metal is then poured into the space previously occupied by the wax, and a cast is produced, absolutely identical with the model. Every delicate touch of the artist is there, free from the fins and ribs so inseparable from casts made in a mould which is built up in pieces. But here lies the difficulty and great risk of this process. The artist's model is irretrievably destroyed, and if a bad casting should result, all his labour is lost.

How well I remember the heartbreaking disappointments that beset all my early attempts to cast from the lost wax in plaster-of-Paris moulds. For this was the very great desideratum for which I was striving. The plan was to first carefully dry the massive plaster envelope in which the wax model was embedded, and then to put it into a stove heated sufficiently to melt the wax, which, if the mould was inverted, would run out.

The difficulty in obtaining a good casting arose from the plaster mould absorbing a small portion of the wax during the melting process, so that when the molten metal was poured into the mould, the wax so absorbed and retained in its pores was converted into gas, which bubbled up through the metal, and made a most unsound and imperfect casting.

Over and over again I essayed to prevent this result, but all to no purpose, and I almost gave it up in despair. I pondered over many schemes to remedy this defect, when at last it occurred to me that there was only one way that must succeed. Plaster-of-Paris very quickly sets, and gets hard and firm while it is quite saturated with water; and it seemed probable that if I kept the mould in this saturated condition instead of drying it, the melted wax could not be absorbed by it. After several trials I found it advisable to render the wax a little more fusible by the addition to it of a small quantity of animal fat, and then it was quite easy to melt out the wax by simply immersing the mould in a caldron filled with boiling water. The wax was melted by the heat of the water, and floated up to the surface, allowing the water to take its place. As soon as the melted wax ceased to rise to the surface the mould was taken out of the bath, emptied of the water which had taken the place of the melted wax, and slowly dried; after this its temperature was raised to a point sufficiently high to allow the metal to be retained in it in a fluid state for some time, thus ensuring a perfect cast. By this simple device there was no absorption of the wax, and consequently no gas produced in the mould, and no longer any fear that the model would be lost without getting a perfect cast in return.

A fine bust of Shakespeare which I produced in this way, and coated with copper, was purchased of me by an eminent sculptor, who saw in this simple plan a means of getting faithful copies of his works uninjured by the chipping and filing of a mere mechanic. Indeed, it was finally arranged that I should cast for him a bust of the Hon. George Canning, for which he had received a commission; but, unfortunately, while engaged in modelling this bust, he was seized with a sudden illness which terminated fatally, and the work was never completed.

My attention was at this period directed to the production of castings suitable for stamping ornamental scroll-work, medallions, and basso relievos in cardboard. This was a much more difficult subject to deal with than casting in white-metal alloys, and required moulds of quite a different character. It was, however, mainly a question of mixing metals so as to produce great hardness, while absolutely free from brittleness, and in this manner to obtain an alloy that would melt at a comparatively low temperature, and run very fluid in the mould. All of these conditions to their fullest extent could not be combined in any one alloy; but after a few months expended in making a systematic series of experiments, I succeeded in obtaining a die metal that pretty closely approximated to all the desired requirements, and I also found a "facing" for the moulds, which stood the heat of these hard alloys without suffering any destructive action or the formation of surface cracks. I could thus form moulds capable of taking an impression of the finest and most delicate lines, and in these I succeeded in casting many works of art in brass.

After a certain amount of practice, I produced a great many very beautiful dies, from which thousands of fine sharp impressions were made. I erected a powerful "fly-press" for stamping impressions from first commercial work. It will be easy to imagine my delight on securing a first order for 500 copies on