Bricklaying

“ III.—Nature of the Social Science.
OUT of bricks, well burnt, hard, and sharp-angled, lying in heaps by his side, the bricklayer builds, even without mortar, a wall of some height that has considerable stability. With bricks made of bad materials, irregularly burnt, warped, cracked, and many of them broken, he cannot build a dry wall of the same height and stability. The dock-yard laborer, piling cannon-shot, is totally unable to make these spherical masses stand at all as the bricks stand. ”

“ The result is that the stretchers break joint with each other, and all the joints range themselves in diagonal lines, and if in any part of the work headers of a different brick are introduced, the appearance of a cross is at once brought out; and even without this the diagonal arrangement of joints is very perceptible and pleasing.
Besides wall building, the bricklayer has many other works to perform. He has to form fireplaces, flues, chimneys, and the flat trimmer arches which support the hearth, and has to set the stove, kitchen range, copper, etc., in a proper manner. ”

“ Sometimes it is the same color when cut, but the hardest stocks are of a dark, dirty purple or brown, or sometimes nearly black inside. A stock brick is rarely quite square or quite true; its surface is often disfigured by black specks and small pits, and a stack of them often looks uninviting; yet a skillful bricklayer, by throwing out the worst, by placing those of bad colors or much out of shape in the heart of the wall, and by bringing to the front the best end or side of those bricks which form part of the face, can always make the bricks in his work look far better than in the stack. ”

“ The bricklayers and stone masons on buildings get about sixty cents Mexican money or thirty cents gold per day. When employed at piecework they will make $1 a day, but to do this work from dawn to dark nearly. The bricklayer's trowel is a small butcher's cleaver in shape and with it he lifts the mortar and cuts the brick. The pointing up of joints is done with a simple tool that forces a bit of round iron into the joint, where it rubs a round grove in the mortar; for finer work they use a V-shaped tool. These tools make nicely finished work. ”

“ Then Bricriu went on himself to the place where the house was. But when he came to it, what he saw was a grand, new, well-lighted house; and at the door there was a young man wearing armour, very tall and handsome and shining. And he said, “Come into the house, Bricriu; why are you looking about you?” And there was a young woman beside him, fine and noble, and with curled hair, and she said, “Surely there is a welcome before you from me.” “Why does she welcome me?” said Bricriu. “It is on account of her that I myself welcome you,” said the young man. ”

“ Scrimshaw, how true that is! If I were a bricklayer I would devote practically my whole morning inspecting the scaffolding on which I was to work. Whatever else I shirked, I would put my whole heart and soul into this part of my task. Every rope should be tested, every board examined, and I doubt if even then I would go up on the scaffold. Any bricks that I could not lay with my feet on terra firma (there is a joke somewhere about terra cotta, but I'm busy now) could be laid by some one else. ”

“ If the bricklayer, while unroofing a house, be observed, he will be seen to give to the slates which he throws down a whirling motion, at a certain angle, which ensures their falling edgeways on the ground, and thus preserves them from fracture. ”

“ The bricklayers are a distinct class and do not mingle well with the other men at the works. Their having to do with bricks and mortar, instead of with iron and steel, seems to exclude them from the general hive, and the fact of their being dressed in canvas suits and overalls, and smeared with cement and fireclay, instead of being blackened with soot and oil, tends to emphasise the distinction. As with the rest of the staff, they are recruited from all parts of the country, and some of them have served a rural apprenticeship. In shrewdness and intelligence they do not rank with the machinists ”

“ BRICKWORK, in building, the term applied to constructions made of bricks. The tools and implements employed by the bricklayer are:—the trowel for spreading the mortar; the plumb-rule to keep the work perpendicular, or in the case of an inclined or battering wall, to a regular batter, for the plumb-rule may be made to suit any required inclination; the spirit-level to keep the work horizontal, often used in conjunction with a straight-edge in order to test a greater length; and the gauge-rod with the brick-courses marked on it. ”

