_The Village Bride_ (_L'Accordée de Village_).--This is the short title of the work "Un Mariage à l'instant où le père de l'accordée délivre la dot à son gendre." The first title was _Un Père qui vient de payer la dot de sa Fille_. The scene is a great country kitchen, which has a freedom from furniture that is refreshing in these days of senseless overcrowding. Stone steps lead from the kitchen to an upper chamber. A shelf, a gun, a lantern, a great cupboard, and a few chairs and a table, would almost complete an inventory of the movables. Twelve people, arranged as though they were on the stage of a theatre, or for a _tableau vivant_, take part in the scene. The parish official, sitting at a small table, has registered the marriage, and one of the children toys with the document. The father of the bride, a venerable old man with white hair, has just handed to his son-in-law a small leather bag, containing his daughter's marriage portion, and he is now holding forth in true melodramatic style, his face to the gallery, and, as one may fancy, the limelight streaming on his head. The bridegroom, a tall, handsome fellow, listens in a respectful attitude; and the pretty bride, whose eyes are downcast, has her arm linked in his, and the fingers of one hand are laid lovingly upon one of his hands. Her other arm is held by her mother, {52} a comely matron, dressed in simple and picturesque attire. The bride's sisters and brother watch with intense interest, except one little girl of five or six years, who feeds a hen and chickens on the kitchen floor. Another sister has her head upon the bride's shoulder, and a third is weeping. In the incident of one of the chickens, balanced on the edge of the dish of water, trying its wings, some writers have seen an allegorical reference to the marriage. It is said that the head of the bride is a portrait of Mademoiselle Ducreux when she was fifteen years of age. In this painting Greuze's tendency to cause his figures to assume self-conscious poses is apparent; but there is not so much of theatricality here as to spoil the picture, and thus one may still derive some pleasure from a contemplation of the scene. It is interesting to remember that this is the picture which caused such a sensation during the last few days of the Salon of 1761. It was bought by Monsieur de Marigny for 3,000 livres, and at the sale of his pictures, twenty years later, the price paid for it was 16,650 livres. The picture is now in the Louvre in Paris. It has often been reproduced. During the life of the artist it was engraved by Flipart, and then was reproduced in colours by Alix. Greuze also painted a replica of the picture. [Illustration: ROBESPIERRE.]