The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1883-12-13
ment well away from the main building.

t is like going from the Tower OF Babel
nto a corner of the Promised Land,-tO
cave the confusion of many voices, the
yhirl and whiZ of machinery, the never
laultlng tramp, tramp. Tor a walk under
he trees and by the fountains in the park.
% the pretty brick structure in which IS
me of the finest collection of pictures ever
in America. One feels like
yrumbling at the crowded condition of the
walls, but renemberingt that is mainly due i.
10 the unexpectedly generous response of
,he owners of such treasures when asked
10 aid the exhibit with loans, grumbling
changes to gladness, for every generous
deed expands the heart of the person who
does it and helps the world in its struggle
to grow better.
Nor was the hanging,done well size rath-
or than merit seeming to be considered
but SO long as the labor of arranging the
picture gallery is left to "a hanging COM
mittee' instend of to an artist, we must
expect to go on committing sins. We can
never overcome desire to hang the COM
mittee. In an enterprise where money and
energy and influence are requisite the men
who are put On committees are generally
chosen with an eye-single to those quallfi-
cations, andj often the '.art committee
knows about as much about art rs a man /
l once knew did about carpets. Raised IN |
poverty. and knowing nothing OF luxury,
he came into possession Of fortune When
fifty years of age. He Immediately had an |
elegant mansion erected, employing fur |
nisher from the city to put her in
runnin' order.'' When completed,
the owner found his chief delight III |
displaying to visitors the luxurient
surroundings. Going through the rooms
one day, a gentleman stopped TO exam
inc the texture Of the carpet, say
ing as he rose: lit is so soft and lovely I
mistook it for velvet, but see 1t IS a rare |
Brussels instead"
s.Humph Brussels! / guess it amt |
brussels! It's every thread all wool, sir, !"
retorted the indignant owner, whose only |
idea of Brussels was associated with the
things akin to that in name, which COM
prise the wardbrobes of the swine family
In the rotunda of the Art Gallery are
grouped rare pieces of furniture, vases, !
statuary, etc.. interspersed with waving
palms.
A bit of Sara Bernhardt's work in mar
BILE is here, recalling the brilliant little
French woman who was here two years
ago. 1t is. too, very good work. .Nydla,
the Blind Girl, - from the studio OF Rogers
is the one before which love to linger.-
There is so much of nature i'll it; the APP
pealing look one sees so often on the faces
Of those who never saw Gods sweet sum
shine as it comes to fold in its embrace
the sparkling dew drops.
The most deliberately designed and eX-
pensive vase is of Sevres china, painted lie
Barre, mounted on bronze gilt. Its price
is So 200, enough to give most people fair
start in life.
One of a set of four pieces OF antique
leather wall hanging, painted and hand
embossed in the time Of Charles |. OF Eng
land, is marked for sale. Three thousand
dollars will buy this not remarkably BEAU
tiful thing-$l2 900 for the complete set.
A collection of ancient arms and armor
contains Crusaders sword OF the l4th
century, napier made in 1890, and shield
belonging to suit of armor dated loo.
Many of the presents bestowed upon
Gen. Grant while abroad, are ina rare Old
cabinet which occupies one corner OF the
rOtunda.
In a collection of plates owned by James
r. Keene, is a fine old Vienna, valued at
$780, Just imagine how spare-rlb and
hominy would taste eaten from such
dish
The hangings of the rotunda are the rare
old tapestries owned by Gen. Sheridan.
They are astudy and delight to those
who appreciate and understand their value;
but to many they are only ''horrld old
rugs To tell such persons that each
price represents some incident in the life
of Alexander the Great that they were
made in the 18th century that SIX square
inches is as much as a skilled workman
could make in day would be worse than
reading them story in the Greek tongue,
for they are quite likely to reply that they
never knew Mr.. Alexander no-how, and
haven t no call to be concerned about his
life.''
Passing into the east gallery a picture
from the brush of Lyell Carr.satisfies the
most sternly practical there is something
worth coming to see. A young Jersey calf
| is getting it's breakfast from bucket in
which his head is half buried. one eye
standing watch for intruders. The artist
was paid very high compliment by the
| farmers wife, who, after looking at it for
full ten minutes, said to her companion:
yes, it is right peart calf but, law,
what a cruel, burnln' shame to go and take
| it away from its NANNY so soon.'
The most famous artists represented are
Turner, Bouguerean, Corot, NJ. FOrtuny,
Furini, Gerome, MISSIONER, Millet, Mo-
ran. Munkacsy. and Bierstadt. Then there
| is one unlnistakable Rembrandt, which
through all it's two hundred years exist
ence has been softening and toning until
now one cannot behold it without think
ing Of wine which has been mellowing for
q century in some box meath 'scorner
stone" b&
Looking at mny Of these pictures, it is
easy to understand how aperSon with plen
ty of money can,be willing to pay twenty
five or even fifty thousand dollars for a sim
gle canvass; but there is no language ade-
quate to describe them.
One need not be rich, Though. to afford
really good pictures, from the brush of ar
lists who have not yet reached the pima
| Gle Of fame: nor do we need to. go abroad
| Tor our artists, although, come to think.of
it, nearly every picture that | coveted in
| all this large collection, was the work of
some artist born across the seas. There
was "a Hopeless Case, y owned by Samuel
| J. Tilden, land, by the way, suggestive in
title) an aged cobbler, fat and jolly, but
very pitiful, as he sees the anxiety depicted
on the face of the poor girl standing near,
as he holds up the hopelessly ragged shoe.
And THE Helping Hand, - oHned by
George l. Seney, Of Brooklyn, n. Y.
Over broad sweep Of waves Which are
dancing in the sunlight of q glorious
morning, an old fisherman is rowing his
boat BY his side is his little grandchild,
her sunbonnet pushed back from q face
full of eager earnestness, for she is
''hetpiag - her two little hands which
clasp the ore. are pulling with all their
strength, and the boatman s. face is very
tender and not little proud, as he watches
the wee one by his side.
So ones might go on for columns, but
what good is it to do so ? lou must see to
fully comprehend these works of the mas
tiers. Words cannot describe color and
tone and expression, the lights and. shad-
ows. any more they can describe sound. III
is, indeed. more difficult, for sounds may
be compared to other sounds. Each one
must see for himself. For this reasoni
beg every person to make the most of his
or her opportunities. Remember. we may
pass this way only once. J.. ID. G.
T. "A Queens Opinion.
: What q peculiar feeling. is experienced
by Americans the first time they gaze up
on royalty. Here, in this free country,
where every citizen is a. king. and every
mother Queen, a peep at royalty OF titled
| a nd a nc6 nac nof q ya1.