Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-08-12

may De SAID TO nave collected Snuu, as ne
lett a whole cellar full of his favorite kind.
which was sold by private treaty for 5000
This reminds one OF Lord Petersham, VINO
which. when sold. required three men three
days to weigh it. He kept It In room
that looked like a shop. for all around the
jars with the names in gilt letters of In
Vulnerable kinds Of snuff and all the neces-
sary apparatus for mixing IL. On the other
sioe of the room stood canisters containing
Souchong, Congou, Pekoe. Bohea, Gum
powder and other favortte teas. He also
had a fine collection of snuff boxes.
The famous Count of Bruhl, who was said
by Frederick the Great to have, ''of all men
of his time the most watches. boots, shoes.
slippers and lace" possessed COLLECTION OF
300 wigs--a fad followed by resident IN
Paris who owns today hundreds of wigs:
including one worn by Sterne and one OF
Rants, each of which were procured al
an enormous price. In a list OF French col
lectors recently published, one lady is men.
toned who has a collection of knitting ana
crochet needles; another pays large SUNG
for the gloves of all the great beauties OF
the last two centuries, and another mas
brought together many hundreds OF corset
busks. including busks that belonged 10
press Josephine and Queen Christina OF
Sweden. Several of these articles are made
Of precious metals and some are even set
The Duke Of Fife has a splendid collec-
ton of flowers made in China. which are
invariably placed on the table on the occa-
natural ones.
Mrs. Langtry's Fans.
The largest collection of fans In the worlo
Is owned by Mrs. Langtry, who keeps them
in a room designed by Oscar Wilde. Fer
haps the most famous collection of pipes
was owned by a Mr.. klaes of Holland. wide
ly known as the King Of Smokers who
died in Rotterdam In 1881 He had amassed
fortune in the linen trade IT,, ana 1 mao haif
pipes, arranged in chronological order ana
according to nationality. The Duke OF Sus-
and Bibles. Lord Beaconsfieid had a fine
collection Of pipes, and the late Lawrence
Barrett shared the same fancy, owning
AS an instance of circumstance develop
ing collection. a beleaguered resident OF
Paris gathered together every political carl
cature. sQuib and placard from the first In
vestment of the city by the German army.
and after the siege took them to London,
where they fetched an enormous price
age stamps is owned by NJ. de Ferrari of
Paris, who employs two librarians to ar.
range and catalogue his specimens procured
during the last twenty-five years.
A curious collection has just been offered
to the British Museum by a Canadian gen.
tleman. who has expended a vast amount
of time in procuring the buttons of officers
of every regiment and department Of the
British army. This has required nine years
OF patient labor. during which time the
owner wrote 5s4 letters to all parts Of the
globe I'm pursuit of his hobby.
Among curious collections was one owned
by Gustave Mace. sometime chief of the
Paris detective force. About three years
ago he published a volume under the title
of Mon Musee Criminel," which contains
mementoes of distinguished French assas-
sins and their victims. Lord Randolph
Churchill has touch Of this morbid taste.
as he has a fad for collecting the teeth Of
noted criminals and murderers.
Frenehman's Warming Pans.
Collecting warming pans seems a queer
vanity. but such was the fad of NJ. Nestor
Roqueplan a Frenchman and litterateur
who had gallery in his house where he
kept his treasures, and could exhibit to his
visitors warming pans that had taken the
chill Off the beds slept in by Mary Queen
of Scots Catherine de Medici. Diane de
Poictiers. Mime. de Pompadour and Marie
Antoinette
Another curious fad Is that of the cork
collector. The first to amuse himself in this
manner was an old Tan in Paris who died
In an attic, leaving nothing behind him but
a large heap OF old corks. He had once
been wealthy and was in the habit Of pre-
serving every cork drawn at his table and
inscribing the date and occasion on which
the bottle was opened.
Among other queer collections is one Of
buttons owned by Mrs. II. c. Harris of
England, who won a bet that she could
find sss varieties of buttons. In twenty
years she has become Possessed Of 5000
kinds. Hair pins are also a popular fad.
many examples of which bring high prices:
as ,0r, SIN 3. stoskinss OF which the actress
nb IN ne annals of 9Sesr collectors Mrs. So
relies Of her departed Neutrality-suspicious.,
ing-and pieces of candy and cheese. which
she made into a wreath. This inclosed n
picture of a wonderful bird made out Of
his old shirt, surrounded by flowers and
| leaves. also made from bits of old clothes
of the deceased. This entire work of art
and ingenuity was used to decorate the
grave.
Some Odd Fanc.es.
A new fashion in the way Of odd collec-
tons is one chiefly patronized by ladies. 1t
| takes the form Of book in which is pasted
a piece of every dress worn by the owner.
with accompanying notes Of any kind that
she may please to subjoin. 1t is said to
The late King of Bavaria had a curious
mania for collecting hats; Louis XVI,
lock- keys and old clocks, and an old nurse
In the court of William " had hobby for
gathering, together pieces OF the wedding
cake of all the princesses Of the royal fam
lily even to Queen Victoria and some of her
de ughters.
Several persons in London amuse them
selves by purchasing as they ramble around
| the streets specimen Of every article that
may be bought from the itinerant street
| vendors for penny.
A curious collection of scarf pins was
owned by David Lewis OF Liverpool who
bought all that he fancied, regardless Of
price. He was never known to wear the
same scarf pin twice, and his method Of
diary. in which he would stick the pin, thus
keeping a record of every pin worn on every
day. At his death his catalogue of scarf
pins was found to be complete for a num-
Der Of years.
Among the famous private collections Of
diamonds ever owned was that Of the Duke
Of Brunswick who resided with his treas
ures In Paris. Many of these were histor-
ical gems of great value, including a dia-
mond ring of Mary Queen of Scots, earrings
of Marie Antoinette, besides oriental jew
els of many adventures and of great value
The worth Of the collection ran into the
slave OF his possessions. He resided in a
| fre-proof and thief-proof house, surrounded
by thick wall. on the top OF which was a
cEevauX de frfse, so arranged that when
a hand was laid on one of the spikes a bell
| rang instantly. This defense cost the d tlke
$4,000, owing to It's peculiar nature The
diamonds were kept in a safe let into the
wall, and before 1t stood the dukes bed
Were the safe to be broken open by force
| four guns would have discharged and an
alarm bell rung in every corner of the
| house. The dukes bed room contained but
one window. the bolt and lock of which
secret. A case containing twelve loaded re
volvers stood by the side of the bed Who
would willingly change places with a col
leCtor who must thus guard his possessions ?
Was 1t a Sampler
From the Chicago Record.
rs this strawberry shortcake?' said the
man in the restaurant, pointing to some
thing that looked like a water cracker with
three red warts on 1t.
Voc. e,aiI fhA volt