By Frederick S/ium, F.S.A. 



63 



or when lie rode over from Mr. Wiltshire's seat at Shockerwick. 



Weary of the excitement of Bath Society, and impatient of the 

 jealous and exacting patronage of Thicknesse, he was only too glad 

 of an excuse to come to Bradford ; whether it was to have a chat 

 and another sitting from Orpen, or to sketch the romantic dells at 

 Belcombe and Farleigh, mattered little. In Orpen, he had a capital 

 study ; intelligence, reverence, and simplicity were there, and nobly 

 has he depicted these qualities. It was a labour of love, he reckoned 

 not on the prestige or the pecuniary reward that he derived when 

 painting the portraits of statesmen, or country squires, at Bath. 

 Upon this old man's head he bestowed as much labour and care as 

 on the Lord Chancellor or Royalty itself. It is exquisitely and 

 carefully painted, the color perfect, the light and shade equal to 

 Rembrandt, while the force and character in the features and ex- 

 pression is not excelled in any of Velasquez's charming portraits. No 

 one can look upon this admirable likeness without the conviction 

 that the subject was a man of singular ability ; but he was more 

 than this, he was a man of generous instincts, for although by no 

 means rich, he bequeathed his house in perpetuity to his successors 

 in office. The family of Orpen was humble but respectable, and in 

 an old map, now extant, is represented a row of cottages that stood 

 near the centre of the town, called after their name, showing that 

 they were here in the sixteenth century ; they were also owners of 

 some land in the neighbourhood of Farley Castle. 



Within a stone's throw of that interesting and unique relic of 

 Saxon architecture, of which Bradford is not a little proud, may be 

 seen this house in which Orpen lived, and where Gainsborough 

 painted his portrait ; although small, it has some architectural 

 pretension. It was built by Orpen, but has been somewhat increased 

 in size by the present Vicar ; a singular feature marks the front wall 

 of the cottage; two nearly square lights of glass, about 12 inches 

 by 13, are to be seen on either side of the centre window in the 

 first story. What can be the meaning of them ? Canon Jones not 

 infrequently puzzles his visitors with this riddle, but they invariably 

 " give it up/' and wait for his solution. It will be remembered 

 that in the early part of the present century, when England's 



