In order to pass some of the hours
of the days Malcolm obtained leave from one of the great clockmakers
of the town -- for Nuremberg was at that time the centre of the
craft of clockmaking -- to allow him to work in his shop, and to
learn the mysteries of his trade.
Most of the establishments were closed, but Malcolm's acquaintance
was one of the wealthiest of the citizens, and was able to keep
his craftsmen at work, and to store the goods he manufactured until
better times should return. Malcolm began the work purely to occupy
his time, but he presently came to take a lively interest in it,
and was soon able to take to pieces and put together again the
cumbrous but simple machines which constituted the clocks of the
period.
Workshops were not in those days factories. The master of a craft
worked, surrounded by his craftsmen and apprentices. Every wheel
and spring were made upon the premises, fashioned and finished with
chisel and file; and there was an interest in the work far beyond
any which it possesses in the present day, when watches are turned
out wholesale, the separate parts being prepared by machinery,
and the work of the artisan consisting solely in the finishing and
putting them together.
Laying aside his armour and gay attire, and donning a workman's
apron, Malcolm sat at the bench by the side of the master, shaping
and filing, and listening to his stories connected with the trade
and history of Nuremberg.
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