glass, which he could not
have made if he had not wickedly, secretly and feloniously stolen a book
which is the property of the aforesaid Angelo, and which contains many
things concerning the making of glass. Moreover, this Zorzi, called the
Ballarin, is a liar, a thief and an assassin, for of the good white
glass which he has melted by means of the said Angelo's secrets, he
makes vessels, such as phials, ampullas and dishes, which it is not
lawful for any foreigner to make. Moreover, in the vile wickedness of
his shameless heart, the said Zorzi, called the Ballarin, has the
presumption and effrontery to sell the said vessels, openly admitting
that he has made them. And they are well made, with diabolical skill,
and the sale of the said vessels is a great injury to the glass-blowers
of Murano, and to the honourable Guild, besides being an affront to the
Republic. I, the aforesaid Giovanni, was indeed unable to believe that
such monstrous wickedness could exist. I therefore went into the furnace
room myself, and there I found the said Zorzi, called the Ballarin,
working alone and making a certain piece in the form of a beaker. And
though he knows me, that I am the son of his master, he is so lost to
all shame, that he continued to work before me, as if he were a
glass-blower, and though I fanned myself in order not to die of heat, he
worked before the fire, and felt nothing, raging like a devil. I
therefore offered to buy the beaker he was making and I put down a piece
of money, and the said Zorzi, called the Ballarin, a liar, a thief and
an assassin, took the said piece of money, and set the said beaker
within the annealing oven of the said furnace, wherein I saw many other
pieces of fine workmanship, and he said that I should have the said
beaker when it was annealed. Wherefore I, being for the time the Master
of the honourable Guild in the stead of the said Angelo, entreat your
Magnificence on behalf of the said Guild to interfere and act for the
preservation of our ancient rights and privileges, and for the honour of
the Republic. Moreover, I entreat your Magnificence to send a force by
night, in order that there may be no scandal, to take the said Zorzi,
called the Ballarin, and to bind him, and carry him to Venice, that he
may be tried for his monstrous crimes, and be questioned, even with
torture, as to others which he has certainly committed, and be exiled
from all the dominions of the Republic for ever on pain of