, 1884-08-05
CURIOUS PICTURES.
A Valuable Specimen Ruined by a
Lady's Nose.
An ancIeas but H~ighly-Prized
"Pokers' Portrait of Daniel
Websfer-mystery OF n
Pastoral Scene.

The uldos OF one OF New York's Wealth.
est mel, bai.ts showed me a few days ago q
number OF rare and beautiful curiosities she
had just brought home from Europe. The
object that most interested me In the new
acquisitions VI tha lady was a small picture
standing on a snii : ack easel. The subject n
imitation OF va e4a. vast miniature paste :
al scene, IA which a coquettish shepherdess in
a mil aculonc toilet Of pink and blue, is smil-
ing archly ut the clouded face Of her discon-
solate swain, tho little lambs meantime nib
bling the green grass under the shade OF
spreading trees.
The drawing and coloring was good, tho
subject in itself pleasing, yet &ere was
something 6hont the atmosphere OF the pict-
ure most peculiar. Was IL the rather unusual
effect cf a gray, misty background into
which the brighter colors melted, and what
was II that willis the paint was delicately and
smoothly lud on gave the figure and foliage
an almost l-tdfed appearance. Suddenly It
struck mo there ~as something unusual
about the veIvety ~softness OF the ground
work On which me picture was erected.
lsxed my LosteA, and she replied: Il
paid 81 go for that h...s curiosity OF art.
but II you viii guess correctly without
touching, What the backing Is composed OF,
you !hnH take 1t home in your carriage"
Accepting the challenge, l ran through all
the list OF tebrics that / knew could hold
oils, U& without success, and then deter
mined 70 ll1inc IN this case even the improb-
able ones, called OF aglass, straw, wood,
ivory cafv rs, leather, stone, copper, shell,
even woven Ian, and lace, of which l had
seen piintra sr~ecimens in the Hote de CIuny.
and cloted The list with human skin, which
was used by some OF the French artists dur
In the revolution, Of course, fer it Ia d
haan gfrN4fphfed rad Arfad rnaLfn. d. f-s.ht
fully Appropriate groundwork for scenes OF
carnage and the festivals Of the guiIlotine.
To be beief, my guessing was OF no avail,
and | had 10 DO told that the mysterious
picture was painted upon cobwebs. That
the process was known only to one living
man, IA London artist. who by laying on
each other successive cobwebs formed d sort
Of CANVAS strong enough to withstand the
light strokes OF his brush.
Imargeio6, congratulated n6 friend upon
the 4cluisitiVu to her collection, and added,
80 rare and fragile a curio should be kept In
a cabinst.r
Yea. 1 hnv ordered u pretty little affair
Of glass and carved wood on purpose for It's
preservation she replied
Yestorday l met this same lady. She
looked sad. the reason was soon explained
my dear, you hnd s~arcely left the other
day iyhen ii. wife aud sister Of Proeessor
s., OF Yale, came to call. In my childish
vanity I was displaying my new knick-
knack5 b them, and while l was unfolding
that Kensington figure in tapestry for Mrs.
s., her sister in-law, one Of those large-boned,
angular, inquisitive kind OF women, picked
up my Moxen cobweb, before l could speak
raised II to her face, ano between hen near
sightedness and curiosity ran her long, sharp,
New England nose right through it. | am
afraid I hafra end ms aAn1wa&nn - -.
proyocation was great
Was there ever n moro 6eeting showf
For my part, ingenious as was this
mingled product Of spider industry and
hrti4t's skill { should much prefer a more re-
niarkable and enduring work of art that l
saw Few weeks ago at the residence Of Mr..
Sam Noble IN Annistco, the town which he
owns IN Alabama.
A nsh OF wealth, Mr.. Noble has on his
walls many vifaabio oil-paintings and Eng
hsh water-coiois, but in his dining-room the
eye instantly staglss out a portrait OF Daniel
Webster, that has the appearance at a short
distance of trarfng in brown cfnyons on
ancient ellum a clos. II examination shows
tho work tc DO n poker picture, . that IL, In.
stead OF W rking with a canvas and brush
the artist uses a square of hardwood and a
heated lron, with which managed not only
to produce bold, sweeping outlines, but all
the delicate gradations Of light and shade
that color commands. This picture was
burned by II. Hnldan, an Englishman living
In Boston in 1850, and IL considered the best
poker portrait In this country. In fact there
are only three or four existing outside Of
public museums
Mr.. Haldon never saw Webster but once,
but he was 50 struck by the powerful face OF
the great statesman that on returning TO his
holue he executed what Webstcr's contempt
rAriss pronounced a marvellous Likeness"
When it Is remembered that one
false stroke, or trife to much force
wuuld hevo ruined II, for there Is
no Iicii hrng as erasurs or doing over
poker woii, una Is forced to marvel at that
grand head with its soft locks OF hair, Its
strong. rugged features, and high cheek
bones, but mfst remarkable arc the delicate
touches whica brought out the muscles OF
the face, tue lines of care n thought about
brow and Zip, and even the shading of the
lasbsS. r.u Hr..
Three thousand dollars was offered in Bos.
ton for this picture. but It's owner, a wealthy
banker refused to sell it. A number Of year.
ago, however, some business transactions
placed him under obligations to Mr.. Nobls,
for which money was not an equivalent, and
with nice feeling he sent as a tribute OF his
appreciation this inimitable portrait.
1.-THE Countesa.n