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- Title: The Decameron, Volume I
- Author: Giovanni Boccaccio
- Release Date: February, 2003 [Etext #3726]
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- This etext was produced by Donna Holsten.
- The Decameron
- of
- Giovanni Boccaccio
- Faithfully Translated
- By J.M. Rigg
- with illustrations by Louis Chalon
- --CONTENTS--
- INTRODUCTION
- PROEM
- - FIRST DAY -
- NOVEL I. - Ser Ciappelletto cheats a holy friar by a false confession, and
- dies; and, having lived as a very bad man, is, on his death, reputed a
- saint, and called San Ciappelletto.
- NOVEL II. - Abraham, a Jew, at the instance of Jehannot de Chevigny, goes to
- the court of Rome, and having marked the evil life of clergy, returns to
- Paris, and becomes a Christian.
- NOVEL III. - Melchisedech, a Jew, by a story of three rings averts a danger
- with which he was menaced by Saladin.
- NOVEL IV. - A monk lapses into a sin meriting the most severe punishment,
- justly censures the same fault in his abbot, and thus evades the penalty.
- NOVEL V. - The Marchioness of Monferrato by a banquet of hens seasoned with
- wit checks the mad passion of the King of France.
- NOVEL VI. - A worthy man by an apt saying puts to shame the wicked hypocrisy
- of the religious.
- NOVEL VII. - Bergamino, with a story of Primasso and the Abbot of Cluny,
- finely censures a sudden access of avarice in Messer Cane della Scala.
- NOVEL VIII. - Guglielmo Borsiere by a neat retort sharply censures avarice
- in Messer Ermino de' Grimaldi.
- NOVEL IX. - The censure of a Gascon lady converts the King of Cyprus from a
- churlish to an honourable temper.
- NOVEL X. - Master Alberto da Bologna honourably puts to shame a lady who
- sought occasion to put him to shame in that he was in love with her.
- - SECOND DAY -
- NOVEL I. - Martellino pretends to be a paralytic, and makes it appear as if
- he were cured by being placed upon the body of St. Arrigo. His trick is
- detected; he is beaten and arrested, and is in peril of hanging, but finally
- escapes.
- NOVEL II. - Rinaldo d'Asti is robbed, arrives at Castel Guglielmo, and is
- entertained by a widow lady; his property is restored to him, and he returns
- home safe and sound.
- NOVEL III. - Three young men squander their substance and are reduced to
- poverty. Their nephew, returning home a desperate man, falls in with an
- abbot, in whom he discovers the daughter of the King of England. She marries
- him, and he retrieves the losses and re-establishes the fortune of his
- uncles.
- NOVEL IV. - Landolfo Ruffolo is reduced to poverty, turns corsair, is
- captured by Genoese, is shipwrecked, escapes on a chest full of jewels, and,
- being cast ashore at Corfu, is hospitably entertained by a woman, and
- returns home wealthy.
- NOVEL V. - Andreuccio da Perugia comes to Naples to buy horses, meets with
- three serious adventures in one night, comes safe out of them all, and
- returns home with a ruby.
- NOVEL VI. - Madam Beritola loses two sons, is found with two kids on an
- island, goes thence to Lunigiana, where one of her sons takes service with
- her master, and lies with his daughter, for which he is put in prison.
- Sicily rebels against King Charles, the son is recognized by the mother,
- marries the master's daughter, and, his brother being discovered, is
- reinstated in great honour.
- NOVEL VII. - The Soldan of Babylon sends one of his daughters overseas,
- designing to marry her to the King of Algarve. By divers adventures she
- comes in the space of four years into the hands of nine men in divers place.
- At last she is restored to her father, whom she quits again in the guise of
- a virgin, and, as was at first intended, is married to the King of Algarve.
- NOVEL VIII. - The Count of Antwerp, labouring under a false accusation, goes
- into exile. He leaves his two children in different places in England, and
- takes service in Ireland. Returning to England an unknown man, he finds his
- sons prosperous. He serves as a groom in the army of the King of France; his
- innocence is established, and he is restored to his former honours.
- NOVEL IX. - Bernabo of Genoa, deceived by Ambrogiuolo, loses his money and
- commands his innocent wife to be put to death. She escapes, habits herself
- as a man, and serves the Soldan. She discovers the deceiver, and brings
- Bernabo to Alexandria, where the deceiver is punished. She then resumes the
- garb of a woman, and with her husband returns wealthy to Genoa.
- NOVEL X. - Paganino da Monaco carries off the wife of Messer Ricciardo di
- Chinzica, who, having learned where she is, goes to Paganino and in a
- friendly manner asks him to restore her. He consents, provided she be
- willing. She refuses to go back with her husband. Messer Ricciardo dies, and
- she marries Paganino.
- - THIRD DAY -
- NOVEL I. - Masetto da Lamporecchio feigns to be dumb, and obtains a
- gardener's place at a convent of women, who with one accord make haste to
- lie with him.
- NOVEL II. - A groom lies with the wife of King Agilulf, who learns the fact,
- keeps his own counsel, finds out the groom and shears him. The shorn shears
- all his fellows, and so comes safe out of the scrape.
- NOVEL III. - Under cloak of confession and a most spotless conscience, a
- lady, enamoured of a young man, induces a booby friar unwittingly to provide
- a means to the entire gratification of her passion.
- NOVEL IV. - Dom Felice instructs Fra Puccio how to attain blessedness by
- doing a penance. Fra Puccio does the penance, and meanwhile Dom Felice has a
- good time with Fra Puccio's wife.
- NOVEL V. - Zima gives a palfrey to Messer Francesco Vergellesi, who in
- return suffers him to speak with his wife. She keeping silence, he answers
- in her stead, and the sequel is in accordance with his answer.
- NOVEL VI. - Ricciardo Minutolo loves the wife of Filippello Fighinolfi, and
- knowing her to be jealous, makes her believe that his own wife is to meet
- Filippello at a bagnio on the ensuing day; whereby she is induced to go
- thither, where, thinking to have been with her husband, she discovers that
- she has tarried with Ricciardo.
- NOVEL VII. - Tedaldo, being in disfavour with his lady, departs from
- Florence. He returns thither after a while in the guise of a pilgrim, has
- speech of his lady, and makes her sensible of her fault. Her husband,
- convicted of slaying him, he delivers from peril of death, reconciles him
- with his brothers, and thereafter discreetly enjoys his lady.
- NOVEL VIII. Ÿ Ferondo, having taken a certain powder, is interred for dead;
- is disinterred by the abbot, who enjoys his wife; is put in prison and
- taught to believe that he is in purgatory; is then resuscitated, and rears
- as his own a boy begotten by the abbot upon his wife.
- NOVEL IX. - Gillette of Narbonne cures the King of France of a fistula,
- craves for spouse Bertrand de Roussillon, who marries her against his will,
- and hies him in despite to Florence, where, as he courts a young woman,
- Gillette lies with him in her stead, and has two sons by him; for which
- cause he afterwards takes her into favour and entreats her as his wife.
- NOVEL X. - Alibech turns hermit, and is taught by Rustico, a monk, how the
- Devil is put in hell. She is afterwards conveyed thence, and becomes the
- wife of Neerbale.
- - FOURTH DAY -
- NOVEL I. - Tancred, Prince of Salerno, slays his daughter's lover, and sends
- her his heart in a golden cup: she pours upon it a poisonous distillation,
- which she drinks and dies.
- NOVEL II. - Fra Alberto gives a lady to understand that she is beloved of
- the Angel Gabriel, in whose shape he lies with her sundry times; afterward,
- for fear of her kinsmen, he flings himself forth of her house, and finds
- shelter in the house of a poor man, who on the morrow leads him in the guise
- of a wild man into the piazza, where, being recognized, he is apprehended by
- his brethren and imprisoned.
- NOVEL III. - Three young men love three sisters, and flee with them to
- Crete. The eldest of the sisters slays her lover for jealousy. The second
- saves the life of the first by yielding herself to the Duke of Crete. Her
- lover slays her, and makes off with the first: the third sister and her
- lover are charged with the murder, are arrested and confess the crime. They
- escape death by bribing the guards, flee destitute to Rhodes, and there in
- destitution die.
- NOVEL IV. - Gerbino, in breach of the plighted faith of his grandfather,
- King Guglielmo, attacks a ship of the King of Tunis to rescue thence his
- daughter. She being slain by those aboard the ship, he slays them, and
- afterwards he is beheaded.
- NOVEL V. - Lisabetta's brothers slay her lover: he appears to her in a
- dream, and shews her where he is buried: she privily disinters the head, and
- sets it in a pot of basil, whereon she daily weeps a great while. The pot
- being taken from her by her brothers, she dies not long after.
- NOVEL VI. - Andreuola loves Gabriotto: she tells him a dream that she has
- had; he tells her a dream of his own, and dies suddenly in her arms. While
- she and her maid are carrying his corpse to his house, they are taken by the
- Signory. She tells how the matter stands, is threatened with violence by the
- Podesta, but will not brook it. Her father hears how she is bested, and, her
- innocence being established, causes her to be set at large; but she, being
- minded to tarry no longer in the world, becomes a nun.
- NOVEL VII. - Simona loves Pasquino; they are together in a garden, Pasquino
- rubs a leaf of sage against his teeth, and dies; Simona is arrested, and,
- with intent to shew the judge how Pasquino died, rubs one of the leaves of
- the same plant against her teeth, and likewise dies.
- NOVEL VIII. - Girolamo loves Salvestra: yielding to his mother's prayers he
- goes to Paris; he returns to find Salvestra married; he enters her house by
- stealth, lays himself by her side, and dies; he is borne to the church,
- where Salvestra lays herself by his side, and dies.
- Nova IX. - Sieur Guillaume de Roussillon slays his wife's paramour, Sieur
- Guillaume de Cabestaing, and gives her his heart to eat. She, coming to wit
- thereof, throws herself from a high window to the ground, and dies, and is
- buried with her lover.
- NOVEL X. - The wife of a leech, deeming her lover, who has taken an opiate,
- to be dead, puts him in a chest, which, with him therein, two usurers carry
- off to their house. He comes to himself, and is taken for a thief; but, the
- lady's maid giving the Signory to understand that she had put him in the
- chest which the usurers stole, he escapes the gallows, and the usurers are
- mulcted in moneys for the theft of the chest.
- ILLUSTRATIONS TO THE DECAMERON
- VOLUME I.
- The lady and the friar (third day, third story) - Frontispiece
- The three rings (first day, third story)
- The dinner of hens (first day, fifth story)
- Rinaldo D'Asti and the widow lady (second day, second story)
- Alatiel dancing (second day, seventh story)
- The wedding party (fourth day, introduction)
- The daughter of the King of Tunis (fourth day, fourth story)
- Simona and Pasquino (fourth day, seventh story)
- INTRODUCTION
- Son of a merchant, Boccaccio di Chellino di Buonaiuto, of Certaldo in Val
- d'Elsa, a little town about midway between Empoli and Siena, but within the
- Florentine "contado," Giovanni Boccaccio was born, most probably at Paris,
- in the year 1313. His mother, at any rate, was a Frenchwoman, whom his
- father seduced during a sojourn at Paris, and afterwards deserted. So much
- as this Boccaccio has himself told us, under a transparent veil of allegory,
- in his Ameto. Of his mother we would fain know more, for his wit has in it
- a quality, especially noticeable in the Tenth Novel of the Sixth Day of the
- Decameron, which marks him out as the forerunner of Rabelais, and prompts us
- to ask how much more his genius may have owed to his French ancestry. His
- father was of sufficient standing in Florence to be chosen Prior in 1321;
- but this brief term of office--but two months--was his last, as well as his
- first experience of public life. Of Boccaccio's early years we know nothing
- more than that his first preceptor was the Florentine grammarian, Giovanni
- da Strada, father of the poet Zanobi da Strada, and that, when he was about
- ten years old, he was bound apprentice to a merchant, with whom he spent
- the next six years at Paris, whence he returned to Florence with an
- inveterate repugnance to commerce. His father then proposed to make a
- canonist of him; but the study of Gratian proved hardly more congenial than
- the routine of the counting-house to the lad, who had already evinced a
- taste for letters; and a sojourn at Naples, where under the regime of the
- enlightened King Robert there were coteries of learned men, and even Greek
- was not altogether unknown, decided his future career. According to Filippo
- Villani his choice was finally fixed by a visit to the tomb of Vergil on the
- Via Puteolana, and, though the modern critical spirit is apt to discount such
- stories, there can be no doubt that such a pilgrimage would be apt to make a
- deep, and perhaps enduring, impression upon a nature ardent and sensitive,
- and already conscious of extraordinary powers. His stay at Naples was also in
- another respect a turning point in his life; for it was there that, as we
- gather from the Filocopo, he first saw the blonde beauty, Maria, natural
- daughter of King Robert, whom he has immortalized as Fiammetta. The place was
- the church of San Lorenzo, the day the 26th of March, 1334. Boccaccio's
- admiring gaze was observed by the lady, who, though married, proved no Laura,
- and forthwith returned his love in equal measure. Their liaison lasted several
- years, during which Boccaccio recorded the various phases of their passion
- with exemplary assiduity in verse and prose. Besides paying her due and
- discreet homage in sonnet and canzone, he associated her in one way or another,
- not only with the Filocopo (his prose romance of Florio and Biancofiore, which
- he professes to have written to pleasure her), but with the Ameto, the Amorosa
- Visione, the Teseide, and the Filostrato; and in L'Amorosa Fiammetta he wove
- out of their relations a romance in which her lover, who is there called
- Pamfilo, plays Aeneas to her Dido, though with somewhat less tragic
- consequences. The Proem to the Decameron shews us the after-glow of his
- passion; the lady herself appears as one of the "honourable company," and
- her portrait, as in the act of receiving the laurel wreath at the close of
- the Fourth Day, is a masterpiece of tender and delicate delineation.
- Boccaccio appears to have been recalled to Florence by his father in 1341;
- and it was probably in that year that he wrote L'Amorosa Fiammetta and the
- allegorical prose pastoral (with songs interspersed) which he entitled
- Ameto, and in which Fiammetta masquerades in green as one of the nymphs.
- The Amorosa Visione, written about the same time, is not only an allegory but
- an acrostic, the initial letters of its fifteen hundred triplets composing two
- sonnets and a ballade in honour of Fiammetta, whom he here for once ventures
- to call by her true name. Later came the Teseide, or romance of Palamon and
- Arcite, the first extant rendering of the story, in twelve books, and the
- Filostrato, nine books of the loves and woes of Troilus and Cressida. Both
- these poems are in ottava rima, a metre which, if Boccaccio did not invent
- it, he was the first to apply to such a purpose. Both works were dedicated
- to Fiammetta. A graceful idyll in the same metre, Ninfale Fiesolano, was
- written later, probably at Naples in 1345. King Robert was then dead, but
- Boccaccio enjoyed the favour of Queen Joan, of somewhat doubtful memory, at
- whose instance he hints in one of his later letters that he wrote the
- Decameron. Without impugning Boccaccio's veracity we can hardly but think
- that the Decameron would have seen the light, though Queen Joan had withheld
- her encouragement. He had probably been long meditating it, and gathering
- materials for it, and we may well suppose that the outbreak of the plague in
- 1348, by furnishing him with a sombre background to heighten the effect of
- his motley pageant, had far more to do with accelerating the composition
- than aught that Queen Joan may have said.
- That Boccaccio was not at Florence during the pestilence is certain; but we
- need not therefore doubt the substantial accuracy of his marvellous
- description of the state of the stricken city, for the course and
- consequences of the terrible visitation must have been much the same in all
- parts of Italy, and as to Florence in particular, Boccaccio could have no
- difficulty in obtaining detailed and abundant information from credible
- eye-witnesses. The introduction of Fiammetta, who was in all probability at
- Naples at the time, and in any case was not a Florentine, shews, however,
- that he is by no means to be taken literally, and renders it extremely
- probable that the facetious, irrepressible, and privileged Dioneo is no
- other than himself. At the same time we cannot deem it either impossible,
- or very unlikely, that in the general relaxation of morale, which the plague
- brought in its train, refuge from care and fear was sought in the diversions
- which he describes by some of those who had country-seats to which to
- withdraw, and whether the "contado" was that of Florence or that of Naples
- is a matter of no considerable importance. (1) It is probable that
- Boccaccio's father was one of the victims of the pestilence; for he was dead
- in 1350, when his son returned to Florence to live thenceforth on the modest
- patrimony which he inherited. It must have been about this time that he
- formed an intimacy with Petrarch, which, notwithstanding marked diversity
- of temperament, character and pursuits, was destined to be broken only by
- death. Despite his complaints of the malevolence of his critics in the Proem
- to the Fourth Day of the Decameron, he had no lack of appreciation on the
- part of his fellow-citizens, and was employed by the Republic on several
- missions; to Bologna, probably with the view of averting the submission of
- that city to the Visconti in 1350; to Petrarch at Padua in March 1351, with
- a letter from the Priors announcing his restitution to citizenship, and
- inviting him to return to Florence, and assume the rectorship of the newly
- founded university; to Ludwig of Brandenburg with overtures for an alliance
- against the Visconti in December of the same year; and in the spring of 1354
- to Pope Innocent VI. at Avignon in reference to the approaching visit of the
- Emperor Charles IV. to Italy. About this time, 1354-5, he threw off, in
- striking contrast to his earlier works, an invective against women, entitled
- Laberinto d'Amore, otherwise Corbaccio, a coarse performance occasioned by
- resentment at what he deemed capricious treatment by a lady to whom he had
- made advances. To the same period, though the date cannot be precisely fixed,
- belongs his Life of Dante, a work of but mediocre merit. Somewhat later, it
- would seem, he began the study of Greek under one Leontius Pilatus, a
- Calabrian, who possessed some knowledge of that language, and sought to pass
- himself off as a Greek by birth.
- Leontius was of coarse manners and uncertain temper, but Boccaccio was his
- host and pupil for some years, and eventually procured him the chair of
- Greek in the university of Florence. How much Greek Boccaccio learned from
- him, and how far he may have been beholden to him in the compilation of
- his elaborate Latin treatise De Genealogia Deorum, in which he essayed with
- very curious results to expound the inner meaning of mythology, it is
- impossible to say. In 1361 he seems to have had serious thoughts of
- devoting himself to religion, being prodigiously impressed by the menaces,
- monitions and revelations of a dying Carthusian of Siena. One of the
- revelations concerned a matter which Boccaccio had supposed to be known only
- to Petrarch and himself. He accordingly confided his anxiety to Petrarch,
- who persuaded him to amend his life without renouncing the world. In 1362
- he revisited Naples, and in the following year spent three months with
- Petrarch at Venice. In 1365 he was sent by the Republic of Florence on a
- mission of conciliation to Pope Urban V. at Avignon. He was employed on a
- like errand on the Pope's return to Rome in 1367. In 1368 he revisited
- Venice, and in 1371 Naples; but in May 1372 he returned to Florence, where
- on 25th August 1373 he was appointed lecturer on the Divina Commedia, with
- a yearly stipend of 100 fiorini d'oro. His lectures, of which the first
- was delivered in the church of San Stefano near the Ponte Vecchio, were
- discontinued owing to ill health, doubtless aggravated by the distress which
- the death of Petrarch (20th July 1374) could not but cause him, when he had
- got no farther than the seventeenth Canto of the Inferno. His commentary is
- still occasionally quoted. He died, perhaps in the odour of sanctity, for
- in later life he was a diligent collector of relics, at Certaldo on 21st
- December 1375, and was buried in the parish church. His tomb was desecrated,
- and his remains were dispersed, owing, it is said, to a misunderstanding,
- towards the close of the eighteenth century. His library, which by his
- direction was placed in the Convent of Santo Spirito at Florence, was
- destroyed by fire about a century after his death.
- Besides the De Genealogia Deorum Boccaccio wrote other treatises in Latin,
- which need not here be specified, and sixteen Eclogues in the same language,
- of which he was by no means a master. As for his minor works in the
- vernacular, the earlier of them shew that he had not as yet wrought himself
- free from the conventionalism which the polite literature of Italy inherited
- from the Sicilians. It is therefore inevitable that the twentieth century
- should find the Filocopo, Ameto, and Amorosa Visione tedious reading. The
- Teseide determined the form in which Pulci, Boiardo, Bello, Ariosto, Tasso,
- and, with a slight modification, our own Spenser were to write, but its
- readers are now few, and are not likely ever again to be numerous. Chaucer
- drew upon it for the Knight's Tale, but it is at any rate arguable that his
- retrenchment of its perhaps inordinate length was judicious, and that what
- he gave was better than what he borrowed. Still, that it had such a redactor
- as Chaucer is no small testimony to its merit; nor was it only in the
- Knight's Tale that he was indebted to it: the description of the Temple of
- Love in the Parlement of Foules is taken almost word for word from it. Even
- more considerable and conspicuous is Chaucer's obligation to Boccaccio in
- the Troilus and Criseyde, about a third of which is borrowed from the
- Filostrato. Nor is it a little remarkable that the same man, that in the
- Teseide and Filostrato founded the chivalrous epic, should also and in the
- same period of his literary activity, have written the first and not the
- least powerful and artistic of psychologic romances, for even such is
- L'Amorosa Fiammetta.
- But whatever may be the final verdict of criticism upon these minor works of
- Boccaccio, it is impossible to imagine an age in which the Decameron will
- fail of general recognition as, in point alike of invention as of style, one
- of the most notable creations of human genius. Of few books are the sources
- so recondite, insomuch that it seems to be certain that in the main they
- must have be merely oral tradition, and few have exercised so wide and
- mighty an influence. The profound, many-sided and intimate knowledge of
- human nature which it evinces, its vast variety of incident, its wealth
- of tears and laughter, its copious and felicitous diction, inevitably apt
- for every occasion, and, notwithstanding the frequent harshness, and
- occasional obscurity of its at times tangled, at times laboured periods,
- its sustained energy and animation of style must ever ensure for this human
- comedy unchallenged rank among the literary masterpieces that are truly
- immortal.
- The Decameron was among the earliest of printed books, Venice leading the
- way with a folio edition in 1471, Mantua following suit in 1472, and
- Vicenza in 1478. A folio edition, adorned, with most graceful wood-
- engravings, was published at Venice in 1492. Notwithstanding the freedom
- with which in divers passages Boccaccio reflected on the morals of the
- clergy, the Roman Curia spared the book, which the austere Savonarola
- condemned to the flames. The tradition that the Decameron was among the
- pile of "vanities" burned by Savonarola in the Piazza della Signoria on
- the last day of the Carnival of 1497, little more than a year before he
- was himself burned there, is so intrinsically probable--and accords so
- well with the extreme paucity of early copies of the work--that it would
- be the very perversity of scepticism to doubt it. It is by no means to
- the credit of our country that, except to scholars, it long remained in
- England, an almost entirely closed book. (2) Indeed the first nominally
- complete English translation, a sadly mutilated and garbled rendering of
- the French version by Antoine Le Macon, did not appear till 1620, and
- though successive redactions brought it nearer to the original, it
- remained at the best but a sorry faute de mieux. Such as it was,
- however, our forefathers were perforce fain to be content with it.
- The first Englishman to render the whole Decameron direct from the Italian
- was Mr. John Payne; but his work, printed for the Villon Society in 1886,
- was only for private circulation, and those least inclined to disparage
- its merits may deem its style somewhat too archaic and stilted adequately
- to render the vigour and vivacity of the original. Accordingly in the
- present version an attempt has been made to hit the mean between archaism
- and modernism, and to secure as much freedom and spirit as is compatible
- with substantial accuracy.
- (1) As to the palaces in which the scene is laid, Manni (Istoria del
- Decamerone, Par. ii. cap. ii.) identifies the first with a villa near
- Fiesole, which can be no other than the Villa Palmieri, and the second (ib.
- cap. lxxvi.) with the Podere della Fonte, or so-called Villa del Boccaccio,
- near Camerata. Baldelli's theory, adopted by Mrs. Janet Ann Ross (Florentine
- Villas, 1901), that the Villa di Poggio Gherardi was the first, and the
- Villa Palmieri the second, retreat is not to be reconciled with Boccaccio's
- descriptions. The Villa Palmieri is not remote enough for the second and
- more sequestered retreat, nor is it, as that is said to have been, situate
- on a low hill amid a plain, but on the lower Fiesolean slope. The most
- rational supposition would seem to be that Boccaccio, who had seen many a
- luxurious villa, freely combined his experiences in the description of his
- palaces and pleasaunces, and never expected to be taken au pied de la
- lettre.
- (2) Nevertheless Shakespeare derived indirectly the plot of All's Well that
- Ends Well from the Ninth Novel of the Third Day, and an element in the plot
- of Cymbeline from the Ninth Novel of the Second Day.
- --
- Beginneth here the book called Decameron, otherwise Prince Galeotto, wherein
- are contained one hundred novels told in ten days by seven ladies and three
- young men.
- --
- PROEM
- 'Tis humane to have compassion on the afflicted and as it shews well in all,
- so it is especially demanded of those who have had need of comfort and have
- found it in others: among whom, if any had ever need thereof or found it
- precious or delectable, I may be numbered; seeing that from my early youth
- even to the present I was beyond measure aflame with a most aspiring and
- noble love (1) more perhaps than, were I to enlarge upon it, would seem to
- accord with my lowly condition. Whereby, among people of discernment to
- whose knowledge it had come, I had much praise and high esteem, but
- nevertheless extreme discomfort and suffering not indeed by reason of
- cruelty on the part of the beloved lady, but through superabundant ardour
- engendered in the soul by ill-bridled desire; the which, as it allowed me no
- reasonable period of quiescence, frequently occasioned me an inordinate
- distress. In which distress so much relief was afforded me by the delectable
- discourse of a friend and his commendable consolations, that I entertain a
- very solid conviction that to them I owe it that I am not dead. But, as it
- pleased Him, who, being infinite, has assigned by immutable law an end to
- all things mundane, my love, beyond all other fervent, and neither to be
- broken nor bent by any force of determination, or counsel of prudence, or
- fear of manifest shame or ensuing danger, did nevertheless in course of time
- me abate of its own accord, in such wise that it has now left nought of
- itself in my mind but that pleasure which it is wont to afford to him who
- does not adventure too far out in navigating its deep seas; so that, whereas
- it was used to be grievous, now, all discomfort being done away, I find that
- which remains to be delightful. But the cessation of the pain has not
- banished the memory of the kind offices done me by those who shared by
- sympathy the burden of my griefs; nor will it ever, I believe, pass from me
- except by death. And as among the virtues, gratitude is in my judgment most
- especially to be commended, and ingratitude in equal measure to be censured,
- therefore, that I show myself not ungrateful, I have resolved, now that I
- may call myself to endeavour, in return for what I have received, to afford,
- so far as in me lies, some solace, if not to those who succoured and who,
- perchance, by reason of their good sense or good fortune, need it not, at
- least to such as may be apt to receive it.
- And though my support or comfort, so to say, may be of little avail to the
- needy, nevertheless it seems to me meet to offer it most readily where the
- need is most apparent, because it will there be most serviceable and also
- most kindly received. Who will deny, that it should be given, for all that
- it may be worth, to gentle ladies much rather than to men? Within their soft
- bosoms, betwixt fear and shame, they harbour secret fires of love, and how
- much of strength concealment adds to those fires, they know who have proved
- it. Moreover, restrained by the will, the caprice, the commandment of
- fathers, mothers, brothers, and husbands, confined most part of their time
- within the narrow compass of their chambers, they live, so to say, a life of
- vacant ease, and, yearning and renouncing in the same moment, meditate
- divers matters which cannot all be cheerful. If thereby a melancholy bred of
- amorous desire make entrance into their minds, it is like to tarry there to
- their sore distress, unless it be dispelled by a change of ideas. Besides
- which they have much less power to support such a weight than men. For, when
- men are enamoured, their case is very different, as we may readily perceive.
- They, if they are afflicted by a melancholy and heaviness of mood, have many
- ways of relief and diversion; they may go where they will, may hear and see
- many things, may hawk, hunt, fish, ride, play or traffic. By which means all
- are able to compose their minds, either in whole or in part, and repair the
- ravage wrought by the dumpish mood, at least for some space of time; and
- shortly after, by one way or another, either solace ensues, or the dumps
- become less grievous. Wherefore, in some measure to compensate the injustice
- of Fortune, which to those whose strength is least, as we see it to be in
- the delicate frames of ladies, has been most niggard of support, I, for the
- succour and diversion of such of them as love (for others may find
- sufficient solace in the needle and the spindle and the reel), do intend to
- recount one hundred Novels or Fables or Parables or Stories, as we may
- please to call them, which were recounted in ten days by an honourable
- company of seven ladies and three young men in the time of the late mortal
- pestilence, as also some canzonets sung by the said ladies for their
- delectation. In which pleasant novels will be found some passages of love
- rudely crossed, with other courses of events of which the issues are
- felicitous, in times as well modern as ancient: from which stories the said
- ladies, who shall read them, may derive both pleasure from the entertaining
- matters set forth therein, and also good counsel, in that they may learn
- what to shun, and likewise what to pursue. Which cannot, I believe, come to
- pass unless the dumps be banished by diversion of mind. And if it so happen
- (as God grant it may) let them give thanks to Love, who, liberating me from
- his fetters, has given me the power to devote myself to their gratification.
- (1) For Fiammetta, i. e. Maria, natural daughter of Robert, King of Naples.
- --
- Beginneth here the first day of the Decameron, in which, when the author has
- set forth, how it came to pass that the persons, who appear hereafter met
- together for interchange of discourse, they, under the rule of Pampinea,
- discourse of such matters as most commend themselves to each in turn.
- --
- As often, most gracious ladies, as I bethink me, how compassionate you are
- by nature one and all, I do not disguise from myself that the present work
- must seem to you to have but a heavy and distressful prelude, in that it
- bears upon its very front what must needs revive the sorrowful memory of the
- late mortal pestilence, the course whereof was grievous not merely to eye-
- witnesses but to all who in any other wise had cognisance of it. But I would
- have you know, that you need not therefore be fearful to read further, as if
- your reading were ever to be accompanied by sighs and tears. This horrid
- beginning will be to you even such as to wayfarers is a steep and rugged
- mountain, beyond which stretches a plain most fair and delectable, which the
- toil of the ascent and descent does but serve to render more agreeable to
- them; for, as the last degree of joy brings with it sorrow, so misery has
- ever its sequel of happiness. To this brief exordium of woe--brief, I say,
- inasmuch as it can be put within the compass of a few letters--succeed
- forthwith the sweets and delights which I have promised you, and which,
- perhaps, had I not done so, were not to have been expected from it. In
- truth, had it been honestly possible to guide you whither I would bring you
- by a road less rough than this will be, I would gladly have so done. But,
- because without this review of the past, it would not be in my power to shew
- how the matters, of which you will hereafter read, came to pass, I am almost
- bound of necessity to enter upon it, if I would write of them at all.
- I say, then, that the years of the beatific incarnation of the Son of God
- had reached the tale of one thousand three hundred and forty-eight when in
- the illustrious city of Florence, the fairest of all the cities of Italy,
- there made its appearance that deadly pestilence, which, whether
- disseminated by the influence of the celestial bodies, or sent upon us
- mortals by God in His just wrath by way of retribution for our iniquities,
- had had its origin some years before in the East, whence, after destroying
- an innumerable multitude of living beings, it had propagated itself without
- respite from place to place, and so, calamitously, had spread into the West.
- In Florence, despite all that human wisdom and forethought could devise to
- avert it, as the cleansing of the city from many impurities by officials
- appointed for the purpose, the refusal of entrance to all sick folk, and the
- adoption of many precautions for the preservation of health; despite also
- humble supplications addressed to God, and often repeated both in public
- procession and otherwise, by the devout; towards the beginning of the spring
- of the said year the doleful effects of the pestilence began to be horribly
- apparent by symptoms that shewed as if miraculous.
- Not such were they as in the East, where an issue of blood from the nose was
- a manifest sign of inevitable death; but in men and women alike it first
- betrayed itself by the emergence of certain tumours in the groin or the
- armpits, some of which grew as large as a common apple, others as an egg,
- some more, some less, which the common folk called gavoccioli. From the two
- said parts of the body this deadly gavocciolo soon began to propagate and
- spread itself in all directions indifferently; after which the form of the
- malady began to change, black spots or livid making their appearance in many
- cases on the arm or the thigh or elsewhere, now few and large, now minute
- and numerous. And as the gavocciolo had been and still was an infallible
- token of approaching death, such also were these spots on whomsoever they
- shewed themselves. Which maladies seemed to set entirely at naught both the
- art of the physician and the virtues of physic; indeed, whether it was that
- the disorder was of a nature to defy such treatment, or that the physicians
- were at fault--besides the qualified there was now a multitude both of men
- and of women who practised without having received the slightest tincture of
- medical science--and, being in ignorance of its source, failed to apply the
- proper remedies; in either case, not merely were those that recovered few,
- but almost all within three days from the appearance of the said symptoms,
- sooner or later, died, and in most cases without any fever or other
- attendant malady.
- Moreover, the virulence of the pest was the greater by reason that
- intercourse was apt to convey it from the sick to the whole, just as fire
- devours things dry or greasy when they are brought close to it. Nay, the
- evil went yet further, for not merely by speech or association with the sick
- was the malady communicated to the healthy with consequent peril of common
- death; but any that touched the cloth of the sick or aught else that had
- been touched or used by them, seemed thereby to contract the disease.
- So marvellous sounds that which I have now to relate, that, had not many,
- and I among them, observed it with their own eyes, I had hardly dared to
- credit it, much less to set it down in writing, though I had had it from the
- lips of a credible witness.
- I say, then, that such was the energy of the contagion of the said
- pestilence, that it was not merely propagated from man to man but, what is
- much more startling, it was frequently observed, that things which had
- belonged to one sick or dead of the disease, if touched by some other living
- creature, not of the human species, were the occasion, not merely of
- sickening, but of an almost instantaneous death. Whereof my own eyes (as I
- said a little before) had cognisance, one day among others, by the following
- experience. The rags of a poor man who had died of the disease being strewn
- about the open street, two hogs came thither, and after, as is their wont,
- no little trifling with their snouts, took the rags between their teeth and
- tossed them to and fro about their chaps; whereupon, almost immediately,
- they gave a few turns, and fell down dead, as if by poison, upon the rags
- which in an evil hour they had disturbed.
- In which circumstances, not to speak of many others of a similar or even
- graver complexion, divers apprehensions and imaginations were engendered in
- the minds of such as were left alive, inclining almost all of them to the
- same harsh resolution, to wit, to shun and abhor all contact with the sick
- and all that belonged to them, thinking thereby to make each his own health
- secure. Among whom there were those who thought that to live temperately and
- avoid all excess would count for much as a preservative against seizures of
- this kind. Wherefore they banded together, and, dissociating themselves from
- all others, formed communities in houses where there were no sick, and lived
- a separate and secluded life, which they regulated with the utmost care,
- avoiding every kind of luxury, but eating and drinking very moderately of
- the most delicate viands and the finest wines, holding converse with none
- but one another, lest tidings of sickness or death should reach them, and
- diverting their minds with music and such other delights as they could
- devise. Others, the bias of whose minds was in the opposite direction,
- maintained, that to drink freely, frequent places of public resort, and take
- their pleasure with song and revel, sparing to satisfy no appetite, and to
- laugh and mock at no event, was the sovereign remedy for so great an evil:
- and that which they affirmed they also put in practice, so far as they were
- able, resorting day and night, now to this tavern, now to that, drinking
- with an entire disregard of rule or measure, and by preference making the
- houses of others, as it were, their inns, if they but saw in them aught that
- was particularly to their taste or liking; which they were readily able to
- do, because the owners, seeing death imminent, had become as reckless of
- their property as of their lives; so that most of the houses were open to
- all comers, and no distinction was observed between the stranger who
- presented himself and the rightful lord. Thus, adhering ever to their
- inhuman determination to shun the sick, as far as possible, they ordered
- their life. In this extremity of our city's suffering and tribulation the
- venerable authority of laws, human and divine, was abased and all but
- totally dissolved, for lack of those who should have administered and
- enforced them, most of whom, like the rest of the citizens, were either dead
- or sick, or so hard bested for servants that they were unable to execute any
- office; whereby every man was free to do what was right in his own eyes.
- Not a few there were who belonged to neither of the two said parties, but
- kept a middle course between them, neither laying the same restraint upon
- their diet as the former, nor allowing themselves the same license in
- drinking and other dissipations as the latter, but living with a degree of
- freedom sufficient to satisfy their appetites, and not as recluses. They
- therefore walked abroad, carrying in their hands flowers or fragrant herbs
- or divers sorts of spices, which they frequently raised to their noses,
- deeming it an excellent thing thus to comfort the brain with such perfumes,
- because the air seemed to be everywhere laden and reeking with the stench
- emitted by the dead and the dying and the odours of drugs.
- Some again, the most sound, perhaps, in judgment, as they we also the most
- harsh in temper, of all, affirmed that there was no medicine for the disease
- superior or equal in efficacy to flight; following which prescription a
- multitude of men and women, negligent of all but themselves, deserted their
- city, their houses, their estate, their kinsfolk, their goods, and went into
- voluntary exile, or migrated to the country parts, as if God in visiting men
- with this pestilence in requital of their iniquities would not pursue them
- with His wrath, wherever they might be, but intended the destruction of such
- alone as remained within the circuit of the walls of the city; or deeming,
- perchance, that it was now time for all to flee from it, and that its last
- hour was come.
- Of the adherents of these divers opinions not all died, neither did all
- escape; but rather there were, of each sort and in every place, many that
- sickened, and by those who retained their health were treated after the
- example which they themselves, while whole, had set, being everywhere left
- to languish in almost total neglect. Tedious were it to recount, how citizen
- avoided citizen, how among neighbours was scarce found any that shewed
- fellow-feeling for another, how kinsfolk held aloof, and never met, or but
- rarely; enough that this sore affliction entered so deep into the minds of
- men and women, that in the horror thereof brother was forsaken by brother,
- nephew by uncle, brother by sister, and oftentimes husband by wife; nay,
- what is more, and scarcely to be believed, fathers and mothers were found to
- abandon their own children, untended, unvisited, to their fate, as if they
- had been strangers. Wherefore the sick of both sexes, whose number could not
- be estimated, were left without resource but in the charity of friends (and
- few such there were), or the interest of servants, who were hardly to be had
- at high rates and on unseemly terms, and being, moreover, one and all men
- and women of gross understanding, and for the most part unused to such
- offices, concerned themselves no farther than to supply the immediate and
- expressed wants of the sick, and to watch them die; in which service they
- themselves not seldom perished with their gains. In consequence of which
- dearth of servants and dereliction of the sick by neighbours, kinsfolk and
- friends, it came to pass--a thing, perhaps, never before heard of that no
- woman, however dainty, fair or well-born she might be, shrank, when stricken
- with the disease, from the ministrations of a man, no matter whether he were
- young or no, or scrupled to expose to him every part of her body, with no
- more shame than if he had been a woman, submitting of necessity to that
- which her malady required; wherefrom, perchance, there resulted in after
- time some loss of modesty in such as recovered. Besides which many
- succumbed, who with proper attendance, would, perhaps, have escaped death;
- so that, what with the virulence of the plague and the lack of due tendance
- of the sick, the multitude of the deaths, that daily and nightly took place
- in the city, was such that those who heard the tale--not to say witnessed
- the fact--were struck dumb with amazement. Whereby, practices contrary to
- the former habits of the citizens could hardly fail to grow up among the
- survivors.
- It had been, as to-day it still is, the custom for the women that were
- neighbours and of kin to the deceased to gather in his house with the women
- that were most closely connected with him, to wail with them in common,
- while on the other hand his male kinsfolk and neighbours, with not a few of
- the other citizens, and a due proportion of the clergy according to his
- quality, assembled without, in front of the house, to receive the corpse;
- and so the dead man was borne on the shoulders of his peers, with funeral
- pomp of taper and dirge, to the church selected by him before his death.
- Which rites, as the pestilence waxed in fury, were either in whole or in
- great part disused, and gave way to others of a novel order. For not only
- did no crowd of women surround the bed of the dying, but many passed from
- this life unregarded, and few indeed were they to whom were accorded the
- lamentations and bitter tears of sorrowing relations; nay, for the most
- part, their place was taken by the laugh, the jest, the festal gathering;
- observances which the women, domestic piety in large measure set aside, had
- adopted with very great advantage to their health. Few also there were whose
- bodies were attended to the church by more than ten or twelve of their
- neighbours, and those not the honourable and respected citizens; but a sort
- of corpse-carriers drawn from the baser ranks who called themselves becchini
- (1) and performed such offices for hire, would shoulder the bier, and with
- hurried steps carry it, not to the church of the dead man's choice, but to
- that which was nearest at hand, with four or six priests in front and a
- candle or two, or, perhaps, none; nor did the priests distress themselves
- with too long and solemn an office, but with the aid of the becchini hastily
- consigned the corpse to the first tomb which they found untenanted. The
- condition of lower, and, perhaps, in great measure of the middle ranks, of
- the people shewed even worse and more deplorable; for, deluded by hope or
- constrained by poverty, they stayed in their quarters, in their houses,
- where they sickened by thousands a day, and, being without service or help
- of any kind, were, so to speak, irredeemably devoted to the death which
- overtook them. Many died daily or nightly in the public streets; of many
- others, who died at home, the departure was hardly observed by their
- neighbours, until the stench of their putrefying bodies carried the tidings;
- and what with their corpses and the corpses of others who died on every hand
- the whole place was a sepulchre.
- It was the common practice of most of the neighbours, moved no less by fear
- of contamination by the putrefying bodies than by charity towards the
- deceased, to drag the corpses out of the houses with their own hands, aided,
- perhaps, by a porter, if a porter was to be had, and to lay them in front of
- the doors, where any one who made the round might have seen, especially in
- the morning, more of them than he could count; afterwards they would have
- biers brought up, or, in default, planks, whereon they laid them. Nor was it
- once or twice only that one and the same bier carried two or three corpses
- at once; but quite a considerable number of such cases occurred, one bier
- sufficing for husband and wife, two or three brothers, father and son, and
- so forth. And times without number it happened, that, as two priests,
- bearing the cross, were on their way to perform the last office for some
- one, three or four biers were brought up by the porters in rear of them, so
- that, whereas the priests supposed that they had but one corpse to bury,
- they discovered that there were six or eight, or sometimes more. Nor, for
- all their number, were their obsequies honoured by either tears or lights or
- crowds of mourners; rather, it was come to this, that a dead man was then of
- no more account than a dead goat would be to-day. From all which it is
- abundantly manifest, that that lesson of patient resignation, which the
- sages were never able to learn from the slight and infrequent mishaps which
- occur in the natural course of events, was now brought home even to the
- minds of the simple by the magnitude of their disasters, so that they became
- indifferent to them.
- As consecrated ground there was not in extent sufficient to provide tombs
- for the vast multitude of corpses which day and night, and almost every
- hour, were brought in eager haste to the churches for interment, least of
- all, if ancient custom were to be observed and a separate resting-place
- assigned to each, they dug, for each graveyard, as soon as it was full, a
- huge trench, in which they laid the corpses as they arrived by hundreds at a
- time, piling them up as merchandise is stowed in the hold of a ship, tier
- upon tier, each covered with a little earth, until the trench would hold no
- more. But I spare to rehearse with minute particularity each of the woes
- that came upon our city, and say in brief, that, harsh as was the tenor of
- her fortunes, the surrounding country knew no mitigation, for there--not to
- speak of the castles, each, as it were, a little city in itself--in
- sequestered village, or on the open champaign, by the wayside, on the farm,
- in the homestead, the poor hapless husbandmen and their families, forlorn of
- physicians' care or servants' tendance, perished day and night alike, not as
- men, but rather as beasts. Wherefore, they too, like the citizens, abandoned
- all rule of life, all habit of industry, all counsel of prudence; nay, one
- and all, as if expecting each day to be their last, not merely ceased to aid
- Nature to yield her fruit in due season of their beasts and their lands and
- their past labours, but left no means unused, which ingenuity could devise,
- to waste their accumulated store; denying shelter to their oxen, asses,
- sheep, goats, pigs, fowls, nay, even to their dogs, man's most faithful
- companions, and driving them out into the fields to roam at large amid the
- unsheaved, nay, unreaped corn. Many of which, as if endowed with reason,
- took their fill during the day, and returned home at night without any
- guidance of herdsman. But enough of the country! What need we add, but
- (reverting to the city) that such and so grievous was the harshness of
- heaven, and perhaps in some degree of man, that, what with the fury of the
- pestilence, the panic of those whom it spared, and their consequent neglect
- or desertion of not a few of the stricken in their need, it is believed
- without any manner of doubt, that between March and the ensuing July upwards
- of a hundred thousand human beings lost their lives within the walls of the
- city of Florence, which before the deadly visitation would not have been
- supposed to contain so many people! How many grand palaces, how many stately
- homes, how many splendid residences, once full of retainers, of lords, of
- ladies, were now left desolate of all, even to the meanest servant! How many
- families of historic fame, of vast ancestral domains, and wealth proverbial,
- found now no scion to continue the succession! How many brave men, how many
- fair ladies, how many gallant youths, whom any physician, were he Galen,
- Hippocrates, or Aesculapius himself, would have pronounced in the soundest
- of health, broke fast with their kinsfolk, comrades and friends in the
- morning, and when evening came, supped with their forefathers in the other
- world.
- Irksome it is to myself to rehearse in detail so sorrowful a history.
- Wherefore, being minded to pass over so much thereof as I fairly can, I say,
- that our city, being thus well-nigh depopulated, it so happened, as I
- afterwards learned from one worthy of credit, that on a Tuesday morning
- after Divine Service the venerable church of Santa Maria Novella was almost
- deserted save for the presence of seven young ladies habited sadly in
- keeping with the season. All were connected either by blood or at least as
- friends or neighbours and fair and of good understanding were they all, as
- also of noble birth, gentle manners, and a modest sprightliness. In age none
- exceeded twenty-eight, or fell short of eighteen years. Their names I would
- set down in due form, had I not good reason to with hold them, being
- solicitous lest the matters which here ensue, as told and heard by them,
- should in after time be occasion of reproach to any of them, in view of the
- ample indulgence which was then, for the reasons heretofore set forth,
- accorded to the lighter hours of persons of much riper years than they, but
- which the manners of to-day have somewhat restricted; nor would I furnish
- material to detractors, ever ready to bestow their bite where praise is due,
- to cast by invidious speech the least slur upon the honour of these noble
- ladies. Wherefore, that what each says may be apprehended without confusion,
- I intend to give them names more or less appropriate to the character of
- each. The first, then, being the eldest of the seven, we will call Pampinea,
- the second Fiammetta, the third Filomena, the fourth Emilia, the fifth we
- will distinguish as Lauretta, the sixth as Neifile, and the last, not
- without reason, shall be named Elisa.
- 'Twas not of set purpose but by mere chance that these ladies met in the
- same part of the church; but at length grouping themselves into a sort of
- circle, after heaving a few sighs, they gave up saying paternosters, and
- began to converse (among other topics) on the times.
- So they continued for awhile, and then Pampinea, the rest listening in
- silent attention, thus began:--"Dear ladies mine, often have I heard it
- said, and you doubtless as well as I, that wrong is done to none by whoso
- but honestly uses his reason. And to fortify, preserve, and defend his life
- to the utmost of his power is the dictate of natural reason in everyone that
- is born. Which right is accorded in such measure that in defence thereof men
- have been held blameless in taking life. And if this be allowed by the laws,
- albeit on their stringency depends the well-being of every mortal, how much
- more exempt from censure should we, and all other honest folk, be in taking
- such means as we may for the preservation of our life? As often as I bethink
- me how we have been occupied this morning, and not this morning only, and
- what has been the tenor of our conversation, I perceive--and you will
- readily do the like--that each of us is apprehensive on her own account; nor
- thereat do I marvel, but at this I do marvel greatly, that, though none of
- us lacks a woman's wit, yet none of us has recourse to any means to avert
- that which we all justly fear. Here we tarry, as if, methinks, for no other
- purpose than to bear witness to the number of the corpses that are brought
- hither for interment, or to hearken if the brothers there within, whose
- number is now almost reduced to nought, chant their offices at the canonical
- hours, or, by our weeds of woe, to obtrude on the attention of every one
- that enters, the nature and degree of our sufferings.
- "And if we quit the church, we see dead or sick folk carried about, or we
- see those, who for their crimes were of late condemned to exile by the
- outraged majesty of the public laws, but who now, in contempt of those laws,
- well knowing that their ministers are a prey to death or disease, have
- returned, and traverse the city in packs, making it hideous with their
- riotous antics; or else we see the refuse of the people, fostered on our
- blood, becchini, as they call themselves, who for our torment go prancing
- about here and there and everywhere, making mock of our miseries in
- scurrilous songs. Nor hear we aught but:--Such and such are dead; or, Such
- and such art dying; and should hear dolorous wailing on every hand, were
- there but any to wail. Or go we home, what see we there? I know not if you
- are in like case with me; but there, where once were servants in plenty, I
- find none left but my maid, and shudder with terror, and feel the very hairs
- of my head to stand on end; and turn or tarry where I may, I encounter the
- ghosts of the departed, not with their wonted mien, but with something
- horrible in their aspect that appals me. For which reasons church and street
- and home are alike distressful to me, and the more so that none, methinks,
- having means and place of retirement as we have, abides here save only we;
- or if any such there be, they are of those, as my senses too often have
- borne witness, who make no distinction between things honourable and their
- opposites, so they but answer the cravings of appetite, and, alone or in
- company, do daily and nightly what things soever give promise of most
- gratification. Nor are these secular persons alone; but such as live recluse
- in monasteries break their rule, and give themselves up to carnal pleasures,
- persuading themselves that they are permissible to them, and only forbidden
- to others, and, thereby thinking to escape, are become unchaste and
- dissolute. If such be our circumstances--and such most manifestly they
- are--what do we here? what wait we for? what dream we of? why are we less
- prompt to provide for our own safety than the rest of the citizens? Is life
- less dear to us than to all other women? or think we that the bond, which
- unites soul and body is stronger in us than in others, so that there is no
- blow that may light upon it, of which we need be apprehensive? If so, we
- err, we are deceived. What insensate folly were it in us so to believe! We
- have but to call to mind the number and condition of those, young as we, and
- of both sexes, who have succumbed to this cruel pestilence, to find therein
- conclusive evidence to the contrary. And lest from lethargy or indolence we
- fall into the vain imagination that by some lucky accident we may in some
- way or another, when we would, escape--I know not if your opinion accord
- with mine--I should deem it most wise in us, our case being what it is, if,
- as many others have done before us, and are still doing, we were to quit
- this place, and, shunning like death the evil example of others, betake
- ourselves to the country, and there live as honourable women on one of the
- estates, of which none of us has any lack, with all cheer of festal
- gathering and other delights, so long as in no particular we overstep the
- bounds of reason. There we shall hear the chant of birds, have sight of
- verdant hills and plains, of cornfields undulating like the sea, of trees of
- a thousand sorts; there also we shall have a larger view of the heavens,
- which, however harsh to usward yet deny not their eternal beauty; things
- fairer far for eye to rest on than the desolate walls of our city. Moreover,
- we shall there breathe a fresher air, find ampler store of things meet for
- such as live in these times, have fewer causes of annoy. For, though the
- husbandmen die there, even as here the citizens, they are dispersed in
- scattered homesteads, and 'tis thus less painful to witness. Nor, so far as
- I can see, is there a soul here whom we shall desert; rather we may truly
- say, that we are ourselves deserted; for, our kinsfolk being either dead or
- fled in fear of death, no more regardful of us than if we were strangers, we
- are left alone in our great affliction. No censure, then, can fall on us if
- we do as I propose; and otherwise grievous suffering, perhaps death, may
- ensue. Wherefore, if you agree, 'tis my advice, that, attended by our maids
- with all things needful, we sojourn, now on this, now on the other estate,
- and in such way of life continue, until we see--if death should not first
- overtake us--the end which Heaven reserves for these events. And I remind
- you that it will be at least as seemly in us to leave with honour, as in
- others, of whom there are not a few, to stay with dishonour."
- The other ladies praised Pampinea's plan, and indeed were so prompt to
- follow it, that they had already begun to discuss the manner in some detail,
- as if they were forthwith to rise from their seats and take the road, when
- Filomena, whose judgment was excellent, interposed, saying:--"Ladies, though
- Pampinea has spoken to most excellent effect, yet it were not well to be so
- precipitate as you seem disposed to be. Bethink you that we are all women;
- nor is there any here so young, but she is of years to understand how women
- are minded towards one another, when they are alone together, and how ill
- they are able to rule themselves without the guidance of some man. We are
- sensitive, perverse, suspicious, pusillanimous and timid; wherefore I much
- misdoubt, that, if we find no other guidance than our own, this company is
- like to break up sooner, and with less credit to us, than it should. Against
- which it were well to provide at the outset." Said then Elisa:--"Without
- doubt man is woman's head, and, without man's governance, it is seldom that
- aught that we do is brought to a commendable conclusion. But how are we to
- come by the men? Every one of us here knows that her kinsmen are for the
- most part dead, and that the survivors are dispersed, one here, one there,
- we know not where, bent each on escaping the same fate as ourselves; nor
- were it seemly to seek the aid of strangers; for, as we are in quest of
- health, we must find some means so to order matters that, wherever we seek
- diversion or repose, trouble and scandal do not follow us."
