ithout the least sign of
annoyance on his features. Turning to his man he says, "Now, James,
here is a nice little instance where you can study with much interest
and profit the subject of cause and effect. You drew my attention to
the excellent preservation, and you have removed what appeared to you
at first sight the only impediment to perfect restoration, that of the
coarse glueing. You have rightly observed that the back has never been
removed, and yet the ribs bend inwardly when tested and seem to require
a smaller upper table. The reason is plain after you have given the
matter some right consideration. The maker, as you know, was an
excellent artificer and was a pupil of the great Stradivari. Now here
is the cause; the violin has been, as you know, opened several times
by persons more or less unfitted for the proper performance of such
an operation, fiddle tinkers I call them, and with a pot of thick dirty
brown and repulsive looking glue, have with a coarse brush dabbed it
all round and then screwed the lid down. The successors in this ghastly
process have not had the decency to treat the instrument as worthy of
much care, and so with dirty cloths and glue have again repeated the
work, if it may be dignified by such a term, spoliation is perhaps a
better one. Now we know that the violin has been separated and left
so, being merely tied up, and been in that dirty little den of ravening
wolves or tinker dealers for nobody knows how long, with the rays of
the sun falling on it for many days; the result is as we see, the back
has contracted and drawn the ribs in to some extent, it is glue-bound,
we will set it free, the wood itself will help us, as if glad to resume
its former occupation; give me that soft brush with clean water." This
being handed to him, the chief with repeated and careful strokes and
dippings of the brush passes over the surface, going round but leaving
untouched the label, which seems to have remained undisturbed: the
joint down the centre is avoided in a similar way. After some time,
as the moisture has penetrated the wood, he turns to the assistant,
saying, "now, James, try the front on"; this is done, and the latter,
thinking he will just catch his master, says, "fits exactly now, sir!
but won't it come back again beautifully as it dries." "Well, that is
just what we are going to prevent, James; while this is wet, cut some
soft sticks of wood and place them across from one side to the other,
d