The Story of Glass Part 7

"Well, then, that settles it," interrupted Mr. Cabot, cutting him short. "I will arrange everything. But there is just one condition to be made, my youthful Venetian patriot. If by chance we see any of those old mirrors made by the early Frenchmen who stole your art from Murano you are not to smash them. Remember!"

Giusippe laughed.

CHAPTER V

GIUSIPPE ENCOUNTERS AN OLD FRIEND

It was scarcely a reality to Jean, to Hannah, or to Giusippe himself when Uncle Bob actually set forth for France with the young Venetian as a member of the party. Yet every one was pleased: Hannah because she would not now need her foreign dictionaries; Jean because it was jolly to have a companion her own age; and Giusippe because he felt that at last he had friends who were to guide for him the future which had loomed so darkly and so vaguely before him. Not a full week of the trip to Paris had pa.s.sed before Mr. Cabot declared that how he had previously got on without that boy he did not understand. Giusippe had such a wonderful way of making himself useful; not only did he see what needed to be done, but he was quick to do it.

"His enthusiasm alone is worth the money I am paying for his railroad fares and hotel bills!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Uncle Bob to Hannah.

There certainly never was such a boy to take in everything around him, and to remember what he saw. With mind alert for all that was to be learned he tagged along at Mr. Cabot's heels drinking in and storing away every sc.r.a.p of history and of beauty which came across his path.

And in Paris he found much of both. The Invalides with the tomb of Napoleon; Notre Dame with its odd gargoyles; the Arc de Triomphe; the Bois; and the Champs-Elysees shaded by pink horse-chestnut trees--all these sights were new and marvelous to the Italian lad. But it was Versailles with its gardens that charmed him and Jean most.

The travelers arrived there on a Sunday, when the fountains were playing, flowers blooming everywhere, and a gay crowd of sightseers thronging the walks. It was like fairy-land. The great Neptune fountain sent into the air a sheet of spray which was quickly caught up by the sunlight and transformed into a misty rainbow. Within the palace, amid old tapestries of battles and hunting scenes, and surrounded by paintings and statues, were the famous early French mirrors of which Giusippe had previously spoken.

Mr. Cabot pointed them out, half playfully, half seriously.

"Perhaps on further consideration I will leave them," returned the boy, falling in with the spirit of the elder man's mood. "They seem to fit the s.p.a.ces, and I doubt if even our Venetian mirrors could look better here."

"I think it might be just as well," answered Mr. Cabot. "Besides, you must remember that those mirrors were not the only sort of gla.s.s the French made. There were many enamel workers at Provence as early as 1520, and later much cast gla.s.s instead of that which is blown came from France. In fact, up to a hundred years ago the French held the plate gla.s.s monopoly. Then England took up gla.s.s-making and cut into the French market--the same old story of stealing the trade, you see.

In addition to other varieties of gla.s.s-making some of the finest and most interesting of the old stained gla.s.s was made by the French people, and can now be seen in the church of St. Denis, just out of Paris, and at Sainte Chapelle which is within the city itself.

Fortunately the gla.s.s at St. Denis escaped the fury of the French revolutionists, as it might not have done had it not been at a little distance from Paris. There is also gla.s.s of much the same sort at Poitiers, Bourges, and Rheims. Amiens, too, has wonderful gla.s.s windows. I hope before we leave for home we shall have a peep at some if not all of these."

"Isn't much beautiful French gla.s.s now made at Nancy, Mr. Cabot?"

Giusippe inquired.

"Yes, some of the finest comes from there."

"But didn't any other people beside the Venetians and the French make gla.s.s, Uncle Bob?" asked Jean, much interested.

"Oh, yes. Almost every European nation has tried its hand at gla.s.s-making. It is curious, too, to notice how each differs from the others. The Bohemians, for instance, were famous gla.s.s-makers, and their work, which primarily imitated that of the Venetians, is known the world over."

"What sort of gla.s.s is it? Could I tell it if I should see it?"

"Well, for one thing they make beautiful wine gla.s.ses and goblets, having stems of enclosed white and colored enamel tubes twisted together with transparent gla.s.s, which look as if they had delicate threads of color running through them. Then the Bohemians and the Austrians make many great beakers or drinking gla.s.ses, steins, and bowls with decorative coats of arms upon them in gold or in colored enamel."

"Oh, I have seen things like that," Jean replied.

"Yes, we have some of those ornamental goblets at home in the dining-room. They are very rich and handsome. Beside these varieties the Bohemians have of late revived the making of old white opaque gla.s.s with colored enamel figures on it. But engraved gla.s.s is one of the kinds for which Bohemia is chiefly celebrated. Even very skilful gla.s.s engravers can be had there for little money. They cut fine, delicate designs upon the gla.s.s with a lathe. Some of this is white, but much of it is of deep red or blue with the pattern engraved on it in white.

