BLUCHER TAKEN BY LIMNERS.
When the renowned Blucher visited England, he was made the lion of the day; the general desire for portraits of this famous soldier was very great, and he is described as “seated conveniently for graphic reconnaissance in his apartment at St. James’s, his meerschaum in full play, with a miniature painter taking him straight in front; a die-sinker by a right profile, a modeller the left; two crayon painters at dexter and sinister three-quarter fronts; and two other limners by a side-long glance, or a sort of enfilading, at as much of his visage as was visible from an angle au derrière.”
COST OF A PICTURE.
It is said that Marshal Soult, on being asked one day how much his best picture had cost, replied, “One monk.” The meaning of this was that the picture was given in exchange for an unfortunate monk, who had been taken prisoner during Soult’s campaign in Spain, and condemned to death.
RESUSCITATED CELEBRITIES.
The following is said by the Polytechnic Journal to have taken place at a provincial exhibition in the year 1840:—
“The exhibition rooms were crowded; many visitors paid for admission, and many claimed exemption by virtue of brush and palette. Among the latter, two fantastically dressed persons, like hunters from a neighbouring university, presented themselves.
“‘What is the number of your work?’ was the question addressed by the doorkeeper to each exhibitor. ‘Mine is two hundred and four,’ said one of the applicants.