HOUSE PAINTING.}} (Continued from p. 147). General Instructions for the Working of Oil-colour, and Painting of Timber-work. That which we here call common painting, is only the method of colouring all manner of wainscot, doors, windows, posts, rails, pales, gates, or any other material, that requires either beauty or preservation from the violence of rain or injury of weather, the method of doing which shall be plainly shown. Suppose there should be a set of palisadoes, or a pair of gates, or some posts and rails, to paint, and they are to be done with stone-colour; first look over the work, and notice wherever there are any cracks, open joints, flaws in the wood, uneven knots, nail-holes, &c.; for, if these be not securely stopped, the wet will insinuate itself into them, and make the quicker despatch in ruining the whole work. Let the first business, therefore, be to stop up these places, smooth and even, with putty, made with linseedoil and whiting, well beaten together to the consistence of stiff dough, and with this let all the clefts, and other defects, be perfectly filled up, that it may be equal to the surface of the stuff; then proceed to the priming of the work, with some Spanish brown, well ground, and mixed very thin with linseed-oil: with this go over the work, giving it as much oil as it will soak up. In about two days this will be indifferently dry; then, to do the work substantially, do it over again with the same priming colour; when this is thoroughly dry, take white-lead, well ground and tempered up, not too thin; let this colour be well rubbed on, and the whole surface of the work be so entirely covered, that there remain no part of it bare, which you may easily do, by jobbing in the point of a bristle-brush. Let this first colouring dry, and then go over it a second time, and, if you please, a third also: the charge will be little more, but the advantage will be much greater. This course is sufficient for any kind of timber-work, that requires only a plain colour; whether you thus cover the work with a stonecolour, or with a timber-colour, in umber and white, or a lead-colour, with indigo and white; that with white being the cheapest of the three by much; nay, I have known some lay over their work a coat of Spanishbrown only, by tempering it up more stiff than was done for the two first primings, which, in some respects, is cheapest of all, and preserves the timber, perhaps, as well as any. Now he that is able to bring the work thus far on, has proceeded to the highest pitch of house-painting, that aims at preservation beyond beauty, though something of beauty is necessarily included in this also. But this is not all; for he that has arrived thus far, is in a fair way to other perfections in the art of painting. The panelling of wainscot with its proper shadows, and imitating olive and walnut-wood, marbles, and such like, must be obtained by ocular inspection, it being impossible to explain the manner of the operation by precept without example; and we may venture to say, that a man shall gain more knowledge by one day's experience, than by a hundred spent in attempting to acquire it by any other way. We advise, therefore, that those who desire an insight into this business, to be a little curious, if opportunity offers, in observing the manner of a professional painter's working, not only in grinding his colours, but also in laying them on and working in them; in all these, observing the motion of his hand in the management of the brushes and tools; and, by this means, with a little imitation joined to the directions here given, any one may arrive, in a short time, to great proficiency in the art. Note.-if, when you have made use of your colours, there be occasion to rest for a time, it will be best to cover the colours in your pots with water, for that will prevent their drying in the hottest weather. And for your pencils and brushes, they ought, as soon as you have done using them, to be well washed out in clear linseed-oil, and then in warm soap-suds; for, if either oil or colour be once dried in the brush or pencil, it is spoiled for ever. It has been observed, at times, that on timber, laid over with white, when it has stood some time in the weather, the colour will crack and shrink up together, just as pitch does, if laid on any thing that is exposed to the sun: the cause of this is, that the colour was not laid on with a stiff body, able to bind itself on firm and fast. If at any time you should have occasion to use brushes that are very small, or pencils (for which, in many cases, there will be occasion) you ought to dispose of your colours on a pallet (which is a wooden instrument to be procured at any colour-shop), and there work and temper them about with your pencil, that the pencil may absorb the more colour; for if a pencil be only dipt into a pot of colour, it brings out no more with it than what hangs on the outside, and that will work but a little way; whereas, if you rub the pencil about in the colour on the pallet, a good quantity of colour will be taken up in the body of the pencil: and, beside this, you may work your pencil better to a point on the pallet, than you can do in a pot of colour; the point of a pencil being of the greatest use in many cases, especially in drawing lines, and all kinds of flourishing and ornament. The Colours that are most suitable, and set off best one with another. By setting off best, we mean their making each other look more pleasant; for two of some particular colours put together, or one next the other, shall add much to the beauty of each, as blue and gold, red and white, purple and yellow, and several others; but green and black put together look not so pleasant, neither do black and umber, or yellow and pink, and such like. All yellows, then, set off best with blacks, with blues, and with reds. Blues set off best with whites and yellows. 