Mrs. Spencer encountered serious difficulties in New York before she acquired the fame she now enjoys. In 1858 she purchased a lovely place in a retired part of Newark, New Jersey, where she now resides with her happy family. Her studio is at the foot of her garden, a large building, with its walls covered by sketches, casts, etc., where the artist labors assiduously. Visitors from distant cities come here to see her paintings, and she usually has several in progress at the same time. “The Gossips,” a large painting _de genre_, with ten figures of women and children, has attracted much attention. The scene represents the yard of a tenement-building, where women are engaged in washing, preserving fruit, cooking, and other sorts of work. They have gathered into a group to listen to some tale of scandal from a stranger, with a basket of bread; and the children are getting into mischief the while. A little boy has fallen into the bluing-tub of clothes, while a younger girl is laughing violently at his mishap; a dog has laid hold of the meat a boy has forgotten to look after, and a cat in the window is skimming the pan of milk. The peaches in a basket in the foreground look as if they might be picked out and eaten, so rich and fresh is the coloring. The effect of light on one of the female figures is exquisitely beautiful. The whole picture is highly finished, and its merits are enough to make a reputation for any artist. Mrs. Spencer’s pictures may be seen in many of the shops where works of art are for sale, and the prints engraved from them are very numerous. She has now a prospect of independence and success before her, and may achieve triumphs greater than any she has yet accomplished. LOUISA LANDER. This young lady is a native of Salem, Massachusetts, and descended from some of the oldest and most respected families of that good old town. She is a daughter of Edward Lander and Eliza West, whose father was claimed as a relative, while on a visit to London, by Sir Benjamin West. Mrs. Lander’s maternal grandfather, Elias Haskel Derby, sent the first American ship to India, giving the first impetus to our commerce with that country. His were the first American vessels seen at the Cape of Good Hope and the Isle of France. Captain Richard Derby, his father, was noted in the Revolutionary struggle. He bought and presented to the town of Salem the cannon which Colonel Leslie attempted to seize. When he demanded the arms, at the head of his regiment, Captain Derby’s reply was, “Find them, and take them if you can; they will never be surrendered!” and his courage preserved the treasure. He was instrumental, too, in inciting his fellow-townsmen to the exploit of raising the drawbridge and sinking the boats--the first repulse of the British in the commencement of hostilities.