Arizona weekly citizen., 1883-08-25
Paul Potter.

Potter was, according to Descamps
 allied to the family of Egmont on hi,
 mothers sIde. His grandfather Potter
 had been receiver of Upper and Lower ! SwaluIre, and hls ancestors had always | held positions of trust ID the city Oi | Enkhulsen, in which place Paul was born in 1895. His father, Peter Potter
 was painter of very mediocre talent
 and soon after the birth of his son de | cided to move to Amsterdam, where he | desired to acquire the privileges of a | burgher. His father was the only teach
 CT his son IS known to have had, but the pupil soon surpassed the master, for Decamps writes of him: He was q | genius of whom there Is hardly cOun-
 lerpart. At the early age of fourteen he
 was a skillful artist. and his pictures
 painted at that time will rank with those
 0f famous masters" When not quite oi l age Potter left his fathers house to care for himself, and went for while to
 Delft, where he painted some of hls best pictures, and finally, about l64S,
 removed to the Hague. Here be
 made the acquaintance of Nicolas
 Balkeneude, celebrated archit- ect of that time, and occupied lodgings in the same house. Bake neude had lovely daughter, Aduerine, with whom the young artist, as was to
 be expected, fell desperately ID love, but when he asked permission of the father to speak of hIs affection to his lidy-love, that worthy contemptuously replied that he should not give hIs daughter to an artist who could paint nothing but animals.
 The artist, nothing daunted by this lack of appreciation, went on painting his beasts" and it IS to this time that the Bull" belongs, which was origin ally executed as d sign for a butchers s shop, and brought the modest sum of l260 francs. Potter's pictures soOg
 gained the attention of art lovers, the painter became the fashion, and Bake neude, hearing that a rIval architect had expressed the opinion that "he should
 feel honored by having such a son In- law" repented him of his error of judg- ment, and graciously consented to the painters suit and his daughters wishes On his marriage Potter moved into new house, which socn became the rallying point for ar lists, literary men, and distinguished strangers at the Hague. Prince Mau- rice was a constant visitor, and Potter was esteemed not only for his pictures, but also for his conversational powers, which were declared to be remarkable. Surrounded by the rich and cultivated, he was enabled to aid materially his father-ln-law in his profession, and thus nObly to avenge the slight put upon him when be was comparatively unknown. He was an indefatigable worker, never going out without his sketching book, and his studies were so accurately made that often all that was necessary to change study into picture was Co add a background. kugler, m criticislng his pictures, writes: "Of all the masters who have striven pre-eminently after truth he IS, beyond all question, one of the greatest that ever lived. In order to succeed ln thls aim he acquired cor rectness of drawing, kind of modelling which lmDarts an almost plastic effect to hls animals, an extraordinary execution of detail in the most solid impastO, and a truth of coloring which harmonIzes astonishingly with the time of clay. In his landscapes, which generally consist of few willows in the foreground, and of wide view over the meadows, the most delicate gradation of aerial per spective is seen."-E. MASON, n Har- per's Magazine for September.
 One of the straDgest funerals on rec ord was that of Dr. J. 5. Ford, of Ha- gerstown, Ind, which occurred at West Sonora, Ohio. recently. He made a cast iron will, giving his widow S2O.OOO. He also left sums of 5000 and $500 each tO all the women who are now maids or widows whom he courted in his unmar- red days. This required 5000. The hired girl and all his wife's relatives were remembered ln small sums. Two weeks before his death he employed and paid the Rev. Mir. Shackleford, of the Methodist Church, S25. and the Rev. Mir. Warrington, of the Christian Church Sl5, to officiate at his funeral. Immedi- ately after this he sent for the railroad agent at Hagers.own and chartered a train of one baggage and three passen- ger cars to take his remains and one hundred and ten friends to his funeral at West Sonora. Ohio. He paid for this in advance, and also sent cash to the | best hotel Tn West Sonoro for dinner for | the entire funeral party. Not a detail | in the funeral was forgotten, even the | floral tributes. His orders were fully | carried out, and when his body was laid | m the ground no one In the world had | claim of cent against his estate and no | one owed 1t a cent.