The Sunday Oregonian., May 21, 1911, SECTION SIX, Page 5, Image 73

THE SUTAY OKEGOXIAX, PORTLAND, MAT 21, 1911.
5
AJRemimcencc of dtlferlacK HolmBcr'-No...(Conclu(ied)7JS
PART II
THE logger occupied two rooms at
tha vicarage, which war In aa
angle by themselves, th on
above the other. Below was a large
sitting-room: above, his bedroom. They
looked out upon a croquet-lawn which
came tip to the window. W had ar
rived before the doctor or th police, eo
that everything waa absolutely undis
turbed. Let n describe exactly th
scene aa w saw Jt npon that misty
March morning. It has left an Impres
sion which can ncrer b effaced from
mr mind.
Th atmosphere of the room was of
horrible and depressing atuffinei-. The
errant who had firm entered had
thrown np th window, or It would
kin been even more intolerable. This
mlcht eartlr b due to the fact that
a lamp stood Darin- and imoklnr on
the center table. Beside It sat the
dead man. leaning back In his chair,
his thin beard projecting, hi spectacles
pushed p on to hi forehead, and hi
lean, dark lac turned towara ine win
dow and twisted Into th same dlstor
iinn of terror which had marked th
featnrea of his dead. sister. His limb
were conrulsed and his finer con
torted. as though he had died In a very
paroxysm of fear. He wa fully
clothed, though ther wer signs th
hi dressing had been done In a hurry,
Wa had already learned -that his bed
had been slept In. and that th tragic
end had com to him in th early
moroinjr.
On realized th red-hot energy
which underlay Holmes phlegmatic
terlor when one saw the sudden change
which cam over him from the moment
that he entered th fatal apartment- In
an instant he waa tense and alert, his
ere sblnlnc. his fare set. his limbs
oulverlng with an agr activity. He
was out on the lawn, in through th
window, round the room, and up Into
the bedroom, for all the world 11k
dashing foxhound drawing a cover. In
the bedroom he made a rapid cast
around, and ended by throwing open the
window, which appeared to frlve him
some fresh causa for excitement, for he
leaned out of It with loud ejaculations
of Interest and delight- Then he rushed
down th stair, out through th open
window, threw himself npon hi face
on th lawn, sprang up and Into th
room one mora, all with th energy of
th hunter who la at the very heels of
Ms quarry. Th lamp, which waa an
ordinary standard, he examined with
minute care, making certain measure
mnti npon Its bowl. He carefully
scrutinized with Ms lens th talc shield
which covered the top of th chimney.
and scrap! off some ashea which ad
rr4 to It upper surfae. putting
some or them Ir.to an envelop, which
he placed In hi pocket-book. Finally.
Just as the doctor and the official polio
rot In an appearance, he beckoned to
the vlrar and we all three went out
upon the lawn.
"I am glad to say that my Investiga
tion has not been entirely barren." he
remarked. "I cannot remain to discuss
the matter with th police, but I shoald
be exceedingly obliged. Air. Koundhay.
If you would rtv th Inspector my
compliments and direct hi attention
to th bedroom window and to th sitting-room
lamp. Earn la suggestive,
and together they are almost conclu
sive. If th police would desire further
Information I shall be happy to see any
of them at th cottage. And now. Wat
son. I think that perhap w shall be
better employed elsewhere."
It may be that th nolle resented th
Intrusion of an amatenr. or that they
Imagined themselves to be npon soma
hopeful II n of Investigation: but It la
certain that w beard nothing from
them for th nut two day. During
this time Holme spent some of his time
smoking and dreaming in the cottage;
but a greater portion In country walks
which he undertook alone, returning
after many hours without remark as to
where h had been. On experiment
served to show me the lln of his in
vestigation. He had bought a lamp
which was the duplicate of the on
which had burned In th room of Morti
mer Trrgennts on th morning of th
tragedy. Tbla he filled with th same
oil as that used at th vicarage, and
upon thos who have first entered It.
