parallel straight lines, or curved, of just the right thickness and
distance from each other--almost as regular as if they had been drawn
with ruler or compass--almost, but not _quite_. The quiteness would
have made them mechanical, and robbed them of their charm of human
handicraft. A cunning and obedient slave, this wonderful hand, for
which no command from the head could come amiss--a slave, moreover,
that had most thoroughly learned its business by long apprenticeship
to one especial trade, like the head and like the eye that guided it.

Leech, no doubt, had a good natural hand, that swept about with
enviable freedom and boldness, but for want of early discipline it
could not execute these miracles of skill; and the commands that came
from the head also lacked the preciseness which results from patiently
acquired and well-digested knowledge, so that Mr. Hand was apt now and
then to zigzag a little on its own account--in backgrounds, on floors
and walls, under chairs and tables, whenever a little tone was felt to
be desirable--sometimes in the shading of coats and trousers and
ladies' dresses.

But it never took a liberty with a human face or a horse's head; and
whenever it went a little astray you could always read between the
lines and know exactly what it meant.

There is no difficulty in reading between Keene's lines; every one of
them has its unmistakable definite intimation; every one is the right
line in the right place!

We must remember that there are no such things as lines in nature.
Whether we use them to represent a human profile, the depth of a
shadow, the darkness of a cloak or a thunder-cloud, they are mere