- While the ladies were thus conversing, there came into the church three
- young men, young, I say, but not so young that the age of the youngest was
- less than twenty-five years; in whom neither the sinister course of events,
- nor the loss of friends or kinsfolk, nor fear for their own safety, had
- availed to quench, or even temper, the ardour of their love. The first was
- called Pamfilo, the second Filostrato, and the third Dioneo. Very debonair
- and chivalrous were they all; and in this troublous time they were seeking
- if haply, to their exceeding great solace, they might have sight of their
- fair friends, all three of whom chanced to be among the said seven ladies,
- besides some that were of kin to the young men. At one and the same moment
- they recognised the ladies and were recognised by them: wherefore, with a
- gracious smile, Pampinea thus began:--"Lo, fortune is propitious to our
- enterprise, having vouchsafed us the good offices of these young men, who
- are as gallant as they are discreet, and will gladly give us their guidance
- and escort, so we but take them into our service." Whereupon Neifile,
- crimson from brow to neck with the blush of modesty, being one of those that
- had a lover among the young men, said:--"For God's sake, Pampinea, have a
- care what you say. Well assured am I that nought but good can be said of any
- of them, and I deem them fit for office far more onerous than this which you
- propose for them, and their good and honourable company worthy of ladies
- fairer by far and more tenderly to be cherished than such as we. But 'tis no
- secret that they love some of us here; wherefore I misdoubt that, if we take
- them with us, we may thereby give occasion for scandal and censure merited
- neither by us nor by them." "That," said Filomena, "is of no consequence; so
- I but live honestly, my conscience gives me no disquietude; if others
- asperse me, God and the truth will take arms in my defence. Now, should they
- be disposed to attend us, of a truth we might say with Pampinea, that
- fortune favours our enterprise." The silence which followed betokened
- consent on the part of the other ladies, who then with one accord resolved
- to call the young men, and acquaint them with their purpose, and pray them
- to be of their company. So without further parley Pampinea, who had a
- kinsman among the young men, rose and approached them where they stood
- intently regarding them; and greeting them gaily, she opened to them their
- plan, and besought them on the part of herself and her friends to join their
- company on terms of honourable and fraternal comradeship. At first the young
- men thought she did but trifle with them; but when they saw that she was in
- earnest, they answered with alacrity that they were ready, and promptly,
- even before they left the church, set matters in train for their departure.
- So all things meet being first sent forward in due order to their intended
- place of sojourn, the ladies with some of their maids, and the three young
- men, each attended by a man-servant, sallied forth of the city on the
- morrow, being Wednesday, about daybreak, and took the road; nor had they
- journeyed more than two short miles when they arrived at their destination.
- The estate (2) lay upon a little hill some distance from the nearest
- highway, and, embowered in shrubberies of divers hues, and other greenery,
- afforded the eye a pleasant prospect. On the summit of the hill was a palace
- with galleries, halls and chambers, disposed around a fair and spacious
- court, each very fair in itself, and the goodlier to see for the gladsome
- pictures with which it was adorned; the whole set amidst meads and gardens
- laid out with marvellous art, wells of the coolest water, and vaults of the
- finest wines, things more suited to dainty drinkers than to sober and
- honourable women. On their arrival the company, to their no small delight,
- found their beds already made, the rooms well swept and garnished with
- flowers of every sort that the season could afford, and the floors carpeted
- with rushes. When they were seated, Dioneo, a gallant who had not his match
- for courtesy and wit, spoke thus:--"My ladies, 'tis not our forethought so
- much as your own mother-wit that has guided us hither. How you mean to
- dispose of your cares I know not; mine I left behind me within the city-gate
- when I issued thence with you a brief while ago. Wherefore, I pray you,
- either address yourselves to make merry, to laugh and sing with me (so far,
- I mean, as may consist with your dignity), or give me leave to hie me back
- to the stricken city, there to abide with my cares." To whom blithely
- Pampinea replied, as if she too had cast off all her cares:--"Well sayest
- thou, Dioneo, excellent well; gaily we mean to live; 'twas a refuge from
- sorrow that here we sought, nor had we other cause to come hither. But, as
- no anarchy can long endure, I who initiated the deliberations of which this
- fair company is the fruit, do now, to the end that our joy may be lasting,
- deem it expedient, that there be one among us in chief authority, honoured
- and obeyed by us as our superior, whose exclusive care it shall be to devise
- how we may pass our time blithely. And that each in turn may prove the
- weight of the care, as well as enjoy the pleasure, of sovereignty, and, no
- distinction being made of sex, envy be felt by none by reason of exclusion
- from the office; I propose, that the weight and honour be borne by each one
- for a day; and let the first to bear sway be chosen by us all, those that
- follow to be appointed towards the vesper hour by him or her who shall have
- had the signory for that day; and let each holder of the signory be, for the
- time, sole arbiter of the place and manner in which we are to pass our
- time."
- Pampinea's speech was received with the utmost applause, and with one accord
- she was chosen queen for the first day. Whereupon Filomena hied her lightly
- to a bay-tree, having often heard of the great honour in which its leaves,
- and such as were deservedly crowned therewith, were worthy to be holden; and
- having gathered a few sprays, she made thereof a goodly wreath of honour,
- and set it on Pampinea's head; which wreath was thenceforth, while their
- company endured, the visible sign of the wearer's sway and sovereignty.
- No sooner was Queen Pampinea crowned than she bade all be silent. She then
- caused summon to her presence their four maids, and the servants of the
- three young men, and, all keeping silence, said to them:--"That I may shew
- you all at once, how, well still giving place to better, our company may
- flourish and endure, as long as it shall pleasure us, with order meet and
- assured delight and without reproach, I first of all constitute Dioneo's
- man, Parmeno, my seneschal, and entrust him with the care and control of all
- our household, and all that belongs to the service of the hall. Pamfilo's
- man, Sirisco, I appoint treasurer and chancellor of our exchequer; and be he
- ever answerable to Parmeno. While Parmeno and Sirisco are too busy about
- their duties to serve their masters, let Filostrato's man, Tindaro, have
- charge of the chambers of all three. My maid, Misia, and Filomena's maid,
- Licisca, will keep in the kitchen, and with all due diligence prepare such
- dishes as Parmeno shall bid them. Lauretta's maid, Chimera, and Fiammetta's
- maid, Stratilia we make answerable for the ladies' chambers, and wherever we
- may take up our quarters, let them see that all is spotless. And now we
- enjoin you, one and all alike, as you value our favour, that none of you, go
- where you may, return whence you may, hear or see what you may, bring us any
- tidings but such as be cheerful." These orders thus succinctly given were
- received with universal approval. Whereupon Pampinea rose, and said
- gaily:--"Here are gardens, meads, and other places delightsome enough, where
- you may wander at will, and take your pleasure; but on the stroke of tierce,
- (3) let all be here to breakfast in the shade."
- Thus dismissed by their new queen the gay company sauntered gently through a
- garden, the young men saying sweet things to the fair ladies, who wove fair
- garlands of divers sorts of leaves and sang love-songs.
- Having thus spent the time allowed them by the queen, they returned to the
- house, where they found that Parmeno had entered on his office with zeal;
- for in a hall on the ground-floor they saw tables covered with the whitest
- of cloths, and beakers that shone like silver, and sprays of broom scattered
- everywhere. So, at the bidding of the queen, they washed their hands, and
- all took their places as marshalled by Parmeno. Dishes, daintily prepared,
- were served, and the finest wines were at hand; the three serving-men did
- their office noiselessly; in a word all was fair and ordered in a seemly
- manner; whereby the spirits of the company rose, and they seasoned their
- viands with pleasant jests and sprightly sallies. Breakfast done, the tables
- were removed, and the queen bade fetch instruments of music; for all, ladies
- and young men alike, knew how to tread a measure, and some of them played
- and sang with great skill: so, at her command, Dioneo having taken a lute,
- and Fiammetta a viol, they struck up a dance in sweet concert; and, the
- servants being dismissed to their repast, the queen, attended by the other
- ladies and the two young men, led off a stately carol; which ended they fell
- to singing ditties dainty and gay. Thus they diverted themselves until the
- queen, deeming it time to retire to rest, dismissed them all for the night.
- So the three young men and the ladies withdrew to their several quarters,
- which were in different parts of the palace. There they found the beds well
- made, and abundance of flowers, as in the hall; and so they undressed, and
- went to bed.
- Shortly after none (4) the queen rose, and roused the rest of the ladies, as
- also the young men, averring that it was injurious to health to sleep long
- in the daytime. They therefore hied them to a meadow, where the grass grew
- green and luxuriant, being nowhere scorched by the sun, and a light breeze
- gently fanned them. So at the queen's command they all ranged themselves in
- a circle on the grass, and hearkened while she thus spoke:--
- "You mark that the sun is high, the heat intense, and the silence unbroken
- save by the cicalas among the olive-trees. It were therefore the height of
- folly to quit this spot at present. Here the air is cool and the prospect
- fair, and here, observe, are dice and chess. Take, then, your pleasure as
- you may be severally minded; but, if you take my advice, you will find
- pastime for the hot hours before us, not in play, in which the loser must
- needs be vexed, and neither the winner nor the onlooker much the better
- pleased, but in telling of stories, in which the invention of one may afford
- solace to all the company of his hearers. You will not each have told a
- story before the sun will be low, and the heat abated, so that we shall be
- able to go and severally take our pleasure where it may seem best to each.
- Wherefore, if my proposal meet with your approval--for in this I am disposed
- to consult your pleasure--let us adopt it; if not, divert yourselves as best
- you may, until the vesper hour."
- The queen's proposal being approved by all, ladies and men alike, she
- added:--"So please you, then, I ordain, that, for this first day, we be free
- to discourse of such matters as most commend themselves, to each in turn."
- She then addressed Pamfilo, who sat on her right hand, bidding him with a
- gracious air to lead off with one of his stories. And prompt at the word of
- command, Pamfilo, while all listened intently, thus began:--
- (1) Probably from the name of the pronged or hooked implement with which
- they dragged the corpses out of the houses.
- (2) Identified by tradition with the Villa Palmieri (now Crawford) on the
- slope of Fiesole.
- (3) The canonical hour following prime, roughly speaking about 9 a.m.
- (4) The canonical hour following sext, i.e. 3 p.m.
- NOVEL I.
- --
- Ser Ciappelletto cheats a holy friar by a false confession, and dies; and,
- having lived as a very bad man, is, on his death, reputed a saint, and
- called San Ciappelletto.
- --
- A seemly thing it is, dearest ladies, that whatever we do, it be begun in
- the holy and awful name of Him who was the maker of all. Wherefore, as it
- falls to me to lead the way in this your enterprise of story telling, I
- intend to begin with one of His wondrous works, that, by hearing thereof,
- our hopes in Him, in whom is no change, may be established, and His name be
- by us forever lauded. 'Tis manifest that, as things temporal are all doomed
- to pass and perish, so within and without they abound with trouble and
- anguish and travail, and are subject to infinite perils; nor, save for the
- especial grace of God, should we, whose being is bound up with and forms
- part of theirs, have either the strength to endure or the wisdom to combat
- their adverse influences. By which grace we are visited and penetrated (so
- we must believe) not by reason of any merit of our own, but solely out of
- the fulness of God's own goodness, and in answer to the prayers of those
- who, being mortal like ourselves, did faithfully observe His ordinances
- during their lives, and are now become blessed for ever with Him in heaven.
- To whom, as to advocates taught by experience all that belongs to our
- frailty, we, not daring, perchance, to present our petitions in the presence
- of so great a judge, make known our requests for such things as we deem
- expedient for us. And of His mercy richly abounding to usward we have
- further proof herein, that, no keenness of mortal vision being able in any
- degree to penetrate the secret counsels of the Divine mind, it sometimes,
- perchance, happens, that, in error of judgment, we make one our advocate
- before His Majesty, who is banished from His presence in eternal exile, and
- yet He to whom nothing is hidden, having regard rather to the sincerity of
- our prayers than to our ignorance or the banishment of the intercessor,
- hears us no less than if the intercessor were in truth one of the blest who
- enjoy the light of His countenance. Which the story that I am about to
- relate may serve to make apparent; apparent, I mean, according to the
- standard or the judgment of man, not of God.
- The story goes, then, that Musciatto Franzesi, a great and wealthy merchant,
- being made a knight in France, and being to attend Charles Sansterre,
- brother of the King of France, when he came into Tuscany at the instance and
- with the support of Pope Boniface, found his affairs, as often happens to
- merchants, to be much involved in divers quarters, and neither easily nor
- suddenly to be adjusted; wherefore he determined to place them in the hands
- of commissioners, and found no difficulty except as to certain credits given
- to some Burgundians, for the recovery of which he doubted whether he could
- come by a competent agent; for well he knew that the Burgundians were
- violent men and ill-conditioned and faithless; nor could he call to mind any
- man so bad that he could with confidence oppose his guile to theirs. After
- long pondering the matter, he recollected one Ser Ciapperello da Prato, who
- much frequented his house in Paris. Who being short of stature and very
- affected, the French who knew not the meaning of Cepparello, (1) but
- supposed that it meant the same as Cappello, i. e. garland, in their
- vernacular, called him not Cappello, but Ciappelletto by reason of his
- diminutive size; and as Ciappelletto he was known everywhere, whereas few
- people knew him as Ciapperello. Now Ciappelletto's manner of life was thus.
- He was by profession a notary, and his pride was to make false documents; he
- would have made them as often as he was asked, and more readily without fee
- than another at a great price; few indeed he made that were not false, and,
- great was his shame when they were discovered. False witness he bore,
- solicited or unsolicited, with boundless delight; and, as oaths were in
- those days had in very great respect in France, he, scrupling not to
- forswear himself, corruptly carried the day in every case in which he was
- summoned faithfully to attest the truth. He took inordinate delight, and
- bestirred himself with great zeal, in fomenting ill-feeling, enmities,
- dissensions between friends, kinsfolk and all other folk; and the more
- calamitous were the consequences the better he was pleased. Set him on
- murder, or any other foul crime, and he never hesitated, but went about it
- with alacrity; he had been known on more than one occasion to inflict wounds
- or death by preference with his own hands. He was a profuse blasphemer of
- God and His saints, and that on the most trifling occasions, being of all
- men the most irascible. He was never seen at Church, held all the sacraments
- vile things, and derided them in language of horrible ribaldry. On the other
- hand he resorted readily to the tavern and other places of evil repute, and
- frequented them. He was as fond of women as a dog is of the stick: in the
- use against nature he had not his match among the most abandoned. He would
- have pilfered and stolen as a matter of conscience, as a holy man would make
- an oblation. Most gluttonous he was and inordinately fond of his cups,
- whereby he sometimes brought upon himself both shame and suffering. He was
- also a practised gamester and thrower of false dice. But why enlarge so much
- upon him? Enough that he was, perhaps, the worst man that ever was born.
- The rank and power of Musciatto Franzesi had long been this reprobate's
- mainstay, serving in many instances to secure him considerate treatment on
- the part of the private persons whom he frequently, and the court which he
- unremittingly, outraged. So Musciatto, having bethought him of this Ser
- Cepparello, with whose way of life he was very well acquainted, judged him
- to be the very sort of person to cope with the guile of the Burgundians. He
- therefore sent for him, and thus addressed him:--"Ser Ciappelletto, I am, as
- thou knowest, about to leave this place for good; and among those with whom
- I have to settle accounts are certain Burgundians, very wily knaves; nor
- know I the man whom I could more fitly entrust with the recovery of my money
- than thyself. Wherefore, as thou hast nothing to do at present, if thou wilt
- undertake this business, I will procure thee the favour of the court, and
- give thee a reasonable part of what thou shalt recover." Ser Ciappelletto,
- being out of employment, and by no means in easy circumstances, and about to
- lose Musciatto, so long his mainstay and support, without the least demur,
- for in truth he had hardly any choice, made his mind up and answered that he
- was ready to go. So the bargain was struck. Armed with the power of attorney
- and the royal letters commendatory, Ser Ciappelletto took leave of Messer
- Musciatto and hied him to Burgundy, where he was hardly known to a soul. He
- set about the business which had brought him thither, the recovery of the
- money, in a manner amicable and considerate, foreign to his nature, as if he
- were minded to reserve his severity to the last. While thus occupied, he was
- frequently at the house of two Florentine usurers, who treated him with
- great distinction out of regard for Messer Musciatto; and there it so
- happened that he fell sick. The two brothers forthwith placed physicians and
- servants in attendance upon him, and omitted no means meet and apt for the
- restoration of his health. But all remedies proved unavailing; for being now
- old, and having led, as the physicians reported, a disorderly life, he went
- daily from bad to worse like one stricken with a mortal disease. This
- greatly disconcerted the two brothers; and one day, hard by the room in
- which Ser Ciappelletto lay sick, they began to talk about him; saying one to
- the other:--"What shall we do with this man? We are hard bested indeed on
- his account. If we turn him out of the house, sick as he is, we shall not
- only incur grave censure, but shall evince a signal want of sense; for folk
- must know the welcome we gave him in the first instance, the solicitude with
- which we have had him treated and tended since his illness, during which
- time he could not possibly do aught to displease us, and yet they would see
- him suddenly turned out of our house sick unto death. On the other hand he
- has been so bad a man that he is sure not to confess or receive any of the
- Church's sacraments; and dying thus unconfessed, he will be denied burial in
- church, but will be cast out into some ditch like a dog; nay, 'twill be all
- one if he do confess, for such and so horrible have been his crimes that no
- friar or priest either will or can absolve him; and so, dying without
- absolution, he will still be cast out into the ditch. In which case the folk
- of these parts, who reprobate our trade as iniquitous and revile it all day
- long, and would fain rob us, will seize their opportunity, and raise a
- tumult, and make a raid upon our houses, crying:--'Away with these Lombard
- whom the Church excludes from her pale;' and will certainly strip us of our
- goods, and perhaps take our lives also; so that in any case we stand to lose
- if this man die."
- Ser Ciappelletto, who, as we said, lay close at hand while they thus spoke,
- and whose hearing was sharpened, as is often the case, by his malady,
- overheard all that they said about him. So he called them to him, and said
- to them:--"I would not have you disquiet yourselves in regard of me, or
- apprehend loss to befall you by my death. I have heard what you have said of
- me and have no doubt that 'twould be as you say, if matters took the course
- you anticipate; but I am minded that it shall be otherwise. I have committed
- so many offences against God in the course of my life, that one more in the
- hour of my death will make no difference whatever to the account. So seek
- out and bring hither the worthiest and most holy friar you can find, and
- leave me to settle your affairs and mine upon a sound and solid basis, with
- which you may rest satisfied." The two brothers had not much hope of the
- result, but yet they went to a friary and asked for a holy and discreet man
- to hear the confession of a Lombard that was sick in their house, and
- returned with an aged man of just and holy life, very learned in the
- Scriptures, and venerable and held in very great and especial reverence by
- all the citizens. As soon as he had entered the room where Ser Ciappelletto
- was lying, and had taken his place by his side, he began gently to comfort
- him: then he asked him how long it was since he was confessed. Whereto Ser
- Ciappelletto, who had never been confessed, answered:--"Father, it is my
- constant practice to be confessed at least once a week, and many a week I am
- confessed more often; but true it is, that, since I have been sick, now
- eight days, I have made no confession, so sore has been my affliction.
- "Son," said the friar, "thou hast well done, and well for thee, if so thou
- continue to do; as thou dost confess so often, I see that my labour of
- hearkening and questioning will be slight." "Nay but, master friar," said
- Ser Ciappelletto, "I say not so; I have not confessed so often but that I
- would fain make a general confession of all my sins that I have committed,
- so far as I can recall them, from the day of my birth to the present time;
- and therefore I pray you, my good father, to question me precisely in every
- particular just as if I had never been confessed. And spare me not by reason
- of my sickness, for I had far rather do despite to my flesh than, sparing
- it, risk the perdition of my soul, which my Saviour redeemed with His
- precious blood."
- The holy man was mightily delighted with these words, which seemed to him to
- betoken a soul in a state of grace. He therefore signified to Ser
- Ciappelletto his high approval of this practice; and then began by asking
- him whether he had ever sinned carnally with a woman. Whereto Ser
- Ciappelletto answered with a sigh:--"My father, I scruple to tell you the
- truth in this matter, fearing lest I sin in vain-glory." "Nay, but," said
- the friar, "speak boldly; none ever sinned by telling the truth, either in
- confession or otherwise." "Then," said Ser Ciappelletto, "as you bid me
- speak boldly, I will tell you the truth of this matter. I am virgin even as
- when I issued from my mother's womb." "Now God's blessing on thee," said the
- friar, "well done; and the greater is thy merit in that, hadst thou so
- willed, thou mightest have done otherwise far more readily than we who are
- under constraint of rule." He then proceeded to ask, whether he had offended
- God by gluttony. Whereto Ser Ciappelletto, heaving a heavy sigh, answered
- that he had so offended for, being wont to fast not only in Lent like other
- devout persons, but at least thrice days in every week, taking nothing but
- bread and water, he had quaffed the water with as good a gusto and as much
- enjoyment, more particularly when fatigued by devotion or pilgrimage, as
- great drinkers quaff their wine; and oftentimes he had felt a craving for
- such dainty dishes of herbs as ladies make when they go into the country,
- and now and again he had relished his food more than seemed to him meet in
- one who fasted, as he did, for devotion. "Son," said the friar, "these sins
- are natural and very trifling; and therefore I would not have thee burden
- thy conscience too much with them. There is no man, however holy he may be,
- but must sometimes find it pleasant to eat after a long fast and to drink
- after exertion." "O, my father," said Ser Ciappelletto, "say not this to
- comfort me. You know well that I know, that the things which are done in the
- service of God ought to be done in perfect purity of an unsullied spirit;
- and whoever does otherwise sins." The friar, well content, replied:--"Glad I
- am that thou dost think so, and I am mightily pleased with thy pure and good
- conscience which therein appears; but tell me: hast thou sinned by avarice,
- coveting more than was reasonable, or withholding more than was right? My
- father," replied Ser Ciappelletto, "I would not have you disquiet yourself,
- because I am in the house of these usurers: no part have I in their
- concerns; nay, I did but come here to admonish and reprehend them, and wean
- them from this abominable traffic; and so, I believe, I had done, had not
- God sent me this visitation. But you must know, that my father left me a
- fortune, of which I dedicated the greater part to God; and since then for my
- own support and the relief of Christ's poor I have done a little trading,
- whereof I have desired to make gain; and all that I have gotten I have
- shared with God's poor, reserving one half for my own needs and giving the
- other half to them; and so well has my Maker prospered me, that I have ever
- managed my affairs to better and better account." "Well, done," said the
- friar, "but how? hast thou often given way to anger?" "Often indeed, I
- assure you," said Ser Ciappelletto. "And who could refrain therefrom, seeing
- men doing frowardly all day long, breaking the commandments of God and
- recking nought of His judgments? Many a time in the course of a single day I
- had rather be dead than alive, to see the young men going after vanity,
- swearing and forswearing themselves, haunting taverns, avoiding the
- churches, and in short walking in the way of the world rather than in God's
- way." "My son," said the friar, "this is a righteous wrath; nor could I find
- occasion therein to lay a penance upon thee. But did anger ever by any
- chance betray thee into taking human life, or affronting or otherwise
- wronging any?" "Alas," replied Ser Ciappelletto, "alas, sir, man of God
- though you seem to me, how come you to speak after this manner? If I had had
- so much as the least thought of doing any of the things of which you speak,
- should I believe, think you, that I had been thus supported of God? These
- are the deeds of robbers and such like evil men, to whom I have ever said,
- when any I saw:--'Go, God change your heart.'" Said then the friar:--"Now,
- my son, as thou hopest to be blest of God, tell me, hast thou never borne
- false witness against any, or spoken evil of another, or taken the goods of
- another without his leave?" "Yes, master friar," answered Ser Ciappelletto,
- "most true it is that I have spoken evil of another; for I had once a
- neighbour who without the least excuse in the world was ever beating his
- wife, and so great was my pity of the poor creature, whom, when he was in
- his cups, he would thrash as God alone knows how, that once I spoke evil of
- him to his wife's kinsfolk." "Well, well," said the friar, "thou tellest me
- thou hast been a merchant; hast thou ever cheated any, as merchants use to
- do?" "I'faith, yes, master friar," said Ser Ciappelletto; "but I know not
- who he was; only that he brought me some money which he owed me for some
- cloth that I had sold him, and I put it in a box without counting it, where
- a month afterwards I found four farthings more than there should have been,
- which I kept for a year to return to him, but not seeing him again, I
- bestowed them in alms for the love of God." "This," said the friar, "was a
- small matter; and thou didst well to bestow them as thou didst." The holy
- friar went on to ask him many other questions, to which he made answer in
- each case in this sort. Then, as the friar was about to give him absolution,
- Ser Ciappelletto interposed:--"Sir, I have yet a sin to confess." "What?"
- asked the friar. "I remember," he said, "that I once caused my servant to
- sweep my house on a Saturday after none; and that my observance of Sunday
- was less devout than it should have been." "O, my son," said the friar,
- "this is a light matter." "No," said Ser Ciappelletto, "say not a light
- matter; for Sunday is the more to be had in honour because on that day our
- Lord rose from the dead." Then said the holy friar:--"Now is there aught
- else that thou hast done?" "Yes, master friar," replied Ser Ciappelletto,
- "once by inadvertence I spat in the church of God." At this the friar began
- to smile, and said:--"My son, this is not a matter to trouble about; we, who
- are religious, spit there all day long." "And great impiety it is when you
- so do," replied Ser Ciappelletto, "for there is nothing that is so worthy to
- be kept from all impurity as the holy temple in which sacrifice is offered
- to God." More he said in the same strain, which I pass over; and then at
- last he began to sigh, and by and by to weep bitterly, as he was well able
- to do when he chose. And the friar demanding:--"My son, why weepest thou?"
- "Alas, master friar" answered Ser Ciappelletto, "a sin yet remains, which I
- have never confessed, such shame were it to me to tell it; and as often as I
- call it to mind, I weep as you now see me weep, being well assured that God
- will never forgive me this sin." Then said the holy friar:--"Come, come,
- son, what is this that thou sayst? If all the sins of all the men, that ever
- were or ever shall be, as long as the world shall endure, were concentrated
- in one man, so great is the goodness of God that He would freely pardon them
- all, were he but penitent and contrite as I see thou art, and confessed
- them: wherefore tell me thy sin with a good courage." Then said Ser
- Ciappelletto, still weeping bitterly:--"Alas, my father, mine is too great a
- sin, and scarce can I believe, if your prayers do not co-operate, that God
- will ever grant me His pardon thereof." "Tell it with a good courage," said
- the friar; "I promise thee to pray God for thee." Ser Ciappelletto, however,
- continued to weep, and would not speak, for all the friar's encouragement.
- When he had kept him for a good while in suspense, he heaved a mighty sigh,
- and said:--"My father, as you promise me to pray God for me, I will tell it
- you. Know, then, that once, when I was a little child, I cursed my mother;"
- and having so said he began again to weep bitterly. "O, my son," said the
- friar, "does this seem to thee so great a sin? Men curse God all day long,
- and he pardons them freely, if they repent them of having so done; and
- thinkest thou he will not pardon thee this? Weep not, be comforted, for
- truly, hadst thou been one of them that set Him on the Cross, with the
- contrition that I see in thee, thou wouldst not fail of His pardon." "Alas!
- my father," rejoined Ser Ciappelletto, "what is this you say? To curse my
- sweet mother that carried me in her womb for nine months day and night, and
- afterwards on her shoulder more than a hundred times! Heinous indeed was my
- offence; 'tis too great a sin; nor will it be pardoned, unless you pray God
- for me."
- The friar now perceiving that Ser Ciappelletto had nothing more to say, gave
- him absolution and his blessing, reputing him for a most holy man, fully
- believing that all that he had said was true. And who would not have so
- believed, hearing him so speak at the point of death? Then, when all was
- done, he said:--"Ser Ciappelletto, if God so will, you will soon be well;
- but should it so come to pass that God call your blessed soul to Himself in
- this state of grace, is it well pleasing to you that your body be buried in
- our convent?" "Yea, verily, master friar," replied Ser Ciappelletto; "there
- would I be, and nowhere else, since you have promised to pray God for me;
- besides which I have ever had a special devotion to your order. Wherefore I
- pray you, that, on your return to your convent, you cause to be sent me that
- very Body of Christ, which you consecrate in the morning on the altar;
- because (unworthy though I be) I purpose with your leave to take it, and
- afterwards the holy and extreme unction, that, though I have lived as a
- sinner, I may die at any rate as a Christian." The holy man said that he was
- greatly delighted, that it was well said of Ser Ciappelletto, and that he
- would cause the Host to be forthwith brought to him; and so it was.
- The two brothers, who much misdoubted Ser Ciappelletto's power to deceive
- the friar, had taken their stand on the other side of a wooden partition
- which divided the room in which Ser Ciappelletto lay from another, and
- hearkening there they readily heard and understood what Ser Ciappelletto
- said to the friar; and at times could scarce refrain their laughter as they
- followed his confession; and now and again they said one to another:--"What
- manner of man is this, whom neither age nor sickness, nor fear of death, on
- the threshold of which he now stands, nor yet of God, before whose
- judgment-seat he must soon appear, has been able to turn from his wicked
- ways, that he die not even as he has lived?" But seeing that his confession
- had secured the interment of his body in church, they troubled themselves no
- further. Ser Ciappelletto soon afterwards communicated, and growing
- immensely worse, received the extreme unction, and died shortly after
- vespers on the same day on which he had made his good confession. So the two
- brothers, having from his own moneys provided the wherewith to procure him
- honourable sepulture, and sent word to the friars to come at even to observe
- the usual vigil, and in the morning to fetch the corpse, set all things in
- order accordingly. The holy friar who had confessed him, hearing that he was
- dead, had audience of the prior of the friary; a chapter was convened and
- the assembled brothers heard from the confessor's own mouth how Ser
- Ciappelletto had been a holy man, as had appeared by his confession, and
- were exhorted to receive the body with the utmost veneration and pious care,
- as one by which there was good hope that God would work many miracles. To
- this the prior and the rest of the credulous confraternity assenting, they
- went in a body in the evening to the place where the corpse of Ser
- Ciappelletto lay, and kept a great and solemn vigil over it; and in the
- morning they made a procession habited in their surplices and copes with
- books in their hands and crosses in front; and chanting as they went, they
- fetched the corpse and brought it back to their church with the utmost pomp
- and solemnity, being followed by almost all the folk of the city, men and
- women alike. So it was laid in the church, and then the holy friar who had
- heard the confession got up in the pulpit and began to preach marvellous
- things of Ser Ciapelletto's life, his fasts, his virginity, his simplicity
- and guilelessness and holiness; narrating among the other matters that of
- which Ser Ciappelletto had made tearful confession as his greatest sin, and
- how he had hardly been able to make him conceive that God would pardon him;
- from which he took occasion to reprove his hearers; saying:--"And you,
- accursed of God, on the least pretext, blaspheme God and His Mother, and all
- the celestial court. And much beside he told of his loyalty and purity; and,
- in short, so wrought upon the people by his words, to which they gave entire
- credence, that they all conceived a great veneration for Ser Ciappelletto,
- and at the close of the office came pressing forward with the utmost
- vehemence to kiss the feet and the hands of the corpse, from which they tore
- off the cerements, each thinking himself blessed to have but a scrap thereof
- in his possession; and so it was arranged that it should be kept there all
- day long, so as to be visible and accessible to all. At nightfall it was
- honourably interred in a marble tomb in one of the chapels, where on the
- morrow, one by one, folk came and lit tapers and prayed and paid their vows,
- setting there the waxen images which they had dedicated. And the fame of
- Ciappelletto's holiness and the devotion to him grew in such measure that
- scarce any there was that in any adversity would vow aught to any saint but
- he, and they called him and still call him San Ciappelletto affirming that
- many miracles have been and daily are wrought by God through him for such as
- devoutly crave his intercession.
- So lived, so died Ser Cepperello da Prato, and came to be reputed a saint,
- as you have heard. Nor would I deny that it is possible that he is of the
- number of the blessed in the presence of God, seeing that, though his life
- was evil and depraved, yet he might in his last moments have made so
- complete an act of contrition that perchance God had mercy on him and
- received him into His kingdom. But, as this is hidden from us, I speak
- according to that which appears, and I say that he ought rather to be in the
- hands of the devil in hell than in Paradise. Which, if so it be, is a
- manifest token of the superabundance of the goodness of God to usward,
- inasmuch as he regards not our error but the sincerity of our faith, and
- hearkens unto us when, mistaking one who is at enmity with Him for a friend,
- we have recourse to him, as to one holy indeed, as our intercessor for His
- grace. Wherefore, that we of this gay company may by His grace be preserved
- safe and sound throughout this time of adversity, commend we ourselves in
- our need to Him, whose name we began by invoking, with lauds and reverent
- devotion and good confidence that we shall be heard.
- And so he was silent.
- (1) The diminutive of ceppo, stump or log: more commonly written cepperello
- (cf. p. 32) or ceppatello. The form ciapperello seems to be found only here.
- NOVEL II.
- --
- Abraham, a Jew, at the instance of Jehannot de Chevigny, goes to the court
- of Rome, and having marked the evil life of the clergy, returns to Paris,
- and becomes a Christian.
- --
- Pamfilo's story elicited the mirth of some of the ladies and the hearty
- commendation of all, who listened to it with close attention until the end.
- Whereupon the queen bade Neifile, who sat next her, to tell a story, that
- the commencement thus made of their diversions might have its sequel.
- Neifile, whose graces of mind matched the beauty of her person, consented
- with a gladsome goodwill, and thus began:--
- Pamfilo has shewn by his story that the goodness of God spares to regard our
- errors when they result from unavoidable ignorance, and in mine I mean to
- shew you how the same goodness, bearing patiently with the shortcomings of
- those who should be its faithful witness in deed and word, draws from them
- contrariwise evidence of His infallible truth; to the end that what we
- believe we may with more assured conviction follow.
- In Paris, gracious ladies, as I have heard tell, there was once a great
- merchant, a large dealer in drapery, a good man, most loyal and righteous,
- his name Jehannot de Chevigny, between whom and a Jew, Abraham by name, also
- a merchant, and a man of great wealth, as also most loyal and righteous,
- there subsisted a very close friendship. Now Jehannot, observing Abraham's
- loyalty and rectitude, began to be sorely vexed in spirit that the soul of
- one so worthy and wise and good should perish for want of faith. Wherefore
- he began in a friendly manner to plead with him, that he should leave the
- errors of the Jewish faith and turn to the Christian verity, which, being
- sound and holy, he might see daily prospering and gaining ground, whereas,
- on the contrary, his own religion was dwindling and was almost come to
- nothing. The Jew replied that he believed that there was no faith sound and
- holy except the Jewish faith, in which he was born, and in which he meant to
- live and die; nor would anything ever turn him therefrom. Nothing daunted,
- however, Jehannot some days afterwards began again to ply Abraham with
- similar arguments, explaining to him in such crude fashion as merchants use
- the reasons why our faith is better than the Jewish. And though the Jew was
- a great master in the Jewish law, yet, whether it was by reason of his
- friendship for Jehannot, or that the Holy Spirit dictated the words that the
- simple merchant used, at any rate the Jew began to be much interested in
- Jehannot's arguments, though still too staunch in his faith to suffer
- himself to be converted. But Jehannot was no less assiduous in plying him
- with argument than he was obstinate in adhering to his law, insomuch that at
- length the Jew, overcome by such incessant appeals, said:--"Well, well,
- Jehannot, thou wouldst have me become a Christian, and I am disposed to do
- so, provided I first go to Rome and there see him whom thou callest God's
- vicar on earth, and observe what manner of life he leads and his brother
- cardinals with him; and if such it be that thereby, in conjunction with thy
- words, I may understand that thy faith is better than mine, as thou hast
- sought to shew me, I will do as I have said: otherwise, I will remain as I
- am a Jew." When Jehannot heard this, he was greatly distressed, saying to
- himself:--"I thought to have converted him; but now I see that the pains
- which I took for so excellent a purpose are all in vain; for, if he goes to
- the court of Rome and sees the iniquitous and foul life which the clergy
- lead there, so far from turning Christian, had he been converted already, he
- would without doubt relapse into Judaism." Then turning to Abraham he said:-
- -"Nay, but, my friend, why wouldst thou be at all this labour and great
- expense of travelling from here to Rome? to say nothing of the risks both by
- sea and by land which a rich man like thee must needs run. Thinkest thou
- not, to find here one that can give thee baptism? And as for any doubts that
- thou mayst have touching the faith to which I point thee, where wilt thou
- find greater masters and sages therein than here, to resolve thee of any
- question thou mayst put to them? Wherefore in my opinion this journey of
- thine is superfluous. Think that the prelates there are such as thou mayst
- have seen here, nay, as much better as they are nearer to the Chief Pastor.
- And so, by my advice thou wilt spare thy pains until some time of
- indulgence, when I, perhaps, may be able to bear thee company." The Jew
- replied:--"Jehannot, I doubt not that so it is as thou sayst; but once and
- for all I tell thee that I am minded to go there, and will never otherwise
- do that which thou wouldst have me and hast so earnestly besought me to do."
- "Go then," said Jehannot, seeing that his mind was made up, "and good luck
- go with thee;" and so he gave up the contest because nothing would be lost,
- though he felt sure that he would never become a Christian after seeing the
- court of Rome. The Jew took horse, and posted with all possible speed to
- Rome; where on his arrival he was honourably received by his fellow Jews. He
- said nothing to any one of the purpose for which he had come; but began
- circumspectly to acquaint himself with the ways of the Pope and the
- cardinals and the other prelates and all the courtiers; and from what he saw
- for himself, being a man of great intelligence, or learned from others, he
- discovered that without distinction of rank they were all sunk in the most
- disgraceful lewdness, sinning not only in the way of nature but after the
- manner of the men of Sodom, without any restraint of remorse or shame, in
- such sort that, when any great favour was to be procured, the influence of
- the courtesans and boys was of no small moment. Moreover he found them one
- and all gluttonous, wine-bibbers, drunkards, and next after lewdness, most
- addicted to the shameless service of the belly, like brute beasts. And, as
- he probed the matter still further, he perceived that they were all so
- greedy and avaricious that human, nay Christian blood, and things sacred of
- what kind soever, spiritualities no less than temporalities, they bought and
- sold for money; which traffic was greater and employed more brokers than the
- drapery trade and all the other trades of Paris put together; open simony
- and gluttonous excess being glosed under such specious terms as
- "arrangement" and "moderate use of creature comforts," as if God could not
- penetrate the thoughts of even the most corrupt hearts, to say nothing of
- the signification of words, and would suffer Himself to be misled after the
- manner of men by the names of things. Which matters, with many others which
- are not to be mentioned, our modest and sober-minded Jew found by no means
- to his liking, so that, his curiosity being fully satisfied, he was minded
- to return to Paris; which accordingly he did. There, on his arrival, he was
- met by Jehannot; and the two made great cheer together. Jehannot expected
- Abraham's conversion least of all things, and allowed him some days of rest
- before he asked what he thought of the Holy Father and the cardinals and the
- other courtiers. To which the Jew forthwith replied:--"I think God owes them
- all an evil recompense: I tell thee, so far as I was able to carry my
- investigations, holiness, devotion, good works or exemplary living in any
- kind was nowhere to be found in any clerk; but only lewdness, avarice,
- gluttony, and the like, and worse, if worse may be, appeared to be held in
- such honour of all, that (to my thinking) the place is a centre of
- diabolical rather than of divine activities. To the best of my judgment,
- your Pastor, and by consequence all that are about him devote all their zeal
- and ingenuity and subtlety to devise how best and most speedily they may
- bring the Christian religion to nought and banish it from the world. And
- because I see that what they so zealously endeavour does not come to pass,
- but that on the contrary your religion continually grows, and shines more
- and more clear, therein I seem to discern a very evident token that it,
- rather than any other, as being more true and holy than any other, has the
- Holy Spirit for its foundation and support. For which cause, whereas I met
- your exhortations in a harsh and obdurate temper, and would not become a
- Christian, now I frankly tell you that I would on no account omit to become
- such. Go we then to the church, and there according to the traditional rite
- of your holy faith let me receive baptism." Jehannot, who had anticipated a
- diametrically opposite conclusion, as soon as he heard him so speak, was the
- best pleased man that ever was in the world. So taking Abraham with him to
- Notre Dame he prayed the clergy there to baptise him. When they heard that
- it was his own wish, they forthwith did so, and Jehannot raised him from the
- sacred font, and named him Jean; and afterwards he caused teachers of great
- eminence thoroughly to instruct him in our faith, which he readily learned,
- and afterwards practised in a good, a virtuous, nay, a holy life.
- NOVEL III.
- --
- Melchisedech, a Jew, by a story of three rings averts a great danger with
- which he was menaced by Saladin.
- --
- When Neifile had brought her story to a close amid the commendations of all
- the company, Filomena, at the queen's behest, thus began:--
- The story told by Neifile brings to my mind another in which also Jew
- appears, but this time as the hero of a perilous adventure; and as enough
- has been said of God and of the truth our faith, it will not now be
- inopportune if we descend to mundane events and the actions of men.
- Wherefore I propose to tell you a story, which will perhaps dispose you to
- be more circumspect than you have been wont to be in answering questions
- addressed to you. Well ye know, or should know, loving gossips, that, as it
- often happens that folk by their own folly forfeit a happy estate and are
- plunged in most grievous misery, so good sense will extricate the wise from
- extremity of peril, and establish them in complete and assured peace. Of the
- change from good to evil fortune, which folly may effect, instances abound;
- indeed, occurring as they do by the thousand day by day, they are so
- conspicuous that their recital would be beside our present purpose. But that
- good sense may be our succour in misfortune, I will now, as I promised, make
- plain to you within the narrow compass of a little story.
- Saladin, who by his great valour had from small beginnings made himself
- Soldan of Egypt, and gained many victories over kings both Christian and
- Saracen, having in divers wars and by divers lavish displays of magnificence
- spent all his treasure, and in order to meet a certain emergency being in
- need of a large sum of money, and being at a loss to raise it with a
- celerity adequate to his necessity, bethought him of a wealthy Jew,
- Melchisedech by name, who lent at usance in Alexandria, and who, were he but
- willing, was, as he believed, able to accommodate him, but was so miserly
- that he would never do so of his own accord, nor was Saladin disposed to
- constrain him thereto. So great, however, was his necessity that, after
- pondering every method whereby the Jew might be induced to be compliant, at
- last he determined to devise a colourably reasonable pretext for extorting
- the money from him. So he sent for him, received him affably, seated him by
- his side, and presently said to him:--"My good man, I have heard from many
- people that thou art very wise, and of great discernment in divine things;
- wherefore I would gladly know of thee, which of the three laws thou reputest
- the true law, the law of the Jews, the law of the Saracens, or the law of
- the Christians?" The Jew, who was indeed a wise man, saw plainly enough that
- Saladin meant to entangle him in his speech, that he might have occasion to
- harass him, and bethought him that he could not praise any of the three laws
- above another without furnishing Saladin with the pretext which he sought.
- So, concentrating all the force of his mind to shape such an answer as might
- avoid the snare, he presently lit on what he sought, saying:--"My lord, a
- pretty question indeed is this which you propound, and fain would I answer
- it; to which end it is apposite that I tell you a story, which, if you will
- hearken, is as follows:--If I mistake not, I remember to have often heard
- tell of a great and rich man of old time, who among other most precious
- jewels had in his treasury a ring of extraordinary beauty and value, which
- by reason of its value and beauty he was minded to leave to his heirs for
- ever; for which cause he ordained, that, whichever of his sons was found in
- possession of the ring as by his bequest, should thereby be designate his
- heir, and be entitled to receive from the rest the honour and homage due to
- a superior. The son, to whom he bequeathed the ring, left it in like manner
- to his descendants, making the like ordinance as his predecessor. In short
- the ring passed from hand to hand for many generations; and in the end came
- to the hands of one who had three sons, goodly and virtuous all, and very
- obedient to their father, so that he loved them all indifferently. The rule
- touching the descent of the ring was known to the young men, and each
- aspiring to hold the place of honour among them did all he could to persuade
- his father, who was now old, to leave the ring to him at his death. The
- worthy man, who loved them all equally, and knew not how to choose from
- among them a sole legatee, promised the ring to each in turn, and in order
- to satisfy all three, caused a cunning artificer secretly to make two other
- rings, so like the first, that the maker himself could hardly tell which was
- the true ring. So, before he died, he disposed of the rings, giving one
- privily to each of his sons; whereby it came to pass, that after his decease
- each of the sons claimed the inheritance and the place of honour, and, his
- claim being disputed by his brothers, produced his ring in witness of right.
- And the rings being found so like one to another that it was impossible to
- distinguish the true one, the suit to determine the true heir remained
- pendent, and still so remains. And so, my lord, to your question, touching
- the three laws given to the three peoples by God the Father, I answer:--Each
- of these peoples deems itself to have the true inheritance, the true law,
- the true commandments of God; but which of them is justified in so
- believing, is a question which, like that of the rings, remains pendent."
- The excellent adroitness with which the Jew had contrived to evade the snare
- which he had laid for his feet was not lost upon Saladin. He therefore
- determined to let the Jew know his need, and did so, telling him at the same
- time what he had intended to do, in the event of his answering less
- circumspectly than he had done.
- Thereupon the Jew gave the Soldan all the accommodation that he required,
- which the Soldan afterwards repaid him in full. He also gave him most
- munificent gifts with his lifelong amity and a great and honourable position
- near his person.
- NOVEL IV.
- --
- A monk lapses into a sin meriting the most severe punishment, justly
- censures the same fault in his abbot, and thus evades the penalty.
- --
- The silence which followed the conclusion of Filomena's tale was broken by
- Dioneo, who sate next her, and without waiting for the queen's word, for he
- knew that by the rule laid down at the commencement it was now his turn to
- speak, began on this wise:--Loving ladies, if I have well understood the
- intention of you all, we are here to afford entertainment to one another by
- story-telling; wherefore, provided only nought is done that is repugnant to
- this end, I deem it lawful for each (and so said our queen a little while
- ago) to tell whatever story seems to him most likely to be amusing. Seeing,
- then, that we have heard how Abraham saved his soul by the good counsel of
- Jehannot de Chevigny, and Melchisedech by his own good sense safe-guarded
- his wealth against the stratagems of Saladin, I hope to escape your censure
- in narrating a brief story of a monk, who by his address delivered his body
- from imminent peril of most severe chastisement.
- In the not very remote district of Lunigiana there flourished formerly a
- community of monks more numerous and holy than is there to be found to-day,
- among whom was a young brother, whose vigour and lustihood neither the fasts
- nor the vigils availed to subdue. One afternoon, while the rest of the
- confraternity slept, our young monk took a stroll around the church, which
- lay in a very sequestered spot, and chanced to espy a young and very
- beautiful girl, a daughter, perhaps, of one of the husbandmen of those
- parts, going through the fields and gathering herbs as she went. No sooner
- had he seen her than he was sharply assailed by carnal concupiscence,
- insomuch that he made up to and accosted her; and (she hearkening) little by
- little they came to an understanding, and unobserved by any entered his cell
- together. Now it so chanced that, while they fooled it within somewhat
- recklessly, he being overwrought with passion, the abbot awoke and passing
- slowly by the young monk's cell, heard the noise which they made within, and
- the better to distinguish the voices, came softly up to the door of the
- cell, and listening discovered that beyond all doubt there was a woman
- within. His first thought was to force the door open; but, changing his
- mind, he returned to his chamber and waited until the monk should come out.
- Delightsome beyond measure though the monk found his intercourse with the
- girl, yet was he not altogether without anxiety. He had heard, as he
- thought, the sound of footsteps in the dormitory, and having applied his eye
- to a convenient aperture had had a good view of the abbot as he stood by the
- door listening. He was thus fully aware that the abbot might have detected
- the presence of a woman in the cell. Whereat he was exceedingly distressed,
- knowing that he had a severe punishment to expect; but he concealed his
- vexation from the girl while he busily cast about in his mind for some way
- of escape from his embarrassment. He thus hit on a novel stratagem which was
- exactly suited to his purpose. With the air of one who had had enough of the
- girl's company he said to her:--"I shall now leave you in order that I may
- arrange for your departure hence unobserved. Stay here quietly until I
- return." So out he went, locking the door of the cell, and withdrawing the
- key, which he carried straight to the abbot's chamber and handed to him, as
- was the custom when a monk was going out, saying with a composed air:--"Sir,
- I was not able this morning to bring in all the faggots which I had made
- ready, so with your leave I will go to the wood and bring them in." The
- abbot, desiring to have better cognisance of the monk's offence, and not
- dreaming that the monk knew that he had been detected, was pleased with the
- turn matters had taken, and received the key gladly, at the same time giving
- the monk the desired leave. So the monk withdrew, and the abbot began to
- consider what course it were best for him to take, whether to assemble the
- brotherhood and open the door in their presence, that, being witnesses of
- the delinquency, they might have no cause to murmur against him when he
- proceeded to punish the delinquent, or whether it were not better first to
- learn from the girl's own lips how it had come about. And reflecting that
- she might be the wife or daughter of some man who would take it ill that she
- should be shamed by being exposed to the gaze of all the monks, he
- determined first of all to find out who she was, and then to make up his
- mind. So he went softly to the cell, opened the door, and, having entered,
- closed it behind him. The girl, seeing that her visitor was none other than
- the abbot, quite lost her presence of mind, and quaking with shame began to
- weep. Master abbot surveyed her from head to foot, and seeing that she was
- fresh and comely, fell a prey, old though he was, to fleshly cravings no
- less poignant and sudden than those which the young monk had experienced,
- and began thus to commune with himself:--"Alas! why take I not my pleasure
- when I may, seeing that I never need lack for occasions of trouble and
- vexation of spirit? Here is a fair wench, and no one in the world to know.
- If I can bring her to pleasure me, I know not why I should not do so. Who
- will know? No one will ever know; and sin that is hidden is half forgiven;
- this chance may never come again; so, methinks, it were the part of wisdom
- to take the boon which God bestows." So musing, with an altogether different
- purpose from that with which he had come, he drew near the girl, and softly
- bade her to be comforted, and besought her not to weep; and so little by
- little he came at last to show her what he would be at. The girl, being made
- neither of iron nor of adamant, was readily induced to gratify the abbot,
- who after bestowing upon her many an embrace and kiss, got upon the monk's
- bed, where, being sensible, perhaps, of the disparity between his reverend
- portliness and her tender youth, and fearing to injure her by his excessive
- weight, he refrained from lying upon her, but laid her upon him, and in that
- manner disported himself with her for a long time. The monk, who had only
- pretended to go to the wood, and had concealed himself in the dormitory, no
- sooner saw the abbot enter his cell than he was overjoyed to think that his
- plan would succeed; and when he saw that he had locked the door, he was well
- assured thereof. So he stole out of his hiding-place, and set his eye to an
- aperture through which he saw and heard all that the abbot did and said. At
- length the abbot, having had enough of dalliance with the girl, locked her
- in the cell and returned to his chamber. Catching sight of the monk soon
- afterwards, and supposing him to have returned from the wood, he determined
- to give him a sharp reprimand and have him imprisoned, that he might thus
- secure the prey for himself alone. He therefore caused him to be summoned,
- chid him very severely and with a stern countenance, and ordered him to be
- put in prison. The monk replied trippingly:--"I Sir, I have not been so long
- in the order of St. Benedict as to have every particular of the rule by
- heart; nor did you teach me before to-day in what posture it behoves the
- monk to have intercourse with women, but limited your instruction to such
- matters as fasts and vigils. As, however, you have now given me my lesson, I
- promise you, if you also pardon my offence, that I will never repeat it, but
- will always follow the example which you have set me."
- The abbot, who was a shrewd man, saw at once that the monk was not only more
- knowing than he, but had actually seen what he had done; nor,
- conscience-stricken himself, could he for shame mete out to the monk a
- measure which he himself merited. So pardon given, with an injunction to
- bury what had been seen in silence, they decently conveyed the young girl
- out of the monastery, whither, it is to be believed, they now and again
- caused her to return.
- NOVEL V.
- --
- The Marchioness of Monferrato by a banquet of hens seasoned with wit checks
- the mad passion of the King of France.
- --
- The story told by Dioneo evoked at first some qualms of shame in the minds
- of the ladies, as was apparent by the modest blush that tinged their faces:
- then exchanging glances, and scarce able to refrain their mirth, they
- listened to it with half-suppressed smiles. On its conclusion they bestowed
- upon Dioneo a few words of gentle reprehension with intent to admonish him
- that such stories were not to be told among ladies. The queen then turned to
- Fiammetta, who was seated on the grass at her side, and bade her follow suit
- and Fiammetta with a gay and gracious mien thus began:--
- The line upon which our story-telling proceeds, to wit, to shew the virtue
- that resides in apt and ready repartees, pleases me well; and as in affairs
- of love men and women are in diverse case, for to aspire to the love of a
- woman of higher lineage than his own is wisdom in man, whereas a woman's
- good sense is then most conspicuous when she knows how to preserve herself
- from becoming enamoured of a man, her superior in rank, I am minded, fair my
- ladies, to shew you by the story which I am now to tell, how by deed and
- word a gentlewoman both defended herself against attack, and weaned her
- suitor from his love.
