Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-02-11
An Awkward Situation.
tFrom Lloyd's London weekly)

<AuIplNtOIl W get ltdulllS paris III
duced me to throw up good position
in the north of England to join a
manager starting at Salisbury. The
business turned out disastrous. the
theater closing in fortnight. l. an
utter stranger in the place, with wife
and babe. was taken i'll, and could
hardly stir for days. But for good
hearted landlady l do not know what
would have become of us.
One morning, however. over mel
ancholy pipe in the grassy hollow be-
low Old Sarum. ray of hope, dawned
upon me. In my anxiety and depres-
sion one old acquaintance had alto
gether slipped my memory. This was
a Mr.. Atherstone.ana art dealer of Bond
street. He first knew me when l had
become assistant to a well-known en-
graver and watched my progress with
great interest. I wrote. telling him the
whole story of my misfortune. A
prompt reply followed.
Apart from proof of Mr.. Atherstones
good feeling toward me his letter con-
tanned news that l read with surprise
and pleasure--not without reason, as
the following extract will show:
Il want you to undertake a commits
sion that requires tact and discrimina-
ton 1t is private inquiry. and has
to he carried through at ShreWton
court ,Merivale, the seat of Lord Mount
falcon, within a few miles Of Sails
bury, Obtain permission from the
owner to see his art treasures. l shall
forward to you a jewelled miniature OF
Lord Mountfalcon. and want you TO
ascertain if it is a facsimile of one IN
the collection. That is the least inn
portant point of the inquiry with which
/ intrust YOU Find out, at any trou-
BILE and with all the skill you can COM
mand, the circumstances under which
the facsimile came to be painted. There
is a keeper of the galleries: try and
make friends with him. Keep the OBJ
ject of your visit as dark as possible.
On again hearing from the art deal
er l wrote to Lord MountfalcOn, ask
ing permission to visit his picture gal
leries. BY next post ! had the mos.
courteous of replies, acceding to my
request. One thing puzzled me, the
handwriting of the note signed by the
nobleman was familiar. Where / had
before seen it | could not recollect.
Next morning I went over to Merivale
SnreWtOn court, SltudteO III d Sp1SipoS
park, commands many picturesque OBJ
jects. One is a graceful Ionic temple
half hidden in mass of frs and white
e!ms. So much did it strike my fancy
that l left the pathway to obtain a
close view. 1t was prevented however.
by singular incident. AS / approached
a young girl in white bounded down the
marble steps. Her melancholy, yet
beautiful. face. and sunny tresses
decked with pansies and lilies. might
have been Ophelia's. To my perplexity,
she advanced and cOurtesied three
times. Directly afterward matronly
woman ran out of the building. She
quickly took the girl by the hand and
led her away.
The Shrewton collection would be
famous if only for it's Florentine and
Venetian masterpieces. While alb
sorbed before them, light foot fall be-
hind aroused me. / turned and saw
Lord Mountfalcon. His open. hand
some face would have been an excel
lent letter of introduction anywhere.
He said:
II have seen you before: was it not
as Charles Surface at EXeter?'
From theatricals Lord Mountfalcon's
talk glided into matters of pictorial
art. in which he was evidently an en-
thusiast. Half an hour passed, and his
lOrdship remarked:
4 must now leave you. On no ac-
count miss the small blue galleries.
There is a Portfolio of Rembrandt etch-
ings that must have special value in
the eyes of practical draughtsman.
Perhaps you might also like to look at
my bronzes. canoes and minatures?'
Il should, my lord l answered,
every much. Are there many?"
Yes. a large number replied his
1ordship, very representative from
Hilliard and Cooper to Ross and
Moule. My portrait by Moule l regard
as fine as anything painted by Cos
way. The keeper shall now attend to
you. He will have orders to let you
see anything in which you may have
an interest"
When the keeper entered the mys-
terry vanished about the handwriting
sent to me the day before.
had known Samuel Crackenthorpe.
and we were no longer on speaking
terms. We had become intimate at
Exeter. where he was then lawyers
clerk and small money lender. II
was not long before l found out he was
a mean, willy. intriguing, treacherous
fellow. and on discovering him guilty
of gross dishonesty l angrily cut his
acquaintance. We met. of course. like
perfect strangers. but Crackenthorpes
manner was polite. even to obsequious-
ness.
had looked at water colors, bronzes
and prints and now asked for the min
iatures. They We're contained in three
large cases, placed upon the table in
the smaller chamber of the blue gal
lery. and unlocked at my request Just
as / was preparing to examine the
works of art a footman entered and in
formed me it was his masters wish ]
should take luncheon. 1 could either
sit down with Mr.. Crackenthorpe or be
attended separately. But I excused
myself on the score of wanting to leave
almost Immediately. intending to re-
sumo my visit next day. Left alone
1 examined several of the miniatures
At last / unlocked the Mountfalcon
picture. 1t represented the noblemar
in court dress. l satisfied myself on
every point. After the closest scru-
tiny I was convinced the miniature