What a waste of muscle! Now, if you will come to my studio, I think I can show you how long saws WILL be ground in the days of civilization." His eye, which had been turned inward during his reverie, dullish and somewhat fish-like, now sparkled like a hot coal, and he led the way eagerly.
"Pray humor him, sir," said Bayne, compassionately.
They followed him up a horrid stair, and entered his studio and a marvelous place it was: a forge on one side, a carpenter's bench and turning-lathe on the other and the floor so crowded with models, castings, and that profusion of new ideas in material form which housewives call litter, that the artist had been obliged to cut three little ramified paths, a foot wide, and so meander about the room, as struggles a wasp over spilt glue.
He gave the doctor the one chair, and wriggled down a path after pencil and paper: he jumped with them, like a cat with a mouse, on to the carpenter's bench, and was soon absorbed in drawing.
When he had drawn a bit, he tore up the paper, and said, "Let me think." "The request is unusual," said Dr.Amboyne; "however, if you will let us smoke, we will let you think." No reply from the inventor, whose eye was already turned inward, and fish-like again.
Dr.Amboyne and Bayne smoked peaceably awhile.

But presently the inventor uttered a kind of shout.
"Eureka," said the doctor calmly, and emitted a curly cloud.
Little dashed at the paper, and soon produced a drawing.

It represented two grindstones set apparently to grind each other, a large one below, a small one above.
"There--the large stone shall revolve rapidly, say from north to south; the small one from south to north: that is the idea which has just struck me, and completes the invention.

It is to be worked, not by one grinder, but two.

A stands south, and passes the saw northward between the two grindstones to B.The stones must be hung so as just to allow the passage of the saw.