The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-09-17
COSTLY SiLVERWARE
EXPENSIVE OBJECTS WHICH ARE
KEPT PILED up IN VAULTS.
Useiessness of High Priced silverware Set
Forth IL Causes tn It's Own
ers-The Story of Succession of We'd
ding Presents.

See the elegance of the curves, tho sim
plicity and purity of the lines, said the
melancholy silSersmith, holding aloft the
teapot. "What perfection of grace What
perfection of forml'
The lady craned her head about and shift
ed her lorgnette as her eyes followed with
eager interest the twistings of the silver
smiths long, slender hand, which was
used to point out the various beauties of |
the object. His expression deepenod as he |
noted these signs of attention.
The man S melancholy had reached such |
degree that the lady, impelled perhaps !
by the desire of administering consolation, |
said she would take the set.
The slyersmith shrugged his shoulders |
as the lady went out and gave an outward
sweep of his hand as If denying all respon-
sbility in the matter Then he attempted
to justify himself to his confldant.
"Why will people do such thingsS' he
demanded why will they buy such
thingsS Will they never learn that silver
ware is either the biggest burden they can
lay upon themselves or else the most use
less possession? .Jewelry is bad enough,
but people get used TO it. OF course when
n woman gets costly jewels they haunt
her day ana night at first She has To send
them to the safe deposit vault the moment
she takes them off, If they are of extraor-
binary cost, she wants watchmen and pri-
vate detectives lowering about her when
she wears them. She may send for the po-
lice when she gives party. But in most
cases she gets over this feeling in time,
and instead OF dreaming of burglars she
treats her jewels with an unconcern which
some people might call carelessness.
"But with siverware it is different.
Sometimes, when am more depressed than
usual, thiIS it IL the most useless thing
that was ever invented. We silversmiths
spend days and nights celebrating our art
and turn out beautiful Objects worthy to
challenge the admiration of the world, and
what becomes of themy They are sent
down here" stamping his foot on the floor
"Thcy are put into the vaults in our Gel
| lar, and human eyes seldom rest upon
! them. Talk about excavating in the ruins
Of Troy, the rubbish of Athens, for beau
tiful objects!' he exclaimed, with snort
of disgust. "Why not excavate in the sill
| versmith's vaults and the safe deposit
vaults of New York right here?
LET me tell you an instance" he re-
summed when his melancholy allowed him
to speak again. Thirty years ago one of
the rich men Of New York went to Europe
and there saw magnificent tea service of
silver, which he bought for 81 900, and
when he returned here he presented it TO
the man who was his most intimate friend.
The friend valued the tea service not only
on account of the friendship that gave it
to him, but also for its own sake, but
what could he do with it? Life even among
the rich was far palmer then than it is to-
| hot do
with an S1l, 900 tea service? So he did
what seemed the most sensible thing to
do under the circumstances. He sent the
whole outfit here for safe keeping, and
don't suppose it's been out of our vaults
half dozen times since.
"But that isn't all. A couple of years
ago the daughter of the man who went to
Europe got married. The intimacy be-
tween the two families had been kept W
and increased, and the friend, who is a
! very rich man, now made up his mind to
show his friendly feelings by giving the
daughter the finest wedding present he
could procure. Now, his tea service was
originally a very fine one. During all the
years it has been buried in our vaults ira
dition has been having chance To magni'
fy it's beauty, until now 1t is held in the
two families TO be the most magnificent
thing i'm the world, and its owner, IN
searching about for a wedding present fol
his friends daughter, could conceive OF nc
finer idea than TO have made an exact copy
of his own tea service. We made 1T. W.
could have improved on the originals il
workmanship, but he didn't want thai
done, so we made an exact copy The cos
was SO, 600; so lao saved something. Now
what was the bride to do with all this mass
of silver? What Lut send it here to lie II
darkness alongside OF the other set, ant
here it has been ever since IL was display
ed at the wedding to the admiration ant
wonder of tho guests. That was its ont
public appearance. i have no doubt tina
when ono Of the grandchildren of the own
err of the first set is married in few year.
she will feel it her duty to have third Sc
, made as a wedding present. Then IL VII
be sent to us to take care of along will
the other two.
!. ~ don't sec why you should complain,
; remarked the man to whom all this hat
been addressed.
"I'm not complaining, but do you cal
; 1t common senseY 1t is profitable for me
. and cannot see that my conscience shoul'
reproach me for the part take in 1t, bu
such things make me tired. Think of tn
| WO1l1un VIII JuSV iSio. AAoi h"'e"'N. W
pay between 81, 200 and 81 500 maybe 10
tea set for her, and she will keep 1t a
, her house for awhile and then send 1t t
: us. Where is the sense Of that"
but some people do keep their silver
ware at home and enjoy It," the othe
man insisted
"They keep it at home, but they don
enjoy it. i am talking now OF peopi
whose silver Is valued by the thousands O
dollars, who have massive objects. an
: works of art not for ordinary use. VIVA
) enjoyment do they get out of iE The
{ may have vaults built in their houses, an
4 tho bigger and stronger the vault til
Z greater source of worry it is to them. The
are worried by burglar alarm companies
: and by watchnen's companies, and by n
val safe companies, and by detective agen
D cies, and every time they hear of bdi
glary they have cold shivers for weeS
and they can't see tramp come TO Tn
basement door without IA tremor. III
: vault fails TO give people feeling OF 81
2 curity, where are the people who have or
C Iy safe? You must sec that the oni
: course giving anything near absolute 81
| q l.,u Ixar IN