, 1903-03-26
The Curio Fiend.
BY HARRIS,

BY KENNETH HARRIS.
Copyright, 1903. by Daily Story Pub. Coz
1t was crudely observed by Hol-
listers friends that his apartments
looked like a junk shop. This was not
an accurate description. for you will
hardly ficd rare old Chinese and IN.
dian worries. japanese bronzes OF an
cient dynasties, Roman and Egyptian
signets and the rarest and most bi.
Iarre of old pottery in such profusion
In junk shops, though such things are
to be discovered there occasionally.
In the fond hope of such treasure
trove HOLSTER spent much of his leis-
ure time in junk shops and such
places, to the neglect of his social OBJ
legations, for he was a collector to the
point of mania, though a comparative
and 1t has been observed hat there
are few collectors under fifty years Of
age.
At thirty a nan usually has the
more ordinary interests Of love, friend.
ship, money-making and SO On. 1t Is
only, as a rule, when these are out
worm, or missed by some decree Of
earnestly a lover of curios. Yet, though
HOLSTER was young, fairly we'll 81,
in good health. not Unlocking for a
man, and unembittered by any expCri-
ence, he was as ardent and absorbed
In his uric gathering as any witheTed
and %jaundiced old connoisseur that eoer
delved in rubbish for mislaid trophies
Of art.
or course the people who were In
terested in him would remonstrate
with him concerning his passion.
Elderly friends Of his family would
tell him that he ought to have some
more serious object in life than the
accumulation of trash. Younger men
friends. who considered him odd. but
him into their particular parks Of
pleasure. but he laughed at them all.
Especially he laughed when Binney.
whose cards had been out about a
month, earnestly recommended him to
marry and settle down.
II know that you are perfectly sin.
cere, old man." he said. you think
it's all right, naturally. But do you
think that any domestic bliss could ap-
proach what l get out Of all this?
Every little thing my eyes rest on
as l sit here is a joy. II it isn't a
thing of beauty, it's something just
as good, and its presence is the reward
Of a triumph. 1t doesn't worry me or
bore me. II l want feminine CONVEX.
sation and feminine society I can go
gu and get it. / can generally get
enough in a very little while to last
me a very long time. Imagine a wom-
an in here! Look at that Venetian
vase. That's all the woman l want.
II l had never done anything else in
my life but rescue that from obscurity
and destruction, l should merit the
eternal gratitude of posterity. Bin.
ney, that vase is more to me than your
wife is to you"
"Oh. you're a fool" said Binney, in
tones Of deep disgust.
But the vase really was a treasure.
OF Venetian glass. it represented the
first temptation. An Eve. half en-
bracing the trunk of the Tree of
knowledge, whose foliage enclosed the
cup, stretched one rounded arm up
ward to the pendant fruit, while the
serpent. twined among the branches.
regarded her with malign satisfaction.
The exquisitely formed nude body of
the woman radiated delicate pink tints
through its semi-transparency so that
1t seemed to glow with life and
warmth, and the cleaning bronze-gold
Of her hair, the dainty grace of her
pose, the iridescent glitter of the ser.
penis scales-the entire form, express.
| sion, colors and composition made
such a whole as only a poet, artist and
master craftsman could have pro.
duced, and that as the browning work
Of a lifetime.
ITO every man upon this earth
Death cometh, soon or late" So does
the woman who exercises some sort of
a powerful influence over his life. She
came to HOLSTER in a brass shop in
the Ghetto. where he was bargaining
with the proprietress for a candlestick
that he did not want to cover his
anxiety over an ancient ever from
Nuremberg that he did want very