Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-06-28
N MIGRATE BRITISH scALawsG.
treasures OF n Famous Ducal ErOuse
Bumped Into a London Auction
EsOOm
dEIR-L00MS WORTH TWO MILLION AND HALF
UNDER THE HAMMER

UNDER THE HAMMER.
L. J. Jenningsi in the New York World.
LONDON, June 15.-Yesterday and to-day
there has been great crowd focking to Messrs
Christie's rooms in King street. drawn thither
by desire to inspect the first part OF the far
famed treasures of the Hamilton Palace. now TO
be dispersed to all parts of the civilized world.
in obedience to the orders Of the present Duke
Of Hamilton. In Rome there are palaces filed
with treasures of art gathered together century
otter century. and guarded with proud and jeal-
Gus care by their present possessors. But few.
If any, OF these palaces contain objects of greater
value or interest than those which were lately
accumulated in the princely house Of the Ham,
iltons in Lanarkshire. and which are at this
moment in the custody of the auctioneers
Many of the Hamiltons have held high posi-
tons in the state-they have been ministers,
plenipotentiaries and ambassadors, and it some
times fell to their lot to receive presents from
the mOnarchs near whom they served. as marks
Of the respect which their characters inspired.
All these presents-family heir-looms which
almost any man, no matter how little family
pride he might have in his composition. would
consider it something like a sacrilege TO part
with-are now to be Rocked down to the highest
bidder. Thus it is with so many famous COL
lections Generation after generation is de-
become like so many visible landmarks in a
nations history, besides recalling all that is
great or noble in family records-and then
their comes reckless, prohgate or besotted
in so far as they supply the means
of enabling him to indulge in his mad
passions or to repair the ruin in which his
vices have already encOmpassed him. No one
OF ordinarily decent feeling can regard without
disgust the conduct of man who, with an in
hos hal, nod
himself with debt to such an extent that every
book, picture, plate. chair, or memorial belong
ing to his ancestors must now be bundled INTO
the auctiOneerS room. 1t is true that the pres
ent Duke Of Hamilton knows and cares nothing
about art in any form, and that for the relics OF
his ancestors he has about as much respect as
Charles Surface had for the family pictures
"When man wants money" says Sheridans
Scapegrace. where the plague should he get as
sistance. ii he can't make free with his own re-
lations?' And that, no doubt, is the philosophy
OF the foolish and worthless parsonage whom
fate has made Duke of Hamilton. In one of the
cases saw a small portrait in an old gilt frame
1t is thus described in the catalogue: Lot 81.
Holbein. Portrait of Knight OF the Garter
small whole length. With a dog, inscribed
.;etats su9 So, Ammo DOmini 1855, in. by 4 in.
Presented by Charles I. to the Marquis of Hamil-
tom The kings brand is on the back both a.
prince and king" The least spa:k of that SEN
timent which is supposed to be strong in the
breasts of all gentlemen would have saved this
relic Of a brave and Inflated man from the auc-
tioneers hammer. In days when chvalry was
not yet dead there was Marquis of Hamilton
who carried the sword of state before King
Charles L. on his coronation. and who remained
true to his masters fortunes to the last He led
the army which fought so hard at Preston in
1913. and in 1919 his head was cut off in Palace
Yard 1t was this marquis to whom the ill
fated king gave the little picture which no.
ticed under the glass case YESTERDAY and one
lmlpiOp w Uha
spect every Hamilton since, down to the person
who at present bears the title. has gaZed upon
this memorial of fidelity and valOr But a man
who was the associate of the Pelham-C lintOns,
and who was one of the leaders of the set which
brought the Marquis of Hastings to ruin and
the grave, is not very likely even to understand
the feelings which led the Marquis of two CEN
turtles and half ago to be faithful to his trust
and to remember the honor Of his race.
This sale, OF the circumstances connected with
it. has apparently scandalized even the most
easy-gOng members of the Duke of HamiltOn's
class. When man is forced by unavoidable
misfortunes to sell every stick and scrap pos
sessed by his ancestors. one may say that it is a
great pity and pass on. But in this case an ut
terly reckless and INSCRIPTIONS man has plunged
into difhculfles, not one OF which is free from
discredit, and not one of which might not have
been avoided. l have heard many estimates
given OF the amount of the dukes debts-and
there cannot be the slightest doubt that it must
be placed at between two and three million
sterling. The notorious NJ. Padwick was one of
his chief creditors, and the estate of course.
holds him In the same position. The sum I have
mentioned is prodigiOus, but so has been the
dukes capacity for getting rid of money. How,
1t may be asked. can such debts as his be in
CURED? The fact is that no device ever vet dis
covered for accommodating debt has been
neglected by the present duke. Horse-racing
and other gambling debts account for q good
deal of the money, and usurious loans account
for almost as much. And the noble ediice
which the duke has reared has been many years IN
hand, tor he was first really hard hit, as the
saying goes, at the time when the late (and last)
Marquis of Hastings made his final chute into
the abyss OF disaster. The present Duke of
Hamilton did not end his life at that time I'M
fortunately for those who are to succeed him,
and every year which has passed away since has
seen the mountain of his liabilities grow higher
and backert than ever. He expects to raise.
am told, at least half million by this
sale, which is to continue till the goth
OF July-not including the books, which
are to be disposed of by another firm of auction
GERS. But half a million will not paw fourth
or fifth part Of his debts if report speaks truly
His creditors will necessarily take the lions
share of the spoil. but probably the duke will
get something to go on WITH" and to accom-
plish that object there is nothing which he
would not make away WITH as he has now
sufficiently shown. As for the hands into which
most of these treasures are destined to fall.
the gossip OF the auction room is that Americans
are to be very large buyers. l cannot tell on
what foundation this belief rests. but tits GER
tainly entertained by the auctioneers them
selves. and it must be presumed that they know
something about the matter. But the ROths-
childs were in the room yesterday, and they
may have word to say concerning the
disposal Of the greatest prizes in the col
lection. There is small table made for Marie
Antonette. which, it is thought may bring
eight or ten thousand pOunds-why? The sig
nature on it is ''Reisener fect. 1871" But poor
Marie AntOinette could not have used this table
very much, even if she had time. at that troubled
period. to use it at all. 1t could only be as
memorial Of the hapless Queen that this table
could be so eagerly contested for. although it is
intrinsically charming example of fine old
French marguerite. Still. there are ALWAYS
pieces to be found equally fine. The result of
this first days sale will. of course be known to
you long before you receive this letter. and.
therefore, it would be a waste of time to saw
more about it here. The second portion of
the sale will be going on about the time
when these lines appear. and it will consist of
a marvellous and unique collection OF old
Chinese enamelled porcelain, and a number
OF rare objects in precious metals-such
as large oval cup of bloodstone and lug
carved out of a solid mass of aventurine Jasper,
of RyZanfiup Oripin 1ati haol 70