Tou will recollect that Mortimer Tre
gennls In describing the episode of his
last visit to his brothers' house, re
marked that th doctor on entering the
room fell Into a chair? Tou had for
gotten T Wall. I can answer for It that
It waa so. Now. you will remember
also that Mrs. Porter, the housekeeper,
told us that she herself fainted upon
entering th room and had afterward
opened the window. In the second case
he carefully timed th period which It that of Mortimer Tregennls himself
i wiiiiii
would take to be exhausted. Another
experiment which h mad waa of a
more unpleasant nature, and one which
am not likely aver to forget.
"You will remember. TV at eon." ha re
marked ona afternoon, "that there la a
logle common point of resemblance In
he varying reports which have reached
us. This concerns the effect of the
atmosphere of the room In each
you cannot have forgotten the horrible
stuffiness of the room when wo arrived,
though th servant had thrown open the
window. That servant- I found upon
Inquiry, waa so ill that she hnd gone
to her bed. Tou will admit, Watson,
that these fact are very suggestive.
In each case there Is evidence of a pois
onous atmosphere. In each case, also,
there Is combustion going on In the
room in the one case a fire. In the
other a lamp. Tha firs was needed, but
th lamp was lit as a comparison of
th oil consumed will show long after
It was broad daylight. Why? Surely
because there is some connection be
tween' three things the burning, the
stuffy atmosphere, and, finally, the
madness or death of those unfortunate
people. That is clear, is it not?"
"It would appear so."
"At least we may accept it as a work
ing hypothesis. We will suppose, then,
that something was burned In each case
which produced an atmosphere causing
strange toxlo effects. Very good. In
the first instance that of the Tregennls
family this substance waa placed In
the fire. Now. the window waa shut,
but the fire would naturally carry
fumes to some extent to the chimney.
Hence, one would expect the effects of
the poison to be lees than in the second
case, where there was less escape for
the vapor. The result seems to Indl
cats that It was so, since la the first
case only the woman, who had pre
sumably tha more sensitive organism,
was killed, the others exhibiting that
temporary or permanent lunacy which
is evidently the first effect of the drug.
In the second case tha result was com
plete. The facts, therefore, seem to
bear out the theory of a poison which
worked by combustion.
"With this train of reasoning in my
head I naturally looked about in Morti
mer Tregennls' room to find some, re
mains of this substance. The obvious
place to look was the talc shield or
smoke guard of the lamp. There, sure
enough I perceived a number of flaky
ashes, and round the edges a fringe of
brownish powder, which had not yet
been consumed. Half of this I took, a
you law, and I placed it In an en
velope."
"Why half. Holmes?"
"It is not for me. my dear Wat
son, to stand in the way of the offi
cial police force. I leave them all the
evidence which I found. Th poison
still remained upon the talc had they
the wit to find It. Now, Watson, we will
light our lamp: we wllL however, take
the precaution to open our window to
avoid the premature decease of two de
serving members of society, and ' you
will seat yourself near that open win-
down in an armchair unless. Ilk
sensible man. you determine to have
nothing to do with the affair. Oh
you will sea It out, will you? I thought
knew my Watson. This chair I will
place opposite yours, so that we may
be the same distance from the poison
and face to face. The door we will
eava ajar. Each is now in a position
to watch the other and to bring tha
experiment to an end should the symp-
toms seem alarming. Is that all clear?
Well. then. I take our powder or what
remains of it from tha envelope, and
lay It above tha burning lamp. So!
Now. Watson, let . us sit down and
await developments."
They were not long in coming. I had
hardly settled in my chair before I was
conscious of a thick, musky odor, sub
tle and nauseous. At the very first
whiff of it my brain and my Imagina
tion were beyond all control. A thick
black cloud swirled before my eyes,
and my mind told me that in this cloud,
unseen aa yet, but about to spring out
upon my appalled senses, lurked all
that was vaguely horrible, all that waa
monstrous and inconceivably wicked In
the universe. Vague shapes swirled and
swam amid th dark cloud-bank, each
a menace and a warning of something
coming, tha advent of soma unspeak
able dweller upon the threshold, whose
very shadow would blast my soul. A
freezing horror took possession of ma.
