space of a century, until
they were discovered by Queen Caroline, wife of George II., in a bureau
at Kensington. You will hear a little later that the finest collection
of miniatures in England went through the same process of disappearance
and recovery.[42] These original sketches, in addition to their great
artistic merit, form a wonderful collection of speaking likenesses,
belonging to the court of Henry VIII.,--likenesses which had been
happily identified in time by Sir John Cheke (in the reign of
Elizabeth), since the names of the originals have been inscribed on the
back of each drawing, as it is believed, by Sir John Cheke's hand. The
collection is now in the Queen's library, Windsor, with photographs at
Kensington Museum. There are one or two of Holbein's reputed portraits
at Hampton Court.

I must pass over some painters as not being sufficiently represented for
my purpose. Among these is Sir Antony More, Philip II, of Spain's
friend. It is recorded that Philip having rested his hand on the
shoulder of More while at work, the bold painter turned round, and
daubed the royal hand with vermilion. This gave rise to the
courtier-saying that Philip 'made slaves of his friends, and friends of
his painters.' Another is Zucchero, one of the painters who was
requested by Queen Elizabeth to paint her picture without shade, the
result being 'a woman with a Roman nose, a huge ruff and farthingale,
and a bushel of pearls.' There are also Van Somer,--Janssens, who
painted Lady Bowyer, named for her exquisite beauty, 'The star of the
East,' and Susanna Lister, the most beautiful woman at court, when
presented in marriage to Sir Geoffrey Thornhurst by James I, in
person,[43]--and Daniel Myttens, all foreigners, Flemish or Dutch, whom
we must thus briefly dismiss. And now we come to Van Dyck.

Antony Van Dyck was born at Antwerp, in 1599. His father was a merchant;
his mother was famous for painting flowers in small, and for needlework
in silk. The fashion of painting 'in small' had prevailed for some time.
Horace Walpole mentions that the mother of Lucas de Heere, a Flemish
painter, born in 1534, could paint with such 'diminutive neatness' that
she had executed 'a landscape with a windmill, miller, a cart and horse,
and passengers,' which half a grain of corn could cover. At ten years of
age, Van Dyck began to study as a painter, and he soon became a pupil,
and afterwards a favourite pupil, of Rubens. In 1618, when Van Dyck wa