- The Marquis of Monferrato, a paladin of distinguished prowess, was gone
- overseas as gonfalonier of the Church in a general array of the Christian
- forces. Whose merits being canvassed at the court of Philippe le Borgne, on
- the eve of his departure from France on the same service, a knight observed,
- that there was not under the stars a couple comparable to the Marquis and
- his lady; in that, while the Marquis was a paragon of the knightly virtues,
- his lady for beauty, and honour was without a peer among all the other
- ladies of the world. These words made so deep an impression on the mind of
- the King of France that, though he had never seen the lady, he fell ardently
- in love with her, and, being to join the armada, resolved that his port of
- embarcation should be no other than Genoa, in order that, travelling thither
- by land, he might find a decent pretext for visiting the Marchioness, with
- whom in the absence of the Marquis he trusted to have the success which he
- desired; nor did he fail to put his design in execution. Having sent his
- main army on before, he took the road himself with a small company of
- gentlemen, and, as they approached the territory of the Marquis, he
- despatched a courier to the Marchioness, a day in advance, to let her know
- that he expected to breakfast with her the next morning. The lady, who knew
- her part and played it well, replied graciously, that he would be indeed
- welcome, and that his presence would be the greatest of all favours. She
- then began to commune with herself, what this might import, that so great a
- king should come to visit her in her husband's absence, nor was she so
- deluded as not to surmise that it was the fame of her beauty that drew him
- thither. Nevertheless she made ready to do him honour in a manner befitting
- her high degree, summoning to her presence such of the retainers as remained
- in the castle, and giving all needful directions with their advice, except
- that the order of the banquet and the choice of the dishes she reserved
- entirely to herself. Then, having caused all the hens that could be found in
- the country-side to be brought with all speed into the castle, she bade her
- cooks furnish forth the royal table with divers dishes made exclusively of
- such fare. The King arrived on the appointed day, and was received by the
- lady with great and ceremonious cheer. Fair and noble and gracious seemed
- she in the eyes of the King beyond all that he had conceived from the
- knight's words, so that he was lost in admiration and inly extolled her to
- the skies, his passion being the more inflamed in proportion as he found the
- lady surpass the idea which he had formed of her. A suite of rooms furnished
- with all the appointments befitting the reception of so great a king, was
- placed at his disposal, and after a little rest, breakfast-time being come,
- he and the Marchioness took their places at the same table, while his suite
- were honourably entertained at other boards according to their several
- qualities. Many courses were served with no lack of excellent and rare
- wines, whereby the King was mightily pleased, as also by the extraordinary
- beauty of the Marchioness, on whom his eye from time to time rested.
- However, as course followed course, the King observed with some surprise,
- that, though the dishes were diverse, yet they were all but variations of
- one and the same fare, to wit, the pullet. Besides which he knew that the
- domain was one which could not but afford plenty of divers sorts of game,
- and by forewarning the lady of his approach, he had allowed time for
- hunting; yet, for all his surprise, he would not broach the question more
- directly with her than by a reference to her hens; so, turning to her with a
- smile, he said:--"Madam, do hens grow in this country without so much as a
- single cock?" The Marchioness, who perfectly apprehended the drift of the
- question, saw in it an opportunity, sent her by God, of evincing her
- virtuous resolution; so casting a haughty glance upon the King she answered
- thus:--"Sire, no; but the women, though they may differ somewhat from others
- in dress and rank, are yet of the same nature here as elsewhere." The
- significance of the banquet of pullets was made manifest to the King by
- these words, as also the virtue which they veiled. He perceived that on a
- lady of such a temper words would be wasted, and that force was out of the
- question. Wherefore, yielding to the dictates of prudence and honour, he was
- now as prompt to quench, as he had been inconsiderate in conceiving, his
- unfortunate passion for the lady; and fearing her answers, he refrained from
- further jesting with her, and dismissing his hopes devoted himself to his
- breakfast, which done, he disarmed suspicion of the dishonourable purpose of
- his visit by an early departure, and thanking her for the honour she had
- conferred upon him, and commending her to God, took the road to Genoa.
- NOVEL VI.
- --
- A worthy man by an apt saying puts to shame the wicked hypocrisy of the
- religious.
- --
- When all had commended the virtue of the Marchioness and the spirited
- reproof which she administered to the King of France, Emilia, who sate next
- to Fiammetta, obeyed the queen's behest, and with a good courage thus
- began:--
- My story is also of a reproof, but of one administered by a worthy man, who
- lived the secular life, to a greedy religious, by a jibe as merry as
- admirable. Know then, dear ladies, that there was in our city, not long ago,
- a friar minor, an inquisitor in matters of heresy, who, albeit he strove
- might and main to pass himself off as a holy man and tenderly solicitous for
- the integrity of the Christian Faith, as they all do, yet he had as keen a
- scent for a full purse as for a deficiency of faith. Now it so chanced that
- his zeal was rewarded by the discovery of a good man far better furnished
- with money than with sense, who in an unguarded moment, not from defect of
- faith, but rather, perhaps from excess of hilarity, being heated with wine,
- had happened to say to his boon companions, that he had a wine good enough
- for Christ Himself to drink. Which being reported to the inquisitor, he,
- knowing the man to be possessed of large estates and a well-lined purse, set
- to work in hot haste, "cum gladiis et fustibus," to bring all the rigour of
- the law to bear upon him, designing thereby not to lighten the load of his
- victim's misbelief, but to increase the weight of his own purse by the
- florins, which he might, as he did, receive from him. So he cited him to his
- presence, and asked him whether what was alleged against him were true. The
- good man answered in the affirmative, and told him how it had happened.
- "Then," said our most holy and devout inquisitor of St. John Goldenbeard,
- (1) "then hast thou made Christ a wine-bibber, and a lover of rare vintages,
- as if he were a sot, a toper and a tavern-haunter even as one of you. And
- thinkest thou now by a few words of apology to pass this off as a light
- matter? It is no such thing as thou supposest. Thou hast deserved the fire;
- and we should but do our duty, did we inflict it upon thee." With these and
- the like words in plenty he upbraided him, bending on him meanwhile a
- countenance as stern as if Epicurus had stood before him denying the
- immortality of the soul. In short he so terrified him that the good man was
- fain to employ certain intermediaries to anoint his palms with a liberal
- allowance of St. John Goldenmouth's grease, an excellent remedy for the
- disease of avarice which spreads like a pestilence among the clergy, and
- notably among the friars minors, who dare not touch a coin, that he might
- deal gently with him. And great being the virtue of this ointment, albeit no
- mention is made thereof by Galen in any part of his Medicines, it had so
- gracious an effect that the threatened fire gave place to a cross, which he
- was to wear as if he were bound for the emprise over seas; and to make the
- ensign more handsome the inquisitor ordered that it should be yellow upon a
- black ground. Besides which, after pocketing the coin, he kept him dangling
- about him for some days, bidding him by way of penance hear mass every
- morning at Santa Croce, and afterwards wait upon him at the breakfast-hour,
- after which he was free to do as he pleased for the rest of the day. All
- which he most carefully observed; and so it fell out that one of these
- mornings there were chanted at the mass at which he assisted the following
- words of the Gospel:--You shall receive an hundredfold and shall possess
- eternal life. With these words deeply graven in his memory, he presented
- himself, as he was bidden, before the inquisitor, where he sate taking his
- breakfast, and being asked whether he had heard mass that morning, he
- promptly answered:--"Yes, sir." And being further asked:--"Heardest thou
- aught therein, as to which thou art in doubt, or hast thou any question to
- propound?" the good man responded:--"Nay indeed, doubt have I none of aught
- that I heard; but rather assured faith in the verity of all. One thing,
- however, I heard, which caused me to commiserate you and the rest of you
- friars very heartily, in regard of the evil plight in which you must find
- yourselves in the other world." "And what," said the inquisitor, "was the
- passage that so moved thee to commiserate us?" "Sir," rejoined the good man,
- "it was that passage in the Gospel which says:--"You shall receive an
- hundredfold." "You heard aright," said the inquisitor; "but why did the
- passage so affect you?" "Sir," replied the good man, "I will tell you. Since
- I have been in attendance here, I have seen a crowd of poor folk receive a
- daily dole, now of one, now of two, huge tureens of swill, being the refuse
- from your table, and that of the brothers of this convent; whereof if you
- are to receive an hundredfold in the other world, you will have so much that
- it will go hard but you are all drowned therein." This raised a general
- laugh among those who sat at the inquisitor's table, whereat the inquisitor,
- feeling that their gluttony and hypocrisy had received a home-thrust, was
- very wroth, and, but that what he had already done had not escaped censure,
- would have instituted fresh proceedings against him in revenge for the
- pleasantry with which he had rebuked the baseness of himself and his brother
- friars; so in impotent wrath he bade him go about his business and shew
- himself there no more.
- (1) The fiorino d'oro bore the effigy of St. John.
- NOVEL VII.
- --
- Bergamino, with a story of Primasso and the Abbot of Cluny, finely censures
- a sudden access of avarice in Messer Cane della Scala.
- --
- Emilia's charming manner and her story drew laughter and commendation from
- the queen and all the company, who were much tickled by her new type of
- crusader. When the laughter had subsided, and all were again silent,
- Filostrato, on whom the narration now fell, began on this wise:--
- A fine thing it is, noble ladies, to hit a fixed mark; but if, on the sudden
- appearance of some strange object, it be forthwith hit by the bowman, 'tis
- little short of a miracle. The corrupt and filthy life of the clergy offers
- on many sides a fixed mark of iniquity at which, whoever is so minded, may
- let fly, with little doubt that they will reach it, the winged words of
- reproof and reprehension. Wherefore, though the worthy man did well to
- censure in the person of the inquisitor the pretended charity of the friars
- who give to the poor what they ought rather to give to the pigs or throw
- away, higher indeed is the praise which I accord to him, of whom, taking my
- cue from the last story, I mean to speak; seeing that by a clever apologue
- he rebuked a sudden and unwonted access of avarice in Messer Cane della
- Scala, conveying in a figure what he had at heart to say touching Messer
- Cane and himself; which apologue is to follow.
- Far and wide, almost to the ends of the earth, is borne the most illustrious
- renown of Messer Cane della Scala, in many ways the favoured child of
- fortune, a lord almost without a peer among the notables and magnificoes of
- Italy since the time of the Emperor Frederic II. Now Messer Cane, being
- minded to hold high festival at Verona, whereof fame should speak marvellous
- things, and many folk from divers parts, of whom the greater number were
- jesters of every order, being already arrived, Messer Cane did suddenly (for
- some cause or another) abandon his design, and dismissed them with a partial
- recompense. One only, Bergamino by name, a speaker ready and polished in a
- degree credible only to such as heard him, remained, having received no
- recompense or conge, still cherishing the hope that this omission might yet
- turn out to his advantage. But Messer Cane was possessed with the idea that
- whatever he might give Bergamino would be far more completely thrown away
- than if he had tossed it into the fire; so never a word of the sort said he
- or sent he to him. A few days thus passed, and then Bergamino, seeing that
- he was in no demand or request for aught that belonged to his office, and
- being also at heavy charges at his inn for the keep of his horses and
- servants, fell into a sort of melancholy; but still he waited a while, not
- deeming it expedient to leave. He had brought with him three rich and goodly
- robes, given him by other lords, that he might make a brave show at the
- festival, and when his host began to press for payment he gave him one of
- the robes; afterwards, there being still much outstanding against him, he
- must needs, if he would tarry longer at the inn, give the host the second
- robe; after which he began to live on the third, being minded remain there,
- as long as it would hold out, in expectation of better luck, and then to
- take his departure. Now, while he was thus living on the third robe, it
- chanced that Messer Cane encountered him one day as he sate at breakfast
- with a very melancholy visage. Which Messer Cane observing, said, rather to
- tease him than expecting to elicit from him any pleasant retort:--"What ails
- thee, Bergamino, that thou art still so melancholy? Let me know the reason
- why." Whereupon Bergamino, without a moment's reflection, told the following
- story, which could not have fitted his own case more exactly if it had been
- long premeditated.
- My lord, you must know that Primasso was a grammarian of great eminence, and
- excellent and quick beyond all others in versifying; whereby he waxed so
- notable and famous that, albeit he was not everywhere known by sight, yet
- there were scarce any that did not at least by name and report know who
- Primasso was. Now it so happened that, being once at Paris in straitened
- circumstances, as it was his lot to be most of his time by reason that
- virtue is little appreciated by the powerful, he heard speak of the Abbot of
- Cluny, who, except the Pope, is supposed to be the richest prelate, in
- regard of his vast revenues, that the Church of God can shew; and marvellous
- and magnificent things were told him of the perpetual court which the abbot
- kept, and how, wherever he was, he denied not to any that came there either
- meat or drink, so only that he preferred his request while the abbot was at
- table. Which when Primasso heard, he determined to go and see for himself
- what magnificent state this abbot kept, for he was one that took great
- delight in observing the ways of powerful and lordly men; wherefore he asked
- how far from Paris was the abbot then sojourning. He was informed that the
- abbot was then at one of his places distant perhaps six miles; which
- Primasso concluded he could reach in time for breakfast, if he started early
- in the morning. When he had learned the way, he found that no one else was
- travelling by it, and fearing lest by mischance he should lose it, and so
- find himself where it would not be easy for him to get food, he determined
- to obviate so disagreeable a contingency by taking with him three loaves of
- bread--as for drink, water, though not much to his taste, was, he supposed,
- to be found everywhere. So, having disposed the loaves in the fold of his
- tunic, he took the road and made such progress that he reached the abbot's
- place of sojourn before the breakfast-hour. Having entered, he made the
- circuit of the entire place, observing everything, the vast array of tables,
- and the vast kitchen well-appointed with all things needful for the
- preparation and service of the breakfast, and saying to himself:--"In very
- truth this man is even such a magnifico as he is reported to be." While his
- attention was thus occupied, the abbot's seneschal, it being now
- breakfast-time, gave order to serve water for the hands, which being washen,
- they sat them all down to breakfast. Now it so happened that Primasso was
- placed immediately in front of the door by which the abbot must pass from
- his chamber, into the hall, in which, according to rule of his court,
- neither wine, nor bread, nor aught else drinkable or eatable was ever set on
- the tables before he made his appearance and was seated. The seneschal,
- therefore, having set the tables, sent word to the abbot, that all was now
- ready, and they waited only his pleasure. So the abbot gave the word, the
- door of his chamber was thrown open, and he took a step or two forward
- towards the hall, gazing straight in front of him as he went. Thus it fell
- out that the first man on whom he set eyes was Primasso, who was in very
- sorry trim. The abbot, who knew him not by sight, no sooner saw him, than,
- surprised by a churlish mood to which he had hitherto been an entire
- stranger, he said to himself:--"So it is to such as this man that I give my
- hospitality;" and going back into the chamber he bade lock the door, and
- asked of his attendants whether the vile fellow that sate at table directly
- opposite the door was known to any of them, who, one and all, answered in
- the negative. Primasso waited a little, but he was not used to fast, and his
- journey had whetted his appetite. So, as the abbot did not return, he drew
- out one of the loaves which he had brought with him, and began to eat. The
- abbot, after a while, bade one of his servants go see whether Primasso were
- gone. The servant returned with the answer:--"No, sir, and (what is more) he
- is eating a loaf of bread, which he seems to have brought with him." "Be it
- so then," said the abbot, who was vexed that he was not gone of his own
- accord, but was not disposed to turn him out; "let him eat his own bread, if
- he have any, for he shall have none of ours today." By and by Primasso,
- having finished his first loaf, began, as the abbot did not make his
- appearance, to eat the second; which was likewise reported to the abbot, who
- had again sent to see if he were gone. Finally, as the abbot still delayed
- his coming, Primasso, having finished the second loaf, began upon the third;
- whereof, once more, word was carried to the abbot, who now began to commune
- with himself and say:--"Alas! my soul, what unwonted mood harbourest thou
- to-day? What avarice? what scorn? and of whom? I have given my hospitality,
- now for many a year, to whoso craved it, without looking to see whether he
- were gentle or churl, poor or rich, merchant or cheat, and mine eyes have
- seen it squandered on vile fellows without number; and nought of that which
- I feel towards this man ever entered my mind. Assuredly it cannot be that he
- is a man of no consequence, who is the occasion of this access of avarice in
- me. Though he seem to me a vile fellow, he must be some great man, that my
- mind is thus obstinately averse to do him honour." Of which musings the
- upshot was that he sent to inquire who the vile fellow was, and learning
- that he was Primasso, come to see if what he had heard of his magnificent
- state were true, he was stricken with shame, having heard of old Primasso's
- fame, and knowing him to be a great man. Wherefore, being zealous to make
- him the amend, he studied to do him honour in many ways; and after
- breakfast, that his garb might accord with his native dignity, he caused him
- to be nobly arrayed, and setting him upon a palfrey and filling his purse,
- left it to his own choice, whether to go or to stay. So Primasso, with a
- full heart, thanked him for his courtesy in terms the amplest that he could
- command, and, having left Paris afoot, returned thither on horseback."
- Messer Cane was shrewd enough to apprehend Bergamino's meaning perfectly
- well without a gloss, and said with a smile:--"Bergamino, thy parable is
- apt, and declares to me very plainly thy losses, my avarice, and what thou
- desirest of me. And in good sooth this access of avarice, of which thou art
- the occasion, is the first that I have experienced. But I will expel the
- intruder with the baton which thou thyself hast furnished." So he paid
- Bergamino's reckoning, habited him nobly in one of his own robes, gave him
- money and a palfrey, and left it for the time at his discretion, whether to
- go or to stay.
- NOVEL VIII.
- --
- Guglielmo Borsiere by a neat retort sharply censures avarice in Messer
- Ermino de' Grimaldi.
- --
- Next Filostrato was seated Lauretta, who, when the praises bestowed on
- Bergamino's address had ceased, knowing that it was now her turn to speak,
- waited not for the word of command, but with a charming graciousness thus
- began:--
- The last novel, dear gossips, prompts me to relate how a worthy man,
- likewise a jester, reprehended not without success the greed of a very
- wealthy merchant; and, though the burden of my story is not unlike the last,
- yet, perchance, it may not on that account be the less appreciated by you,
- because it has a happy termination.
- Know then that in Genoa there dwelt long ago a gentleman, who was known as
- Messer Ermino de' Grimaldi, and whose wealth, both in lands and money, was
- generally supposed to be far in excess of that of any other burgher then in
- Italy, and as in wealth he was without a rival in Italy, so in meanness and
- avarice there was not any in the entire world, however richly endowed with
- those qualities, whom he did not immeasurably surpass, insomuch that, not
- only did he keep a tight grip upon his purse when honour was to be done to
- another, but in his personal expenditure, even upon things meet and proper,
- contrary to the general custom of the Genoese, whose wont is to array
- themselves nobly, he was extremely penurious, as also in his outlay upon his
- table. Wherefore, not without just cause, folk had dropped his surname de'
- Grimaldi, and called him instead Messer Ermino Avarizia. While thus by
- thrift his wealth waxed greater and greater, it so chanced that there came
- to Genoa a jester of good parts, a man debonair and ready of speech, his
- name Guglielmo Borsiere, whose like is not to be found to-day when jesters
- (to the great reproach be it spoken of those that claim the name and
- reputation of gentlemen) are rather to be called asses, being without
- courtly breeding, and formed after the coarse pattern of the basest of
- churls. And whereas in the days of which I speak they made it their
- business, they spared no pains, to compose quarrels, to allay
- heart-burnings, between gentlemen, or arrange marriages, or leagues of
- amity, ministering meanwhile relief to jaded minds and solace to courts by
- the sprightly sallies of their wit, and with keen sarcasm, like fathers,
- censuring churlish manners, being also satisfied with very trifling
- guerdons; nowadays all their care is to spend their time in
- scandal-mongering, in sowing discord, in saying, and (what is worse) in
- doing in the presence of company things churlish and flagitious, in bringing
- accusations, true or false, of wicked, shameful or flagitious conduct
- against one another; and in drawing gentlemen into base and nefarious
- practices by sinister and insidious arts. And by these wretched and depraved
- lords he is held most dear and best rewarded whose words and deeds are the
- most atrocious, to the great reproach and scandal of the world of to-day;
- whereby it is abundantly manifest that virtue has departed from the earth,
- leaving a degenerate generation to wallow in the lowest depths of vice.
- But reverting to the point at which I started, wherefrom under stress of
- just indignation I have deviated somewhat further than I intended, I say
- that the said Guglielmo was had in honour, and was well received by all the
- gentlemen of Genoa; and tarrying some days in the city, heard much of the
- meanness and avarice of Messer Ermino, and was curious to see him. Now
- Messer Ermino had heard that this Guglielmo Borsiere was a man of good
- parts, and, notwithstanding his avarice, having in him some sparks of good
- breeding, received him with words of hearty greeting and a gladsome mien,
- and conversed freely with him and of divers matters, and so conversing, took
- him with other Genoese that were of his company to a new and very beautiful
- house which he had built, and after shewing him over the whole of it, said
- to him:--"Now, Messer Guglielmo, you have seen and heard many things; could
- you suggest to me something, the like of which has not hitherto been seen,
- which I might have painted here in the saloon of this house?" To which
- ill-judged question Guglielmo replied:--"Sir, it would not, I think, be in
- my power to suggest anything the like of which has never been seen, unless
- it were a sneeze or something similar; but if it so please you, I have
- something to suggest, which, I think, you have never seen." "Prithee, what
- may that be?" said Messer Ermino, not expecting to get the answer which he
- got. For Guglielmo replied forthwith:--"Paint Courtesy here;" which Messer
- Ermino had no sooner heard, than he was so stricken with shame that his
- disposition underwent a complete change, and he said:--"Messer, Guglielmo, I
- will see to it that Courtesy is here painted in such wise that neither you
- nor any one else shall ever again have reason to tell me that I have not
- seen or known that virtue." And henceforward (so enduring was the change
- wrought by Guglielmo's words) there was not in Genoa, while he lived, any
- gentleman so liberal and so gracious and so lavish of honour both to
- strangers and to his fellow-citizens as Messer Ermino de' Grimaldi.
- NOVEL IX.
- --
- The censure of a Gascon lady converts the King of Cyprus from a churlish to
- an honourable temper.
- --
- Except Elisa none now remained to answer the call of the queen, and she
- without waiting for it, with gladsome alacrity thus began:--
- Bethink you, damsels, how often it has happened that men who have been
- obdurate to censures and chastisements have been reclaimed by some
- unpremeditated casual word. This is plainly manifest by the story told by
- Lauretta; and by mine, which will be of the briefest, I mean further to
- illustrate it; seeing that, good stories, being always pleasurable, are
- worth listening to with attention, no matter by whom they may be told.
- 'Twas, then, in the time of the first king of Cyprus, after the conquest
- made of the Holy Land by Godfrey de Bouillon, that a lady of Gascony made a
- pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulchre, and on her way home, having landed at
- Cyprus, met with brutal outrage at the hands of certain ruffians.
- Broken-hearted and disconsolate she determined to make her complaint to the
- king; but she was told that it would be all in vain, because so spiritless
- and faineant was he that he not only neglected to avenge affronts put upon
- others, but endured with a reprehensible tameness those which were offered
- to himself, insomuch that whoso had any ill-humour to vent, took occasion to
- vex or mortify him. The lady, hearing this report, despaired of redress, and
- by way of alleviation of her grief determined to make the king sensible of
- his baseness. So in tears she presented herself before him and said:--"Sire,
- it is not to seek redress of the wrong done me that I come here before you:
- but only that, so please you, I may learn of you how it is that you suffer
- patiently the wrongs which, as I understand, are done you; that thus
- schooled by you in patience I may endure my own, which, God knows, I would
- gladly, were it possible, transfer to you, seeing that you are so well
- fitted to bear them." These words aroused the hitherto sluggish and
- apathetic king as it were from sleep. He redressed the lady's wrong, and
- having thus made a beginning, thenceforth meted out the most rigorous
- justice to all that in any wise offended against the majesty of his crown.
- NOVEL X.
- --
- Master Alberto da Bologna honourably puts to shame a lady who sought
- occasion to put him to shame in that he was in love with her.
- --
- After Elisa had done, it only remained for the queen to conclude the day's
- story-telling, and thus with manner debonair did she begin:--
- As stars in the serene expanse of heaven, as in spring-time flowers in the
- green pastures, so, honourable damsels, in the hour of rare and excellent
- converse is wit with its bright sallies. Which, being brief, are much more
- proper for ladies than for men, seeing that prolixity of speech, when
- brevity is possible, is much less allowable to them; albeit (shame be to us
- all and all our generation) few ladies or none are left to-day who
- understand aught that is wittily said, or understanding are able to answer
- it. For the place of those graces of the spirit which distinguished the
- ladies of the past has now been usurped by adornments of the person; and she
- whose dress is most richly and variously and curiously dight, accounts
- herself more worthy to be had in honour, forgetting, that, were one but so
- to array him, an ass would carry a far greater load of finery than any of
- them, and for all that be not a whit the more deserving of honour. I blush
- to say this, for in censuring others I condemn myself. Tricked out,
- bedecked, bedizened thus, we are either silent and impassive as statues, or,
- if we answer aught that is said to us, much better were it we had held our
- peace. And we make believe, forsooth, that our failure to acquit ourselves
- in converse with our equals of either sex does but proceed from
- guilelessness; dignifying stupidity by the name of modesty, as if no lady
- could be modest and converse with other folk than her maid or laundress or
- bake-house woman; which if Nature had intended, as we feign she did, she
- would have set other limits to our garrulousness. True it is that in this,
- as in other matters, time and place and person are to be regarded; because
- it sometimes happens that a lady or gentleman thinking by some sally of wit
- to put another to shame, has rather been put to shame by that other, having
- failed duly to estimate their relative powers. Wherefore, that you may be on
- your guard against such error, and, further, that in you be not exemplified
- the common proverb, to wit, that women do ever and on all occasions choose
- the worst, I trust that this last of to-day's stories, which falls to me to
- tell, may serve you as a lesson; that, as you are distinguished from others
- by nobility of nature, so you may also shew yourselves separate from them by
- excellence of manners.
- There lived not many years ago, perhaps yet lives, in Bologna, a very great
- physician, so great that the fame of his skill was noised abroad throughout
- almost the entire world.
- Now Master Alberto (such was his name) was of so noble a temper that, being
- now nigh upon seventy years of age, and all but devoid of natural heat of
- body, he was yet receptive of the flames of love; and having at an assembly
- seen a very beautiful widow lady, Madonna Malgherida de' Ghisolieri, as some
- say, and being charmed with her beyond measure, was, notwithstanding his
- age, no less ardently enamoured than a young man, insomuch that he was not
- well able to sleep at night, unless during the day he had seen the fair
- lady's lovely and delicate features. Wherefore he began to frequent the
- vicinity of her house, passing to and fro in front of it, now on foot now on
- horseback, as occasion best served. Which she and many other ladies
- perceiving, made merry together more than once, to see a man of his years
- and discretion in love, as if they deemed that this most delightful passion
- of love were only fit for empty-headed youths, and could not in men be
- either harboured or engendered. Master Alberto thus continuing to haunt the
- front of the house, it so happened that one feast-day the lady with other
- ladies was seated before her door, and Master Alberto's approach being thus
- observed by them for some time before he arrived, they complotted to receive
- him and shew him honour, and then to rally him on his love; and so they did,
- rising with one accord to receive him, bidding him welcome, and ushering him
- into a cool courtyard, where they regaled him with the finest wines and
- comfits; which done, in a tone of refined and sprightly banter they asked
- him how it came about that he was enamoured of this fair lady, seeing that
- she was beloved of many a fine gentleman of youth and spirit. Master
- Alberto, being thus courteously assailed, put a blithe face on it, and
- answered:--"Madam, my love for you need surprise none that is conversant
- with such matters, and least of all you that are worthy of it. And though
- old men, of course, have lost the strength which love demands for its full
- fruition, yet are they not therefore without the good intent and just
- appreciation of what beseems the accepted lover, but indeed understand it
- far better than young men, by reason that they have more experience. My hope
- in thus old aspiring to love you, who are loved by so many young men, is
- founded on what I have frequently observed of ladies' ways at lunch, when
- they trifle with the lupin and the leek. In the leek no part is good, but
- the head is at any rate not so bad as the rest, and indeed not unpalatable;
- you, however, for the most part, following a depraved taste, hold it in your
- hand and munch the leaves, which are not only of no account but actually
- distasteful. How am I to know, madam, that in your selection of lovers, you
- are not equally eccentric? In which case I should be the man of your choice,
- and the rest would be cast aside." Whereto the gentle lady, somewhat
- shame-stricken, as were also her fair friends, thus made answer:--"Master
- Alberto, our presumption has received from you a most just and no less
- courteous reproof; but your love is dear to me, as should ever be that of a
- wise and worthy man. And therefore, saving my honour, I am yours, entirely
- and devotedly at your pleasure and command." This speech brought Master
- Alberto to his feet, and the others also rising, he thanked the lady for her
- courtesy, bade her a gay and smiling adieu, and so left the house. Thus the
- lady, not considering on whom she exercised her wit, thinking to conquer was
- conquered herself--against which mishap you, if you are discreet, will ever
- be most strictly on your guard.
- As the young ladies and the three young men finished their storytelling the
- sun was westering and the heat of the day in great measure abated. Which
- their queen observing, debonairly thus she spoke:--"Now, dear gossips, my
- day of sovereignty draws to a close, and nought remains for me to do but to
- give you a new queen, by whom on the morrow our common life may be ordered
- as she may deem best in a course of seemly pleasure; and though there seems
- to be still some interval between day and night, yet, as whoso does not in
- some degree anticipate the course of time, cannot well provide for the
- future; and in order that what the new queen shall decide to be meet for the
- morrow may be made ready beforehand, I decree that from this time forth the
- days begin at this hour. And so in reverent submission to Him in whom is the
- life of all beings, for our comfort and solace we commit the governance of
- our realm for the morrow into the hands of Queen Filomena, most discreet of
- damsels." So saying she arose, took the laurel wreath from her brow, and
- with a gesture of reverence set it on the brow of Filomena, whom she then,
- and after her all the other ladies and the young men, saluted as queen,
- doing her due and graceful homage.
- Queen Filomena modestly blushed a little to find herself thus invested with
- the sovereignty; but, being put on her mettle by Pampinea's recent
- admonitions, she was minded not to seem awkward, and soon recovered her
- composure. She then began by confirming all the appointments made by
- Pampinea, and making all needful arrangements for the following morning and
- evening, which they were to pass where they then were. Whereupon she thus
- spoke:--"Dearest gossips, though, thanks rather to Pampinea's courtesy than
- to merit of mine, I am made queen of you all, yet I am not on that account
- minded to have respect merely to my own judgment in the governance of our
- life, but to unite your wisdom with mine; and that you may understand what I
- think of doing, and by consequence may be able to amplify or curtail it at
- your pleasure, I will in few words make known to you my purpose. The course
- observed by Pampinea to-day, if I have judged aright, seems to be alike
- commendable and delectable; wherefore, until by lapse of time, or for some
- other cause, it grow tedious, I purpose not to alter it. So when we have
- arranged for what we have already taken in hand, we will go hence and enjoy
- a short walk; at sundown we will sup in the cool; and we will then sing a
- few songs and otherwise divert ourselves, until it is time to go to sleep.
- To-morrow we will rise in the cool of the morning, and after enjoying
- another walk, each at his or her sweet will, we will return, as to-day, and
- in due time break our fast, dance, sleep, and having risen, will here resume
- our story-telling, wherein, methinks, pleasure and profit unite in
- superabundant measure. True it is that Pampinea, by reason of her late
- election to the sovereignty, neglected one matter, which I mean to
- introduce, to wit, the circumscription of the topic of our story-telling,
- and its preassignment, that each may be able to premeditate some apt story
- bearing upon the theme; and seeing that from the beginning of the world
- Fortune has made men the sport of divers accidents, and so it will continue
- until the end, the theme, so please you, shall in each case be the same; to
- wit, the fortune of such as after divers adventures have at last attained a
- goal of unexpected felicity.
- The ladies and the young men alike commended the rule thus laid down, and
- agreed to follow it. Dioneo, however, when the rest had done speaking,
- said:--"Madam, as all the rest have said, so say I, briefly, that the rule
- prescribed by you is commendable and delectable; but of your especial grace
- I crave a favour, which, I trust, may be granted and continued to me, so
- long as our company shall endure; which favour is this: that I be not bound
- by the assigned theme if I am not so minded, but that I have leave to choose
- such topic as best shall please me. And lest any suppose that I crave this
- grace as one that has not stories ready to hand, I am henceforth content
- that mine be always the last." The queen, knowing him to be a merry and
- facetious fellow, and feeling sure that he only craved this favour in order
- that, if the company were jaded, he might have an opportunity to recreate
- them by some amusing story, gladly, with the consent of the rest, granted
- his petition. She then rose, and attended by the rest sauntered towards a
- stream, which, issuing clear as crystal from a neighbouring hill,
- precipitated itself into a valley shaded by trees close set amid living rock
- and fresh green herbage. Bare of foot and arm they entered the stream, and
- roving hither and thither amused themselves in divers ways till in due time
- they returned to the palace, and gaily supped. Supper ended, the queen sent
- for instruments of music, and bade Lauretta lead a dance, while Emilia was
- to sing a song accompanied by Dioneo on the lute.
- Accordingly Lauretta led a dance, while Emilia with passion sang the
- following song:
- So fain I am of my own loveliness,
- I hope, nor think not e'er
- The weight to feel of other amorousness.
- When in the mirror I my face behold,
- That see I there which doth my mind content,
- Nor any present hap or memory old
- May me deprive of such sweet ravishment.
- Where else, then, should I find such blandishment
- Of sight and sense that e'er
- My heart should know another amorousness?
- Nor need I fear lest the fair thing retreat,
- When fain I am my solace to renew;
- Rather, I know, 'twill me advance to meet,
- To pleasure me, and shew so sweet a view
- That speech or thought of none its semblance true
- Paint or conceive may e'er,
- Unless he burn with ev'n such amorousness.
- Thereon as more intent I gaze, the fire
- Waxeth within me hourly, more and more,
- Myself I yield thereto, myself entire,
- And foretaste have of what it hath in store,
- And hope of greater joyance than before,
- Nay, such as ne'er
- None knew; for ne'er was felt such amorousness.
- This ballade, to which all heartily responded, albeit its words furnished
- much matter of thought to some, was followed by some other dances, and part
- of the brief night being thus spent, the queen proclaimed the first day
- ended, and bade light the torches that all might go to rest until the
- following morning; and so, seeking their several chambers, to rest they
- went.
- --
- Endeth here the first day of the Decameron; beginneth the second, in which,
- under the rule of Filomena, they discourse of the fortunes of such as after
- divers misadventures have at last attained a goal of unexpected felicity.
- --
- The sun was already trailing the new day in his wake of light, and the
- birds, blithely chanting their lays among the green boughs, carried the
- tidings to the ear, when with one accord all the ladies and the three young
- men arose, and entered the gardens, where for no little time they found
- their delight in sauntering about the dewy meads, straying hither and
- thither, culling flowers, and weaving them into fair garlands. The day
- passed like its predecessor; they breakfasted in the shade, and danced and
- slept until noon, when they rose, and, at their queen's behest, assembled in
- the cool meadow, and sat them down in a circle about her. Fair and very
- debonair she shewed, crowned with her laurel wreath, as for a brief space
- she scanned the company, and then bade Neifile shew others the way with a
- story. Neifile made no excuse, and gaily thus began.
- NOVEL I.
- --
- Martellino pretends to be a paralytic, and makes it appear as if he were
- cured by being placed upon the body of St. Arrigo. His trick is detected; he
- is beaten and arrested, and is in peril of hanging, but finally escapes.
- --
- Often has it happened, dearest ladies, that one who has studied to raise a
- laugh at others' expense, especially in regard of things worthy to be had in
- reverence, has found the laugh turn against himself, and sometimes to his
- loss: as, in obedience to the queen's command, and by way of introducing our
- theme, I am about to shew you, by the narrative of an adventure which befell
- one of our own citizens, and after a course of evil fortune had an entirely
- unexpected and very felicitous issue.
- Not long ago there was at Treviso a German, named Arrigo, a poor man who got
- his living as a common hired porter, but though of so humble a condition,
- was respected by all, being accounted not only an honest but a most holy
- man; insomuch that, whether truly or falsely I know not, the Trevisans
- affirm, that on his decease all the bells of the cathedral of Treviso began
- to toll of their own accord. Which being accounted a miracle, this Arrigo
- was generally reputed a saint; and all the people of the city gathered
- before the house where his body lay, and bore it, with a saint's honours,
- into the cathedral, and brought thither the halt and paralytic and blind,
- and others afflicted with disease or bodily defects, as hoping that by
- contact with this holy body they would all be healed. The people thus
- tumultuously thronging the church, it so chanced that there arrived in
- Treviso three of our own citizens, of whom one was named Stecchi, another
- Martellino, and the third Marchese; all three being men whose habit it was
- to frequent the courts of the nobles and afford spectators amusement by
- assuming disguises and personating other men. Being entire strangers to the
- place, and seeing everybody running to and fro, they were much astonished,
- and having learned the why and wherefore, were curious to go see what was to
- be seen. So at the inn, where they put up, Marchese began:--"We would fain
- go see this saint; but for my part I know not how we are to reach the spot,
- for I hear the piazza is full of Germans and other armed men, posted there
- by the Lord who rules here to prevent an uproar, and moreover the church, so
- far as one may learn, is so full of folk that scarce another soul may enter
- it." Whereupon Martellino, who was bent on seeing what was to be seen,
- said:--"Let not this deter us; I will assuredly find a way of getting to the
- saint's body." "How?" rejoined Marchese. "I will tell you," replied
- Martellino; "I will counterfeit a paralytic, and thou wilt support me on one
- side and Stecchi on the other, as if I were not able to go alone, and so you
- will enter the church, making it appear as if you were leading me up to the
- body of the saint that he may heal me, and all that see will make way and
- give us free passage." Marchese and Stecchi approved the plan; so all three
- forthwith left the inn and repaired to a lonely place, where Martellino
- distorted his hands, his fingers, his arms, his legs, and also his mouth and
- eyes and his entire face in a manner horrible to contemplate; so that no
- stranger that saw him could have doubted that he was impotent and paralysed
- in every part of his body. In this guise Marchese and Stecchi laid hold of
- him, and led him towards the church, assuming a most piteous air, and humbly
- beseeching everybody for God's sake to make way for them. Their request was
- readily granted; and, in short, observed by all, and crying out at almost
- every step, "make way, make way," they reached the place where St. Arrigo's
- body was laid. Whereupon some gentlemen who stood by, hoisted Martellino on
- to the saint's body, that thereby he might receive the boon of health. There
- he lay still for a while, the eyes of all in the church being riveted upon
- him in expectation of the result; then, being a very practised performer, he
- stretched, first, one of his fingers, next a hand, afterwards an arm, and so
- forth, making as if he gradually recovered the use of all his natural
- powers. Which the people observing raised such a clamour in honour of St.
- Arrigo that even thunder would have been inaudible. Now it chanced that hard
- by stood a Florentine, who knew Martellino well, though he had failed to
- recognise him, when, in such strange guise, he was led into the church; but
- now, seeing him resume his natural shape, the Florentine recognised him, and
- at once said with a laugh°"God's curse upon him. Who that saw him come but
- would have believed that he was really paralysed?" These words were
- overheard by some of the Trevisans, who began forthwith to question the
- Florentine. "How?" said they; "was he then not paralysed? No, by God
- returned the Florentine he has always been as straight as any of us; he has
- merely shewn you that he knows better than any man alive how to play this
- trick of putting on any counterfeit semblance that he chooses." Thereupon
- the Trevisans, without further parley, made a rush, clearing the way and
- crying out as they went:--"Seize this traitor who mocks at God and His
- saints; who, being no paralytic, has come hither in the guise of a paralytic
- to deride our patron saint and us." So saying, they laid hands on him,
- dragged him down from where he stood, seized him by the hair, tore the
- clothes from his back, and fell to beating and kicking him, so that it
- seemed to him as if all the world were upon him. He cried out:--"Pity, for
- God's sake," and defended himself as best he could: all in vain, however;
- the press became thicker and thicker moment by moment. Which Stecchi and
- Marchese observing began to say one to the other that 'twas a bad business;
- yet, being apprehensive on their own account, they did not venture to come
- to his assistance, but cried out with the rest that he ought to die, at the
- same time, however, casting about how they might find the means to rescue
- him from the hands of the people, who would certainly have killed him, but
- for a diversion which Marchese hastily effected. The entire posse of the
- signory being just outside, he ran off at full speed to the Podesta's
- lieutenant, and said to him:--"Help, for God's sake; there is a villain here
- that has cut my purse with full a hundred florins of gold in it; prithee
- have him arrested that I may have my own again." Whereupon, twelve sergeants
- or more ran forthwith to the place where hapless Martellino was being carded
- without a comb, and, forcing their way with the utmost difficulty through
- the throng, rescued him all bruised and battered from their hands, and led
- him to the palace; whither he was followed by many who, resenting what he
- had done, and hearing that he was arrested as a cutpurse, and lacking better
- pretext for harassing him, began one and all to charge him with having cut
- their purses. All which the deputy of the Podesta had no sooner heard, than,
- being a harsh man, he straightway took Martellino aside and began to examine
- him. Martellino answered his questions in a bantering tone, making light of
- the arrest; whereat the deputy, losing patience, had him bound to the
- strappado, and caused him to receive a few hints of the cord with intent to
- extort from him a confession of his guilt, by way of preliminary to hanging
- him. Taken down from the strappado, and questioned by the deputy if what his
- accusers said were true, Martellino, as nothing was to be gained by denial,
- answered:--"My lord, I am ready to confess the truth; let but my accusers
- say, each of them, when and where I cut his purse, and I will tell you what
- I have and what I have not done." "So be it," said the deputy, and caused a
- few of them to be summoned. Whereupon Martellino, being charged with having
- cut this, that or the other man's purse eight, six or four days ago, while
- others averred that he had cut their purses that very day, answered thus:--
- "My lord, these men lie in the throat, and for token that I speak true, I
- tell you that, so far from having been here as long as they make out, it is
- but very lately that I came into these parts, where I never was before; and
- no sooner was I come, than, as my ill-luck would have it, I went to see the
- body of this saint, and so have been carded as you see; and that what I say
- is true, his Lordship's intendant of arrivals, and his book, and also my
- host may certify. Wherefore, if you find that even so it is as I say,
- hearken not to these wicked men, and spare me the torture and death which
- they would have you inflict." In this posture of affairs Marchese and
- Stecchi, learning that the Podesta's deputy was dealing rigorously with
- Martellino, and had already put him to the strappado, grew mightily alarmed.
- "We have made a mess of it," they said to themselves; "we have only taken
- him out of the frying-pan to toss him into the fire." So, hurrying hither
- and thither with the utmost zeal, they made diligent search until they found
- their host, and told him how matters stood. The host had his laugh over the
- affair, and then brought them to one Sandro Agolanti, who dwelt in Treviso
- and had great interest with the Lord of the place. The host laid the whole
- matter before Sandro, and, backed by Marchese and Stecchi, besought him to
- undertake Martellino's cause. Sandro, after many a hearty laugh, hied him to
- the Lord, who at his instance sent for Martellino. The messengers found
- Martellino still in his shirt before the deputy, at his wits' end, and all
- but beside himself with fear, because the deputy would hear nothing that he
- said in his defence. Indeed, the deputy, having a spite against Florentines,
- had quite made up his mind to have him hanged; he was therefore in the last
- degree reluctant to surrender him to the Lord, and only did so upon
- compulsion. Brought at length before the Lord, Martellino detailed to him
- the whole affair, and prayed him as the greatest of favours to let him
- depart in peace. The Lord had a hearty laugh over the adventure, and
- bestowed a tunic on each of the three. So, congratulating themselves on
- their unexpected deliverance from so great a peril, they returned home safe
- and sound.
- NOVEL II.
- --
- Rinaldo d'Asti is robbed, arrives at Castel Guglielmo, and is entertained by
- a widow lady; his property is restored to him, and he returns home safe and
- sound.
- --
- The ladies and the young men, especially Filostrato, laughed inordinately at
- Neifile's narrative of Martellino's misadventures. Then Filostrato, who sate
- next Neifile, received the queen's command to follow her, and promptly thus
- began:--
- Fair ladies, 'tis on my mind to tell you a story in which are mingled things
- sacred and passages of adverse fortune and love, which to hear will
- perchance be not unprofitable, more especially to travellers in love's
- treacherous lands; of whom if any fail to say St. Julian's paternoster, it
- often happens that, though he may have a good bed, he is ill lodged.
- Know, then, that in the time of the Marquis Azzo da Ferrara, a merchant,
- Rinaldo d'Asti by name, having disposed of certain affairs which had brought
- him to Bologna, set his face homeward, and having left Ferrara behind him
- was on his way to Verona, when he fell in with some men that looked like
- merchants, but were in truth robbers and men of evil life and condition,
- whose company he imprudently joined, riding and conversing with them. They,
- perceiving that he was a merchant, and judging that he must have money about
- him, complotted to rob him on the first opportunity; and to obviate
- suspicion they played the part of worthy and reputable men, their discourse
- of nought but what was seemly and honourable and leal, their demeanour at
- once as respectful and as cordial as they could make it; so that he deemed
- himself very lucky to have met with them, being otherwise alone save for a
- single mounted servant. Journeying thus, they conversed after the desultory
- manner of travellers, of divers matters, until at last they fell a talking
- of the prayers which men address to God, and one of the robbers--there were
- three of them--said to Rinaldo:--"And you, gentle sir, what is your wonted
- orison when you are on your travels?" Rinaldo answered:--"Why, to tell the
- truth, I am a man unskilled, unlearned in such matters, and few prayers have
- I at my command, being one that lives in the good old way and lets two soldi
- count for twenty-four deniers; nevertheless it has always been my custom in
- journeying to say of a morning, as I leave the inn, a paternoster and an
- avemaria for the souls of the father and mother of St. Julian, after which I
- pray God and St. Julian to provide me with a good inn for the night. And
- many a time in the course of my life have I met with great perils by the
- way, and evading them all have found comfortable quarters for the night:
- whereby my faith is assured, that St. Julian, in whose honour I say my
- paternoster, has gotten me this favour of God; nor should I look for a
- prosperous journey and a safe arrival at night, if I had not said it in the
- morning." Then said his interrogator:--"And did you say it this morning?"
- Whereto Rinaldo answered, "Troth, did I," which caused the other, who by
- this time knew what course matters would take, to say to himself:--"'Twill
- prove to have been said in the nick of time; for if we do not miscarry, I
- take it thou wilt have but a sorry lodging." Then turning to Rinaldo he
- said:--"I also have travelled much, and never a prayer have I said though I
- have heard them much, commended by many, nor has it ever been my lot to find
- other than good quarters for the night; it may be that this very evening you
- will be able to determine which of us has the better lodging, you that have
- said the paternoster, or I that have not said it. True, however, it is that
- in its stead I am accustomed to say the 'Dirupisti,' or the 'Intemerata,' or
- the 'De profundis,' which, if what my grandmother used to say is to be
- believed, are of the greatest efficacy." So, talking of divers matters, and
- ever on the look-out for time and place suited to their evil purpose, they
- continued their journey, until towards evening, some distance from Castel
- Guglielmo, as they were about to ford a stream, these three ruffians,
- profiting by the lateness of the hour, and the loneliness and straitness of
- the place, set upon Rinaldo and robbed him, and leaving him afoot and in his
- shirt, said by way of adieu:--"Go now, and see if thy St. Julian will
- provide thee with good lodging to-night; our saint, we doubt not, will do as
- much by us;" and so crossing the stream, they went their way. Rinaldo's
- servant, coward that he was, did nothing to help his master when he saw him
- attacked, but turned his horse's head, and was off at a smart pace; nor did
- he draw rein until he was come to Castel Guglielmo; where, it being now
- evening, he put up at an inn and gave himself no further trouble. Rinaldo,
- left barefoot, and stripped to his shirt, while the night closed in very
- cold and snowy, was at his wits' end, and shivering so that his teeth
- chattered in his head, began to peer about, if haply he might find some
- shelter for the night, that so he might not perish with the cold; but,
- seeing none (for during a recent war the whole country had been wasted by
- fire), he set off for Castel Guglielmo, quickening his pace by reason of the
- cold. Whether his servant had taken refuge in Castel Guglielmo or elsewhere,
- he knew not, but he thought that, could he but enter the town, God would
- surely send him some succour. However, dark night overtook him while he was
- still about a mile from the castle; so that on his arrival he found the
- gates already locked and the bridges raised, and he could not pass in. Sick
- at heart, disconsolate and bewailing his evil fortune, he looked about for
- some place where he might ensconce himself, and at any rate find shelter
- from the snow. And by good luck he espied a house, built with a balcony a
- little above the castle-wall, under which balcony he purposed to shelter
- himself until daybreak. Arrived at the spot, he found beneath the balcony a
- postern, which, however, was locked; and having gathered some bits of straw
- that lay about, he placed them in front of the postern, and there in sad and
- sorrowful plight took up his quarters, with many a piteous appeal to St.
- Julian, whom he reproached for not better rewarding the faith which he
- reposed in him. St. Julian, however, had not abandoned him, and in due time
- provided him with a good lodging.
- There was in the castle a widow lady of extraordinary beauty (none fairer)
- whom Marquis Azzo loved as his own life, and kept there for his pleasure.
- She lived in the very same house beneath the balcony of which Rinaldo had
- posted himself. Now it chanced that that very day the Marquis had come to
- Castel Guglielmo to pass the night with her, and had privily caused a bath
- to be made ready, and a supper suited to his rank, in the lady's own house.
- The arrangements were complete; and only the Marquis was stayed for, when a
- servant happened to present himself at the castle-gate, bringing tidings for
- the Marquis which obliged him suddenly to take horse. He therefore sent word
- to the lady that she must not wait for him, and forthwith took his
- departure. The lady, somewhat disconsolate, found nothing better to do than
- to get into the bath which had been intended for the Marquis, sup and go to
- bed: so into the bath she went. The bath was close to the postern on the
- other side of which hapless Rinaldo had ensconced himself, and, thus the
- mournful and quavering music which Rinaldo made as he shuddered in the cold,
- and which seemed rather to proceed from a stork's beak than from the mouth
- of a human being, was audible to the lady in the bath. She therefore called
- her maid, and said to her:--"Go up and look out over the wall and down at
- the postern, and mark who is there, and what he is, and what he does there."
- The maid obeyed, and, the night being fine, had no difficulty in making out
- Rinaldo as he sate there, barefoot, as I have, said, and in his shirt, and
- trembling in every limb. So she called out to him, to know who he was.
- Rinaldo, who could scarcely articulate for shivering, told as briefly as he
- could, who he was, and how and why he came to be there; which done, he began
- piteously to, beseech her not, if she could avoid it, to leave him there all
- night to perish of cold. The maid went back to her mistress full of pity for
- Rinaldo, and told her all she had seen and heard. The lady felt no less pity
- for Rinaldo; and bethinking her that she had the key of the postern by which
- the Marquis sometimes entered when he paid her a secret visit, she said to
- the maid:--"Go, and let him in softly; here is this supper, and there will
- be none to eat it; and we can very well put him up for the night." Cordially
- commending her mistress's humanity, the maid went and let Rinaldo in, and
- brought him to the lady, who, seeing that he was all but dead with cold,
- said to him:--"Quick, good man, get into that bath, which is still warm."
- Gladly he did so, awaiting no second invitation, and was so much comforted
- by its warmth that he seemed to have passed from death to life. The lady
- provided him with a suit of clothes, which had been worn by her husband
- shortly before his death, and which, when he had them on, looked as if they
- had been made for him. So he recovered heart, and, while he awaited the
- lady's commands, gave thanks to God and St. Julian for delivering him from a
- woful night and conducting him, as it seemed, to comfortable quarters.
- The lady meanwhile took a little rest, after which she had a roaring fire
- put in one of her large rooms, whither presently she came, and asked her
- maid how the good man did. The maid replied:--"Madam, he has put on the
- clothes, in which he shews to advantage, having a handsome person, and
- seeming to be a worthy man, and well-bred." "Go, call him then," said the
- lady, "tell him to come hither to the fire, and we will sup; for I know that
- he has not supped." Rinaldo, on entering the room and seeing the lady, took
- her to be of no small consequence. He therefore made her a low bow, and did
- his utmost to thank her worthily for the service she had rendered him. His
- words pleased her no less than his person, which accorded with what the maid
- had said: so she made him heartily welcome, installed him at his ease by her
- side before the fire, and questioned him of the adventure which had brought
- him thither. Rinaldo detailed all the circumstances, of which the lady had
- heard somewhat when Rinaldo's servant made his appearance at the castle. She
- therefore gave entire credence to what he said, and told him what she knew
- about his servant, and how he might easily find him on the morrow. She then
- bade set the table, which done, Rinaldo and she washed their hands and sate
- down together to sup. Tall he was and comely of form and feature, debonair
- and gracious of mien and manner, and in his lusty prime. The lady had eyed
- him again and again to her no small satisfaction, and, her wantonness being
- already kindled for the Marquis, who was to have come to lie with her, she
- had let Rinaldo take the vacant place in her mind. So when supper was done,
- and they were risen from the table, she conferred with her maid, whether,
- after the cruel trick played upon her by the Marquis, it were not well to
- take the good gift which Fortune had sent her. The maid knowing the bent of
- her mistress's desire, left no word unsaid that might encourage her to
- follow it. Wherefore the lady, turning towards Rinaldo, who was standing
- where she had left him by the fire, began thus:--"So! Rinaldo, why still so
- pensive? Will nothing console you for the loss of a horse and a few clothes?
- Take heart, put a blithe face on it, you are at home; nay more, let me tell
- you that, seeing you in those clothes which my late husband used to wear,
- and taking you for him, I have felt, not once or twice, but perhaps a
- hundred times this evening, a longing to throw my arms round you and kiss
- you; and, in faith, I had so done, but that I feared it might displease
- you." Rinaldo, hearing these words, and marking the flame which shot from
- the lady's eyes, and being no laggard, came forward with open arms, and
- confronted her and said:--"Madam, I am not unmindful that I must ever
- acknowledge that to you I owe my life, in regard of the peril whence you
- rescued me. If then there be any way in which I may pleasure you, churlish
- indeed were I not to devise it. So you may even embrace and kiss me to your
- heart's content, and I will embrace and kiss you with the best of good
- wills." There needed no further parley. The lady, all aflame with amorous
- desire, forthwith threw herself into his arms, and straining him to her
- bosom with a thousand passionate embraces, gave and received a thousand
- kisses before they sought her chamber. There with all speed they went to
- bed, nor did day surprise them until again and again and in full measure
- they had satisfied their desire. With the first streaks of dawn they rose,
- for the lady was minded that none should surmise aught of the affair. So,
- having meanly habited Rinaldo, and replenished his purse, she enjoined him
- to keep the secret, shewed him the way to the castle, where he was to find
- his servant, and let him out by the same postern by which he had entered.