I felt that my hair was rising, that
my eyes were protruding, that my
mouth was opened, and my tongue like
leather. Tha turmoil within my brain
was such that aomethlng must surely
snap. I tried to scream, and was
vaguely aware of some hoarse croak
which was my own voice, but distant
and detached from myself. At the same
moment, in some effort of escape, I
broke through that cloud of despair,
and had a glimpse of Holmes' face,
white, rigid, and drawn with horror
the very look which I had seen upon
the features of the dead. It was that
vision that gave me an instant of san
ity and of strength. I dashed from my
chair, threw my arms round Holmes,
and together we lurched through the
door, and an instant' afterwards had
thrown ourselves down npon the grass
He relapsed at once into the half-
humorous, half-cynlcal vein which was
his habitual attitude to those about
him. "It would be superfluous to drive
us mad, my dear Watson," said he. "A
candid observer would certainly de
Clare that we were so already before
we embarked upon so wild an experi
ment. I confess that I never imagined
that tha effect could be so sudden and
so severe." He dashed into the cot
tage, and, reappearing with tha burning
lamp held at full arm s length, he
threw It among a bank of brambles.
plot and were lying side by side, con
scious only of tha glorious sunshine
which was bursting its way through
the hellish cloud of terror which had
girt us in. Slowly It rose from our
souls Ilka the mists from a landscape,
until peace and reason had returned,
and we were sitting up on the grass.
wiping our clammy foreheads, and look-
ng with apprehension at each other
to mark the last traces of that terrific
experience which we had undergone.
TJpon my word, Watson! said
Holmes at last, with an unsteady voice.
T owe you both my thanks and an
apology. It. was an unjustifiable ex
periment even for oneself, and doubly
so for a friend. I am really very
sorry."
You know," I answered, with some
emotion, for I had never seen so much
of Holmes' heart before, "that it is my
greatest Joy and privilege to help you!"
"We must give the room a little time
to clear. I take it, Watson, that- you
have no longer a shadow of a doubt as
to how these traged'es were produced?"
"None whatever."
"But the cause remains as obscure
as before. Come into the arbor here,
and let us discuss it tog-ether. That
villainous stuff seems still to linger
round my throat. I think we must ad
mit that all the evidence points to this
man, Mortimer Tregennls, having been
the criminal In the first tragedy,
though he was the victim In the sec
ond one. We must remember, in the
first place, that there is some story of
a, family quarrel, followed by a recon
ciliation. How bitter that quarrel may
have been, or how hollow the recon
ciliation, we cannot tell. When I think
of Mortimer Tregennls, with the foxy
face and the small, shrewd, beady eyes
behind the spectacles, he is not a man
whom I should Judge to be of a par
ticularly forgiving disposition. Well,
in the next place, yon will remember
that this idea of some one moving In
the garden, which took our attention,
for a moment from the real cause of
the tragedy, emanated from him. Ho
had a motive in .misleading us. Final
ly, if he did not throw this substance
into the fire at the moment of leav
ing the room, who did so? The affair
happened Immediately after his depart
ure. Had any one else coma In, the
family would certainly have risen from
the table. Besides, in peaceful Corn
wall, visitors do not arrive after 10
o'clock at night. We may take it, then,
that all the evidence points to Mortl- .
mer Tregennis as the culprit."
"Then his own death was suicide!"
"Well. Watson, it is on the face of
it a not Impossible supposition. The
man who had the guilt upon his soul I
of having brought such a fate upon hi) t
own family might well be driven by
remorse to Inflict it upon himself.
mere are, nowever, some cugeiii reap.
sons against lu r oriunaiejjr, mere is
one man in England who knows all !
about it, and I have made arrange-
ments by which we shall hear the facts i
this afternoon from his own lips. Ah!
he is a little before his time. Perhaps
you will kindly step this way. Dr. Leon
Sterndale. We have been conducting I
a chemical experiment indoors which
has left our little rom hardly fit for i
the reception of so distinguished a vis- !
itor." i
I bad heard the click of tha garden .
gate, and now the majestic figure of
the great African explorer appeared
upon the path. He turned in some sur
prise towards the rustic arbor in which
we sat.
"Tou sent for me, Mr. Holmes. I had
your note about an hour ago, and I
have come, though I really do not know
why I should obey your sumons.
"Perhaps we can clear the point np
before we separate," said Holmes.
