Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1878-11-08
Bob IngersOII's Corner in Gods.

geneOus stock of rubbish and rarities
from all parts of the globe.
One of the most constant attendants
at the sale, is a portly, well-favored
old gentleman dressed in black, who
comes early, chooses a seat near the
auctioneer, and remains to the end of
the day. proceedings, watching every
thing with a nervous, and slightly
quisical interest.
This old gentleman is evidently not
frequenter Of auction rooms. For
the first two or three days his man
ners, though hearty, were a little shy
and self-conscious, and he shrank
from the general attention which he
drew upon himself by the singularity
of his actions. After he had became
better acquainted with his surround
lngs, he gained courage, spoke up
louder when he made bid, and, Oh
one or two occasions, even ventured to
handy jokes with the nimble-tounged
auctioneer.
The gentleman in black is Colonel
Robert &. lngersOll, of Peoria, Ill.
His presence in this city is due to the
lecture engagements in the neighbor-
hood, aud has no connection with the
sessions of the Millennium congress.
Colonel Bob Ingersoll attends the
auction at the Old Curiosity Shop
with a well-defned purpose. He is
not engaged in stocking private mu-
scum, nor is he particularly interested
in bric-abrac or pottery. So long as
the auctioneer vends Nankeen china,
or Aztec jugs, or Tunisian tobacco
pipes, or alleged Satsuma ware, Colonel
lngersoll either settles back in his
seat with an air of indifference or i'm
patiently scans his catalogue. But as
soon as a god is put up to be bid for,
his whole manner changes. He is
alert and eager He leans forward in
his chair, his face slightly flushed with
excitement, and caps bid with bid in
rapid succession Everything in the
shape of a god that is offered for sale
Bob Ingersoll bids for, without regard
to cost.
As there are several other regular
attendants with a taste for deities,
Colonel lngersoll's reckless bidding
sometimes meets with lively competi-
ton. Napoleon Sarony, the photo
grapher, is also buying gods, but he
selects them on aesthetic principles
and for artistic purposes. He bids for
only symmetrical gods. Colonel In
gersolls appetite, on the other hand,
IS omnivorous. The rudest Hmdoc
IDOL Of baked red clay and the most
handsomely carved japanese deity
splendid in paint and gold-leaf, seem
to have equal value in his eyes. His
{ theology is purely democratic, compre-
hensive and impartial. ." A gods 4
god for a that, he whispered, as a
, dlngy, stupid faced and thoroughly
. disreputable Hottentot idol was
knocked down to him for thirty-seven
and half cents.
Under the stimulus of Colonel In
gersolls Wholesale purchases, Sarony s
competition and the eagerness of an
occasional Wall street man who drops
IN on his way up town hoping to buy a
god short for the adornment of his
! mantelpiece, the market price of di-
: whites has been greatly enhanced
since the beginning of the sale. Styles
that brought only seven shillings or a
dollar on the first day now easily run
up to $3.50 or $2.75 at five cent jumps.
The shrewd auctioneer takes adyan-
tage of this unexpected vogue and
dwells eloquently upon the good points
of the gods he offers, while Colonel
lngersoll mods acquiescence to all that
is said in their praise, and never re-
linquishes the battle until the prize is
his.
Here, now, said the auctioner on
| Thursday afternoon as his assistants
held up to the light hideous, choco-
late-colored Budha from Thibet, about
two feet high and apparently 200 years
old, Now, here's something worth
having How much am | offered for
Forty cents, ventured a bashful
gentleman in the rear of the room.
Forty cents! repeated the auc-
tioneer with withering scorn. Forty
cents for a fine Oriental deity like
that That god has been worshiped
by hundreds of thousands of ingenu-
GUS and devout heathens. Forty cents
Why, he's worth more than that to
put in your hallway to frighten off
burglars.
"Forty-fye,' said the abashed gen
tleman, bidding against himself.
We'll, I'll take it for starter,
said the auctioneer, Though it's a
shame to mention forty-fve cents in
connection with such a god. See how
he bushes himself! Forty-fve, tee
FIVE, tee-6ye, seyen-half, sev-naf, sew
naf -
Fifty cents, said the original bid
der.
The auctioneer's face wore an in
liured and almost disgusted look. Its
very plain, said he, in a confidential
but perfectly audible aside to Colonel
lngersoll, that these gentlemen don't
understand the value of really au-
thentic god
IN give seventy-fve cents for the
god, said Colonel Ingersoll, firmly.
Colonel lngersoll bids seventy
! five said the auctioneer. "Now he
knows what god is. Seventy-fye.
teo-6ye, eighty by half dozen gentle
men in the back of the room-tee-
eight, tee-eight, tee-eight'-
The chocolate-colored Buddha ran
| up to 81 30, and stopped there.
| Gone" said the auctioneer, after a
brief pause; gone to lngersoll for one