mark of the pressure,
hand over those thin pieces of cork and let us put them between the
paper and the metal of the vice, there, that will be better for standing
the pressure, more elastic you see." The vice under the fresh
conditions is now applied, the parts of the table or plate are brought
together accurately and held tightly in position by the fingers, the
glue exuding from the crack where it can be seen just beyond the reach
of the paper, the screw is turned tightly by the assistant, and with
the remark, "that will do," the whole is left to him for placing aside
while drying.

CHAPTER XI.

GETTING PARTS TOGETHER THAT APPARENTLY DO NOT FIT--THE USE OF BENZINE
OR TURPENTINE--TREATMENT OF WARPED OR TWISTED LOWER TABLES.

"We will now," says the chief, "have a look at that old Brescian violin
that I bought last week, it is in that set of drawers by the bench there,
the third from the top." The assistant gives a look in the direction
that would strike a spectator as expressive of doubt whether a violin
could be even squeezed by hard pressure into any of the drawers.
Nevertheless he obeys, opens the drawer, and seeing only a brown paper
parcel tied with thin string, takes it out and holding it up says, "do
you mean this paper bag, sir?" "Yes, that is it." The paper bag is
brought to the table at which the chief is sitting and who undoes the
string and paper, letting loose a number of begrimed pieces of
veneer-like wood, some of these fractured, the upper and lower tables
comprising three parts, a head that some modern makers would think ugly
enough to cause a nightmare, with its short heavy neck as left by the
maker about three hundred years back. The condition of the whole
concern was suggestive of its having been raked up from some out of
the way dust heap that had, after the oblivion of a century, at last
caught the eye of a modern sanitary inspector. There was only one sort
of person to whom it would be at all inviting, that of our chief above
mentioned. "Now that is what I call a bargain, James," he begins, when
turning over the pieces one by one; "all perfect, not a part lost. I
bought it of a dealer in the country who said he could not get the parts
together, they would not fit, and he was glad to get rid of the lot
with as little loss as possible." James at this moment has been placing
the two tables of the violin together and remarks, "I don't think these
belong, sir, the back is nearly a quarter of