Meanwhile, I am much obliged to you
for your courteous acquiescence. Tou
will excuse this informal reception in
the open air, but my friend Watson
and I have nearly furnished an addi
tional chapter to what the papers call
the Cornish Horror, and we prefer a
clear atmosphere for the present. Per
haps, since the matters which we have
to discuss will , affect you personally
in a very intimate fashion, it is as well
that we should talk where there can
be no eavesdropping. '
The explorer took his cigar from ms
lips and gazed sternly at my companion.
T am at a loss to know, sir," he said,
what you can have to speak about
which affects me personally in a very
Intimate fashion."
'The killing of Mortimer Tregennls,"
said Holmes.
For a moment I wished that I were
armed. Sterndale's fierce face turned
to a dusky red, his eyes glared, and the
knotted, passionate veins started out
in his forehead, while he sprang for
ward with clenched hands towards my
companion. Then he stopped, and with
& violent effort he resumed a cold, rigid
calmness which was, perhaps, more sug
gestive of danger than his hot-headed
outburst. 1
"I have lived so long among savages
and beyond the law," said he, "that I
have got into the way of being a law
to myself. Tou would do well, Mr.
Holmes, not to forget it. for I have no
desire to do you an injury."
"Nor have I any desire to do yon. an
injury, Dr. Sterndale. Surely the clear
est proof of it is that, knowing what I
know, I have sent for you and not for
the police."
Sterndale sat down with a gasp, over
awed for, perhaps, tha first time in his
adventurous life. There was a calm as
surance of power in Holmes' manner
which could not be withstood. Our vis
itor stammered for a moment, his great
(Concluded on Page 7.)
AMERICANS BUY UP WORLD'S ART TREASURES
WEALTtlT Americana r buying
up Europe choicest art treas
ure. Although this pmceM of acquisition
has been going on for some tlm past. It
I quit recently that all Europe has got
stirred tip over th matter.
First it waa Italy that showed signs
of an noyau re at th Inroad nuwle by
American collector on It hoarded
treasure of art. Goaded to act ion by
om particularly rich haul by our tnll
ltonalrea, to whom price waa nothing,
one they had decided that an art gal
lery waa the right thing to have around
th house, th Italian government actu
ally passed a law atralnst th sal by
Italians of valuable paintings to for
eigner.
Then enroe hoar rumbling from Ger
man, for there. too, Americans had been
Vmwlinjc about, carrying off entire col
lections from under tl-. noses of th Ger
man art loer. One of th rumblurs
-a as th famous Dr. Wliheira Eou. th
l'erlln connoisseur.
N'ait It was England' turn. Th Lon
d-in Time recently devoted one of Its
mimt solemn and pessimistic editorials
to the aUrmlnjt temienc-y among paint
Inge and other such glories of England
t mt-.rt across the Atlantic to this
tippo.dly bromlulc and gross country
f ours.
And now comes Franc. A rumor ha
Just started In Ports to th effect that
1h French government Intend to Intro
duce a bill u prevent th exportation of
rench works of art from the land wher
thev belong. M. DuJoMtn-I'eaumets.
minister of fin art of th French re
public. 1 reported to hav said thai the
French mlr.d I growing very uneasy
owing to tne number of rar works of
art which leave Franc to flrd new
home In th I'nttrd State.
Some American Buyer.
All of which leads to questionings on
the part of curious Americana
Just who are these fellow countrymen
of our who are frightening Europe to
-tch an extent? Just what has this
American raid on Old World treasure
lui amounted to sine th art lust
struck th new world?
Day after oar Amrrtmry read of rec
ord -breaking prw raid by mu,tl-mll-lio&aire
of the? parts for a Velastiues
or a ans Hals, a beautiful carving, a
delicate ft:hir. a gorgeous piece of
tpTry. a "find" like that renowned
"npe of Aacotl. so eagerly purchased by
J. Plerpont Morgnn. so raagnanlmouslv
returned by him to Italy. Hut you auk.
In reading such things, do th combined
g'ramngs of American collectors- ven
ratrn th surface of the European
rrd? Ha th Old World cau for
alarm at this coUctaianla, so suddenly
orn among us?
