When Isaac had got his prisms situated in the window and blown out the candle, Daniel was blind, and painfully embarrassed, for several minutes – he was anxious that, lacking Isaac's acute senses, he would not be able to see the spectrum cast against the wall by the light shining from Venus. 'Have due patience,' Isaac said with a tenderness Daniel hadn't heard from him in years. The thought stole upon Daniel, as he sat there in the dark with Isaac, that Isaac might have more than one reason for wearing those golden spectacles all the time. They shielded his burnt eyes from the light, yes. But as well, might they hide his burnt heart from the sight of Daniel?