Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-06

cred him with the revolver and called out to
him to drop his weapon. The man hesltated ;
and, fearing lest all three would throw them
selves upon him, Dandin turned his weapon
aside and pulled the trigger. Almost stimuli
taneously with the explosion came stampede
of the would be robbers, and Immediately
afterward the landlord and his wife rushed in
to ask, with assumed innocence, what the dis
turbance was about.
1t was clear the Andalusan host himself had
nstigated murder and robbery; but he now
suggested an upper room where his guest might
lock himself in The visitor declined. however,
and said he would sit up all night where he was.
and would moreover shoot at sight any other
persons than the landlord and his family who
might enter the room.
Shortly after dawn the young man threw
open the shutters, and noticed that picture.
which had been hanging frameless on the wall,
had fallen to the ground He took 1t curlously
to the window, and fancied he recognized the
work of Velasquez, grimed with dirt and
smoke though the canvas was. During the
close inspection the landlord came in, and aft
fected great wrath at the damage done. There
was a long argument in the patois of the coun-
try, but the visitor compromised matters by
offering three dollars and seventy-five cents.
and after much haggling he walked away with
his purchase, leaving the innkeeper and his
wife rejoicing over their bargain.
Young Dandin came north immediately.
and showed his picture to Duveen, the great
Velasquez. 1t is a portrait OF one OF the
court dwarfs. and is a marvellous example OF
the master.
The Greatest Bargain of All
A GREAT picture may be in possession of
noble family for centuries, and then there
may suddenly come some reversal OF fortune
One or more canvases will utterly disappear.
and possibly be picked up generations later
for the merest song. The annals of art contain
dozens of such curious finds. Perhaps as
interesting a case as could be told is that of
Gainsborough's beautiful portrait of Mary
Robinson the actress, which IS painted IN the
same style as the famous Duchess Of Devon
shire"
Years ago the portrait hung in the London
palace of the Earrings, bankers and statesmen.
Back in the Sos the banking family were re-
duced almost to perjury by panic and depres-
sion in the financial world, and for years the
lovely Gainsborough lay neglected and dusty
in a storage warehouse. Suddenly it disap-
peared from even this humble asylum.
1t was only few months ago that Christian.
who keeps a second hand furniture shop IN the
West End of London, was wandering among
the curio shops, when he suddenly discovered
a picture. which was sold to him for fifteen
dollars as the work of :" an unknown artist,
and of little value" Christian knew some
thing of pictures, however, and after he had
way, he grew excited and took his find to a
great dealer who pronounced it real Cams
borough The pedigree of this masterpiece
was then gone into, and it was clearly estab-
lished that the fifteen-dollar purchase was
beyond doubt the portrait of Mrs. Robin
son. the unhappy favorite of the gay young
Prince ~ Wales, who afterward became George
". The actress was painted in the role OF
Perdita, and both pose and coloring are SO
characteristic of the master, that no one with
the slightest knowledge of his work could be
mistaken. 1t was easily the biggest bargain
on record in the art world for it was promptly
sold at Christie's for sixty thousand dollars.
An Artists Lost Chance
TT is amusing and pathetic to notice the
anxiety of amateurs when poking about ole
curio shops in the various countries of Europe;
for they seem to think that every old dust COW
cred picture is a potential masterpiece. That
such romances of art are fairly frequent in real
life however. is we'll known.
l know picture dealer in Paris whose store
is one of those dark and gloomy depots in
which are gathered many of the mediocre fail
ures turned out by students and artists who
have mistaken their vocation. Here Titan
worth seventy-fve thousand dollars lay hidden
for nearly twenty years. Where the picture
came from. the man had not the slightest idea:
until it was put up for auction at the Hotel
Drouot and all the art dealers of Europe COM
peted feverishly for its possession.
One day a student, just arrived in Paris to
study at the Julian Academy in the Rue Fon-
on which to paint. He was shown several