HOW THE HOUSE WAS BUILT 19 



muter tap of its shoulder settling it into its place, 

 aided by the down-bearing pressure of the finger-tips 

 of the left hand ; the sliding scrape of the tool taking 

 up the overmuch inortar that squeezed out of the 

 joint, and the neat slapping of it into the cross-joint. 

 The sharp double tap on the mortar board, a signal 

 that more stuff was wanted. Then at the mortar- 

 mixing place the fat popping of the slaking lime 

 throwing off its clouds of steam ; the working of the 

 mixing tool in the white sea enclosed by banks of sand 

 — a pleasant sound, strangely like the flopping of a 

 small boat on short harbour wavelets ; the rhythmical 

 sound of the shovel in the sloppy mortar as it is 

 turned over and over to incorporate the lime and sand. 

 The sounds of the carpenter's work are equally 

 familiar though less musical. The noises of saw and 

 hammer are not pleasant in themselves, though satis- 

 factory evidences that work is in progress, and a saw 

 being filed is no less than a torture to any tender 

 ear that may be near. On the other hand, I like to 

 hear the small melodious scream of the well-sharpened 

 plane as it shoots along the edge of the board and 

 gives out its long, fragrant ribbon of a shaving, and 

 the chop of the axe, and the blows of the mallet on 

 the chisel that is making the mortises ; for the sound 

 of these blows, though of a dull quality, yet has a 

 muffled music that is pleasant to hear. And another 

 sound that is not displeasing is the beating of the 

 cow-hair that is mixed with the wall plaster, the 



