The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists
and window frames picked out with colours and gold so as to be in character with the other work, the cove of the cornice, a dull yellow with a bold ornament in colour—gold was not advisable in the hollow because of the unequal distribution of the light, but some of the smaller mouldings of the cornice should be gold. On the ceiling there would be one large panel covered with an appropriate design in gold and colours, and surrounded by a wide margin or border. Great care would have to be used when it came to the gilding, because, whilst large masses of gilding are apt to look garish and in bad taste, a lot of fine gold lines are ineffective, especially on a flat surface. Process by process he traced the work, and saw it advancing stage by stage until finally the large apartment was transformed and glorified. And then, in the midst of the pleasure he experienced in the planning of the design, there came the fear that perhaps they would not have it done at all.
The question as to what personal advantage he would gain never once occured to Owen. He simply wanted to do the work; and he was so fully occupied with thinking how it was to be done that the question of profit was crowded out.
On the other hand, this question of profit was the only part of the work that his employer would consider at all, thus illustrating the oft-quoted saying: 'The men work with their hands—the master works with his brains.'
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