were fixed. Some former occupant used the cupboard, no doubt,
as a secret receptacle for his treasures, and masked it with the
book-shelves in front. Who knows what he kept in here, or who he was! I
should not be surprised if he were that very man who used to come here
so often to hear us play the 'Areopagita,' and whom you saw that night
last June. He had the one shelf made, you see, to move so as to give him
access to this cavity on occasion: then when he left Oxford, or perhaps
died, the mystery was forgotten, and with a few times of painting the
cracks closed up."

Mr. Gaskell shortly afterwards took his leave as he had a lecture
to attend, and my brother was left alone to the contemplation of his
new-found treasure. After some consideration he determined that he would
take the instrument to London, and obtain the opinion of an expert as
to its authenticity and value. He was well acquainted with the late Mr.
George Smart, the celebrated London dealer, from whom his guardian, Mr.
Thoresby, had purchased the Pressenda violin which John commonly used.
Besides being a dealer in valuable instruments, Mr. Smart was a famous
collector of Stradivarius fiddles, esteemed one of the first authorities
in Europe in that domain of art, and author of a valuable work of
reference in connection with it. It was to him, therefore, that my
brother decided to submit the violin, and he wrote a letter to Mr. Smart
saying that he should give himself the pleasure of waiting on him the
next day on a matter of business. He then called on his tutor, and with
some excuse obtained leave to journey to London the next morning. He
spent the rest of the day in very carefully cleaning the violin, and
noon of the next saw him with it, securely packed, in Mr. Smart's
establishment in Bond Street.

Mr. Smart received Sir John Maltravers with deference, demanded in what
way he could serve him; and on hearing that his opinion was required on
the authenticity of a violin, smiled somewhat dubiously and led the way
into a back parlour.

"My dear Sir John," he said, "I hope you have not been led into buying
any instrument by a faith in its antiquity. So many good copies of
instruments by famous makers and bearing their labels are now afloat,
that the chances of obtaining a genuine fiddle from an unrecognised
source are quite remote; of hundreds of violins submitted to me for
opinion, I find that scarce one in fifty is actually that which it
represents itse