“ The regular and determined form of bricks makes it to a large extent a matter of practice to enable a man to become a good bricklayer, but beyond these a continual exercise of judgment is required of the workman in stone, who has for the most part to deal with masses of all forms and of all sizes.
Setting Stones.—All beds and joints should be truly worked and perfectly level. If the surface be convex it will give rise to wide unsightly joints; if concave the weight thrown on the stone will rest on the edges and probably cause them to “flush” or break off and disfigure the work. ”

“ The white bricklayer may continue to lay his bricks while they are carried for him by a black hodsman, but he will not lay a brick at one end of the wall while a Kafir is laying an equal brick at the other. ”

“ I returned to Tuskegee, and, with the help of the fifteen dollars, rallied our rather demoralized and discouraged forces and began a fourth attempt to make bricks. This time, I am glad to say, we were successful. Before I got hold of any money, the time-limit on my watch had expired, and I have never seen it since; but I have never regretted the loss of it.
Brickmaking has now become such an important industry at the school that last season our students manufactured twelve hundred thousand of first-class bricks, of a quality suitable to be sold in any market. ”

“ This is the bricklayer; hear the thud
Of his heavy load dumped down on stone.
His lustrous bricks are brighter than blood,
His smoking mortar whiter than bone.
Set each sharp-edged, fire-bitten brick
Straight by the plumb-line's shivering length;
Make my marvelous wall so thick
Dead nor living may shake its strength.
Full as a crystal cup with drink
Is my cell with dreams, and quiet, and cool....
Stop, old man! You must leave a chink;
How can I breathe? You can't, you fool! ”

“ Then a bricklayer and his wife defied the heavens to fall, threw aside traditions and began to apply exact knowledge to brick-laying. As a result, they learned how to lay bricks three times as rapidly as the best workman had ever been able to before—and with less fatigue. ”

“ He told Brick that there was nobody he would sooner see win the thousand dollars.
Then came Topaz Tyler, and King invited him to join them. For a man who was already drunk Brick stood an amazing lot of liquor. Topaz and Cleeve mourned over the fact that they could not drink liquor as Brick could. It was a gift. They boasted over his ability, and Brick's chest swelled. Brick admitted that he was a wonder.
But finally a glass of liquor eluded him. Then he stalked it, cautiously. King Cleeve's foot was elevated on the bar-rail, his leg encased in a very expensive, pearl-colored trouser. ”

“ This picture shows a clay pit, a kiln, brickmakers, brick roadway, culvert, chimney, bridge, men laying bricks.
[172]
“Could you and I have mended the broken chimney, father?” asked Wallace.
“Not very well, my boy,” replied Mr. Duwell. “‘Every man to his trade,’ you know. By the way, I hope Mr. Bricklayer will be here before you children start to school in the morning. Run to bed now so that you can be up early to see him begin his work.” ”

“ Devonshire Terrace, Sunday, March 24th, 1844.
My dear Thompson,
My study fireplace having been suddenly seized with symptoms of insanity, I have been in great affliction. The bricklayer was called in, and considered it necessary to perform an extensive operation without delay. I don't know whether you are aware of a peculiar bricky raggedness (not unaccompanied by pendent stalactites of mortar) which is exposed to view on the removal of a stove, or are acquainted with the suffocating properties of a kind of accidental snuff which flies out of the same cavernous region in great abundance. ”

“ Bricky pondered for a moment.
“Ye didn’t fall far short o’ smashin’ him,” he said finally. “But how in heaven’s name will ye git a strike now?”
Lamar took an equal length of time before replying.
“Bricky,” he said at last, “you’ve got to be discharged.”
“Me? Discharged? What for?”
“Oh, anything. Neglect of duty. Impertinence. Sabotage. Can’t you see that you’re what the diplomats call non persona grata at capitalistic headquarters? You’ve put up a successful fight. You’re a union leader. You’re a warrior in the ranks of labor. Bricky, you’re an agitator, you’re a menace; you’ve got to go. ”

