The Washington herald., 1911-01-06
ANTIQUE ART AND
HOWITIS HANDLED

china, old pewter. and other objects of
antique art pursued by many society
women has of recent years been turned
by several into profitable line Of busi-
ness. and many of these aristocratic
danes might be far more correctly
termed dealers than collectors
There Is. to be sure. nothing dishonor-
able In dealing in antique goods, any
more than there Is in dealing in, say,
potatoes, or anything else. for that mat
ter. But the methods adopted by some
OF these London society ladies are, to say
the least Of II. decidedly artful.
For example, one well-known woman in
the social world who is not.entirely de-
void of the commercial instinct lent a
fine not Of Dresden china for exhibition
at a big charitable bazaar and fete.
Many tnnocent-minded people greatly ad-
mired the china, and, no doubt, thought
what q nice. kind, charitable woman the
lender Of 1t must be. But IL they l1an
known the real facts Of the case they
might possibly have altered their opin-
Ion of thes woman in question.
The china was lent because the owner
Of it wanted to sell It: and by exhibit
ing it at a fashionable bazaar. she Sc
cured for 1t first-rate free advertise
ment- This shrewd lady had picked up
the china cheap in Paris. and, as a re-
suit of exhibiting II at the bazaar in
point she found buyer for it at a fig
Ure quite four times in excess of the
sum she had paid for II.
Several of these fair collectors ever
have working arrangements with profes.
sional dealers. who often find that they
can sell goods through a lady VINO i:
reputedly a collector far more readily
than they can in open market. For ex
ample, supposing a dealer has lot of ole
pewter for which he cannot find an imme.
date buyer. he may go to Lady Blank
who Is known to be a great collector OF
pewter. and ask her to help him sell it
Lady Blank obligingly consents to do so
She then invites some genuine collectors
whom she knows to come and see the
latest additions she has made to heI
collection.
1t is probable that ono of them will ex.
press wish that he lori tshe) had had the
luck to pick up the specimens they have
been invited to see; and then, after lit
tie while, he finds that it is not yet toe
late to have this wish gratified and ere
he leaves the house he has become the
owner OF the coveted pewter specimens,
and Lady Blank puts 25 per cent of the
price paid for them into her own pocket
These fair society collectors frequently
turn an honest penny by buying for deal
ers. too. for an aristocratic woman who is
known to be a collector of works of art
has many opportunities of picking up bar
gains which never come in the way OF
the professional dealer. Women will often
write to her, for example. to tell her that
they have some things ir her line to sell,
believing that they will get a much bet
ter price from her than they would In the
open market or from some dealer
OF course, they do not; but, then. they
think so.
A dowaSer peeress who is famous for
her collection of tapestries purchased,
some little while ago. three pieces of
tapestry from a couple of women who
had written offering to sell to her. The
peeress in question paid the women f2O
each for the three pieces, and received
800 guineas from the dealer for whom
she bought them; ultimately the three
pieces were sold at one of the most
fashionable marts in London for loo
guineas.
To-day when a minister officially Wis
its the King of England there is no free
entertainment supplied. The Duke of
Wellington Jared differently. however,
with George ". He related his expert
ences to Raikes, and Raikes made a
note Of them as follows:
when George w sent for me to form
new administration. in 1s2s. he was
seriously ill, though he would never al
low it. I found him in bed. dressed in
dirty silk jacket and a turban night
cap. The first words he said to
me were. Arthur. the cabinet is de-
- ~ Ahn h. a. -
the manner in which the late ministers
had taken leave of him on giving ir
their designations. This was accompa
MED by the most ludicrous mimicry o.
voice and manner of each individual, st
striking an imitation that it was quit,
impossible to refrain from fits of laugh.
ter"
The music halls evidently lost a stal
when George " became King!
1t is no secret that Lord Rosebery bore
the cost of the old palace yard statue OF
Cromwell. which has just been entirely
renovated. He has never acknowledged
the fact. however.
In a speech delVered on November IA
1899. at a meeting held to commemorate
the tercentenary of Cromwell's birth, he
referred to the statue. which had beer
unveiled that morning at 7:30 O'Clock by
foreman the Office of works, and
after stating how the government origi-
nally promised to bear the cost of the
monument, added: Under pressure fr
the House of Commons that promise was
withdrawn. and Immediately afterward
an individual. who. l understand, felt
that that mortal memory should not he
made a football for contending factions
in the House of Comons. wrote to offer
to bear the cost of the memorial
This reference to 'an individuaT' caused
much amusement among the audience. all
of whom were in the secret: but Lord
Rosebery himself remained perfectly
grave.
Executions. when criminals were
hanged in the Old Bailey. had certain
customary sequels. The governor of New
gate for instance. always gave a break
fast to those friends he had invited to
see the hanging, and by established Gus
tom deviled kidneys always formed the
principal dish, although. as John Hoi-
lingshead has related. nearly every one
was obliged to swallow a glass Of brandy
first
Another function described IN tha: en-
tertaining book, London in the Sixties. y
was the reception held afterwarl by the
hangman at the Green Dragon. in Fleet
street. where he took refreshmcn. with
his admirer and sold the fatal rope al
the rate Of sixpence per inch.
In the good old times nearly every GRIM
inal who was executed was credited with
a confession and last dying words. y
whether he uttered .them or not, which
were printed in thousands by Mr.. Cat
roch ~ Covnv, niols And eouootineS an