Th Old World has. If you will look
tark over th long list of purchases
made by American In Furoo during
If-t last quarter of a century If you wtil
consider the to th European mind, fab
rtilou sum disbursed by our country
sxoa to swear ownership of art treas
uresthen you wilt agree that Europe is
right In Hiking step against this spolia
tion. it la many years now sine American
began the work of enriching tha art gal
leries of their native land at tha expena
of foreign countries. J. Pterpont Mor
gan. Mrs. Jack Gardner, of Boston: P. A.
H. WIdenrr. of Philadelphia: Otto Kahn.
Henry Clny Frlrk. Mrs. CollU P. Hunt
ington. Benjamin Altman these, among
the foremost, have time and again left
Europe gasping as they triumphantly
bore away with them paintings and other
trophies whose former owners, at first
loath to sell, were eventually so dazzled
by tha golden proffers made them as to
forget every scruple born of tradition
and patriotism.
Half Million for One Canvas.
Otto Kahn broke all record last Spring
bv paying something Ilka $500,000 for
Frnna Hals' celebrated painting of him
self and family, already wrested from
Europe by a New York firm of art deal
ers. Not long before that Mrs. Colllg P.
Huntington gave, according to report,
I400.COO for Velasquez' 'Tha Count of
Ollvares." tha loss of which deeply
pained England, wher th great canvas
hnd long been treasured. J. Plerpont
Morgan Is supposed to have given SHOO.
ooo for Fir Thomas Lawrence's "Portrait
of Miss Farren"; for two Rembrandts
Benjamin Altman likewise paid t:00.0O0.
For "A Spanish Statesman." by Vnles-
quez. f. A. B. Widener gave J1S0.OOO.
Romnev's "The Three Children of Cap
tain utile,- coat Otto Kahn tlMMMO.
Melomrs famous "Friendland." now
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
here, was acquired by Judge Henry Hil
ton for It-iuM. For tha pleasure of add
ing Trovon s -Return to the Farm" to
the treasure cf his native city of Phil
adelphia. E. T. Siotesbury gave xOTO.
one of the best known of tha Metropoli
tan Art Museum canvases, th great
"Horse Fair." by Rosa Bonseur, Is In
this country, because Cornelius Vander
but paid $.t,iX30 for It. lie subsequently
presented It to the museum.
Other masterpiece of foreign art for
which Americans by no means among
th wealthiest r.av not hesitated to
pay fjo.000 or thereabouts within the
last few years are Millet' "Going to
work rawn of Eay. Breton a "Th
Communicants." Mauv "Return of th
Flock." Fortuny' "Choosing a Model
and the same master's "Sheep Coming
Out of toe Forest.
Henry Clay Frlck leaped into the
limelight as an art connoisseur when ha
acquired Inst year Frans Hal's "Por
trait of a Woman" at the sale of the art
treasures of the late Charles T. Terkes.
Mr. Frlck paid I117.0OO for tha sake of
hanging that Frans Hals on tha wall
of hi gallery.
At tha seune sala a Turner brought
tl:J.000. Previously Mr. Prick attract
ed attention by buying Bouveret's
"Chrlut at Urn ma us" for something like
ITJ. 000. and presenting It to tha Car
negie art gallery In 1'lttsburg.
A little over twa years ago tha disap
pearance of ssveral famous Van Dycka
from th Cattas coil action at Oaoa
puzzled people all over Europe. Th
mystery vanished when It was learned
that they had become the property of
P. A. B. Wldner, of Philadelphia, already
renowned aa a collector. One of a wo
man with a negro page holding her
train, is ranked among Van Dyck's
masterpieces.
The price paid by Wldencr for this
work alone was said to be not far from
tsoo.ooo.
The Cattaneo family, owners of the
Van Dycks, sold them In spite of tha
Italian law against such sales. At first
J. Plerpont Morgan was supposed to
be the purchaser. It was said that ha
had outbid the German Emperor.
Mora successful In defending her
treasures was Oreat Britain, when tha
Duke of Norfolk offered for sale In 1(09,
tha choice gem of the collection formed
by his forefathers. That gem was Hol
bein's "Christina of Denmark." No
sooner was It put up for sale than patrl.
otic English art lovers recognized the
danger of its being carried to America,
never to ba returned.