“ Brick glanced at Jean. She was leaning forward, looking at Martin, her hand raised as if to reach for his arm. Brick snapped a glance at Three Star and Bunty.
"Can't yuh talk?" gritted Martin.
Brick stooped and picked up a coiled rope beside the door-step, and turned to Martin.
"We'll tie up our visitors, pardner; then talk."
Martin relaxed and stepped forward.
"You'll pay for this!" snarled Bunty as the gag slipped from his mouth. "You can't tie up the sheriff——"
"Mebbe not," replied Brick, "but we'll do our little best. There's worse places for a rope than around your hands and feet. ”

“ The construction of groined arches in brick-work is the most difficult operation in the trade. Each brick that forms the arris or intersection of the cross vaults requires to be cut to a true form given by a drawing made to the full size on a board. Another perhaps still more delicate piece of workmanship for a bricklayer to execute is an oblique arch, such as are often seen in the bridges over railroads and canals, which cut established roadways obliquely. ”

“ In this way the bricklayer avoids either having to turn the brick over or end for end to examine it before laying it, and he saves, also, the time taken in deciding which is the best edge and end to place on the outside of the wall. In most cases, also, he saves the time taken in disentangling the brick from a disorderly pile on the scaffold. This "pack" of bricks (as Mr. Gilbreth calls his loaded wooden frames) is placed by the helper in its proper position on the adjustable scaffold close to the mortar box. ”

“ Brick thought the scoundrel was lying. In desperation he pulled the trigger. The hammer fell with a dull snap.
But Brick was determined to make the most of his freedom. He eluded Bogle’s grasp and sprang over the tree, still holding the useless rifle. He plunged through the copse of bushes, and saw before him a strip of level, open ground, on which rested a thin covering of slushy snow. He went across in a dozen leaps, though more than once he sank above his ankles in what felt like soft mud. As he reached the bushes on the other side, he heard a shrill yell of terror behind him. ”

“ Brick dropped on his knees beside it and lifted one of the heavy bars, weighing it in his hands. Then Brick closed the box carefully and examined the masks.
They were made of cheap material—sack-like affairs, with rough circles cut for eye-holes. An examination proved to Brick that they were not all made by the same person, as the sewing was crude, each one a different stitch and with different-colored thread. ”

“ Gilbreth's improvements, no bricklayer could alone increase his speed through their adoption because it will be remembered that in all cases several bricklayers work together in a row and that the walls all around a building must grow at the same rate of speed. ”

“ As I raise the weapon, I see Frick clutch with both hands the arm of the chair, and attempt to rise. I aim at his head. "Perhaps he wears armor," I reflect. With a look of horror he quickly averts his face, as I pull the trigger. There is a flash, and the high-ceilinged room reverberates as with the booming of cannon. I hear a sharp, piercing cry, and see Frick on his knees, his head against the arm of the chair. I feel calm and possessed, intent upon every movement of the man. He is lying head and shoulders under the large armchair, without sound or motion. "Dead?" ”

“ Brixworth is an old, old place, truly “old arnshunt,” as the rustics say; but the latter-day discovery that it is profitable to work the ironstone beds situated here is just beginning to hustle the grey Roman and Saxon antiquity of it, with a fringe of red-brick cottages. Red brick in a country where building stone is of the plentifullest! ”

“ Brick was still further reassured by Maumer Rue, to whom he stood in the relation of grandson. On being consulted, she had replied, loftily,—
"A Bergan can do what he pleases, child. He is not obliged to walk by rule and measure, like people whose pedigree stops with their grandfathers. If a king chooses to make a box, a barrel, or a piece of furniture, for his own use, it is not a meanness, but an eccentricity." And the long word not only floored Brick's last remaining doubt, but furnished him with the means of silencing other critics. ”

“ One thing I am sot on: not to save nothing if I can bring my stomach to carry the burden with a willing hand. I'll eat mild and calm, but steadfast. Brick Willock he says, 'Better starve all at once, when there's nothing left, than starve a little every day,' says Brick. 'When it's a matter of agony,' says he, 'take the short cut.'"
In arranging his retreat, he had left undisturbed the wagon-tongue, since removing it from the end of the floor for a more secure barricade; it had stood with several of the sideboards against the wall, as if Brick meditated using them for a special purpose. ”