SOMETHING ABOUT MINIATURES
“Miniatures?” came from all of Ben Basswood’s listeners in a chorus.
“Do you mean those little paintings that are sometimes so valuable?” continued Laura.
“That’s it,” answered Ben. “I don’t know much about miniatures myself, but as soon as mother and I heard about this queer fortune of ours she asked the minister. You know he is quite interested in art, and he told her that most of these little miniatures, which are about the size of a silver dollar or a small saucer, are usually painted on ivory. Of course, some of them are not so valuable, but others, especially those painted by celebrated artists, are worth thousands of dollars.”
“And how many of these miniatures are there, Ben?” asked Roger, with increased curiosity.
“Father didn’t know exactly, but said they would number at least fifty, and maybe seventy-five.”
“I suppose they are paintings of celebrated individuals––kings, 83 queens, and like that?” was Dave’s comment.
“No, these miniatures, so father stated, are made up almost entirely of the great fighters of the world––army and navy men, lieutenant-generals, admirals, and officers like that.”
“Well, where in the world did this Mr. Enos get money enough to buy such things?” asked Jessie, who had followed Laura into the room.
“That’s the queer part of it,” answered the real-estate dealer’s son. “It seems, after Mr. Enos and my father gave up business and separated, Enos went South––first to Texas and then into Mexico. There he joined some men who were opening up a gold mine. These men struck it rich, and almost before he knew it Mr. Enos was worth quite a lot of money. He had never been very much of a business man––being wrapped up almost entirely in art––and so he did not know how to handle his money. He had always had a liking for miniatures, so my father stated, and he went in to gather this collection. He didn’t want any kings or queens or noted society women, or anything like that, but he did want every miniature ever painted of an army or a navy fighter. Of course, my father doesn’t know all the particulars yet, but he has learned that Mr. Enos put himself out a great deal to get hold of certain miniatures, hunting for them all over Europe 84 and also in this country. He even went down to South America to get miniatures of some of their heroes, and also picked up several in Mexico, and one or two in Texas.”