Scan 189
The violin: its famous makers and their imitators, 1909
16 lines. Read by computer on 27 September 2026. Printed page 139. See the scan on archive.org.
1he had hastily finished off a set of Violins that he had already tested, eager to lay the stocks for another fresh venture. The second epoch has given us some of the finest specimens of the art of Violin-making. In these culminate the most exquisite finish, a thoroughly artistic and original form, and the most handsome material. In some cases the lustre of the wood of the backs, set in its casing of deep amber, that unrivalled varnish, may be likened to the effect produced by the setting summer sun on cloud and wave. The reader may pardon a somewhat novel application of the loveliest description of the glow of evening to be found in the compass of the English language, which paints the heavens' colours as—
3"Melted to one vast iris of the west,
4Where the day joins the past eternity.
5 . . . All its hues,
6From the rich sunset to the rising star,
7Their magical variety diffuse.
9And now they change; a paler shadow strews
10Its mantle o'er the mountains; parting day
11Dies like the dolphin, whom each pang imbues
12With a new colour as it gasps away,
13The last still loveliest, till—'tis gone—and all is grey."
15The effect of this beautiful coruscation upon the backs of Violins is obtained by cutting the wood upon the cross, or, as the French term it, sur maille. It is seen, though rarely, on backs
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