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[ti:34] |
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[ar:34] |
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Lesson 34 |
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A happy discovery |
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What was the 'happy discovery'? |
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Antique shops exert a peculiar fascination on a great many people |
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The more expensive kind of antique shop |
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where rare objects are beautifully displayed in glass cases |
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to keep them free from dust is usually a forbidding place. |
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But no one has to muster up courage to enter a less pretentious antique shop. |
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There is always hope that in its labyrinth of musty,dark,disordered rooms |
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a real rarity will be found amongst the piles of assorted junk that litter the floors |
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No one discovers a rarity by chance. |
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A truly dedicated bargain hunter must have patience, |
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and above all,the ability to recognize the worth of something when he sees it. |
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To do this,he must be at least as knowledgeable as the dealer. |
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Like a scientist bent on making a discovery, |
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he must cherish the hope that one day he will be amply rewarded. |
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My old friend,Frank Halliday,is just such a person. |
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He has often described to me how he picked up a masterpiece for a mere `50. |
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One Saturday morning,Frank visited an antique shop in my neighbourhood. |
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As he had never been there before,he found a great deal to interest him. |
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The morning passed rapidly and Frankwas about to leave |
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when he noticed a large packing case lying on the floor. |
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The dealer told him that it had just come in, |
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but that he could not be bothered to open it. |
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Frank begged him to do so and the dealer reluctantly prised it open. |
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The contents were disappointing. |
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Apart from an interesting-looking carved dagger, |
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the box was full of crockery,much of it broken. |
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Frank gently lifted the crockery out of the box |
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and suddenly noticed a miniature painting at the bottom of the packing case. |
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As its composition and line reminded him of an Italian painting he knew well, |
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he decided to buy it. |
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Glancing at it briefly the dealer told him that it was worth `50. |
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Frank could hardly conceal his excitement, |
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for he knew that he had made a real discovery. |
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The tiny painting proved to be an unknown masterpiece by Correggio |
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and was worth hundreds and thousands of pounds. |