not often that a man oan indulge a favourite craze without paying somewhat dearly for the pleasure. In ove way or other, hobby-riding is generally pretty sure to prove an expensive amusement; and this is never more likely to be the case than when the mania in question becomes fashionable, and a large namber of persons all find themselves competing with each other in the same pursuit. Many hobbies are of course harmless enough, and if a man is alone in his peculiarity for any taste he may manage to indulge in it without very much fear of ruining himself. During the lust twenty years, there has always been more or less fa rage for old postage-stamps, 'The celebrated tulipomania in -Holland is a matter of history, and readers of Alexandre Damas' ' Black slip' will yemombor the extraordinary excitement which once prevailed in thnt country and the sums (hat were expended in attempting to produce that which was justly regarded us a true horticultural prodigy. Here in the Far Enst, the phenomenon of which we are writing tukes the form of curio-hunting. It is a craze, of course, like everything else of the same kind, and is subject to fluctuations of fashion as unaccountable as those observable.in other departments of taste. Some years ago, a Indy's drawing-room was scarcely considered presentable unless it contained about a hundred and fifty lilipntian tea-pots, the majority of which were capable of holding about as much tea as an ordinary thimble. Then came a reversion in favour of snuff-bottles, an article which presented far greater attractions to the eye of the connoisseur; and the consequence was that cabinets, brackets, whatnots, and side-tables presented all the appearance of a pedlar's stall in a Chinese temple fair, The ran upon these artistic litle objects uatarally sent up their value to a fancy figure, and when we consider that a foreigner, especially one who is known to be "cullectiug," is generally asked ten or twelve times as much for an article as a Chinese is expected to, pay, it, is safe to conclude that in very many instances the unive deal. ers realised extremely handsome profits. Turs, blites, and cups, however, form the favourite staple of the curio. hunter, and their value depends not only upon their fineness of material and sometimes dubious elegance of shape, but toa very great degree upon their pattern. 'The monochrome is, we believe, now first favourite, large sums being paid for the varieties known ax "sang-de-beouf' and mustard-crackle,' 'These have entirely displaced the once celebrated hawthorn' patlecu, which, however, is still regarded as possessing considerable merit. It would no doubt be a very shallow criticism to condemn this taste as useless as well as artificial, Curios in themselves are of course useless. Yeo cannot eat or drink out of them, or pat them to any practical purpose in the world. But the same is trae of jewels and of pictures; and as long as the taste for them is preserved, they may, if jadiviously purchased, prove a very excellent investment, he artificial nature of their value may render them a precarious speculation, and no doubt very henvy losses have been incurred by anlacky parehasers; but then on the other hand many of these may be truced to the fastidiousness or en price of home collectors, while in some i stances profits have been made which may vie in point of splendour with that realised by Whittington out of his white cat, Lhe question really how many persons are there in Chi or in Europe, who can appraise n curio at its true valent the moment Some time ngo, there was a rage for blue-and-white, and the most enormous prices were paid; this died out, and a few months ago a jar was offered to a collector in London for £50, which hind been previously purchased for £500. Asa ance on the other side of the question, we may mention the well-known case in which the late Mr. C. R. Thatcher, an acknowledged conuoisseur, purchased a pair of small and singularly ugly chimney-ornaments for six dollars and a half. They were sent home to Christie and Manson's for sale by auction, and realised nine-and-twenty pounds, Is would seem clear, at first sight, (hat in this case the pur chaser in London was utterly wrong in the value be put upon them. And yet, if 80, he was nob the only one mise taken; those who bid against him must have been equally atten, unless, the Chinese dealer had originally come into possession of an article the trae worth. of which he was quite unable to gauge. This view, indeed, receives support From other instances that have occurred, Sume time ago, a piece of potters, worth probably about fifty Feanes, was sent out here from Paris, and came into the possession of a lady who happened to Lave a very fine cole lection of Japanese curlys. A few years afterwards the whole was sent home for sula, and the Duke of Edin. burgh, why had then just returned from the East, was so struck with the imitation-piece that he gave orders fur it to be purchased for bin at any price, His Royal Highness succeeded in aéeuring it fur seventy-tve guineas, The story of " Bluck Jar, however, is very much wore extraordinary, Bought in Shanghai for the handsome sum of Tls. 750 by an accomplished collector, 'Tis, 1,000 wore offered for ib im. mediately afterwards by a Chinese, 'The offer was accepted, and the purchaser sold it again a few weeks afterwards for fifteen hundred, Eventually it was sent home to Cluistie and Manson', where it fetched tke enormous price of two thousand guineas, Lo is dificult, in the face of such facts 1s these, to reslot the conclusion that, if curios have a market vulue,—ibat is, a value which could be gauged by a competent counvisseur with xs much exactitude a picture, a diamond, or a hank of silk—the connoisseur who is able so to gango Uem does not exist, A man who has studied pottery should certainly be able to say whether @ given epecimen is old or new, fne or coarse, well or badly coloured, symmetrical or the reverse. Making the fullest allowance for fashion and for individual tastes, there seems no scope fur such enormous differences in valuation as have been made of late years by connoisseurs, But we must remember that curios do not stand alone in this particular Cases have often happened in which a export lis seen some dingy picture ov buttered fiddle in a small and obscure shop, recognised it as a Holbein or " Cremona, purchased it for a fow shillings, and become the pos sesser ofa gem worth some hundreds of pounds, It often occurs, too, that the price of canys may be run up ab auction by the competition of a few rich busers to whom money is no object, or that a curtain piece lins been fortunate enough to attract unexpected attention, or that there is a sudden craze for some special colour or pattern, the benefit of which is reaped by.a specimen whose possessor was all une conscious of the honour in store for it [visa curious fact, indeed, that although mustard-crackle, fur which there is such a rage at present among foreigners,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.