Having, then, determined to abolish this state of things in so far as its existence affected their own work, the designers whose productions we shall presently consider positively refused to be bound any longer by hard-and-fast convention, or be trammelled by custom. Desiring to be allowed an absolutely free hand, to the end that whatever creative faculties they possessed might have full play, uninfluenced by antiquated custom or tradition, they harked back from the well-worn paths they had traversed from their youth up, and returned straight to Nature, in order that they might obtain their ideas fresh, and unsullied by passage through the brains of others - direct from the only true source of all Beauty. Verily, a more desirable course could not be adopted by anybody, nor one calculated to lead to better results, provided always - and here comes the crux of the whole matter - that Nature be approached in the proper spirit, and that the lessons she has to teach be correctly learned and not misconstrued.

Pitfalls, however, are to be found almost everywhere; even in situations where their presence might be least suspected. That there were many, and dangerous ones, in the road which this little band elected to follow, is made painfully evident by many of the productions which they have given to the world in the course of little over a decade, and by which the success of their undertaking must be estimated.

But before discussing the quality and character of this work, I must mention the style and title by which it has already been distinguished, and by which it is generally known to-day. Whether the originators of the new movement are themselves responsible for its nomenclature - "L'Art Nouveau " - it is impossible for me to say with any degree of certainty; but, considering all things, I am inclined to affirm that they are not. The title, whether in French or English, savours somewhat of the up-to-date shopkeeper, anxious to endow his goods with a telling description calculated to attract and arrest attention, and so promote business, and would hardly be included in the vocabulary of the conscientious and enthusiastic artist. In imagination, we can almost hear the satisfied and gleeful chuckle with which an inspiration, so "happy " from the salesman's standpoint, was hailed when the title was first coined. It is on a par with, and no better nor worse than, the commercial employment, now so painfully common, of the word "art" as an adjective to describe all sorts and conditions of things, the first impetus to the use of which in such an association was given by its novel application, by a certain go-ahead firm, to exceptionally delicate, subtle, and really beautiful shades of colour brought out in dainty textile fabrics some years ago. It has since been "dragged-in" to do service in all manner of unlooked-for associations, being applied to practically everything that can, with, or even without, any possible excuse, be so designated. So-called "art colours" - could any designation be more absurd? - we have had with us for some few years now, and they seem likely to remain. They are still being merrily retailed at "a-penny-three," while "art pots" - many of them the most fearful and wonderful creations the eye of man has ever beheld - and "art" goodness-knows-what-besides continue to swell the draper's "Special-Bargain-Sale" lists, and fill the souls of ignorant and unwary purchasers with sensations of the keenest satisfaction at being enabled to introduce "Art" into their home. They know it must be "Art," for it had it on the label - " and so cheap too!" Last, but by no means least, what a difference it makes to the balance-sheets of those who manufacture, as well as of those who factor, this "Art for the Million." They alone, could we see them, would furnish the most unmistakable indications that the "discovery" of this little word as a trade description must be counted among the most brilliant strokes of the kind in modern times.

"Art," then, in its indiscriminate application for business purposes, must be regarded simply as a "catch word," meaning little or nothing, and as, more often than not, misapplied. We may, I think, class "L'Art Nouveau," or "New Art," as we have it in this country, under the same category, and look upon it as equally objectionable. Art, accepting the true and all-embracing meaning of the word in its strict and proper sense, is from all eternity; and to describe it as "new" is to perpetrate as absurd an anachronism as could well be imagined. "Art," employed as meaning merely a technical process or method of procedure, is, of course, an entirely different thing, and its use in such a connection is, of course, quite permissible; but it is not thus associated with this new movement in France and in other countries. The "New Art" bases its claim to attention and respect, not upon innovations in the direction of ways and means of manufacture, for it is not entitled to any special notice in that regard; but upon the supposed novelty of the spirit underlying it all; a spirit which, to tell the truth, is not in itself fresh, but is the old one, which has, by some means or another, gone sadly astray. With regard to this " New Art," it has been said, and with some measure of reason, that, on the one hand, most of it which is really new is not art, and that which is really art is not new; and I do not think that the situation could be summed up much more correctly or concisely. We may accept, without hesitation, as a comparatively new expression of art - but further than that we cannot go - all that is best in it; and it must not be imagined for a moment that there is no good in it at all: the very reverse is the case.

Notwithstanding all this, the name has been coined, has found favour - or, in vulgar parlance, "caught on" - it is in general use; and, that being so, I suppose I also must fall into line, and, if ambiguity is to be avoided, make use of it for want of a better if I am to make my meaning clear. I shall, however, feel more comfortable in doing so after having placed my humble protest on record.