-color which is common to both of the contrasting colors. We may, for instance, recall the fact that some of the most beautiful color-effects in nature are produced by the combination of yellowgreens, such as those of the foliage of the larch in spring, with blue-greens, such as those of the foliage of the Scotch fir. Again, we may recall the beauty of the red-gold colors of the sky as seen in association with the purples on the hills over which the sun is setting. In the first case we are of course dealing with a yellow and blue contrast upon a green ground-color; and in the combination; and it is evident that the color-shadow may contribute either a desirable or an undesirable element to the color-combination. It may, to take the simplest case first, heighten the intensity of opposite contrast colors in such a manner as to produce an overviolent contrast effect. We have an instance in point in the case of the unripe berries and blue-green leaves of the holly and rowan-tree. For there can hardly be any doubt that in such a case as this the after-image phenomena aggravate the original unpleasantness of the double-color contrast. When, therefore, it is a question of blending colors with a view to obtaining an agreeable effect, we must evidently purple trails over the surface of the thetic worth of many of our color- And the skilful painter is the painter 1 Cf. the following "word-sketch," taken from ist has it, for instance, in his power to put on a patch of color that will blaze from one end to the other of a long gallery; for he can concentrate upon that patch of color all the after-image phenomena which by a correct exploitation of the contrast color he has evoked over the whole remainder of his picture. Mr. Whistler, for instance, is a master in this art. We may, however, turn aside to the Weir-Mitchell's "Doctor and Patient." "August simpler problems which crop up in 6 (on a steam-yacht awaiting the yachts which broad track of fiery red on water, three yachts connection with the application of color to house-decoration and to dress, for the phenomena of color as treated by the artist are too subtle to admit of any hasty analysis. When we apply color in any form to | retinal field will be occupied by pink, and this will have induced a greenish response all over the retina. On the area which is stimulated with pink, this will make itself apparent in a certain diminution of the color-intensity. On the unstimulated area of the retina, the green response will manifest itself in the form of a green color-shadow. This will be projected upon each of the three remaining wall-spaces. When we have painted our first wallthe walls of a room, whether it is as space pink, the condition of affairs will paint, or as distemper, or as wall-paper, be as follows. One quarter of our we find ourselves confronted with very distinct after-image phenomena. For instance, if we color the walls pink, and leave the ceiling untinted, we shall find that our ceiling assumes a distinct yellowish-green color. If we now desire to make our ceiling show up as a pure white,' we shall evidently have to set to work to neutralize this yellowish-green color-shadow by a suitable application of pink. Or if we desire to have a pink-tinted ceiling, we shall evidently have to employ, first, a certain quantum of pink to kill the greenish color-shadow, and, on the top of this, such surplus of pink as would, upon an absolutely white wall, give us the depth of pink tint that we desire. But our after-image phenomena do not appear on the ceiling only. Consideration will show that each wall must be casting color-shadows on every one of its companion walls; and these color-shadows will make themselves felt in the diminished intensity of the color-sensations we derive from the walls. It is worth while attending to this phenomenon, for it is an illustration of the general principle that the intensity of a color "goes off" when it comes to occupy a large area of the retinal field. And perhaps the easiest way of understanding how this occurs is to take the case of painting a wall which is of such a size as just to occupy the whole of the visual field. We shall for convenience suppose the wall to be subdivided into four equal parts, and we may now consider how the color which we apply to each of these wall-spaces will modify the coloration on all the others. 1 This is really a simpler form of the problem that the landscape-painter has to deal with when he wants a patch of snow in a snow-landscape to stand out as a pure white. In such case he has evidently to consider how he can neutralize all the color-after-images which project themselves upon that patch of snow. He has to introduce green upon his snow-patch if he fears a red after-image from the green foliage in his landscape, or red if he is afraid of a green after-image from a patch of red anywhere in his picture. When our second wall-space has been colored in, we shall evidently have a correspondingly increased amount of green response upon our retina; and this will make itself felt on the unstimulated portions of our retina in the form of two superimposed colorshadows, while upon the stimulated areas it will manifest itself as in an equivalent diminution of the apparent pink coloration. And, similarly, when we have covered our third wall-space, we shall have a still further increase of the after-image response both on the stimulated and upon the unstimulated portions of the retina. Lastly, when we have painted our whole wall pink, our after-image phenomena will be repressed by a pink stimulation all over our retina, but they will continue to make themselves felt in a very perceptible fading off of the original intensity of our pink. Similarly we have to take our afterimage phenomena into account in making a selection of tints for colored windows. A pane of red glass will be found to acquire a bluish tinge when placed in juxtaposition with a yellowtinted pane. A yellow pane will similarly take a greenish tinge when it is placed beside a red pane. And a neglect to take these after-image colorshadow effects into consideration would thus often involve us in undesired color-contrasts. It is also essential to take into our reckoning the predominant after-image effect of any room for which we are selecting furniture. A particular yel low shade in