Mr. Brass

“ But even among these the notion of "humbly, lowly and reverendly," will soon be exploded by the music and dancing system; the new philosophy of the times being, "Jack's as good as his master" and a "tarnation sight better;" every one feels this assurance.
Be assured, gentle readers, there is nothing like brass; it enables a man to put his best leg forward, and a good face upon any thing. Brass is the true philosopher's stone, which turns all it touches into tin. ”

“ Of this last, an engraving and description, by Mr. A.W. Franks, is given in the fourteenth part of the Publications of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society."
One from "WILLIAM SPARROW SIMPSON," who says,—
"It is also described in the Oxford Architectural Society's Manual of Mon. Brasses, No. 6. pp. 6, 7. other examples of which occur at Rochester, Kent, and at Cobham, Surrey. A small plate of brass, in the possession of a friend, has on one side a group of children, and on the reverse the uplifted hands of an earlier figure." ”

“ The scamp has been obliged to fly, as I learn, for some knavery, and has found his way abroad. Let him rot there.’
‘Certainly, sir. Quite proper.—Forcible!’ cried Brass, glancing at the admiral again, as if he made a third in company. ‘Extremely forcible!’
‘I hate him,’ said Quilp between his teeth, ‘and have always hated him, for family reasons. Besides, he was an intractable ruffian; otherwise he would have been of use. This fellow is pigeon-hearted and light-headed. I don’t want him any longer. Let him hang or drown—starve—go to the devil.’
‘By all means, sir,’ returned Brass. ”

“ One of the most remarkable indications that old fables and beliefs, antedating in their origin the introduction of the Christian [373] religion in this country, have a hold still on rural districts, is seen in the brass harness trappings used by all classes alike. Years ago the makers of harness fashioned their brasses with care, and the artists who engraved them and cut them out of solid plates of metal laboured long and tediously in producing exact replicas of similar ornaments which had been used from time immemorial. ”

“ Did they believe that a man like Brass could reside in a place like Bevis Marks, and not be a virtuous and most upright character? And when he had said a great deal to them on this point, he remembered that it was an insult to their understandings to make any remarks on what they must have felt so strongly without him, and therefore called Sampson Brass into the witness-box, straightway. ”

“ Although blackened to disguise by age and neglect at the time of its purchase, it shone when I saw it, with that peculiar brilliant and yet softened sheen which you never get except in real old brass; a hue seldom if ever attained in modern brazen work however beautiful the design may be. ”

“ Dick said. “The old, eternal test of truth—­Will it work?”
“Ah, now you are pounding your favorite brass tack,” Paula smiled. “And Dar Hyal, with a few arm-wavings and word-whirrings, will show that all brass tacks are illusions; and Terrence, that brass tacks are sordid, irrelevant and non-essential things at best; and Hancock, that the overhanging heaven of Bergson is paved with brass tacks, only that they are a much superior article to yours; and Leo, that there is only one brass tack in the universe, and that it is Beauty, and that it isn’t brass at all but gold.” ”

“ I rub on the brass doors, and things begin to jump into my hands out of the shine of the brass. Faces, chimneys, elephants, yellow humming birds, and blue cornflowers, where I have seen grasshoppers sleeping two by two and two by two, they all come to the shine of the brass on the doors when I ask them to. If you shine brass hard, and wish as hard as the brass wishes, and keep on shining and wishing, then always things come jumping into your hands out of the shine of the brass. ”

“ Rubbings of church and memorial brasses referred to in Chapter VII may be taken with heel-ball, which is a compound of beeswax, and plain white paper. When the brass has been evenly rubbed all over the picture is complete and ready for mounting. ”

“ There is an additional advantage which the brass possesses over the stone monument, and that is that the brass is found as a memorial of members of every class of society—the knight, the noble, the bishop, the abbot, the priest, the nun, the lord of the manor, the judge, the lawyer, the University don, the merchant, the wool-stapler, the yeoman, women of every rank, and even the schoolboy, have their brasses. ”

