18 
House & Garden 
An Indian silver dish of 
181 // Century make 
(Top) A Persian plate of 
the 1 3th Century 
Plate of Persian fabrique 
from the early period 
COLLECTING ANTIQUES of PERSIA and INDIA 
The Wide Range of Ceramic Work, Rugs, Brasses, and Weaving 
Characteristic of These Countries 
GARDNER TEALL 
II 
O NCE upon a time an old gentleman moved 
into the house across the street. Whence 
he came no one knew, no one ever came to 
know. His name was Kvttyle,—Major Kyttyle. 
As midsummer marked his advent, he proba¬ 
bly felt properly attired, when he appeared on 
the lawn that first day to survey his new do¬ 
main, in a basket-shaped hat of straw and 
suit of an East India looking stuff. Major 
Kyttyle s face was seamed and bronzed. I 
imagine his hair would have been as white as 
the snows of Dhawlagiri had it not been as 
extinct as the Hippuritidae, revealing a shining 
pink dome as reflecting as the pool of Anurad- 
hapura at sunset, visible as now and then he 
would lift his hat to mop off his brow. 
Major Kyttyle’s installation was followed by 
the arrival of countless foreign-looking trunks 
and boxes and the neighborhood naturally 
wondered what on earth the major had in them. 
Airs. Minch was of the opinion that a lone man 
could have no use for such a 
lot of truck. Mrs. Bittles ven¬ 
tured the opinion that Major 
Kyttyle might not be so “lone” 
after all; he might have a fam¬ 
ily and it might arrive later. 
“Families” usually did. Mrs. 
Minch only sniffed. “I can 
tell a bachelor anywhere,” she 
declared with conviction. And she could. 
However, although no family came upon the 
scene, a whole menagerie arrived, one by one, 
from distant parts to keep the major company 
and to scandalize the town. There was a pet 
monkey, a poll parrot, a Persian cat, and a 
globe of diaphanous-tailed goldfish the like of 
which had never been dreamed of thereabouts 
and which quite put to rout the two gilded 
minnows owned by the Pickhams, which till 
then had been the only exotics in the district 
and had lent a certain distinction to the Pick- 
hams to which, socially, their breeding did not 
entitle them. 
As time went on Major Kyttyle brought to 
him a few congenial spirits and yet the little 
group really found out nothing about the 
major’s past beyond the fact that he had lived 
in the Far East for years. Why he had come 
to America no one knew. Why he had settled 
in our uneventful valley no one could guess. 
In fact, deliberately to choose 
the spot was thought to be an 
indication of mental weakness. 
But if there is anything that 
the major was not, that thing 
is mentally weak. No one else 
could have had the will-power 
and ingenuity to evade the life- 
history" disclosures sought by 
the Minches and others who 
came to “know” the major as 
successfully as did this gentle¬ 
man of mystery. 
A gem-encrusted necklace, typical 
of native Indian jewelry 
Rosewater pitcher of brass 
repousee, 18 th Century Indian 
Ivory and colored woods compose the intricate decorations of this richly 
inlaid cabinet. It is of 18 /// Century Kashmir workmanship 
Silver mounted coconut shell 
lamp of 18 tli Century India 
