iation
of the stick from a straight line is a full quarter of an inch in
25-1/2 in.; but this is too low down to give the bow a good spring.
Being made, like the others in this figure, of that unyielding
material snakewood, the experiment, though in the right direction,
cannot be said to have been successful. The full length of this bow
is 28-1/2 in.; the length of the hair, 23-1/2 in.

Plate I. is a photograph of an extremely interesting bow. Like the
preceding example it has the conventional nut and _cambre_. In the
matter of ornamentation it is probably unique. It is not only fluted
throughout, but is inlaid with a minute mosaic of red, yellow and
brown woods. In appearance it reminds one of the straw-work so
popular at one period. Inlaid on one side of the nut are seen the
Arms of Spain, and on the reverse is the Royal monogram. Mr. Alfred
Hill procured this bow with some difficulty in Madrid and was able to
trace its pedigree in so far as that it was originally with the
instruments made by Stradivarius for the Spanish Court. There is just
a shadow of possibility that it may be the actual work of that most
glorious craftsman of Cremona.

[Illustration: PLATE I.]

Its length over all is 27-1/2 in.; the playing length of the hair is
23-1/4 in.; the width of the hair barely 1/4 in. This bow has the
most scientific _cambre_ as yet found. Its deviation is 9/16 in. in
26-5/8 in. It is also of more flexible material than the others.

The centre bow in Fig. 26 is stamped by Thomas Smith (at last we have
a signed specimen), chiefly known for his 'cellos. It was most
probably made, however, by Edward Dodd. The head, while possessing a
certain elegance, is of a very early type. It is of yellow lance wood
and has a very pronounced _cambre_, the deviation being nearly 1/2
in. in 27-1/4 in. The total length is 28-3/4 in., and from the
mortices in the head and nut one would suppose that it was intended
to take somewhat broader hair than the preceding examples. The date
of the bow is somewhere between 1760 and 1780. The other bows in Fig.
26 are viola da gamba bows; the upper one I use frequently myself in
certain pieces for that instrument. It is very elegant and I should
say is of French make. It is extremely flexible and most adapted to
sustaining chords of three notes, as the great distance of the hair
from the stick prevents any "grinding" on the middle string. But like
all these early bows the hair is much too narrow. Th