Such gla.s.s is made in two layers, the outer one being cut away so to leave the design upon the surface underneath."

"Wasn't it the Bohemians who invented cut gla.s.s?" Giusippe asked.

"No. Sometimes people say so, but this is not true. The fact is that there chanced to be a gla.s.s cutter so skilful that he was appointed lapidary to Rudolph the Second; he had a workshop at Prague, but though he did some very wonderful gla.s.s cutting, which gained him much fame, he did not invent the art. It was, by the way, one of his workmen who later migrated to Nuremburg and carried the secret of gla.s.s-cutting to Germany."

"Isn't it queer how one country learned of another?" reflected Jean.

"Yes, and it is especially interesting when we see how hard each tried not to teach his neighbor anything. There always was somebody, just as there always is now, who could not keep still and went and told," Mr.

Cabot said. "And while we are speaking of the different kinds of gla.s.s we must not forget to mention the dark red ruby gla.s.s perfected in 1680 by Kunckel, the director of the Potsdam gla.s.s works, for it is a very ingenious invention. The deep color is obtained by putting a thin layer of gold between the white gla.s.s and the coating of red."

"What else did the Germans make?" queried Giusippe.

"Well, the Germans, like the other nations, turned out gla.s.s which was suggestive of their people. And that, by the by, is a fact you must notice when seeing the work of so many different countries. Observe how the art of each reflects the characteristics of those who made it.

Italy gave us fragile, dainty gla.s.s famous for its airy beauty and delicacy; Germany, on the other hand, fashions a far more ma.s.sive, rough, and heavier product--large flasks, steins and goblets, some of which are even clumsy; all are substantial and useful, however, and have the big cordial spirit of fellowship so characteristic of the German people. These gla.s.ses are decorated in large flat designs less choice, perhaps, than are the Bohemian. The shape of the German goblets and drinking gla.s.ses differs, too, from those made in Italy. They are less graceful, less dainty. Instead you will find throughout Germany tall cylindrical shafts, tankards, and steins adorned with ma.s.sive eagles or colored coats of arms; often, moreover, both the Bohemians and the Germans use pictorial designs showing processions of soldiers, battle scenes, or cavalry charges such as would appeal to nations whose military life has long been one of the leading interests of their people."

"Tell me, Mr. Cabot," inquired Giusippe eagerly, "did you ever see one of the German puzzle cups?"

"Yes, several of them. In the British Museum there are several of the windmill variety."

"What is a puzzle cup, Uncle Bob?" demanded Jean.

"Why, a puzzle or wager cup, as they are sometimes called, was an ingenious invention of the Germans during their early days of gla.s.s-making. The kind I speak of is a large inverted goblet which has on top a small silver windmill. The wager was to set the fans revolving, turn the gla.s.s right side up, and then fill and drain it before the mill stopped turning. Such wagers were very popular in those olden days and are interesting as relics of a mediaeval and far-away period in history."

So intently had Mr. Cabot and the others been talking that they had stopped in the center of the room and it was while they were standing there that a party of tourists entered from the hallway. Foremost among them was an American girl who carried in her hand a much worn Baedeker.

As her eye swept over the tapestries covering the walls her glance fell upon Giusippe.

Instantly she started and with parted lips stepped forward; then she paused.

"It cannot be!" Mr. Cabot heard her murmur.

At the same moment, however, Giusippe had seen her.

"The beautiful senorita!" he cried. "My lady of Venice!"

He was beside her in an instant.

"Giusippe! Giusippe!" exclaimed the girl. "Can it really be you?"

"Yes, yes, senorita! It is I. Ah, that I should see you again! What a joy it is. Surely four or five years must have pa.s.sed since first you came to paint in Venice."

"Fully that, my little Giusippe. It is five years this June. You have a good memory."

"How could I forget you, senorita; and the pictures, and your kindness!

But I have left Venice, you see. Yes. Even now I am on my way to America."

"To America? Oh, Giusippe, Giusippe! And that is why you have discarded your faded blouse, and the red tie which you wore knotted round your throat. Alas! I am almost sorry. And yet you look very nice," she added kindly. "But to leave Venice!"

"It is best," Giusippe explained gently. "I have my way to make, and I can do it better in your country, my senorita."

"Perhaps. Still, I am sorry to have you leave your home. It is like taking sea sh.e.l.ls away from the sands of the sh.o.r.e."

"And yet you would want me to be a man and succeed in life. Think how you yourself worked for success."