xamined before a piece is found sufficiently free from
knots and cracks, and of straight enough grain to be suitable for the
purpose. However, genius _and_ a capacity for taking infinite pains
overcame all difficulties, and we now have bows worthy of the
greatest masterpieces of Cremona.

How little are the workings of genius understood by the "painstaking"
ones. They cannot conceive the suddenness of inspiration--the almost
instantaneous grasp of essentials that precedes the plodding
mechanical work necessary even to genius.

The results of "infinite pains," or of genius alone are equally
unsatisfactory. It is only where these qualities are combined in
perfect balance that true greatness can be achieved.

In the case of Tourte we have a remarkable example of this
combination. His genius made him grasp spontaneously the qualities
required, and his capacity for taking infinite pains helped him to
produce the perfect bow. He it was who determined finally the length
and weight of a bow, its equilibrium, the angle of the hair necessary
for a good "attack," the length and breadth of the hair and sundry
other points that, prior to 1775, had been quite undecided.

The mean length of a violin bow as fixed by Tourte is from 74 to 75
centimetres (29.134 to 29.528 inches English); that of a viola bow is
74 centimetres (29.134 inches), and a 'cello bow 72 to 73 centimetres
(28.347 to 28.740). Many people imagine that the plates of silver or
gold with which the nut of a bow is inlaid are nothing more than mere
ornamentation. But their first purpose is distinctly one of utility,
which is as it should be in a work of art; superfluous decoration has
no beauty for an artist. It is by means of these metal "loadings" at
the heel that the weight of the head is counteracted and the exact
point of equilibrium determined. The centre of gravity in a violin
bow should be at 19 centimetres (7.48 inches) from the nut; in a
'cello bow at 175 to 180 millimetres (6.89 to 7.087 inches) from the
nut.

Concerning the geometric proportions of the Tourte bows, I cannot do
better than quote Bishop's able translation of the explanation given
by Fetis in his notice of A. Stradivarius.

[Illustration: FIG. 33.]

"The medium length of a bow, to the head exclusively, is 0^m, 700
(27.56 inches).

"The bow comprises a cylindrical or prismatic part of uniform
dimensions, the length of which is 0^m, 110 (4.33 inches). When this
portion is cylindrical, i