leading us to the contemplation of the myriad beautiful and protean forms
it has assumed, when surrounding conditions, such as religion, climate,
temperament, nationality, etc., have been different. Knowledge of historic
ornament will also prevent the imposition on the public, so common in our
day, of weak and unworthy productions which claim to be based on classic
originals, and which constitute a great stumbling block to the progress and
appreciation of good art. The result is somewhat analogous to that produced
upon conscientious but ill-informed minds, who make every effort to
appreciate and enjoy the spurious productions of a great author, not
knowing that they are not genuine.


POSITION AND SCOPE OF ORNAMENTAL OR DECORATIVE ART.

I. _Object of Ornamental Art._--The object or purpose of ornament, as in
the other fine arts, is to please. In music and poetry this enjoyment is
conveyed to the mind through the ear; in the decorative and pictorial arts,
through the eye. Generally, the meaning that we find in such productions,
the appeal that they make to the understanding or feelings, is as great a
source of interest to us as their intrinsic beauty. Poetry and vocal music
are greatly dependent for their effect upon the meaning they convey in
words; painting and sculpture, upon the ideas or sentiments they suggest.
In all four, however, and most decidedly in music unaccompanied by words,
the appeal is frequently made almost exclusively to the æsthetic sense, the
mind or intellect remaining almost dormant under the impression. Gems of
rhythmical verse, such as Poe's "Bells," "The Raven," Whistler's
"Symphonies in Color," nameless forms in statuary, expressionless save in
the mere beauty of their proportions and curves, and, as has been stated,
nearly the entire field of instrumental music, are cases in point. In the
ornamental and decorative arts, as well as in architecture (from which they