The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1910-02-17
!. !. !: ! : :! : ! ! !
the a. - ~
well e. e. So -
wa g. -: r.; Z - enc
-, The eggs il OF

td slight pront on their SAID
| lie accordingly wrapped them up IN
me.
AS soon as had washed OH the
! CRIME which covered them 1 discover
"a mat they were eggs of no less "A
BIRD than the great aux. and as the
.csuit Oh their sale few weeks later /
handed the astute young bargain
nunter a check for $4,000, which was
Suhclent to set him up in business
Ahother sale which L conducted
there was an old picture so covered
WIN olrt and CRIME that il was almost
impossible TO see what il was like This
was hung upon the wall in a pron,f-
nent position, but did not apparently
ilnd favor in the eyes of any of the
dealers who were present No reserve
price was placed upon this picture
winch had been put into the sale by
FOCAL pawnbroker, to whom n had
Deen pledged and not redeemed.
In spite OF every effort on the mart
OF the auctioneer II was eventually
shocked down to young man VINO
looked into the sale quite casually, in
order 10 waste half an hour during
which he had to wait for = train
12klng a great fancy to the frame
Which was Of oak. blackened with
age, he hazarded a bid of IS at which
price II was knocked down to him
without any competition
AS he did not want the pictnra no
asked the auctioneer whether he
WOulu mind trying TO get a bid for il
II ne cut it out OF the frame; and he
tns answered IN the affirmative. ne
LOOK Out his knife and neatly cut
through the canvas all round the edge
imagine the astonishment of him
| sell and all present when hidden he
hino the canvas he discovered five
oillS Tor 500 each. Evidently the
! picture had been used TO concc,1 81
sly ihSS or some previous owner who
ha1 oled without disclosing the secret
ana whose hard won fortune inns
cllne INTO the hands OF total
l should quote as very interestin,, ,
! Sale at Rutland Gate, where tbersf
we're only the remains OF the furn(
ture a hrm having been allowed l.
>, nc "ht'l lhe% chose to their rooI
IL was accordingly after - nature
runnage sale, but I'm one cupboaI
! Whlch mad been overlooked were w
the Junior clerk described as n NA&
silver cups. The auctiCneer was sit~
ing In his Office when a gentlemen
n ut. up ia a hanson cab, anxious TO
Sneak ABOUT these cups. for which h.
ohered no less than $1,000
Inc auctlCneer was so much sur
prlSed mat he thought his visitor must
nave some reason for this high bid:
ana ana ne wisely determined not to take
the hrst offer he receivd "Oh
don't think they will take that" he
said, and with this answer the pentIe-
man had to he content.
An expert was called on to examine
the So-calIed cups. and he discovered
mem 10 he In reality sixteenth century
chahces Tor which he himself made an
oHer or S2,100. The three cups were.
subsequently, sold for $3.50. but Il
was only by the slightest chance that
lhey mad not gone for a mere song.
shat never forget an incident
Wnlch occurred in connection with the
sale OF some valuable she'll The hid
ulng for one large shell In particular
was nuch more brisk than / had
anticipated, hut the reason for this be
came apparent when at least II was
shocked down 10 gentleman in a
very excited condition. who directly g.
was handed TO him, flung II upon the
ground ana trampled IL TO atoms. al
| the same time shouting out In a loud
voice that now that one was DESTROYED
ne possessed the only specimen in the
worId.-Henry Stevens In the Strand.