wore great blue or green goggles on their eyes; and sometimes, after the
job was done, and they wanted a good time,-- glass-blowers have always
been rather full of a good time,-- they would rush out into the village
in their outlandish rig, and frighten the natives, like so many demons."
But they were a superstitious class themselves,"
said the Doctor. "They believed in the salamander, which was supposed to
be generated by the flames of a furnace that had been kept burning a great
while, and to live in them. When any workman disappeared mysteriously,
the salamander was supposed to have rushed out and caught him, and carried
him into his den. Or was it only a joke of theirs, gaffer?"
"The worst salamander that ever carried off a
glass-blower was the fiery monster we call rum," said the gaffer. "A good
many have been carried off by that, and I guess that is what they meant."
"Glass-makers have had the reputation of being
hard drinkers; why is it?" said the Doctor.
"They are a hard-working class; but their work is
irregular. They have plenty of money and plenty of leisure time to spend
it,-- a dangerous circumstance for a man or a boy, in or out of the
glass-house," added the gaffer, with a look at Lawrence. "But glass-makers
have improved in this respect of late years. Look around you; have n't
we a pretty respectable set of men at work here?"
While the Doctor was looking at the men, Lawrence
took a general view of the building.
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