3H ADRIAEN VAN OSTADE SECT. him, a little way back, another man, seated on a low stool, turns round to the dancer, and drinks to him from a beer-glass which he holds up in his right hand. Behind them to the left is a group of three peasants with an old woman. The figure of the man on the stool is the most vividly lighted. An early work, recalling the style of Isack van Ostade. Signed, and dated 1635 (probably, and not 1675 as the catalogue states) ; panel, 8 inches by g| inches. In the Darmstadt Museum, 1885 catalogue, No. 361. 562. BOISTEROUS PEASANTS AT AN INN. In the immediate left foreground a fiddler sits in profile to the right, seen as a silhouette. In the centre foreground a man lies on the floor with his back to the spectator ; he leans on his right elbow, and holds up in his left hand his clay pipe. On the right dance an excited couple. At a table in the centre, three peasants look on, with animated gestures. Behind them to the right some steps lead up to a door. Over the lower half of the door, the hostess, holding out a pot in her right hand, looks down at the dancers. Formerly attributed to Isack van Ostade, then to Brouwer, and then again to Isack ; but unquestionably a genuine early work by Adriaen van Ostade. Signed in full, but not clearly, on a bench to the left ; panel, 15^ inches by 22 inches. In the Dresden inventory of 1722, No. A4I3. In the Royal Picture Gallery, Dresden, 1908 catalogue, No. 1395. 563. PEASANTS SINGING AND DRINKING. Men and women. A cat is asleep in the centre. A rather sketchy early work. I2| inches by 20 inches. In the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1890 catalogue, No. 32. 564. A RUSTIC COMPANY IN A COTTAGE. A low wall divides the room into two. A man holding a jug and a pipe sits on a bench, talking. Another peasant and an old woman, seated beside a cask serving as a table, are listening. Behind them, the host chalks up the score on a board. In a rude arm-chair in front a third man sits lighting his pipe. Farther back are a woman, a peasant asleep in a basket, a puppy, and other objects. The figures are very ugly, but the lighting is good. An early work, dating from about 1635. Signed in full on the right at foot ; panel, 17 inches by 13 inches. In the Gotha Museum, 1890 catalogue, No. 116. 565. BOISTEROUS PEASANTS AT AN INN. In the right centre foreground a man and a woman sit facing the spectator on a bench, and sing. The man holds a music-sheet, which the woman seated to the left grasps with her left hand. She wears a blue dress, a pink jacket, and, on her head, a garland over a soft cap ; she holds a large beer- jug in her right hand. Behind them stands a man dressed in light-green with a tall hat. To the right of this group a peasant, seen half from the back, holds both the hands of a woman in black and yellow, and tries to pull her from her chair. Another peasant, seated beside her to the left, holds her back. Beside them stands another jovial woman with a white
