“Yes, Mr. Ladislaw, yes; this interests you as a connoiss ure , I think. It is some pleasure,” the auctioneer went on with a rising fervor, “to have a picture like this to show to a company of ladies and gentlemen⁠—a picture worth any sum to an individual whose means were on a level with his judgment. It is a painting of the Italian school⁠—by the celebrated Guydo , the greatest painter in the world, the chief of the Old Masters, as they are called⁠—I take it, because they were up to a thing or two beyond most of us⁠—in possession of secrets now lost to the bulk of mankind. Let me tell you, gentlemen, I have seen a great many pictures by the Old Masters, and they are not all up to this mark⁠—some of them are darker than you might like and not family subjects. But here is a Guydo ⁠—the frame alone is worth pounds⁠—which any lady might be proud to hang up⁠—a suitable thing for what we call a refectory in a charitable institution, if any gentleman of the Corporation wished to show his munifi