Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-10-12
OIL. LvII NEW SERIES, VOL. xxx.

ter for an enemy but the tradition goes
that the intended victim got wind of it,
and as the halter was about to put it on
him, the fellow seized it and clapped it
on it's makers head.
"a man used to haunt my shop some
years ago for canes. He must have had a
wonderful collection ; never saw him
twice with the same stick. One day l
said to him in joke. why Major (he
was an army officer), you seem to have a
walking stick for every day in the year.
True enough he said, true enough !;
and l haven't worn the same stick twice
in three years.. He had fine old Malac-
cas-. Whangees, Penangs, crabs, black
thorns, hazels, sloes, lignum vite sticks.
He had ten-pound ironwood stick mount
ed with a heavy walrus tooth, set in work
ed bronze. This was one of n powerful
set of canes reserved for use in the dog
days. Some of his Oriental carved ivory
sticks were very valuable. They were
joined so neatly that / never could dis
cover n break. He was great buyer of
doctors gold-headed presentation sticks.
They were usually engraved with the
legend From grateful patient, and
were of very thin gold. think he pick
ed them up in the pawn shops. His ia
vorite was so-called 'necromancer, that
is, n straight stick, around which spiral
one had grown. 1t was like screw, of
which the threads were two inches apart.
He had some very fine cane heads carved
III silver in renaissance style, and some
excellent portrait heads of court beau
ties in onyx. ebony and ivory. The finest
one in ivory was IN exquisitely fooled
Venus de Medici, nearly eight inches
long. He had laughing and crying heads,
and some which could be made to move
their eyes, mouth, or ears. suggested
one day that he seemed to choose his
cane according to his mood. Not ut all,
said he, L choose my cane for the day,
and it gives me my mood He was an
eccentric old fellow. He wanted me once
to put 12-inch ferule on n Joseph Bona
parte stick 'to prevent its wearing out
"But perhaps the most deeply absorb
ed of the queer collectors are those whose
tastes tend exclusively toward what we
call morbid curiosities.' used to have
a customer who was always hunting for
those rusty razors which are supposed to
be the instruments of murder. | need
not remark that many of these are not en-
tirely authentic yet dealer can dispose
of them if he has nerve enough to put
on high price, and refuse absolutely to
take less. To accept reduced price for
n curiosity gives your customers conf
dence in its genuineness q terrible shak-
ing up. This man had several of the
ropes with which criminals had been
hanged. His great ambition has been to
get genuine gulllotine knife, or at least
one of the execution blocks and axes,
which, believe, are not to be seen out of
the Tower of London. He has some in
teresting shackles, balls and chains, and
convicts' collars, and really fine assort
ment of instruments of torture. His
Spanish boot is genuine old relic. When
first called on him had curious col
lection of thumbscrews to dispose of-he
asked me to sit in his very comfortable
armchair. As was settling into the seat
l heard a clickin noise, and steel bands,
proceeding from the arms and legs of the
chair, encircled my limbs and held me
fast. The collector chuckled with de
light, aud bestowed unlimited praise OF
the article. L sold the thumbscrews, and
tucked on IN extra S. damages for false
imprisonment In flesh tearing pincers
his collection was rich, and he had n first
class history for each Of them, with names
and dates complete. | fear that some o
the articles were carpenters nailpullers
though he may have had genuine one'
among them.
1.-The circumstances may seem straug,
to you, but most of the queer collectors
are not only jolly fellows, but seem really
kind-hearted. This man who bought my
thumbkins had very consoling theor,
about the sufferings of martyrs. He uset
| 70 co fbof tho ayo1to1 cfota of fbair fnpl
benumbed in certain decree their ply.
steal senses. Now, if should heat thi
pincers white hot, he once said to me
and take out a small piece of your shoul
der-I holding You deep in conversation
you would not feel 1t much. >"