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BOOK XII.

In front of the window is inserted a lip of marble, on which rests theheaped-up clay and the iron shield. The clay holds the blow-pipe when itis put into the furnace, whereas the shield preserves the eyes of the glass-makerfrom the fire. All this having been carried out in order, the glass-makersbring the work to completion. The broken pieces they re-melt with dry wood,which emits no smoke, but only a flame. The longer they re-melt it, the purerand more transparent it becomes, the fewer spots and blisters there are, andtherefore the glass-makers can carry out their work more easily. For thisreason those who only melt the material from which glass is made for onenight, and then immediately make it up into glass articles, make them lesspure and transparent than those who first produce a vitreous mass and thenre-melt the broken pieces again for a day and a night. And, again, these makea less pure and transparent glass than do those who melt it again for two daysand two nights, for the excellence of the glass does not consist solely in thematerial from which it is made, but also in the melting. The glass-makersoften test the glass by drawing it up with the blowpipes ; as soon as theyobserve that the fragments have been re-melted and purified satisfactorily,each of them with another blow-pipe which is in the pot, slowly stirs and takesup the glass which sticks to it in the shape of a ball like a glutinous, coagulatedgum. He takes up just as much as he needs to complete the article he wishesto make ; then he presses it against the lip of marble and kneads it round andround until it consolidates. When he blows through the pipe he blows ashe would if inflating a bubble ; he blows into the blow-pipe as often as it isnecessary, removing it from his mouth to re-fill his cheeks, so that his breathdoes not draw the flames into his mouth. Then, twisting the lifted blow-piperound his head in a circle, he makes a long glass, or moulds the same in ahollo vv copper mould, turning it round and round, then warming it again,blowing it and pressing it, he widens it into the shape of a cup or vessel, or ofany other object he has in mind. Then he again presses this against themarble to flatten the bottom, which he moulds in the interior with his otherblow-pipe. Afterward he cuts out the lip with shears, and, if necessary, addsfeet and handles. If it so please him, he gilds it and paints it with variouscolours. Finally, he lays it in the oblong earthenware receptacle, which isplaced in the third furnace, or in the upper chamber of the second furnace,that it may cool. When this receptacle is full of other slowly-cooled articles,he passes a wide iron bar under it, and, carrying it on the left arm, places itin another recess.

The glass-makers make divers things, such as goblets, cups, ewers, flasks,dishes, plates, panes of glass, animals, trees, and ships, all of which excellent andwonderful works I have seen when I spent two whole years in Venice sometime ago. Especially at the time of the Feast of the Ascension they were onsale at Morano, where are located the most celebrated glass-works. These Isaw on other occasions, and when, for a certain reason, I visited AndreaNaugerio in his house which he had there, and conversed with him andFrancisco Asulano.

END OF BOOK XII.