“ Brass, Gen. An alloy made by mixing copper with tin, or else with zinc or silver. Another name for it is Bronze (q.v.) . Corinthian brass is very celebrated, but little is known of its composition even at the present day. Mosaic gold, pinchbeck, prince’s metal, &c., are varieties of brass differing in the proportions of the ingredients. Brass beaten into very thin leaves is called Dutch Metal.
Fig. 101. Brassart.
Brassart. Plate armour for the arm. (Fig. 101.)
Brasses. Engraved metal plates inlaid in the pavements or walls of churches as monuments. ”

“ Brass. 'Tis enough, Madam, I'll be sure to give you a reasonable account of him. But how do you intend we shall proceed, ladies? Must we storm the purse at once, or break ground in form, and carry it by little and little?
Clar. Storm, dear Brass, storm: ever whilst you live, storm.
Aram. O by all means; must it not be so, Flippanta?
Flip. In four and twenty hours, two hundred pounds a-piece, that's my sentence.
Brass. Very well. But, ladies, you'll give me leave to put you in mind of some little expence in favours, 'twill be necessary you are at, to these honest gentlemen. ”

“ Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone.’ [175] Hiram of Tyre was ‘cunning to work all works in brass’ (casting and hammer-wrought) , for Solomon’s Temple, which dates from about two centuries after the time of the Trojan war (b.c. 1200) . In Ezra (viii. 27) the text mentions ‘two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold;’ and the margin reads ‘yellow or shining brass.’ Nor is the old word quite forgotten: we still speak of a ‘brass gun.’
‘In the Brazen Age,’ unphilosophically says Schlegel (‘Phil. of Hist.’ sect. ii.) ”

“ Bras-Rouge is in the game. Yesterday he decoyed the broker by a letter which Barbillon and I took to her on the Boulevard Saint Denis. Brass-Rouge is a famous fellow! No one suspects him. To make her bite, he has already sold her a diamond for four hundred francs. She will not fail to come, at dusk, to his tavern in the Champs Elysees. We will be there concealed. Calabash may come also, to take care of my boat. If it is necessary to pack up the broker, dead or alive, this will be a nice carriage, and leave no traces behind. There's a plan for you! ”

“ An exceptionally fine early brass of crescent form is seen in South Kensington, where there are other early specimens pointing to the ancient and very general acceptance of the belief in the potency of symbolical horse trappings as talismans against evil and dangers of the road, happily unknown now. Almost as common is the brass fashioned like the sun god, whose face was so often looked upon with awe by the ancients. ”

“ Of domestic metal-work there are not many early pieces. In Fig. 82 is shown a cup or ewer of brass with artistic handle and spout ornamented with a grotesque mouth; the date assigned to it is 1570. It may be seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum, where also is deposited a fine seventeenth-century ewer or tankard with plain cylindrical body and a deep and long spout with fancy handle (see Fig. 81) . There is also a trumpet of brass, dated 1738, in the same gallery; it has upon it the owner's monogram, "S.M.A.," ensigned with a count's coronet and crest. ”

“ Macklin says: “Brasses give a complete pictorial history of the use and development of armour, dress, and ecclesiastical vestments from the thirteenth to the end of the seventeenth century.... All these (members of every class of society) we see, not in fancy sketches, but in actual contemporary portraits.” Perhaps one of the greatest values of the brass is that it is a great and authentic record of middle-class costume during the Middle Ages. ”

“ Brass (?) , n.; pl. Brasses (?) . [OE. bras, bres, AS. br‘s; akin to Icel. bras cement, solder, brasa to harden by fire, and to E. braze, brazen. Cf. 1st & 2d Braze.] 1. An alloy (usually yellow) of copper and zinc, in variable proportion, but often containing two parts of copper to one part of zinc. It sometimes contains tin, and rarely other metals.
2. (Mach.) A journal bearing, so called because frequently made of brass. A brass is often lined with a softer metal, when the latter is generally called a white metal lining. See Axle box, Journal Box, and Bearing. ”

“ While there we had the good fortune to be admitted to a pin-factory, an iron-foundry, a watch-factory, and the most extensive brass-works in the world.
I shall here limit myself to a brief description of the last.
Brass is made by melting together in large crucibles certain proportions of copper and zinc. The heat applied must be considerable, for during the fusion of the two metals a white flame from the zinc and a green one from the copper flash from the mouth of the crucible. When properly mixed the molten alloy is poured into rectangular or cylindrical moulds. ”