- When it was broad day the gates were opened, and Rinaldo, passing himself
- off as a traveller from distant parts, entered the castle, and found his
- servant. Having put on the spare suit which was in his valise, he was about
- to mount the servant's horse, when, as if by miracle, there were brought
- into the castle the three gentlemen of the road who had robbed him the
- evening before, having been taken a little while after for another offence.
- Upon their confession Rinaldo's horse was restored to him, as were also his
- clothes and money; so that he lost nothing except a pair of garters, of
- which the robbers knew not where they had bestowed them. Wherefore Rinaldo,
- giving thanks to God and St. Julian, mounted his horse, and returned home
- safe and sound, and on the morrow the three robbers kicked heels in the
- wind.
- NOVEL III.
- --
- Three young men squander their substance and are reduced to poverty. Their
- nephew, returning home a desperate man, falls in with an abbot, in whom he
- discovers the daughter of the King of England. She marries him, and he
- retrieves the losses and reestablishes the fortune of his uncles.
- --
- The ladies marvelled to hear the adventures of Rinaldo d'Asti, praised his
- devotion, and gave thanks to God and St. Julian for the succour lent him in
- his extreme need. Nor, though the verdict was hardly outspoken, was the lady
- deemed unwise to take the boon which God had sent her. So they tittered and
- talked of her night of delight, while Pampinea, being seated by Filostrato,
- and surmising that her turn would, as it did, come next, was lost in
- meditation on what she was to say. Roused from her reverie by the word of
- the queen, she put on a cheerful courage, and thus began:--
- Noble ladies, discourse as we may of Fortune's handiwork, much still remains
- to be said if we but scan events aright, nor need we marvel thereat, if we
- but duly consider that all matters, which we foolishly call our own, are in
- her hands and therefore subject, at her inscrutable will, to every variety
- of chance and change without any order therein by us discernible. Which is
- indeed signally manifest everywhere and all day long; yet, as 'tis our
- queen's will that we speak thereof, perhaps 'twill not be unprofitable to
- you, if, notwithstanding it has been the theme of some of the foregoing
- stories, I add to them another, which, I believe, should give you pleasure.
- There was formerly in our city a knight, by name Messer Tedaldo, of the
- Lamberti, according to some, or, as others say, of the Agolanti family,
- perhaps for no better reason than that the occupation of his sons was
- similar to that which always was and is the occupation of the Agolanti.
- However, without professing to determine which of the two houses he belonged
- to, I say, that he was in his day a very wealthy knight, and had three sons,
- the eldest being by name Lamberto, the second Tedaldo, and the third
- Agolante. Fine, spirited young men were they all, though the eldest was not
- yet eighteen years old when their father, Messer Tedaldo, died very rich,
- leaving to them as his lawful heirs the whole of his property both movable
- and immovable. Finding themselves thus possessed of great wealth, both in
- money and in lands and chattels, they fell to spending without stint or
- restraint, indulging their every desire, maintaining a great establishment,
- and a large and well-filled stable, besides dogs and hawks, keeping ever
- open house, scattering largesses, jousting, and, not content with these and
- the like pastimes proper to their condition, indulging every appetite
- natural to their youth. They had not long followed this course of life
- before the cash left them by their father was exhausted; and, their rents
- not sufficing to defray their expenditure, they began to sell and pledge
- their property, and disposing of it by degrees, one item to-day and another
- to-morrow, they hardly perceived that they were approaching the verge of
- ruin, until poverty opened the eyes which wealth had fast sealed. So one day
- Lamberto called his brothers to him, reminded them of the position of wealth
- and dignity which had been theirs and their father's before them, and shewed
- them the poverty to which their extravagance had reduced them, and adjured
- them most earnestly that, before their destitution was yet further manifest,
- they should all three sell what little remained to them and depart thence;
- which accordingly they did. Without leave-taking, or any ceremony, they
- quitted Florence; nor did they rest until they had arrived in England and
- established themselves in a small house in London, where, by living with
- extreme parsimony and lending at exorbitant usances, they prospered so well
- that in the course of a few years they amassed a fortune; and so, one by
- one, they returned to Florence, purchased not a few of their former estates
- besides many others, and married. The management of their affairs in
- England, where they continued their business of usurers, they left to a
- young nephew, Alessandro by name, while, heedless alike of the teaching of
- experience and of marital and parental duty, they all three launched out at
- Florence into more extravagant expenditure than before, and contracted debts
- on all hands and to large amounts. This expenditure they were enabled for
- some years to support by the remittances made by Alessandro, who, to his
- great profit, had lent money to the barons on the security of their castles
- and rents.
- While the three brothers thus continued to spend freely, and, when short of
- money, to borrow it, never doubting of help from England, it so happened
- that, to the surprise of everybody, there broke out in England a war between
- the King and his son, by which the whole island was divided into two camps;
- whereby Alessandro lost all his mortgages, of the baronial castles and every
- other source of income whatsoever. However, in the daily expectation that
- peace would be concluded between the King and his son, Alessandro, hoping
- that in that event all would be restored to him, principal and interest,
- tarried in the island; and the three brothers at Florence in no degree
- retrenched their extravagant expenditure, but went on borrowing from day to
- day. Several years thus passed; and, their hopes being frustrated, the three
- brothers not only lost credit, but, being pressed for payment by their
- creditors, were suddenly arrested, and, their property proving deficient,
- were kept in prison for the balance, while their wives and little children
- went into the country parts, or elsewhere, wretchedly equipped, and with no
- other prospect than to pass the rest of their days in destitution.
- Alessandro, meanwhile, seeing that the peace, which he had for several years
- awaited in England, did not come, and deeming that he would hazard his life
- to no purpose by tarrying longer in the country, made up his mind to return
- to Italy. He travelled at first altogether alone; but it so chanced that he
- left Bruges at the same time with an abbot, habited in white, attended by a
- numerous retinue, and preceded by a goodly baggage-train. Behind the abbot
- rode two greybeard knights, kinsmen of the King, in whom Alessandro
- recognised acquaintances, and, making himself known to them, was readily
- received into their company. As thus they journeyed together, Alessandro
- softly asked them who the monks were that rode in front with so great a
- train, and whither they were bound. "The foremost rider," replied one of the
- knights, "is a young kinsman of ours, the newly-elected abbot of one of the
- greatest abbeys of England,; and as he is not of legal age for such a
- dignity, we are going with him to Rome to obtain the Holy Father's
- dispensation and his confirmation in the office; but this is not a matter
- for common talk." Now the new abbot, as lords are wont to do when they
- travel, was sometimes in front, sometimes in rear of his train; and thus it
- happened that, as he passed, he set eyes on Alessandro, who was still quite
- young, and very shapely and well-favoured, and as courteous, gracious and
- debonair as e'er another. The abbot was marvellously taken with him at first
- sight, having never seen aught that pleased him so much, called him to his
- side, addressed him graciously, and asked him who he was, whence he came,
- and whither he was bound. Alessandro frankly told all about himself, and
- having thus answered the abbot's questions, placed himself at his service as
- far as his small ability might extend. The abbot was struck by his easy flow
- of apt speech, and observing his bearing more closely, he made up his mind
- that , albeit his occupation was base, he was nevertheless of gentle blood,
- which added no little to his interest in him; and being moved to compassion
- by his misfortunes, he gave him friendly consolation, bidding him be of good
- hope, that if he lived a worthy life, God would yet set him in a place no
- less or even more exalted than that whence Fortune had cast him down, and
- prayed him to be of his company as far as Tuscany, as both were going the
- same way. Alessandro thanked him for his words of comfort, and professed
- himself ready to obey his every command.
- So fared on the abbot, his mind full of new ideas begotten by the sight of
- Alessandro, until some days later they came to a town which was none too
- well provided with inns; and, as the abbot must needs put up there,
- Alessandro, who was well acquainted with one of the innkeepers, arranged
- that the abbot should alight at his house, and procured him the least
- discomfortable quarters which it could afford. He thus became for the nonce
- the abbot's seneschal, and being very expert for such office, managed
- excellently, quartering the retinue in divers parts of the town. So the
- abbot supped, and, the night being far spent, all went to bed except
- Alessandro, who then asked the host where he might find quarters for the
- night. "In good sooth, I know not," replied the host; "thou seest that every
- place is occupied, and that I and my household must lie on the benches.
- However, in the abbot's chamber there are some corn-sacks. I can shew thee
- the way thither, and lay a bit of a bed upon them, and there, an it like
- thee, thou mayst pass the night very well." "How sayst thou?" said
- Alessandro; "in the abbot's chamber, which thou knowest is small, so that
- there was not room for any of the monks to sleep there? Had I understood
- this when the curtains were drawn, I would have quartered his monks on the
- corn-sacks, and slept myself where the monks sleep." "'Tis even so,
- however," replied the host, "and thou canst, if thou wilt, find excellent
- quarters there: the abbot sleeps, the curtains are close drawn; I will go in
- softly and lay a small bed there, on which thou canst sleep." Alessandro,
- satisfied that it might be managed without disturbing the abbot, accepted
- the offer, and made his arrangements for passing the night as quietly as he
- could.
- The abbot was not asleep; his mind being far too overwrought by certain
- newly-awakened desires. He had heard what had passed between Alessandro and
- the host, he had marked the place where Alessandro had lain down, and in the
- great gladness of his heart had begun thus to commune with himself:--"God
- has sent me the opportunity of gratifying my desire; if I let it pass,
- perchance it will be long before another such opportunity occurs." So, being
- minded by no means to let it slip, when all was quiet in the inn, he softly
- called Alessandro, and bade him lie down by his side. Alessandro made many
- excuses, but ended by undressing and obeying whereupon the abbot laid a hand
- on Alessandro's breast, and began to caress him just as amorous girls do
- their lovers; whereat Alessandro marvelled greatly, doubting the abbot was
- prompted to such caresses by a shameful love. Which the abbot speedily
- divined, or else surmised from some movement on Alessandro's part, and,
- laughing, threw off a chemise which she had upon her, and taking
- Alessandro's hand, laid it on her bosom, saying:--"Alessandro, dismiss thy
- foolish thought, feel here, and learn what I conceal." Alessandro obeyed,
- laying a hand upon the abbot's bosom, where he encountered two little teats,
- round, firm and delicate, as they had been of ivory; whereby he at once knew
- that 'twas a woman, and without awaiting further encouragement forthwith
- embraced her, and would have kissed her, when she said:--"Before thou art
- more familiar with me hearken to what I have to say to thee. As thou mayst
- perceive, I am no man, but a woman. Virgin I left my home, and was going to
- the Pope to obtain his sanction for my marriage, when, as Fortune willed,
- whether for thy gain or my loss, no sooner had I seen thee the other day,
- than I burned for thee with such a flame of love as never yet had lady for
- any man. Wherefore I am minded to have thee for my husband rather than any
- other; so, if thou wilt not have me to wife, depart at once, and return to
- thine own place." Albeit he knew not who she was, Alessandro by the retinue
- which attended her conjectured that she must be noble and wealthy, and he
- saw that she was very fair; so it was not long before he answered that, if
- such were her pleasure, it was very much to his liking. Whereupon she sate
- up, set a ring on his finger, and espoused him before a tiny picture of our
- Lord; after which they embraced, and to their no small mutual satisfaction
- solaced themselves for the rest of the night. At daybreak Alessandro rose,
- and by preconcert with the lady, left the chamber as he had entered it, so
- that none knew where he had passed the night: then, blithe at heart beyond
- measure, he rejoined the abbot and his train, and so, resuming their
- journey, they after many days arrived at Rome. They had not been there more
- than a few days, when the abbot, attended by the two knights and Alessandro,
- waited on the Pope, whom, after making the due obeisance, he thus
- addressed:--"Holy Father, as you must know better than any other, whoso
- intends to lead a true and honourable life ought, as far as may be, to shun
- all occasion of error; for which cause I, having a mind to live honourably,
- did, the better to accomplish my purpose, assume the habit in which you see
- me, and depart by stealth from the court of my father, the King of England,
- who was minded to marry me, young as you see me to be, to the aged King of
- Scotland; and, carrying with me not a little of his treasure, set my face
- hitherward that your Holiness might bestow me in marriage. Nor was it the
- age of the King of Scotland that moved me to flee so much as fear lest the
- frailty of my youth should, were I married to him, betray me to commit some
- breach of divine law, and sully the honour of my father's royal blood. And
- as in this frame of mind I journeyed, God, who knows best what is meet for
- every one, did, as I believe, of His mercy shew me him whom He is pleased to
- appoint me for my husband, even this young man" (pointing to Alessandro)
- "whom you see by my side, who for nobility of nature and bearing is a match
- for any great lady, though the strain of his blood, perhaps, be not of royal
- purity. Him, therefore, have I chosen. Him will I have, and no other, no
- matter what my father or any one else may think. And albeit the main purpose
- with which I started is fulfilled, yet I have thought good to continue my
- journey, that I may visit the holy and venerable places which abound in this
- city, and your Holiness, and that so in your presence, and by consequence in
- the presence of others, I may renew my marriage-vow with Alessandro, whereof
- God alone was witness. Wherefore I humbly pray you that God's will and mine
- may be also yours, and that you pronounce your benison thereon, that
- therewith, having the more firm assurance of the favour of Him, whose vicar
- you are, we may both live together, and, when the time comes, die to God's
- glory and yours."
- Alessandro was filled with wonder and secret delight, when he heard that his
- wife was the daughter of the King of England; but greater still was the
- wonder of the two knights, and such their wrath that, had they been anywhere
- else than in the Pope's presence, they would not have spared to affront
- Alessandro, and perhaps the lady too. The Pope, on his part, found matter
- enough for wonder as well in the lady's habit as in her choice; but, knowing
- that he could not refuse, he consented to grant her request.
- He therefore began by smoothing the ruffled tempers of the knights, and
- having reconciled them with the lady and Alessandro, proceeded to put
- matters in train for the marriage. When the day appointed was come, he gave
- a great reception, at which were assembled all the cardinals and many other
- great lords; to whom he presented the lady royally robed, and looking so
- fair and so gracious that she won, as she deserved, the praise of all, and
- likewise Alessandro, splendidly arrayed, and bearing himself not a whit like
- the young usurer but rather as one of royal blood, for which cause he
- received due honour from the knights. There, before the Pope himself, the
- marriage-vows were solemnly renewed; and afterwards the marriage, which was
- accompanied by every circumstance that could add grace and splendour to the
- ceremony, received the sanction of his benediction. Alessandro and the lady
- on leaving Rome saw fit to visit Florence, whither fame had already wafted
- the news, so that they were received by the citizens with every token of
- honour. The lady set the three brothers at liberty, paying all their
- creditors, and reinstated them and their wives in their several properties.
- So, leaving gracious memories behind them, Alessandro and his lady,
- accompanied by Agolante, quitted Florence, and arriving at Paris were
- honourably received by the King. The two knights went before them to
- England, and by their influence induced the King to restore the lady to his
- favour, and receive her and his son-in-law with every circumstance of joy
- and honour. Alessandro he soon afterwards knighted with unwonted ceremony,
- and bestowed on him the earldom of Cornwall. And such was the Earl's
- consequence and influence at court that he restored peace between father and
- son, thereby conferring a great boon on the island and gaining the love and
- esteem of all the people. Agolante, whom he knighted, recovered all the
- outstanding debts in full, and returned to Florence immensely rich. The Earl
- passed the rest of his days with his lady in great renown. Indeed there are
- those who say, that with the help of his father-in-law he effected by his
- policy and valour the conquest of Scotland, and was crowned king of that
- country.
- NOVEL IV.
- --
- Landolfo Ruffolo is reduced to poverty, turns corsair, is captured by
- Genoese, is shipwrecked, escapes on a chest full of jewels, and, being cast
- ashore at Corfu, is hospitably entertained by a woman, and returns home
- wealthy.
- --
- When Pampinea had brought her story to this glorious conclusion, Lauretta,
- who sate next her, delayed not, but thus began:--
- Most gracious ladies, the potency of Fortune is never, methinks, more
- conspicuous than when she raises one, as in Pampinea's story we have seen
- her raise Alessandro, from abject misery to regal state. And such being the
- limits which our theme henceforth imposes on our invention, I shall feel no
- shame to tell a story wherein reverses yet greater are compensated by a
- sequel somewhat less dazzling. Well I know that my story, being compared
- with its predecessor, will therefore be followed with the less interest;
- but, failing of necessity, I shall be excused.
- Scarce any part of Italy is reputed so delectable as the sea-coast between
- Reggio and Gaeta; and in particular the slope which overlooks the sea by
- Salerno, and which the dwellers there call the Slope of Amalfi, is studded
- with little towns, gardens and fountains, and peopled by men as wealthy and
- enterprising in mercantile affairs as are anywhere to be found; in one of
- which towns, to wit, Ravello, rich as its inhabitants are to-day, there was
- formerly a merchant, who surpassed them all in wealth, Landolfo Ruffolo by
- name, who yet, not content with his wealth, but desiring to double it, came
- nigh to lose it all and his own life to boot. Know, then, that this man,
- having made his calculations, as merchants are wont, bought a great ship,
- which, entirely at his own expense, he loaded with divers sorts of
- merchandise, and sailed to Cyprus. There he found several other ships, each
- laden with just such a cargo as his own, and was therefore fain to dispose
- of his goods at a very cheap rate, insomuch that he might almost as well
- have thrown them away, and was brought to the verge of ruin. Mortified
- beyond measure to find himself thus reduced in a short space of time from
- opulence to something like poverty, he was at his wits' end, and rather than
- go home poor, having left home rich, he was minded to retrieve his losses by
- piracy or die in the attempt. So he sold his great ship, and with the price
- and the proceeds of the sale of his merchandise bought a light bark such as
- corsairs use, and having excellently well equipped her with the armament and
- all things else meet for such service, took to scouring the seas as a rover,
- preying upon all folk alike, but more particularly upon the Turk.
- In this enterprise he was more favoured by Fortune than in his trading
- adventures. A year had scarce gone by before he had taken so many ships from
- the Turk that not only had he recovered the fortune which he had lost in
- trade, but was well on the way to doubling it. The bitter memory of his late
- losses taught him sobriety; he estimated his gains and found them ample; and
- lest he should have a second fall, he schooled himself to rest content with
- them, and made up his mind to return home without attempting to add to them.
- Shy of adventuring once more in trade, he refrained from investing them in
- any way, but shaped his course for home, carrying them with him in the very
- same bark in which he had gotten them. He had already entered the
- Archipelago when one evening a contrary wind sprang up from the south-east,
- bringing with it a very heavy sea, in which his bark could not well have
- lived. He therefore steered her into a bay under the lee of one of the
- islets, and there determined to await better weather. As he lay there two
- great carracks of Genoa, homeward-bound from Constantinople, found, not
- without difficulty, shelter from the tempest in the same bay. The masters of
- the carracks espied the bark, and found out to whom she belonged: the fame
- of Landolfo and his vast wealth had already reached them, and had excited
- their natural cupidity and rapacity. They therefore determined to capture
- the bark, which lay without means of escape. Part of their men, well armed
- with cross-bows and other weapons, they accordingly sent ashore, so posting
- them that no one could leave the bark without being exposed to the bolts;
- the rest took to their boats, and rowed up to the side of Landolfo's little
- craft, which in a little time, with little trouble and no loss or risk, they
- captured with all aboard her. They then cleared the bark of all she
- contained, allowing Landolfo, whom they set aboard one of the carracks, only
- a pitiful doublet, and sunk her. Next day the wind shifted, and the carracks
- set sail on a westerly course, which they kept prosperously enough
- throughout the day; but towards evening a tempest arose, and the sea became
- very boisterous, so that the two ships were parted one from the other. And
- such was the fury of the gale that the ship, aboard which was poor, hapless
- Landolfo, was driven with prodigious force upon a shoal off the island of
- Cephalonia, and broke up and went to pieces like so much glass dashed
- against a wall. Wherefore the unfortunate wretches that were aboard her,
- launched amid the floating merchandise and chests and planks with which the
- sea was strewn, did as men commonly do in such a case; and, though the night
- was of the murkiest and the sea rose and fell in mountainous surges, such as
- could swim sought to catch hold of whatever chance brought in their way.
- Among whom hapless Landolfo, who only the day before had again and again
- prayed for death, rather than he should return home in such poverty, now,
- seeing death imminent, was afraid; and, like the rest, laid hold of the
- first plank that came to hand, in the hope that, if he could but avoid
- immediate drowning, God would in some way aid his escape. Gripping the beam
- with his legs as best he might, while wind and wave tossed him hither and
- thither, he contrived to keep himself afloat until broad day: when, looking
- around him, he discerned nothing but clouds and sea and a chest, which,
- borne by the wave, from time to time drew nigh him to his extreme terror,
- for he apprehended it might strike against the plank, and do him a mischief;
- and ever, as it came near him, he pushed it off with all the little force he
- had in his hand. But, as it happened, a sudden gust of wind swept down upon
- the sea, and struck the chest with such force that it was driven against the
- plank on which Landolfo was, and upset it, and Landolfo went under the
- waves. Swimming with an energy begotten rather of fear than of strength, he
- rose to the surface only to see the plank so far from him that, doubting he
- could not reach it, he made for the chest, which was close at hand; and
- resting his breast upon the lid, he did what he could to keep it straight
- with his arms. In this manner, tossed to and fro by the sea, without tasting
- food, for not a morsel had he with him, and drinking more than he cared for,
- knowing not where he was, and seeing nothing but the sea, he remained all
- that day, and the following night. The next day, as the will of God, or the
- force of the wind so ordered, more like a sponge than aught else, but still
- with both hands holding fast by the edges of the chest, as we see those do
- that clutch aught to save themselves from drowning, he was at length borne
- to the coast of the island of Corfu, where by chance a poor woman was just
- then scrubbing her kitchen-ware with sand and salt-water to make it shine.
- The woman caught sight of him as he drifted shorewards, but making out only
- a shapeless mass, was at first startled, and shrieked and drew back.
- Landolfo was scarce able to see, and uttered no sound, for his power of
- speech was gone. However, when the sea brought him close to the shore, she
- distinguished the shape of the chest, and gazing more intently, she first
- made out the arms strained over the chest, and then discerned the face and
- divined the truth. So, prompted by pity, she went out a little way into the
- sea, which was then calm, took him by the hair of the head, and drew him to
- land, chest and all. Then, not without difficulty she disengaged his hands
- from the chest, which she set on the head of a little girl, her daughter,
- that was with her, carried him home like a little child, and set him in a
- bath, where she chafed and laved him with warm water, until, the vital heat
- and some part of the strength which he had lost being restored, she saw fit
- to take him out and regale him with some good wine and comfits. Thus for
- some days she tended him as best she could, until he recovered his strength,
- and knew where he was. Then, in due time, the good woman, who had kept his
- chest safe, gave it back to him, and bade him try his fortune.
- Landolfo could not recall the chest, but took it when she brought it to him,
- thinking that, however slight its value, it must suffice for a few days'
- charges. He found it very light, and quite lost hope; but when the good
- woman was out of doors, he opened it to see what was inside, and found there
- a great number of precious stones, some set, others unset. Having some
- knowledge of such matters, he saw at a glance that the stones were of great
- value; wherefore, feeling that he was still not forsaken by God, he praised
- His name, and quite recovered heart. But, having in a brief space of time
- been twice shrewdly hit by the bolts of Fortune, he was apprehensive of a
- third blow, and deemed it meet to use much circumspection in conveying his
- treasure home; so he wrapped it up in rags as best he could, telling the
- good woman that he had no more use for the chest, but she might keep it if
- she wished, and give him a sack in exchange. This the good woman readily
- did; and he, thanking her as heartily as he could for the service she had
- rendered him, threw his sack over his shoulders, and, taking ship, crossed
- to Brindisi. Thence he made his way by the coast as far as Trani, where he
- found some of his townsfolk that were drapers, to whom he narrated all his
- adventures except that of the chest. They in charity gave him a suit of
- clothes, and lent him a horse and their escort as far as Ravello, whither,
- he said, he was minded to return. There, thanking God for bringing him safe
- home, he opened his sack, and examining its contents with more care than
- before, found the number, and fashion of the stones to be such that the sale
- of them at a moderate price, or even less, would leave him twice as rich as
- when he left Ravello. So, having disposed of his stones, he sent a large sum
- of money to Corfu in recompense of the service done him by the good woman
- who had rescued him from the sea, and also to his friends at Trani who had
- furnished him with the clothes; the residue he retained, and, making no more
- ventures in trade, lived and died in honourable estate.
- NOVEL V.
- --
- Andreuccio da Perugia comes to Naples to buy horses, meets with three
- serious adventures in one night, comes safe out of them all, and returns
- home with a ruby.
- --
- Landolfo's find of stones, began Fiammetta, on whom the narration now fell,
- has brought to my mind a story in which there are scarce fewer perilous
- scapes than in Lauretta's story, but with this difference: that, instead of
- a course of perhaps several years, a single night, as you shall hear,
- sufficed for their occurrence.
- In Perugia, by what I once gathered, there lived a young man, Andreuccio di
- Pietro by name, a horse-dealer, who, having learnt that horses were to be
- had cheap at Naples, put five hundred florins of gold in his purse, and in
- company with some other merchants went thither, never having been away from
- home before. On his arrival at Naples, which was on a Sunday evening, about
- vespers, he learnt from his host that the fair would be held on the
- following morning. Thither accordingly he then repaired, and looked at many
- horses which pleased him much, and cheapening them more and more, and
- failing to strike a bargain with any one, he from time to time, being raw
- and unwary, drew out his purse of florins in view of all that came and went,
- to shew that he meant business.
- While he was thus chaffering, and after he had shewn his purse, there
- chanced to come by a Sicilian girl, fair as fair could be, but ready to
- pleasure any man for a small consideration. He did not see her, but she saw
- him and his purse, and forthwith said to herself:--"Who would be in better
- luck than I if all those florins were mine?" and so she passed on. With the
- girl was an old woman, also a Sicilian, who, when she saw Andreuccio,
- dropped behind the girl, and ran towards him, making as if she would
- tenderly embrace him. The girl observing this said nothing, but stopped and
- waited a little way off for the old woman to rejoin her. Andreuccio turned
- as the old woman came up, recognised her, and greeted her very cordially;
- but time and place not permitting much converse, she left him, promising to
- visit him at his inn; and he resumed his chaffering, but bought nothing that
- morning.
- Her old woman's intimate acquaintance with Andreuccio had no more escaped
- the girl's notice than the contents of Andreuccio's purse; and with the view
- of devising, if possible, some way to make the money, either in whole or in
- part, her own, she began cautiously to ask the old woman, who and whence he
- was, what he did there, and how she came to know him. The old woman gave her
- almost as much and as circumstantial information touching Andreuccio and his
- affairs as he might have done himself, for she had lived a great while with
- his father, first in Sicily, and afterwards at Perugia. She likewise told
- the girl the name of his inn, and the purpose with which he had come to
- Naples. Thus fully armed with the names and all else that it was needful for
- her to know touching Andreuccio's kith and kin, the girl founded thereon her
- hopes of gratifying her cupidity, and forthwith devised a cunning stratagem
- to effect her purpose. Home she went, and gave the old woman work enough to
- occupy her all day, that she might not be able to visit Andreuccio; then,
- summoning to her aid a little girl whom she had well trained for such
- services, she sent her about vespers to the inn where Andreuccio lodged.
- Arrived there, the little girl asked for Andreuccio of Andreuccio himself,
- who chanced to be just outside the gate. On his answering that he was the
- man, she took him aside, and said:--"Sir, a lady of this country, so please
- you, would fain speak with you." Whereto he listened with all his ears, and
- having a great conceit of his person, made up his mind that the lady was in
- love with him, as if there were ne'er another handsome fellow in Naples but
- himself; so forthwith he replied, that he would wait on the lady, and asked
- where and when it would be her pleasure to speak with him. "Sir," replied
- the little girl, "she expects you in her own house, if you be pleased to
- come." "Lead on then, I follow thee," said Andreuccio promptly, vouchsafing
- never a word to any in the inn. So the little girl guided him to her
- mistress's house, which was situated in a quarter the character of which may
- be inferred from its name, Evil Hole. Of this, however, he neither knew nor
- suspected aught, but, supposing that the quarter was perfectly reputable and
- that he was going to see a sweet lady, strode carelessly behind the little
- girl into the house of her mistress, whom she summoned by calling out,
- "Andreuccio is here;" and Andreuccio then saw her advance to the head of the
- stairs to await his ascent. She was tall, still in the freshness of her
- youth, very fair of face, and very richly and nobly clad. As Andreuccio
- approached, she descended three steps to meet him with open arms, and
- clasped him round the neck, but for a while stood silent as if from excess
- of tenderness; then, bursting into a flood of tears, she kissed his brow,
- and in slightly broken accents said:--"O Andreuccio, welcome, welcome, my
- Andreuccio." Quite lost in wonder to be the recipient of such caresses,
- Andreuccio could only answer:--"Madam, well met." Whereupon she took him by
- the hand, led him up into her saloon, and thence without another word into
- her chamber, which exhaled throughout the blended fragrance of roses,
- orange-blossoms and other perfumes. He observed a handsome curtained bed,
- dresses in plenty hanging, as is customary in that country, on pegs, and
- other appointments very fair and sumptuous; which sights, being strange to
- him, confirmed his belief that he was in the house of no other than a great
- lady. They sate down side by side on a chest at the foot of the bed, and
- thus she began to speak:--"Andreuccio, I cannot doubt that thou dost marvel
- both at the caresses which I bestow upon thee, and at my tears, seeing that
- thou knowest me not, and, maybe, hast never so much as heard my name; wait
- but a moment and thou shalt learn what perhaps will cause thee to marvel
- still, more to wit, that I am thy sister; and I tell thee, that, since of
- God's especial grace it is granted me to see one, albeit I would fain see
- all, of my brothers before I die, I shall not meet death, when the hour
- comes, without consolation; but thou, perchance, hast never heard aught of
- this; wherefore listen to what I shall say to thee. Pietro, my father and
- thine, as I suppose thou mayst have heard, dwelt a long while at Palermo,
- where his good heart and gracious bearing caused him to be (as he still is)
- much beloved by all that knew him; but by none was he loved so much as by a
- gentlewoman, afterwards my mother, then a widow, who, casting aside all
- respect for her father and brothers, ay, and her honour, grew so intimate
- with him that a child was born, which child am I thy sister, whom thou seest
- before thee. Shortly after my birth it so befell that Pietro must needs
- leave Palermo and return to Perugia, and I, his little daughter, was left
- behind with my mother at Palermo; nor, so far as I have been able to learn,
- did he ever again bestow a thought upon either of us. Wherefore--to say
- nothing of the love which he should have borne me, his daughter by no
- servant or woman of low degree--I should, were he not my father, gravely
- censure the ingratitude which he shewed towards my mother, who, prompted by
- a most loyal love, committed her fortune and herself to his keeping, without
- so much as knowing who he was. But to what end? The wrongs of long-ago are
- much more easily censured than redressed; enough that so it was. He left me
- a little girl at Palermo, where, when I was grown to be almost as thou seest
- me, my mother, who was a rich lady, gave me in marriage to an honest
- gentleman of the Girgenti family, who for love of my mother and myself
- settled in Palermo, and there, being a staunch Guelf, entered into
- correspondence with our King Charles;(1) which being discovered by King
- Frederic (2) before the time was ripe for action, we had perforce to flee
- from Sicily just when I was expecting to become the greatest lady that ever
- was in the island. So, taking with us such few things as we could, few, I
- say, in comparison of the abundance which we possessed, we bade adieu to our
- estates and palaces, and found a refuge in this country, and such favour
- with King Charles that, in partial compensation for the losses which we had
- sustained on his account, he has granted us estates and houses and an ample
- pension, which he regularly pays to my husband and thy brother-in-law, as
- thou mayst yet see. In this manner I live here but that I am blest with the
- sight of thee, I ascribe entirely to the mercy of God; and no thanks to
- thee, my sweet brother." So saying she embraced him again, and melting anew
- into tears kissed his brow.
- This story, so congruous, so consistent in every detail, came trippingly and
- without the least hesitancy from her tongue. Andreuccio remembered that his
- father had indeed lived at Palermo; he knew by his own experience the ways
- of young folk, how prone they are to love; he saw her melt into tears, he
- felt her embraces and sisterly kisses; and he took all she said for gospel.
- So, when she had done, he answered:--"Madam, it should not surprise you that
- I marvel, seeing that, in sooth, my father, for whatever cause, said never a
- word of you and your mother, or, if he did so, it came not to my knowledge,
- so that I knew no more of you than if you had not been; wherefore, the
- lonelier I am here, and the less hope I had of such good luck, the better
- pleased I am to have found here my sister. And indeed, I know not any man,
- however exalted his station, who ought not to be well pleased to have such a
- sister; much more, then, I, who am but a petty merchant; but, I pray you,
- resolve me of one thing: how came you to know that I was here?" Then
- answered she:--"'Twas told me this morning by a poor woman who is much about
- the house, because, as she tells me, she was long in the service of our
- father both at Palermo and at Perugia, and, but that it seemed more fitting
- that thou shouldst come to see me at home than that I should visit thee at
- an inn, I had long ago sought thee out." She then began to inquire
- particularly after all his kinsfolk by name, and Andreuccio, becoming ever
- more firmly persuaded of that which it was least for his good to believe,
- answered all her questions. Their conversation being thus prolonged and the
- heat great, she had Greek wine and sweetmeats brought in, and gave
- Andreuccio to drink; and when towards supper-time he made as if he would
- leave, she would in no wise suffer it; but, feigning to be very much vexed,
- she embraced him, saying:--"Alas! now 'tis plain how little thou carest for
- me: to think that thou art with thy sister, whom thou seest for the first
- time, and in her own house, where thou shouldst have alighted on thine
- arrival, and thou wouldst fain depart hence to go sup at an inn! Nay but,
- for certain, thou shalt sup with me; and albeit, to my great regret, my
- husband is not here, thou shalt see that I can do a lady's part in shewing
- thee honour." Andreuccio, not knowing what else to say, replied:--"Sister, I
- care for you with all a brother's affection; but if I go not, supper will
- await me all the evening at the inn, and I shall justly be taxed with
- discourtesy." Then said she:--"Blessed be God, there is even now in the
- house one by whom I can send word that they are not to expect thee at the
- inn, albeit thou wouldst far better discharge the debt of courtesy by
- sending word to thy friends, that they come here to sup; and then, if go
- thou must, you might all go in a body." Andreuccio replied, that he would
- have none of his friends that evening, but since she would have him stay, he
- would even do her the pleasure. She then made a shew of sending word to the
- inn that they should not expect him at dinner. Much more talk followed; and
- then they sate down to a supper of many courses splendidly served, which she
- cunningly protracted until nightfall; nor, when they were risen from table,
- and Andreuccio was about to take his departure, would she by any means
- suffer it, saying that Naples was no place to walk about in after dark,
- least of all for a stranger, and that, as she had sent word to the inn that
- they were not to expect him at supper, so she had done the like in regard of
- his bed. Believing what she said, and being (in his false confidence)
- overjoyed to be with her, he stayed. After supper there was matter enough
- for talk both various and prolonged; and, when the night was in a measure
- spent, she gave up her own chamber to Andreuccio, leaving him with a small
- boy to shew him aught that he might have need of, while she retired with her
- women to another chamber.
- It was a very hot night , so, no sooner was Andreuccio alone than he
- stripped himself to his doublet, and drew off his stockings and laid them on
- the bed's head; and nature demanding a discharge of the surplus weight which
- he carried within him, he asked the lad where this might be done, and was
- shewn a door in a corner of the room, and told to go in there. Andreuccio,
- nothing doubting, did so, but, by ill luck, set his foot on a plank which
- was detached from the joist at the further end, whereby down it went, and he
- with it. By God's grace he took no hurt by the fall, though it was from some
- height, beyond sousing himself from head to foot in the ordure which filled
- the whole place, which, that you may the better understand what has been
- said, and that which is to follow, I will describe to you. A narrow and
- blind alley, such as we commonly see between two houses, was spanned by
- planks supported by joists on either side, and on the planks was the stool;
- of which planks that which fell with Andreuccio was one. Now Andreuccio,
- finding himself down there in the alley, fell to calling on the lad, who, as
- soon as he heard him fall, had run off, and promptly let the lady know what
- had happened. She hied forthwith to her chamber, and after a hasty search
- found Andreuccio's clothes and the money in them, for he foolishly thought
- to secure himself against risk by carrying it always on his person, and thus
- being possessed of the prize for which she had played her ruse, passing
- herself off as the sister of a man of Perugia, whereas she was really of
- Palermo, she concerned herself no further with Andreuccio except to close
- with all speed the door by which he had gone out when he fell. As the lad
- did not answer, Andreuccio began to shout more loudly; but all to no
- purpose. Whereby his suspicions were aroused, and he began at last to
- perceive the trick that had been played upon him; so he climbed over a low
- wall that divided the alley from the street, and hied him to the door of the
- house, which he knew very well. There for a long while he stood shouting and
- battering the door till it shook on its hinges; but all again to no purpose.
- No doubt of his misadventure now lurking in his mind, he fell to bewailing
- himself, saying:--"Alas! in how brief a time have I lost five hundred
- florins and a sister!" with much more of the like sort. Then he recommenced
- battering the door and shouting, to such a tune that not a few of the
- neighbours were roused, and finding the nuisance intolerable, got up; and
- one of the lady's servant-girls presented herself at the window with a very
- sleepy air, and said angrily:--"Who knocks below there?" "Oh!" said
- Andreuccio, "dost not know me? I am Andreuccio, Madam Fiordaliso's brother."
- "Good man," she rejoined, "if thou hast had too much to drink, go, sleep it
- off, and come back to-morrow. I know not Andreuccio, nor aught of the
- fantastic stuff thou pratest; prithee begone and be so good as to let us
- sleep in peace." "How?" said Andreuccio, "dost not understand what I say?
- For sure thou dost understand; but if Sicilian kinships are of such a sort
- that folk forget them so soon, at least return me my clothes, which I left
- within, and right glad shall I be to be off." Half laughing, she rejoined:--
- "Good man, methinks thou dost dream;" and, so saying, she withdrew and
- closed the window. Andreuccio by this time needed no further evidence of his
- wrongs; his wrath knew no bounds, and mortification well-nigh converted it
- into frenzy; he was minded to exact by force what he had failed to obtain by
- entreaties; and so, arming himself with a large stone, he renewed his attack
- upon the door with fury, dealing much heavier blows than at first.
- Wherefore, not a few of the neighbours, whom he had already roused from
- their beds, set him down as an ill-conditioned rogue, and his story as a
- mere fiction intended to annoy the good woman, (3) and resenting the din
- which he now made, came to their windows, just as, when a stranger dog makes
- his appearance, all the dogs of the quarter will run to bark at him, and
- called out in chorus:--"'Tis a gross affront to come at this time of night
- to the house of the good woman with this silly story. Prithee, good man, let
- us sleep in peace; begone in God's name; and if thou hast a score to settle
- with her, come to-morrow, but a truce to thy pestering to-night."
- Emboldened, perhaps, by these words, a man who lurked within the house, the
- good woman's bully, whom Andreuccio had as yet neither seen nor heard,
- shewed himself at the window, and said in a gruff voice and savage, menacing
- tone:--"Who is below there?" Andreuccio looked up in the direction of the
- voice, and saw standing at the window, yawning and rubbing his eyes as if he
- had just been roused from his bed, or at any rate from deep sleep, a fellow
- with a black and matted beard, who, as far as Andreuccio's means of judging
- went, bade fair to prove a most redoubtable champion. It was not without
- fear, therefore, that he replied:--"I am a brother of the lady who is
- within." The bully did not wait for him to finish his sentence, but,
- addressing him in a much sterner tone than before, called out:--"I know not
- why I come not down and give thee play with my cudgel, whilst thou givest me
- sign of life, ass, tedious driveller that thou must needs be, and drunken
- sot, thus to disturb our night's rest." Which said, he withdrew, and closed
- the window. Some of the neighbours who best knew the bully's quality gave
- Andreuccio fair words. "For God's sake," said they, "good man, take thyself
- off, stay not here to be murdered. 'Twere best for thee to go." These
- counsels, which seemed to be dictated by charity, reinforced the fear which
- the voice and aspect of the bully had inspired in Andreuccio, who, thus
- despairing of recovering his money and in the deepest of dumps, set his face
- towards the quarter whence in the daytime he had blindly followed the little
- girl, and began to make his way back to the inn. But so noisome was the
- stench which he emitted that he resolved to turn aside and take a bath in
- the sea. So he bore leftward up a street called Ruga Catalana, and was on
- his way towards the steep of the city, when by chance he saw two men coming
- towards him, bearing a lantern, and fearing that they might be patrols or
- other men who might do him a mischief, he stole away and hid himself in a
- dismantled house to avoid them. The house, however, was presently entered by
- the two men, just as if they had been guided thither; and one of them having
- disburdened himself of some iron tools which he carried on his shoulder,
- they both began to examine them, passing meanwhile divers comments upon
- them. While they were thus occupied, "What," said one, means this? Such a
- stench as never before did I smell the like. "So saying, he raised the
- lantern a little; whereby they had a view of hapless Andreuccio, and asked
- in amazement:--"Who is there?" Whereupon Andreuccio was at first silent, but
- when they flashed the light close upon him, and asked him what he did there
- in such a filthy state, he told them all that had befallen him. Casting
- about to fix the place where it occurred, they said one to another:--"Of a
- surety 'twas in the house of Scarabone Buttafuoco." Then said one, turning
- to Andreuccio:--"Good man, albeit thou hast lost thy money, thou hast cause
- enough to praise God that thou hadst the luck to fall; for hadst thou not
- fallen, be sure that, no sooner wert thou asleep, than thou hadst been
- knocked on the head, and lost not only thy money but thy life. But what
- boots it now to bewail thee? Thou mightest as soon pluck a star from the
- firmament as recover a single denier; nay, 'tis as much as thy life is worth
- if he do but hear that thou breathest a word of the affair."
- The two men then held a short consultation, at the close of which they
- said:--"Lo now; we are sorry for thee, and so we make thee a fair offer. If
- thou wilt join with us in a little matter which we have in hand, we doubt
- not but thy share of the gain will greatly exceed what thou hast lost."
- Andreuccio, being now desperate, answered that he was ready to join them.
- Now Messer Filippo Minutolo, Archbishop of Naples, had that day been buried
- with a ruby on his finger, worth over five hundred florins of gold, besides
- other ornaments of extreme value. The two men were minded to despoil the
- Archbishop of his fine trappings, and imparted their design to Andreuccio,
- who, cupidity getting the better of caution, approved it; and so they all
- three set forth. But as they were on their way to the cathedral, Andreuccio
- gave out so rank an odour that one said to the other:--"Can we not contrive
- that he somehow wash himself a little, that he stink not so shrewdly?" "Why
- yes," said the other, "we are now close to a well, which is never without
- the pulley and a large bucket; 'tis but a step thither, and we will wash him
- out of hand." Arrived at the well, they found that the rope was still there,
- but the bucket had been removed; so they determined to attach him to the
- rope, and lower him into the well, there to wash himself, which done, he was
- to jerk the rope, and they would draw him up. Lowered accordingly he was;
- but just as, now washen, he jerked the rope, it so happened that a company
- of patrols, being thirsty because 'twas a hot night and some rogue had led
- them a pretty dance, came to the well to drink. The two men fled,
- unobserved, as soon as they caught sight of the newcomers, who, parched with
- thirst, laid aside their bucklers, arms and surcoats, and fell to hauling on
- the rope, that it bore the bucket, full of water. When, therefore, they saw
- Andreuccio, as he neared the brink of the well, loose the rope and clutch
- the brink with his hands, they were stricken with a sudden terror, and
- without uttering a word let go the rope, and took to flight with all the
- speed they could make. Whereat Andreuccio marvelled mightily, and had he not
- kept a tight grip on the brink of the well, he would certainly have gone
- back to the bottom and hardly have escaped grievous hurt, or death. Still
- greater was his astonishment, when, fairly landed on terra firma, he found
- the patrols' arms lying there, which he knew had not been carried by his
- comrades. He felt a vague dread, he knew not why; he bewailed once more his
- evil fortune; and without venturing to touch the arms, he left the well and
- wandered he knew not whither. As he went, however, he fell in with his two
- comrades, now returning to draw him out of the well; who no sooner saw him
- than in utter amazement they demanded who had hauled him up. Andreuccio
- answered that he knew not, and then told them in detail how it had come
- about, and what he had found beside the well. They laughed as they
- apprehended the circumstances, and told him why they had fled, and who they
- were that had hauled him up. Then without further parley, for it was now
- midnight, they hied them to the cathedral. They had no difficulty in
- entering and finding the tomb, which was a magnificent structure of marble,
- and with their iron implements they raised the lid, albeit it was very
- heavy, to a height sufficient to allow a man to enter, and propped it up.
- This done, a dialogue ensued. "Who shall go in?" said one. "Not I," said the
- other. "Nor I," rejoined his companion; "let Andreuccio go in." "That will
- not I," said Andreuccio. Whereupon both turned upon him and said:--"How?
- thou wilt not go in? By God, if thou goest not in, we will give thee that
- over the pate with one of these iron crowbars that thou shalt drop down
- dead." Terror-stricken, into the tomb Andreuccio went, saying to himself as
- he did so:--"These men will have me go in, that they may play a trick upon
- me: when I have handed everything up to them, and am sweating myself to get
- out of the tomb, they will be off about their business, and I shall be left,
- with nothing for my pains." So he determined to make sure of his own part
- first; and bethinking him of the precious ring of which he had heard them
- speak, as soon as he had completed the descent, he drew the ring off the
- Archbishop's finger, and put it on his own: he then handed up one by one the
- crosier, mitre and gloves, and other of the Archbishop's trappings,
- stripping him to his shirt; which done, he told his comrades that there was
- nothing more. They insisted that the ring must be there, and bade him search
- everywhere. This he feigned to do, ejaculating from time to time that he
- found it not; and thus he kept them a little while in suspense. But they,
- who, were in their way as cunning as he, kept on exhorting him to make a
- careful search, and, seizing their opportunity, withdrew the prop that
- supported the lid of the tomb, and took to their heels, leaving him there a
- close prisoner. You will readily conceive how Andreuccio behaved when he
- understood his situation. More than once he applied his head and shoulders
- to the lid and sought with might and main to heave it up; but all his
- efforts were fruitless; so that at last, overwhelmed with anguish he fell in
- a swoon on the corpse of the Archbishop, and whether of the twain were the
- more lifeless, Andreuccio or the Archbishop, 'twould have puzzled an
- observer to determine.
- When he came to himself he burst into a torrent of tears, seeing now nothing
- in store for him but either to perish there of hunger and fetid odours
- beside the corpse and among the worms, or, should the tomb be earlier
- opened, to be taken and hanged as a thief. These most lugubrious meditations
- were interrupted by a sound of persons walking and talking in the church.
- They were evidently a numerous company, and their purpose, as Andreuccio
- surmised, was the very same with which he and his comrades had come thither:
- whereby his terror was mightily increased. Presently the folk opened the
- tomb, and propped up the lid, and then fell to disputing as to who should go
- in. None was willing, and the contention was protracted; but at length one--
- 'twas a priest--said:--"Of what are ye afeared? Think ye to be eaten by him?
- Nay, the dead eat not the living. I will go in myself." So saying he propped
- his breast upon the edge of the lid, threw his head back, and thrust his
- legs within, that he might go down feet foremost. On sight whereof
- Andreuccio started to his feet, and seizing hold of one of the priest's
- legs, made as if he would drag him down; which caused the priest to utter a
- prodigious yell, and bundle himself out of the tomb with no small celerity.
- The rest took to flight in a panic, as if a hundred thousand devils were at
- their heels. The tomb being thus left open, Andreuccio, the ring still on
- his finger, spring out. The way by which he had entered the church served
- him for egress, and roaming at random, he arrived towards daybreak at the
- coast. Diverging thence he came by chance upon his inn, where he found that
- his host and his comrades had been anxious about him all night. When he told
- them all that had befallen him, they joined with the host in advising him to
- leave Naples at once. He accordingly did so, and returned to Perugia, having
- invested in a ring the money with which he had intended to buy horses.
- (1) Charles II. of Naples, son of Charles of Anjou.
- (2) Frederic II. of Sicily, younger son of Peter III. of Arragon.
- (3) I. e. the bawd.
- NOVEL VI.
- --
- Madam Beritola loses two sons, is found with two kids on an island, goes
- thence to Lunigiana, where one of her sons takes service with her master,
- and lies with his daughter, for which he is put in prison. Sicily rebels
- against King Charles, the son is recognised by the mother, marries the
- master's daughter, and, his brother being discovered, is reinstated in great
- honour.
- --
- The ladies and the young men alike had many a hearty laugh over Fiammetta's
- narrative of Andreuccio's adventures, which ended, Emilia, at the queen's
- command, thus began:--
- Grave and grievous are the vicissitudes with which Fortune makes us
- acquainted, and as discourse of such matter serves to awaken our minds,
- which are so readily lulled to sleep by her flatteries, I deem it worthy of
- attentive hearing by all, whether they enjoy her favour or endure her frown,
- in that it ministers counsel to the one sort and consolation to the other.
- Wherefore, albeit great matters have preceded it, I mean to tell you a
- story, not less true than touching, of adventures whereof the issue was
- indeed felicitous, but the antecedent bitterness so long drawn out that
- scarce can I believe that it was ever sweetened by ensuing happiness.
- Dearest ladies, you must know that after the death of the Emperor Frederic
- II. the crown of Sicily passed to Manfred; whose favour was enjoyed in the
- highest degree by a gentleman of Naples, Arrighetto Capece by name, who had
- to wife Madonna Beritola Caracciola, a fair and gracious lady, likewise a
- Neapolitan. Now when Manfred was conquered and slain by King Charles I. at
- Benevento, and the whole realm transferred its allegiance to the conqueror,
- Arrighetto, who was then governor of Sicily, no sooner received the tidings
- than he prepared for instant flight, knowing that little reliance was to be
- placed on the fleeting faith of the Sicilians, and not being minded to
- become a subject of his master's enemy. But the Sicilians having
- intelligence of his plans, he and many other friends and servants of King
- Manfred were surprised, taken prisoners and delivered over to King Charles,
- to whom the whole island was soon afterwards surrendered. In this signal
- reversal of the wonted course of things Madam Beritola, knowing not what was
- become of Arrighetto, and from the past ever auguring future evil, lest she
- should suffer foul dishonour, abandoned all that she possessed, and with a
- son of, perhaps, eight years, Giusfredi by name, being also pregnant, fled
- in a boat to Lipari, where she gave birth to another male child, whom she
- named Outcast. Then with her sons and a hired nurse she took ship for
- Naples, intending there to rejoin her family. Events, however, fell out
- otherwise than she expected; for by stress of weather the ship was carried
- out of her course to the desert island of Ponza, (1) where they put in to a
- little bay until such time as they might safely continue their voyage. Madam
- Beritola landed with the rest on the island, and, leaving them all, sought
- out a lonely and secluded spot, and there abandoned herself to melancholy
- brooding on the loss of her dear Arrighetto. While thus she spent her days
- in solitary preoccupation with her grief it chanced that a galley of
- corsairs swooped down upon the island, and, before either the mariners or
- any other folk were aware of their peril, made an easy capture of them all
- and sailed away; so that, when Madam Beritola, her wailing for that day
- ended, returned, as was her wont, to the shore to solace herself with the
- sight of her sons, she found none there. At first she was lost in wonder,
- then with a sudden suspicion of the truth she bent her eyes seaward, and
- there saw the galley still at no great distance, towing the ship in her
- wake. Thus apprehending beyond all manner of doubt that she had lost her
- sons as well as her husband, and that, alone, desolate and destitute, she
- might not hope, that any of her lost ones would ever be restored to her, she
- fell down on the shore in a swoon with the names of her husband and sons
- upon her lips. None was there to administer cold water or aught else that
- might recall her truant powers; her animal spirits might even wander
- whithersoever they would at their sweet will: strength, however, did at last
- return to her poor exhausted frame, and therewith tears and lamentations,
- as, plaintively repeating her sons' names, she roamed in quest of them from
- cavern to cavern. Long time she sought them thus; but when she saw that her
- labour was in vain, and that night was closing in, hope, she knew not why,
- began to return, and with it some degree of anxiety on her own account.
- Wherefore she left the shore and returned to the cavern where she had been
- wont to indulge her plaintive mood. She passed the night in no small fear
- and indescribable anguish; the new day came, and, as she had not supped, she
- was fain after tierce to appease her hunger, as best she could, by a
- breakfast of herbs: this done, she wept and began to ruminate on her future
- way of life. While thus engaged, she observed a she-goat come by and go into
- an adjacent cavern, and after a while come forth again and go into the wood:
- thus roused from her reverie she got up, went into the cavern from which the
- she-goat had issued, and there saw two kids, which might have been born that
- very day, and seemed to her the sweetest and the most delicious things in
- the world: and, having, by reason of her recent delivery, milk still within
- her, she took them up tenderly, and set them to her breast. They, nothing
- loath, sucked at her teats as if she had been their own dam; and thenceforth
- made no distinction between her and the dam. Which caused the lady to feel
- that she had found company in the desert; and so, living on herbs and water,
- weeping as often as she bethought her of her husband and sons and her past
- life, she disposed herself to live and die there, and became no less
- familiar with the she-goat than with her young.
