At first indeed the old man brought his hand down heavily upon the
table, and swore that he would never see his son again, that he would
propose to the Ten to banish him from Venice, that he would disinherit
him and let him starve as he deserved, and much more to the same effect.
But Venier entreated him, for his own dignity's sake, to do none of
these things, but to send Jacopo to his villa on the Brenta river, where
he might devote himself in seclusion to growing his hair and beard
again; and Zuan represented that if he reappeared in Venice after many
months, not very greatly changed, the adventure would be so far
forgotten that his life among his friends would be at least bearable, in
spite of the ridicule to which he would now and then be exposed for the
rest of his life, whenever any one chose out of spite to mention
barbers, shears, razors, specifies for causing the hair to grow, or
Georgians, in his presence. Further, Venier ventured to suggest to
Contarini that he should at once break off the marriage arranged with
Beroviero, rather than expose himself to the inevitable indignity of
letting the step be taken by the glass-maker, who, said Venier, would as
soon think of giving his daughter to a Turk as to Jacopo, since the
latter's graceless doings had been suddenly held up to the light as the
laughing-stock of all Venice.
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