“ The brass band itself, when we consider it philosophically, is one of the most striking things in our civilization. We admire its commonly splendid clothes, its drums and cymbals and braying brass, but it is the impartial spirit with which it lends itself to our varying wants that distinguishes it. ”

“ No pictures crowded his brain. He was simply keyed to a high point of expectancy, and therefore, when the door was opened silently, he sprang up as if in acknowledgment of an alarm and faced Barry. The latter closed the door behind him and glided after the big dog. He had almost crossed the big room when Byrne was able to speak.
"Mr. Barry!" he called.
The man hesitated.
"Mr. Barry," he repeated.
And Dan Barry turned. It was something like the act of the wolf the moment before; a swift movement—a flash of the eyes in something like defiance.
"Mr. Barry, are you leaving us?" ”

“ Next to iron, perhaps brass is the metal chiefly employed in the manufacture of articles of daily use, and the trade of the Brassfounder is therefore of very great importance, especially in connexion with the small metal fittings, such as catches, locks, bolts, hooks, screws, and other objects used in completing and furnishing the house. ”

“ Narrow thread-like bands of brass were used for purposes of inlay and in the lyre-back chairs the strings were brass, as well as the accompanying ornaments. Brass has always been a valuable commodity in English manufactures, and in the reign of Henry VIII. Parliament passed an act prohibiting, under severe penalties, the export of brass, which prohibition was not withdrawn till as recently as 1799. ”

“ Oftentimes the brasses in themselves would present no special interest. It is rather in their associations that the [138] antiquary sees much to admire, and to strip brasses from the wall or memorial tablets from tombs is vandalism and sacrilege which cannot be encouraged. There is, however, a peculiar beauty in the metal-work which may be seen and admired in old churches, and the massive grandeur of grilles, railings, and gallery fronts add to the beauty of such buildings as a whole. In addition to these architectural brasses there are many portable antiques, ornate and historical. ”

“ Secondly, Those, that will be so curious, may, instead of the Ordinary Counterpoise (of Brass) employ one of Gold, or at least of Lead, whereof the latter being of equal weight with Brass, is much less in Bulk, and the former amounts not to half its bigness.
Thirdly, These parts of the Ballance, that may be made of Copper or Brass, without any prejudice to the exactness, will, by being made of one of those Mettals, be less subject, than Steel, (which yet, if well hardned and polish'd, may last good a great while) to rust with long standing. ”

“ LADY CICELY. Oh no. After all, those men must really like you, Captain Brassbound. I feel sure you have a kind heart. You have such nice eyes.
SIR HOWARD (scandalized) . My DEAR Cicely: you really must restrain your expressions of confidence in people's eyes and faces. (To Brassbound) Now, about terms, Captain?
BRASSBOUND. Where do you propose to go?
SIR HOWARD. I hardly know. Where CAN we go, Mr. Rankin?
RANKIN. Take my advice, Sir Howrrd. Don't go far.
BRASSBOUND. I can take you to Meskala, from which you can see the Atlas Mountains. ”

“ And sometimes the human candlestick itself gets things a bit mixed. It thinks, then it feels, then it knows, with a peculiar quality of self-assertive certainty, that after all it is the light that lighteth every one that is so blessed as to come within the radius of its shining. And brass does take a high polish, and makes an attractive appearance. It does send out a sparkle and radiance if only it is somewhere within range of some real light, patient enough to keep on shining in the dark, regardless of non-appreciation or misrepresentation or misunderstanding. ”

“ The French brass castings and articles of sheet brass are made of cheap, light colored brass, and possess a fine golden color which is not produced by gold varnish, but by a coating of copper. This gives them a finer appearance, so that they sell better. ”

“ Of course, looked upon from the point of 'high art culture,' brass bands are of no account. But viewed as a popular agent for the improvement of the musical taste of the people, they are of great importance. The comparative ease with which a brass instrument may be learned, the similarity of execution upon all of them, which promotes a feeling of equality, and gives no technical advantage to any player, and the imposing effect which a well-managed brass-band is capable of producing—these circumstances offer attractions to the toiling multitude which no other form of music can equal. ”