About two miles below Greenville, on the road to Freehold, there lived, early in the present century, two old maids. They owned a little log hut there, and a small piece of property surrounding it, in common. They were supposed to be sisters, but in fact were not related by the ties of blood in any way. They had both of them, in their younger days, experienced a romance that had broken their hearts, and the bond of sorrow between them had drawn the two close to each other in womanly sympathy. Together they had come from the old country to Connecticut, and from there to this place, seeking peace and forgetfulness in the wilderness. They never told their story, or anything in fact, relating to themselves, that could be a clue to their identity or past life.

They spent their time in the necessary work about the log-house and garden which was filled with wild flowers and terns, and painting water-color pictures which they sold among the neighboring settlers, for small sums, the highest price being asked was twenty-five cents. These paintings, two of which we reproduce, are unique in the extreme, showing great originality in conception, drawing and color, as well as in the medium employed for their production. Their subjects were generally selected from the Bible or profane history, in which they seem to have been well versed. The paper used was the wrappings of candles and tea boxes, or something of that sort. The pigments were of home manufacture. They would hunt through the woods and fields for certain flowers, berries and weeds, which they would boil or bruise to obtain the color they desired. These crude materials were sometimes helped out with the addition of brick-dust, and in fact by anything these primitive artists found suitable for the work in hand.

The lady known as Miss Willson was the artist-in-chief, the other, Miss Brundage, the farmer and housekeeper. They were discovered early in the "thirties," by Theodore Provost, and were then about fifty years of age. Their paintings are scattered, by purchase, from Canada to Mobile, and are now highly prized by the owners. Theodore Cole, Esq., furnished the originals from which our engravings were made.