The daily Alaskan., 1905-02-03
An Art Treasure
IOrIglnaL.l

very unjust and proposed to show that 1t was false. set up as a dealer In pictures.
 noticed one day in a print shop dlngy painting in an old fashioned frame, the portrait of man in monk ish dress looking up to heaven as If in prayer. I passed on, looked over some engrayings and was going out when my eye again caught the painting There was something in 1t that attract ed me. What was it2 l couldn't tell Perhaps 1t was trace of saintliness In the face, perhaps the attitude. It couldn't have been the cOloring, for that was also dingy.
 "Where did you get that?" asked of the shOpkeeper.
 That? It came in yesterday from an old building they are tearing down. They found 1t between the clustering and the woodwork"
 How did it come to be thereY
 "Don't know"
 How much do you want for it?"
 Five dollars"
 went home and told my wife that had taken a fancy to a picture which l thought could clean up, put on new frame and sell for ten or fifteen dollars profit. But she had had quite enough Of my investments and gave a grumbllng dissent. A few days later went into the shop again and was informed that tht picture had arrested the attention of another man, but he was a seedy look ing party and had no money. The price had advanced to Sl0.
 Soon after this I went into the shop again, to find that the picture had been sold for ST5. I inquired who had bought 1t and was told that 1t was a Jew who was supposed to know some thing of the value of pictures. l went to his shop and found the picture. When I asked if he would sell 1t 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 1t for fear of losing for tune by doing so. One or two high grade critics had looked at 1t and de clared that it could not have been painted by a modern artist. However, l badgered the Jew, making various offers for it till 1 had reached SSj0 when he took me up so quick that it frightened me.
 There l was the purchaser of a pie ture for which was to pay $GJ0, not having 9 cents in the world and the picture probably not being worth S2 frame and all. However. 1 was in for 1t, and as one foolish thing leads to another I borrowed the money to pay for 1t on my life insurance policy, Then took the picture home and con fessed the whole matter to my wife.
 I will not attempt to describe the storm that followed. l remember es- pecially the last words of the scolding she gave me. "Old master! Any artist who can paint a nose in the center of q black background can be an old mas ter"
 When there was a Hull 1 set to work cleaning the picture, at which process consider myself an expert, and was surprised at the richness of the color ing. And what was my delight to dis cern in one corner that had been thick with dust the name of the great Rem brandt.
 Well, as soon as I had got the picture In good condition and had reframed 1t I took it to the most prominent dealer in town and set 1t up in his shop. Crit ics and dealers flocked to see it, while I, sitting near, listened to their com ments. Some believed it to be a Rem brandt simply from the name in the corner. Others declared that they would know 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 mer directing the latter in perceiving the wonderful life the artist had put into face and figure besides the exqui- site coloring.
 Every day I got better offer for the treasure, and finally a multimillionaire agreed, provided could trace the paintings history, to pay me SJO,OOO, and without the history he would give $25,0O0. l could not produce any proof of it's genuineness except the story of how it was found, its merits and the name in the corner, so l took the $25,OOO.
 I forgave my wife for her doubts as to my ability to turn an honest penny, though she declared that there was some rascality about the matter which I had innocently become a party to. She persuaded me to invest the funds received In bonds, which made our in. come about S2,3OO. On this we went abroad and lived a number of years in Florence.
 was dining one day at cafe in Paris and told the story of my Rem brandt to my dinner companions.
 When rose from the table 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. I paint I'd your Rembrandt and started the sto- v of it's finding. I needed some mon- sy to bring me here to pursue my art studies and perpetrated the fraud for the purpose. Having left New York