Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1888-07-20

Ms - tntIl, anu nitti tlieO
Z n to Dresden, and on
~ Christmas day, in
~S the year l745. Aus
tria and Saxony made peace with him, and
Silesia was given up to Frederick.
Now we have nothing to do with the poiti-
cal history of the time, but we have been
obliged to mention the above facts to explain
how it vas that Frederick the Great came to
Dresden, and how the chain of circumstances
ensued connected with the Blue Vase that
gives It's title to our tale
When the Prussian king was at Dresden he
went to Nielsen to see the porcelain factory.
This factory belonged to the king of Saxony,
and the secret of the art was hedged about
with the most severe, even Draconian laws,
and the most cruel punishmcnts were threat
enend against such as divulged the secret
The secret had only been discovered in ITO
how to make pure white transparent porcc-
lain, and the royal factory was established in
I'LL. The prices paid for the articles that
issued from it were high. In 1870, the court
of Vienna, by bribery, induced one of the
workmen to escape from Meissen and carry
the precious secret to the capital by the
Danube. And now, in 1745, Frederick, as
conqueror, entered the factory and watched
the workmen engaged in modelling, burning,
painting, gliding.
Frederick was not n man to neglect his OPP
portunity, and he at once made a demand
that some of the master workmen and of tho
best artists should be delivered over to him,
that he might establish a royal porcelain
factory of MS own at Berlin. Among the
former was Wegeli, who became the actual
master and founder Of the Berlin porcelain,
and among the latter was young girl named
Sophie Mansfield. While Frederick was
going over the factory at MeiSseu, he was
shown some beautiful vases painted with
landscapes and pastoral subjects, so fresh,
charming and quaint that he asked the namo
If the artist, and when told it, stipulated that
,he-for the painter was Sophie Mansfield
should accompany the detachment which he
engaged to come to Berlin, and make and
paint porcelain for the repleuishing of his
private purse.
At this very time, 1745, the Chelsea pottery
works were established, and one of the
makers, or foremen, of the Chelsea works,
man called Aldbury, was then in Berlin
.ye had been sent over, perhaps, to endeavor
t. secure some of the workmen for the Eng
list establishment. In this he failed Fred
erick knew he was in Berlin, and had his
movements watched. He went further; he
endeavored to bride Aldbury to divulge some
CT the secrets Of the Chelsea factory. Whe-
Their he succeeded in this cannot be said, but
Aldbury remained in Berlin longer than he
needed, and on very good terms with the
king, and was allowed to visit the royal fac
tory. One day the king determined to in
spect the establishment, and he invited Aid
bury and others to accompany him. Among
these others was q young Polish nobeman,
Augustus Lazinka, who had been educated
in the PrusSian military school at Potsdam
and had entered the service of the king;
other was the Count des Louragas, who was
interested in the Sevres manufacture Any
one who knows much of china, and has seen
some of the earliest productions of the Berlin
sctory, will know that thsy were not the
best Of Their kind, not by any means equal to
those turned out at Meissen. The king saw
this, when no looked at what had re
Gently been burned, and he was angry. He
rated Wegeli scol1ed the work neu, the
painters, the burners: nothing pleased him;
he was oeXed To have such poor results to
show to the Count DIES LOura ,tis and Aid
bury.
Whom he came to the table whore Sophie
Mansfield was painting, "lieiu'' *u.d he
roughly. what is the meaning Of thlsi Do
you suppose will put NJ With dGrt,: Has
his ma Iesty of Saxony paid You to supply me
with bad workW
perhaps, your majesty" suggested Lour
agas, "the girl has left a sweetheart behind
her, and 50 is working here without her
heart y
"What. what. sweetheartr' exclaimed
Frederick "a workwoman has no business
~ lose her heart. What do you me,n. That
4 good artistic is to abandon her profession in
which she cXcels, to run after a man. and be-
come his wife, and slice saust5rS and stir
sauerkraut, and have babes, and wash and
mind the babies, for husband: | won't hear
of it. 1t is nonsense. Go on with your paint
ing, and do it better, or | will dock your
salary, and-if | find your lover-have him
Shot, or shut up i'll Spandau."
Tho king was talking with Louragais, and
young Laznka was behind. The girl was
pretty she was in distress and he had heart
to admire beauty and pity affection; so he
ventnred to take her hand and say word of
encouragement
"Hls majesty did not want to be unbind
His majesty is peremptory. Was mademoi'
selle very unhappy
She was away from home, her relations,
her friends. Her voice faltered she
spoke.
But" said Lazinka, "you can return, il
you are unhappy in Berlin"
"a" Pardon She answered, raising her
beautiful eyes; II cannot return. The
gracious sir does not remember that am u
porcelain worker"
How can | forget it, when | see you en-
gagged on painting vase
But the gracious sir forgets that porce-
lain artists are not free They cannot go
where they like, they cannot call themselves
their own They are Ike the old serfs-abSo-
lutely under the control ot their master, tho
crown
500 You mean. rrodcmoiscllc, to say you
cannot seek Your ha.Ac and see your rela-
tiveSN