“What!... your wheel concern, in which you put a couple of men like squirrels?”
“Yes.”
“Well, as you like; nevertheless I mean to send for the crab; you shall try it.”
“In fact,” said Eugène aside to Paul, “his machine, which dates, I believe, from the Tower of Babel, raises the loads, when they are not too heavy, much more easily than our winches; and as we have no very heavy stones to raise, we will not oppose his wishes on this point.” And turning to the master mason:
“It is a settled matter, Master Branchu, that we do not allow any after-dressing, except for some very delicate mouldings or chamfers if occasion requires; you will set your stones completely dressed with only here and there a little thickness to be worked off.”
“Certainly, Mr. Architect, certainly; I would rather build like that.”
“So much the better, I am glad of it.” And addressing Paul: “I know nothing more injurious than the custom that prevails in some great cities of after-dressing buildings. Rough blocks are laid; then when all is built, up they go and cut, pare, sink, scrape, mould, and carve these shapeless masses, most frequently regardless of the jointing; without considering that they thus take away, especially from soft stone, that hard crust which it forms on its surface when newly cut on leaving the quarry, and which resists the inclemency of the weather; a crust which is never formed again when the materials have once produced it and have thrown off what is called their quarry-damp. Happily, in many of our provinces the excellent custom has been retained of cutting each stone on the ground, once for all, in that form which it is permanently to keep; and when once laid, the stone-cutter’s tool does not touch it again. Independently of the advantage I have just pointed out to you, this method requires more care and attention on the part of the dressers, and it is not possible then to put the beds and joints anywhere at random. Each stone, on this plan, has its proper destination, and consequently the form suitable to its place. Lastly, when a building is once raised, it is finished: there is no occasion to do anything more to it. I must add, that this method requires on the part of the architect, a complete and finished study of each part of the work at every stage in his arrangement of the parts of the structure.”
CHAPTER XIV.
PAUL FEELS THE NECESSITY OF IMPROVING HIMSELF IN THE ART OF DRAWING.
One thing astonished Paul,—the facility with which his cousin could express with a few strokes of his pencil what he wished to explain. His perspective sketches, above all, seemed to him marvellous; and our young architect began, on his part, to try to indicate on paper the forms he wished to master; but, to his great disappointment, he succeeded only in producing a mere medley of lines which was incomprehensible, even to himself, a quarter of an hour afterwards. Yet in drawing out his memoranda, to which his cousin attached importance, he could not but feel that the means employed by his chief would be very useful to him if he could acquire them.
One day, therefore, after having spent several hours at the works in endeavouring to get a clear idea, by sketching them, of the form of some worked stones, but without succeeding in obtaining a result even tolerably satisfactory, Paul went to his cousin’s study, and said to him—