168 JAN STEEN SECT. cottages. Among the groups in front of and beside the inn are a gentle- man and lady with a maid-servant and two children, conversing with two horsemen. Nearer the spectators are a woman suckling her child and three children at play. Nearer the inn a quack doctor stands under a tree recommending his wares to some peasants. On the canal is a boat with five persons in it ; on the bank are three boys. Farther back is a wooden bridge with two persons on it ; on the other side are a waggon and horses. " Painted with much of the spirit and freedom observable in the works of Teniers " (Sm.). Signed ; canvas, 25 inches by 31 J inches. Sale. Earl of Mulgrave, London, 1832 (109:43., J. Bentley). 644. A Village Merrymaking. Sm. Suppl. 46; W. 281. In the background are a church and houses on the bank of a canal. Numerous country-folk fill the scene. At one side is a picturesque inn, in front of which peasants dance and jest with girls. Near the centre are two horse- men. One of them has dismounted to converse with the innkeeper's wife ; the other, still in the saddle, drinks from a tankard. At the opposite side of the picture is a river with boats on it. In the background are some sailing-boats. Canvas, 33 inches by 38 inches. Sales. Amsterdam, July 25, 1804, No. 72 (190 florins, Roos). M. Udink, Amsterdam, October 28, 1808, No. 57 (86 florins, Gruyter). Nieuwenhuys, London, 1833 (138: I2s.). 6440. A Country Fair. In the foreground are numerous persons drinking and dancing ; some are drunk. In the background is a row of booths. [Compare 634.] Panel, yj inches by 9! inches. Sale. Meffre the elder, Paris, February 25, 1845, No. 87. 644^. A Country Merrymaking on a Wooded Hill. Exhibited at Manchester, 1857, No. 1019, by Fr. Edwards. Sale. London, 1847 (388 : ios., Edwards). 644*:. Italian Peasants and Travellers in the Courtyard of an Inn. Sale. Sir T. Baring, London, 1848 (86, Brown). 644^. A Merry Company at a Tavern Door. Exhibited at Leyden, 1850, No. 144, by N. N. 645. A Rustic Merrymaking in the Open Air. Sm. 133 ; W. 84. On the right is a large and picturesque tavern, in front of which are numerous rustics. A couple dance to the music of a bagpiper who stands on a mound. Near him are a woman and child and a jovial man. The innkeeper's wife leans over the half-door. In the foreground a peasant sits at table with a glass in his hand. A man and a woman converse with the innkeeper. On the other side a jovial man tries to detain a woman
