The Portland daily press., 1883-01-13
-rEIE PRESS.
[All the Year Round.l
A Cabinet Secret.

Lne acuJlOn room. am an lult man, ali",
having plenty of time and occasionally few
pounds to spare, have gradually contracted
love for bric-a-brac, the pursuit OF which
enables me to kill good many weary hours
and to hoard M in the shape of old china,
money which would otherwise be frttered
away on equally useless but less valuable
objects.
Headley and were among the most reg
ular attendants at Christie's, Sotheby's and
other auction-rooms, and, as during the
season of the sales we met somewhere al
most daily, our mutual taste soon led to an
acquaintance.
Headley was a tall, gentlemanly man of
about thirty-eight, and evidently had studied
the ceramic art deeply He put me right
on several little matters, and once or twice
saved me from buying spurious productions.
As the true collector loves nothing better
than to show his pet objects to another who
understands and appreciates their beauties,
it was not long before Headley asked me to
pay him visit for that purpose.
"Come early" he said; 'then we shall
have time to go through the cabinets by
daylight Afterward viii give you some
dinner"
Headey's house was in quiet square in
a good, If not the most fashionable, part of
London. found nay host delighted to see
me, and painting 10 show his treasures. He
was genuine member of that species known
as the enthusiastic collector" whose
passion for accommodating rarities amounts
almost to mania; and ! am bound to say
that his collection was one to be proud of.
l should tire the reader, Ignorant of those
delicate distinctive subtletes dear to a col
lector's heart, were to expatiate upon the
beauties of his old Dresden, Sevres, Wedg-
wood and Bently, rose-backed Nankin, blue
and white hawthorn pattern, etc., etc. |
admired gre tly, and envied more.
The collections were arranged with great
taste, in suitable cabinets; and among the
many choice specimens, | think the one
that struck me most was magnificent old
Chelsea tea-set. 1t occupied the center of
one of the cabinets, with articles of lesser
value ranged around it, as though paying
homage to its superior worth. Leaving out
of the question the beautiful blue and white
decoration, the reticulated gliding, and the
artistic painting, the set was very valuable
from the fact that it was perfect.
Headley seemed pleased at the admiration
/ expressed, and said. with a smile:
''You, collector, may not be surprised
at hearing that nearly bartered my happi-
ness to make that set perfect"
laLe lied, thinking he was joking, and
replied: 81 don't think ! would go quite
as far as that; but 1 am sure my happiness
would be greater if owned it,"
$50 would any mans be. Look at the
painting, the gliding, the shape, the color.
Feel the texture of it, he added, taking the
teapot from its velvet lined nest, and fondly
caressing it with his long white fingers;
"you or l could tell in the dark it was
Chelsea by the softness of the paste.'
where did you get it from?"
81 had the teapot, sugar basin, two caps
and saucers first. They belonged to my
mother, and, as told you, was nearly
paying too dearly for the rest of it. But |
will tell you all about it after dinner, if you
would care to hear the story
The summer afternoon passed very pleas
antly among the old china, and at seven
O'Clock we were summond to the dinner
table.
l was presented to Mrs. Headley, charm
ing young woman of about twenty eight.
She gave me cordial welcome, and the
little dinner went merrily enough. We
were served on old Oriental plates; the
spoons and salt cellars were of the coveted
Queen Anne period, and the glass was rare
old Venetian. Headley certainly had re-
fined and expensive tastes, and, it seemed,
plenty of means wherewith to crafty them.
When Mrs. Headley rose, she begged us,
pleasantly. not to linger too long over the
wine, as she was all alone.
"Your husband has promised me the
history of the Chelsea set," l said, 'but,
under the circumstances, | shall ask him
to be brief as possible
IF he does tell you, Mr.. Burke she
said, laughing, 81 shall never, never for
give him, and it would be impossible for
me to look you in the face again."
"My DEAR" said Headley, 'smy friend
Burke is collector himself, and can sympa-
thze with my weakness. L should never
think of relating it, unless it were TO a
kindread spirit who will fully enter into my
feelings"
After closing the door upon my fair host
ess, / redlled my beautifully tinted glass
with LATTE, and waited with some curiosity
fer the promised recital.
Headley commenced:
'Of course it is all joke now, and | can
well afford to laugh at it, but when the af-
fair am going to tell you Of happened il
was serious enough. The portion of the
Chelsea set l owned at first belonged TO my
mother; she inherited it from her father,
and there its history is lost. When | was
first seized with the passion for collecting,
it naturally formed thenucleus of my cabin
ct. Every one admired it. and envied me
the possession of it. One day-it was after
had formed decent collection and was get
ting well known as a buyer-Wharton, the
dealer, called upon me to show me few
things he had picked up in the country.
drew his attention to my Chelsea; he examin
ed it closely and said: Very strange;I saw
the rest of that service'a few days ago. ask
ed him where, aud he told me it be longed to
lady living at Shepherds Bush. Was it fo
sale? Certainly not, or he would not have
told me about it until he had secured it. HI
had offered to give her large sum for it.
but nothing would induce her to part with
it. 1t was like mine, family relic, and as
the owner was in no want of money, there
did not seem to be any chance of persuading
her to surrender it. Her name, he informed
me, was Miss Crofton; her residence, 14G
College Road, Shepherds Bush.
''Now, Burke, you will, know, sympathize
with me when l say that, having discovered
that the rest of that exquisite set was in ex-
istence, felt that life was almost intolerable
without it, and that at any sacrifice it must
be mine. On that point my mind was al
once made up.
''The first thing was to see the china, and
satisfy myself that Wharton had made nc
mistake; so,the next day called upon Miss
Crofton. found her pleasant, polite lady
of about fifty, and she presented the appear
ance of spinster whose circumstances were
very comfortable. 1t has always seemed to
me that anything to do with china makes
the whole world kin, and when | explained
the object of my call, Miss Crofton refused
to listen to any apology, but at once led me
to the cabinet holding the treasure. Ny in
formant had told the simple truth. / had
the teapot, tive cups and saucers, ard the
basin; while Miss Crofton was The fortunate
owner of the cream jug, four cups and sau-
GERS, and the two dishes. And as, with daZ
zling eyes, gazed on her portion of the ex
quisite service, | felt as though a sacred duty
had devolved upon me to reunte the lone
separated ceramic family; and / knew
should find little happiness until all the
beautiful members eff it reposed safely in my
possession.
'Miss Crofton and 1 soon became good
friends, especially when, upon comparing
notes and tracing back the pedigree of the
Chelsea, we decided that at some time my
mothers and her fathers families must have
been closely allied. When we had establish
ed this fact to our, satisfaction, ventured t
hint, as delicately asI could, my wish to pos
sess the china; then as she took no notice o.
my hint / was compelled atlast to ask her
point-blank, if she would sell it to fix
hg any price in reason she chose to.
found, as Wharton predicted, that the gooC
lady was obdurate, and there | sat for an
hour, with the coveted articles almost with
in grasp, yet as far off as the gates of hea
ven.
81 did not, of course, dispair entirely, q
must man9uvre, Il thought. l will have il
in time, by fair means or foul. will make
myself very agreeable to her; | will show her
attentions. Some day Imay be able to render
her service, and her heart may open with