New-York tribune., 1888-03-25

was sold first. he Junior partner was the aug
tioneer The Counts china wa was s indeed magnli-
cent and duly appreciated. The bidding was ac-
tive and the prices adequate. Nevertheless,
throughout there was a restless feeling OF Impa-
tience. More was coming. The bonne bouche
There was pause Then, amidst loud applause
and great excitement to which 1t may De I'M ni
agincd the Fitzrcys were not whsiy nsrns.e, NE.
the two vases were placed before Dir. Woods the
auctioneer, in full view OF the audience Wheh
silence supervened. Mr.. Woods said -.
Gentlemen, we know next To nothing apouO
this china which stands before you, ana OF whcn
you have Just testified your approval we cannot
give you its detailed history AL we KNOW w Is .
country rectory in the Midlands for forty years
and more. Anything further back seems to be
absolutely uncertain. One thing, howeyer we 40
Barri. We thought there were only FIVE, vases in
Europe, the finest existing examples OF TINS beau eau
tiful ware. We now know there are seven The
sixth and seventh stand before you, gentlemen"
Another round Of applausc greeted the CONCLUSION
of this short speech. The bidding began. Mr.
and Mrs. James Ftzroy stood in the corner un-
No one heeded them. They again played second
fiddle to their own property a..
Five hundred pounds the first bid Tor the
pair. A cheer emphasized the spirited start;
cool thousand was, however, soon reached men
there was a pause, amid silence which could De
felt and almost heard Only three bidders were
left in Every one understood that they were
gathering up their forces for the final conflict.
:" 1t is against you. my lord,' the auctioneer
remarked quietly. -
The hint was taken. and the bidding began
again Fifteen hundred guineas." An unan-
swerable argument The hammer falls: Ihe
crowd cheers The wealthiest nobleman in England
is the purchaser. Mr. James FftZroy Is the
weather. by one thousand five hundred pounds
Mrs Fitzroy marks her appreciation ol the gravity
of the situation and her own good luck in true
feminine fashion, by promptly fainting
1t reads like romance, yet happens TO DC per-
fectly true.
About the same time girl chances to die Of
starvation. Nobody need do that in England. as
Mr.. Scroogc in his palmy DAYS. before the ghosts
got tamperng with him, would have taken care to
point ont But they do. occasionally. all the same
The public resents II very naturally as bad tor;n
One of the weekly papers saw fit to couple the
episode OF the vases and the death OF the girl TO
gether, although the two things were quite dls-
tinct The effort was lyrical and the last couplet
ran:
@But she was only cormon clay,
And these were Rose du Darri."
A puff of smoke rises up into the air and curls
in graceful spiral curves to the ceiling. whore IL
hovers until its identity is lost, owing to the iact
Of its being Joined by other unsubstantlal emana-
tions from the same source.
- But you are Robert Fitzroy?' queries the
listener. who has been silent for hvr minutes alIer
the narrator Of the story had finished.
"Yesn with another and more vigorous pun OF
smoke which may OF NAV not have been expressive
Of internal emotion. gave those vases TO my
brother" "-(The London World