Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-12-12
4 Curious NVashington Character
FrDnl " Nf,r York GranAie.

4 Curious Washington Character
FRAN the Neto York Graphic.
CHATS Belle Boyd. You know Belle
Boydn' said the old man, taking an old
painting in a gilt frame out of a dirty
corner and carefully wiping the dust oil,
as he held it up before Washington
Star reporter. ''She wasn't bad looking
girl, as far as looks goes" He examined
it critically at arms length. "But," he
added, ''she was a terror. This was
I taken by a famous artist while she was
in the old capitol. You know they never
| put her there until the war was nearly
| over. and eEpectit was more tor revenge
than anything. Some of the officers,
think, were in love with her, and they
mad falling out. You know they said
she was rebel spy. She was a clever
woman, l guess, and mighty reckless.
! They say she was ofservico to the Con-
/ federacY. This is a good picture of her.
/ How'd get it? / don't know. 1t came
with the rest Of the things. Look about
/ you. | don't know how they got here.
They have Just accumulated"
The old man is dealer in, or rather a
collector OF, all sorts Of old traps" The
''store' looks like an attic that has out
| lived many generations, or rather like
whole colony of attics. People whose
daily walks take them that way often
see the old man sitting in front OF his
door, with his back to the pavement and
his face turned in respectful attention to
the collection Ofcurious old pictures and
books which are piled on each side OF the
door nearly up to the second story.
/ Every day the pile has grown bigger, the
! books budding together as if trying to
look over eacn others shoulders at the
odQ things in the windows. The old man
is nearly always alone and silent. Bat he
Is not always sitting with his back 10 the
street. Sometimes he is busting the OLD
books or rubbing creased rag over the
face o! some oil painting that has almost
passed out Of sight. Occasionally some
lady stops to look at the books or peep in
TO the dark store. Sometimes they VEN
! ture inside, but he never says word,
and after looking around they 60 away
wondering at what they have seen.
''lf spoke 10 them they'd go away"
he said, in explanation of bis silence, as
he set aside the picture of the famous
female spy, $50 | just let them alone and
they go in and look around. The chances
are that they may see something they
want. lfthey don't then there's nothing
they want, for everything is in here some
where. | wouldn't have said anything 10
you If you hadn't asked me. | can talk,
though, when l want TO. Now. Just look
around. don't know what's here. We
call ourselves books and pictures, but we
are most anything. All that's no &C
count" he added, dismlssing, with
sweep ofhis hand, an extensive collection
OF wOOdcuts, common engravings and
chrom0s. ''rhey just come in and buy
them. There, that's old. Ha, ha, | nearly
wiped the face off him | was trying to
clean 1t up little," and he called the re-
pOrter's attention TO large painting rest
ing on top OF pile of dusty books in
very DARK corner. Il don't Know the
artist, but it's old Don Juan and Haidee.
1t is the face OF Byron, you see. 1t isn't
mine. The man wants II, 600 for it. |
don't think he'll get it. There's a good
pOrtraitof Pierce and there's another OF
Decatur.
''Oid books, The said, as he saw the re.
porter's eyes resting on case that ran
half way up to the ceiling. ''The Oldest
have is early in the fifteenth century,
about 1406. It's Latin. But here's some
thing l value, BOydelPs Milton, three
volumes, And here's BoydelPs Shakes
peare. That's what broke the Boydeils.
They employed the finest artists and en-
grayers o England in that day, and it
took all their money. But the cuts are
here. They are superb. Most of these
you see are English books"
Then he Knocked the dust off a pile of
old calfbound books that were wrInkled
and black with age. Big, heavily bound
pieces. They were commentaries of the
books Of the Bible, probably q dozen or
more immense volumes printed early in
the seventeenth century. Many other
old and curious books were called to the
attention OF the reporter, and as he did so
pile tumbled down and the books slid
away into dark corner. "There," he
said, 9 am glad they did that. l have
been expecting il, and It's 50 seldom we
oct hal Va o. fhDt Il "a
break anything" and he proceeded to pull
out an old volume from the bottom of the
pile. SO on ne went over some OF his
stock in a familiar way, chatting about it
all with something of the cynic in his
tone.
Back farther in the store was a bust
of Shakespeare, and piled up on the floor
on tables and on the counter We're all
sorts of books, pamhlets and cheap novels,
With volumes of venerable age and worm
eaten bindings, oil paintings and cheap
cuts, all thrown carelessiy together and
all covered with the same black dust.
Besides these there were old decanJers,
clocks and all sorts of traps that no one
could account for the use of. Some
treasures rare and some worthless-ac-
cumuations OF time.
"Where do you get it allY asked the
reporter.
81 don't know. moved here only five
years ago, and these things have gathered
| up around me since then. | buy and sell.
Mostly buy; but | sell some, or l could not
! 1--we | came here because | was broke.
What's my stock WORTH | can't guess,
! and don't want to. But it has all grown
up out of nothing, as it were. Sometimes
l buy things that l can sell. Sometimes
get what | must keep. People bring
! them In and | have to buy them. There
| have some copies of Dickens that must
| sell for 10 cents or lose. IN never do it,.
| No, I'll never do it. They'll be here when
/ / die, Well, let them stay. l couldn't
! help 1T. She was poor woman. | know
she told the truth, 50 there it goes. Her
! husband had consumption, and she had
! TO get him some cod liver oil. 1t cost Il
dollar, and she had but 20c. so l had to
! give her soc. for the book. j told her I'd
| ne yer sell il, and won't. Now, don't
you Know it is just that way with luck.
! You strike it bad and It comes all down
on you In heap. This woman's hus-
! baud was sick and her luck was down.
What did she do hut stick pin in her
1 hand. That would never have done any
harm in the world, but it was Just that
blamed luck, it swelled up and she
| had an awful hand. If her husband
had not been sick and she had not
been in bad luck already it never would
have done it. Well, she brought the
! other books, and l had TO buy them for
| Toe. apiece, or course they amt worth