The Coolidge examiner., 1932-09-23

OF collectors from all parts of the
world, with the result that many
tons of old Spanish furniture, iron
grilles, paintings by old masters.
moth-eaten hangings and draperies,
ancestral silk shawls, ceramic tile,
the secret of whose soft glaze has
since been lost, anciently wrought
pottery, and many other highly
priced objects are shipped each
year from Seville.
And no doubt many more tons
remain to be found, bargained over,
and eventually purchased, although
it Is well for the prospective buyer
to remember that clever wOrmhUles,
do not for antiquity make, nor rust
crusted iron bars for age.
This reflection brings to mind the
old story itself an antiqueD
heard wherever the sale of antiqui-
ties has been developed into a fine
art. The local version has to do
with young foreign student tempo.
rarily sojourning in Seville, who
considers himself something of a
connoisseur in Spanish pottery.
One day he happens to pass the
cluttered window of an antique shop
and notices there, all but hidden by
the bric-a-brac bestrewing the
showcase, a certain blue bowl, fas-
cinating despite a thick layer of
dust. A moment he studies it, and
then, feeling that here indeed is a
find" he straightway goes inside.
But the grizzled old shopkeeper,
while gently courteous, is firm with
al and refuses to be tempted by
an offer of so pesetas, declaring
with many gesticulations that the
price cannot possibly be a centimo'
below a hundred.
Then weeks of haggling follow,
during which time the pride of pos
session enters deep into the soul
of the student, while incidentally
the shopkeeper comes down to 10
pesetas.
And then, just as, the youth is on
the point of leaving Seville and
while he is still debating that extra
% pesetas, black disaster falls.
Two wealthy tourists enter the shop.
and from beneath the very nose of
the covetous collector carry the blue
bowl away in triumph, having with
out demur paid the original price
of 100 pesetas.
His voice trembling with disap-
pOintment, the student turns wrath
fully on the old shopkeeper. "You
sold it for 100, and yet you offered
it to me for 70! And just as l am
leaving, too!"
Reward for Good Boy.
you are leaving Seville, senorY'
Twinkling old eyes regard blazing
ones. "Then, amigo, come with
me. You have been good boy
and :"
Through a mysterious door at the
back of the shop and into an un-
expectedly large, well-lighted room,
the student is conducted. There.
after the old man has carefully un-
locked a mammoth cabinet of carved
wood and thrown back the doors,
are discovered dozens of blue bowls
standing in neat and silent cOmpan-
ionship, each an exact replica of the
find" in the window.
Because you have been a good
boy and did not tell the people Of
my lower offer. have the great
honor of presenting you with one
of these. No, amigo, you shall not
pay. And see, you and are great
friends, no? You say you are leav-
ing Seville tomorrow? Then | shall
show you my greatest treasure"
A very small cabinet is there
upon reverently approached gin
gerly opened, and nesting on vel
vet cushion is an exquisite blue
pitcher.
"Quite perfect, is it not. senior.
save for that infnitesimal chip ont
of the lip? But it is old, my friend.
centuries old. And | must tell yOu
very pretty romance about how il
received that blemish."
After hearing the story and with
difficulty overcoming the old mans
logged resistance, the youth is
finally permitted to purchase the
pitcher for rs pesetas, but only be-
cause she has been a good boy
There is a sequel to the story.
| The student, returning unexpectedly
| to Seville some days later and
CHANGING once again to pass the an
tique shop, behOlds there. all but
hidden by the jumbled odds and
ends of antiquity, sadly forlorn. a
little blue pitcher, quite perfect save
for a scarcely noticeable blemish in
| it's dust-laden lip!