The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-07-31 00:00:00

AN ACTRESS AND HER ENGAGE-

MENTS,

On Tuesday, at the Westminster County Court, the
case of "Nathan v. Forrester* came before Judge
Bayley. It was an application by the plaiutiff to com-
mit the defendant to prison in default of making pay-
ment under an order of the Court. Miss Maud For-
rester, the defendant, said she was an actress, but had
no engagement at the present time, and, therefore,
she could not pay. Since March last she had only
had five weeks' engagement, three in the country,
which was a speculation and utterly failed in con-
sequence of the depressed state of the iron trade, and
the other two in London. The last time she paid
under the order she had to borrow the money. The
plaintiff said he could not understand how Miss For-
rester, if she had no engagements, as she said, could
always driv9 to the theatre in a cab. She was nelt
defending the action because she could not pay, 111-‹t;
because she did not want to pay. Plaintiff was
threatened with personal castigation outside the
court at the last hearing by a gentleman who was with
the defendant, and the defendant then said that she
would not pay a single penny.—The defendant said
that the plaintiff was simply persecuting her. He
gave people longer credit than she had had.—Plain-
tiff : Why, the clothes she had have all been worn
out long ago. (Laughter). Have you not an engage-
ment at Greenwich ?—Defendant: No; I shall be
performing there next week. I have had nothing
since I was. at the Britannia Theatre last March. I
then had .E 6 a week, of which two-thirds was deducted
for an old debt. I have sold the horse Lightning,
and it is hired every time I perform.—The learned
judge said he could make no order on the evidence
before him.—Plaintiff: But I will be content with id.
—The learned judge: I can't make any order.—
Plaintiff: This is shameful. I will carry this case to
the Treasury. (Laughter).

LATEST ACQUISITION OF THE
NATIONAL GALLERY:
Last Saturday's Blenheim sale was not altogether
sterile for the National Gallery. A small panel
that hai excited the attention of painters from its
admirable artistic qualities, and that by some
icci-
dent was not in the catalogue, has fortunately been
secured by Sir F. Burton. The picture belonged to
the Dutch School, and bore the name of Teniers, an
obviously erroneous attribution; for, although deal-
ing with the subjects he often selected, the manipula-
tion was not in the manner of the Antwerp master.
The picture represents a homely Dutch interior, with
an old woman spinning and an old man seated 'at a
fire, warming his hands. The motive is of the simplest,
and the background is treated with equal simplicity;
the furniture is what would be found in the house of
a decent artisan or farmer. A peculiarity of the com-
position consists in a curtain on the right hand' that
appears as if drawn aside to reveal the scene. It is a
deep transparent green in colour, and is reminiscent
of a similar incident in a work by Tan der Meer, of
Delft. The charm of the work consists in the truth-
ful representation, the fine feeling for tone, and the
unaffected sentiment of the composition. Subjects
of this nature, contemporary representations of scenes
in humble life, are very pitfalls for the painter. It
i-I so difficult to escape either false sentimentality
on the one hand, or the dreary vulgarity of the
pinafore school on the other. There is nothing of
either in the work under notice. It is affecting in
its quiet pathos, and satisfies the artistic require-
ments in relation to all manipulative qualities.. A.
signature is to been seen on the wall, beside the fire-
place, and it is that of a very rare rnmeer—A. d
Pape. Little is known of his personality; he is si
posed to have belonged to Leyden, from the arms
that city being found in one of his pictures. ~He
also believed to have been a pupil of Gerard Don,
the date on the last-named work, 1648, would agi
with the supposition; besides, the affinities of at:
are obvious. Few public galleries possess works fro,
his band. In the Moritz House, at the Hague; then,
is a small panel representing an old woman plucking
a fowl, with a child looking on, containing similar
qualities of execution to our recent purchase.