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pieces of old wood from the carefully hoarded pile in a box kept for
the purpose; first one piece, then another is tried, until the right
one is obtained for each requirement, both in respect of colour and
matching of the thread or grain. The surfaces to come in contact and
be fixed are minutely fitted, the larger ones only at present, the
smaller gaps are left.

All being ready, strong glue is applied to the parts which are to be
united and they are pressed together, help toward adjustment being
obtained from the wood glued across.

Being left to dry, and this being complete, the cramps or wedges, as
may have seemed appropriate, are removed, the cross pieces cut away
and the glue washed off.

The paring down of the fresh wood to the level of the surrounding parts
has now to be very carefully done. The adjacent curves must be studied
and the surfaces of the fresh parts worked until by testing, not only
by the sight, but passing the finger across, the surface feels as one
piece.

For the small parts that require levelling, small pieces of glasspaper
attached to a stick of pine shaped according to requirement will be
found useful.

The fresh wood will of course be projecting some way beyond the edges
or course of the line of the sound holes, the exact outline of which
it is most desirous to continue.

This is about to be attended to by James, who thinks it a small matter
to continue the line with his sharp knife, but his master happened to
catch sight of his first strokes and sees his intention in time. "Stop!"
he calls out, "not another stroke; just take a tracing of the opposite
or corresponding part of the other sound hole and trace it down, don't
trust to your eye unless you consider yourself an artist of experience
and able to actually draw with your knife.

"You must attend to another thing besides the tracing of the contour.
When you cut up to the line that you take as a guide, you must see that
you make the walls of the opening at the same angle downwards, and your
fresh wood in every respect of form an exact continuation of the old
work."

The repair so far as the wood work is concerned is finished. It has
now to receive the varnishing and touching up in detail for matching
so as to arrest as little attention as possible as a repair.

"There are two fiddles, sir, that a party brought here yesterday. They
seem very far gone; one of them has lost quite a quarter of the upper
table, it has had a bad s