GLASS AND GLASS-MAKING 



even at this early period. The glass mirror is supposed 

 to be a comparatively modern invention, but it is quite 

 possible that such objects were known to the ancients 

 and then forgotten during the retrogressive days of the 

 Dark Ages. 



In the case of window glass this very thing seems 

 to have occurred. For years the question of the an- 

 tiquity of the window pane was a mooted one between 

 scientists and antiquaries. "Suddenly antiquity her- 

 self, tired doubtless of a discussion that threatened 

 her own honor," says Sauzey, "decided the question 

 by proving that she possessed window glass. And, 

 indeed, the researches near Pompeii have brought to 

 light panes of glass which have remained fastened 

 to their frames more than seventeen hundred years 

 under ashes." 



A DOUBTFUL ROMAN TRADITION 



This discovery confirms the belief that the Romans 

 had become skilful glass-workers even at a very early 

 period. Indeed, judging from some of the Roman tales, 

 the artisans were not only familiar with ordinary glass- 

 working, but were attempting to discover a process 

 whereby glass could be made malleable a desidera- 

 tum that is still vainly sought. One of these stories 

 tells of a workman who succeeded in solving the prob- 

 lem, with dire consequences to himself when he ex- 

 hibited his discovery to the Emperor Tiberius. 



"There was once an artist who made vessels of such 

 firmness that you could no more break them than 

 gold or silver," runs the story. 'This person, having 



