PART II-THE FUGITIVE ARTS. CHAPTER I. THE FUGITIVE ARTS.-DANCING. THERE are certain of the arts which possess a very important common feature distinguishing them from the rest. They are not permanent. The work of the artist is not embodied in any fixed result, his art consists in performance; so that he must come before his audience personally, and whatever effect he may produce passes with the passing hour. When he ceases to perform, his art lives only as a memory. Others may take his place and exert themselves in the same direction, and his example. may bear fruit long after his own time, but his personal work as an artist disappears with himself. This is a serious drawback to his influence, which is further circumscribed by the fact that the number of persons who can witness his performance is necessarily limited, and that every time he appears before F a fresh audience, the whole force of his art has to be exerted de novo, and is subject to the different accidents of health, humour, and varying encourage The arts in question are Dancing, Acting (which includes Pantomime and Elocution), and Executive Music; and it will be seen that, beside their fugitive character, there is another circumstance which marks them as belonging to a somewhat lower rank, viz., that they are for the most part interpretative rather than creative; that is to say, the business of the artist is not to express his own ideas, but those of others. Indeed, the only originality which is permitted to him is in the manner of expression. An actor or a musical performer is bound to convey the words or notes which are set down for him. art lies in doing so in the best way. He ought to bring the full strength of his imagination to bear upon the subject, and the poetical value of the result. will depend upon the mental impress which he has stamped upon it; but he cannot travel beyond the bounds of the play, or song, or sonata which he has set himself to perform. Dancing is, indeed, spontaneous, but its limits of expression are so narrow that it affords no greater scope for originality than the others. His For all this, the Fugitive Arts are of very great importance. The personal element in them is a great source of their power. The audience not only see the result, but they see the artist who produces it, and receive it direct from his hands. This gives a human interest to the proceedings which is often wanting in the case of poems or pictures. The book and the canvas are dead, dumb things; we know that the poet will speak in and through them if we will listen, but we do not always choose to do so; and when we do hearken, the voice comes to us with the coldness of a message rather than the warm heartiness of a personal communication. In the case of these other arts, we meet the poet face to face, and are subjected to all the magical influences of bodily presence on the one hand, and direct mental contact on the other. Further, the transient character of the Fugitive Arts causes them to reflect most accurately the state of the popular taste. A painter or a sculptor who does not exactly hit the mark of public opinion may nevertheless get his works exhibited, and a picture. once placed in the Royal Academy, remains there till the end of the season. Even if he does not succeed with the authorities at Burlington House, he may at least effect an entrance into some International Exhibition, or other collection of heterogeneous elements; or perhaps, if everything else fails, his friends may purchase his production, and present it to some public gallery. So with the architect. If he can only manage to impress his views on a single wealthy patron, he may have an opportunity of realising his ideas; and his buildings once erected, remain to exert their influence on all who pass them by. The works of a (verbal) poet must be produced before they can be condemned; and thus they remain a permanent possession, and seldom fail to exercise a certain power for good or evil over the minds of men. But when a drama is unsuccessful, |