Mohave County miner., 1888-08-18
STORY or A PRESENT.

June mornings In Aptwerp three hun
drsf years ago were af bright ~ they are
In our own land IN thoss later times. and
young men were much the seu.e iD 1861 a.
they are today The earliest worshiper
In the cool. shkdowy cathedral hurried
through his prayers lfancy and made his
Wy quickly out into the sunshine Of the
Grand place and through the narrow
crooked old streess toward his lodging in
the Roe 'Orfevres
Hs wonld be thought . singularly de
vout young man nowadays TO go 10 church
at all In tho early morning of bis wedding
day. but times have changed. and dare
say he was no better and no worxe
than lots OF us who have not been rear1i
under the eternal vigilance OF careful
priests or under the no less constant
watch Of stone saints and Madonnas look
ing down from every street corner shrine
He was strapping young fellow. and .
gallant figure for bridegroom as be
strode slong toward the street OF the gold
smiths. Now see the compelling power
Of girls eyesl They had drawn Quinten
Massys from biz humble anvil At Louvain
ur to magnificent. queenly Antwerp
where wealth and power and luxury wer.
At their highest tide Just then, TO run his
life race with other men. and not az a
blacksmith. but az an artist. Frans Floris
the famous painter wrinkIe6 lis ragged
old brows and hoisted his shoulders up u
bis ears, at the idea of son In law who
swung hammer Instead OF welding 0
brush; and the yonng man determined to
show himself capable Of work as worthy
to live through years to come as anything
that even Floris could produce
So to Antwerp be came and labored for
his prize. and now be had won her. and
today he was TO claim his wife His
painting was praised by oil the great artis
tic city, and even the emperor himself
had looked with approval at his work.
And the favor OF Charles V was splendid
marriage portion with which TO endow
the girl who had created bis ambition foI
him.
But--human nature is q queer thing
QuiDten Massys had begun as q worker In
metal, and bis heart was In the cunning
artifice OF hammer and forge And so hs
bad made q wedding present for his bride
With bis own hands, and II was not the
production OF painter, but of smith.
With the mCst loving care he had fash
ioned q tiny silver box, whose double
cover showed the hand OF O master. Its
outer Case was elsboratsiy --saien and
chased with the device Of the order that
the emperor had bestowed upon him. and
which be had taken for his family arms
The inner clasp was O network Of silver
cobwebs. wrought in design that he
copied from q piece OF tapestry from
Bruges And In the tiny hollow he had
placed little ball OF aromatic gum that
an Arabian merchant had brought to Ant
werp-the only city where such costly
perfumes could bs sold
No thought then Of the dreadful days
that were comingi No hint ON that bright
June morning Of the gathering cloud OF
the lnquisition. Of the Spanish soldiery,
or Of the fourteen months siege that
should leave barely two thirds OF Ant
werp's citizens TO open the gates at last TO
the Duke of Parmal
As the young artist and his wife came
out Of the cathedral that summer after
noon into the cool shade Of the gray
tower. people said so radiant bride had
not trodden the stones Of the Grand place
since Charles was king.
II.
The solid Oh houses OF Bleecker street
sheltered no happier young people, In the
year OF grace lS40. than William Van
Corlear and his wife. Lucy Ellsworth had
led her lover the usual dance to which
popular girls are apt 70 treat their ad
mirers. bat the Dutch incapacity to give
way to encouragement conquered In the
end, and st, Georges bells had rung In
their married life with 90 merry q peal
that It's echoes had not ceased vibrating
through the Ave years that bad passed
since the wedding day
The young husband was walking home
from his business on the afternoon Of his
anniversary and trying TO think Of some
pretty trife to slip into bis wife's hand as
she met him ut the door For, would you
believe that this foolish young natron.
unless kept away by accident. was sure
to be watching for her spouss and to bs
the first to greet bis comingf But. then.
you must remember 1. was fifty years ago
and at that time New Workers. had no.
dofled all their provincial manners.
Van Corlear paused few doors below
Dey street, at Msrquand's. entered and
wandered from case to case. His wife
already had all the ornaments sho cared
10 wear What was he TO selecti The
salesman finally fshed out little antique
pungent box. whose cover bore a strange
coat Of arms. nearly effaced by long years
of use in many generations OF soft hands
whose dust would now scratch the
smooth silver. Here was dainty trife,
surely.
You will not find anything like II In
New York, sir" said the salesman. This
was picked up at an auction OF the bric-a,
brac collected from every corner OF the
world by a German prince who committed
suicide last year at Monaco. think 1t Ii
the most beautiful example OF early Flem-
ish metal work that ever saw. though 1t
Is but trife."
1t was q quaint little box. indeed
Hardly more than an inch long and half
as wide, OF silver. at the touch Of aspiring
Its cover few up, showing second hinged
cover or clasp OF intricate fligree work
This, when closed, held In place fufi OF
cotton, which was to DO drenched In
whatever salt or essence nadarue chose
The conceit struck the young man favor
sbly, and he waited till II was marked. In
tiny letters on the tiny case, just In the
center Of the worn old Flemish family
shield:
...............
W. toll :
I635-1se0
...-...........
Then he carried It homo 10 bis wife
And at the gayest moment OF the even
Ing, for The young couple INDUCED In o