This was his first attempt at the use of the turning-lathe; but he had often watched William at work, and was familiar with the way in which he held his tool.

Hence the result was tolerably satisfactory.

Long before he had reached the depth of which he wished to make the spool, he had learned to manage his chisel with some nicety.

Burt finished it off for him with just a few touches; and, delighted with his acquisition of the rudiments of a new trade, he carried the spool home with him, to try once more the possibility of educating his water-wheel into a watchman.
That night the pull did indeed come, but, alas before he had even fallen asleep.
Something seemed to be always going wrong! He concluded already that it was a difficult thing to make a machine which should do just what the maker wished.

The spool had gone flying round, and had swallowed up the thread incredibly fast.