Evening star., 1902-03-22

| Written for The Evening Star by Winthrop Allen
To the north, a regiment of beds in white
iron, commanded by a general of cleaning
| brass, with a few trim aids in polished
| mahogany or curly birch. To the east a
| company of parlor suites in oak in cherry
| and in the most impossible of inlaid woods
| showing more impossible mother of pearl
| and upholstery. To the south squad
| Of pianos drawn in straight line from
| baby grand, through various styles Of
| uprights to a concert grand which once
| graced the apartments of diva. To the
| west, a motley awkward squad, containing
| bureaus dressing tables, chiffoniers and
desks where beauty once decked itself for
dinner and dance or indited notes to set
masculine hearts a-throbbng. And, peer
| ing out from the corners, scouts in the
form of odd chairs. statues and bric-a brac,
| overhead flags, rugs, curtains and drap-
| cries.
| Where does it all come from?" asked
| a visitor. gazing helplessly about.
From one end of Manhattan to the other,
| and from nearby points in jersey" replied
| the Broadway auctioneer. balancing him
self on a teakwood table. terribly and Won
| derfully carved. 1T rolls in here like the
surf at high tide all the week long, and if
| the weather is good it rolls out again
! every Monday, for that is our regular sale
I day.
| Domestic troubles throw most of these
| things our way When husband and wife
part, neither seems to care for tie things
which will remind them of the past-and we
| get the contents of the fiat or the house at
a bargain. Death breaks up good many
homes. but often. then the family will
| try to hang together or relatives will divide
| the furnishings. Actresses sent out on the
road will sacrifice the furniture which per-
| haps only few months before they
| bought with prodigal hand. Money comes
and goes easily with them, while they are
| in their hey day.
| "And lastly people suddenly determine
| to re-decorate and refurnsh. off to the
| auction shop go all the old things For in
| stance, when Harry Lehr married Mrs.
Dahlgren, he decided that their home was
not good enough for his bride. OF course,
| it had done very well for Mrs. Dahlgren,
! but Mrs. Harry Lehr was another person
| age quite So everything in her house, with
| the exception Of some heirlooms was ship
ped down here, and when the news spread
we had a regular bargain counter rush.
| Anything from a side bracket for candles
| to bed room suite, from dining room
| chair to a piece of bronze, commanded q
price far beyond it's worth. because it had
once been used by Mrs. Harry Lehr
There's something odd about rich people
selling their stuff They rarely think OF
| turning it over to poor relatives or old serv-
| ants. / had a case In point only last week.
| A retired merchant, who has lived down
! town all his life, bought place near the
| park His wife decided not to move the
| old-fashioned furniture. and sent for me to
| make an estimate She kept me there two
| mortal hours, haggling over every piece IN
| the house. and she was sharp as tack,
| though old enough to have one foot In the
| grave 1t Is against our policy TO make IN
| dividual prices, but we offer a hgure 1or
| the lump. Now, she was SO shreWd that
| before / knew it she had wormed out indf-
| vidual prices. and when we reached the
| parlor she asked what would allow Tor
| ward of carpet for which she declared she
| twenty
| ago?' l asked. oh, yes!
| Valuable to Her.
But she had taken such good care Of it,
with moth balls round the edges. And just
think, She had married eight daughters on
that very carpet When failed to see that
| this added to It's value and offered her 50
| cents a yard, she fairly flew up in the air.
| Later when / got down among old tables
and wash boilers in the basement, the Irish
| cook who had been with her eight years
managed to give me the tip that l was the
! fourth auctioneer that had been summoned
| to the scene and she was comparing prices.
| That settled it. l made her lump offer and
| left the house. but the next day she sent
| for me and took her check without MUIR
| mur.
| People cannot appreciate that wear and
tear and changes in styles must count. no
! matter how we'll furniture is cared for.
| That lot of goods, there on your right,
| came from the fiat Of an elderly southern
| lady, who fully expected to end her days
| in New York. But burglars raided the fiat
| below her, and she decided that the quiet
south was quite good enough for her. She
went over the apartment with me. There
was table that had been in her family fif-
| ty years. Hadn't she kept it Well? Five
dollars? I was a dolt, indeed. 1 was! 1t
| had cost $35 when new. And it had been
used only fifty years! But you there
| 1t is. Oh yes. they always Yield in the
1 11y,0 val, ha ,,rrl>t
| mo. 1 must not say that. because only
| last week / was caught-and badly. too. A
man whose wife had just died asked me to
| go with him to his Harlem fiat and make
estimate, as he wished to sell out at
| once Every day in the old home filled
| with memories OF her was painful to him.
| He did not haggle about prices, but he did
| work on my sympathies. l can stand al
most anything but to a man cry, and
while he did not cry, his eyes We're full of
| a mist that was close to tears and he
| seemed to be choking back sobs. Before /
| knew 1t was making him prices far above
our usual estimate, and when We reached
the parlor he was quite broken up.
| Sentiment Paid.
Here they had spent their happiest
hours That was her favorite chair! And
| when he pointed to certain square in the
| carpet and said they had stood on that very
| spot to be married, two big tears did roll
| down his cheeks. Broken up? Well /
| think l was, and I allowed him fifteen
| cents yard extra that carpet, just to
show my sympathy. Well. when we had
| closed the deal and he had his check safe
| In his pocket We started down town to-
| Sether. and on the l. station we passed
| two as fine-looking women as you'd see
| In New York And that man who had
been choking back sobs and moaning over
! the spot in the carpet where he and his
! bride stood grabbed me by the arm with
| eyes kndling, whispered:
Look at them, man; I tell you they
| are beauties!
| Perhaps 1 did not think of my fifteen
cents extra per yard, That experience has
rather dried up my fountain Of sympathy
| for few months at least
but hardened as we are to pathos real
or assumed, 1t does hurt me to deal with
really nice people who have lost every
thing and must give up their homes. Not
SO long ago refined. charming family
| which had lived on one of the cross streets
near 9th avenue was forced to sell every
thing to protect the fathers name. Hurt?
! never saw well-bred pride culver as it
did under the VISIT Of the auctioneer,
though tried my best to make 1t easy,