In the spring of 1837, Mr. Atherstone bought for a few guineas a
Magdalen, by Correggio, at the Auction Mart, where he saw it among a
heap of spoiled canvass, that an amateur (no connoisseur) of pictures
had sent to be sold. This gentleman had bought it in Italy for 100_l._,
admiring its beauty, but ignorant of its value. It was in perfect
preservation; in the grandest style of Correggio: and in colouring
surpassing in brilliancy and depth of tone even the famous specimens in
the National Gallery.