The Arkansaw traveler., 1889-09-21

tirsly to you. As fl by accident you had slso followed eoiomom snd Levy, and now you s1ooa almost bshind thsm and cioss Co Edmun1, who gave yo1 ressntfal glance e he rsmsmbsrsd ths
 aNow ths svmtfhl moment arrived, and, ooness- trating ali ny spirit foros, fastsnsd my syss O you to hx you by ny glance. Without moving ny eyes Ilistsnsd to tho anctionssr.
 aNow, gentlemen, we come Co the gsm of the ale, and beg you ell not to neglect this chance present to your netics the oslsbratsd Harborough dessert service, made especially for tho earl of Harborough ct the vsy best period Of tho Derby factory. The portrAts on tho plates themselves ths Usrsoss~.s thsx rsorssspt ne % srt;t i tSs celebrated Banford undoubtedly the best painter on Derby china the world has ever known. He was an artist who would have ranked e one of the masters of Engiish portraiture had hs turned his his bet work-was produced at the senith of his fAme and tho maturity of his powera Every ono Of thee pcrtrsits he Identified, and represents an important personage, but need only call your attention to three of the most remarkAble.
 "'This plate represents the earl himself Hewas secretary of war Ia the Addington ministry, mas ter of the bedchamber to King George Hf., and anthor Of numerous books of poetry and history. The next is his son, the celebrated General Har- borough, who fell in the battle of Pont Archin, after routing with . single British brigade the whole of the French army. He is buried In West minister abbey, and would, had he lived, have ranked a one of the greatest captains England has produced. The next plate represents the Honora- day at court MT. Fox and Admiral Jervis fought about her. She was mistress of the prince of Wales, afterwards prince regent, and died in the prime of fe 1t is said of broken heart, when the marriage between the prince and Mra Fitzherbert wa supposed to have taken place.
 s"rhus, gentlemen, in each of these plates you buy historical portrait by an old master of the rank of Reynolds or Opie, only in materials les destructible The history of tho collection is even more curious than the origin. At the death of the butler, who was hanged for the ofense, but the plates could never be recovered. The second earl had several replicas made, though of vastly in- ferior quality. The persons represented were many of them dsad. The great Baniord was dead also, and the Derby factory had ceased to produce either the character of work or the artists of that day. This collection therefore unique It required the eye of . connoisseur and the memory Of an anti quarian, like the late MT. Wooler, to distinguish tho true from the fase, not to mention the indus- try with which he tracked every piece all over Europe. It would be c chapter of romance to de- scribe how each plate was found, some in England, some in Holland, ono even in Russia. am betray-. ing no confidence when say that the twelfth plate was bought by Mir. Wooler for fifty pounds. Now what may I ay for this unrivaled oollec- tionf'
 "Then Levy and Solomons went through their disgusting farce. l laughed to sec that gudgeon Edmund listening to every word. Imagine my horror, Mainwaring, to discover that you were listening too.
 alt all depended on my eyes now, and con- oentrated myself to speak, for the critical mo- ment. Solomons offered one hundred pounds. The bidding rose slowly to two hundred pounds, and Then Solomons and Levy ostentatiously retired. Another voice said two hundred and seventy-hve poundA looked ct you. With all my eyes aid, 60 on,' and to my intense delight you bid three hundred pounds Edmund retired, and was glad he did.
 asThree hundred and twenty pounds,' aid tho voice.
 "AgAin gazed. Again you responded.
 e Three hundred and thirty pounds bid.'
 "A psnse. Then whisper went round the room.