"Unless something nnexpected hap
pens." said tha grave old London Times,
"The Duke of Norfolk's Holbein will
leave tha country which It has adorned
for four centuries, tha noble family
which has owned It since 1627, and the
national gallery where it has been de
posited so long that the nation has come
to regard it as Its own. It will go
either to the new palace of a steel mag
nate in New York or that of a Phlla
delphian who has made an inordinate
amount of money out of the promotion
of tramway companies.
Millionaires Are Raiders.
"In this, too. It will only follow a long
series of masterpieces which, during
tha last 30 years, have left England to
find new homes in Germany or America.
The lata Rodolphe Kann, of Paris, filled
Ms famoua gallery with the spoils of
England, and these, upon his death.
mostly crossed tha Atlantic; but the
new American millionaires are much
the most dangerous raiders, because
they are richer than anybody has ever
been before, and because there are
enough of them to set up that conflict
of rival vanities which. In a case of
this kind. Is tha surest way to make a
market-
What can any Englishman or any
government do against men who have
each aomethlng Ilka f 1,000,000 a year
mora than they can possibly spend
on their normal requirements? Let a
man like Mr. Frlck or Mr. Wldener, or
one or two of the Western magnates,
once be imbued with the passion for
collecting and nothing can stand
against them. It matters nothing to
such a man whether tha ploture costs
135.000 or 1230.000. If he wants it and
It it I th finest of Its kind, ha will
have It-"
Egged on by the above outburst and
similar ones from other newspapers
and private Individuals, a popular sub
scription was started to pay the Duke
of Norfolk th I?:,000 which he de
manded for th painting
But only 116.500 was collected In this
way. To Government off rd only ,
10.000. The departure of th painting
for foreign lands seemed Inevitable.
But suddenly, in the nick of time, a
woman volunteer came forward and
announced that she would give 40.000.
The National art fund collections fund
then took upon Itself to supply the
comparatively small amount still
needed, and all England broke into
Jubilation at the victory won over the
American "raiders."
It was but a few months later, how
ever, that Mrs. Collis P. Huntington
raided the British art preserves and
carried away with her Velasquez"
"Duke of Olivares," now tha pride of
her collection.
"Mrs. Huntington paid 15,000 more
for it than the national art collection
fund of England paid for another Vel
asquez now In the National Art oai
lery," one English Journal reproach
fully exclaimed in the course of some
remarks Intended to arouse English
men to renewed resistance against the
encroachments of American collectors.
Book on American Treasures.
Deeply Impressed by the feats of
American collectors in obtaining for
eign masterpieces, a group of artists
decided a few years ago to publish a
book that should describe the leading
American art galleries In a manner
worthy of their magnificent contents.
The first volume of this book was is
sued in 1907: others will probably fol
low later. In binding, printing. Illus
tration, and in tha quality of the criti
cal essays which it includes, this boos!
doubtless has few, if any. rivals In
this country. Tha late John La Farge
contributed the preface and much of
tha remaining written matter; Kenyon
Cox and other American artists of the
renown also figures as writers in ita
pages.
Tha edition waa limited to 126 copies.
and the price of each copy was set
at 11000. Surely, when It was worth
while to issue a book like that in order
to tell about tha masterpieces housed
In a land, that land need not feel Itself
a back number among art's treasure
houses.
Tha first volume of the work takes
up the collection of Mrs. John L. Gard
ner, In her palatial Boston residence,
Fenway Court; tha Pope collection at
Farmlngton. Conn., and tha John Hay,
Herbert L. Terrell and Albert A.
Sprague collections. Judged by con
noisseurs to be among tha finest in
America. A good working Idea of the
Inroads of American "raiders" in Eu
rope is gained by any one who per
uses but a few pages of the volume and
glancea at but two or three of tha
paintings reproduced in the Illustra
tions. One of the canvases described and
pictured la Raphael's "Portrait of In
ghlramU" now in Mrs. Gardner's Bos
ton art gallery. Another Raphael por
trait of tha same man bangs In tha
Pltti palace at Florence. But art ex
perts whose words bear great weight,
among them Dr. Wliheira Bode, of
Berlin, unite In saying Mrs. Gardner's
canvas and not the Florence one Is
the genuine article.
"When an American collector comes
into competition with the Pitti palace,
especially for a painting by Raphael,"
declares Dr. Bode, "one is naturally
predisposed to be a partisan of the
Pitti picture, but with regard to the
Inghirami portrait the advantage ap
pears to me to be entirely .with the ex
ample in America." .