- The gentle lady thus leading the life of a wild creature, it chanced that
- after some months stress of weather brought a Pisan ship to the very same
- bay in which she had landed. The ship lay there for several days, having on
- board a gentleman, Currado de' Malespini by name (of the same family as the
- Marquis), who with his noble and most devout lady was returning home from a
- pilgrimage, having visited all the holy places in the realm of Apulia. To
- beguile the tedium of the sojourn Currado with his lady, some servants and
- his dogs, set forth one day upon a tour through the island. As they neared
- the place where Madam Beritola dwelt, Currado's dogs on view of the two
- kids, which, now of a fair size, were grazing, gave chase. The kids, pursued
- by the dogs, made straight for Madam Beritola's cavern. She, seeing what was
- toward, started to her feet, caught up a stick, and drove the dogs back.
- Currado and his lady coming up after the dogs, gazed on Madam Beritola, now
- tanned and lean and hairy, with wonder, which she more than reciprocated. At
- her request Currado called off the dogs; and then he and his lady besought
- her again and again to say who she was and what she did there. So she told
- them all about herself, her rank, her misfortunes, and the savage life which
- she was minded to lead. Currado, who had known Arrighetto Capece very well,
- was moved to tears by compassion, and exhausted all his eloquence to induce
- her to change her mind, offering to escort her home, or to take her to live
- with him in honourable estate as his sister until God should vouchsafe her
- kindlier fortune. The lady, declining all his offers, Currado left her with
- his wife, whom he bade see that food was brought thither, and let Madam
- Beritola, who was all in rags, have one of her own dresses to wear, and do
- all that she could to persuade her to go with them. So the gentle lady
- stayed with Madam Beritola, and after condoling with her at large on her
- misfortunes had food and clothing brought to her, and with the greatest
- difficulty in the world prevailed upon her to eat and dress herself. At
- last, after much beseeching, she induced her to depart from her oft-declared
- intention never to go where she might meet any that knew her, and accompany
- them to Lunigiana, taking with her the two kids and the dam, which latter
- had in the meantime returned, and to the gentle lady's great surprise had
- greeted Madam Beritola with the utmost affection. So with the return of fair
- weather Madam Beritola, taking with her the dam and the two kids, embarked
- with Currado and his lady on their ship, being called by them--for her true
- name was not to be known of all--Cavriuola; (2) and the wind holding fair,
- they speedily reached the mouth of the Magra, (3) and landing hied them to
- Currado's castle where Madam Beritola abode with Currado's lady in the
- quality of her maid, serving her well and faithfully, wearing widow's weeds,
- and feeding and tending her kids with assiduous and loving care.
- The corsairs, who, not espying Madam Beritola, had left her at Ponza when
- they took the ship on which she had come thither, had made a course to
- Genoa, taking with them all the other folk. On their arrival the owners of
- the galley shared the booty, and so it happened that as part thereof Madam
- Beritola's nurse and her two boys fell to the lot of one Messer Guasparrino
- d'Oria, who sent all three to his house, being minded to keep them there as
- domestic slaves. The nurse, beside herself with grief at the loss of her
- mistress and the woful plight in which she found herself and her two
- charges, shed many a bitter tear. But, seeing that they were unavailing, and
- that she and the boys were slaves together, she, having, for all her low
- estate, her share of wit and good sense, made it her first care to comfort
- them; then, regardful of the condition to which they were reduced, she
- bethought her, that, if the lads were recognised, 'twould very likely be
- injurious to them. So, still hoping that some time or another Fortune would
- change her mood, and they be able, if living, to regain their lost estate,
- she resolved to let none know who they were, until she saw a fitting
- occasion; and accordingly, whenever she was questioned thereof by any, she
- gave them out as her own children. The name of the elder she changed from
- Giusfredi to Giannotto di Procida; the name of the younger she did not think
- it worth while to change. She spared no pains to make Giusfredi understand
- the reason why she had changed his name, and, the risk which he might run if
- he were recognised. This she impressed upon him not once only but many
- times; and the boy, who was apt to learn, followed the instructions of the
- wise nurse with perfect exactitude.
- So the two boys, ill clad and worse shod, continued with the nurse in Messer
- Guasparrino's house for two years, patiently performing all kinds of menial
- offices. But Giannotto, being now sixteen years old, and of a spirit that
- consorted ill with servitude, brooked not the baseness of his lot, and
- dismissed himself from Messer Guasparrino's service by getting aboard a
- galley bound for Alexandria, and travelled far and wide, and fared never the
- better. In the course of his wanderings he learned that his father, whom he
- had supposed to be dead, was still living, but kept in prison under watch
- and ward by King Charles. He was grown a tall handsome young man, when,
- perhaps three or four years after he had given Messer Guasparrino the slip,
- weary of roaming and all but despairing of his fortune, he came to
- Lunigiana, and by chance took service with Currado Malespini, who found him
- handy, and was well-pleased with him. His mother, who was in attendance on
- Currado's lady, he seldom saw, and never recognised her, nor she him; so
- much had time changed both from their former aspect since they last met.
- While Giannotto was thus in the service of Currado, it fell out by the death
- of Niccolo da Grignano that his widow, Spina, Currado's daughter, returned
- to her father's house. Very fair she was and loveable, her age not more than
- sixteen years, and so it was that she saw Giannotto with favour, and he her,
- and both fell ardently in love with one another. Their passion was early
- gratified; but several months elapsed before any detected its existence.
- Wherefore, growing overbold, they began to dispense with the precautions
- which such an affair demanded. So one day, as they walked with others
- through a wood, where the trees grew fair and close, the girl and Giannotto
- left the rest of the company some distance behind, and, thinking that they
- were well in advance, found a fair pleasaunce girt in with trees and
- carpeted with abundance of grass and flowers, and fell to solacing
- themselves after the manner of lovers. Long time they thus dallied, though
- such was their delight that all too brief it seemed to them, and so it
- befell that they were surprised first by the girl's mother and then by
- Currado. Pained beyond measure by what he had seen, Currado, without
- assigning any cause, had them both arrested by three of his servants and
- taken in chains to one of his castles; where in a frenzy of passionate wrath
- he left them, resolved to put them to an ignominious death. The girl's
- mother was also very angry, and deemed her daughter's fall deserving of the
- most rigorous chastisement, but, when by one of Currado's chance words she
- divined the doom which he destined for the guilty pair, she could not
- reconcile herself to it, and hasted to intercede with her angry husband,
- beseeching him to refrain the impetuous wrath which would hurry him in his
- old age to murder his daughter and imbrue his hands in the blood of his
- servant, and vent it in some other way, as by close confinement and duress,
- whereby the culprits should be brought to repent them of their fault in
- tears. Thus, and with much more to the like effect, the devout lady urged
- her suit, and at length prevailed upon her husband to abandon his murderous
- design. Wherefore, he commanded that the pair should be confined in separate
- prisons, and closely guarded, and kept short of food and in sore discomfort,
- until further order; which was accordingly done; and the life which the
- captives led, their endless tears, their fasts of inordinate duration, may
- be readily imagined.
- Giannotto and Spina had languished in this sorry plight for full a year,
- entirely ignored by Currado, when in concert with Messer Gian di Procida,
- King Peter of Arragon raised a rebellion (4) in the island of Sicily, and
- wrested it from King Charles, whereat Currado, being a Ghibelline, was
- overjoyed. Hearing the tidings from one of his warders, Giannotto heaved a
- great sigh, and said:--"Alas, fourteen years have I been a wanderer upon the
- face of the earth, looking for no other than this very event; and now, that
- my hopes of happiness may be for ever frustrate, it has come to pass only to
- find me in prison, whence I may never think to issue alive." "How?" said the
- warder; "what signify to thee these doings of these mighty monarchs? What
- part hadst thou in Sicily?" Giannotto answered:--"'Tis as if my heart were
- breaking when I bethink me of my father and what part he had in Sicily. I
- was but a little lad when I fled the island, but yet I remember him as its
- governor in the time of King Manfred." "And who then was thy father?"
- demanded the warder. "His name," rejoined Giannotto, "I need no longer
- scruple to disclose, seeing that I find myself in the very strait which I
- hoped to avoid by concealing it. He was and still is, if he live, Arrighetto
- Capece; and my name is not Giannotto but Giusfredi; and I doubt not but,
- were I once free, and back in Sicily, I might yet hold a very honourable
- position in the island."
- The worthy man asked no more questions, but, as soon as he found
- opportunity, told what he had learned to Currado, who, albeit he made light
- of it in the warder's presence, repaired to Madam Beritola, and asked her in
- a pleasant manner, whether she had had by Arrighetto a son named Giusfredi.
- The lady answered, in tears, that, if the elder of her two sons were living,
- such would be his name, and his age twenty-two years. This inclined Currado
- to think that Giannotto and Giusfredi were indeed one and the same; and it
- occurred to him, that, if so it were, he might at once shew himself most
- merciful and blot out his daughter's shame and his own by giving her to him
- in marriage; wherefore he sent for Giannotto privily, and questioned him in
- detail touching his past life. And finding by indubitable evidence that he
- was indeed Giusfredi, son of Arrighetto Capece, he said to him:--"Giannotto,
- thou knowest the wrong which thou hast done me in the person of my daughter,
- what and how great it is, seeing that I used thee well and kindly, and thou
- shouldst therefore, like a good servant, have shewn thyself jealous of my
- honour, and zealous in my interest; and many there are who, hadst thou
- treated them as thou hast treated me, would have caused thee to die an
- ignominious death; which my clemency would not brook. But now, as it is even
- so as thou sayst, and thou art of gentle blood by both thy parents, I am
- minded to put an end to thy sufferings as soon as thou wilt, releasing thee
- from the captivity in which thou languishest, and setting thee in a happy
- place, and reinstating at once thy honour and my own. Thy intimacy with
- Spina--albeit, shameful to both--was yet prompted by love. Spina, as thou
- knowest, is a widow, and her dower is ample and secure. What her breeding
- is, and her father's and her mother's, thou knowest: of thy present
- condition I say nought. Wherefore, when thou wilt, I am consenting, that,
- having been with dishonour thy friend, she become with honour thy wife, and
- that, so long as it seem good to thee, thou tarry here with her and me as my
- son."
- Captivity had wasted Giannotto's flesh, but had in no degree impaired the
- generosity of spirit which he derived from his ancestry, or the
- whole-hearted love which he bore his lady. So, albeit he ardently desired
- that which Currado offered, and knew that he was in Currado's power, yet,
- even as his magnanimity prompted, so, unswervingly, he made answer:--
- "Currado, neither ambition nor cupidity nor aught else did ever beguile me
- to any treacherous machination against either thy person or thy property.
- Thy daughter I loved, and love and shall ever love, because I deem her
- worthy of my love, and, if I dealt with her after a fashion which to the
- mechanic mind seems hardly honourable, I did but commit that fault which is
- ever congenial to youth, which can never be eradicated so long as youth
- continues, and which, if the aged would but remember that they were once
- young and would measure the delinquencies of others by their own and their
- own by those of others, would not be deemed so grave as thou and many others
- depict it; and what I did, I did as a friend, not as an enemy. That which
- thou offerest I have ever desired and should long ago have sought, had I
- supposed that thou wouldst grant it, and 'twill be the more grateful to me
- in proportion to the depth of my despair. But if thy intent be not such, as
- thy words import, feed me not with vain hopes, but send me back to prison
- there to suffer whatever thou mayst be pleased to inflict; nor doubt that
- even as I love Spina, so for love of her shall I ever love thee, though thou
- do thy worst, and still hold thee in reverent regard.
- Currado marvelled to hear him thus speak, and being assured of his
- magnanimity and the fervour of his love, held him the more dear; wherefore
- he rose, embraced and kissed him, and without further delay bade privily
- bring thither Spina, who left her prison wasted and wan and weak, and so
- changed that she seemed almost another woman than of yore, even as Giannotto
- was scarce his former self. Then and there in Currado's presence they
- plighted their troth according to our custom of espousals; and some days
- afterwards Currado, having in the meantime provided all things meet for
- their convenience and solace, yet so as that none should surmise what had
- happened, deemed it now time to gladden their mothers with the news. So he
- sent for his lady and Cavriuola, and thus, addressing Cavriuola, he
- spoke:--"What would you say, madam, were I to restore you your elder son as
- the husband of one of my daughters?" Cavriuola answered:--"I should say,
- that, were it possible for you to strengthen the bond which attaches me to
- you, then assuredly you had so done, in that you restored to me that which I
- cherish more tenderly than myself, and in such a guise as in some measure to
- renew within me the hope which I had lost: more I could not say." And so,
- weeping, she was silent. Then, turning to his lady, Currado said:--"And
- thou, madam, what wouldst thou think if I were to present thee with such a
- son-in-law?" "A son-in-law," she answered, "that was not of gentle blood,
- but a mere churl, so he pleased you, would well content me." "So!" returned
- Currado; "I hope within a few days to gladden the hearts of both of you."
- He waited only until the two young folk had recovered their wonted mien, and
- were clad in a manner befitting their rank. Then, addressing Giusfredi, he
- said:--"Would it not add to thy joy to see thy mother here?" "I dare not
- hope," returned Giusfredi," that she has survived calamities and sufferings
- such as hers; but were it so, great indeed would be my joy, and none the
- less that by her counsel I might be aided to the recovery (in great measure)
- of my lost heritage in Sicily." Whereupon Currado caused both the ladies to
- come thither, and presented to them the bride. The gladness with which they
- both greeted her was a wonder to behold, and no less great was their wonder
- at the benign inspiration that had prompted Currado to unite her in wedlock
- with Giannotto, whom Currado's words caused Madam Beritola to survey with
- some attention. A hidden spring of memory was thus touched; she recognised
- in the man the lineaments of her boy, and awaiting no further evidence she
- ran with open arms and threw herself upon his neck. No word did she utter,
- for very excess of maternal tenderness and joy; but, every avenue of sense
- closed, she fell as if bereft of life within her son's embrace. Giannotto,
- who had often seen her in the castle and never recognised her, marvelled not
- a little, but nevertheless it at once flashed upon him that 'twas his
- mother, and blaming himself for his past inadvertence he took her in his
- arms and wept and tenderly kissed her. With gentle solicitude Currado's lady
- and Spina came to her aid, and restored her suspended animation with cold
- water and other remedies. She then with many tender and endearing words
- kissed him a thousand times or more, which tokens of her love he received
- with a look of reverential acknowledgment. Thrice, nay a fourth time were
- these glad and gracious greetings exchanged, and joyful indeed were they
- that witnessed them, and hearkened while mother and son compared their past
- adventures. Then Currado, who had already announced his new alliance to his
- friends, and received their felicitations proceeded to give order for the
- celebration of the event with all becoming gaiety and splendour. As he did
- so, Giusfredi said to him:--"Currado, you have long given my mother
- honourable entertainment, and on me you have conferred many boons;
- wherefore, that you may fill up the measure of your kindness, 'tis now my
- prayer that you be pleased to gladden my mother and my marriage feast and me
- with the presence of my brother, now in servitude in the house of Messer
- Guasparrino d'Oria, who, as I have already told you, made prize of both him
- and me; and that then you send some one to Sicily, who shall make himself
- thoroughly acquainted with the circumstances and condition of the country,
- and find out how it has fared with my father Arrighetto, whether he be alive
- or dead, and if alive, in what circumstances, and being thus fully informed,
- return to us with the tidings." Currado assented, and forthwith sent most
- trusty agents both to Genoa and to Sicily. So in due time an envoy arrived
- at Genoa, and made instant suit to Guasparrino on Currado's part for the
- surrender of Outcast and the nurse, setting forth in detail all that had
- passed between Currado and Giusfredi and his mother. Whereat Messer
- Guasparrino was mightily astonished, and said:--"Of a surety there is nought
- that, being able, I would not do to pleasure Currado; and, true it is that I
- have had in my house for these fourteen years the boy whom thou dost now
- demand of me, and his mother, and gladly will I surrender them; but tell
- Currado from me to beware of excessive credulity, and to put no faith in the
- idle tales of Giannotto, or Giusfredi, as thou sayst he calls himself, who
- is by no means so guileless as he supposes."
- Then, having provided for the honourable entertainment of the worthy envoy,
- he sent privily for the nurse, and cautiously sounded her as to the affair.
- The nurse had heard of the revolt of Sicily, and had learned that Arrighetto
- was still alive. She therefore banished fear, and told Messer Guasparrino
- the whole story, and explained to him the reasons why she had acted as she
- had done. Finding that what she said accorded very well with what he had
- learned from Currado's envoy, he inclined to credit the story, and most
- astutely probing the matter in divers ways, and always finding fresh grounds
- for confidence, he reproached himself for the sorry manner in which he had
- treated the boy, and by way of amends gave him one of his own daughters, a
- beautiful girl of eleven years, to wife with a dowry suited to Arrighetto's
- rank, and celebrated their nuptials with great festivity, He then brought
- the boy and girl, Currado's envoy, and the nurse in a well-armed galliot to
- Lerici, being there met by Currado, who had a castle not far off, where
- great preparations had been made for their entertainment: and thither
- accordingly he went with his whole company. What cheer the mother had of her
- son, the brothers of one another, and all the three of the faithful nurse;
- what cheer Messer Guasparrino and his daughter had of all, and all of them,
- and what cheer all had of Currado and his lady and their sons and their
- friends, words may not describe; wherefore, my ladies, I leave it to your
- imagination. And that their joy might be full, God, who, when He gives,
- gives most abundantly, added the glad tidings that Arrighetto Capece was
- alive and prosperous. For, when in the best of spirits the ladies and
- gentlemen had sat them down to feast, and they were yet at the first course,
- the envoy from Sicily arrived, and among other matters reported, that, no
- sooner had the insurrection broken out in the island than the people hied
- them in hot haste to the prison where Arrighetto was kept in confinement by
- King Charles, and despatching the guards, brought him forth, and knowing him
- to be a capital enemy to King Charles made him their captain, and under his
- command fell upon and massacred the French. Whereby he had won the highest
- place in the favour of King Peter, who had granted him restitution of all
- his estates and honours, so that he was now both prosperous and mighty. The
- envoy added that Arrighetto had received him with every token of honour, had
- manifested the utmost delight on hearing of his lady and son, of whom no
- tidings had reached him since his arrest, and had sent, to bring them home,
- a brigantine with some gentlemen aboard, whose arrival might hourly be
- expected.
- The envoy, and the good news which he brought, were heartily welcome; and
- presently Currado, with some of his friends, encountered the gentlemen who
- came for Madam Beritola and Giusfredi, and saluting them cordially invited
- them to his feast, which was not yet half done. Joy unheard of was depicted
- on the faces of the lady, of Giusfredi, and of all the rest as they greeted
- them; nor did they on their part take their places at the table before, as
- best they might, they had conveyed to Currado and his lady Arrighetto's
- greetings and grateful acknowledgments of the honour which they had
- conferred upon his lady and his son, and had placed Arrighetto, to the
- uttermost of his power, entirely at their service. Then, turning to Messer
- Guasparrino, of whose kindness Arrighetto surmised nothing, they said that
- they were very sure that, when he learned the boon which Outcast had
- received at his hands, he would pay him the like and an even greater tribute
- of gratitude. This speech ended, they feasted most joyously with the brides
- and bridegrooms. So passed the day, the first of many which Currado devoted
- to honouring his son-in-law and his other intimates, both kinsfolk and
- friends. The time of festivity ended, Madam Beritola and Giusfredi and the
- rest felt that they must leave: so, taking Spina with them, they parted, not
- without many tears, from Currado and his lady and Guasparrino, and went
- aboard the brigantine, which, wafted by a prosperous wind, soon brought them
- to Sicily. At Palermo they were met by Arrighetto, who received them all,
- ladies and sons alike, with such cheer as it were vain to attempt to
- describe. There it is believed that they all lived long and happily and in
- amity with God, being not unmindful of the blessings which He had conferred
- upon them.
- (1) The largest, now inhabited, of a group of islets in the Gulf of Gaeta.
- (2) I.e. she-goat.
- (3) Between Liguria and Tuscany.
- (4) The Sicilian Vespers, Easter, 1282.
- NOVEL VII.
- --
- The Soldan of Babylon sends one of his daughters overseas, designing to
- marry her to the King of Algarve. By divers adventures she comes in the
- space of four years into the hands of nine men in divers places. At last she
- is restored to her father, whom she quits again in the guise of a virgin,
- and, as was at first intended, is married to the King of Algarve.
- --
- Had Emilia's story but lasted a little longer, the young ladies would
- perhaps have been moved to tears, so great was the sympathy which they felt
- for Madam Beritola in her various fortunes. But now that it was ended, the
- Queen bade Pamfilo follow suit; and he, than whom none was more obedient,
- thus began:--
- Hardly, gracious ladies, is it given to us to know that which makes for our
- good; insomuch that, as has been observable in a multitude of instances,
- many, deeming that the acquisition of great riches would ensure them an easy
- and tranquil existence, have not only besought them of God in prayer, but
- have sought them with such ardour that they have spared no pains and shrunk
- from no danger in the quest, and have attained their end only to lose, at
- the hands of some one covetous of their vast inheritance, a life with which
- before the days of their prosperity they were well content. Others, whose
- course, perilous with a thousand battles, stained with the blood of their
- brothers and their friends, has raised them from base to regal estate, have
- found in place of the felicity they expected an infinity of cares and fears,
- and have proved by experience that a chalice may be poisoned, though it be
- of gold, and set on the table of a king. Many have most ardently desired
- beauty and strength and other advantages of person, and have only been
- taught their error by the death or dolorous life which these very advantages
- entailed upon them. And so, not to instance each particular human desire, I
- say, in sum, that there is none of, them that men may indulge in full
- confidence as exempt from the chances and changes of fortune; wherefore, if
- we would act rightly, we ought to school ourselves to take and be content
- with that which He gives us, who alone knows and can afford us that of which
- we have need. But, divers as are the aberrations of desire to which men are
- prone, so, gracious ladies, there is one to which you are especially liable,
- in that you are unduly solicitous of beauty, insomuch, that, not content
- with the charms which nature has allotted you, you endeavour to enhance them
- with wondrous ingenuity of art; wherefore I am minded to make you acquainted
- with the coil of misadventures in which her beauty involved a fair Saracen,
- who in the course of, perhaps, four years was wedded nine several times.
- There was of yore a Soldan of Babylon (1), by name of Beminedab, who in his
- day had cause enough to be well content with his luck. Many children male
- and female had he, and among them a daughter, Alatiel by name, who by common
- consent of all that saw her was the most beautiful woman then to be found in
- the world. Now the Soldan, having been signally aided by the King of Algarve
- (2) in inflicting a great defeat upon a host of Arabs that had attacked him,
- had at his instance and by way of special favour given Alatiel to the King
- to wife; wherefore, with an honourable escort of gentlemen and ladies most
- nobly and richly equipped, he placed her aboard a well-armed, well-furnished
- ship, and, commending her to God, sped her on her journey. The mariners, as
- soon as the weather was favourable, hoisted sail, and for some days after
- their departure from Alexandria had a prosperous voyage; but when they had
- passed Sardinia, and were beginning to think that they were nearing their
- journey's end, they were caught one day between divers cross winds, each
- blowing with extreme fury, whereby the ship laboured so sorely that not only
- the lady but the seamen from time to time gave themselves up for lost. But
- still, most manfully and skilfully they struggled might and main with the
- tempest, which, ever waxing rather than waning, buffeted them for two days
- with immense unintermittent surges; and being not far from the island of
- Majorca, as the third night began to close in, wrapt in clouds and mist and
- thick darkness, so that they saw neither the sky nor aught else, nor by any
- nautical skill might conjecture where they were, they felt the ship's
- timbers part. Wherefore, seeing no way to save the ship, each thought only
- how best to save himself, and, a boat being thrown out, the masters first,
- and then the men, one by one, though the first-comers sought with knives in
- their hands to bar the passage of the rest, all, rather than remain in the
- leaky ship, crowded into it, and there found the death which they hoped to
- escape. For the boat, being in such stress of weather, and with such a
- burden quite unmanageable, went under, and all aboard her perished; whereas
- the ship, leaky though she was, and all but full of water, yet, driven by
- the fury of the tempest, was hurled with prodigious velocity upon the shore
- of the island of Majorca, and struck it with such force as to embed herself
- in the sand, perhaps a stone's throw from terra firma, where she remained
- all night beaten and washed by the sea, but no more to be moved by the
- utmost violence of the gale. None had remained aboard her but the lady and
- her women, whom the malice of the elements and their fears had brought to
- the verge of death. When it was broad day and the storm was somewhat abated,
- the lady, half dead, raised her head, and in faltering accents began to call
- first one and then another of her servants. She called in vain, however; for
- those whom she called were too far off to hear. Great indeed was her wonder
- and fear to find herself thus without sight of human face or sound of other
- voice than her own; but, struggling to her feet as best she might, she
- looked about her, and saw the ladies that were of her escort, and the other
- women, all prostrate on the deck; so, after calling them one by one, she
- began at length to touch them, and finding few that shewed sign of life, for
- indeed, between grievous sea-sickness and fear, they had little life left,
- she grew more terrified than before. However, being in sore need of counsel,
- all alone as she was, and without knowledge or means of learning where she
- was, she at last induced such as had life in them to get upon their feet,
- with whom, as none knew where the men were gone, and the ship was now full
- of water and visibly breaking up, she abandoned herself to piteous
- lamentations.
- It was already none before they descried any one on the shore or elsewhere
- to whom they could make appeal for help; but shortly after none it so
- chanced that a gentleman, Pericone da Visalgo by name, being on his return
- from one of his estates, passed that way with some mounted servants.
- Catching sight of the ship, he apprehended the circumstances at a glance,
- and bade one of his servants try to get aboard her, and let him know the
- result. The servant with some difficulty succeeded in boarding the vessel,
- and found the gentle lady with her few companions ensconced under shelter of
- the prow, and shrinking timidly from observation. At the first sight of him
- they wept, and again and again implored him to have pity on them; but
- finding that he did not understand them, nor they him, they sought by
- gestures to make him apprehend their forlorn condition.
- With these tidings the servant, after making such survey of the ship as he
- could, returned to Pericone, who forthwith caused the ladies, and all
- articles of value which were in the ship and could be removed, to be brought
- off her, and took them with him to one of his castles. The ladies' powers
- were soon in a measure restored by food and rest, and by the honour which
- was paid to Alatiel, and Alatiel alone by all the rest, as well as by the
- richness of her dress, Pericone perceived that she must be some great lady.
- Nor, though she was still pale, and her person bore evident marks of the
- sea's rough usage, did he fail to note that it was cast in a mould of
- extraordinary beauty. Wherefore his mind was soon made up that, if she
- lacked a husband, he would take her to wife and that, if he could not have
- her to wife, then he would make her his mistress. So this ardent lover, who
- was a man of powerful frame and haughty mien, devoted himself for several
- days to the service of the lady with excellent effect, for the lady
- completely recovered her strength and spirits, so that her beauty far
- exceeded Pericone's most sanguine conjectures. Great therefore beyond
- measure was his sorrow that he understood not her speech, nor she his, so
- that neither could know who the other was; but being inordinately enamoured
- of her beauty, he sought by such mute blandishments as he could devise to
- declare his love, and bring her of her own accord to gratify his desire. All
- in vain, however; she repulsed his advances point blank; whereby his passion
- only grew the stronger. So some days passed; and the lady perceiving
- Pericone's constancy, and bethinking her that sooner or later she must yield
- either to force or to love, and gratify his passion, and judging by what she
- observed of the customs of the people that she was amongst Christians, and
- in a part where, were she able to speak their language, she would gain
- little by making herself known, determined with a lofty courage to stand
- firm and immovable in this extremity of her misfortunes. Wherefore she bade
- the three women, who were all that were left to her, on no account to let
- any know who they were, unless they were so circumstanced that they might
- safely count on assistance in effecting their escape: she also exhorted them
- most earnestly to preserve their chastity, averring that she was firmly
- resolved that none but her husband should enjoy her. The women heartily
- assented, and promised that her injunctions should be obeyed to the utmost
- of their power.
- Day by day Pericone's passion waxed more ardent, being fomented by the
- proximity and contrariety of its object. Wherefore seeing that blandishment
- availed nothing, he was minded to have recourse to wiles and stratagems, and
- in the last resort to force. The lady, debarred by her law from the use of
- wine, found it, perhaps, on that account all the more palatable, which
- Pericone observing determined to enlist Bacchus in the service of Venus. So,
- ignoring her coyness, he provided one evening a supper, which was ordered
- with all possible pomp and beauty, and graced by the presence of the lady.
- No lack was there of incentives to hilarity; and Pericone directed the
- servant who waited on Alatiel to ply her with divers sorts of blended wines;
- which command the man faithfully executed. She, suspecting nothing, and
- seduced by the delicious flavour of the liquor, drank somewhat more freely
- than was seemly, and forgetting her past woes, became frolicsome, and
- incited by some women who trod some measures in the Majorcan style, she
- shewed the company how they footed it in Alexandria. This novel demeanour
- was by no means lost on Pericone, who saw in it a good omen of his speedy
- success; so, with profuse relays of food and wine he prolonged the supper
- far into the night.
- When the guests were at length gone, he attended the lady alone to her
- chamber, where, the heat of the wine overpowering the cold counsels of
- modesty, she made no more account of Pericone's presence than if he had been
- one of her women, and forthwith undressed and went to bed. Pericone was not
- slow to follow her, and as soon as the light was out lay down by her side,
- and taking her in his arms, without the least demur on her part, began, to
- solace himself with her after the manner of lovers; which experience--she
- knew not till then with what horn men butt--caused her to repent that she
- had not yielded to his blandishments; nor did she thereafter wait to be
- invited to such nights of delight, but many a time declared her readiness,
- not by words, for she had none to convey her meaning, but by gestures.
- But this great felicity which she now shared with Pericone was not to last:
- for not content with making her, instead of the consort of a king, the
- mistress of a castellan, Fortune had now in store for her a harsher
- experience, though of an amorous character. Pericone had a brother,
- twenty-five years of age, fair and fresh as a rose, his name Marato. On
- sight of Alatiel Marato had been mightily taken with her; he inferred from
- her bearing that he stood high in her good graces; he believed that nothing
- stood between him and the gratification of his passion but the jealous
- vigilance with which Pericone guarded her. So musing, he hit upon a ruthless
- expedient, which had effect in action as hasty as heinous.
- It so chanced that there then lay in the port of the city a ship, commanded
- by two Genoese, bound with a cargo of merchandise for Klarenza in the Morea:
- her sails were already hoist; and she tarried only for a favourable breeze.
- Marato approached the masters and arranged with them to take himself and the
- lady aboard on the following night. This done he concerted further action
- with some of his most trusty friends, who readily lent him their aid to
- carry his design into execution. So on the following evening towards
- nightfall, the conspirators stole unobserved into Pericone's house, which
- was entirely unguarded, and there hid themselves, as pre-arranged. Then, as
- the night wore on, Marato shewed them where Pericone and the lady slept, and
- they entered the room, and slew Pericone. The lady thus rudely roused wept;
- but silencing her by menaces of death they carried her off with the best
- part of Pericone's treasure, and hied them unobserved to the coast, where
- Marato parted from his companions, and forthwith took the lady aboard the
- ship. The wind was now fair and fresh, the mariners spread the canvas, and
- the vessel sped on her course.
- This new misadventure, following so hard upon the former, caused the lady no
- small chagrin; but Marato, with the aid, of the good St. Crescent-in-hand
- that God has given us, found means to afford her such consolation that she
- was already grown so familiar with him as entirely to forget Pericone, when
- Fortune, not content with her former caprices, added a new dispensation of
- woe; for what with. the beauty of her person, which, as we have often said,
- was extra ordinary, and the exquisite charm of her manners the two young
- men, who commanded the ship, fell so desperately in love with her that they
- thought of nothing but how they might best serve and please her, so only
- that Marato should not discover the reason of their assiduous attentions.
- And neither being ignorant of the other's love, they held secret counsel
- together, and resolved to make conquest of the lady on joint account: as if
- love admitted of being held in partnership like merchandise or money. Which
- design being thwarted by the jealousy with which Alatiel was guarded by
- Marato, they chose a day and hour, when the ship was speeding amain under
- canvas, and Marato was on the poop looking out over the sea and quite off
- his guard; and going stealthily up behind him, they suddenly laid hands on
- him, and threw him into the sea, and were already more than a mile on their
- course before any perceived that Marato was overboard. Which when the lady
- learned, and knew that he was irretrievably lost, she relapsed into her
- former plaintive mood. But the twain were forthwith by her side with soft
- speeches and profuse promises, which, however ill she understood them, were
- not altogether inapt to allay a grief which had in it more of concern for
- her own hapless self than of sorrow for her lost lover. So, in course of
- time, the lady beginning visibly to recover heart, they began privily to
- debate which of them should first take her to bed with him; and neither
- being willing to give way to the other, and no compromise being
- discoverable, high words passed between them, and the dispute grew so hot,
- that they both waxed very wroth, drew their knives, and rushed madly at one
- another, and before they could be parted by their men, several stabs had
- been given and received on either side, whereby the one fell dead on the
- spot, and the other was severely wounded in divers parts of the body. The
- lady was much disconcerted to find herself thus alone with none to afford
- her either succour or counsel, and was mightily afraid lest the wrath of the
- kinsfolk and friends of the twain should vent itself upon her. From this
- mortal peril she was, however, delivered by the intercessions of the wounded
- man and their speedy arrival at Klarenza.
- As there she tarried at the same inn with her wounded lover, the fame of her
- great beauty was speedily bruited abroad, and reached the ears of the Prince
- of the Morea, who was then staying there. The Prince was curious to see her,
- and having so done, pronounced her even more beautiful than rumour had
- reported her; nay, he fell in love with her in such a degree that he could
- think of nought else; and having heard in what guise she had come thither,
- he deemed that he might have her. While he was casting about how to compass
- his end, the kinsfolk of the wounded man, being apprised of the fact,
- forthwith sent her to him to the boundless delight, as well of the lady, who
- saw therein her deliverance from a great peril, as of the Prince. The royal
- bearing, which enhanced the lady's charms, did not escape the Prince, who,
- being unable to discover her true rank, set her down as at any rate of noble
- lineage; wherefore he loved her as much again as before, and shewed her no
- small honour, treating her not as his mistress but as his wife. So the lady,
- contrasting her present happy estate with her past woes, was comforted; and,
- as her gaiety revived, her beauty waxed in such a degree that all the Morea
- talked of it and of little else: insomuch that the Prince's friend and
- kinsman, the young, handsome and gallant Duke of Athens, was smitten with a
- desire to see her, and taking occasion to pay the Prince a visit, as he was
- now and again wont to do, came to Klarenza with a goodly company of
- honourable gentlemen. The Prince received him with all distinction and made
- him heartily welcome, but did not at first shew him the lady. By and by,
- however, their conversation began to turn upon her and her charms, and the
- Duke asked if she were really so marvellous a creature as folk said. The
- Prince replied:--"Nay, but even more so; and thereof thou shalt have better
- assurance than my words, to wit, the witness of thine own eyes." So, without
- delay, for the Duke was now all impatience, they waited on the lady, who was
- prepared for their visit, and received them very courteously and graciously.
- They seated her between them, and being debarred from the pleasure of
- conversing with her, for of their speech she understood little or nothing,
- they both, and especially the Duke, who was scarce able to believe that she
- was of mortal mould, gazed upon her in mute admiration; whereby the Duke,
- cheating himself with the idea that he was but gratifying his curiosity,
- drank with his eyes, unawares, deep draughts of the poisoned chalice of
- love, and, to his own lamentable hurt, fell a prey to a most ardent passion.
- His first thought, when they had left her, and he had time for reflection,
- was that the Prince was the luckiest man in the world to have a creature so
- fair to solace him; and swayed by his passion, his mind soon inclined to
- divers other and less honourable meditations, whereof the issue was that,
- come what might, he would despoil the Prince of his felicity, and, if
- possible, make it his own. This resolution was no sooner taken than, being
- of a hasty temperament, he cast to the winds all considerations of honour
- and justice, and studied only how to compass his end by craft. So, one day,
- as the first step towards the accomplishment of his evil purpose, he
- arranged with the Prince's most trusted chamberlain, one Ciuriaci, that his
- horses and all other his personal effects should, with the utmost secrecy,
- be got ready against a possible sudden departure: and then at nightfall,
- attended by a single comrade (both carrying arms), he was privily admitted
- by Ciuriaci into the Prince's chamber. It was a hot night, and the Prince
- had risen without disturbing the lady, and was standing bare to the skin at
- an open window fronting the sea, to enjoy a light breeze that blew thence.
- So, by preconcert with his comrade, the Duke stole up to the window, and in
- a trice ran the Prince through the body, and caught him up, and threw him
- out of the window. The palace was close by the sea, but at a considerable
- altitude above it, and the window, through which the Prince's body was
- thrown, looked over some houses, which, being sapped by the sea, had become
- ruinous, and were rarely or never visited by a soul; whereby, as the Duke
- had foreseen, the fall of the Prince's body passed, as indeed it could not
- but pass, unobserved. Thereupon the Duke's accomplice whipped out a halter,
- which he had brought with him for the purpose, and, making as if he were but
- in play, threw it round Ciuriaci's neck, drew it so tight that he could not
- utter a sound, and then, with the Duke's aid, strangled him, and sent him
- after his master. All this was accomplished, as the Duke knew full well,
- without awakening any in the palace, not even the lady, whom he now
- approached with a light, and holding it over the bed gently uncovered her
- person, as she lay fast asleep, and surveyed her from head to foot to his no
- small satisfaction; for fair as she had seemed to him dressed, he found her
- unadorned charms incomparably greater. As he gazed, his passion waxed beyond
- measure, and, reckless of his recent crime, and of the blood which still
- stained his hands, he got forthwith into the bed; and she, being too sound
- asleep to distinguish between him and the Prince, suffered him to lie with
- her.
- But, boundless as was his delight, it brooked no long continuance, so,
- rising, he called to him some of his comrades, by whom he had the lady
- secured in such manner that she could utter no sound, and borne out of the
- palace by the same secret door by which he had gained entrance; he then set
- her on horseback and in dead silence put his troop in motion, taking the
- road to Athens. He did not, however, venture to take the lady to Athens,
- where she would have encountered his Duchess--for he was married--but lodged
- her in a very beautiful villa which he had hard by the city overlooking the
- sea, where, most forlorn of ladies, she lived secluded, but with no lack of
- meet and respectful service.
- On the following morning the Prince's courtiers awaited his rising until
- none, but perceiving no sign of it, opened the doors, which had not been
- secured, and entered his bedroom. Finding it vacant, they supposed that the
- Prince was gone off privily somewhere to have a few days of unbroken delight
- with his fair lady; and so they gave themselves no further trouble. But the
- next day it so chanced that an idiot, roaming about the ruins where lay the
- corpses of the Prince and Ciuriaci, drew the latter out by the halter and
- went off dragging it after him. The corpse was soon recognised by not a few,
- who, at first struck dumb with amazement, soon recovered sense enough to
- cajole the idiot into retracing his steps and shewing them the spot where he
- had found it; and having thus, to the immeasurable grief of all the
- citizens, discovered the Prince's body, they buried it with all honour.
- Needless to say that no pains were spared to trace the perpetrators of so
- heinous a crime, and that the absence and evidently furtive departure of the
- Duke of Athens caused him to be suspected both of the murder and of the
- abduction of the lady. So the citizens were instant with one accord that the
- Prince's brother, whom they chose as his successor, should exact the debt of
- vengeance; and he, having satisfied himself by further investigation that
- their suspicion was well founded, summoned to his aid his kinsfolk, friends
- and divers vassals, and speedily gathered a large, powerful and
- well-equipped army, with intent to make war upon the Duke of Athens. The
- Duke, being informed of his movements, made ready likewise to defend himself
- with all his power; nor had he any lack of allies, among whom the Emperor of
- Constantinople sent his son, Constantine, and his nephew, Manuel, with a
- great and goodly force. The two young men were honourably received by the
- Duke, and still more so by the Duchess, who was Constantine's sister.
- Day by day war grew more imminent, and at last the Duchess took occasion to
- call Constantine and Manuel into her private chamber, and with many tears
- told them the whole story at large, explaining the casus belli, dilating on
- the indignity which she suffered at the hands of the Duke if as was
- believed, he really kept a mistress in secret, and beseeching them in most
- piteous accents to do the best they could to devise some expedient whereby
- the Duke's honour might be cleared, and her own peace of mind assured. The
- young men knew exactly how matters stood; and so, without wearying the
- Duchess with many questions, they did their best to console her, and
- succeeded in raising her hopes. Before taking their leave they learned from
- her where the lady was, whose marvellous beauty they had heard lauded so
- often; and being eager to see her, they besought the Duke to afford them an
- opportunity. Forgetful of what a like complaisance had cost the Prince, he
- consented, and next morning brought them to the villa where the lady lived,
- and with her and a few of his boon companions regaled them with a lordly
- breakfast, which was served in a most lovely garden. Constantine had no
- sooner seated himself and surveyed the lady, than he was lost in admiration,
- inly affirming that he had never seen so beautiful a creature, and that for
- such a prize the Duke, or any other man, might well be pardoned treachery or
- any other crime: he scanned her again and again, and ever with more and more
- admiration; where-by it fared with him even as it had fared with the Duke.
- He went away hotly in love with her, and dismissing all thought of the war,
- cast about for some method by which, without betraying his passion to any,
- he might devise some means of wresting the lady from the Duke.
- As he thus burned and brooded, the Prince drew dangerously near the Duke's
- dominions; wherefore order was given for an advance, and the Duke, with
- Constantine and the rest, marshalled his forces and led them forth from
- Athens to bar the Prince's passage of the frontier at certain points. Some
- days thus passed, during which Constantine, whose mind and soul were
- entirely absorbed by his passion for the lady, bethought him, that, as the
- Duke was no longer in her neighbourhood, he might readily compass his end.
- He therefore feigned to be seriously unwell, and, having by this pretext
- obtained the Duke's leave, he ceded his command to Manuel, and returned to
- his sister at Athens. He had not been there many days before the Duchess
- recurred to the dishonour which the Duke did her by keeping the lady;
- whereupon he said that of that, if she approved, he would certainly relieve
- her by seeing that the lady was removed from the villa to some distant
- place. The Duchess, supposing that Constantine was prompted not by jealousy
- of the Duke but by jealousy for her honour, gave her hearty consent to his
- plan, provided he so contrived that the Duke should never know that she had
- been privy to it; on which point Constantine gave her ample assurance. So,
- being authorised by the Duchess to act as he might deem best, he secretly
- equipped a light bark and manned her with some of his men, to whom he
- confided his plan, bidding them lie to off the garden of the lady's villa;
- and so, having sent the bark forward, he hied him with other of his men to
- the villa. He gained ready admission of the servants, and was made heartily
- welcome by the lady, who, at his desire, attended by some of her servants,
- walked with him and some of his comrades in the garden. By and by, feigning
- that he had a message for her from the Duke, he drew her aside towards a
- gate that led down to the sea, and which one of his confederates had already
- opened. A concerted signal brought the bark alongside, and to seize the lady
- and set her aboard the bark was but the work of an instant. Her retinue hung
- back as they heard Constantine menace with death whoso but stirred or spoke,
- and suffered him, protesting that what he did was done not to wrong the
- Duke, but solely to vindicate his sister's honour, to embark with his men.
- The lady wept, of course, but Constantine was at her side, the rowers gave
- way, and the bark, speeding like a thing of life over the waves, made Egina
- shortly after dawn. There Constantine and the lady landed, she still
- lamenting her fatal beauty, and took a little rest and pleasure. Then,
- re-embarking, they continued their voyage, and in the course of a few days
- reached Chios, which Constantine, fearing paternal censure, and that he
- might be deprived of his fair booty, deemed a safe place of sojourn. So,
- after some days of repose the lady ceased to bewail her harsh destiny, and
- suffering Constantine to console her as his predecessors had done, began
- once more to enjoy the good gifts which Fortune sent her.
- Now while they thus dallied, Osbech, King of the Turks, who was perennially
- at war with the Emperor, came by chance to Smyrna; and there learning, that
- Constantine was wantoning in careless ease at Chios with a lady of whom he
- had made prize, he made a descent by night upon the island with an armed
- flotilla. Landing his men in dead silence, he made captives of not a few of
- the Chians whom he surprised in their beds; others, who took the alarm and
- rushed to arms, he slew; and having wasted the whole island with fire, he
- shipped the booty and the prisoners, and sailed back to Smyrna. As there he
- overhauled the booty, he lit upon the fair lady, and knew her for the same
- that had been taken in bed and fast asleep with Constantine: whereat, being
- a young man, he was delighted beyond measure, and made her his wife out of
- hand with all due form and ceremony. And so for several months he enjoyed
- her.
- Now there had been for some time and still was a treaty pending between the
- Emperor and Basano, King of Cappadocia, whereby Basano with his forces was
- to fall on Osbech on one side while the Emperor attacked him on the other.
- Some demands made by Basano, which the Emperor deemed unreasonable, had so
- far retarded the conclusion of the treaty; but no sooner had the Emperor
- learned the fate of his son than, distraught with grief, he forthwith
- conceded the King of Cappadocia's demands, and was instant with him to fall
- at once upon Osbech while he made ready to attack him on the other side.
- Getting wind of the Emperor's design, Osbech collected his forces, and, lest
- he should be caught and crushed between the convergent armies of two most
- mighty potentates, advanced against the King of Cappadocia. The fair lady he
- left at Smyrna in the care of a faithful dependant and friend, and after a
- while joined battle with the King of Cappadocia, in which battle he was
- slain, and his army defeated and dispersed. Wherefore Basano with his
- victorious host advanced, carrying everything before him, upon Smyrna, and
- receiving everywhere the submission due to a conqueror.
- Meanwhile Osbech's dependant, by name Antioco, who had charge of the fair
- lady, was so smitten with her charms that, albeit he was somewhat advanced
- in years, he broke faith with his friend and lord, and allowed himself to
- become enamoured of her. He had the advantage of knowing her language, which
- counted for much with one who for some years had been, as it were, compelled
- to live the life of a deaf mute, finding none whom she could understand or
- by whom she might be understood; and goaded by passion, he in the course of
- a few days established such a degree of intimacy with her that in no long
- time it passed from friendship into love, so that their lord, far away amid
- the clash of arms and the tumult of the battle, was forgotten, and
- marvellous pleasure had they of one another between the sheets.
- However, news came at last of Osbech's defeat and death, and the victorious
- and unchecked advance of Basano, whose advent they were by no means minded
- to await. Wherefore, taking with them the best part of the treasure that
- Osbech had left there, they hied them with all possible secrecy to Rhodes.
- There they had not along abode before Antioco fell ill of a mortal disease.
- He had then with him a Cypriote merchant, an intimate and very dear friend,
- to whom, as he felt his end approach, he resolved to leave all that he
- possessed, including his dear lady. So, when he felt death imminent, he
- called them to him and said:--"'Tis now quite evident to me that my life is
- fast ebbing away; and sorely do I regret it, for never had I so much
- pleasure of life as now. Well content indeed I am in one respect, in that,
- as die I must, I at least die in the arms of the two persons whom I love
- more than any other in the world, to wit, in thine arms, dearest friend, and
- those of this lady, whom, since I have known her, I have loved more than
- myself. But yet 'tis grievous to me to know that I must leave her here in a
- strange land with none to afford her either protection or counsel; and but
- that I leave her with thee, who, I doubt not, wilt have for my sake no less
- care of her than thou wouldst have had of me, 'twould grieve me still more;
- wherefore with all my heart and soul I pray thee, that, if I die, thou take
- her with all else that belongs to me into thy charge, and so acquit thyself
- of thy trust as thou mayst deem conducive to the peace of my soul. And of
- thee, dearest lady, I entreat one favour, that I be not forgotten of, thee,
- after my death, so that there whither I go it may still be my boast to be
- beloved here of the most beautiful lady that nature ever formed. Let me but
- die with these two hopes assured, and without doubt I shall depart in
- peace."
- Both the merchant and the lady wept to hear him thus speak, and, when he had
- done, comforted him, and promised faithfully, in the event of his death, to
- do even as he besought them. He died almost immediately afterwards, and was
- honourably buried by them. A few days sufficed the merchant to wind up all
- his affairs in Rhodes and being minded to return to Cyprus aboard a Catalan
- boat that was there, he asked the fair lady what she purposed to do if he
- went back to Cyprus. The lady answered, that, if it were agreeable to him,
- she would gladly accompany him, hoping that for love of Antioco, he would
- treat and regard her as his sister. The merchant replied, that it would
- afford him all the pleasure in the world; and, to protect her from insult
- until their arrival in Cyprus, he gave her out as his wife, and, suiting
- action to word, slept with her on the boat in an alcove in a little cabin in
- the poop. Whereby that happened which on neither side was intended when they
- left Rhodes, to wit, that the darkness and the comfort and the warmth of the
- bed, forces of no mean efficacy, did so prevail with them that dead Antioco
- was forgotten alike as lover and as friend, and by a common impulse they
- began to wanton together, insomuch that before they were arrived at Baffa,
- where the Cypriote resided, they were indeed man and wife. At Baffa the lady
- tarried with the merchant a good while, during which it so befell that a
- gentleman, Antigono by name, a man of ripe age and riper wisdom but no great
- wealth, being one that had had vast and various experience of affairs in the
- service of the King of Cyprus but had found fortune adverse to him, came to
- Baffa on business; and passing one day by the house where the fair lady was
- then living by herself, for the Cypriote merchant was gone to Armenia with
- some of his wares, he chanced to catch sight of the lady at one of the
- windows, and, being struck by her extraordinary beauty, regarded her
- attentively, and began to have some vague recollection of having seen her
- before, but could by no means remember where. The fair lady, however, so
- long the sport of Fortune, but now nearing the term of her woes, no sooner
- saw Antigono than she remembered to have seen him in her father's service,
- and in no mean capacity, at Alexandria. Wherefore she forthwith sent for
- him, hoping that by his counsel she might elude her merchant and be
- reinstated in her true character and dignity of princess. When he presented
- himself, she asked him with some embarrassment whether he were, as she took
- him to be, Antigono of Famagosta. He answered in the affirmative,
- adding:--"And of you, madam, I have a sort of recollection, though I cannot
- say where I have seen you; wherefore so it irk you not, bring, I pray you,
- yourself to my remembrance." Satisfied that it was Antigono himself, the
- lady in a flood of tears threw herself upon him to his no small amazement,
- and embraced his neck: then, after a little while, she asked him whether he
- had never see her in Alexandria. The question awakened Antigono's memory; he
- at once recognised Alatiel, the Soldan's daughter, whom he had though to
- have been drowned at sea, and would have paid her due homage; but she would
- not suffer it, and bade him be seated with her for a while. Being seated, he
- respectfully asked her, how, and when and whence she had come thither,
- seeing that all Egypt believed for certain that she had been drowned at sea
- some years before. "And would that so it had been," said the lady, "rather
- than I should have led the life that I have led; and so doubtless will my
- father say, if he shall ever come to know of it." And so saying, she burst
- into such a flood of tears that 'twas a wonder to see. Wherefore Antigono
- said to her:--"Nay but, madam, be not distressed before the occasion arises.
- I pray you, tell me the story of your adventures, and what has been the
- tenor of your life; perchance 'twill prove to be no such matter but, God
- helping us, we may set it all straight." "Antigono," said the fair lady,
- "when I saw thee, 'twas as if I saw my father, and 'twas the tender love by
- which I am holden to him that prompted me to make myself known to thee,
- though I might have kept my secret; and few indeed there are, whom to have
- met would have afforded me such pleasure as this which I have in meeting and
- recognising thee before all others; wherefore I will now make known to thee
- as to my father that which in my evil fortune I have ever kept close. If,
- when thou hast heard my story, thou seest any means whereby I may be
- reinstated in my former honour, I pray thee use it. If not, disclose to none
- that thou hast seen me or heard aught of me."
- Then, weeping between every word, she told him her whole story from the day
- of the shipwreck at Majorca to that hour. Antigono wept in sympathy, and
- then said:--"Madam, as throughout this train of misfortunes you have happily
- escaped recognition, I undertake to restore you to your father in such sort
- that you shall be dearer to him than ever before, and be afterwards married
- to the King of Algarve. "How?" she asked. Whereupon he explained to her in
- detail how he meant to proceed; and, lest delay should give occasion to
- another to interfere, he went back at once to Famagosta, and having obtained
- audience of the King, thus he spoke:--"Sire, so please you, you have it in
- your power at little cost to yourself to do a thing, which will at once
- redound most signally to your honour and confer a great boon on me, who have
- grown poor in your service." "How?" asked the King. Then said Antigono:--"At
- Baffa is of late arrived a fair damsel, daughter of the Soldan, long thought
- to be drowned, who to preserve her chastity has suffered long and severe
- hardship. She is now reduced to poverty, and is desirous of returning to her
- father. If you should be pleased to send her back to him under my escort,
- your honour and my interest would be served in high and equal measure; nor
- do I think that such a service would ever be forgotten by the Soldan."
