noon
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 itself to be .