Mrs. Gardner got this Raphael dn-ect-ly
from the Inghirami family, descend
ants of him who sat for Raphael.
From Royal Galleries.
Another gem in her Fenway palace is
Botticelli's "Death of Lucretia," pur
chased from Lord Ashburnham. Another,
Raphael's "Pieta." came to her at a
London sale, .after having been owned
by no less august personages than Sir
Thomas Lawrence, the queen of Sweden,
and the duke of Orleans. Her "Madon
na and Child," by Mantcgna. has also
been accustomed in its day to noble
surroundings. Among its owners, be
fore Mrs. Gardner carried It away with
her to Boston, were the Duke of Man
tua. King Charles I of England, Queen
Christina of Spain and the Prince del
Drago. After Charles I was executed
the painting was bought by Alonzo de
Cardenas. Spanish ambassador to the
commonwealth. Eventually it came in
to tho possession of the Del Drago
family, and it was from the present
prince of that name that Mrs. Gard
ner acquired it.
Another treasure in her collection is
Titian's "Rape of Eurona," done when
the master was SO years old, and ad-
Judged one of his ripest creations. Tit
ian painted it for Philip II of Spain
over 400 years ago and sent it to that
monarch with a humble request that
payment be not forgotten. It was pre
sented by Philip V to the Marquis? de
Gram m on t in 1704; from him it passed
tnrougn the hands of the duke of Or
leans and Lord Berwick to those of the
Earl of Darnley, who hung it on the
wans or his residence Cobham hall,
where it remained till the present hold
er of the Darnley title disposed of it
to a firm of London dealers commis
sioned by Mrs. Gardner to obtain it for
her.
She also is tha owner of Giorgione's
ori8t Bearing the Cross," formerly in
the collection of the Conntess Loschl
dal Verme, at Vlcenxa; likewise Botti
celli' -Madonna del Chlgl." sold by
Prince Chlgi of Rome in 1899 to a group
of English dealers, before his govern
ment put its foot down on such sales.
In the Garden gallery are also three
valuable Rembrandts. Two, the "Young
Couple" and "ChrlBt and His Disciples
in a Storm." formerly figured in the
well known Hope collection formed by
Henry Hope in the 17th century and
sold in 1898 by his descendants for
over $600,000. The storm picture was
once in tha King of Poland's collection
at Hubertusburg. Hope gave him 43S0
florins for it.
Among the finest canvases In tho
Gardner palace at Boston ia Ruben's
"Earl of Arundel." which comes from
Ruben's own collection of hi' works.
AX tha sale of thos works after Ru
ben's death, in 1641, the Earl of War
wick acquired it and hung it in War
wick castle.
Another Boston treasure. Van Dyck's
"Lady with a. Rose," was acquired for
Mrs. Gardner at the sale of the Duke of
Osuna s collection at Madrid In 1896.
The Pope's collection, at Farminirton.
Includes paintings by Degas. Daumier,
Claude Monet, and a valuable lot of
etchings, prints, ets. In the John Hay
collection is the "Madonna. Child, and
Christ on the Cross, by Sassoferrato.
A "Portrait of Himself' executed in
splendid style by Rembrandt, is one of
the Terrell gems. It comes from the
collection of the Duke of Leuchtenberir.
and was bought from members of the
Leuchtenberg family by a New York
art dealer. Also in the Terrell gallery
is Sir Joshua Reynolds' "Lady Frances
r inch. purchased from the present
earl of Aylesford, and Gainsborough's
"Portrait of Isabel Howland," formerly
owned by the Beaumont family, other
treasurers in the same collection are a
line Hoppner and Regnault'a "Autome
don and the Horses of Achilles."
The Sprague collection, at Chicago, is
ncEcnDea in glowing words by Kenyon
Cox. It includes Van Dyck's "Virgin,
Infant Chriirt, and Saint Catherine."
and Hoppner's "Master Mercier."
Both among connoisseurs and the
general public Interest is more com
monly evinced toward 'paintings than
toward other forms of art. For that
reason American collectors have tend
ed in most cases to gather together
works of great European painters for
the adornment of their homes. This,
however, does not mean at all that
other forms of European art have been
let alone by the American "raiders."