- With true royal generosity the King forthwith signified his approval, and
- had Alatiel brought under honourable escort to Famagosta, where, attended by
- his Queen, he received her with every circumstance of festal pomp and
- courtly magnificence. Schooled by Antigono, she gave the King and Queen such
- a version of her adventures as satisfied their inquiries in every
- particular. So, after a few days, the King sent her back to the Soldan under
- escort of Antigono, attended by a goodly company of honourable men and
- women; and of the cheer which the Soldan made her, and not her only but
- Antigono and all his company, it boots not to ask. When she was somewhat
- rested, the Soldan inquired how it was that she was yet alive, and where she
- had been go long without letting him know how it fared with her. Whereupon
- the lady, who had got Antigono's lesson by heart, answered thus:--"My
- father, 'twas perhaps the twentieth night after my departure from you when
- our ship parted her timbers in a terrible storm and went ashore nigh a place
- called Aguamorta, away there in the West: what was the fate of the men that
- were aboard our ship I know not, nor knew I ever; I remember only, that,
- when day came, and I returned, as it were, from death to life, the wreck,
- having been sighted, was boarded by folk from all the country-side, intent
- on plunder; and I and two of my women were taken ashore, where the women
- were forthwith parted from me by the young men, nor did I ever learn their
- fate. Now hear my own. Struggling might and main, I was seized by two young
- men, who dragged me, weeping bitterly, by the hair of the head, towards a
- great forest; but, on sight of four men who were then passing that way on
- horseback, they forthwith loosed me and took to flight. Whereupon the four
- men, who struck me as persons of great authority, ran up to me; and much
- they questioned me, and much I said to them; but neither did they understand
- me, nor I them. So, after long time conferring together, they set me on one
- of their horses and brought me to a house, where dwelt a community of
- ladies, religious according to their law; and what the men may have said I
- know not, but there I was kindly received and ever honourably entreated by
- all; and with them I did afterwards most reverentially pay my devotions to
- St. Crescent-in-Hollow, who is held in great honour by the women of that
- country. When I had been some time with them, and had learned something of
- their language, they asked me who and whence I was: whereto I, knowing that
- I was in a convent, and fearing to be cast out as a foe to their law if I
- told the truth, answered that I was the daughter of a great gentleman of
- Cyprus, who had intended to marry me to a gentleman of Crete; but that on
- the voyage we had been driven out of our course and wrecked at Aguamorta.
- And so I continued, as occasion required, observing their usages with much
- assiduity, lest worse should befall me; but being one day asked by their
- superior, whom they call abbess, whether I was minded to go back to Cyprus,
- I answered that, there was nought that I desired so much. However, so
- solicitous for my honour was the abbess, that there was none going to Cyprus
- to whom she would entrust me, until, two months or so ago, there arrived
- some worthy men from France, of whom one was a kinsman of the abbess, with
- their wives. They were on their way to visit the sepulchre where He whom
- they hold to be God was buried after He had suffered death at the hands of
- the Jews; and the abbess, learning their destination, prayed them to take
- charge of me, and restore me to my father in Cyprus. With what cheer, with
- what honour, these gentlemen and their wives entertained me, 'twere long to
- tell. But, in brief, we embarked, and in the course of a few days arrived at
- Baffa, where it was so ordered by the providence of God, who perchance took
- pity on me, that in the very hour of our disembarkation I, not knowing a
- soul and being at a loss how to answer the gentlemen, who would fain have
- discharged the trust laid upon them by the reverend abbess and restored me
- to my father, fell in, on the shore, with Antigono, whom I forthwith called,
- and in our language, that I might be understood neither of the gentlemen nor
- of their wives, bade him acknowledge me as his daughter. He understood my
- case at once, made much of me, and to the utmost of his slender power
- honourably requited the gentlemen. He then brought me to the King of Cyprus,
- who accorded me welcome there and conduct hither so honourable as words of
- mine can never describe. If aught remains to tell, you had best learn it
- from the lips of Antigono, who has often heard my story."
- Then Antigono, addressing the Soldan, said:--"Sire, what she has told you
- accords with what she has often told me, and, with what I have learned from
- the gentlemen and ladies who accompanied her. One thing, however, she has
- omitted, because, I suppose, it hardly becomes her to tell it; to wit, all
- that the gentlemen and ladies, who accompanied her, said of the virtuous and
- gracious and noble life which she led with the devout ladies, and of the
- tears and wailings of both the ladies and the gentlemen, when they parted
- with her to me. But were I to essay to repeat all that they said to me, the
- day that now is, and the night that is to follow, were all too short:
- suffice it to say so much as this, that, by what I gathered from their words
- and have been able to see for myself, you may make it your boast, that among
- all the daughters of all your peers that wear the crown none can be matched
- with yours for virtue and true worth."
- By all which the Soldan was so overjoyed that 'twas a wonder to see. Again
- and again he made supplication to God, that of His grace power might be
- vouchsafed him adequately to recompense all who had done honour to his
- daughter, and most especially the King of Cyprus, for the honourable escort
- under which he had sent her thither; for Antigono he provided a magnificent
- guerdon, and some days later gave him his conge to return to Cyprus, at the
- same time by a special ambassage conveying to the King his grateful
- acknowledgments of the manner in which he had treated his daughter. Then,
- being minded that his first intent, to wit, that his daughter should be the
- bride of the King of Algarve, should not be frustrate, he wrote to the King,
- telling him all, and adding that, if he were still minded to have her, he
- might send for her. The King was overjoyed by these tidings, and having sent
- for her with great pomp, gave her on her arrival a hearty welcome. So she,
- who had lain with eight men, in all, perhaps, ten thousand times, was bedded
- with him as a virgin, and made him believe that a virgin she was, and lived
- long and happily with him as his queen: wherefore 'twas said:--"Mouth, for
- kisses, was never the worse: like as the moon reneweth her course."
- (1) I.e. according to medieval usage, Egypt.
- (2) I.e. Garbo, the coast of Africa opposite Andalusia and Granada.
- NOVEL VIII.
- --
- The Count of Antwerp, labouring under a false accusation goes into exile. He
- leaves his two children in different places in England, and takes service in
- Ireland. Returning to England an unknown man, he finds his sons prosperous.
- He serves as a groom in the army of the King of France; his innocence is
- established and he is restored to his former honours.
- --
- The ladies heaved many sighs over the various fortunes of the fair lady: but
- what prompted those sighs who shall say? With some, perchance, 'twas as much
- envy as pity of one to whose lot fell so many nights of delight. But,
- however this may be, when Pamfilo's story was ended, and the laughter which
- greeted his last words had subsided, the queen turned to Elisa, and bade her
- follow suit with one of her stories. So Elisa with a cheerful courage thus
- began:--
- Vast indeed is the field that lies before us, wherein to roam at large;
- 'twould readily afford each of us not one course but ten, so richly has
- Fortune diversified it with episodes both strange and sombre; wherefore
- selecting one such from this infinite store, I say:--That, after the
- transference of the Roman Empire from the Franks to the Germans, the
- greatest enmity prevailed between the two nations, with warfare perpetual
- and relentless: wherefore, deeming that the offensive would be their best
- defence, the King of France and his son mustered all the forces they could
- raise from their own dominions and those of their kinsmen and allies, and
- arrayed a grand army for the subjugation of their enemies. Before they took
- the field, as they could not leave the realm without a governor, they chose
- for that office Gautier, Count of Antwerp, a true knight and sage
- counsellor, and their very loyal ally and vassal, choosing him the rather,
- because, albeit he was a thorough master of the art of war, yet they deemed
- him less apt to support its hardships than for the conduct of affairs of a
- delicate nature. Him, therefore, they set in their place as their
- vicar-general and regent of the whole realm of France, and having so done,
- they took the field.
- Count Gautier ordered his administration wisely and in a regular course,
- discussing all matters with the queen and her daughter-in-law; whom, albeit
- they were left under his charge and jurisdiction, he nevertheless treated as
- his ladies paramount. The Count was about forty years of age, and the very
- mould of manly beauty; in bearing as courteous and chivalrous as ever a
- gentleman might be, and withal so debonair and dainty, so feat and trim of
- person that he had not his peer, among the gallants of that day. His wife
- was dead, leaving him two children and no more, to wit, a boy and a girl,
- still quite young. Now the King and his son being thus away at the war, and
- the Count frequenting the court of the two said ladies, and consulting with
- them upon affairs of state, it so befell, that the Prince's lady regarded
- him with no small favour, being very sensible alike of the advantages of his
- person and the nobility of his bearing; whereby she conceived for him a
- passion which was all the more ardent because it was secret. And, as he was
- without a wife, and she was still in the freshness of her youth, she saw not
- why she should not readily be gratified; but supposing that nothing stood in
- the way but her own shamefastness, she resolved to be rid of that, and
- disclose her mind to him without any reserve. So one day, when she was
- alone, she seized her opportunity, and sent for him, as if she were desirous
- to converse with him on indifferent topics. The Count, his mind entirely
- aloof from the lady's purpose, presented himself forthwith, and at her
- invitation sate down by her side on a settee. They were quite alone in the
- room; but the Count had twice asked her the reason why she had so honoured
- him, before, overcome by passion, she broke silence, and crimson from neck
- with shame, half sobbing, trembling in every limb, and at every word, she
- thus spoke:--"Dearest friend and sweet my lord, sagacity such as yours
- cannot but be apt to perceive how great is the frailty of men and women, and
- how, for divers reasons, it varies in different persons in such a degree
- that no just judge would mete out the same measure to each indifferently,
- though the fault were apparently the same. Who would not acknowledge that a
- poor man or woman, fain to earn daily bread by the sweat of the brow, is far
- more reprehensible in yielding to the solicitations of love, than a rich
- lady, whose life is lapped in ease and unrestricted luxury? Not a soul, I am
- persuaded, but would so acknowledge! Wherefore I deem that the possession of
- these boons of fortune should go far indeed to acquit the possessor, if she,
- perchance, indulge an errant love; and, for the rest, that, if she have
- chosen a wise and worthy lover, she should be entirely exonerated. And as I
- think I may fairly claim the benefit of both these pleas, and of others
- beside, to wit, my youth and my husband's absence, which naturally incline
- me to love, 'tis meet that I now urge them in your presence in defence of my
- passion; and if they have the weight with you which they should have with
- the wise, I pray you to afford me your help and counsel in the matter
- wherein I shall demand it. I avow that in the absence of my husband I have
- been unable to withstand the promptings of the flesh and the power of love,
- forces of such potency that even the strongest men--not to speak of delicate
- women--have not seldom been, nay daily are, overcome by them; and so, living
- thus, as you see me, in ease and luxury, I have allowed the allurements of
- love to draw me on until at last I find myself a prey to passion. Wherein
- were I discovered, I were, I confess, dishonoured; but discovery being
- avoided, I count the dishonour all but nought. Moreover, love has been so
- gracious to me that not only has he spared to blind me in the choice of my
- lover, but he has even lent me his most effective aid, pointing me to one
- well worthy of the love of a lady such as I, even to yourself; whom, if I
- misread not my mind, I deem the most handsome and courteous and debonair,
- and therewithal the sagest cavalier that the realm of France may shew. And
- as you are without a wife, so may I say that I find myself without a
- husband. Wherefore in return for this great love I bear you, deny me not, I
- pray you, yours; but have pity on my youth, which wastes away for you like
- ice before the fire."
- These words were followed by such a flood of tears, that, albeit she had
- intended yet further to press her suit, speech failed her; her eyes drooped,
- and, almost swooning with emotion, she let her head fall upon the Count's
- breast. The Count, who was the most loyal of knights, began with all
- severity to chide her mad passion and to thrust her from him--for she was
- now making as if she would throw her arms around his neck--and to asseverate
- with oaths that he would rather be hewn in pieces than either commit, or
- abet another in committing such an offence against the honour of his lord;
- when the lady, catching his drift, and forgetting all her love in a sudden
- frenzy of rage, cried out:--"So! unknightly knight, is it thus you flout my
- love? Now Heaven forbid, but, as you would be the death of me, I either do
- you to death or drive you from the world!" So saying, she dishevelled and
- tore her hair and rent her garments to shreds about her bosom. Which done,
- she began shrieking at the top of her voice:--"Help! help! The Count of
- Antwerp threatens to violate me!" Whereupon the Count, who knew that a clear
- conscience was no protection against the envy of courtiers, and doubted that
- his innocence would prove scarce a match for the cunning of the lady,
- started to his feet, and hied him with all speed out of the room, out of the
- palace, and back to his own house. Counsel of none he sought; but forthwith
- set his children on horseback, and taking horse himself, departed post haste
- for Calais. The lady's cries brought not a few to her aid, who, observing
- her plight, not only gave entire credence to her story, but improved upon
- it, alleging that the debonair and accomplished Count had long employed all
- the arts of seduction to compass his end. So they rushed in hot haste to the
- Count's house, with intent to arrest him, and not finding him, sacked it and
- razed it to the ground. The news, as glosed and garbled, being carried to
- the King and Prince in the field, they were mightily incensed, and offered a
- great reward for the Count, dead or alive, and condemned him and his
- posterity to perpetual banishment.
- Meanwhile the Count, sorely troubled that by his flight his innocence shewed
- as guilt, pursued his journey, and concealing his identity, and being
- recognised by none, arrived with his two children at Calais. Thence he
- forthwith crossed to England, and, meanly clad, fared on for London, taking
- care as he went to school his children in all that belonged to their new way
- of life, and especially in two main articles: to wit, that they should bear
- with resignation the poverty to which, by no fault of theirs, but solely by
- one of Fortune's caprices, they and he were reduced, and that they should be
- most sedulously on their guard to betray to none, as they valued their
- lives, whence they were, or who their father was. The son, Louis by name,
- was perhaps nine, and the daughter, Violante, perhaps seven years of age.
- For years so tender they proved apt pupils, and afterwards shewed by their
- conduct that they had well learned their father's lesson. He deemed it
- expedient to change their names, and accordingly called the boy Perrot and
- the girl Jeannette. So, meanly clad, the Count and his two children arrived
- at London, and there made shift to get a living by going about soliciting
- alms in the guise of French mendicants.
- Now, as for this purpose they waited one morning outside a church, it so
- befell that a great lady, the wife of one of the marshals of the King of
- England, observed them, as she left the church, asking alms, and demanded of
- the Count whence he was, and whether the children were his. He answered that
- he was from Picardy, that the children were his, and that he had been fain
- to leave Picardy by reason of the misconduct of their reprobate elder
- brother. The lady looked at the girl, who being fair, and of gentle and
- winning mien and manners, found much favour in her eyes. So the kind-hearted
- lady said to the Count:--"My good man, if thou art willing to leave thy
- little daughter with me, I like her looks so well that I will gladly take
- her; and if she grow up a good woman, I will see that she is suitably
- married when the right time comes." The Count was much gratified by the
- proposal, which he forthwith accepted, and parted with the girl, charging
- the lady with tears to take every care of her.
- Having thus placed the girl with one in whom he felt sure that he might
- trust, he determined to tarry no longer in London; wherefore, taking Perrot
- with him and begging as he went, he made his way to Wales, not without great
- suffering, being unused to go afoot. Now in Wales another of the King's
- marshals had his court, maintaining great state and a large number of
- retainers; to which court, the Count and his son frequently repaired, there
- to get food; and there Perrot, finding the marshal's son and other
- gentlemen's sons vying with one another in boyish exercises, as running and
- leaping, little by little joined their company, and shewed himself a match
- or more for them all in all their contests. The marshal's attention being
- thus drawn to him, he was well pleased with the boy's mien and bearing, and
- asked who he was. He was told that he was the son of a poor man who
- sometimes came there to solicit alms. Whereupon he asked the Count to let
- him have the boy, and the Count, to whom God could have granted no greater
- boon, readily consented, albeit he was very loath to part with Perrot.
- Having thus provided for his son and daughter, the Count resolved to quit
- the island; and did so, making his way as best he could to Stamford, in
- Ireland, where he obtained a menial's place in the service of a knight,
- retainer to one of the earls of that Country, and so abode there a long
- while, doing all the irksome and wearisome drudgery of a lackey or groom.
- Meanwhile under the care of the gentle lady at London Violante or Jeannette
- increased, as in years and stature so also in beauty, and in such favour
- with the lady and her husband and every other member of the household and
- all who knew her that 'twas a wonder to see; nor was there any that,
- observing her bearing and manners, would not have said that estate or
- dignity there was none so high or honourable but she was worthy of it. So
- the lady, who, since she had received her from her father, had been unable
- to learn aught else about him than what he had himself told, was minded to
- marry her honourably according to what she deemed to be her rank. But God,
- who justly apportions reward according to merit, having regard to her noble
- birth, her innocence, and the load of suffering which the sin of another had
- laid upon her, ordered otherwise; and in His good providence, lest the young
- gentlewoman should be mated with a churl, permitted, we must believe, events
- to take the course they did.
- The gentle lady with whom Jeannette lived had an only son, whom she and her
- husband loved most dearly, as well because he was a son as for his rare and
- noble qualities, for in truth there were few that could compare with him in
- courtesy and courage and personal beauty. Now the young man marked the
- extraordinary beauty and grace of Jeannette, who was about six years his
- junior, and fell so desperately in love with her that he had no eyes for any
- other maiden; but, deeming her to be of low degree, he not only hesitated to
- ask her of his parents in marriage, but, fearing to incur reproof for
- indulging a passion for an inferior, he did his utmost to conceal his love.
- Whereby it gave him far more disquietude than if he had avowed it; insomuch
- that--so extreme waxed his suffering--he fell ill, and that seriously.
- Divers physicians were called in, but, for all their scrutiny of his
- symptoms, they could not determine the nature of his malady, and one and all
- gave him up for lost. Nothing could exceed the sorrow and dejection of his
- father and mother, who again and again piteously implored him to discover to
- them the cause of his malady, and received no other answer than sighs or
- complaints that he seemed to be wasting away. Now it so happened that one
- day, Jeannette, who from regard for his mother was sedulous in waiting upon
- him, for some reason or another came into the room where he lay, while a
- very young but very skilful physician sate by him and held his pulse. The
- young man gave her not a word or other sign of recognition; but his passion
- waxed, his heart smote him, and the acceleration of his pulse at once
- betrayed his inward commotion to the physician, who, albeit surprised,
- remained quietly attentive to see how long it would last, and observing that
- it ceased when Jeannette left the room, conjectured that he was on the way
- to explain the young man's malady. So, after a while, still holding the
- young man's pulse, he sent for Jeannette, as if he had something to ask of
- her. She returned forthwith; the young man's pulse mounted as soon as she
- entered the room, and fell again as soon as she left it. Wherefore the
- physician no longer hesitated, but rose, and taking the young man's father
- and mother aside, said to them:--"The restoration of your son's health rests
- not with medical skill, but solely with Jeannette, whom, as by unmistakable
- signs I have discovered, he ardently loves, though, so far I can see, she is
- not aware of it. So you know what you have to do, if you value his life."
- The prospect thus afforded of their son's deliverance from death reassured
- the gentleman and his lady, albeit they were troubled, misdoubting it must
- be by his marriage with Jeannette. So, when the physician was gone, they
- went to the sick lad, and the lady thus spoke:--"My son, never would I have
- believed that thou wouldst have concealed from me any desire of thine, least
- of all if such it were that privation should cause thee to languish; for
- well assured thou shouldst have been and shouldst be, that I hold thee dear
- as my very self, and that whatever may be for thy contentment, even though
- it were scarce seemly, I would do it for thee; but, for all thou hast so
- done, God has shewn Himself more merciful to theeward than thyself, and,
- lest thou die of this malady, has given me to know its cause, which is
- nothing else than the excessive love which thou bearest to a young woman, be
- she who she may. Which love in good sooth thou needest not have been ashamed
- to declare; for it is but natural at thy age; and hadst thou not loved, I
- should have deemed thee of very little worth. So, my son, be not shy of me,
- but frankly discover to me thy whole heart; and away with this gloom and
- melancholy whereof thy sickness is engendered, and be comforted, and assure
- thyself that there is nought that thou mayst require of me which I will not
- do to give thee ease, so far as my powers may reach, seeing that thou art
- dearer to me than my own life. Away with thy shamefastness and fears, and
- tell me if there is aught wherein I may be helpful to thee in the matter of
- thy love; and if I bestir not myself and bring it to pass, account me the
- most harsh mother that ever bore son."
- The young man was at first somewhat shamefast to hear his mother thus speak,
- but, reflecting that none could do more for his happiness than she, he took
- courage, and thus spoke:--"Madam, my sole reason for concealing my love from
- you was that I have observed that old people for the most part forget that
- they once were young; but, as I see that no such unreasonableness is to be
- apprehended in you, I not only acknowledge the truth of what you say that
- you have discerned, but I will also disclose to you the object of my
- passion, on the understanding that your promise shall to the best of your
- power be performed, as it must be, if I am to be restored to you in sound
- health." Whereupon the lady, making too sure of that which was destined to
- fall out otherwise than she expected, gave him every encouragement to
- discover all his heart, and promised to lose no time and spare no pains in
- endeavouring to compass his gratification. "Madam," said then the young man,
- "the rare beauty and exquisite manners of our Jeannette, my powerlessness to
- make her understand--I do not say commiserate--my love, and my reluctance to
- disclose it to any, have brought me to the condition in which you see me;
- and if your promise be not in one way or another performed, be sure that my
- life will be brief." The lady, deeming that the occasion called rather for
- comfort than for admonition, replied with a smile:--"Ah! my son, was this
- then of all things the secret of thy suffering? Be of good cheer, and leave
- me to arrange the affair, when you are recovered." So, animated by a
- cheerful hope, the young man speedily gave sign of a most marked
- improvement, which the lady observed with great satisfaction, and then began
- to cast about how she might keep her promise. So one day she sent for
- Jeannette, and in a tone of gentle raillery asked her if she had a lover.
- Jeannette turned very red as she answered:--"Madam, 'twould scarce, nay,
- 'twould ill become a damsel such as I, poor, outcast from home, and in the
- service of another, to occupy herself with thoughts of love." Whereto the
- lady answered:--"So you have none, we will give you one, who will brighten
- all your life and give you more joy of your beauty; for it is not right that
- so fair a damsel as you remain without a lover." "Madam," rejoined
- Jeannette, "you found me living in poverty with my father, you adopted me,
- you have brought me up as your daughter; wherefore I should, if possible,
- comply with your every wish; but in this matter I will render you no
- compliance, nor do I doubt that I do well. So you will give me a husband, I
- will love him, but no other will I love; for, as patrimony I now have none
- save my honour, that I am minded to guard and preserve while my life shall
- last." Serious though the obstacle was which these words opposed to the plan
- by which the lady had intended to keep her promise to her son, her sound
- judgment could not but secretly acknowledge that the spirit which they
- evinced was much to be commended in the damsel. Wherefore she said:--"Nay
- but, Jeannette; suppose that our Lord the King, who is a young knight as
- thou art a most fair damsel, craved some indulgence of thy love, wouldst
- thou deny him?" "The King," returned Jeannette without the least hesitation,
- "might constrain me, but with my consent he should never have aught of me
- that was not honourable." Whereto the lady made no answer, for she now
- understood the girl's temper; but, being minded to put her to the proof, she
- told her son that, as soon as he was recovered, she would arrange that he
- should be closeted with her in the same room, and be thus able to use all
- his arts to bring her to his will, saying that it ill became her to play the
- part of procuress and urge her son's suit upon her own maid. But as the
- young man, by no means approving this idea, suddenly grew worse, the lady at
- length opened her mind to Jeannette, whom she found in the same frame as
- before, and indeed even more resolute. Wherefore she told her husband all
- that she had done; and as both preferred that their son should marry beneath
- him, and live, than that he should remain single and die, they resolved,
- albeit much disconcerted, to give Jeannette to him to wife; and so after
- long debate they did. Whereat Jeannette was overjoyed, and with devout heart
- gave thanks to God that He had not forgotten her; nevertheless she still
- gave no other account of herself than that she was the daughter of a Picard.
- So the young man recovered, and blithe at heart as ne'er another, was
- married, and began to speed the time gaily with his bride.
- Meanwhile Perrot, left in Wales with the marshal of the King of England, had
- likewise with increase of years increase of favour with his master, and grew
- up most shapely and well-favoured, and of such prowess that in all the
- island at tourney or joust or any other passage of arms he had not his peer;
- being everywhere known and renowned as Perrot the Picard. And as God had not
- forgotten Jeannette, so likewise He made manifest by what follows that He
- had not forgotten Perrot. Well-nigh half the population of those parts being
- swept off by a sudden visitation of deadly pestilence, most of the survivors
- fled therefrom in a panic, so that the country was, to all appearance,
- entirely deserted. Among those that died of the pest were the marshal, his
- lady, and his son, besides brothers and nephews and kinsfolk in great
- number; whereby of his entire household there were left only one of his
- daughters, now marriageable, and a few servants, among them Perrot. Now
- Perrot being a man of such notable prowess, the damsel, soon after the
- pestilence had spent itself, took him, with the approval and by the advice
- of the few folk that survived, to be her husband, and made him lord of all
- that fell to her by inheritance. Nor was it long before the King of England,
- learning that the marshal was dead, made Perrot the Picard, to whose merit
- he was no stranger, marshal in the dead man's room. Such, in brief, was the
- history of the two innocent children, with whom the Count of Antwerp had
- parted, never expecting to see them again.
- 'Twas now the eighteenth year since the Count of Antwerp had taken flight
- from Paris, when, being still in Ireland, where he had led a very sorry and
- suffering sort of life, and feeling that age was now come upon him, he felt
- a longing to learn, if possible, what was become of his children. The
- fashion of his outward man was now completely changed; for long hardship had
- (as he well knew) given to his age a vigour which his youth, lapped in ease,
- had lacked. So he hesitated not to take his leave of the knight with whom he
- had so long resided, and poor and in sorry trim he crossed to England, and
- made his way to the place where he had left Perrot--to find him a great lord
- and marshal of the King, and in good health, and withal a hardy man and very
- handsome. All which was very grateful to the old man; but yet he would not
- make himself known to his son, until he had learned the fate of Jeannette.
- So forth he fared again, nor did he halt until he was come to London, where,
- cautiously questing about for news of the lady with whom he had left his
- daughter, and how it fared with her, he learned that Jeannette was married
- to the lady's son. Whereat, in the great gladness of his heart, he counted
- all his past adversity but a light matter, since he had found his children
- alive and prosperous. But sore he yearned to see Jeannette. Wherefore he
- took to loitering, as poor folk are wont, in the neighbourhood of the house.
- And so one day Jacques Lamiens--such was the name of Jeannette's husband--
- saw him and had pity on him, observing that he was poor and aged, and bade
- one of his servants take him indoors, and for God's sake give him something
- to eat; and nothing loath the servant did so. Now Jeannette had borne
- Jacques several children, the finest and the most winsome children in the
- world, the eldest no more than eight years old; who gathered about the Count
- as he ate, and, as if by instinct divining that he was their grandfather,
- began to make friends with him. He, knowing them for his grandchildren,
- could not conceal his love, and repaid them with caresses; insomuch that
- they would not hearken to their governor when he called them, but remained
- with the Count. Which being reported to Jeannette, she came out of her room,
- crossed to where the Count was sitting with the children, and bade them do
- as their master told them, or she would certainly have them whipped. The
- children began to cry, and to say that they would rather stay with the
- worthy man, whom they liked much better than their master; whereat both the
- lady and the Count laughed in sympathy. The Count had risen, with no other
- intention--for he was not minded to disclose his paternity--than to pay his
- daughter the respect due from his poverty to her rank, and the sight of her
- had thrilled his soul with a wondrous delight. By her he was and remained
- unrecognised; utterly changed as he was from his former self; aged,
- grey-haired, bearded, lean and tanned--in short to all appearance another
- man than the Count.
- However, seeing that the children were unwilling to leave him, but wept when
- she made as if she would constrain them, she bade the master let them be for
- a time. So the children remained with the worthy man, until by chance
- Jacques' father came home, and learned from the master what had happened.
- Whereupon, having a grudge against Jeannette, he said:--"Let them be; and
- God give them the ill luck which He owes them: whence they sprang, thither
- they must needs return; they descend from a vagabond on the mother's side,
- and so 'tis no wonder that they consort readily with vagabonds." The Count
- caught these words and was sorely pained, but, shrugging his shoulders, bore
- the affront silently as he had borne many another. Jacques, who had noted
- his children's fondness for the worthy man, to wit, the Count, was
- displeased; but nevertheless, such was the love he bore them, that, rather
- than see them weep, he gave order that, if the worthy man cared to stay
- there in his service, he should be received. The Count answered that he
- would gladly do so, but that he was fit for nothing except to look after
- horses, to which he had been used all his life. So a horse was assigned him,
- and when he had groomed him, he occupied himself in playing with the
- children.
- While Fortune thus shaped the destinies of the Count of Antwerp and his
- children, it so befell that after a long series of truces made with the
- Germans the King of France died, and his crown passed to his son, whose wife
- had been the occasion of the Count's banishment. The new king, as soon as
- the last truce with the Germans was run out, renewed hostilities with
- extraordinary vigour, being aided by his brother of England with a large
- army under the command of his marshal, Perrot, and his other marshal's son,
- Jacques Lamiens. With them went the worthy man, that is to say, the Count,
- who, unrecognised by any, served for a long while in the army in the
- capacity of groom, and acquitted himself both in counsel and in arms with a
- wisdom and valour unwonted in one of his supposed rank. The war was still
- raging when the Queen of France fell seriously ill, and, as she felt her end
- approach, made a humble and contrite confession of all her sins to the
- Archbishop of Rouen, who was universally reputed a good and most holy man.
- Among her other sins she confessed the great wrong that she had done to the
- Count of Antwerp; nor was she satisfied to confide it to the Archbishop, but
- recounted the whole affair, as it had passed, to not a few other worthy men,
- whom she besought to use their influence with the King to procure the
- restitution of the Count, if he were still alive, and if not, of his
- children, to honour and estate. And so, dying shortly afterwards, she was
- honourably buried. The Queen's confession wrung from the King a sigh or two
- of compunction for a brave man cruelly wronged; after which he caused
- proclamation to be made throughout the army and in many other parts, that
- whoso should bring him tidings of the Count of Antwerp, or his children,
- should receive from him such a guerdon for each of them as should justly be
- matter of marvel; seeing that he held him acquitted, by confession of the
- Queen, of the crime for which he had been banished, and was therefore now
- minded to grant him not only restitution but increase of honour and estate.
- Now the Count, being still with the army in his character of groom, heard
- the proclamation, which he did not doubt was made in good faith. Wherefore
- he hied him forthwith to Jacques, and begged a private interview with him
- and Perrot, that he might discover to them that whereof the King was in
- quest. So the meeting was had; and Perrot was on the point of declaring
- himself, when the Count anticipated him:--"Perrot," he said, "Jacques here
- has thy sister to wife, but never a dowry had he with her. Wherefore that
- thy sister be not dowerless, 'tis my will that he, and no other, have this
- great reward which the King offers for thee, son, as he shall certify, of
- the Count of Antwerp, and for his wife and thy sister, Violante, and for me,
- Count of Antwerp, thy father." So hearing, Perrot scanned the Count closely,
- and forthwith recognising him, burst into tears, and throwing himself at his
- feet embraced him, saying:--"My father, welcome, welcome indeed art thou."
- Whereupon, between what he had heard from the Count and what he had
- witnessed on the part of Perrot, Jacques was so overcome with wonder and
- delight, that at first he was at a loss to know how to act. However, giving
- entire credence to what he had heard, and recalling insulting language which
- he had used towards the quondam groom, the Count, he was sore stricken with
- shame, and wept, and fell at the Count's feet, and humbly craved his pardon
- for all past offences; which the Count, raising him to his feet, most
- graciously granted him. So with many a tear and many a hearty laugh the
- three men compared their several fortunes; which done, Perrot and Jacques
- would have arrayed the Count in manner befitting his rank, but he would by
- no means suffer it, being minded that Jacques, so soon as he was well
- assured that the guerdon was forthcoming, should present him to the King in
- his garb of groom, that thereby the King might be the more shamed. So
- Jacques, with the Count and Perrot, went presently to the King and offered
- to present to him the Count and his children, provided the guerdon were
- forthcoming according to the proclamation. Jacques wondered not a little as
- forthwith at a word from the King a guerdon was produced ample for all
- three, and he was bidden take it away with him, so only that he should in
- very truth produce, as he had promised, the Count and his children in the
- royal presence. Then, withdrawing a little and causing his quondam groom,
- now Count, to come forward with Perrot, he said:--"Sire, father and son are
- before you; the daughter, my wife, is not here, but, God willing, you shall
- soon see her." So hearing, the King surveyed the Count, whom,
- notwithstanding his greatly changed appearance, he at length recognised, and
- well-nigh moved to tears, he raised him from his knees to his feet, and
- kissed and embraced him. He also gave a kindly welcome to Perrot, and bade
- forthwith furnish the Count with apparel, servants and horses, suited to his
- rank; all which was no sooner said than done. Moreover the King shewed
- Jacques no little honour, and particularly questioned him of all his past
- adventures.
- As Jacques was about to take the noble guerdons assigned him for the
- discovery of the Count and his children, the Count said to him:--"Take these
- tokens of the magnificence of our Lord the King, and forget not to tell thy
- father that 'tis from no vagabond that thy children, his and my
- grandchildren, descend on the mother's side." So Jacques took the guerdons,
- and sent for his wife and mother to join him at Paris. Thither also came
- Perrot's wife: and there with all magnificence they were entertained by the
- Count, to whom the King had not only restored all his former estates and
- honours, but added thereto others, whereby he was now become a greater man
- than he had ever been before. Then with the Count's leave they all returned
- to their several houses. The Count himself spent the rest of his days at
- Paris in greater glory than ever.
- NOVEL IX.
- --
- Bernabo of Genoa, deceived by Ambrogiuolo, loses his money and commands his
- innocent wife to be put to death. She escapes, habits herself as a man, and
- serves the Soldan. She discovers the deceiver, and brings Bernabo to
- Alexandria, where the deceiver is punished. She then resumes the garb of a
- woman, and with her husband returns wealthy to Genoa.
- --
- When Elisa had performed her part, and brought her touching story to a
- close, Queen Philomena, a damsel no less stately than fair of person, and of
- a surpassingly sweet and smiling mien, having composed herself to speak,
- thus began:--
- Our engagements with Dioneo shall be faithfully observed; wherefore, as he
- and I alone remain to complete the day's narration, I will tell my story
- first, and he shall have the grace he craved, and be the last to speak.
- After which prelude she thus began her story:--'Tis a proverb current among
- the vulgar that the deceived has the better of the deceiver; a proverb
- which, were it not exemplified by events, might hardly in any manner be
- justified. Wherefore, while adhering to our theme, I am minded at the same
- time dearest ladies to shew you that there is truth in this proverb; the
- proof whereof should be none the less welcome to you that it may put you on
- your guard against deceivers.
- Know then that certain very great merchants of Italy, being met, as
- merchants use, for divers reasons proper to each, at a hostelry in Paris,
- and having one evening jovially supped together, fell a talking of divers
- matters, and so, passing from one topic to another, they came at last to
- discuss the ladies whom they had left at home, and one jocosely said:--"I
- cannot answer for my wife; but for myself I own, that, whenever a girl that
- is to my mind comes in my way, I give the go-by to the love that I bear my
- wife, and take my pleasure of the new-comer to the best of my power." "And
- so do I," said another, "because I know that, whether I suspect her or no,
- my wife tries her fortune, and so 'tis do as you are done by; the ass and
- the wall are quits." A third added his testimony to the same effect; and in
- short all seemed to concur in the opinion that the ladies they had left
- behind them were not likely to neglect their opportunities, when one, a
- Genoese, Bernabo Lomellin by name, dissociated himself from the rest,
- affirming that by especial grace of God he was blessed with a wife who was,
- perhaps, the most perfect paragon to be found in Italy of all the virtues
- proper to a lady, ay, and in great measure, to a knight or squire; inasmuch
- as she was fair, still quite young, handy, hardy, and clever beyond all
- other women in embroidery work and all other forms of lady's handicraft.
- Moreover so well-mannered, discreet and sensible was she that she was as fit
- to wait at a lord's table as any squire or manservant or such like, the best
- and most adroit that could be found. To which encomium he added that she
- knew how to manage a horse, fly a hawk, read, write and cast up accounts
- better than as if she were a merchant; and after much more in the same
- strain of commendation he came at length to the topic of their conversation,
- asseverating with an oath that 'twas not possible to find a woman more
- honest, more chaste than she: nay, he verily believed that, if he remained
- from home for ten years, or indeed for the rest of his days, she would never
- think of any of these casual amours with any other man.
- Among the merchants who thus gossiped was a young man, Ambrogiuolo da
- Piacenza, by name, who, when Bernabo thus concluded his eulogy of his wife,
- broke out into a mighty laugh, and asked him with a leer, whether he of all
- men had this privilege by special patent of the Emperor. Bernabo replied,
- somewhat angrily, that 'twas a boon conferred upon him by God, who was
- rather more powerful than the Emperor. To which Ambrogiuolo rejoined:--"I
- make no doubt, Bernabo, that thou believest that what thou sayst is true;
- but, methinks, thou hast been but a careless observer of the nature of
- things; otherwise, I do not take thee to be of so gross understanding but
- that thou must have discerned therein reasons for speaking more judiciously
- of this matter. And that thou mayst not think that we, who have spoken with
- much freedom about our wives, deem them to be of another nature and mould
- than thine, but mayst know that we have but uttered what common sense
- dictates, I am minded to go a little further into this matter with thee. I
- have always understood, that of all mortal beings created by God man is the
- most noble, and next after him woman: man, then, being, as is universally
- believed, and is indeed apparent by his works, more perfect than woman, must
- without doubt be endowed with more firmness and constancy, women being one
- and all more mobile, for reasons not a few and founded in nature, which I
- might adduce, but mean for the present to pass over. And yet, for all his
- greater firmness, man cannot withstand--I do not say a woman's
- supplications, but--the mere lust of the eye which she unwittingly excites,
- and that in such sort that he will do all that is in his power to induce her
- to pleasure him, not once, perhaps, in the course of a month, but a thousand
- times a day. How, then, shouldst thou expect a woman, mobile by nature, to
- resist the supplications, the flatteries, the gifts, and all the other modes
- of attack that an accomplished seducer will employ? Thou thinkest that she
- may hold out! Nay verily, affirm it as thou mayst, I doubt thou dost not
- really so think. Thou dost not deny that thy wife is a woman, a creature of
- flesh and blood like the rest; and if so, she must have the same cravings,
- the same natural propensities as they, and no more force to withstand them;
- wherefore 'tis at least possible, that, however honest she be, she will do
- as others do; and nought that is possible admits such peremptory denial or
- affirmation of its contrary as this of thine."
- Whereto Bernabo returned--"I am a merchant and no philosopher, and I will
- give thee a merchant's answer. I acknowledge that what thou sayst is true of
- vain and foolish women who have no modesty, but such as are discreet are so
- sensitive in regard of their honour that they become better able to preserve
- it than men, who have no such solicitude; and my wife is one of this sort."
- "Doubtless," observed Ambrogiuolo, "few would be found to indulge in these
- casual amours, if every time they did so a horn grew out on the brow to
- attest the fact; but not only does no horn make its appearance but not so
- much as a trace or vestige of a horn, so only they be but prudent; and the
- shame and dishonour consist only in the discovery: wherefore, if they can do
- it secretly, they do it, or are fools to refrain. Hold it for certain that
- she alone is chaste who either had never suit made to her, or, suing
- herself, was repulsed. And albeit I know that for reasons true and founded
- in nature this must needs be, yet I should not speak so positively thereof
- as I do, had I not many a time with many a woman verified it by experience.
- And I assure thee that, had I but access to this most saintly wife of thine,
- I should confidently expect very soon to have the same success with her as
- with others." Then Bernabo angrily:--"'Twere long and tedious to continue
- this discussion. I should have my say, and thou thine, and in the end
- 'twould come to nothing. But, as thou sayst that they are all so compliant,
- and that thou art so accomplished a seducer, I give thee this pledge of the
- honour of my wife: I consent to forfeit my head, if thou shouldst succeed in
- bringing her to pleasure thee in such a sort; and shouldst thou fail, thou
- shalt forfeit to me no more than one thousand florins of gold."
- Elated by this unexpected offer, Ambrogiuolo replied:--"I know not what I
- should do with thy blood, Bernabo, if I won the wager; but, if thou wouldst
- have proof of what I have told thee, lay five thousand florins of gold,
- which must be worth less to thee than thy head, against a thousand of mine,
- and, whereas thou makest no stipulation as to time, I will bind myself to go
- to Genoa, and within three months from my departure hence to have had my
- pleasure of thy wife, and in witness thereof to bring back with me, of the
- things which she prizes most dearly, evidence of her compliance so weighty
- and conclusive that thou thyself shalt admit the fact; nor do I require
- ought of thee but that thou pledge thy faith neither to come to Genoa nor to
- write word to her of this matter during the said three months." Bernabo
- professed himself well content; and though the rest of the company, seeing
- that the compact might well have very evil consequences, did all that they
- could to frustrate it, yet the two men were now so heated that, against the
- will of the others, they set it down fairly in writing, and signed it each
- with his own hand. This done, Ambrogiuolo, leaving Bernabo at Paris, posted
- with all speed for Genoa. Arrived there, he set to work with great caution;
- and having found out the quarter in which the lady resided, he learned in
- the course of a few days enough about her habits of life and her character
- to know that what Bernabo had told him was rather less than the truth. So,
- recognising that his enterprise was hopeless, he cast about for some device
- whereby he might cover his defeat; and having got speech of a poor woman,
- who was much in the lady's house, as also in her favour, he bribed her
- (other means failing) to convey him in a chest, which he had had made for
- the purpose, not only into the house but into the bedroom of the lady, whom
- the good woman, following Bernabo's instructions, induced to take charge of
- it for some days, during which, she said, she would be away.
- So the lady suffered the chest to remain in the room; and when the night was
- so far spent that Bernabo thought she must be asleep, he opened it with some
- tools with which he had provided himself, and stole softly out. There was a
- light in the room, so that he was able to form an idea of its situation, to
- take note of the pictures and everything else of consequence that it
- contained, and to commit the whole to memory. This done, he approached the
- bed; and observing that the lady, and a little girl that was with her, were
- fast asleep, he gently uncovered her, and saw that nude she was not a whit
- less lovely than when dressed: he looked about for some mark that might
- serve him as evidence that he had seen her in this state, but found nothing
- except a mole, which she had under the left breast, and which was fringed
- with a few fair hairs that shone like gold. So beautiful was she that he was
- tempted at the hazard of his life to take his place by her side in the bed;
- but, remembering what he had heard of her inflexible obduracy in such
- affairs, he did not venture; but quietly replaced the bedclothes; and having
- passed the best part of the night very much at his ease in her room, he took
- from one of the lady's boxes a purse, a gown, a ring and a girdle, and with
- these tokens returned to the chest, and locked himself in as before. In this
- manner he passed two nights, nor did the lady in the least suspect his
- presence. On the third day the good woman came by preconcert to fetch her
- chest, and took it back to the place whence she had brought it. So
- Ambrogiuolo got out, paid her the stipulated sum, and hied him back with all
- speed to Paris, where he arrived within the appointed time. Then, in
- presence of the merchants who were witnesses of his altercation with
- Bernabo, and the wager to which it had given occasion, he told Bernabo that
- he had won the bet, having done what he had boasted that he would do; and in
- proof thereof he first of all described the appearance of the room and the
- pictures, and then displayed the articles belonging to the lady which he had
- brought away with him, averring that she had given them to him. Bernabo
- acknowledged the accuracy of his description of the room, and that the
- articles did really belong to his wife, but objected that Ambrogiuolo might
- have learned characteristic features of the room from one of the servants,
- and have come by the things in a similar way, and therefore, unless he had
- something more to say, he could not justly claim to have won the bet.
- "Verily," rejoined Ambrogiuolo, "this should suffice; but, as thou requirest
- that I say somewhat further, I will satisfy thee. I say, then, that Madam
- Zinevra, thy wife, has under her left breast a mole of some size, around
- which are, perhaps, six hairs of a golden hue." As Bernabo heard this, it
- was as if a knife pierced his heart, so poignant was his suffering; and,
- though no word escaped him, the complete alteration of his mien bore
- unmistakable witness to the truth of Ambrogiuolo's words. After a while he
- said:--"Gentlemen, 'tis even as Ambrogiuolo says; he has won the bet; he has
- but to come when he will, and he shall be paid." And so the very next day
- Ambrogiuolo was paid in full, and Bernabo, intent on wreaking vengeance on
- his wife, left Paris and set his face towards Genoa. He had no mind,
- however, to go home, and accordingly halted at an estate which he had some
- twenty miles from the city, whither he sent forward a servant, in whom he
- reposed much trust, with two horses and a letter advising the lady of his
- return, and bidding her come out to meet him. At the same time he gave the
- servant secret instructions to choose some convenient place, and ruthlessly
- put the lady to death, and so return to him. On his arrival at Genoa the
- servant delivered his message and the letter to the lady, who received him
- with great cheer, and next morning got on horseback and set forth with him
- for her husband's estate. So they rode on, talking of divers matters, until
- they came to a deep gorge, very lonely, and shut in by high rocks and trees.
- The servant, deeming this just the place in which he might without risk of
- discovery fulfil his lord's behest, whipped out a knife, and seizing the
- lady by the arm, said:--"Madam, commend your soul to God, for here must end
- at once your journey and your life." Terror-stricken by what she saw and
- heard, the lady cried out:--"Mercy for God's sake; before thou slay me, tell
- me at least wherein I have wronged thee, that thou art thus minded to put me
- to death." "Madam," said the servant, "me you have in no wise wronged; but
- your husband--how you may have wronged him I know not--charged me shew you
- no mercy, but to slay you on this journey, and threatened to have me hanged
- by the neck, should I not do so. You know well how bound I am to him, and
- that I may not disobey any of his commands: God knows I pity you, but yet I
- can no otherwise." Whereat the lady burst into tears, saying:--"Mercy for
- God's sake; make not thyself the murderer of one that has done thee no
- wrong, at the behest of another. The all-seeing God knows that I never did
- aught to merit such requital at my husband's hands. But enough of this for
- the present: there is a way in which thou canst serve at once God and thy
- master and myself, if thou wilt do as I bid thee: take, then, these clothes
- of mine and give me in exchange just thy doublet and a hood; and carry the
- clothes with thee to my lord and thine, and tell him that thou hast slain
- me; and I swear to thee by the life which I shall have received at thy
- hands, that I will get me gone, and there abide whence news of me shall
- never reach either him or thee or these parts." The servant, being loath to
- put her to death, soon yielded to pity; and so he took her clothes, allowing
- her to retain a little money that she had, and gave her one of his worser
- doublets and a hood; then, praying her to depart the country, he left her
- afoot in the gorge, and returned to his master, whom he gave to understand
- that he had not only carried out his orders but had left the lady's body a
- prey to wolves. Bernabo after a while returned to Genoa, where, the supposed
- murder being bruited abroad, he was severely censured.
- Alone and disconsolate, the lady, as night fell, disguised herself as best
- she could, and hied her to a neighbouring village, where, having procured
- what was needful from an old woman, she shortened the doublet and fitted it
- to her figure, converted her chemise into a pair of breeches, cut her hair
- close, and, in short, completely disguised herself as a sailor. She then
- made her way to the coast, where by chance she encountered a Catalan
- gentleman, by name Segner Encararch, who had landed from one of his ships,
- which lay in the offing, to recreate himself at Alba, where there was a
- fountain. So she made overture to him of her services, was engaged and taken
- aboard the ship, assuming the name Sicurano da Finale. The gentleman put her
- in better trim as to clothes, and found her so apt and handy at service that
- he was exceeding well pleased with her.
- Not long afterwards the Catalan sailed one of his carracks to Alexandria. He
- took with him some peregrine falcons, which he presented to the Soldan, who
- feasted him once or twice; and noting with approbation the behaviour of
- Sicurano, who always attended his master, he craved him of the Catalan,
- which request the Catalan reluctantly granted. Sicurano proved so apt for
- his new service that he was soon as high in grace and favour with the Soldan
- as he had been with the Catalan. Wherefore, when the time of year came at
- which there was wont to be held at Acre, then under the Soldan's sway, a
- great fair, much frequented by merchants, Christian and Saracen alike, and
- to which, for the security of the merchants and their goods, the Soldan
- always sent one of his great officers of state with other officers and a
- guard to attend upon them, he determined to send Sicurano, who by this time
- knew the language very well. So Sicurano was sent to Acre as governor and
- captain of the guard for the protection of the merchants and merchandise.
- Arrived there, he bestirred himself with great zeal in all matters
- appertaining to his office; and as he went his rounds of inspection, he
- espied among the merchants not a few from Italy, Sicilians, Pisans, Genoese,
- Venetians, and so forth, with whom he consorted the more readily because
- they reminded him of his native land. And so it befell that, alighting once
- at a shop belonging to some Venetian merchants, he saw there among other
- trinkets a purse and a girdle, which he forthwith recognised as having once
- been his own. Concealing his surprise, he blandly asked whose they were, and
- if they were for sale. He was answered by Ambrogiuolo da Piacenza, who had
- come thither with much merchandise aboard a Venetian ship, and hearing that
- the captain of the guard was asking about the ownership of the purse and
- girdle, came forward, and said with a smile:--"The things are mine, Sir, and
- I am not disposed to sell them, but, if they take your fancy, I will gladly
- give them to you." Observing the smile, Sicurano misdoubted that something
- had escaped him by which Ambrogiuolo had recognised him; but he answered
- with a composed air:--"Thou dost smile, perchance, to see me, a soldier,
- come asking about this woman's gear?" "Not so, Sir," returned Ambrogiuolo;
- "I smile to think of the manner in which I came by it." "And pray," said
- Sicurano, "if thou hast no reason to conceal it, tell me, in God's name, how
- thou didst come by the things." " Why, Sir," said Ambrogiuolo, "they were
- given me by a Genoese lady, with whom I once spent a night, Madam Zinevra by
- name, wife of Bernabo Lomellin, who prayed me to keep them as a token of her
- love. I smiled just now to think of the folly of Bernabo, who was so mad as
- to stake five thousand florins of gold, against my thousand that I could not
- bring his wife to surrender to me; which I did. I won the bet; and he, who
- should rather have been punished for his insensate folly, than she for doing
- what all women do, had her put to death, as I afterwards gathered, on his
- way back from Paris to Genoa."
- Ambrogiuolo had not done speaking before Sicurano had discerned in him the
- evident cause of her husband's animosity against her, and all her woe, and
- had made up her mind that he should not escape with impunity. She therefore
- feigned to be much interested by this story, consorted frequently and very
- familiarly with Ambrogiuolo, and insidiously captured his confidence,
- insomuch that at her suggestion, when the fair was done, he, taking with him
- all his wares, accompanied her to Alexandria, where she provided him with a
- shop, and put no little of her own money in his hands; so that he, finding
- it very profitable, was glad enough to stay. Anxious to make her innocence
- manifest to Bernabo, Sicurano did not rest until, with the help of some
- great Genoese merchants that were in Alexandria, she had devised an
- expedient to draw him thither. Her plan succeeded; Bernabo arrived; and, as
- he was now very poor, she privily arranged that he should be entertained by
- one of her friends until occasion should serve to carry out her design. She
- had already induced Ambrogiuolo to tell his story to the Soldan, and the
- Soldan to interest himself in the matter. So Bernabo being come, and further
- delay inexpedient, she seized her opportunity, and persuaded the Soldan to
- cite Ambrogiuolo and Bernabo before him, that in Bernabo's presence
- Ambrogiuolo might be examined of his boast touching Bernabo's wife, and the
- truth hereof, if not to be had from him by gentle means, be elicited by
- torture. So the Soldan, having Ambrogiuolo and Bernabo before him, amid a
- great concourse of his people questioned Ambrogiuolo of the five thousand
- florins of gold that he had won from Bernabo, and sternly bade him tell the
- truth. Still more harsh was the aspect of Sicurano, in whom Ambrogiuolo had
- placed his chief reliance, but who now threatened him with the direst
- torments if the truth were not forthcoming. Thus hard bested on this side
- and on that, and in a manner coerced, Ambrogiuolo, thinking he had but to
- refund, in presence of Bernabo and many others accurately recounted the
- affair as it had happened. When he had done, Sicurano, as minister of the
- Soldan for the time being, turned to Bernabo and said:--"And thy wife, thus
- falsely accused, what treatment did she meet with at thy hands?"
- "Mortified," said Bernabo, "by the loss of my money, and the dishonour which
- I deemed to have been done me by my wife, I was so overcome by wrath that I
- had her put to death by one of my servants, who brought me word that her
- corpse had been instantly devoured by a pack of wolves."
- Albeit the Soldan had heard and understood all that had passed, yet he did
- not as yet apprehend the object for which Sicurano had pursued the
- investigation. Wherefore Sicurano thus addressed him:--"My lord, what cause
- this good lady has to boast of her lover and her husband you have now
- abundant means of judging; seeing that the lover at one and the same time
- despoils her of her honour, blasting her fair fame with slanderous
- accusations, and ruins her husband; who, more prompt to trust the falsehood
- of another than the verity of which his own long experience should have
- assured him, devotes her to death and the devouring wolves; and, moreover,
- such is the regard, such the love which both bear her that, though both
- tarry a long time with her, neither recognises her. However, that you may
- know full well what chastisements they have severally deserved, I will now
- cause her to appear in your presence and theirs, provided you, of your
- especial grace, be pleased to punish the deceiver and pardon the deceived."