1 Greens will do well with blacks and whites. Whites will agree with any colour. Reds set off best with yellows, whites, and blacks. Gold looks well on a white ground, particularly on carved work. Gold and black also show very well. Gold and brown show also very well. Gold and horse-flesh colour, made with the brightest Spanish-brown. But the most brilliant grounds of all others, for gold, are the vermilion red, the smalt blue, and the lake laid on a light ground. (To be continued.) WOMAN. [The following, although a little too sceptical, affords a moral deduction. We suspect that the writer has been jilted by one or two of the fair sex; however, we recommend him to try again, but not to carry with him his present opinions.-ED.J To the Editor of The Economist. "Whoever thinks a faultless piece to see, Thinks what ne'er was, nor is, nor e'er will be." SIR;-After perusing an article in your last Number of The Economist, under the head "Woman," and allowing every credit to the ingenuity and invention of the writer, I am inclined to think it would not be altogether a waste of time to bestow a few observations on the reverse of his picture, and to endeavour to discover whether woman is really the perfect being which he seems to imagine: it may not be entirely useless, as a caution to those young and romantic enthusiasts who exalt woman into a divinity, and imagine that a life passed with a female who has a handsome face must be one continued scene of uninterrupted happiness. Although I will give place to none in respect and attachment to the female sex, yet I should think it the height of injustice to deprive them of their share of the frailties of human nature, and by asserting that they possess nothing but heavenly qualities, to render them too good to be the associates and companions of earthly and sinful man. I imagine it would not be very difficult to guess at the present situation of your correspondent, who signs himself "A Lover of Domestic Comfort;" I should not be very wide of truth, perhaps, were I to suppose that he is likewise the favoured lover of a charming young damsel, in whom he can now see nothing but smiles and good-humour; and he is doubtless anticipating a life of unspeakable and unalloyed felicity, divested of those inconveniences and privations to which a married life is so frequently subject. I sincerely hope he may never have reason to alter his opinion; but time frequently proves a tell-tale, and many sighing swains have discovered, after a very short experience, that their lovely and charming" partners have quite as much of the devil as of the angel in their sweet compositions. Methinks I see this "Lover of Domestic Comfort," after having been united to his divine chère amie about ten years, surrounded by half a dozen children, whom, with the greatest economy, he finds it difficult to support: when change of circumstances shall prevent his obtaining those gratifications which are now his only enjoymentwhen his delightful moon-light rambles by purling streams, with his "charmer" by his side, shall be exchanged for a family journey on a hot summer's day to Hornsey or Norwood, with the additional delight of carrying mother's picture upon his arm, and father's darling attached to his coat-tail, while his angelic partner brings up the rear, perspiring under the weight of the day's provision, accompanied, perhaps, by one or two more of daddy's miniatures. Here's enjoyment in store for you, ye romantic lovers of domestic comforts! how ye must sigh for such a delightful consummation! We should be glad to be favoured with an essay upon the subject when "A Lover of Domestic Comfort" has reached this glorious climax; perhaps he will also have discovered, by that time, that a woman is not entirely free from some trivial faults, and that his journey through life is not likely to be quite so joyous and delightful as he had fondly anticipated, although accom panied on the road by a lovely, affec◄ tionate, charming, faultless, and en❤ chanting companion! He sets out by asking, "Who is woman?" and answers himself by asserting that "she is the most lovely and charming creature in the uni verse." Now he might have answered, I think, with almost equal truth, that she is very frequently one of the most ugly and disagreeable creatures in the universe. For he surely cannot mean seriously to assert that they are all beautiful as angels, and possess dispositions without blemish. It cannot be denied that wo man is very frequently the greatest treasure man can possess-his best comforter and supporter in sorrow and misfortune; but it must be acknowledged, at the same time, that her conduct is sometimes the sole cause of his sorrow