the joy of having mastered Mozart or battered Beethoven for an evening is turned in the morning to grief and vexation, when in response to the gentle persuasions of the bow there are but chatters and jarrings. Under such circumstances the treatment administered by the hands of non-practical or inexperienced people is akin, more often than not, to that popularly supposed to be effectual in suppressing slight functional disorders of the human system; namely, a prompt and appreciable dose of medicine for the one, a good stuffing of thick dark glue for the other. In both cases it may well be said that not unfrequently "the remedy is worse than the disease." Glue is a good thing in its way and when properly applied, but not so if overdone, even if the kind is the best obtainable.

A few remarks may here be offered as to the qualities that should be present in good glue, especially with regard to violin repairing. Among the makers of it, the glue which will absorb the largest quantity of water ranks as the best. It will, after proper application, resist best the action of moisture in the atmosphere, or in fact take longer time before releasing the two surfaces it may have been holding in contact. There is not much difficulty in getting glue very satisfactory in most respects—as good animals die now-a-days as ever got into the gluepots of the old masters—but it must be selected. That kind used extensively in the German manufactories is said to be a fish glue, remarkably hard, very light in colour and almost opaque. This is not to be recommended for violin repairs; it holds the parts together with such tenacity that fresh fractures are likely to be caused in undoing a portion, a process often very necessary; professional repairers will tell you "it tears the wood too much." The glues mostly in favour among upper class repairers are those known as Russian, Cologne and Isinglass, all good; they are light in colour, very firm, not too brittle, and transparent. There are other varieties to be had of excellent quality and which conform to the conditions required. Thick cakes of a dark brown colour with an unpleasant odour should be avoided; they are too easily affected by the atmosphere, turn bad in the gluepot under very little provocation from damp warm winds, and spoil the look of good and refined workmanship. There are many different kinds of glue sold under various titles, some termed "liquid glue," others cement, apparently for saving the very insignificant time and trouble in warming up the orthodox solution; but none appear satisfactory in general and many of them are even detestable. There are some adhesive materials used in India where warmth and damp have their full play and make short work of an old master's joints, but these cements of the Eastern Hemisphere are likewise unsuitable for the kind of work under consideration, as when once dried, being unaffected by damp to any extreme, they are of course difficult to remove when further repairs have become necessary.

One of the special advantages of glue to the repairer is its yielding to the direct application of moisture, so that in future repairings the old stuff can be washed completely out and fresh glue used over clean work. Let all amateur repairers therefore, abstain from seeking after a vain thing of the nature of glue impervious to moisture. One word more, as preachers say, and that is as to the preparation or melting of the glue—simplest of processes—some pieces of selected glue put into a small glazed gallipot with two-thirds of clean water and left to soak during the night will only require warming in the morning by placing the pot in a larger one and surrounding it with hot water. The quantity of glue being varied according to requirement is far preferable to the old-fashioned iron glue-pot which darkens the glue and is in other ways objectionable. If the injury or want of adhesion extends only to a trifling distance round the edge and has happened at a time when good glue and proper appliances are not to hand, the routine pursued must still be the same as if they were: first by obtaining a well-worn table knife, the thinner the better (but if the household knives happen to be new and strong you may call on some artist friend, borrow his palette knife, clean it, have ready some clear water, a cushion or a substitute, and some rather thick gum). If time will allow, the strings should be taken off the violin, and then placing it face downwards on the cushion, the knife having been dipped in the water, can be inserted gently at the part requiring attention. (Diagram 1.)

DIAGRAM 1.

You will soon tell by the sound in moving the knife about whether the separation has been recent or of long standing, if the latter, the slipping of the knife will cause a slight grating sound and when drawn out will show signs of dirt. The knife must be rinsed and re-inserted a sufficient number of times until all the evidence of dirt has disappeared, the knife coming away clean and not gritty. Care should be taken meanwhile to keep the violin on the tilt so that the water introduced on the surface of the knife does not run inside but outward to the edge; the parts should also each time be wiped by a clean absorbent piece of cotton or linen. The knife can then be charged with gum instead of water and inserted as before, the process being finished by the wiping.

But now the question will arise how about the closing up and pressing together of the parts. For this, assuming that the part to be rejoined is not of great extent, the chin-rest—almost every player now uses one—can be applied to the part and fixed in the usual way. If there is not one to be had, some pieces of ordinary deal, the softer the better—fire wood will do—cut into shape as depicted (Diagram 2) can be fitted, but very loosely to allow of thin wedges being used to tighten the grip (Diagram 3). They must be very gently pushed in, or the border of the violin will be damaged. Some paper placed between the wedge and the border will help in preserving the latter from injury or marks. The above suggestions are only intended to be applicable when the violinist may be out of reach of any professional or competent repairer. Gum arabic or dextrine are not comparable with good glue for repairs, although with care and attention to the details enumerated here I have known it answer when in pressing haste, and even for a permanency.

DIAGRAM 2.	DIAGRAM 3.

CHAPTER III.

MINOR REPAIRS—CRAMPS AND JOINTS—VIOLIN CASES—RATTLES AND JARS—LOOSE FINGERBOARDS—ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE—OLD-FASHIONED METHODS OF REPAIRING—MODERN WAYS—A LOOSE NUT.

The professional repairer is of course always provided with the well known wooden screw cramps as used in all countries for centuries, but if "up to date" men, they will have affixed the modern covering of cork or leather at the