I then showed them how to twist
the iron into a screw,--rather clumsy, but which would answer the
purpose tolerably well. At one end they formed a ring, in which we
placed a piece of wood transversely, to enable them to turn the screw.
We then made a trial of it. We placed a tree on two props, and Fritz and
I managed the auger so well, that we had our tree pierced through in a
very little time, working first at one end and then at the other. Jack,
in the mean time, collected the shavings we made, which he deposited in
the kitchen for his mother's use, to kindle the fire. Ernest, meanwhile,
was walking about, making observations, and giving his advice to his
brothers on the architecture of their pavilions, till, seeing they were
going to bore another tree, he retired into the garden to see the
embankment. He returned delighted with the improvements, and much
disposed to take some employment. He wanted to assist in boring the
tree, but we could not all work at it. I undertook this labour myself,
and sent him to blow the bellows, while his brothers laboured at the
forge, the work not being too hard for his lame hand. My young smiths
were engaged in flattening the iron to make joints to unite their pipes;
they succeeded very well, and then began to dig the ground to lay them.
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