TROMBONIST'S LUCKY FIND.

Mataura Ensign, 27 January 1912, Page 2

TROMBONIST'S LUCKY FIND.

FORTUNE OF £40,000,000

Fortune lias smiled upon a liumble performer in a theatrical orchestra in Madrid. His name is Juan Antonio Bayona, and the trombone is the instrument of his choice. He created a tremendous scandal in the Teatro Martin by uttering discordant notes while the soprano was singing a love passage. At the end of the performance the conductor invited the trombonist to explain his extraordinary conduct. The humble artist then handed his musical director a cutting from an illustrated paper reading as follows: _ "A rich Spanish merchant has just died in California leaving a fortune of 200,000,000 dollars. In his will he appoints hig brother, Juan Antonia Bayona, sole executor. Inquiries made by the Consulate only prove that the Juan'Antonia Bayona lived in Valencia until 1882 and married in Madrid in 1884, where lie died in 1901." The modest orchestral artist is the son of the person mentioned, bearing the same name. Bayona found the, newspaper cutting by the merest acci-j dent. On entering the theatre his cigar fell out of the holder. Stooping to pick it up his eyes fell upon the cutting. He says he will not give up playing the trombone until he is perfectly sure of his enormous legacy.