Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1914-07-30
THE AMARANIHINE VASE
By 3. ". cuRRlE.

a. tuo ttAue WISH GF6dce WAS Iuc
empire Of the world celebrated pot
ter who lived In Corinth moulded q
vase. He carried the vase to Thebes,
In which city the great painter APP
peles was then sojourning, and there
upon induced him to paint upon the,
vase the portrait OF q woman, the
most beautiful In all Greece. The pot
ter returned to Corinth and cast bis
vase IN seething furnace. whence It
came forth virtually imperishabIe; q
MASTERPIECES Of classic pottery. The
potter believed that the painting q
sAppeles would never fade and he
called 1t THE Amaranthine Vase"
For several months the potter ex-
hibited his vase in his shop. One day
great noble came to the potter and
offered sum that meant wealth and.
happiness for all his days. The vase
was sold.
In the year 146 B. c., the Roman
Consul Mummius, at the head OF his
legions. entered Corinth. After put
ting the men to death and selling the
women and children into slavery he
plundered the city % its precious
treasures among them the vase. For
many years this gem OF the potter's
art remained in Rome and was shown
in the palaces of successive emperors.
Finally the vase fell into the hands
Of the family Of the Medici and after
several centuries was removed to
Paris, where 1t took It's place among
the treasures of the Louvre. In the
reign of Louis XIV. 1t was stolen from
the palace and sold to an ignorant
dealer In bric-a-brac. Bought by an
English nobleman 1t crossed the chan
mel and proved the delight OF several
generations Of ceramic hunters.
George Chalmers was struggling
young artist. His struggle was not
only for home and to gain the young
girl he loved as his wife, but for the
bare necessities Of life. One evening
as he was going to his studio-the gar
ret of one of the better sort of tene-
ments on the east side of New York
he was attracted by notice adyertis-
ing the sale of artists materials,
which appeared in the sooty window
of dingy junk shop. He went inside,
and while overhauling lot OF brushes
and paints his eye fell on startling
bit of coloring that cleaned from a
pile of bric-a-brac in one corner Of the
shop. Going over to the nondescript
heap Of rubbish he leaned down and
saw face about the size Of silver
dollar enameled on the surface OF q
vase.
A tremor went through the young
artists frame; his eyes grew wide
with Amusement. Surely tiiat wa
the work Of a great master!" With q
trembling hand he reached down into
the heap of rubbish and, exercising all
the care he could, he disengaged it
from the mass OF broken china and
chips Of iron and brought 1t out into
the light. He trembled all over as the
conviction seized him that he had dis
covered treasure of enormous value.
A sharp bargain with the owner and
he hurried out into the street and was
soon In his shabby little studio. Dis
placing q bust Of the Venus de Milo,
which had occupied a bracket on the
wall, he carefully busted of his vase
and gave 1t the most commanding
place In his studio.
Long into the night he sat before
the vase and studied the transcendent-
ally beautiful coloring of the face.
The following day found the young
artist working away with all the en-
thusiasm Of genius. Day followed day
and still the almost inspired young
man stuck to his canvas. What he
had eaten for week would not have
made a hearty meal. In an hours
time he would have given the finish
ing touches to his work of art.
He did not hear the heavy creak of
advancing footsteps on the stairs, nor
did he see the three rough-looking
men and the landlord advance into the
room The landlord spoke and bran
dished paper in his hands. The
young man was oblivious dream
had deadened all his senses.
One of the men stepped forward.
and, raising his arn with q hooking
laugh, dashed the yase~model from Its
bracket, sending 1t crashing in q thou-
sand pieces to the door, Gerge Chal-
mers woke to the present He looked
at his vase. an impossible broken
mass on the rough board floor. He
looked at the landlord and the two
men, and his eyes shone with the
grief that comes with broken heart.
He closed his eyes and sank back in
his chair.
On the following day the name
George Chalmers" appeared on one
of the sudden death slips to become q
part OF the dry, voluminous records Of
the nnrnf1er.,n ,,ff3ef1 3-Ts ~