At last he said with an altered tone, "Sir John, I
have had in my hands nearly all the finest productions of Stradivarius,
and thought myself acquainted with every instrument of note that ever
left his workshop; but I confess myself mistaken, and apologise to you
for the doubt which I expressed as to the instrument you had brought me. This violin is of the great master's golden period, is incontestably
genuine, and finer in some respects than any Stradivarius that I have
ever seen, not even excepting the famous _Dolphin_ itself. You need be
under no apprehension as to its authenticity: no connoisseur could hold
it in his hand for a second and entertain a doubt on the point." My brother was greatly pleased at so favourable a verdict, and Mr. Smart
continued--

"The varnish is of that rich red which Stradivarius used in his best
period after he had abandoned the yellow tint copied by him at first
from his master Amati. I have never seen a varnish thicker or more
lustrous, and it shows on the back that peculiar shading to imitate wear
which we term 'breaking up.' The purfling also is of an unsurpassable
excellence. Its execution is so fine that I should recommend you to use
a magnifying-glass for its examination." So he ran on, finding from moment to moment some new beauties to
admire. My brother was at first anxious lest Mr. Smart should ask him whence so
extraordinary an instrument came, but he saw that the expert had already
jumped to a conclusion in the matter. He knew that John had recently
come of age, and evidently supposed that he had found the violin among
the heirlooms of Worth Maltravers. John allowed Mr. Smart to continue in
this misconception, merely saying that he had discovered the instrument
in an old cupboard, where he had reason to think it had remained hidden
for many years. "Are there no records attached to so splendid an instrument?" asked Mr.
Smart. "I suppose it has been with your family a number of years. Do you
not know how it came into their possession?" I believe this was the first occasion on which it had occurred to John
to consider what right he had to the possession of the instrument. He
had been so excited by its discovery that the question of ownership had
never hitherto crossed his mind. The unwelcome suggestion that it was
not his after all, that the College might rightfully prefer a claim to
it, presented itself to him for a moment; but he set it instantly aside,
quieting his conscience with the reflection that this at least was not
the moment to make such a disclosure. He fenced with Mr. Smart's inquiry as best he could, saying that he was
ignorant of the history of the instrument, but not contradicting the
assumption that it had been a long time in his family's possession. "It is indeed singular," Mr. Smart continued, "that so magnificent
an instrument should have lain buried so long; that even those best
acquainted with such matters should be in perfect ignorance of its
existence. I shall have to revise the list of famous instruments in the
next edition of my 'History of the Violin,' and to write," he added
smiling, "a special paragraph on the 'Worth Maltravers Stradivarius.'" After much more, which I need not narrate, Mr. Smart suggested that
the violin should be left with him that he might examine it more at
leisure, and that my brother should return in a week's time, when he
would have the instrument opened, an operation which would be in any
case advisable. "The interior," he added, "appears to be in a strictly
original state, and this I shall be able to ascertain when opened. The
label is perfect, but if I am not mistaken I can see something higher up
on the back which appears like a second label. This excites my interest,
as I know of no instance of an instrument bearing two labels." To this proposal my brother readily assented, being anxious to enjoy
alone the pleasure of so gratifying a discovery as that of the undoubted
authenticity of the instrument. As he thought over the matter more at leisure, he grew anxious as to
what might be the import of the second label in the violin of which Mr.
Smart had spoken. I blush to say that he feared lest it might bear some
owner's name or other inscription proving that the instrument had not
been so long in the Maltravers family as he had allowed Mr. Smart to
suppose. So within so short a time it was possible that Sir John
Maltravers of Worth should dread being detected, if not in an absolute
falsehood, at least in having by his silence assented to one. During the ensuing week John remained in an excited and anxious
condition. He did little work, and neglected his friends, having his
thoughts continually occupied with the strange discovery he had made. I know also that his sense of honour troubled him, and that he was not
satisfied with the course he was pursuing. The evening of his return
from London he went to Mr. Gaskell's rooms at New College, and spent an
hour conversing with him on indifferent subjects. In the course of their
talk he proposed to his friend as a moral problem the question of the
course of action to be taken were one to find some article of value
concealed in his room. Mr. Gaskell answered unhesitatingly that he
should feel bound to disclose it to the authorities. He saw that my
brother was ill at ease, and with a clearness of judgment which he
always exhibited, guessed that he had actually made some discovery of
this sort in the old cupboard in his rooms. He could not divine, of
course, the exact nature of the object found, and thought it might
probably relate to a hoard of gold; but insisted with much urgency on
the obligation to at once disclose anything of this kind. My brother,
however, misled, I fear, by that feeling of inalienable right which the
treasure-hunter experiences over the treasure, paid no more attention to
the advice of his friend than to the promptings of his own conscience,
and went his way. From that day, my dear Edward, he began to exhibit a spirit of
secretiveness and reserve entirely alien to his own open and honourable
disposition, and also saw less of Mr. Gaskell. His friend tried, indeed,
to win his confidence and affection in every way in his power; but in
spite of this the rift between them widened insensibly, and my brother
lost the fellowship and counsel of a true friend at a time when he could
ill afford to be without them. He returned to London the ensuing week, and met Mr. George Smart by
appointment in Bond Street. If the expert had been enthusiastic on a
former occasion, he was ten times more so on this. He spoke in terms
almost of rapture about the violin. He had compared it with two
magnificent instruments in the collection of the late Mr. James Loding,
then the finest in Europe; and it was admittedly superior to either,
both in the delicate markings of its wood and singularly fine varnish.