The morning call., 1893-11-05

dealers, nave pa0ueTeu 10 MS fdultS ucA-
terously and assiduously. If the Italians
only had back the acres of treasures OF
which they have been bereft by the north
ern nations they might make consider
able reduction of the debt under which
they groan.
The collector Of modern works runs into
grooves. He has perhaps an eclectic taste.
and he fills his house with everything that
the brush can depict. This is pleasant
hobby, for a tour OF the rooms, the cor
ridors and the garrets. hung from ceiling
to floor, is like tour of the world. meet
ing old friends at every turn and hDdlng
new topics to descant upon according to the
light and the humor. Pictures are not
dumb, but speak elOquently to receptive
imaginatiOns. La their company there
cannot be loneliness, but occasionally the
association may be little morbid or
awful. Who would care to sleep In ped.
room adorned on one side with one OF
John Martins gloomy creations, prefer
natural dream of horror apt to goad sen
sitve nervous nature into freGZv OF night
mare? Very solemn subjects are appro-
pirate for a public gallery. but are apt to
scare the timid householder.
There is a pitable species OF collector
who hangs his pictures as so much furni-
ture. He buvs them of sizes to suit, and
colors to match carpets, mirrors. cabinets
and cornices. He hangs them precisely as
accessories, and sells them and puts
others In their place without pang. He
has friend in the patron OF art who cares
only for p0rtraiture - himself and his
family in huge gilt Enclosures that still
leave the walls vacu0us. Also, there Is
The collector of styles, the collector of
faith. and the collector who buys pictures
as business investment. The man who
affects style is enamored of a particular
period or school, be it the Dutch. French
or English, be it oils or water-colors, and
ooila ic nft Of ..f e. a
value. II he is conscious OF its great
worth he may leave the whole TO
museum, coupled with the condi ion that
his name shall be associated with 1t lnsep-
arably, which it sometimes Is. 1t NAV
happen, however, that this hobby is only
a foolish vanity, with no solid worth to
characterize 1t, and then gift, In place If
magnanimity, becomes freak.
Etchings and rngravings IN all their
states are the hobby of many collectors.
who, like book worms. are never tired of
adding to their store Of copies. How happy
they are if by good fortune they have
acquired the whole of given state of an
etchng or know where the remaining two
or three copies are in public museums.
They feast their eyes on the boarded
trea sure, not so much as work OF art as
rarity that nobody else has. special dish
in recherche banquet, too dear flr any
one else to taste, except through copies in
misfortune stamp out all other copies the
disaster Is fortune to them. They are
winners in the game OF collecting.
The collector so devotes himself to the
glyDtc art, ancient and modern. His
most beloved and preciOns specimens come
down from Greek and Roman times, and
when he has a cluster Of gems before him
of undOuoted classical antiquity he will
pass hours in an eDraptured comparison
of their delicate cutting-scupture in min
iatuTe. designed with truth which even
the severity of microscopic scrutiny leaves
1aweSs. But the public VINO revel in the
glyptic art may pay for heir whis le dearly.
They are peculiarly plastic in the hands III
the dealers. who are profuse in assurances
of unimpeachable guarantee when they
sell. and most unaccOuDtably skepticai or
refractory when they buy.
When pottery becomes the hobby, fare
well contentment! Vanderbilt or Astor
might become straltened for ready cash In
the effort TO purchase all that offers, for
pottery is the most ancient OF the arts and
the ancients left a plentiful supply in their
tombs and their buried cities, while the
moderns of every land show positive
genius in The diversity and the originality
of their wares. Hellenic vases possess a
transcendant interest for both the anti
quarian and student of history. Every
thing that belongs TO Egypt, Etruria and
Rome has like fascination for mankind
exploring the cradles of civilization. And
now the pottery of North and South
America is studied for its index to history,
and also the rude productions of the
northern races of Europe. The modern
achievements of the potter have branched
out in endless forms, many OF them ex-
Quisitely beautiful, and Japan and China
contribute their not incoDs lderable quota,
both in antique and present-day designs.
TIE mania for old china sometimes as
sumes ludicrous turn. One cannot hep
smiling at a scholar, a sta eSman OF fame, a
man renowned in literature, spending his
leisure in diving into curlOslty-shOps In
dingy and sQualid quarters in search of
trophies, W hch to th3 vulgar may appear
no more important than an ordinary
tracked cup and saucer, but to the iuiti-
ated are the reflex of genius. But the
hobby is sanctihed when the eminent
sta esman thus procures a rest for his
mind, topic upon which TO descant away
from the groaning worry and passion of
welding power. The faculty OF being
able to take pleasure in small by-occupa-
tlons is one TO be encouraged, from the as
sistance 1t gives in ban ishing care. Perhaps
the two learned Judges who were detected
running round room trying to balance
peacocks' feathers on the ends of their
noses were not lacking in legal acumen
when they came to decide the raveled per-
pDexities of law.
The effect on individual character is
much the same when frivolity or oddity is
uppeTmost in the collecting mania. Art
ists make collections of arm0r and ar ms,
costumes and vases as accessories of the
studio, but the utility is often lost sight of
In the rage to possess all, ana the absurd
ity is seen in collections that would be-
come junkstore.
SpoEtsmen preserve the 8ntlers of deer,
the heads of bear and buffalo, the skins OF
lions and tigers, and other proofs Of prow-
ess and skill. and a CHASTITY array OF deadly
shooting they make. Some men have hun
dreds of these trophies ranged along the
walls of hall, and take pride in being
regarded as mighty hunter. Yet a
butcher would be considered farcical # he
hung up all the ears of the cattle he Stays
or the tails of the thousands of pigs he Is
responsible for converting into bacon.
The fisherman, being prone to tell
stories as expansive as the solar system
about the bites he receives, is fond OF sur
rounding himself with stuffed specimens
of trout, pike and roach, artistically
mounted with a painted BACKGROUND of
the reedy marge or the ripping shallow.
Those who shoot game are fond of stuffing
their birds at first for gustative enjoyment
and then for the pleasure of c0ntempla-
tim and hut for their hnhhv the taYidPr-