In fact, practically all our collections
of paintings fade before the splendid
collection which J. Pierpont Morgan,
most eclectic of collectors, has crammed
into the art gallery behind his Madison
avenue residence In New York City.
The Morgan Collection.
For a long time impenetrable mys
tery hung about it; everybody knew
that it boused one of the finest per
haps the finest of the world's art col
lections, but nobody knew exactly what
waa Inside. At last, a detailed descrip
tion the only authorized one published
appeared in the New York Times. It
came out, simultaneously. In the Lon
don Times, which called the Morgan
collection "the most wonderful of all
collections, formed by the most won
derful collector of our time, perhaps of
any time."
Enough, surely, to cause alarm in
Europe!
The description in the Times of the
Morgan treasures told of score upon
escore of priceless books the Ash
burnham gospels, the Golden gospels
of Henry VII, the Naples offices of
Glulio Clovio, of illumined manuscripts
and Caitons treasures the like of
which not even the British Museum
can show. It told of Byron manu
scripts, well nigh the only ones in ex
istence; of Blake's original drawings
for the Book of Job, the originals of
Horace Walpole'a letters, the original
drawings for tho Pickwick Papers, the j
manuscripts of "Endymlon," Shelley's
notebook.
In this same new world collection
are letters of St. Francis de Sales and
other saints, the originals of many -f
Burns' poems, manuscripts by Dr. John
son, the manuscript of "A Christmas
Carol." scores of Dickens' letters,
manuscripts of Swift, the earliest let
ter of Napoleon known to exist, Scott's
diary, nine of his manuscript no'els.
including "Ivanhoe"; manuscripts like
wise of famous works by Dumas, Char
lotte Bronte, George Sand, Charles
Reade, Lytton, Zola.
Here, too, is the original draft of
"Vanity Fair," letters penned by
Charles Lamb, by Mary Queen of Scots,
entire shelves of Aldlnes and Elzevirs.
Shakespeare folios and quartos, old edi
tions of Milton, Sidney, Spencer, John
son, Drayton. Marvell, Waller, Burton.
Some Famous Manuscripts.
Books there are here which, many
j'esterdays ago, were perused by kings
and queens and royal princesses, by
statesmen and court beauties. Some be
longed to the Pompadour, others to
Marguerite de Valois, to Henry VIIL to
Catherine of Aragon, to Cardinal Riche
lieu and Colbert.
Everywhere is the mellow atmos
phere of the old world. And yet, one
has but to step outside to be confronted
all of a sudden with A. D. 1911 and
Thirty-seventh street. New York City.
The Intense rivalry among American
art collectors has been In existence, in
its really violent form, only a decade
or so. But more than a quarter of a
century ago a few Americans were al
ready transporting masterpieces of art
from Europe to their homes. Theirs
was an easier task than Is that of the
collectors of today; not only could the
connoissuers of the '60s, '70s and '80s
obtain what they wanted at much lower
prices than would be the case nowa
days, but they were not confronted In
Europe with the alarm which is now
framing against further American In
vasion.
The custom of paying big prices for
works of art began about the time of
the Centennial Exposition at Philadel-
phia in 1876. Turner's celebrated "Slave
Ship," now at the Boston .Juseum of
Art, fetched 110,000 that year, when.
John Taylor Johnston's fine collection
was sold at auction. In those days that
was a tremendous sum to pay for a
painting. -Later William H. Vanderbilt,
John Jacob Astor, D. O. Mills, and oth
ers entered the field, paying sums rang
ing from 16000 to $11,500 for works by
Bougereau, Gerome, Melssonier, etc
Ten years later, prices had already
taken a Jump upward. Cornelius Van
derbilt bought a Breton for $20,500;
another canvas by the same artist
brought $18,200; a Tryon fetched $26,
000 at the Albert Spencer auction ail
record prices for those days.
Collis P.- Huntington paid $26,800 In
1889 for a Melssonier. In the '90s
prices began to resemble those of the
present day. George Gould bought a
Corot In 1898 for $36,000, a Rousseau
for $38,500. A few years later Rubens
"Holy Family" brought $50,000. and th
era of big prices and furious competi
tion had started In earnest. , .