CHAPTER VIII.
All through the long Sunday afternoon Zorzi sat in the laboratory alone.
From time to time, he tended the fire, which must not be allowed to go down lest the quality of the glass should be injured, or at least changed.

Then he went back to the master's great chair, and allowed himself to think of what was happening in the house opposite.
In those days there was no formal betrothal before marriage, at which the intended bride and bridegroom joined hands or exchanged the rings which were to be again exchanged at the wedding.

When a marriage had been arranged, the parents or guardians of the young couple signed the contract before a notary, a strictly commercial and legal formality, and the two families then announced the match to their respective relatives who were invited for the purpose, and were hospitably entertained.

The announcement was final, and to break off a marriage after it had been announced was a deadly offence and was generally an irreparable injury to the bride.
In Beroviero's house the richest carpets were taken from the storerooms and spread upon the pavement and the stairs, tapestries of great worth and beauty were hung upon the walls, the servants were arrayed in their high-day liveries and spoke in whispers when they spoke at all, the silver dishes were piled with sweetmeats and early fruits, and the silver plates had been not only scoured, but had been polished with leather, which was not done every day.

In all the rooms that were opened, silken curtains had been hung before the windows, in place of those used at other times.