est value she set upon her find. Without a moment's hesitation the
money was handed to the vendor of Ribston pippins, and away she
trudged in high glee at the result of her good luck. The Fiddle
AEsculapius, equally gleeful at the course of events, resolved to
avail himself of the opportunity afforded him of gratifying a little
harmless revenge upon the fidgety amateur's haste in removing the
"Strad" before the alterations had been completed. He therefore
determined to keep the fact of the discovery to himself for a short
time. Advertisements multiplied, and the reward rapidly rose to twenty
guineas. Having satisfied his revengeful feelings, the repairer duly
made known the discovery of the missing scroll, to the intense
gratification of its owner. Finally, the repairer refused to accept
any portion of the reward upon one condition, viz., that he was
allowed to complete his work--a condition readily conceded.

ANOTHER WANDERING SCROLL.

Among the collection of valuable Violins belonging to the late Mr.
James Goding, was a Stradivari Violin, dated 1710, which had been
deprived of its original scroll, and bore a supposititious figure-head
by David Tecchler, owing to a piece of vandalism perpetrated by an
eccentric amateur. The original scroll had found its way to an Italian
Violin of some merit, the value of which was considerably enhanced by
the newly-acquired headpiece, which gave to the whole instrument an
air of importance to which it could lay no claim till it carried on
its shoulders a head belonging to the aristocracy of Fiddles. During a
period of about twenty years this mongrel Fiddle became the property
of as many owners, and ultimately fell into my hands. Leaving this
instrument, we will follow the history of the Stradivari, date 1710.
At the dispersion of Mr. Goding's collection by Messrs. Christie and
Manson, in the year 1857, a well-known amateur purchased the Violin
for the sum of seventy pounds, the loss of its scroll preventing the
realisation of a higher figure. Sixteen years after this event the
purchaser applied to me for a Stradivari scroll, that he might make
his instrument complete. The mongrel Violin described above being in
my possession, decapitation was duly performed, and the Stradivari
received its head again. Here was a fortuitous course of
circumstances! This exchange of heads took place without my being at
all aware that the "Strad" scroll had returned to its original body;
but on my me