advice applies
to every thing you do in the construction of the violin. Patience of
no ordinary character you must exercise; if you have it not it will
come to you, but through experience alone, through failures, through
catastrophes innumerable. But what then? These things that have
mastered you stand mastered in turn in the excellent result of
to-day, so let yesterday go to the wall.

Now that we can consider the operation of varnishing at an end, the
instrument is hung on a wire, free to the warm dry air of a room or
to a passage where a current of it is circulating. When hard (and
there is no actual time to gauge this by) prepare to finish off and
rub down the whole; and care must be observed that no scratch
appears, for a surface looks bad, very bad, with anything of this
sort to mar its beauty.

The first essential in this process is pure Lucca oil, which does
not clagg; and the next, specially prepared pumice stone powder,
which _must_ be as fine as flour; and should there be any doubt
about its being absolutely free from specks of grit, filter it
through fine muslin or silk, and only use that which passes through,
in water.

Then take some brown paper and make a pad, rubbing on oil and a
sprinkling of the pumice stone powder, when you can go over portions
of the back, very lightly feeling your way to see whether all works
smoothly and no scratch in the operation. If this be so, continue on
these lines, sparingly adding more powder, but freely using the oil.
You can, to smooth off, use saturated rag (oiled) and after that, a
dry pad of very fine muslin or silk.

The belly is tedious, more so than the back, and the ribs still more
so. Contrivances to get into corners and curves of the latter, you
will have to resort to, such as small pieces of paper, and pumice
stone and oil, and oiled fine glass-paper, and finely rubbed pieces
of curved wood, with which you can operate to smooth near edges of
ribs, etc.

All _can_ be done well, all _must_ be done well; for, remember,
there is to be no French rubbish (polish, I mean), on the top of
this oil varnish, but your hand must finally bring up its lustre, as
I can show you mine has so frequently brought to a rich glow that
preparation made and used by me, on my own work only.

CHAPTER XVII.
FITTING UP FOR USE.

This last of many complicated and difficult stages must be entered
upon with a will, and great attention paid to all details. The
fittings used