. Memories of an old collector . ing wasworth far more than 8,000 francs, andif this was the case with a single one, no MEMORIES OF what would not the pair fetch ? I hadreasons of my own for wishing to be* even with Castellani, who alwaysmade me pay dearly for my fancies. Ikept him waiting for some time, andin the end extracted from him 20,000francs (800/.). Castellani reckoned thata Rothschild, who owned one earring,would stick at nothing in order toget the other, and possess the mostbeautiful pair of jewels in the he wrote at once to Paris, inform-ing, the Baron that the fame of the
. Memories of an old collector . ing wasworth far more than 8,000 francs, andif this was the case with a single one, no MEMORIES OF what would not the pair fetch ? I hadreasons of my own for wishing to be* even with Castellani, who alwaysmade me pay dearly for my fancies. Ikept him waiting for some time, andin the end extracted from him 20,000francs (800/.). Castellani reckoned thata Rothschild, who owned one earring,would stick at nothing in order toget the other, and possess the mostbeautiful pair of jewels in the he wrote at once to Paris, inform-ing, the Baron that the fame of the firstearring had raised the price of thesecond to an absurd degree. Immense was the disgust of ourantiquarian friend when he receivedthe reply to his letter. The Baron saidsimply that he would content himselfwith the one beautiful earring which healready possessed, and did not care tobuy the second. Castellani was notaccustomed to such defeats. He keptthe jewel till his death, and at the saleof his effects Baron Edmond de Roth-. GOLD EARRINGPurchased at Castellani sale, 1884, by Baron Edmond Rothschild. AN OLD COLLECTOR 1 1 I schild bid for the second earring, andobtained it for ten or twelve thousandfrancs. Poor Alessandro ! But I oughtnot to pity him, for he never sat downunder a defeat. New triumphs blottedout the past, and no one, better thanhe, ever deserved the epithet of * un-wearying. 112 MEMORIES OF CHAPTER VII One day I received a visit from acountry fellow, who said he had comefrom the neighbourhood of Canino,and brought with him a vase paintedin the early Corinthian manner, thenames of the figures being indicatedby Greek inscriptions. The man de-clared he had discovered it in a tombwhich had fallen in after heavy price asked was very reasonable,and the bargain was soon that time, M. van Brantighem, sowell known among amateurs for thesplendid collection of vases and terra-cottas, which he had just sold in Paris,was one of the most eager buyers
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