- The Soldan, being minded in this matter to defer entirely to Sicurano,
- answered that he was well content, and bade produce the lady. Bernabo, who
- had firmly believed that she was dead, was lost in wonder; likewise
- Ambrogiuolo, who now divined his evil plight, and dreading something worse
- than the disbursement of money, knew not whether to expect the lady's advent
- with fear or with hope. His suspense was not of long duration; for, as soon
- as the Soldan signified his assent, Sicurano, weeping, threw herself on her
- knees at his feet, and discarding the tones, as she would fain have divested
- herself of the outward semblance, of a man, said:--"My lord, that forlorn,
- hapless Zinevra am I, falsely and foully slandered by this traitor
- Ambrogiuolo, and by my cruel and unjust husband delivered over to his
- servant to slaughter and cast out as a prey to the wolves; for which cause I
- have now for six years been a wanderer on the face of the earth in the guise
- of a man." Then rending her robes in front and baring her breast, she made
- it manifest to the Soldan and all others who were present, that she was
- indeed a woman; then turning to Ambrogiuolo she haughtily challenged him to
- say when she had ever lain with him, as he had boasted. Ambrogiuolo said
- never a word, for he now recognised her, and it was as if shame had reft
- from him the power of speech. The Soldan, who had never doubted that
- Sicurano was a man, was so wonder-struck by what he saw and heard that at
- times he thought it must be all a dream. But, as wonder gave place to
- conviction of the truth, he extolled in the amplest terms the constancy and
- virtue and seemliness with which Zinevra, erstwhile Sicurano, had ordered
- her life. He then directed that she should be most nobly arrayed in the garb
- of her sex and surrounded by a bevy of ladies. Mindful of her intercession,
- he granted to Bernabo the life which he had forfeited; and she, when Bernabo
- threw himself at her feet and wept and craved her pardon, raised him,
- unworthy though he was, to his feet and generously forgave him, and tenderly
- embraced him as her husband. Ambrogiuolo the Soldan commanded to be bound to
- a stake, that his bare flesh, anointed with honey, might be exposed to the
- sun on one of the heights of the city, there to remain until it should fall
- to pieces of its own accord: and so 'twas done. He then decreed that the
- lady should have the traitor's estate, which was worth not less but rather
- more than ten thousand doubloons; whereto he added, in jewels and vessels of
- gold and silver and in money, the equivalent of upwards of other ten
- thousand doubloons, having first entertained her and her husband with most
- magnificent and ceremonious cheer, accordant with the lady's worth. Which
- done, he placed a ship at their disposal, and gave them leave to return to
- Genoa at their pleasure. So to Genoa they returned very rich and happy, and
- were received with all honour, especially Madam Zinevra, whom all the
- citizens had believed to be dead, and whom thenceforth, so long as she
- lived, they held of great consequence and excellency. As for Ambrogiuolo,
- the very same day that he was bound to the stake, the honey with which his
- body was anointed attracted such swarms of flies, wasps and gadflies,
- wherewith that country abounds, that not only was his life sucked from him
- but his very bones were completely denuded of flesh; in which state, hanging
- by the sinews, they remained a long time undisturbed, for a sign and a
- testimony of his baseness to all that passed by. And so the deceived had the
- better of the deceiver.
- NOVEL X.
- --
- Paganino da Monaco carries off the wife of Messer Ricciardo di Chinzica,
- who, having learned where she is, goes to Paganino and in a friendly manner
- asks him to restore her. He consents, provided she be willing. She refuses
- to go back with her husband. Messer Ricciardo dies, and she marries
- Paganino.
- --
- Their queen's story, by its beauty, elicited hearty commendation from all
- the honourable company, and most especially from Dioneo, with whom it now
- rested to conclude the day's narration. Again and again he renewed his
- eulogy of the queen's story; and then began on this wise:--
- Fair ladies, there is that in the queen's story which has caused me to
- change my purpose, and substitute another story for that which I had meant
- to tell: I refer to the insensate folly of Bernabo (well though it was with
- him in the end) and of all others who delude themselves, as he seemed to do,
- with the vain imagination that, while they go about the world, taking their
- pleasure now of this, now of the other woman, their wives, left at home,
- suffer not their hands to stray from their girdles; as if we who are born of
- them and bred among them, could be ignorant of the bent of their desires.
- Wherefore, by my story I purpose at one and the same time to shew you how
- great is the folly of all such, and how much greater is the folly of those
- who, deeming themselves mightier than nature, think by sophistical arguments
- to bring that to pass which is beyond their power, and strive might and main
- to conform others to their own pattern, however little the nature of the
- latter may brook such treatment. Know then that there was in Pisa a judge,
- better endowed with mental than with physical vigour, by name Messer
- Ricciardo di Chinzica, who, being minded to take a wife, and thinking,
- perhaps, to satisfy her by the same resources which served him for his
- studies, was to be suited with none that had not both youth and beauty,
- qualities which he would rather have eschewed, if he had known how to give
- himself as good counsel as he gave to others. However, being very rich, he
- had his desire. Messer Lotto Gualandi gave him in marriage one of his
- daughters, Bartolomea by name, a maid as fair and fit for amorous dalliance
- as any in Pisa, though few maids be there that do not shew as spotted
- lizards. The judge brought her home with all pomp and ceremony, and had a
- brave and lordly wedding; but in the essay which he made the very first
- night to serve her so as to consummate the marriage he made a false move,
- and drew the game much to his own disadvantage; for next morning his lean,
- withered and scarce animate frame was only to be re-quickened by draughts of
- vernaccia,(1) artificial restoratives and the like remedies. So, taking a
- more sober estimate of his powers than he had been wont, the worthy judge
- began to give his wife lessons from a calendar, which might have served as a
- horn-book, and perhaps had been put together at Ravenna(2) inasmuch as,
- according to his shewing, there was not a day in the year but was sacred,
- not to one saint only, but to many; in honour of whom for divers reasons it
- behoved men and women to abstain from carnal intercourse; whereto he added
- fast-days, Ember-days, vigils of Apostles and other saints, Friday,
- Saturday, Sunday, the whole of Lent, certain lunar mansions, and many other
- exceptions, arguing perchance, that the practice of men with women abed
- should have its times of vacation no less than the administration of the
- law. In this method, which caused the lady grievous dumps, he long
- persisted, hardly touching her once a month, and observing her closely, lest
- another should give her to know working-days, as he had taught her holidays.
- Now it so befell that, one hot season, Messer Ricciardo thought he would
- like to visit a very beautiful estate which he had near Monte Nero, there to
- take the air and recreate himself for some days, and thither accordingly he
- went with his fair lady. While there, to amuse her, he arranged for a day's
- fishing; and so, he in one boat with the fishermen, and she in another with
- other ladies, they put out to watch the sport, which they found so
- delightsome, that almost before they knew where they were they were some
- miles out to sea. And while they were thus engrossed with the sport, a
- galliot of Paganino da Mare, a very famous corsair of those days, hove in
- sight and bore down upon the boats, and, for all the speed they made, came
- up with that in which were the ladies; and on sight of the fair lady
- Paganino, regardless of all else, bore her off to his galliot before the
- very eyes of Messer Ricciardo, who was by this time ashore, and forthwith
- was gone. The chagrin of the judge, who was jealous of the very air, may
- readily be imagined. But 'twas to no purpose that, both at Pisa and
- elsewhere, he moaned and groaned over the wickedness of the corsairs, for he
- knew neither by whom his wife had been abducted, nor whither she had been
- taken. Paganino, meanwhile, deemed himself lucky to have gotten so beautiful
- a prize; and being unmarried, he was minded never to part with her, and
- addressed himself by soft words to soothe the sorrow which kept her in a
- flood of tears. Finding words of little avail, he at night passed--the more
- readily that the calendar had slipped from his girdle, and all feasts and
- holidays from his mind--to acts of love, and on this wise administered
- consolation so effective that before they were come to Monaco she had
- completely forgotten the judge and his canons, and had begun to live with
- Paganino as merrily as might be. So he brought her to Monaco, where, besides
- the daily and nightly solace which he gave her, he honourably entreated her
- as his wife.
- Not long afterwards Messer Ricciardo coming to know where his wife was, and
- being most ardently desirous to have her back, and thinking none but he
- would understand exactly what to do in the circumstances, determined to go
- and fetch her himself, being prepared to spend any sum of money that might
- be demanded by way of ransom. So he took ship, and being come to Monaco, he
- both saw her and was seen by her; which news she communicated to Paganino in
- the evening, and told him how she was minded to behave. Next morning Messer
- Ricciardo, encountering Paganino, made up to him; and soon assumed a very
- familiar and friendly air, while Paganino pretended not to know him, being
- on his guard to see what he would be at. So Messer Ricciardo, as soon as he
- deemed the time ripe, as best and most delicately he was able, disclosed to
- Paganino the business on which he had come, praying him to take whatever in
- the way of ransom he chose and restore him the lady. Paganino replied
- cheerily:--"Right glad I am to see you here, Sir; and briefly thus I answer
- you:--True it is that I have here a young woman; whether she be your wife or
- another man's, I know not, for you are none of my acquaintance, nor is she,
- except for the short time that she has been with me. If, as you say, you are
- her husband, why, as you seem to me to be a pleasant gentleman, I will even
- take you to her, and I doubt not she will know you well; if she says that it
- is even as you say, and is minded to go with you, you shall give me just
- what you like by way of ransom, so pleasant have I found you; otherwise
- 'twill be churlish in you to think of taking her from me, who am a young
- man, and as fit to keep a woman as another, and moreover never knew any
- woman so agreeable." "My wife," said Ricciardo, "she is beyond all manner of
- doubt, as thou shalt see; for so soon as thou bringest me to her, she will
- throw her arms about my neck; wherefore as thou art minded, even so be it; I
- ask no more." "Go we then," said Paganino; and forthwith they went into the
- house, and Paganino sent for the lady while they waited in one of the halls.
- By and by she entered from one of the adjoining rooms all trim and tricked
- out, and advanced to the place where Paganino and Messer Ricciardo were
- standing, but never a word did she vouchsafe to her husband, any more than
- if he had been some stranger whom Paganino had brought into the house.
- Whereat the judge was mightily amazed, having expected to be greeted by her
- with the heartiest of cheer, and began to ruminate thus:--Perhaps I am so
- changed by the melancholy and prolonged heartache, to which I have been a
- prey since I lost her, that she does not recognise me. Wherefore he said:--
- "Madam, cause enough have I to rue it that I took thee a fishing, for never
- yet was known such grief as has been mine since I lost thee; and now it
- seems as if thou dost not recognise me, so scant of courtesy is thy
- greeting. Seest thou not that I am thy Messer Ricciardo, come hither
- prepared to pay whatever this gentleman, in whose house we are, may demand,
- that I may have thee back and take thee away with me: and he is so good as
- to surrender thee on my own terms?" The lady turned to him with a slight
- smile, and said:--"Is it to me you speak, Sir? Bethink you that you may have
- mistaken me for another, for I, for my part, do not remember ever to have
- seen you." "Nay," said Messer Ricciardo, "but bethink thee what thou sayst;
- scan me closely; and if thou wilt but search thy memory, thou wilt find that
- I am thy Ricciardo di Chinzica." "Your pardon, Sir," answered the lady,
- "'tis not, perhaps, as seemly for me, as you imagine, to gaze long upon you;
- but I have gazed long enough to know that I never saw you before." Messer
- Ricciardo supposed that she so spoke for fear of Paganino, in whose presence
- she durst not acknowledge that she knew him: so, after a while, he craved as
- a favour of Paganino that he might speak with her in a room alone. Which
- request Paganino granted, so only that he did not kiss her against her will.
- He then bade the lady go with Messer Ricciardo into a room apart, and hear
- what he had to say, and give him such answer as she deemed meet. So the lady
- and Messer Ricciardo went together into a room alone, and sate down, and
- Messer Ricciardo began on this wise:--"Ah! dear heart of me, sweet soul of
- me, hope of me, dost not recognise thy Ricciardo that loves thee better than
- himself? how comes it thus to pass? am I then so changed? Ah! goodly eye of
- me, do but look on me a little." Whereat the lady burst into a laugh, and
- interrupting him, said:--"Rest assured that my memory is not so short but
- that I know you for what you are, my husband, Messer Ricciardo di Chinzica;
- but far enough you shewed yourself to be, while I was with you, from knowing
- me for what I was, young, lusty, lively; which, had you been the wise man
- you would fain be reputed, you would not have ignored, nor by consequence
- that which, besides food and clothing, it behoves men to give young ladies,
- albeit for shame they demand it not; which in what sort you gave, you know.
- You should not have taken a wife if she was to be less to you than the study
- of the law, albeit 'twas never as a judge that I regarded you, but rather as
- a bellman of encaenia and saints' days, so well you knew them all, and fasts
- and vigils. And I tell you that, had you imposed the observance of as many
- saints' days on the labourers that till your lands as on yourself who had
- but my little plot to till, you would never have harvested a single grain of
- corn. God in His mercy, having regard unto my youth, has caused me to fall
- in with this gentleman, with whom I am much closeted in this room, where
- nought is known of feasts, such feasts, I mean, as you, more devoted to the
- service of God than to the service of ladies, were wont to observe in such
- profusion; nor was this threshold ever crossed by Saturday or Friday or
- vigil or Ember-days or Lent, that is so long; rather here we are at work day
- and night, threshing the wool, and well I know how featly it went when the
- matin bell last sounded. Wherefore with him I mean to stay, and to work
- while I am young, and postpone the observance of feasts and times of
- indulgence and fasts until I am old: so get you hence, and good luck go with
- you, but depart with what speed you may, and observe as many feasts as you
- like, so I be not with you."
- The pain with which Messer Ricciardo followed this outburst was more than he
- could bear, and when she had done, he exclaimed:--"Ah! sweet soul of me,
- what words are these that thou utterest? Hast thou no care for thy parents'
- honour and thine own? Wilt thou remain here to be this man's harlot, and to
- live in mortal sin, rather than live with me at Pisa as my wife? Why, when
- he is tired of thee, he will cast thee out to thy most grievous dishonour. I
- will ever cherish thee, and ever, will I nill I, thou wilt be the mistress
- of my house. Wouldst thou, to gratify this unbridled and unseemly passion,
- part at once with thy honour and with me, who love thee more dearly than my
- very life? Ah! cherished hope of me, say not so again: make up thy mind to
- come with me. As I now know thy bent, I will henceforth constrain myself to
- pleasure thee: wherefore, sweet my treasure, think better of it, and come
- with me, who have never known a happy hour since thou wert reft from me."
- The lady answered:--"I expect not, nor is it possible, that another should
- be more tender of my honour than I am myself. Were my parents so, when they
- gave me to you? I trow not; nor mean I to be more tender of their honour now
- than they were then of mine. And if now I live in mortar sin, I will ever
- abide there until it be pestle sin:(3) concern yourself no further on my
- account. Moreover, let me tell you, that, whereas at Pisa 'twas as if I were
- your harlot, seeing that the planets in conjunction according to lunar
- mansion and geometric square intervened between you and me, here with
- Paganino I deem myself a wife, for he holds me in his arms all night long
- and hugs and bites me, and how he serves me, God be my witness. Ah! but you
- say you will constrain yourself to serve me: to what end? to do it on the
- third essay, and raise it by stroke of baton? I doubt not you are become a
- perfect knight since last I saw you. Begone, and constrain yourself to live;
- for here, methinks, your tenure is but precarious, so hectic and wasted is
- your appearance. Nay more; I tell you this, that, should Paganino desert me
- (which he does not seem disposed to do so long as I am willing to stay with
- him), never will I return to your house, where for one while I staid to my
- most grievous loss and prejudice, but will seek my commodity elsewhere, than
- with one from whose whole body I could not wring a single cupful of sap. So,
- again, I tell you that here is neither feast nor vigil; wherefore here I
- mean to abide; and you, get you gone, in God's name with what speed you may,
- lest I raise the cry that you threaten to violate me."
- Messer Ricciardo felt himself hard bested, but he could not but recognise
- that, worn out as he was, he had been foolish to take a young wife; so sad
- and woebegone he quitted the room, and, after expending on Paganino a wealth
- of words which signified nothing, he at last gave up his bootless
- enterprise, and leaving the lady to her own devices, returned to Pisa; where
- for very grief he lapsed into such utter imbecility that, when he was met by
- any with greeting or question in the street, he made no other answer than
- "the evil hole brooks no holiday," and soon afterwards died. Which when
- Paganino learned, being well assured of the love the lady bore him, he made
- her his lawful wife; and so, keeping neither feast nor vigil nor Lent, they
- worked as hard as their legs permitted, and had a good time. Wherefore, dear
- my ladies, I am of opinion that Messer Bernabo in his altercation with
- Ambrogiuolo rode the goat downhill.(4)
- (1) A strong white wine.
- (2) The saying went, that owing to the multitude of churches at Ravenna
- every day was there a saint's day.
- (3) A poor jeu de mots, mortaio, mortar, being substituted for mortale.
- (4) I.e. argued preposterously, the goat being the last animal to carry a
- rider comfortably downhill.
- This story provoked so much laughter that the jaws of every one in the
- company ached; and all the ladies by common consent acknowledged that Dioneo
- was right, and pronounced Bernabo a blockhead. But when the story was ended
- and the laughter had subsided, the queen, observing that the hour was now
- late, and that with the completion of the day's story-telling the end of her
- sovereignty was come, followed the example of her predecessor, and took off
- her wreath and set it on Neifile's brow, saying with gladsome mien, "Now,
- dear gossip, thine be the sovereignty of this little people;" and so she
- resumed her seat. Neifile coloured somewhat to receive such honour, shewing
- of aspect even as the fresh-blown rose of April or May in the radiance of
- the dawn, her eyes rather downcast, and glowing with love's fire like the
- morning-star. But when the respectful murmur, by which the rest of the
- company gave blithe token of the favour in which they held their queen, was
- hushed, and her courage revived, she raised herself somewhat more in her
- seat than she was wont, and thus spoke:--"As so it is that I am your queen,
- I purpose not to depart from the usage observed by my predecessors, whose
- rule has commanded not only your obedience but your approbation. I will
- therefore in few words explain to you the course which, if it commend itself
- to your wisdom, we will follow. To-morrow, you know, is Friday, and the next
- day Saturday, days which most folk find somewhat wearisome by reason of the
- viands which are then customary, to say nothing of the reverence in which
- Friday is meet to be held, seeing that 'twas on that day that He who died
- for us bore His passion; wherefore 'twould be in my judgment both right and
- very seemly, if, in honour of God, we then bade story-telling give place to
- prayer. On Saturday ladies are wont to wash the head, and rid their persons
- of whatever of dust or other soilure they may have gathered by the labours
- of the past week; not a few, likewise, are wont to practise abstinence for
- devotion to the Virgin Mother of the Son of God, and to honour the
- approaching Sunday by an entire surcease from work. Wherefore, as we cannot
- then completely carry out our plan of life, we shall, I think, do well to
- intermit our story-telling on that day also. We shall then have been here
- four days; and lest we should be surprised by new-comers, I deem it
- expedient that we shift our quarters, and I have already taken thought for
- our next place of sojourn. Where, being arrived on Sunday, we will assemble
- after our sleep; and, whereas to-day our discourse has had an ample field to
- range in, I propose, both because you will thereby have more time for
- thought, and it will be best to set some limits to the license of our
- story-telling, that of the many diversities of Fortune's handiwork we make
- one our theme, whereof I have also made choice, to wit, the luck of such as
- have painfully acquired some much-coveted thing, or having lost, have
- recovered it. Whereon let each meditate some matter, which to tell may be
- profitable or at least delectable to the company, saving always Dioneo's
- privilege." All applauded the queen's speech and plan, to which, therefore,
- it was decided to give effect. Thereupon the queen called her seneschal,
- told him where to place the tables that evening, and then explained to him
- all that he had to do during the time of her sovereignty. This done, she
- rose with her train, and gave leave to all to take their pleasure as to each
- might seem best. So the ladies and the men hied them away to a little
- garden, where they diverted themselves a while; then supper-time being come,
- they supped with all gay and festal cheer. When they were risen from the
- table, Emilia, at the queen's command, led the dance, while Pampinea, the
- other ladies responding, sang the ensuing song.
- Shall any lady sing, if I not sing,
- I to whom Love did full contentment bring?
- Come hither, Love, thou cause of all my joy,
- Of all my hope, and all its sequel blest,
- And with me tune the lay,
- No more to sighs and bitter past annoy,
- That now but serve to lend thy bliss more zest;
- But to that fire's clear ray,
- Wherewith enwrapt I blithely live and gay,
- Thee as my God for ever worshipping.
- 'Twas thou, O Love, didst set before mine eyes,
- When first thy fire my soul did penetrate,
- A youth to be my fere,
- So fair, so fit for deeds of high emprise,
- That ne'er another shall be found more great,
- Nay, nor, I ween, his peer:
- Such flame he kindled that my heart's full cheer
- I now pour out in chant with thee, my King.
- And that wherein I most delight is this,
- That as I love him, so he loveth me:
- So thank thee, Love, I must.
- For whatsoe'er this world can yield of bliss
- Is mine, and in the next at peace to be
- I hope through that full trust
- I place in him. And thou, O God, that dost
- It see, wilt grant of joy thy plenishing.
- Some other songs and dances followed, to the accompaniment of divers sorts
- of music; after which, the queen deeming it time to go to rest, all,
- following in the wake of the torches, sought their several chambers. The
- next two days they devoted to the duties to which the queen had adverted,
- looking forward to the Sunday with eager expectancy.
- --
- Endeth here the second day of the Decameron, beginneth the third, in which,
- under the rule of Neifile, discourse is had of the fortune of such as have
- painfully acquired some much-coveted thing, or, having lost, have recovered
- it.
- --
- The dawn of Sunday was already changing from vermilion to orange, as the sun
- hasted to the horizon, when the queen rose and roused all the company. The
- seneschal had early sent forward to their next place of sojourn ample store
- of things meet with folk to make all things ready, and now seeing the queen
- on the road, and the decampment, as it were, begun, he hastily completed the
- equipment of the baggage-train, and set off therewith, attended by the rest
- of the servants, in rear of the ladies and gentlemen. So, to the chant of,
- perhaps, a score of nightingales and other birds, the queen, her ladies and
- the three young men trooping beside or after her, paced leisurely westward
- by a path little frequented and overgrown with herbage and flowers, which,
- as they caught the sunlight, began one and all to unfold their petals. So
- fared she on with her train, while the quirk and the jest and the laugh
- passed from mouth to mouth; nor had they completed more than two thousand
- paces when, well before half tierce,(1) they arrived at a palace most fair
- and sumptuous, which stood out somewhat from the plain, being situate upon a
- low eminence. On entering, they first traversed its great halls and dainty
- chambers furnished throughout with all brave and meet appointments; and
- finding all most commendable, they reputed its lord a magnifico. Then
- descending, they surveyed its spacious and cheerful court, its vaults of
- excellent wines and copious springs of most cool water, and found it still
- more commendable. After which, being fain of rest, they sat them down in a
- gallery which commanded the court, and was close imbosked with leafage and
- such flowers as the season afforded, and thither the discreet seneschal
- brought comfits and wines most choice and excellent, wherewith they were
- refreshed. Whereupon they hied them to a walled garden adjoining the palace;
- which, the gate being opened, they entered, and wonder-struck by the beauty
- of the whole passed on to examine more attentively the several parts. It was
- bordered and traversed in many parts by alleys, each very wide and straight
- as an arrow and roofed in with trellis of vines, which gave good promise of
- bearing clusters that year, and, being all in flower, dispersed such
- fragrance throughout the garden as blended with that exhaled by many another
- plant that grew therein made the garden seem redolent of all the spices that
- ever grew in the East. The sides of the alleys were all, as it were, walled
- in with roses white and red and jasmine; insomuch that there was no part of
- the garden but one might walk there not merely in the morning but at high
- noon in grateful shade and fragrance, completely screened from the sun. As
- for the plants that were in the garden, 'twere long to enumerate them, to
- specify their sorts, to describe the order of their arrangement; enough, in
- brief, that there was abundance of every rarer species that our climate
- allows. In the middle of the garden, a thing not less but much more to be
- commended than aught else, was a lawn of the finest turf, and so green that
- it seemed almost black, pranked with flowers of, perhaps, a thousand sorts,
- and girt about with the richest living verdure of orange-trees and cedars,
- which shewed not only flowers but fruits both new and old, and were no less
- grateful to the smell by their fragrance than to the eye by their shade. In
- the middle of the lawn was a basin of whitest marble, graven with marvellous
- art; in the centre whereof--whether the spring were natural or artificial I
- know not--rose a column supporting a figure which sent forth a jet of water
- of such volume and to such an altitude that it fell, not without a delicious
- plash, into the basin in quantity amply sufficient to turn a mill-wheel. The
- overflow was carried away from the lawn by a hidden conduit, and then,
- reemerging, was distributed through tiny channels, very fair and cunningly
- contrived, in such sort as to flow round the entire lawn, and by similar
- derivative channels to penetrate almost every part of the fair garden,
- until, re-uniting at a certain point, it issued thence, and, clear as
- crystal, slid down towards the plain, turning by the way two mill-wheels
- with extreme velocity to the no small profit of the lord. The aspect of this
- garden, its fair order, the plants and the fountain and the rivulets that
- flowed from it, so charmed the ladies and the three young men that with one
- accord they affirmed that they knew not how it could receive any accession
- of beauty, or what other form could be given to Paradise, if it were to be
- planted on earth. So, excellently well pleased, they roved about it,
- plucking sprays from the trees, and weaving them into the fairest of
- garlands, while songsters of, perhaps, a score of different sorts warbled as
- if in mutual emulation, when suddenly a sight as fair and delightsome as
- novel, which, engrossed by the other beauties of the place, they had
- hitherto overlooked, met their eyes. For the garden, they now saw, was
- peopled with a host of living creatures, fair and of, perhaps, a hundred
- sorts; and they pointed out to one another how here emerged a cony, or there
- scampered a hare, or couched a goat, or grazed a fawn, or many another
- harmless, all but domesticated, creature roved carelessly seeking his
- pleasure at his own sweet will. All which served immensely to reinforce
- their already abundant delight. At length, however, they had enough of
- wandering about the garden and observing this thing and that: wherefore they
- repaired to the beautiful fountain, around which were ranged the tables, and
- there, after they had sung half-a-dozen songs and trod some measures, they
- sat them down, at the queen's command, to breakfast, which was served with
- all celerity and in fair and orderly manner, the viands being both good and
- delicate; whereby their spirits rose, and up they got, and betook themselves
- again to music and song and dance, and so sped the hours, until, as the heat
- increased, the queen deemed it time that whoso was so minded should go to
- sleep. Some there were that did so; others were too charmed by the beauty of
- the place to think of leaving it; but tarried there, and, while the rest
- slept, amused themselves with reading romances or playing at chess or dice.
- However, after none, there was a general levee; and, with faces laved and
- refreshed with cold water, they gathered by the queen's command upon the
- lawn, and, having sat them down in their wonted order by the fountain,
- waited for the story-telling to begin upon the theme assigned by the queen.
- With this duty the queen first charged Filostrato, who began on this wise.
- (1) I.e. midway between prime and tierce, about 7:30 a.m.
- NOVEL I.
- --
- Masetto da Lamporecchio feigns to be dumb, and obtains a gardener's place at
- a convent of women, who with one accord make haste to lie with him.
- --
- Fairest ladies, not a few there are both of men and of women, who are so
- foolish as blindly to believe that, so soon as a young woman has been veiled
- in white and cowled in black, she ceases to be a woman, and is no more
- subject to the cravings proper to her sex, than if, in assuming the garb and
- profession of a nun, she had put on the nature of a stone: and if,
- perchance, they hear of aught that is counter to this their faith, they are
- no less vehement in their censure than if some most heinous and unnatural
- crime had been committed; neither bethinking them of themselves, whom
- unrestricted liberty avails not to satisfy, nor making due allowance for the
- prepotent forces of idleness and solitude. And likewise not a few there are
- that blindly believe that, what with the hoe and the spade and coarse fare
- and hardship, the carnal propensities are utterly eradicated from the
- tillers of the soil, and therewith all nimbleness of wit and understanding.
- But how gross is the error of such as so suppose, I, on whom the queen has
- laid her commands, am minded, without deviating from the theme prescribed by
- her, to make manifest to you by a little story.
- In this very country-side of ours there was and yet is a convent of women of
- great repute for sanctity--name it I will not, lest I should in some measure
- diminish its repute--the nuns being at the time of which I speak but nine in
- number, including the abbess, and all young women. Their very beautiful
- garden was in charge of a foolish fellow, who, not being content with his
- wage, squared accounts with their steward and hied him back to Lamporecchio,
- whence he came. Among others who welcomed him home was a young husbandman,
- Masetto by name, a stout and hardy fellow, and handsome for a contadino, who
- asked him where he had been so long. Nuto, as our good friend was called,
- told him. Masetto then asked how he had been employed at the convent, and
- Nuto answered:--"I kept their large and beautiful garden in good trim, and,
- besides, I sometimes went to the wood to fetch the faggots, I drew water,
- and did some other trifling services; but the ladies gave so little wage
- that it scarce kept me in shoes. And moreover they are all young, and, I
- think, they are one and all possessed of the devil, for 'tis impossible to
- do anything to their mind; indeed, when I would be at work in the
- kitchen-garden, 'put this here,' would say one, 'put that here,' would say
- another, and a third would snatch the hoe from my hand, and say, 'that is
- not as it should be'; and so they would worry me until I would give up
- working and go out of the garden; so that, what with this thing and that, I
- was minded to stay there no more, and so I am come hither. The steward asked
- me before I left to send him any one whom on my return I might find fit for
- the work, and I promised; but God bless his loins, I shall be at no pains to
- find out and send him any one."
- As Nuto thus ran on, Masetto was seized by such a desire to be with these
- nuns that he quite pined, as he gathered from what Nuto said that his desire
- might be gratified. And as that could not be, if he said nothing to Nuto, he
- remarked:--"Ah! 'twas well done of thee to come hither. A man to live with
- women! he might as well live with so many devils: six times out of seven
- they know not themselves what they want." There the conversation ended; but
- Masetto began to cast about how he should proceed to get permission to live
- with them. He knew that he was quite competent for the services of which
- Nuto spoke, and had therefore no fear of failing on that score; but he
- doubted he should not be received, because he was too young and
- well-favoured. So, after much pondering, he fell into the following train of
- thought:--The place is a long way off, and no one there knows me; if I make
- believe that I am dumb, doubtless I shall be admitted. Whereupon he made his
- mind up, laid a hatchet across his shoulder, and saying not a word to any of
- his destination, set forth, intending to present himself at the convent in
- the character of a destitute man. Arrived there, he had no sooner entered
- than he chanced to encounter the steward in the courtyard, and making signs
- to him as dumb folk do, he let him know that of his charity he craved
- something to eat, and that, if need were, he would split firewood. The
- steward promptly gave him to eat, and then set before him some logs which
- Nuto had not been able to split, all which Masetto, who was very strong,
- split in a very short time. The steward, having occasion to go to the wood,
- took him with him, and there set him at work on the lopping; which done he
- placed the ass in front of him, and by signs made him understand that he was
- to take the loppings back to the convent. This he did so well that the
- steward kept him for some days to do one or two odd jobs. Whereby it so
- befell that one day the abbess saw him, and asked the steward who he was.
- "Madam," replied the steward, "'tis a poor deaf mute that came here a day or
- two ago craving alms, so I have treated him kindly, and have let him make
- himself useful in many ways. If he knew how to do the work of the
- kitchen-garden and would stay with us, I doubt not we should be well served;
- for we have need of him, and he is strong, and would be able for whatever he
- might turn his hand to; besides which you would have no cause to be
- apprehensive lest he should be cracking his jokes with your young women."
- "As I trust in God," said the abbess, "thou sayst sooth; find out if he can
- do the garden work, and if he can, do all thou canst to keep him with us;
- give him a pair of shoes, an old hood, and speak him well, make much of him,
- and let him be well fed." All which the steward promised to do.
- Masetto, meanwhile, was close at hand, making as if he were sweeping the
- courtyard, and heard all that passed between the abbess and the steward,
- whereat he gleefully communed with himself on this wise:--Put me once within
- there, and you will see that I will do the work of the kitchen-garden as it
- never was done before. So the steward set him to work in the kitchen-garden,
- and finding that he knew his business excellently well, made signs to him to
- know whether he would stay, and he made answer by signs that he was ready to
- do whatever the steward wished. The steward then signified that he was
- engaged, told him to take charge of the kitchen-garden, and shewed him what
- he had to do there. Then, having other matters to attend to, he went away,
- and left him there. Now, as Masetto worked there day by day, the nuns began
- to tease him, and make him their butt (as it commonly happens that folk
- serve the dumb) and used bad language to him, the worst they could think of,
- supposing that he could not understand them, all which passed scarce heeded
- by the abbess, who perhaps deemed him as destitute of virility as of speech.
- Now it so befell that after a hard day's work he was taking a little rest,
- when two young nuns, who were walking in the garden, approached the spot
- where he lay, and stopped to look at him, while he pretended to be asleep.
- And so the bolder of the two said to the other:--"If I thought thou wouldst
- keep the secret, I would tell thee what I have sometimes meditated, and
- which thou perhaps mightest also find agreeable." The other replied:--"Speak
- thy mind freely and be sure that I will never tell a soul." Whereupon the
- bold one began:--"I know not if thou hast ever considered how close we are
- kept here, and that within these precincts dare never enter any man, unless
- it be the old steward or this mute: and I have often heard from ladies that
- have come hither, that all the other sweets that the world has to offer
- signify not a jot in comparison of the pleasure that a woman has in
- connexion with a man. Whereof I have more than once been minded to make
- experiment with this mute, no other man being available. Nor, indeed, could
- one find any man in the whole world so meet therefor; seeing that he could
- not blab if he would; thou seest that he is but a dull clownish lad, whose
- size has increased out of all proportion to his sense; wherefore I would
- fain hear what thou hast to say to it." "Alas!" said the other, "what is't
- thou sayst? Knowest thou not that we have vowed our virginity to God?" "Oh,"
- rejoined the first, "think but how many vows are made to Him all day long,
- and never a one performed: and so, for our vow, let Him find another or
- others to perform it." "But," said her companion, "suppose that we
- conceived, how then?" "Nay but," protested the first, "thou goest about to
- imagine evil before it befalls, thee: time enough to think of that when it
- comes to pass; there will be a thousand ways to prevent its ever being
- known, so only we do not publish it ourselves." Thus reassured, the other
- was now the more eager of the two to test the quality of the male human
- animal. "Well then," she said, "how shall we go about it?" and was
- answered:--"Thou seest 'tis past none; I make no doubt but all the sisters
- are asleep, except ourselves; search we through the kitchen-garden, to see
- if there be any there, and if there be none, we have but to take him by the
- hand and lead him hither to the hut where he takes shelter from the rain;
- and then one shall mount guard while the other has him with her inside. He
- is such a simpleton that he will do just whatever we bid him." No word of
- this conversation escaped Masetto, who, being disposed to obey, hoped for
- nothing so much as that one of them should take him by the hand. They,
- meanwhile, looked carefully all about them, and satisfied themselves that
- they were secure from observation: then she that had broached the subject
- came close up to Masetto, and shook him; whereupon he started to his feet.
- So she took him by the hand with a blandishing air, to which he replied with
- some clownish grins. And then she led him into the hut, where he needed no
- pressing to do what she desired of him. Which done, she changed places with
- the other, as loyal comradeship required; and Masetto, still keeping up the
- pretence of simplicity, did their pleasure. Wherefore before they left, each
- must needs make another assay of the mute's powers of riding; and
- afterwards, talking the matter over many times, they agreed that it was in
- truth not less but even more delightful than they had been given to
- understand; and so, as they found convenient opportunity, they continued to
- go and disport themselves with the mute.
- Now it so chanced that one of their gossips, looking out of the window of
- her cell, saw what they did, and imparted it to two others. The three held
- counsel together whether they should not denounce the offenders to the
- abbess, but soon changed their mind, and came to an understanding with them,
- whereby they became partners in Masetto. And in course of time by divers
- chances the remaining three nuns also entered the partnership. Last of all
- the abbess, still witting nought of these doings, happened one very hot day,
- as she walked by herself through the garden, to find Masetto, who now rode
- so much by night that he could stand very little fatigue by day, stretched
- at full length asleep under the shade of an almond-tree, his person quite
- exposed in front by reason that the wind had disarranged his clothes. Which
- the lady observing, and knowing that she was alone, fell a prey to the same
- appetite to which her nuns had yielded: she aroused Masetto, and took him
- with her to her chamber, where, for some days, though the nuns loudly
- complained that the gardener no longer came to work in the kitchen-garden,
- she kept him, tasting and re-tasting the sweetness of that indulgence which
- she was wont to be the first to censure in others. And when at last she had
- sent him back from her chamber to his room, she must needs send for him
- again and again, and made such exorbitant demands upon him, that Masetto,
- not being able to satisfy so many women, bethought him that his part of
- mute, should he persist in it, might entail disastrous consequences. So one
- night, when he was with the abbess, he cut the tongue-string, and thus broke
- silence:--"Madam, I have understood that a cock may very well serve ten
- hens, but that ten men are sorely tasked to satisfy a single woman; and here
- am I expected to serve nine, a burden quite beyond my power to bear; nay, by
- what I have already undergone I am now so reduced that my strength is quite
- spent; wherefore either bid me Godspeed, or find some means to make matters
- tolerable." Wonder-struck to hear the supposed mute thus speak, the lady
- exclaimed:--"What means this? I took thee to be dumb." "And in sooth, Madam,
- so was I," said Masetto, "not indeed from my birth, but through an illness
- which took from me the power of speech, which only this very night have I
- recovered; and so I praise God with all my heart." The lady believed him;
- and asked him what he meant by saying that he had nine to serve. Masetto
- told her how things stood; whereby she perceived that of all her nuns there
- was not any but was much wiser than she; and lest, if Masetto were sent
- away, he should give the convent a bad name, she discreetly determined to
- arrange matters with the nuns in such sort that he might remain there. So,
- the steward having died within the last few days, she assembled all the
- nuns; and their and her own past errors being fully avowed, they by common
- consent, and with Masetto's concurrence, resolved that the neighbours should
- be given to understand that by their prayers and the merits of their patron
- saint, Masetto, long mute, had recovered the power of speech; after which
- they made him steward, and so ordered matters among themselves that he was
- able to endure the burden of their service. In the course of which, though
- he procreated not a few little monastics, yet 'twas all managed so
- discreetly that no breath of scandal stirred, until after the abbess's
- death, by which time Masetto was advanced in years and minded to return home
- with the wealth that he had gotten; which he was suffered to do, as soon as
- he made his desire known. And so Masetto, who had left Lamporecchio with a
- hatchet on his shoulder, returned thither in his old age rich and a father,
- having by the wisdom with which he employed his youth, spared himself the
- pains and expense of rearing children, and averring that such was the
- measure that Christ meted out to the man that set horns on his cap.
- NOVEL II.
- --
- A groom lies with the wife of King Agilulf, who learns the fact, keeps his
- own counsel, finds out the groom and shears him. The shorn shears all his
- fellows, and so comes safe out of the scrape.
- --
- Filostrato's story, which the ladies had received now with blushes now with
- laughter, being ended, the queen bade Pampinea follow suit. Which behest
- Pampinea smilingly obeyed, and thus began:--
- Some there are whose indiscretion is such that they must needs evince that
- they are fully cognizant of that which it were best they should not know,
- and censuring the covert misdeeds of others, augment beyond measure the
- disgrace which they would fain diminish. The truth whereof, fair ladies, I
- mean to shew you in the contrary case, wherein appears the astuteness of one
- that held, perhaps, an even lower place than would have been Masetto's in
- the esteem of a doughty king.
- Agilulf, King of the Lombards, who like his predecessors made the city of
- Pavia in Lombardy the seat of his government, took to wife Theodelinde, the
- widow of Authari, likewise King of the Lombards, a lady very fair, wise and
- virtuous, but who was unfortunate in her lover. For while the Lombards
- prospered in peace under the wise and firm rule of King Agilulf, it so
- befell that one of the Queen's grooms, a man born to very low estate, but in
- native worth far above his mean office, and moreover not a whit less tall
- and goodly of person than the King, became inordinately enamoured of her.
- And as, for all his base condition he had sense enough to recognize that his
- love was in the last degree presumptuous, he disclosed it to none, nay, he
- did not even venture to tell her the tale by the mute eloquence of his eyes.
- And albeit he lived without hope that he should ever be able to win her
- favour, yet he inwardly gloried that he had fixed his affections in so high
- a place; and being all aflame with passion, he shewed himself zealous beyond
- any of his comrades to do whatever he thought was likely to please the
- Queen. Whereby it came about, that, when the Queen had to take horse, she
- would mount the palfrey that he groomed rather than any other; and when she
- did so, he deemed himself most highly favoured, and never quitted her
- stirrup, esteeming himself happy if he might but touch her clothes. But as
- 'tis frequently observed that love waxes as hope wanes, so was it with this
- poor groom, insomuch that the burden of this great hidden passion,
- alleviated by no hope, was most grievous to bear, and from time to time, not
- being able to shake it off, he purposed to die. And meditating on the mode,
- he was minded that it should be of a kind to make it manifest that he died
- for the love which he had borne and bore to the Queen, and also to afford
- him an opportunity of trying his fortune whether his desire might in whole
- or in part be gratified. He had no thought of speaking to the Queen, nor yet
- of declaring his love to her by letter, for he knew that 'twould be vain
- either to speak or to write; but he resolved to try to devise some means
- whereby he might lie with the Queen; which end might in no other way be
- compassed than by contriving to get access to her in her bedroom; which
- could only be by passing himself off as the King, who, as he knew, did not
- always lie with her. Wherefore, that he might observe the carriage and dress
- of the King as he passed to her room, he contrived to conceal himself for
- several nights in a great hall of the King's palace which separated the
- King's room from that of the Queen: and on one of these nights he saw the
- King issue from his room, wrapped in a great mantle, with a lighted torch in
- one hand and a wand in the other, and cross the hall, and, saying nothing,
- tap the door of the Queen's room with the wand once or twice; whereupon the
- door was at once opened and the torch taken from his hand. Having observed
- the King thus go and return, and being bent on doing likewise, he found
- means to come by a mantle like that which he had seen the King wear, and
- also a torch and a wand: he then took a warm bath, and having thoroughly
- cleansed himself, that the smell of the foul straw might not offend the
- lady, or discover to her the deceit, he in this guise concealed himself as
- he was wont in the great hall. He waited only until all were asleep, and
- then, deeming the time come to accomplish his purpose, or by his presumption
- clear a way to the death which he coveted, he struck a light with the flint
- and steel which he had brought with him; and having kindled his torch and
- wrapped himself close in his mantle, he went to the door of the Queen's
- room, and tapped on it twice with his wand. The door was opened by a very
- drowsy chambermaid, who took the torch and put it out of sight; whereupon
- without a word he passed within the curtain, laid aside the mantle, and got
- into the bed where the Queen lay asleep. Then, taking her in his arms and
- straining her to him with ardour, making as if he were moody, because he
- knew that, when the King was in such a frame, he would never hear aught, in
- such wise, without word said either on his part or on hers, he had more than
- once carnal cognizance of the Queen. Loath indeed was he to leave her, but,
- fearing lest by too long tarrying his achieved delight might be converted
- into woe, he rose, resumed the mantle and the light, and leaving the room
- without a word, returned with all speed to his bed. He was hardly there when
- the King got up and entered the Queen's room; whereat she wondered not a
- little; but, reassured by the gladsome greeting which he gave her as he got
- into bed, she said:--"My lord, what a surprise is this to-night! 'Twas but
- now you left me after an unwonted measure of enjoyment, and do you now
- return so soon? consider what you do." From these words the King at once
- inferred that the Queen had been deceived by some one that had counterfeited
- his person and carriage; but, at the same time, bethinking himself that, as
- neither the Queen nor any other had detected the cheat, 'twas best to leave
- her in ignorance, he wisely kept silence. Which many a fool would not have
- done, but would have said:--"Nay, 'twas not I that was here. Who was it that
- was here? How came it to pass? Who came hither?" Whereby in the sequel he
- might have caused the lady needless chagrin, and given her occasion to
- desire another such experience as she had had, and so have brought disgrace
- upon himself by uttering that, from which, unuttered, no shame could have
- resulted. Wherefore, betraying little, either by his mien or by his words,
- of the disquietude which he felt, the King replied:--"Madam, seem I such to
- you that you cannot suppose that I should have been with you once, and
- returned to you immediately afterwards?" "Nay, not so, my lord," returned
- the lady, "but none the less I pray you to look to your health." Then said
- the King:--"And I am minded to take your advice; wherefore, without giving
- you further trouble I will leave you." So, angered and incensed beyond
- measure by the trick which, he saw, had been played upon him, he resumed his
- mantle and quitted the room with the intention of privily detecting the
- offender, deeming that he must belong to the palace, and that, whoever he
- might be, he could not have quitted it. So, taking with him a small lantern
- which shewed only a glimmer of light, he went into the dormitory which was
- over the palace-stables and was of great length, insomuch that well-nigh all
- the men-servants slept there in divers beds, and arguing that, by whomsoever
- that of which the Queen spoke was done, his heart and pulse could not after
- such a strain as yet have ceased to throb, he began cautiously with one of
- the head-grooms, and so went from bed to bed feeling at the heart of each
- man to see if it was thumping. All were asleep, save only he that had been
- with the Queen, who, seeing the King come, and guessing what he sought to
- discover, began to be mightily afraid, insomuch that to the agitation which
- his late exertion had communicated to his heart, terror now added one yet
- more violent; nor did he doubt that, should the King perceive it, he would
- kill him. Divers alternatives of action thronged his mind; but at last,
- observing that the King was unarmed, he resolved to make as if he were
- asleep, and wait to see what the King would do. So, having tried many and
- found none that he deemed the culprit, the King came at last to the culprit
- himself, and marking the thumping of his heart, said to himself:--This is
- he. But being minded to afford no clue to his ulterior purpose, he did no
- more than with a pair of scissors which he had brought with him shear away
- on one side of the man's head a portion of his locks, which, as was then the
- fashion, he wore very long, that by this token he might recognize him on the
- morrow; and having so done, he departed and returned to his room. The groom,
- who was fully sensible of what the King had done, and being a shrewd fellow
- understood very well to what end he was so marked, got up without a moment's
- delay; and, having found a pair of scissors--for, as it chanced, there were
- several pairs there belonging to the stables for use in grooming the horse--
- he went quietly through the dormitory and in like manner sheared the locks
- of each of the sleepers just above the ear; which done without disturbing
- any, he went back to bed.
- On the morrow, as soon as the King was risen, and before the gates of the
- palace were opened, he summoned all his men-servants to his presence, and,
- as they stood bareheaded before him, scanned them closely to see whether the
- one whom he had sheared was there; and observing with surprise that the more
- part of them were all sheared in the same manner, said to himself:--Of a
- surety this fellow, whom I go about to detect, evinces, for all his base
- condition, a high degree of sense. Then, recognising that he could not
- compass his end without causing a bruit, and not being minded to brave so
- great a dishonour in order to be avenged upon so petty an offender, he was
- content by a single word of admonition to shew him that his offence had not
- escaped notice. Wherefore turning to them all, he said:--"He that did it,
- let him do it no more, and get you hence in God's peace." Another would have
- put them to the strappado, the question, the torture, and thereby have
- brought to light that which one should rather be sedulous to cloak; and
- having so brought it to light, would, however complete the retribution which
- he exacted, have not lessened but vastly augmented his disgrace, and sullied
- the fair fame of his lady. Those who heard the King's parting admonition
- wondered, and made much question with one another, what the King might have
- meant to convey by it; but 'twas understood by none but him to whom it
- referred: who was discreet enough never to reveal the secret as long as the
- King lived, or again to stake his life on such a venture.
- NOVEL III.
- --
- Under cloak of confession and a most spotless conscience, a lady, enamoured
- of a young man, induces a booby friar unwittingly to provide a means to the
- entire gratification of her passion.
- --
- When Pampinea had done, and several of the company had commended the
- hardihood and wariness of the groom, as also the wisdom of the King, the
- queen, turning to Filomena, bade her follow suit: wherefore with manner
- debonair Filomena thus began:--
- The story which I shall tell you is of a trick which was actually played by
- a fair lady upon a booby religious, and which every layman should find the
- more diverting that these religious, being, for the most part, great
- blockheads and men of odd manners and habits, do nevertheless credit
- themselves with more ability and knowledge in all kinds than fall to the lot
- of the rest of the world; whereas, in truth, they are far inferior, and so,
- not being able, like others, to provide their own sustenance, are prompted
- by sheer baseness to fly thither for refuge where they may find provender,
- like pigs. Which story, sweet my ladies, I shall tell you, not merely that
- thereby I may continue the sequence in obedience to the queen's behest, but
- also to the end that I may let you see that even the religious, in whom we
- in our boundless credulity repose exorbitant faith, may be, and sometimes
- are, made--not to say by men--even by some of us women the sport of their
- sly wit.
- In our city, where wiles do more abound than either love or faith, there
- dwelt, not many years ago, a gentlewoman richly endowed (none more so) by
- nature with physical charms, as also with gracious manners, high spirit and
- fine discernment. Her name I know, but will not disclose it, nor yet that of
- any other who figures in this story, because there yet live those who might
- take offence thereat, though after all it might well be passed off with a
- laugh. High-born and married to an artificer of woollen fabrics, she could
- not rid her mind of the disdain with which, by reason of his occupation, she
- regarded her husband; for no man, however wealthy, so he were of low
- condition, seemed to her worthy to have a gentlewoman to wife; and seeing
- that for all his wealth he was fit for nothing better than to devise a
- blend, set up a warp, or higgle about yarn with a spinster, she determined
- to dispense with his embraces, save so far as she might find it impossible
- to refuse them; and to find her satisfaction elsewhere with one that seemed
- to her more meet to afford it than her artificer of woollens. In this frame
- of mind she became enamoured of a man well worthy of her love and not yet
- past middle age, insomuch that, if she saw him not in the day, she must
- needs pass an unquiet night. The gallant, meanwhile, remained fancy-free,
- for he knew nought of the lady's case; and she, being apprehensive of
- possible perils to ensue, was far too circumspect to make it known to him
- either by writing or by word of mouth of any of her female friends. Then she
- learned that he had much to do with a religious, a simple, clownish fellow,
- but nevertheless, as being a man of most holy life, reputed by almost
- everybody a most worthy friar, and decided that she could not find a better
- intermediary between herself and her lover than this same friar. So, having
- matured her plan, she hied her at a convenient time to the convent where the
- friar abode and sent for him, saying, that, if he so pleased, she would be
- confessed by him. The friar, who saw at a glance that she was a gentlewoman,
- gladly heard her confession; which done, she said:--"My father, I have yet a
- matter to confide to you, in which I must crave your aid and counsel. Who my
- kinsfolk and husband are, I wot you know, for I have myself told you. My
- husband loves me more dearly than his life, and being very wealthy, he can
- well and does forthwith afford me whatever I desire. Wherefore, as he loves
- me, even so I love him more dearly than myself; nor was there ever yet
- wicked woman that deserved the fire so richly as should I, were I guilty--I
- speak not of acts, but of so much as a single thought of crossing his will
- or tarnishing his honour. Now a man there is--his name, indeed, I know not,
- but he seems to me to be a gentleman, and, if I mistake not, he is much with
- you--a fine man and tall, his garb dun and very decent, who, the bent of my
- mind being, belike, quite unknown to him, would seem to have laid siege to
- me, insomuch that I cannot shew myself at door or casement, or quit the
- house, but forthwith he presents himself before me; indeed I find it passing
- strange that he is not here now; whereat I am sorely troubled, because, when
- men so act, unmerited reproach will often thereby be cast upon honest women.
- At times I have been minded to inform my brothers of the matter; but then I
- have bethought me that men sometimes frame messages in such a way as to
- evoke untoward answers, whence follow high words; and so they proceed to
- rash acts: wherefore, to obviate trouble and scandal, I have kept silence,
- and by preference have made you my confidant, both because you are the
- gentleman's friend, and because it befits your office to censure such
- behaviour not only in friends but in strangers. And so I beseech you for the
- love of our only Lord God to make him sensible of his fault, and pray him to
- offend no more in such sort. Other ladies there are in plenty, who may,
- perchance, be disposed to welcome such advances, and be flattered to attract
- his fond and assiduous regard, which to me, who am in no wise inclined to
- encourage it, is but a most grievous molestation."
- Having thus spoken, the lady bowed her head as if she were ready to weep.
- The holy friar was at no loss to apprehend who it was of whom she spoke; he
- commended her virtuous frame, firmly believing that what she said was true,
- and promised to take such action that she should not again suffer the like
- annoyance; nor, knowing that she was very wealthy, did he omit to extol
- works of charity and almsgiving, at the same time opening to her his own
- needs. "I make my suit to you," said she, "for the love of God; and if your
- friend should deny what I have told you, tell him roundly that 'twas from me
- you had it, and that I made complaint to you thereof." So, her confession
- ended and penance imposed, bethinking her of the hints which the friar had
- dropped touching almsgiving, she slipped into his hand as many coins as it
- would hold, praying him to say masses for the souls of her dead. She then
- rose and went home.
