In a few minutes he had convinced himself that his glass possessed all these qualities in an even higher degree than the master's own, and that was immeasurably superior to anything which the latter's own sons or any other glass-maker could produce.

Zorzi had taken very little at first, and he made of it a thin phial of graceful shape, turned the mouth outward, and dropped the little vessel into the bed of ashes.

He would have set it in the annealing oven, but he wished to try the weight of it, and he let it cool.

Taking it up when he could touch it safely, it felt in his hand like a thing of air.

On the shelf was another nearly like it in size, which he had made long ago with Beroviero's glass.