A most interesting exhibition of pictures is on view just now. It forma part of vast collection of the late Mr. James Stoats Forbes, who died some eighteen months ago, having acquired during his lifetime about 3,000 valuable works of art, mostly oil paintings of the English, French, and Dutch schools. Mi ife, lived in Chelsea, but as his residence contained only a very small picture gallery the works, as he bought them, were stored and at the present time there are no fewer than seven large rooms at Victoria Station full of them. What will be their ultimate destination not yet known. It is ssid that there:
Corots by the hundred and Joseph Ie Is without number. There is something almost uncanny in such a waste of good things. At the Grafton there are Jess than 400, many of them so delightful to what the odd 2,600 were like. "in. that one could not help speculating as
Luis' " Portia" and " The Orphans" were among the old friends with whom one ilad to renew one's acquaintance, and several of the Dutch pictures T bad previously seen at the Guildhall.
The Sewing School" and The Sexton of Kalwyk" by Joseph Isracls, and "Scheveningen" and "Crossing the Heath" by A. Mauve, all perfectly delightful. Arcadia," by J. B. C. Corot, is one of the gems of the collection, and among the French works there are two very fine Constants, ' Judith" and "On Guard," the former of which was exhibited suppose Lady Warwick aod her Socialletio at the New Gallery, I think, two years ago. I
friends would declaim against the wickedness of one man owning so many treasures of atte; personally I feel that having seen so much I would like to see the entire collection as it must bs of amazing interest.
A most extraordinary incident has happened during the past few weeks in Kenington. A labouring man was digging beneath " party wall when he suddenly came upon a very old teapot; close by it were a quantity of yellow-locking cums. Of so little use did he consider them that he threw them in handfuls amon the children playing round, and also offered them to other men who were at work with him, some of whom declined them but others seemed to think they might be of some value and so accepted them and took them to pawn-brokers in the neighbourhood hoping thereby to obtain "the price of a drink." Subsequent inquiries have Jed to the discovery that these yellow-looking coins were spade guineas of the Georgian period worth at least 253, each, ten and sixpenny gold pieces of the time of William xnd Mary, and some gold seven-shilling pieces which are very rare. Altogether there were sixty-seven gold pieces and twenty-four silver. Of course the finders had no'idea of the value of the money, but it seems that when some of it was take jeweller la Kensington named was far less ignorant; for a house-breaker (not the gentleman who pays visits after dark but the da mortar) named Will purchased six: or seventeen of the ening for £12 and very speedily disposed of them for £20, for which deal hie was severely reprimanded by Mr. Troutbeck, the coroner, who has been holding an inquest on the coins which it is decided were virtually the property of the Crown, the owner of them being unknown.
The Westminster Hospital Bazaar.
Whatever the sersou may have in store for us in the matter of charity bazaars, it will be difficult to rival the Westmii function as regards beaut, to adequately represent the styles of dress of " thousand years is no easy matter, yet this was the task set to themselves by the ladies who presided over the stalls at the bazaar which was yesterday brought most successful termination in Dean's yard in the presence of Princess Henry of Battenberg, who not only performed the open' g ceremony of the day, but prosidatthe March past" of all che atallholders, which was quite the most interesting tot th estimation, was the most becoming style of dressing. I think most of us voted for our own, or at least were thankful to have been delivered from sume of the others, notably the hideous horned head-dresses of the early part of the fifteenth century. Mr. Wylie, A. R. A., invented an entirely new side-show which proved most lucrative; he made up most realistically as a pavement artist and did some wonderful lightning sketches which on the first day added £70 to the bazaar's recei amount may be handed over to the funds of the hospital which has a dobe of £11,000 it is hoped may now be wiped off hanging over it, the greater part of which
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.