The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1880-03-30
HOW JACK HARRIS BECAME AN
ESTHETIC.
4 Suggestion From Theophile
Gautier.

The room was 30 crowded with furni-
cure of all kinds, that for some time Jack
was unable to take it all in, but sat gaz-
ing vacantly around him like man half
awake. No single chair had fellow in
appearance, and scarcely even in period.
A Louis Quatorze in red and gold
frowned upon chaste specimen of ebony
with a seat of woven rushes, and a Sc
verelygraceful Chippendale jostled high
backed Gothic, the very idea of sitting
upon which caused Jack to shudder A
strangely shaped high stool, curiously
coloured, was of a pattern that would
have been familiar to the eyes OF a
Rameses. BY it's side lay chusion of
eastern silk fit for the divan of the Light
Of the Hareln herself. A singular struc-
ture in bamboo, claiming birth in the
Celestial Empire, was fanked by rock
ing-chair of American-Japanese manu-
facture; while several medieval arm
chairs from high-souled firm Of decora-
tors were dotted all over the chamber.
There were also great many tables,
most of them very low, SO that to jacks
uncultured mind there seemed to be no
way of getting at them unless one lay on
the floor. Most of these, to Jacks intense
surprise, were covered with what he
would have called 'tea-things.' Jack
wondered why his friend could want 50
many different tea-sets on SO many diff
erent tables at the same time, unless he
was anxious to emulate the party Of the
March Hare and the Halter; but his
surprise was still greater to find that
these tea-things were not confined to the
tables, but struggled all over the room
on shelves apparently made for the pur-
pose; while most Of the walls were liter
ally alive with plates, which appeared to
have been flung there by their owner in
a burst of despair at their exceeding
ugliness, and were fixed there by super
natural means forever as a warning
against giving way to temper. Indeed,
Jack began to perceive that the chief
feature Of the room was china of all
kinds; from the willow~pattern plate
which Jacks ignorance associated with
small kitchens and humble crockery-
shops in out-of-the-way streets, to huge
Jars standing in corners of the room,
upon whose cracked sides crawled awful
dragons or were pictured the dreams of
an eccentric mythology; or from the
sun-kissed lustres Of Cubic and the
Spanish Moors, to the apple green and
rose Du Barry that delighted the con-
noisseurs Of the last century. Brass and
glass also played conspicuous part in
this fantastic chamber. Huge brazen
dishes as large as shields conferred a
shining immortality on the features Of a
Medeci or Valois and tables and side
boards were Uttered with quantity hued
Venetian glass goblets, whose shape
seemed to render drink impossible, and
strangely fashioned candelabra. Old bits
Of armor of various ages and places lay
about in odd parts of the room where
one would least expect to find them !;
helmets that once embraced the brows
of some sturdy soldier of the League, or
shadowed the pale face of Circassian
chieftains; swords, too, OF many kinds,
from the graceful rapier that might have
done good service in the handsof Busy
DAmboise to the courtly weapon Of
the eighteenth century, rusted perhaps
little by the dews of Leicester Fields.
A huge reading-desk of carved oak had
come from a restored church to the room
Of Theocritus, and was supporting rare
edition in black-letter Of Lydgate's Troy
Boke,' which lay open upon it, and on
which Jack looked for some minutes in
speechless veneration, unaware of the
fact that it was turned upside down, and,
as was shown by the dust upon it, had
been so long enough.
There were a good many paintings
about, both on the walls and on easels;
one or two genuine Botticellis as i'm
ported, possible Pinturiccio, a poorly
initiated Luini which Theocritus always
claimed to be a true LEONARDO, and some
specimens of the good devotion and bad
drawing of the Byzantine masters. There
were also great many etchings about
the room, all Of subjects which displayed
more of the female form divine than
seemed right to the rigidly proper mind
of Jack Harris, and good many photo
graphs OF 1alr women, amongst WuOHl
the beautiful actress of the last night was
multitudinously prominent From a
niche diminutive cast of the Venus OF
Milo gilded all over stared at life-sized
statue of the Egyptian goddess Pasht
which stood directly opposite. There
was piano in the room, of strange de-
sign and strangely ornamented, with q
great many pieces Of music on the tor
of it; and every spare corner in the
room was Uttered with books and flowers
these latter chiefly roses and lilies whose
heavy odor filled the room and made
poor Jacks head swim. Wherever there
was an inch of room not taken up by
anything else, there was piece Of tapes
try, or Japanese fan, or both. Indeed
Theocritus appeared to be so fond Of Jap
anese fans that there was not space
enough for their display merely on the
walls, 80 they futtered on the ceiling ir
little cloud, where they remained pinned
9 like gigantic butterflies until-as they
occasionally did-they fell off, which dis
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