a curtain may have a certain æsthetic worth when seen on a grey background; but it would be overlaid with a green color-shadow if it were seen against a red wall-paper; and it would be too yellow if scen against a blue paper, and it would be orange if seen against a green paper. Again, it is the neglect to take mental note of the color-shadows of surrounding objects which makes it so difficult a matter to 66 carry away a color in one's eye," and to choose an appropriate match for it. From The Cornhill Magazine. THE BACKWATER OF LIFE. BY JAMES PAYN. IT is a strange feeling to one who has been immersed in affairs, and as it were in the mid-stream of what we call Life, to find oneself in its Backwater; crippled and helpless, but still able to see through the osiers on the island between us what is passing along the river-the passenger vessels and the pleasure boats—and to hear faintly the voices and the laughter, and the strong language mellowed by distance, from the slow-moving barges. The Backwater has its good points; the stream is clear, the autumn woods that overhang the hither bank are fair to look upon, and the plunging of the Weir, where all things end, has a welcome sound when the moon shines out and floods the scene with silver. Sometimes on darker nights its roar is menacing, but after a while the sinister sound is lost and it changes to a deep solemnity; then we wonder, as we listen, not without fear, as to what may be upon the other side of it. No one who has once been carried over it can come back again. There is the A correct exploitation of the colorshadows constitutes a very important element, if it does not constitute the essence, of the art of dress. For instance, a black evening dress casts invaluable white color-shadows over a bare neck and shoulders, and mourning throws a similar added whiteness over the face. Again, a dark green dress, especially if there is a shade of blue in the green, lights up dark auburn hair in a very beautiful way with its brightcolor shadows. On the other hand, such a material as blue serge throws up into disagreeable prominence the unpleasant yellows of some of the lighter shades of "red" hair. The vivid Mainstream, the Backwater, and the yellow color-shadows of any bright Weir, and there ends the River of blue are very "trying" to any com- Life. plexion. A similar remark applies to Many of us never reach the Backpink, for, unless in youth and health, water, our journey being cut short when there is a sufficiency of natural abruptly; and few of us wish to reach pink in the cheeks to repress the after-it. It is, no doubt, a shock to exchange image phenomena, the yellowish-green sound for silence, action for immobility. color-shadows make their appearance, We who thought ourselves so strong, and give a ghastly hue to the complex- cannot at first resist a bitter sense of ion. Lastly, the unpleasantness of a humiliation at being reduced to depenbright yellow-green dress is probably due to the fact that its purple colorshadows overlay the natural pink of the cheeks, and so give rise to an overvivid double-color contrast. We need not, however, go into the minutiæ of this matter. They will present no difficulty to any one who has familiarized himself with the three pairs of contrast colors and with the importance of the color-shadow as a factor in all our color-sensations. dence upon others. There are three ways of reaching the Backwater - by illness, by poverty, and by disgracebut in the last case many prefer the Weir. Some persons, tired for the time of the stress and strain of existence, express the desire that they could escape from it, and be sheltered and serene (as they term it) for the remainder of their days; but this is a very different thing, when they come to experience it, from what they imagine it to be, and very different also is the going into retirement of one's own will and being seized by the rough hands | crown of sorrows is remembering hapof Fate and laid upon the shelf. pier things." There has been a deal of nonsense written, chiefly by doctors who have their reasons for being upon good terms with her, about "kindly Nature." Nature, like many other folk, can, when in good humor, be kind enough; but she is also capable of great cruelties, which she inflicts with no enjoyment to herself indeed, but with the most absolute indifference to the suffer ings of humanity. Her character, for all her smiles and superficial attraction is that of the genial tavern brawler who, after grievously ill-using his boon companion, takes him home and tends him, whereat all the neighbors exclaim: "How tender are his ministrations!" but they forget that it was he who caused the patient to be in want of healing. She does but pick you up —and not always that after she has knocked you down. To speak of her in this fashion will doubtless appear shocking to most people, but on the Backwater we speak as we find. It is one of the peculiarities - I do not say the advantages of our position that things seem as they are, and not as they look to be, and very, very far, alas from what we wish them to be. That Nature should be "so careful of the Type " is no doubt a reflection consolatory to the philosophic mind, but we cannot all be philosophers, and it must be owned she is strangely reckless of the Compositor. If one has owed her something in the past, we of the Backwater are by this time quits with her. 66 There is another thing, among many, on which we who are "laid by" find ourselves in disagreement with the general voice. A great writer puts into the mouth of one of his characters, a very old and feeble man, the aspiration, Heaven keep my memory green!" It is a comfort to him to remember his youth; and this view is almost universally accepted. I cannot say that it is the view of us who live or let us rather say exist - on the Backwater. We agree rather with the poet who tells us that "a sorrow's sings the poet, but we did not ourselves know it. We were too happy to be aware of our happiness. We were unconscious, as "o'er airy cliffs and glittering sands" we took our way, of our likeness to Those trim skiffs unknown of yore On winding lake or river wide, That heed no spite of wind or tide. Perhaps our greatest trial is to watch the lovers as they drop down the stream in their light skiff, the boy leaning for |
