Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1899-07-07
The Peachblow Vase.

N-~~~~)~~~<
"a IGHTEEN thousand dollars is
JSA quite a sum to pay for a piece
~ of baked clay barely eight inches
in height. Yet 1 paid it. Ten hours
after it came into my possession 1 had
the pleasure of casting the fragments
into the Hudson. l say pleasure in
all faith. believe l was the happiest
man in all New York when l consigned
those twenty bits Of the p%machblow
vas to oblivion off Fifty-ninth street,
although each bit represented an out
lay of $500.
1t is my humble opinion that Il wom-
an without pride has as little grace In
the eyes of the Lord as u woman with
too much; therefore l glory in the fact
that Inez, the beloved of my soul, dem
onstrated her independence Of spirit in
the effective name which this confess
sion will show. AS for the expense,
that was a bagatelle.
Inez was the daughter of Il very lhs-
culiar old gentleman who had squan.
dered a fortune by lndulging a hobby
for antiques.
1 will call him Mi. Christopher, with
holding his real name as well as my
own for obvious reasons became ac-
quainted with Mr.. Christopher Though
an advertisement which carried me to.
his home in quest of an ancient and
valuable meerschaum-for if l have a
weakness it is for a carved pipe that
somebody else has industriously col
ored. bought the pipe and incidental
ly discovered Inez. After seeing the
beautiful daughter l made it a point to
visit Mr.. Christopher again and again
upon the preteXt of looking for more
pipes. Before obtaining permission to
call upon lnez as n professed sutton I
had purchased a collection of smokers
%curios, ranging all the way from a
Sioux sachem's pipe of peace to a Won
drously contrived chibouque.
Mr.. Christopher al poor, and it
touched me to the heart to note to what
shift Inez was put in the matter of
dress. Her carefully mended gloves,
her simple but tasteful gowns and an
absence Of ornament from her attire all
bespoke the straitened circumstances
of her father, who was literally sfarv-
ing in the midst of an art collection of
priceless value. Mentally l berated the
old man for his grasping selfishness,
and while l pitied In@ from the bot
tom of my heart l could not but admit
that simplicity Of costume enhanced
her loneliness in my eyes, stated as they
We're with the sight Of beauty profuse-
ly adorned with silks. laces and gems.
Had declared to 1nez my station in
life she would certainly have miscon-
strued my attentions, which were hon
est as the day. She was poor; l was
rich. Her rank, socially. was beneath
my own. Although l have no patience
with the arrogance of those who make
a high-caste of wealth, yet the Brah-
minicalb annereXist and none acknowl-
edge it SO. freely as the poor. Therefore,
l was obliged to cloak my honesty with
a tritling deception. When asking per-
mission to call l told Inez that 1 had
recently been left a modest bequest suf-
1cient to set me up in an honorable
business. l dropped no hint of wealth
beyond this fictitious legacy, and Inez,
in the simplicity of her heart, believed
and did not question how my slender.
competence might permit IL heavy pur-
chase Of expensive pipes. AS to her
father, he had no thought beyond his
art collection.
My wooing prospered. In due course
there came the tender acknowledge
ment that I was beloved, and 1 went
to Mr.. Christopher to ask him for his
daughters hand. I found my prospee-
tive father-in-law g.oating over a cab
met of valuable ceramics. 1t was with
difficulty that l drew his attention from
his collection of old china, stated my
case and asked for Inez.
"Are you able to care for my daugh-
| ter as l care for herr he asked with
commendabe foresight and with an
astonishing disregard Of her present
condition.
"An uncle Of mine left me some $780,
600" I remarked, ciinging to the story
I had told Inez. "That will give me- q
start in business. I think, ard.
Twenty thousand dollars" ha e.