156 THE BOOK OF THE LANTERN. 



fine wash-leather, formed into a little ball by cotton wool 

 inside, tied up like a small pad. I have not found such a 

 dabber to be satisfactory in practice ; for the leather, how- 

 ever fine, leaves feathery marks upon the colour, which, 

 although they are not readily seen on the slide, become 

 painfully evident when the picture is magnified on the 

 screen. I myself tried, a short time ago, to make some 

 special dabbers for this work, which were composed of 

 gelatine and glycerine moulded in a small cup like an egg- 

 cap. These dabbers, also, were not as satisfactory as I 

 could have wished, although I found that they were better 

 than those of wash-leather. The best dabber which it is 

 possible to get is the finger. This needs a certain amount 

 of preparation. The flesh of the finger is covered with a 

 number of little ridges, which we well know make what 

 we call finger-marks on anything touched. These ridges 

 can be obliterated by rubbing the finger with pumice-stone 

 and water, or by using the pumice-stone soap, which is 

 sold for the express benefit of much-soiled hands. A 

 quicker plan is to rub the finger a few times on very fine 

 glass-paper, when the ridges quickly disappear. It is 

 obvious that the operation of rubbing down must only be 

 carried to a slight extent, or "else soreness will result. The 

 finger makes a far more perfect pad than any artificial con- 

 trivance because of its exquisite sensibility ; for in using it 

 we both see and feel the progress of the work. 



Commencing at the left-hand top corner, we dab with 

 the finger rapidly from side to side of the picture ; at first 

 it will make ugly marks, but the turpentine gradu- 

 ally evaporates as the work proceeds, and these marks 



