Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1896-10-24
HE FOUND THE VENUS.
Death ot n Man Once Famous, but Loi
since Almost Forgotten.

Death Ot Man Once Famous, but Long
Since Almost Forgotten.
The recent death on the island of Milo
of NJ Henri Brcst, says the London Stand
ard. recalls the fact that his name, many
years ago, was n celebrated one on account
of its connection with the statue of Venus.
now one of the great treasures in the
Louvre museum, and brings To mind some
interesting souvenirs connected with that
statue. Ii was, indeed, NJ. Henri Brest
who discovered the wonderful statue just
after it had been uncarthed by peasant
in the island Of Milo, and who bought it
OF him for mere song in 1920. He soon
sold it TO NJ. dc Marccllus, through whom
il reached the Louvre.
The wonderful statue remained undis-
turbed in the gallery Of tho Louvre, Of
which it was the principal ornament, till
the Franco Prussian war in 1870, when
the means Of preserving il against the pos
sible pillngc of the Germans caused great
anxiety Ia the curators. Few probably are
aware that the Venus of Milo was on that
occasion placed in an immense sort Of pad
dcd oak coffin and buried mystcriously in
IA great trench made To receive it in tho
courtyard of the prefecture Of police. This
presence of very few witnesses, with the
object of keeping the hiding place of the
statue perfectly secret.
1t was thought by the officials Of the
Louvre that the statue was in perfect safe
~ but their anxiety for the fate of the
treasure was revived after the signature Of
peace by the outbreak Of the commune and
the setting fire to the prefecture Of police
and N. ha Dn1ais II I'm nnnOSifn For
tunately. however, when that instruction
had been put down the curators of the
Louvre, on once more unearthing the
statue, found ii had suffered no deteriora-
ton. The inscription on the pedestal of
the statue in the Louvre does not even
mention the name Of NJ Henri Brcst. Ii
relates simply that it was bought by NJ.
de Marccllus for the Marquis dc Riviere,
the French ambassador, who presented it
TO King Louis XNlII in 1921.
The Pail Mall Gazette says that the
peasant who found the statue had no idea
that he had dug up what has since proved
10 be the most remuncrative eiligy Of a
goddess that the world has ever known.
VI. Brcsi, having pretty shrcwd notion
Of her value asked the peasant proprietor
nf the soil how much The peasant pro-
Brcst could possibly want with marble
woman without arms, but this, instead of
inducing him, as it would nowadays, 10
ask an cxorbitant price merely decided
him To sell his Venus for a song, and NJ.
Brest took her glcefully ~ Paris.
There all sorts of attempts, by all sorts
of eminent hands, were made To restore Ia
her her missing members, but, rs she per
sisted in looking ever 80 much better with
out arms than with them, the savants I'll
timatcly decided that she must have been
built that way and that way she must be
left
AS is well known, this unarmcd Venus
has proved an immense commercial sue.
cess Millions of copies of her have been
made and sold. She has adorned the vir
tuoso's gallery, the middle class drawing
room and the lodging house back parlor
She has descended in bronze 10 the prosait
uses of a paper weight. She has acquired
pile for many II peripatctic Italian imag,
seller.
But all NJ. Brcst got out of her was tn,
academic palm No Goubt, if he had lived 1
bit l0ngcr-hc was only l02-his button
hole would have lowered with the red rib
bon. Only the other day, on the very
spot where he had found his Venus, th'
end found him.