Vandyke's _Duchess de St. Croix_ has been cleverly copied by Mr. Boden and Mr. Faulkner; the latter gentleman has well imitated the color and the beautiful finish of the original. Messrs. Frisk, Child, Howell and M'Call have likewise made clever copies of this _chef d'oeuvre_ of art. Many bold efforts have been made to copy Hobbima's large _Landscape_; Mr. Laporte's is the most complete, though not quite spirited enough in the handling. _The Spanish Gentleman_, by Velasquez, has engaged the pencils of numerous artists, though they have not all been so successful as could have been wished; Messrs. Inskipp, Frisk, Morton and Child have produced the best _fac similes_. The _Lime Kiln_, by the younger Teniers, has been carefully studied by Mr. Gill, &c.; and Messrs. M'Call and Morton, have executed the finest studies from _Innocent X._, by Velasquez. _The Embarkation_, by Claude, is extremely well imitated in Mr. Cartwright's copy; and the _Virgin and Child_, which is one of Julio Romano's best works, has met with due attention from Mr. Farrier, and others. Mr. Novice has executed the only copy from DeHooge's fine picture--_A Dutch Family preparing for a Walk_; and Messrs. Foster and Earl display considerable talent in their copies from the _Landscape and Cattle_, by Cuyp. Other admirable works by Guido, Rubens, Bassan, Ruysdael, Vanderneer, and Canaletta, have met with a host of imitators, from whose talents we may anticipate, at no distant period, pictorial excellency of the first order. I should discover a want of gallantry, and, indeed, be most unjust, were I not to say that the ladies, in nearly all their undertakings, have exerted their utmost to excel; those especially, who have executed copies in water colours deserve the highest recommendation. G.W.N. * * * * * THE ANECDOTE GALLERY. THAXTED HIGHWAYMEN. _(For the Mirror.)_ The following incident led to the breaking up and dispersion of a gang of desperate highwaymen, denominated the Thaxted gang, who about sixty years ago used to infest the roads in the neighbourhood of Dunmow, Thaxted, and the adjacent towns and villages:--