Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-05-19
DAILY SHORT STORY
An Art Treasure.
IOrIginaL.J

it was false. l set up as dealer in
pictures.
noticed one day in a print shop a
dingy painting in an old fashioned
frame, the portrait of a man in monk
fsh dress looking up to heaven as if in
prayer. 1 passed on. looked over some
enSravings and was going out when
my eye again caught the painting.
There was something in it that attract
ed me. What was it? 7 couldn't tell.
Perhaps it was a trace of saintliness in
the face. perhaps the attitude It
couldn't have been the coloring. for
that was also dinCy.
Where did you get that?" asked of
the shOpkeeper.
That? 1t came in yesterday from an
old building they are tearing down.
They found it between the plastering
and the woodwork
How did it come to be thereT'
Don't know
How much do you want for it,"
Five dollars
I went home and told my wife that
had taken Il fancy to n picture which
thought / could clean up. put on a new
frame and sell for ten or fifteen dollars
profit. But she had had quite enough of
my investments and gave Il grumbling
dissent. y few days later | went into the
shop again and was informed that the
picture had arrested the attention of
another man, but he was Il seedy look
ing party and had no money. The
price had advanced to SO
Soon after this | went into the shop
again, to find that the picture had been
sold for SO. 1 inquired who had
bought it and was told that it was
Jew who was supposed TO know some
thing of the value of pictures. l went
to his shop and found the picture.
When 1 asked if he would sell it and
at what price he shook his head and
said he suspected it to be the work of
one of the old masters and was afraid
TO part with it for fear of losing for
tune by doing so. One or two high
grade critics had looked at it and de-
clared that it could not have been
painted by a modern artist. However.
L badCered the Jew, making various
offers for it till 1 had reached $3.50.
when he took me up so quick that il
frightened me.
There l was the purchaser of pic
ture for which l was to pay $3.50, not
having - cents in the world and the
picture probably not being worth 50
frame and all. However. l was in for
it, and as one foolish thing leads to
another l borrowed the money to pay
for it on my life Insurance policy.
Then / took the picture home and con-
fesscd the whole matter to my wife
I Will rot attempt TO describe the
storm that followed. 1 remember es-
pecially the last words of the scolding
she gave me. ''OId master! Any artist
who can paint Il nose in the center of
Il black background can be an old mas
ter"
When there was Il lull l set to work
cleaning the picture. at which process
l consider myself an expert, and was
surprised at the richness of the color
ing And what was my delight to dis
Germ in one corner that had been thick
with dust the name of the great Rem
brandt.
Well. as soon as had got the picture
in good condition and had reframed it
l took it to the most prominent dealer
in town and set it up in his shop. Crit
les and dealers fiocked to see it, while
|, sitting near. listened TO their COM
mentS Some believed it 10 be Rem
brandt simply from the name in the
corner. Others declared that they
would know a Rembrandt without his
name attached and pointed out fea-
lures which only Rembrandt could have
produced. There were art teachers and
art students among the throng. the for
mo ,IirnatinVr Tho I1ffnF i'm nnrRpiViner
the wonderful life the artist had put
into face and figure besides the exqui-
site coloring.
Every day l got better offer for the
treasure, and finally multimillionaire
agreed, provided / could trace the
paintings history. to pay me $4,000,
and without the history he would give
So. 900. l could not produce any proof
of its genuirenesS except the story of
how it was found, its merits and the
name in the corner, so 1 took the
So. 900.
1 forgave my wife for her doubts as
TO my ability 10 turn an honest penny,
though she declared that there was
some rascality about the matter which
l had innocentIy become n party to-
She persuaded me to invest the funds
received in bonds. which made our in
come about $1,000. On this we went
abroad and lived a number of years in
Florence.
1 was dining one day at a cafe in
Paris and told the story of my Rem
brandt TO my dinner companions.
When l rose from the table a gentle
man tapped me on the shoulder and
said he would like to speak with me in
private. When we were alone together
he said:
Never tell that story again. 1 paint
cd your Rembrandt and started the sto-
~ of its finding. l needed some mon
ey 10 bring me here to pursue my art
studies and perpetrated the fraud for
the purpose. Having left New York
the day after you paid my accomplice
the $3.50. I never heard OF the enor-
nous sum you reaped. But did my
VOL am r-hoco Nc.