THE ARTS 284 The methods adopted at the school are more than justified by the results, and this year several of the students had the satis- iaction of seeing their pictures hung in good places on the walls of the Royal Academy. Life at Newlyn The Newlvn School is not a large one. On the average the students number about thirtv. and of these, as is the case in most art schools, about tv^o-thirds of the students are women. The smallness of the number makes it possible for hard-and-fast rules about work to be avoidsd, and enables Mr. and Mrs. Stanhope Forbes to study the in- dividual characteristics of their pupils. Life at Newlyn affords the students an infinite variety of recreation. In the summer .bathing, saihng, fishing, tennis, croquet, and cycUng are freely indulged m, and the winter evenings are enlivened by many an impromptu concert or dance. Board and Lodging Board and lodging are cheap at Newlyn. Girl students usually take rooms in the village in cottages which have been approved of by Mrs. Stanhope Forbes. A bedroom and sitting-room can be obtained for from 9s. to £1 a week, according to size and situation ; and for 9s. or los. the student can fare sumptuously on wholesome Cornish fare. Thus, £1 is. or 25s. a week can easily be made to cover all expenses. Many of the rooms available in the village have been papered and painted most artistic- ally by former students. The new-comer, therefore, at a very small expanse, can soon convert them into charming little abodes. "The Sketcher's Paradise" Newlyn, moreover, has been justly called " The SKctcher's Paradise." Fishermen, huge and picturesque, clad in oilskins and sou'- westers, meet one at every turn, and the women, attired in colours which have been fad 3d by the sea air and sun to the most delightful hues, make quite ideal modals. Again, every open cottage door reveals an interior such as Bramley, Fred Hall, Langley, and Stanhope Forbes have loved to paint. Those desirous of studying marine subjects will find in Newlyn their Utopia. The fishing fleet going out to sea at twilight under sails of every shade, from russet to the darkest brown, is a scene unimaginably picturesque. And then as the twilight deepens and the lanterns are lighted, casting their reflections on the darkening waters, magnificent opportunities are afforded to the student trying to depict the intermingling of artificial light with the lingering light of day. Again, the high cliffs and projecting rocks all along the coast provide ample facilities for students in foam and dashing spray effects. The surrounding country, moreover, is rich in primitive cottages, windblown trees, ruins, and quaint old churches which are a delight to the landscape painter. This series ivi III be continued. FAMOUS BOOKS BY WOMEN No. 2 CRANFORD By Mrs. GASKELL o NE cannot help envying the person who is able to produce something which is acknowledged to be the very best of its kind. This Mrs. Gaskell did when she wrote " Cranford." She selected a little village, and described it and its inhabitants quite faithfully. Many people have done this before and since, but no one has ever shaken " Cranford " on its throne. It has very little plot, and nothing sensa- tional ever happens ; but a more fragrant and delightful book it is impossible to find. The scent of lavender is strong on every page. The people to whom we are introduced are drawn with so much delicacy, so much feel- ing, and so much humour, that they become living realities in the mind of the reader. It is sad to reflect that to-day the original Cranford (Knutsford, twenty miles from Manchester) is a cotton manufacturing town of 5,000 inhabitants. What would Miss Matty or Miss Betty Barker have thought of the " horrid cotton trade " invading even their exclusive little village ? From our modern point of view it was very easy to be vulgar in Cranford. Captain Brown's daughters were almost not " called on," because Captain Brown was heard to say that he could not afford the rent of a certain house. Apparently, however, there were not so many ways of being vulgar in those days as now there are. Then the borders between gentility and vulgarity were so definite that inhabitants of the two countries seldom strayed over the border. To be " genteel " was the aim and end in life of the ladies who lived in Cranford. Why is*' Cranford" Interesting? In the whole range of English fiction it would be difficult to find another scene so quiet, so almost commonplace, and yet so completely moving as the chapter where Miss Matty and her young friend are sitting going over old letters. The letters were written by Miss Matty's parents and grand- parents, persons who do not enter into the
