94 The Newspaper World, exercise of different and to a large extent more subtle powers of perception. No critic of repute would under- take to criticise a picture offhand. He knows that it is only by diligent study of the motives and methods of the painter that he can hope to give to the public a notice which will prove of any value in guiding their inspection of the work. Further, he should himself possess some technical knowledge. As Mr Sala observed in a recent law suit, "an art critic would be better for a practical knowledge of drawing.'* In large galleries of pictures the critic is called upon to exercise a most delicate func- tion, and wide experience alone will enable him to perform it satisfactorily. He has to single out special works for notice, and as the public will to some extent accept his guidance in visiting the exhibition for themselves, the critic needs to make his choice with great wisdom and justice. Literary reviewing is not, in these days, done so well as it might be, when newspapers hasten to notice a new work within twenty-four hours of its publication. In this, as in most departments of newspaper criticism, there is too much haste, and there is considerable force in the suggestion that notices and criticisms should be distinct. The public might be furnished next morning with a notice of a new play or a new singer, while criticism might be deferred, and be the fruit of greater thought and study on the part of the critic.
