Evening star., 1898-03-26

| IS not disagreeable; by habit In might ha
| come fascinating. 1t is mixed Hencefor-
| ward, wherever you may go. In the pure
| Eight air of the desert crossing the line
OF IN polar seas, in Constantinople and
| Chcago its efliuvia, like an invisible hand
VIII pass before the nostrils OF the imaci-
nation ard the mind will find itself driftin,
back to the Partisan auction rooms. In
their uniqueness they are like nothing else
| that has been in the known world or that
shall be.
Il am looking for a trunk big enourb IN
| accompany me to Chile" SAYS a swartbv
gentleman. Here in the plebeian halls of
the lower floor. the government is selling
| the wooden case in which the victim of a
peculiarly nineteenth century assassination
was slowed away, until such time as he
! ccuiu De safely thrown into the sea II
Was young man who had valuable coll
oeioii hpi oi postage stamps, for which he
noPed 10 get several thousand francs
rHSt, he was enticed to the postage stann
exchange, which is held behind the .punch
Snd-Judy show in the Champs Elysees
| -. an appointment was made for him to
| prlnS ms precious album to Versailles
| where he was 10 receive his money Instead
| ne was knocked in the head safely slowed
| ili TINS trunk and shipped to the seaside
put hurcer VIII out, and the assassins a
man and woman, were arrested when tbaX-
| clamed their property. The thrifty gov
ernment, to help pay the expenses has
SOFA The trunk for fifteen francs
Greatest Among English.
IL Is not the Chile gentleman who buys
u but a speculator in morbid curiosity
he furnishes uncoubted relics of crime to
| iich coliectors- The French say that the
ue"ahd Tor such things is greatest among
'ne Ehsish- An English firm is now ad-
Aeriisine i'll Paris for old teeth for which
II PIOiulSeS spot cash Ia La
teeth' IL you need piano keys" saws an in
uisnaLt paper OF the Boulevard; you have
enough OF our relics already,''
But the Hotel Drouot is not pivan M, ,o
plZarre sales of this kind. 1t is properIy
'ne auction rooms of an old and strong
corPoratlon-that of the "commissaires.
r. IL or licensed commissioners for
| the sale at public auction, voluntary or
iorced or personal goods and chattels If
| Is Is d rich corporation, with a monopoly from
the government, as the habit is in France.
| II mas perpetuated itself from the days
| "hen Francis began bringing in all man
ner or art objects from Italy which was
| tnen The center Of the artistic production
| OF the world as Paris is now There are
elShty members, and around them cluster
Official eAperts-judges of all things from
the value of a painting of a great master
| 10 the proper price OF the pink silk-and-
lace morning wrapper of some baIler
| ullcer VINO is being sold out. Then comes
| Inc unofflcial black band,' greasy-lookinc
| individuals, who run up the bids to suit
eacn other, VINO watch out for whatever
an outsider might really desire IN have
/ and bid against him until he is forced
| to pay twice over the real value. and in
| other ways make the despair of the anna
| teur OF bric-a-brac.
Take Place In the Halls
All this does not prevent the eighty COM
| missaires from being called on to preside
! at the chief art sales of the century-of
eighteenth century drawings from watteau
to Fragonard. as in the finest of the sales
| of last month. of the priceless china, which
escaped the wreckage of the Summer Pal
ace few years ago. of the collection of
| sixty-eight species of historic laces left
last year by a noble lady, and straightway
after her death sold out by her heirs-and
| SO ON and on, through carved oak and ta-
pestries, Louis XIV furniture and oriental
silks. Lame de Pougy's jewels and Casa
nova's studio belongings, and whatever
else is fit to draw attention in notable auc-
| tion sales.
All these take place in the halls which
open from the corridor of the upper floor
They are arranged so that two may b.
thrown together in case of need. They are
dinghy hung with crimson, and the un-
painted desk for the auctioneers gives no
| warrant of high art. The favored public
Sit around In front on backless benches,
and behind them surges and seethes the
crowd of sightseers, edging and pushing
passing In and out and contributing their
part to the all-pervading smell For the
sale would have been here in Paris, there
is side entrance. carpeted and having an
air of exclusiveness. But art is too demo-
cratic, too much the possession of the pub
lie at large. to be surrounded with the at
| mosphere of riches which it's rarity ds-
mands in New York. When the collections
Of the Goncourt brothers were under sale
for two weeks together-priceless drawings,
pore elain, relics and the rest-all the Pa
risian crowd surged in and out among the
noted collectors and buyers who had flock
ed hither from all quarters Of the world.
Expensive Catalogues.
These really great sales are announced
long beforehand. and expensive catalogues,
often with photographs of the more notable
objects, are printed and sent broadcast
Then two days are given up to an 'exposi-
tion'-one private. when you must show
your card after going up tn, private stair
case, the other public and regularly on
Sunday, that all Paris and his wife may
come to see.
It cannot too often be repeated that in
Paris every member of evsry class of So
ciety - from MOBILES to tramps, passing by
shopkeepers and workmen-is constantly
looking at art treasures which are freely
thrust before 1t. Perhaps this is the reason
fConvriobt taoe Vsfo r,,tlt.htc, Coac.cr,