A change in the situation was brought about by the appearance of Zuan
Venier at the glass-house on the following morning. Indolent, tired of
his existence, sick of what amused and interested his companions, but
generous, true and kind-hearted, he had been sorry to hear that Zorzi
had suffered by an accident, and he felt impelled to go and see whether
the young fellow needed help. Venier did not remember that he had ever
resisted an impulse in his life, though he took the greatest pains to
hide the fact that he ever felt any. He perhaps did not realise that
although he had done many foolish things, and some that a confessor
would not have approved, he had never wished to do anything that was
mean, or unkind, or that might give him an unfair advantage over others.
He fancied Zorzi alone, uncared for, perhaps obliged to work in spite of
his lameness, and it occurred to him that he might help him in some way,
though it was by no means clear what direction his help should take. He
did not know that Beroviero was absent, and he intended to call for the
old glass-maker. It would be easy to say that he was an old friend of
Jacopo Contarini and wished to make the acquaintance of Marietta's
father before the wedding. He would probably have an opportunity of
speaking to Zorzi without showing that he already knew him, and he
trusted to Zorzi's discretion to conceal the fact, for he was a good
judge of men.
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