and misfortunes. "A Lover of Domestic Comfort" has cer tainly, with much judgment, thrown all the burthen of frailties upon the stronger sex, yet, without any great imputation on his gallantry and po liteness, he might have allowed the weaker to have borne a share propor tionate to her strength. And although this will undoubtedly forward his interest with " the most lovely and charming creatures in the universe," it is nevertheless no great credit to his candour and love of equal justice. While he is holding up the female character as a pattern of all that is excellent, it is a fact that defies contradiction, that the greatest crimes have been committed at the instigation of It has these charming creatures.' been owing to an attachment to the female sex that the most promising youths have been led to crime and consequent punishment. While he is landing to the skies the constancy of their attachments, he surely forgets the many instances of frailty and infidelity that occur daily under our immediate observation. "Observe," he says, "her who a short time ago moved in the gay circles of fashion, now reduced to the lowest ebb of want." He might also have added (a case of no very unfrequent occurrence), observe also her ruined husband, driven to poverty by her extravagant attachment to these gay circles of fashion, which his blamable fondness suffered her to frequent, although she was thus squandering in vanity and folly, the produce of his assiduity and attention to business. He has the temerity to assert, that "Her love once obtained, is obtained for ever!!!" Hear this, ye once happy but now forsaken and despairing lovers; ye who have been discarded for a wealthier admirer after mutual protestations of eternal fidelity-hear it and deny it if you dare! He asks, too, "Has a woman no voice?" answer, ye hen-pecked husbands; will you have the effrontery to say "No" to this astounding question? Ye poor unhappy wites, who have been driven to seek that comfort and quiet abroadwhich you have in vain sought for at home" has your wife no voice?" Awakened by it in the morning, regaled with it during your meals, and lulled again to rest with it at night, you will not surely answer in the negative? Many of you, no doubt, wish to heaven you could. Can it be asserted that women are entirely free from all the vices that degrade the male sex? Unfortunately they are not. It is no very uncommon case for a female to be addicted to dram-drinking, and what can be more disgusting than an intoxicated woman? It is a melancholy fact, that, let a woman be addicted to whatever vice she may, she will invariably be found to carry it beyond its ordinary boundaries, and seem, determined when she has once overstepped the bounds of propriety, to render herself as odious as possible. How many deformed and crippled children are the consequences of the inattentions and neglect of depraved or careless mothers, and who have reason to curse the hour when they were ushered into a miserable and degraded existence, where they are objects of derision and contempt? Do all females possess that tender and affectionate character which your correspondent so vividly describes ? Let him visit, for instance, our markets, &c. and look upon the charming and delicate creatures that are there engaged. Do they form part of the lovely beings that he extols so highly? After all, he must, I think, allow that human errors and frailties are pretty equally divided, and that where he can produce one reality of the celestial picture of female per fection he has drawn, it will not be very difficult to find one or two possessing qualities of a more terrestrial nature. But while I am thus endeavouring to prove that womenkind are not the all-perfect beings your correspondent seems to imagine, let it not be thought that I wish to withhold that praise which is so justly due to the virtuous and deserving. On the contrary, I am convinced that the greatest blessing a man can possess is the affection of a deserving wife, and that her absence deprives a home of its greatest ornament. All that I contend for is, that they partake of the frailties which have been handed down to us by our first parents; and that by endeavour ing to impress upon the minds of young females (which is too fre quently the case) that they are more than mortal, and addressing them as if they were divinities, has the most pernicious influence upon their future conduct; it gives them an erroneous idea of their own nature, and renders them unfit for the exercise of those domestic duties from which they derive their greatest claim to admiration and respect. Sussex Street. HOUSE TAKING. W. Young married persons frequently live in lodgings; this in general should be avoided, but, above all, ready-furnished lodgings: if the parties have insufficient means to purchase goods, they had better delay their marriage until they can procure them; for they must pay dearly, and put up with many inconveniences in ready-furnished lodgings. The taking a house is a matter of much importance, and should be done with caution; and, if possible, I would always advise the wife to accompany her husband, as there are many little conveniences of which she will be better able to judge than be; and it is also very advis able to consult with, and take with |