The same ghastly mess was made of several other `jobs' besides this one, and presently they adopted the plan of painting strips of colour on the wall in the places where the joints would come, so that if they opened the white wall would not show: but it was found that the paste on the back of the paper dragged the paint off the wall, and when the joints opened the white streaks showed all the same, so Misery abandoned all attempts to prevent joints showing, and if a customer complained, he sent someone to `touch it up': but the lining paper was never used, unless the customer or the architect knew enough about the work to insist upon it.
In other parts of the same house the ceilings, the friezes, and the dados, were covered with `embossed' or `relief' papers.These hangings require very careful handling, for the raised parts are easily damaged; but the men who fixed them were not allowed to take the pains and time necessary to make good work: consequently in many places - especially at the joints - the pattern was flattened out and obliterated.
The ceiling of the drawing-room was done with a very thick high-relief paper that was made in sheets about two feet square.These squares were not very true in shape: they had evidently warped in drying after manufacture: to make them match anything like properly would need considerable time and care.But the men were not allowed to take the necessary time.The result was that when it was finished it presented a sort of `higgledy-piggledy' appearance.But it didn't matter:
nothing seemed to matter except to get it done.One would think from the way the hands were driven and chivvied and hurried over the work that they were being paid five or six shillings an hour instead of as many pence.
`Get it done!' shouted Misery from morning till night.`For God's sake get it done! Haven't you finished yet? We're losing money over this "job"! If you chaps don't wake up and move a bit quicker, Ishall see if I can't get somebody else who will.'
These costly embossed decorations were usually finished in white; but instead of carefully coating them with specially prepared paint of patent distemper, which would need two or three coats, they slobbered one thick coat of common whitewash on to it with ordinary whitewash brushes.
This was a most economical way to get over it, because it made it unnecessary to stop up the joints beforehand - the whitewash filled up all the cracks: and it also filled up the hollow parts, the crevices and interstices of the ornament, destroying the sharp outlines of the beautiful designs and reducing the whole to a lumpy, formless mass.
But that did not matter either, so long as they got it done.
The architect didn't notice it, because he knew that the more Rushton & Co.made out of the `job', the more he himself would make.
The man who had to pay for the work didn't notice it; he had the fullest confidence in the architect.
At the risk of wearying the long-suffering reader, mention must be made of an affair that happened at this particular `job'.
The windows were all fitted with venetian blinds.The gentleman for whom all the work was being done had only just purchased the house, but he preferred roller blinds: he had had roller blinds in his former residence - which he had just sold - and as these roller blinds were about the right size, he decided to have them fitted to the windows of his new house: so he instructed Mr Rushton to have all the venetian blinds taken down and stored away up in the loft under the roof.Mr Rushton promised to have this done; but they were not ALL put away under the roof: he had four of them taken to his own place and fitted up in the conservatory.They were a little too large, so they had to be narrowed before they were fixed.
The sequel was rather interesting, for it happened that when the gentleman attempted to take the roller blinds from his old house, the person to whom he had sold it refused to allow them to be removed;claiming that when he bought the house, he bought the blinds also.
There was a little dispute, but eventually it was settled that way and the gentleman decided that he would have the venetian blinds in his new house after all, and instructed the people who moved his furniture to take the venetians down again from under the roof, and refix them, and then, of course, it was discovered that four of the blinds were missing.Mr Rushton was sent for, and he said that he couldn't understand it at all! The only possible explanation that he could think of was that some of his workmen must have stolen them! He would make inquiries, and endeavour to discover the culprits, but in any case, as this had happened while things were in his charge, if he did not succeed in recovering them, he would replace them.
As the blinds had been narrowed to fit the conservatory he had to have four new ones made.
The customer was of course quite satisfied, although very sorry for Mr Rushton.They had a little chat about it.Rushton told the gentleman that he would be astonished if he knew all the facts: the difficulties one has to contend with in dealing with working men: one has to watch them continually! directly one's back is turned they leave off working! They come late in the morning, and go home before the proper time at night, and then unless one actually happens to catch them -they charge the full number of hours on their time sheets! Every now and then something would be missing, and of course Nobody knew anything about it.Sometimes one would go unexpectedly to a `job' and find a lot of them drunk.Of course one tried to cope with these evils by means of rules and restrictions and organization, but it was very difficult - one could not be everywhere or have eyes at the back of one's head.The gentleman said that he had some idea of what it was like: he had had something to do with the lower orders himself at one time and another, and he knew they needed a lot of watching.
