he length of the piece of purfling to be
inserted, he finds that it will be necessary to bend it to the curves
of the groove made for it. To force it in while in its present condition
would not do, as it is nearly straight; for, although it has served
to go round a violin in years gone by, it has almost resumed its old
condition through the action of the natural damp in the atmosphere.

CHAPTER XV.

REPAIRS TO PURFLING (CONTINUED)--FILLING UP AN OPENING EXTENDING TO
THE WHOLE LENGTH OF THE VIOLIN--FITTING THE CORE--FIXING IT IN POSITION
AND RETAINING IT THERE--FINISHING THE SURFACE.

Many old Italian violins bear indications of the haste of the maker
to get the purfling done, and so without the delay of any intermediary
process the purfling has been pressed in with great risk and
sometimes an inevitable result of fracture.

In the present instance, the violin having all the evidence of great
care having been expended on its construction and finish, the repair,
to be as successful as possible, must be carried out on the same
principle, every little deviation of curve being well imitated. For
the bending of the purfling there may be, of course, any number of
methods. According to the consistency of the material, so the
management must be.

At present the piece of purfling, having been taken from a portion of
an old violin bought for the purpose of breaking up and using for
repairs, is very dry and rather brittle. The light coloured part or
central portion is of some hard wood that refuses to accommodate itself
easily to the requirements of the moment; this is found to be the case
on trying a small portion with the fingers--it goes with a snap on very
little attempt being made to bend it.

James having met with this kind of thing before, knows more than one
way of meeting the difficulty. As is often found, a rough and ready
way is good for a small amount of work such as he has before him.

He takes a candle and lights it. He has always at hand a jar of water
ready for any damping required in the number of little odd jobs
constantly occurring. Placing the jar of water within easy reach, he
dips the purfling into it once and then wipes it with his handy cloth.

Taking the two ends with the fingers of each hand he passes it backward
and forward near the flame of the candle, using a gentle pressure to
make it assume a crescent or bow shape. The heat causes the damp to
evaporate and steam the materials, and the