Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-04-26
BUYS A "TlTIAN" AND GETS
BADLY PAINTED PORTRAIT

6poc1Q Correspondence OK Vno 0t98.
PARIS. April 20. 1908.
RI LEROY. a Frenchman Of mod
l" est means and q connoisseur OF
pictures. has Just been thinking
rather deeply Of tho old saying. "All that
glitters is not gold.' AS a matter Of
fact. he has been thinking some other
thoughts also. but they are not for publ
cation. When you have read this story
Of an experience Of his you will under
stand why.
Paid Spot Cash for It.
Recently this worthy Frenchman, who.
in strict confidence. thinks rather highly
trip to Florence. It was in the nature
Of a fortnight's holiday. but M. Leroy had
determined to combine business with
make his trip worth while. For several
days he made the rounds Of the picture
dealers. which are all too numerous In
the Italian city, without discovering any
going ing cheap
real Titan. OF course. the dealer had
not the least idea that it WIS an example
of the great colorist, but then he, poor
man. was not a connoisseur. Attempting
to hide his excitement as best he could
M. Leroy inquired the price Of the picture
and discovered to his intense Joy that 1t
could be had for very modest sum.
The dealer offered to send 1t. but the
Frenchman would not permit him to. He
hurry with his treasure under his arm.
At every corner he looked back to see II
he was being followed. He really OK.
pected to be called back and told that a
But no such thing happened, and he
reaced his hotel in safety.
Once inside his room NJ. Leroy locked
his door and uncovered his lind" for an
it was a Titan. It must be worth at
least. He could not, offhand, put a
price on it: but surely 1t was enough to
put him on Easy street" the rest Of his
life. He pictured his new possession pur-
chased by the French government and
Louvre.
Struggled It Through CustomsA
At this point he realized that all was
not plain sailing yet. There is a strict
law in Italy forbidding the expectation Of
examples of the recognized masters from
the kingdom. But the Frenchman is q
man Of infinite resources and he finally hit
upon a very clever expedient. Taking his
paint box he painted lightly over his
Titan a portrait OF the King Of Italy in
uniform. BY this trick he figured that he
would surely be able to get his treasure
past the vigilant custom officials.
And his judgment proved correct. Ar
irving at the frontier the next day he
showed his picture and the officials passed
it 50 quickly that it offended the French
man, who possesses considerable pride In
his art as well as in his judgment. AS
soon as he arrived in his beloved Paris he
went to his rooms and started removing
his picture Of the King of Italy and restor-
ing the Titan to sight. With screw OF
wadding dipped in alcohol he worked pa
tiently and expectantly. Imagine. If you
can. his surprise and disgust when there
slowly appeared. not his priced master
piece, but badly painted picture Of q
man whom he recognized as Garibaldi
His precious Titan had disappeared along
with his hasty sketch Of the Italian mon
arch. What puzzled him, however. was
that a portrait of Garibaldi should appear
under q painting by Titan. who lived so
long before his soldier countryman. In
evitably he was forced to the conclusion
that 1.-The bitter had been bit"
All Of which goes to show that all the
suckers are not American.