- Not long afterwards the gallant paid one of his wonted visits to the holy
- friar. They conversed for a while of divers topics, and then the friar took
- him aside, and very courteously reproved him for so haunting and pursuing
- the lady with his gaze, as from what she had given him to understand, he
- supposed was his wont. The gallant, who had never regarded her with any
- attention, and very rarely passed her house, was amazed, and was about to
- clear himself, when the friar closed his mouth, saying:--"Now away with this
- pretence of amazement, and waste not words in denial, for 'twill not avail
- thee. I have it not from the neighbours; she herself, bitterly complaining
- of thy conduct, told it me. I say not how ill this levity beseems thee; but
- of her I tell thee so much as this, that, if I ever knew woman averse to
- such idle philandering, she is so; and therefore for thy honour's sake, and
- that she be no more vexed, I pray thee refrain therefrom, and let her be in
- peace." The gallant, having rather more insight than the holy friar, was not
- slow to penetrate the lady's finesse; he therefore made as if he were rather
- shame-stricken, promised to go no further with the matter, and hied him
- straight from the friar to the lady's house, where she was always posted at
- a little casement to see if he were passing by. As she saw him come, she
- shewed him so gay and gracious a mien that he could no longer harbour any
- doubt that he had put the true construction upon what he had heard from the
- friar; and thenceforth, to his own satisfaction and the immense delight and
- solace of the lady, he omitted not daily to pass that way, being careful to
- make it appear as if he came upon other business. 'Twas thus not long before
- the lady understood that she met with no less favour in his eyes than he in
- hers; and being desirous to add fuel to his flame, and to assure him of the
- love she bore him, as soon as time and occasion served, she returned to the
- holy friar, and having sat herself down at his feet in the church, fell a
- weeping. The friar asked her in a soothing tone what her new trouble might
- be. Whereto the lady answered:--"My father, 'tis still that accursed friend
- of thine, of whom I made complaint to you some days ago, and who would now
- seem to have been born for my most grievous torment, and to cause me to do
- that by reason whereof I shall never be glad again, nor venture to place
- myself at your feet." "How?" said the friar; "has he not forborne to annoy
- thee?" "Not he, indeed," said the lady; "on the contrary, 'tis my belief
- that, since I complained to you of him, he has, as if in despite, being
- offended, belike, that I did so, passed my house seven times for once that
- he did so before. Nay, would to God he were content to pass and fix me with
- his eyes; but he is waxed so bold and unabashed that only yesterday he sent
- a woman to me at home with his compliments and cajoleries, and, as if I had
- not purses and girdles enough, he sent me a purse and a girdle; whereat I
- was, as I still am, so wroth, that, had not conscience first, and then
- regard for you, weighed with me, I had flown into a frenzy of rage. However,
- I restrained myself, and resolved neither to do nor to say aught without
- first letting you know it. Nor only so; but, lest the woman who brought the
- purse and girdle, and to whom I at first returned them, shortly bidding her
- begone and take them back to the sender, should keep them and tell him that
- I had accepted them, as I believe they sometimes do, I recalled her and had
- them back, albeit 'twas in no friendly spirit that I received them from her
- hand; and I have brought them to you, that you may return them to him and
- tell him that I stand in no need of such gifts from him, because, thanks be
- to God and my husband, I have purses and girdles enough to smother him in.
- And if after this he leave me not alone, I pray you as my father to hold me
- excused if, come what may, I tell it to my husband and brothers; for much
- liefer had I that he suffer indignity, if so it must be, than that my fair
- fame should be sullied on his account: that holds good, friar." Weeping
- bitterly as she thus ended, she drew from under her robe a purse of very
- fine and ornate workmanship and a dainty and costly little girdle, and threw
- them into the lap of the friar, who, fully believing what she said,
- manifested the utmost indignation as he took them, and said:--"Daughter,
- that by these advances thou shouldst be moved to anger, I deem neither
- strange nor censurable; but I am instant with thee to follow my advice in
- the matter. I chid him some days ago, and ill has he kept the promise that
- he made me; for which cause and this last feat of his I will surely make his
- ears so tingle that he will give thee no more trouble; wherefore, for God's
- sake, let not thyself be so overcome by wrath as to tell it to any of thy
- kinsfolk; which might bring upon him a retribution greater than he deserves.
- Nor fear lest thereby thy fair fame should suffer; for I shall ever be thy
- most sure witness before God and men that thou art innocent." The lady made
- a shew of being somewhat comforted: then, after a pause--for well she knew
- the greed of him and his likes--she said:--"Of late, Sir, by night, the
- spirits of divers of my kinsfolk have appeared to me in my sleep, and
- methinks they are in most grievous torment; alms, alms, they crave, nought
- else, especially my mother, who seems to be in so woful and abject a plight
- that 'tis pitiful to see. Methinks 'tis a most grievous torment to her to
- see the tribulation which this enemy of God has brought upon me. I would
- therefore have you say for their souls the forty masses of St. Gregory and
- some of your prayers, that God may deliver them from this purging fire." So
- saying she slipped a florin into the hand of the holy friar, who took it
- gleefully, and having with edifying words and many examples fortified her in
- her devotion, gave her his benediction, and suffered her to depart.
- The lady gone, the friar, who had still no idea of the trick that had been
- played upon him, sent for his friend; who was no sooner come than he
- gathered from the friar's troubled air that he had news of the lady, and
- waited to hear what he would say. The friar repeated what he had said
- before, and then broke out into violent and heated objurgation on the score
- of the lady's latest imputation. The gallant, who did not as yet apprehend
- the friar's drift, gave but a very faint denial to the charge of sending the
- purse and girdle, in order that he might not discredit the lady with the
- friar, if, perchance, she had given him the purse and girdle. Whereupon the
- friar exclaimed with great heat:--"How canst thou deny it, thou wicked man?
- Why, here they are; she brought them to me in tears with her own hand. Look
- at them, and say if thou knowest them not." The gallant now feigned to be
- much ashamed, and said:--"Why, yes, indeed, I do know them; I confess that I
- did wrong; and I swear to you that, now I know her character, you shall
- never hear word more of this matter." Many words followed; and then the
- blockheadly friar gave the purse and girdle to his friend, after which he
- read him a long lecture, besought him to meddle no more with such matters,
- and on his promising obedience dismissed him.
- Elated beyond measure by the assurance which he now had of the lady's love,
- and the beautiful present, the gallant, on leaving the friar, hied him
- straight to a spot whence he stealthily gave the lady to see that he had
- both her gifts: whereat the lady was well content, the more so as her
- intrigue seemed ever to prosper more and more. She waited now only for her
- husband's departure from home to crown her enterprise with success. Nor was
- it long before occasion required that her husband should go to Genoa. The
- very morning that he took horse and rode away she hied her to the holy
- friar, and after many a lamentation she said to him betwixt her sobs:--"My
- father, now at last I tell you out and out that I can bear my suffering no
- longer. I promised you some days ago to do nought in this matter without
- first letting you know it; I am now come to crave release from that promise;
- and that you may believe that my lamentations and complaints are not
- groundless, I will tell you how this friend of yours, who should rather be
- called a devil let loose from hell, treated me only this very morning, a
- little before matins. As ill-luck would have it, he learned, I know not how,
- that yesterday morning my husband went to Genoa, and so this morning at the
- said hour he came into my garden, and got up by a tree to the window of my
- bedroom, which looks out over the garden, and had already opened the
- casement, and was about to enter the room, when I suddenly awoke, and got up
- and uttered a cry, and should have continued to cry out, had not he, who was
- still outside, implored my mercy for God's sake and yours, telling me who he
- was. So, for love of you I was silent, and naked as I was born, ran and shut
- the window in his face, and he--bad luck to him--made off, I suppose, for I
- saw him no more. Consider now if such behaviour be seemly and tolerable: I
- for my part am minded to put up with no more of it; indeed I have endured
- too much already for love of you."
- Wroth beyond measure was the friar, as he heard her thus speak, nor knew he
- what to say, except that he several times asked her if she were quite
- certain that it was no other than he. "Holy name of God!" replied the lady,
- "as if I did not yet know him from another! He it was, I tell you; and do
- you give no credence to his denial." "Daughter," said then the friar, "there
- is here nought else to say but that this is a monstrous presumption and a
- most heinous offence; and thou didst well to send him away as thou didst.
- But seeing that God has preserved thee from shame, I would implore thee that
- as thou hast twice followed my advice, thou do so likewise on this occasion,
- and making no complaint to any of thy kinsfolk, leave it to me to try if I
- can control this devil that has slipt his chain, whom I supposed to be a
- saint; and if I succeed in weaning him from this insensate folly, well and
- good; and if I fail, thenceforth I give thee leave, with my blessing, to do
- whatsoever may commend itself to thy own judgment." "Lo now," answered the
- lady, "once again I will not vex or disobey you; but be sure that you so
- order matters that he refrain from further annoyance, as I give you my word
- that never will I have recourse to you again touching this matter." Then,
- without another word, and with a troubled air, she took leave of him.
- Scarcely was she out of the church when the gallant came up. The friar
- called him, took him aside, and gave him the affront in such sort as 'twas
- never before given to any man reviling him as a disloyal and perjured
- traitor. The gallant, who by his two previous lessons had been taught how to
- value the friar's censures, listened attentively, and sought to draw him out
- by ambiguous answers. "Wherefore this wrath, Sir?" he began. "Have I
- crucified Christ?" "Ay, mark the fellow's effrontery!" retorted the friar:
- "list to what he says! He talks, forsooth, as if 'twere a year or so since,
- and his villanies and lewdnesses were clean gone from his memory for lapse
- of time. Between matins and now hast thou forgotten this morning's outrage?
- Where wast thou this morning shortly before daybreak?" "Where was I?"
- rejoined the gallant; "that know not I. 'Tis indeed betimes that the news
- has reached you." "True indeed it is," said the friar, "that the news has
- reached me: I suppose that, because the husband was not there, thou never
- doubtedst that thou wouldst forthwith be received by the lady with open
- arms. Ah! the gay gallant! the honourable gentleman! he is now turned
- prowler by night, and breaks into gardens, and climbs trees! Dost thou think
- by sheer importunity to vanquish the virtue of this lady, that thou
- escaladest her windows at night by the trees? She dislikes thee of all
- things in the world, and yet thou must still persist. Well indeed hast thou
- laid my admonitions to heart, to say nothing of the many proofs which she
- has given thee of her disdain! But I have yet a word for thee: hitherto, not
- that she bears thee any love, but that she has yielded to my urgent prayers,
- she has kept silence as to thy misdeeds: she will do so no more: I have
- given her leave to act as she may think fit, if thou givest her any further
- annoyance. And what wilt thou do if she informs her brothers?" The gallant,
- now fully apprised of what it imported him to know, was profuse in promises,
- whereby as best he might he reassured the friar, and so left him. The very
- next night, as soon as the matin hour was come, he entered the garden,
- climbed up the tree, found the window open, entered the chamber, and in a
- trice was in the embrace of his fair lady. Anxiously had she expected him,
- and blithely did she now greet him, saying:--"All thanks to master friar
- that he so well taught thee the way hither." Then, with many a jest and
- laugh at the simplicity of the asinine friar, and many a flout at
- distaff-fuls and combs and cards, they solaced themselves with one another
- to their no small delight. Nor did they omit so to arrange matters that they
- were well able to dispense with master friar, and yet pass many another
- night together with no less satisfaction: to which goal I pray that I, and
- all other Christian souls that are so minded, may be speedily guided of God
- in His holy mercy.
- NOVEL IV.
- --
- Dom Felice instructs Fra Puccio how to attain blessedness by doing a
- penance. Fra Puccio does the penance, and meanwhile Dom Felice has a good
- time with Fra Puccio's wife.
- --
- When Filomena, having concluded her story, was silent, and Dioneo had added
- a few honeyed phrases in praise of the lady's wit and Filomena's closing
- prayer, the queen glanced with a smile to Pamfilo, and said:--"Now, Pamfilo,
- give us some pleasant trifle to speed our delight." "That gladly will I,"
- returned forthwith Pamfilo, and then:--"Madam," he began, "not a few there
- are that, while they use their best endeavours to get themselves places in
- Paradise, do, by inadvertence, send others thither: as did, not long ago,
- betide a fair neighbour of ours, as you shall hear.
- Hard by San Pancrazio there used to live, as I have heard tell, a worthy man
- and wealthy, Puccio di Rinieri by name, who in later life, under an
- overpowering sense of religion, became a tertiary of the order of St.
- Francis, and was thus known as Fra Puccio. In which spiritual life he was
- the better able to persevere that his household consisted but of a wife and
- a maid, and having no need to occupy himself with any craft, he spent no
- small part of his time at church; where, being a simple soul and slow of
- wit, he said his paternosters, heard sermons, assisted at the mass, never
- missed lauds (i. e. when chanted by the seculars), fasted and mortified his
- flesh; nay--so 'twas whispered--he was of the Flagellants. His wife, Monna
- Isabetta by name, a woman of from twenty-eight to thirty summers, still
- young for her age, lusty, comely and plump as a casolan(1) apple, had not
- unfrequently, by reason of her husband's devoutness, if not also of his age,
- more than she cared for, of abstinence; and when she was sleepy, or, maybe,
- riggish, he would repeat to her the life of Christ, and the sermons of Fra
- Nastagio, or the lament of the Magdalen, or the like. Now, while such was
- the tenor of her life, there returned from Paris a young monk, by name Dom
- Felice, of the convent of San Pancrazio, a well-favoured man and
- keen-witted, and profoundly learned, with whom Fra Puccio became very
- intimate; and as there was no question which he could put to him but Dom
- Felice could answer it, and moreover he made great shew of holiness, for
- well he knew Fra Puccio's bent, Fra Puccio took to bringing him home and
- entertaining him at breakfast and supper, as occasion served; and for love
- of her husband the lady also grew familiar with Dom Felice, and was zealous
- to do him honour. So the monk, being a constant visitor at Fra Puccio's
- house, and seeing the lady so lusty and plump, surmised that of which she
- must have most lack, and made up his mind to afford, if he could, at once
- relief to Fra Puccio and contentment to the lady. So cautiously, now and
- again, he cast an admiring glance in her direction with such effect that he
- kindled in her the same desire with which he burned, and marking his
- success, took the first opportunity to declare his passion to her. He found
- her fully disposed to gratify it; but how this might be, he was at a loss to
- discover, for she would not trust herself with him in any place whatever
- except her own house, and there it could not be, because Fra Puccio never
- travelled; whereby the monk was greatly dejected. Long he pondered the
- matter, and at length thought of an expedient, whereby he might be with the
- lady in her own house without incurring suspicion, notwithstanding that Fra
- Puccio was there. So, being with Fra Puccio one day, he said to him:--
- "Reasons many have I to know, Fra Puccio, that all thy desire is to become a
- saint; but it seems to me that thou farest by a circuitous route, whereas
- there is one very direct, which the Pope and the greater prelates that are
- about him know and use, but will have it remain a secret, because otherwise
- the clergy, who for the most part live by alms, and could not then expect
- alms or aught else from the laity, would be speedily ruined. However, as
- thou art my friend, and hast shewn me much honour, I would teach thee that
- way, if I were assured that thou wouldst follow it without letting another
- soul in the world hear of it." Fra Puccio was now all agog to hear more of
- the matter, and began most earnestly entreating Dom Felice to teach him the
- way, swearing that without Dom Felice's leave none should ever hear of it
- from him, and averring that, if he found it practicable, he would certainly
- follow it. "I am satisfied with thy promises," said the monk, "and I will
- shew thee the way. Know then that the holy doctors hold that whoso would
- achieve blessedness must do the penance of which I shall tell thee; but see
- thou take me judiciously. I do not say that after the penance thou wilt not
- be a sinner, as thou art; but the effect will be that the sins which thou
- hast committed up to the very hour of the penance will all be purged away
- and thereby remitted to thee, and the sins which thou shalt commit
- thereafter will not be written against thee to thy damnation, but will be
- quit by holy water, like venial sins. First of all then the penitent must
- with great exactitude confess his sins when he comes to begin the penance.
- Then follows a period of fasting and very strict abstinence which must last
- for forty days, during which time he is to touch no woman whomsoever, not
- even his wife. Moreover, thou must have in thy house some place whence thou
- mayst see the sky by night, whither thou must resort at compline; and there
- thou must have a beam, very broad, and placed in such a way, that, standing,
- thou canst rest thy nether part upon it, and so, not raising thy feet from
- the ground, thou must extend thy arms, so as to make a sort of crucifix, and
- if thou wouldst have pegs to rest them on thou mayst; and on this manner,
- thy gaze fixed on the sky, and never moving a jot, thou must stand until
- matins. And wert thou lettered, it were proper for thee to say meanwhile
- certain prayers that I would give thee; but as thou art not so, thou must
- say three hundred paternosters and as many avemarias in honour of the
- Trinity; and thus contemplating the sky, be ever mindful that God was the
- creator of the heaven and the earth, and being set even as Christ was upon
- the cross, meditate on His passion. Then, when the matin-bell sounds, thou
- mayst, if thou please, go to bed--but see that thou undress not--and sleep;
- but in the morning thou must go to church, and hear at least three masses,
- and say fifty paternosters and as many avemarias; after which thou mayst
- with a pure heart do aught that thou hast to do, and breakfast; but at
- vespers thou must be again at church, and say there certain prayers, which I
- shall give thee in writing and which are indispensable, and after compline
- thou must repeat thy former exercise. Do this, and I, who have done it
- before thee, have good hope that even before thou shalt have reached the end
- of the penance, thou wilt, if thou shalt do it in a devout spirit, have
- already a marvellous foretaste of the eternal blessedness." "This," said Fra
- Puccio, "is neither a very severe nor a very long penance, and can be very
- easily managed: wherefore in God's name I will begin on Sunday." And so he
- took his leave of Dom Felice, and went home, and, by Dom Felice's
- permission, informed his wife of every particular of his intended penance.
- The lady understood very well what the monk meant by enjoining him not to
- stir from his post until matins; and deeming it an excellent device, she
- said that she was well content that he should do this or aught else that he
- thought good for his soul; and to the end that his penance might be blest
- of, she would herself fast with him, though she would go no further. So they
- did as they had agreed: when Sunday came Fra Puccio began his penance, and
- master monk, by understanding with the lady, came most evenings, at the hour
- when he was secure from discovery, to sup with her, always bringing with him
- abundance both of meat and of drink, and after slept with her till the matin
- hour, when he got up and left her, and Fra Puccio went to bed. The place
- which Fra Puccio had chosen for his penance was close to the room in which
- the lady slept, and only separated from it by the thinnest of partitions; so
- that, the monk and the lady disporting themselves with one another without
- stint or restraint, Fra Puccio thought he felt the floor of the house shake
- a little, and pausing at his hundredth paternoster, but without leaving his
- post, called out to the lady to know what she was about. The lady, who
- dearly loved a jest, and was just then riding the horse of St. Benedict or
- St. John Gualbert, answered:--"I'faith, husband, I am as restless as may
- be." "Restless," said Fra Puccio, "how so? What means this restlessness?"
- Whereto with a hearty laugh, for which she doubtless had good occasion, the
- bonny lady replied:--"What means it? How should you ask such a question?
- Why, I have heard you say a thousand times:--'Who fasting goes to bed,
- uneasy lies his head.'" Fra Puccio, supposing that her wakefulness and
- restlessness abed was due to want of food, said in good faith:--"Wife, I
- told thee I would have thee not fast; but as thou hast chosen to fast, think
- not of it, but think how thou mayst compose thyself to sleep; thou tossest
- about the bed in such sort that the shaking is felt here." "That need cause
- thee no alarm," rejoined the lady. "I know what I am about; I will manage as
- well as I can, and do thou likewise." So Fra Puccio said no more to her, but
- resumed his paternosters; and thenceforth every night, while Fra Puccio's
- penance lasted, the lady and master monk, having had a bed made up for them
- in another part of the house, did there wanton it most gamesomely, the monk
- departing and the lady going back to her bed at one and the same time, being
- shortly before Fra Puccio's return from his nightly vigil. The friar thus
- persisting in his penance while the lady took her fill of pleasure with the
- monk, she would from time to time say jestingly to him:--"Thou layest a
- penance upon Fra Puccio whereby we are rewarded with Paradise." So well
- indeed did she relish the dainties with which the monk regaled her, the more
- so by contrast with the abstemious life to which her husband had long
- accustomed her, that, when Fra Puccio's penance was done, she found means to
- enjoy them elsewhere, and ordered her indulgence with such discretion as to
- ensure its long continuance. Whereby (that my story may end as it began) it
- came to pass that Fra Puccio, hoping by his penance to win a place for
- himself in Paradise, did in fact translate thither the monk who had shewn
- him the way, and the wife who lived with him in great dearth of that of
- which the monk in his charity gave her superabundant largess.
- (1) Perhaps from Casoli, near Naples.
- NOVEL V.
- --
- Zima gives a palfrey to Messer Francesco Vergellesi, who in return suffers
- him to speak with his wife. She keeping silence, he answers in her stead,
- and the sequel is in accordance with his answer.
- --
- When Pamfilo had brought the story of Fra Puccio to a close amid the
- laughter of the ladies, the queen debonairly bade Elisa follow suit; and
- she, whose manner had in it a slight touch of severity, which betokened not
- despite, but was habitual to her, thus began:--
- Many there are that, being very knowing, think that others are quite the
- reverse; and so, many a time, thinking to beguile others, are themselves
- beguiled; wherefore I deem it the height of folly for any one wantonly to
- challenge another to a contest of wit. But, as, perchance, all may not be of
- the same opinion, I am minded, without deviating from the prescribed order,
- to acquaint you with that which thereby befell a certain knight of Pistoia.
- Know then that at Pistoia there lived a knight, Messer Francesco, by name,
- of the Vergellesi family, a man of much wealth and good parts, being both
- wise and clever, but withal niggardly beyond measure. Which Messer
- Francesco, having to go to Milan in the capacity of podesta, had provided
- himself with all that was meet for the honourable support of such a dignity,
- save only a palfrey handsome enough for him; and not being able to come by
- any such, he felt himself at a loss. Now there was then in Pistoia a young
- man, Ricciardo by name, of low origin but great wealth, who went always so
- trim and fine and foppish of person, that folk had bestowed upon him the
- name of Zima,(1) by which he was generally known. Zima had long and to no
- purpose burned and yearned for love of Messer Francesco's very fair and no
- less virtuous wife. His passion was matter of common notoriety; and so it
- befell that some one told Messer Francesco that he had but to ask Zima, who
- was the possessor of one of the handsomest palfreys in Tuscany, which on
- that account he greatly prized, and he would not hesitate to give him the
- horse for the love which he bore his wife. So our niggardly knight sent for
- Zima, and offered to buy the horse of him, hoping thereby to get him from
- Zima as a gift. Zima heard the knight gladly, and thus made answer:--"Sell
- you my horse, Sir, I would not, though you gave me all that you have in the
- world; but I shall be happy to give him to you, when you will, on this
- condition, that, before he pass into your hands, I may by your leave and in
- your presence say a few words to your wife so privately that I may be heard
- by her alone." Thinking at once to gratify his cupidity and to outwit Zima,
- the knight answered that he was content that it should be even as Zima
- wished. Then, leaving him in the hall of the palace, he went to his lady's
- chamber, and told her the easy terms on which he might acquire the palfrey,
- bidding her give Zima his audience, but on no account to vouchsafe him a
- word of reply. This the lady found by no means to her mind, but, as she must
- needs obey her husband's commands, she promised compliance, and followed him
- into the hall to hear what Zima might have to say. Zima then renewed his
- contract with the knight in due form; whereupon, the lady being seated in a
- part of the hall where she was quite by herself, he sate down by her side,
- and thus began:--"Noble lady, I have too much respect for your understanding
- to doubt that you have long been well aware of the extremity of passion
- whereto I have been brought by your beauty, which certainly exceeds that of
- any other lady that I have ever seen, to say nothing of your exquisite
- manners and incomparable virtues, which might well serve to captivate every
- soaring spirit that is in the world; wherefore there need no words of mine
- to assure you that I love you with a love greater and more ardent than any
- that man yet bore to woman, and so without doubt I shall do, as long as my
- woful life shall hold this frame together; nay, longer yet, for, if love
- there be in the next world as in this, I shall love you evermore. And so you
- may make your mind secure that there is nothing that is yours, be it
- precious or be it common, which you may count as in such and so sure a sort
- your own as me, for all that I am and have. And that thereof you may not
- lack evidence of infallible cogency, I tell you, that I should deem myself
- more highly favoured, if I might at your command do somewhat to pleasure
- you, than if at my command the whole world were forthwith to yield me
- obedience. And as 'tis even in such sort that I am yours, 'tis not
- unworthily that I make bold to offer my petitions to Your Highness, as being
- to me the sole, exclusive source of all peace, of all bliss, of all health.
- Wherefore, as your most lowly vassal, I pray you, dear my bliss, my soul's
- one hope, wherein she nourishes herself in love's devouring flame, that in
- your great benignity you deign so far to mitigate the harshness which in the
- past you have shewn towards me, yours though I am, that, consoled by your
- compassion, I may say, that, as 'twas by your beauty that I was smitten with
- love, so 'tis to your pity that I owe my life, which, if in your haughtiness
- you lend not ear unto my prayers, will assuredly fail, so that I shall die,
- and, it may be, 'twill be said that you slew me. 'Twould not redound to your
- honour that I died for love of you; but let that pass; I cannot but think,
- however, that you would sometimes feel a touch of remorse, and would grieve
- that 'twas your doing, and that now and again, relenting, you would say to
- yourself:--'Ah! how wrong it was of me that I had not pity on my Zima;' by
- which too late repentance you would but enhance your grief. Wherefore, that
- this come not to pass, repent you while it is in your power to give me ease,
- and shew pity on me before I die, seeing that with you it rests to make me
- either the gladdest or the saddest man that lives. My trust is in your
- generosity, that 'twill not brook that a love so great and of such a sort as
- mine should receive death for guerdon, and that by a gladsome and gracious
- answer you will repair my shattered spirits, which are all a-tremble in your
- presence for very fear." When he had done, he heaved several very deep
- sighs, and a few tears started from his eyes, while he awaited the lady's
- answer.
- Long time he had wooed her with his eyes, had tilted in her honour, had
- greeted her rising with music; and against these and all like modes of
- attack she had been proof; but the heartfelt words of her most ardent lover
- were not without their effect, and she now began to understand what she had
- never till then understood, to wit, what love really means. So, albeit she
- obeyed her lord's behest, and kept silence, yet she could not but betray by
- a slight sigh that which, if she might have given Zima his answer, she would
- readily have avowed. After waiting a while, Zima found it strange that no
- answer was forthcoming; and he then began to perceive the trick which the
- knight had played him. However, he kept his eyes fixed on the lady, and
- observing that her eyes glowed now and again, as they met his, and noting
- the partially suppressed sighs which escaped her, he gathered a little hope,
- which gave him courage to try a novel plan of attack. So, while the lady
- listened, he began to make answer for her to himself on this wise:--"Zima
- mine, true indeed it is that long since I discerned that thou didst love me
- with a love exceeding great and whole-hearted, whereof I have now yet ampler
- assurance by thine own words, and well content I am therewith, as indeed I
- ought to be. And however harsh and cruel I may have seemed to thee, I would
- by no means have thee believe, that I have been such at heart as I have
- seemed in aspect; rather, be assured that I have ever loved thee and held
- thee dear above all other men; the mien which I have worn was but prescribed
- by fear of another and solicitude for my fair fame. But a time will soon
- come when I shall be able to give thee plain proof of my love, and to accord
- the love which thou hast borne and dost bear me its due guerdon. Wherefore
- be comforted and of good hope; for, Messer Francesco is to go in a few days'
- time to Milan as podesta, as thou well knowest, seeing that for love of me
- thou hast given him thy fine palfrey; and I vow to thee upon my faith, upon
- the true love which I bear thee, that without fail, within a few days
- thereafter thou shalt be with me, and we will give our love complete and
- gladsome consummation. And that I may have no more occasion to speak to thee
- of this matter, be it understood between us that henceforth when thou shalt
- observe two towels disposed at the window of my room which overlooks the
- garden, thou shalt come to me after nightfall of that same day by the garden
- door (and look well to it that thou be not seen), and thou shalt find me
- waiting for thee, and we will have our fill of mutual cheer and solace all
- night long."
- Having thus answered for the lady, Zima resumed his own person and thus
- replied to the lady:--"Dearest madam, your boon response so overpowers my
- every faculty that scarce can I frame words to render you due thanks; and,
- were I able to utter all I feel, time, however long, would fail me fully to
- thank you as I would fain and as I ought: wherefore I must even leave it to
- your sage judgment to divine that which I yearn in vain to put in words. Let
- this one word suffice, that as you bid me, so I shall not fail to do; and
- then, having, perchance, firmer assurance of the great boon which you have
- granted me, I will do my best endeavour to thank you in terms the amplest
- that I may command. For the present there is no more to say; and so, dearest
- my lady, I commend you to God; and may He grant you your heart's content of
- joy and bliss." To all which the lady returned never a word: wherefore Zima
- rose and turned to rejoin the knight, who, seeing him on his feet, came
- towards him, and said with a laugh:--"How sayst thou? Have I faithfully kept
- my promise to thee?" "Not so, Sir," replied Zima; "for by thy word I was to
- have spoken with thy wife, and by thy deed I have spoken to a statue of
- marble." Which remark was much relished by the knight, who, well as he had
- thought of his wife, thought now even better of her, and said:--"So thy
- palfrey, that was, is now mine out and out." "'Tis even so, Sir," replied
- Zima; "but had I thought to have gotten such fruit as I have from this
- favour of yours, I would not have craved it, but would have let you have the
- palfrey as a free gift: and would to God I had done so, for, as it is, you
- have bought the palfrey and I have not sold him." This drew a laugh from the
- knight, who within a few days thereafter mounted the palfrey which he had
- gotten, and took the road for Milan, there to enter on his podestate. The
- lady, now mistress of herself, bethought her of Zima's words, and the love
- which he bore her, and for which he had parted with his palfrey; and
- observing that he frequently passed her house, said to herself:--"What am I
- about? Why throw I my youth away? My husband is gone to Milan, and will not
- return for six months, and when can he ever restore them to me? When I am
- old! And besides, shall I ever find another such lover as Zima? I am quite
- by myself. There is none to fear, I know not why I take not my good time
- while I may: I shall not always have the like opportunity as at present: no
- one will ever know; and if it should get known, 'tis better to do and repent
- than to forbear and repent." Of which meditations the issue was that one day
- she set two towels in the window overlooking the garden, according to Zima's
- word, and Zima having marked them with much exultation, stole at nightfall
- alone to the door of the lady's garden, and finding it open, crossed to
- another door that led into the house, where he found the lady awaiting him.
- On sight of him she rose to meet him, and gave him the heartiest of
- welcomes. A hundred thousand times he embraced and kissed her, as he
- followed her upstairs: then without delay they hied them to bed, and knew
- love's furthest bourne. And so far was the first time from being in this
- case the last, that, while the knight was at Milan, and indeed after his
- return, there were seasons not a few at which Zima resorted thither to the
- immense delight of both parties.
- (1) From the Low Latin aczima, explained by Du Cange as "tonture de draps,"
- the process of dressing cloth so as to give it an even nap. Zima is thus
- equivalent to "nitidus." Cf. Vocab. degli Accademici della Crusca,
- "Azzimare."
- NOVEL VI.
- --
- Ricciardo Minutolo loves the wife of Filippello Fighinolfi, and knowing her
- to be jealous, makes her believe that his own wife is to meet Filippello at
- a bagnio on the ensuing day; whereby she is induced to go thither, where,
- thinking to have been with her husband, she discovers that she has tarried
- with Ricciardo.
- --
- When Elisa had quite done, the queen, after some commendation of Zima's
- sagacity, bade Fiammetta follow with a story. Whereto Fiammetta, all smiles,
- responded:--"Madam, with all my heart;" and thus began:--
- Richly though our city abounds, as in all things else, so also in instances
- to suit every topic, yet I am minded to journey some distance thence, and,
- like Elisa, to tell you something of what goes on in other parts of the
- world: wherefore pass we to Naples, where you shall hear how one of these
- sanctified that shew themselves so shy of love, was by the subtlety of her
- lover brought to taste of the fruit before she had known the flowers of
- love; whereby at one and the same time you may derive from the past counsel
- of prudence for the future, and present delectation.
- In the very ancient city of Naples, which for loveliness has not its
- superior or perhaps its equal in Italy, there once lived a young man,
- renowned alike for noble blood and the splendour of his vast wealth, his
- name Ricciardo Minutolo. He was mated with a very fair and loving wife; but
- nevertheless he became enamoured of a lady who in the general opinion vastly
- surpassed in beauty every other lady in Naples. Catella--such was the lady's
- name--was married to a young man, likewise of gentle blood, Filippello
- Fighinolfi by name, whom she, most virtuous of ladies, loved and held dear
- above all else in the world. Being thus enamoured of Catella, Ricciardo
- Minutolo left none of those means untried whereby a lady's favour and love
- are wont to be gained, but for all that he made no way towards the
- attainment of his heart's desire: whereby he fell into a sort of despair,
- and witless and powerless to loose himself from his love, found life scarce
- tolerable, and yet knew not how to die. While in this frame he languished,
- it befell one day that some ladies that were of kin to him counselled him
- earnestly to be quit of such a love, whereby he could but fret himself to no
- purpose, seeing that Catella cared for nought in the world save Filippello,
- and lived in such a state of jealousy on his account that never a bird flew
- but she feared lest it should snatch him from her. So soon as Ricciardo
- heard of Catella's jealousy, he forthwith began to ponder how he might make
- it subserve his end. He feigned to have given up his love for Catella as
- hopeless, and to have transferred it to another lady, in whose honour he
- accordingly began to tilt and joust and do all that he had been wont to do
- in honour of Catella. Nor was it long before well-nigh all the Neapolitans,
- including Catella herself, began to think that he had forgotten Catella, and
- was to the last degree enamoured of the other lady. In this course he
- persisted, until the opinion was so firmly rooted in the minds of all that
- even Catella laid aside a certain reserve which she had used towards him
- while she deemed him her lover, and, coming and going, greeted him in
- friendly, neighbourly fashion, like the rest. Now it so befell that during
- the hot season, when, according to the custom of the Neapolitans, many
- companies of ladies and gentlemen went down to the sea-coast to recreate
- themselves and breakfast and sup, Ricciardo, knowing that Catella was gone
- thither with her company, went likewise with his, but, making as if he were
- not minded to stay there, he received several invitations from the ladies of
- Catella's company before he accepted any. When the ladies received him, they
- all with one accord, including Catella, began to rally him on his new love,
- and he furnished them with more matter for talk by feigning a most ardent
- passion. At length most of the ladies being gone off, one hither, another
- thither, as they do in such places, leaving Catella and a few others with
- Ricciardo, he tossed at Catella a light allusion to a certain love of her
- husband Filippello, which threw her at once into such a fit of jealousy,
- that she inly burned with a vehement desire to know what Ricciardo meant.
- For a while she kept her own counsel; then, brooking no more suspense, she
- adjured Ricciardo, by the love he bore the lady whom most he loved, to
- expound to her what he had said touching Filippello. He answered thus:--"You
- have adjured me by her to whom I dare not deny aught that you may ask of me;
- my riddle therefore I will presently read you, provided you promise me that
- neither to him nor to any one else will you impart aught of what I shall
- relate to you, until you shall have ocular evidence of its truth; which, so
- you desire it, I will teach you how you may obtain." The lady accepted his
- terms, which rather confirmed her belief in his veracity, and swore that she
- would not tell a soul. They then drew a little apart, that they might not be
- overheard by the rest, and Ricciardo thus began:--"Madam, did I love you, as
- I once did, I should not dare to tell you aught that I thought might cause
- you pain; but, now that that love is past, I shall have the less hesitation
- in telling you the truth. Whether Filippello ever resented the love which I
- bore you, or deemed that it was returned by you, I know not: whether it were
- so or no, he certainly never shewed any such feeling to me; but so it is
- that now, having waited, perhaps, until, as he supposes, I am less likely to
- be on my guard, he shews a disposition to serve me as I doubt he suspects
- that I served him; that is to say, he would fain have his pleasure of my
- wife, whom for some time past he has, as I discover, plied with messages
- through most secret channels. She has told me all, and has answered him
- according to my instructions: but only this morning, just before I came
- hither, I found a woman in close parley with her in the house, whose true
- character and purpose I forthwith divined; so I called my wife, and asked
- what the woman wanted. Whereto she answered:--''Tis this persecution by
- Filippello which thou hast brought upon me by the encouraging answers that
- thou wouldst have me give him: he now tells me that he is most earnestly
- desirous to know my intentions, and that, should I be so minded, he would
- contrive that I should have secret access to a bagnio in this city, and he
- is most urgent and instant that I should consent. And hadst thou not,
- wherefore I know not, bidden me keep the affair afoot, I would have
- dismissed him in such a sort that my movements would have been exempt from
- his prying observation for ever.' Upon this I saw that the affair was going
- too far; I determined to have no more of it, and to let you know it, that
- you may understand how he requites your whole-hearted faith, which brought
- me of late to the verge of death. And that you may not suppose that these
- are but empty words and idle tales, but may be able, should you so desire,
- to verify them by sight and touch, I caused my wife to tell the woman who
- still waited her answer, that she would be at the bagnio to-morrow about
- none, during the siesta: with which answer the woman went away well content.
- Now you do not, I suppose, imagine that I would send her thither; but if I
- were in your place, he should find me there instead of her whom he thinks to
- find there; and when I had been some little time with him, I would give him
- to understand with whom he had been, and he should have of me such honour as
- he deserved. Whereby, I doubt not, he would be put to such shame as would at
- one and the same time avenge both the wrong which he has done to you and
- that which he plots against me."
- Catella, as is the wont of the jealous, hearkened to Ricciardo's words
- without so much as giving a thought to the speaker or his wiles, inclined at
- once to credit his story, and began to twist certain antecedent matters into
- accord with it; then, suddenly kindling with wrath, she answered that to the
- bagnio she would certainly go; 'twould cause her no great inconvenience, and
- if he should come, she would so shame him that he should never again set
- eyes on woman but his ears would tingle. Satisfied by what he heard, that
- his stratagem was well conceived, and success sure, Ricciardo added much in
- corroboration of his story, and having thus confirmed her belief in it,
- besought her to keep it always close, whereto she pledged her faith.
- Next morning Ricciardo hied him to the good woman that kept the bagnio to
- which he had directed Catella, told her the enterprise which he had in hand,
- and prayed her to aid him therein so far as she might be able. The good
- woman, who was much beholden to him, assured him that she would gladly do
- so, and concerted with him all that was to be said and done. She had in the
- bagnio a room which was very dark, being without any window to admit the
- light. This room, by Ricciardo's direction, she set in order, and made up a
- bed there as well as she could, into which bed Ricciardo got, as soon as he
- had breakfasted, and there awaited Catella's coming.
- Now Catella, still giving more credence to Ricciardo's story than it
- merited, had gone home in the evening in a most resentful mood, and
- Filippello, returning home the same evening with a mind greatly preoccupied,
- was scarce as familiar with her as he was wont to be. Which she marking,
- grew yet more suspicious than before, and said to herself:--"Doubtless he is
- thinking of the lady of whom he expects to take his pleasure to-morrow, as
- most assuredly he shall not;" and so, musing and meditating what she should
- say to him after their rencounter at the bagnio, she spent the best part of
- the night. But--to shorten my story--upon the stroke of none Catella, taking
- with her a single attendant, but otherwise adhering to her original
- intention, hied her to the bagnio which Ricciardo had indicated; and finding
- the good woman there, asked her whether Filippello had been there that day.
- Primed by Ricciardo, the good woman asked her, whether she were the lady
- that was to come to speak with him; to which she answered in the
- affirmative. "Go to him, then," said the good woman. And so Catella, in
- quest of that which she would gladly not have found, was shewn to the
- chamber where Ricciardo was, and having entered without uncovering her head,
- closed the door behind her. Overjoyed to see her, Ricciardo sprang out of
- bed, took her in his arms, and said caressingly:--"Welcome, my soul."
- Catella, dissembling, for she was minded at first to counterfeit another
- woman, returned his embrace, kissed him, and lavished endearments upon him;
- saying, the while, not a word, lest her speech should betray her. The
- darkness of the room, which was profound, was equally welcome to both; nor
- were they there long enough for their eyes to recover power. Ricciardo
- helped Catella on to the bed, where, with no word said on either side in a
- voice that might be recognized, they lay a long while, much more to the
- solace and satisfaction of the one than of the other party. Then, Catella,
- deeming it high time to vent her harboured resentment, burst forth in a
- blaze of wrath on this wise:--"Alas! how wretched is the lot of women, how
- misplaced of not a few the love they bear their husbands! Ah, woe is me! for
- eight years have I loved thee more dearly than my life; and now I find that
- thou, base miscreant that thou art, dost nought but burn and languish for
- love of another woman! Here thou hast been--with whom, thinkest thou? Even
- with her whom thou hast too long deluded with thy false blandishments,
- making pretence to love her while thou art enamoured of another. 'Tis I,
- Catella, not the wife of Ricciardo, false traitor that thou art; list if
- thou knowest my voice; 'tis I indeed! Ah! would we were but in the light!--
- it seems to me a thousand years till then--that I might shame thee as thou
- deservest, vile, pestilent dog that thou art! Alas! woe is me! such love as
- I have borne so many years--to whom? To this faithless dog, that, thinking
- to have a strange woman in his embrace, has in the brief while that I have
- been with him here lavished upon me more caresses and endearments than
- during all the forepast time that I have been his! A lively spark indeed art
- thou to-day, renegade dog, that shewest thyself so limp and enervate and
- impotent at home! But, God be praised, thou hast tilled thine own plot, and
- not another's, as thou didst believe. No wonder that last night thou heldest
- aloof from me; thou wast thinking of scattering thy seed elsewhere, and wast
- minded to shew thyself a lusty knight when thou shouldst join battle. But
- praise be to God and my sagacity, the water has nevertheless taken its
- proper course. Where is thy answer, culprit? Hast thou nought to say? Have
- my words struck thee dumb? God's faith I know not why I forbear to pluck
- thine eyes out with my fingers. Thou thoughtest to perpetrate this treason
- with no small secrecy; but, by God, one is as knowing as another; thy plot
- has failed; I had better hounds on thy trail than thou didst think for."
- Ricciardo, inly delighted by her words, made no answer, but embraced and
- kissed her more than ever, and overwhelmed her with his endearments. So she
- continued her reproaches, saying:--"Ay, thou thinkest to cajole me with thy
- feigned caresses, wearisome dog that thou art, and so to pacify and mollify
- me; but thou art mistaken. I shall never be mollified, until I have covered
- thee with infamy in the presence of all our kinsfolk and friends and
- neighbours. Am I not, miscreant, as fair as the wife of Ricciardo Minutolo?
- Am I not as good a lady as she? Why dost not answer, vile dog? Wherein has
- she the advantage of me? Away with thee! touch me not; thou hast done feats
- of arms more than enough for to-day. Well I know that, now that thou knowest
- who I am, thou wilt wreak thy will on me by force: but by God's grace I will
- yet disappoint thee. I know not why I forbear to send for Ricciardo, who
- loved me more than himself and yet was never able to boast that he had a
- single glance from me; nor know I why 'twere wrong to do so. Thou thoughtest
- to have his wife here, and 'tis no fault of thine that thou hadst her not:
- so, if I had him, thou couldst not justly blame me."
- Enough had now been said: the lady's mortification was extreme; and, as she
- ended, Ricciardo bethought him that, if he suffered her, thus deluded, to
- depart, much evil might ensue. He therefore resolved to make himself known,
- and disabuse her of her error. So, taking her in his arms, and clipping her
- so close that she could not get loose, he said:--"Sweet my soul, be not
- wroth: that which, while artlessly I loved, I might not have, Love has
- taught me to compass by guile: know that I am thy Ricciardo."
- At these words and the voice, which she recognized, Catella started, and
- would have sprung out of the bed; which being impossible, she essayed a cry;
- but Ricciardo laid a hand upon her mouth, and closed it, saying:--"Madam,
- that which is done can never be undone, though you should cry out for the
- rest of your days, and should you in such or any other wise publish this
- matter to any, two consequences will ensue. In the first place (and this is
- a point which touches you very nearly) your honour and fair fame will be
- blasted; for, however you may say that I lured you hither by guile, I shall
- deny it, and affirm, on the contrary, that I induced you to come hither by
- promises of money and gifts, and that 'tis but because you are vexed that
- what I gave you did not altogether come up to your expectations, that you
- make such a cry and clamour; and you know that folk are more prone to
- believe evil than good, and therefore I am no less likely to be believed
- than you. The further consequence will be mortal enmity between your husband
- and me, and the event were as like to be that I killed him as that he killed
- me: which if I did, you would never more know joy or peace. Wherefore, heart
- of my body, do not at one and the same time bring dishonour upon yourself
- and set your husband and me at strife and in jeopardy of our lives. You are
- not the first, nor will you be the last to be beguiled; nor have I beguiled
- you to rob you of aught, but for excess of love that I bear, and shall ever
- bear, you, being your most lowly vassal. And though it is now a great while
- that I, and what I have and can and am worth, are yours, yet I am minded
- that so it shall be henceforth more than ever before. Your discretion in
- other matters is not unknown to me, and I doubt not 'twill be equally
- manifest in this."
- Ricciardo's admonitions were received by Catella with many a bitter tear;
- but though she was very wroth and very sad at heart, yet Ricciardo's true
- words so far commanded the assent of her reason, that she acknowledged that
- 'twas possible they might be verified by the event. Wherefore she made
- answer:Ÿ-"Ricciardo, I know not how God will grant me patience to bear the
- villainy and knavery which thou hast practised upon me; and though in this
- place, to which simplicity and excess of jealousy guided my steps, I raise
- no cry, rest assured that I shall never be happy, until in one way or
- another I know myself avenged of that which thou hast done to me. Wherefore
- unhand me, let me go: thou hast had thy desire of me, and hast tormented me
- to thy heart's content: 'tis time to release me; let me go, I pray thee."
- But Ricciardo, seeing that she was still much ruffled in spirit, was
- resolved not to let her go, until he had made his peace with her. So he
- addressed himself to soothe her; and by dint of most dulcet phrases and
- entreaties and adjurations he did at last prevail with her to give him her
- pardon; nay, by joint consent, they tarried there a great while to the
- exceeding great delight of both. Indeed the lady, finding her lover's kisses
- smack much better than those of her husband, converted her asperity into
- sweetness, and from that day forth cherished a most tender love for
- Ricciardo; whereof, using all circumspection, they many a time had solace.
- God grant us solace of ours.
- NOVEL VII.
- --
- Tedaldo, being in disfavour with his lady, departs from Florence. He returns
- thither after a while in the guise of a pilgrim, has speech of his lady, and
- makes her sensible of her fault. Her husband, convicted of slaying him, he
- delivers from peril of death, reconciles him with his brothers, and
- thereafter discreetly enjoys his lady.
- --
- So ceased Fiammetta; and, when all had bestowed on her their meed of praise,
- the queen--to lose no time--forthwith bade Emilia resume the narration. So
- thus Emilia began:--
- I am minded to return to our city, whence my two last predecessors saw fit
- to depart, and to shew you how one of our citizens recovered the lady he had
- lost. Know then that there was in Florence a young noble, his name Tedaldo
- Elisei, who being beyond measure enamoured of a lady hight Monna Ermellina,
- wife of one Aldobrandino Palermini, and by reason of his admirable qualities
- richly deserving to have his desire, found Fortune nevertheless adverse, as
- she is wont to be to the prosperous. Inasmuch as, for some reason or
- another, the lady, having shewn herself gracious towards Tedaldo for a
- while, completely altered her mien, and not only shewed him no further
- favour, but would not so much as receive a message from him or suffer him to
- see her face; whereby he fell a prey to a grievous and distressful
- melancholy; but so well had he concealed his love that the cause of his
- melancholy was surmised by none. He tried hard in divers ways to recover the
- love which he deemed himself to have lost for no fault of his, and finding
- all his efforts unavailing, he resolved to bid the world adieu, that he
- might not afford her who was the cause of his distress the satisfaction of
- seeing him languish. So he got together as much money as he might, and
- secretly, no word said to friend or kinsman except only a familiar gossip,
- who knew all, he took his departure for Ancona. Arrived there, he assumed
- the name of Filippo Santodeccio, and having forgathered with a rich
- merchant, entered his service. The merchant took him with him to Cyprus
- aboard one of his ships, and was so well pleased with his bearing and
- behaviour that he not only gave him a handsome salary but made him in a sort
- his companion, and entrusted him with the management of no small part of his
- affairs: wherein he proved himself so apt and assiduous, that in the course
- of a few years he was himself established in credit and wealth and great
- repute as a merchant. Seven years thus passed, during which, albeit his
- thoughts frequently reverted to his cruel mistress, and sorely love smote
- him, and much he yearned to see her again, yet such was his firmness that he
- came off conqueror, until one day in Cyprus it so befell that there was sung
- in his hearing a song that he had himself composed, and of which the theme
- was the mutual love that was between his lady and him, and the delight that
- he had of her; which as he heard, he found it incredible that she should
- have forgotten him, and burned with such a desire to see her once more,
- that, being able to hold out no longer, he made up his mind to return to
- Florence. So, having set all his affairs in order, he betook him, attended
- only by a single servant, to Ancona; whence he sent all his effects, as they
- arrived, forward to Florence, consigning them to a friend of his Ancontan
- partner, and followed with his servant in the disguise of a pilgrim returned
- from the Holy Sepulchre. Arrived at Florence, he put up at a little hostelry
- kept by two brothers hard by his lady's house, whither he forthwith hied
- him, hoping that, perchance, he might have sight of her from the street;
- but, finding all barred and bolted, doors, windows and all else, he doubted
- much, she must be dead, or have removed thence. So, with a very heavy heart,
- he returned to the house of the two brothers, and to his great surprise
- found his own four brothers standing in front of it, all in black. He knew
- that he was so changed from his former semblance, both in dress and in
- person, that he might not readily be recognized, and he had therefore no
- hesitation in going up to a shoemaker and asking him why these men were all
- dressed in black. The shoemaker answered:--"'Tis because 'tis not fifteen
- days since a brother of theirs, Tedaldo by name, that had been long abroad,
- was slain; and I understand that they have proved in court that one
- Aldobrandino Palermini, who is under arrest, did the deed, because Tedaldo,
- who loved his wife, was come back to Florence incognito to forgather with
- her." Tedaldo found it passing strange that there should be any one so like
- him as to be mistaken for him, and deplored Aldobrandino's evil plight. He
- had learned, however, that the lady was alive and well. So, as 'twas now
- night, he hied him, much perplexed in mind, into the inn, and supped with
- his servant. The bedroom assigned him was almost at the top of the house,
- and the bed was none of the best. Thoughts many and disquieting haunted his
- mind, and his supper had been but light. Whereby it befell that midnight
- came and went, and Tedaldo was still awake. As thus he watched, he heard
- shortly after midnight, a noise as of persons descending from the roof into
- the house, and then through the chinks of the door of his room he caught the
- flicker of an ascending light. Wherefore he stole softly to the door, and
- peeping through a chink to make out what was afoot, he saw a very fine young
- woman bearing a light, and three men making towards her, being evidently
- those that had descended from the roof. The men exchanged friendly greetings
- with the young woman, and then one said to her:--"Now, God be praised, we
- may make our minds easy, for we are well assured that judgment for the death
- of Tedaldo Elisei is gotten by his brothers against Aldobrandino Palermini,
- and he has confessed, and the sentence is already drawn up; but still it
- behoves us to hold our peace; for, should it ever get abroad that we were
- guilty, we shall stand in the like jeopardy as Aldobrandino." So saying,
- they took leave of the woman, who seemed much cheered, and went to bed. What
- he had heard set Tedaldo musing on the number and variety of the errors to
- which men are liable: as, first, how his brothers had mourned and interred a
- stranger in his stead, and then charged an innocent man upon false
- suspicion, and by false witness brought him into imminent peril of death:
- from which he passed to ponder the blind severity of laws and magistrates,
- who from misguided zeal to elicit the truth not unfrequently become
- ruthless, and, adjudging that which is false, forfeit the title which they
- claim of ministers of God and justice, and do but execute the mandates of
- iniquity and the Evil One. And so he came at last to consider the
- possibility of saving Aldobrandino, and formed a plan for the purpose.
- Accordingly, on the morrow, when he was risen, he left his servant at the
- inn, and hied him alone, at what he deemed a convenient time, to his lady's
- house, where, finding, by chance, the door open, he entered, and saw his
- lady sitting, all tears and lamentations, in a little parlour on the
- ground-floor. Whereat he all but wept for sympathy; and drawing near her, he
- said:--"Madam, be not troubled in spirit: your peace is nigh you." Whereupon
- the lady raised her head, and said between her sobs:--"Good man, what dost
- thou, a pilgrim, if I mistake not, from distant parts, know either of my
- peace or of my affliction?" "Madam," returned the pilgrim, "I am of
- Constantinople, and am but now come hither, at God's behest, that I may give
- you laughter for tears, and deliver your husband from death." "But," said
- the lady, "if thou art of Constantinople, and but now arrived, how is't that
- thou knowest either who my husband is, or who I am?" Whereupon the pilgrim
- gave her the whole narrative, from the very beginning, of Aldobrandino's
- sufferings; he also told her, who she was, how long she had been married,
- and much besides that was known to him of her affairs: whereat the lady was
- lost in wonder, and, taking him to be a prophet, threw herself on her knees
- at his feet, and besought him for God's sake, if he were come to save
- Aldobrandino, to lose no time, for the matter brooked no delay. Thus
- adjured, the pilgrim assumed an air of great sanctity, as he said:--"Arise,
- Madam, weep not, but hearken diligently to what I shall say to you, and look
- to it that you impart it to none. I have it by revelation of God that the
- tribulation wherein you stand is come upon you in requital of a sin which
- you did once commit, of which God is minded that this suffering be a partial
- purgation, and that you make reparation in full, if you would not find
- yourself in a far more grievous plight." "Sir," replied the lady, "many sins
- have I committed, nor know I how among them all to single out that whereof,
- more than another, God requires reparation at my hands--wherefore, if you
- know it, tell it me, and what by way of reparation I may do, that will I
- do." "Madam," returned the pilgrim, "well wot I what it is, nor shall I
- question you thereof for my better instruction, but that the rehearsal may
- give you increase of remorse therefor. But pass we now to fact. Tell me,
- mind you ever to have had a lover?" Whereat the lady heaved a deep sigh;
- then, marvelling not a little, for she had thought 'twas known to none,
- albeit on the day when the man was slain, who was afterwards buried as
- Tedaldo, there had been some buzz about it, occasioned by some indiscreet
- words dropped by Tedaldo's gossip and confidant, she made answer:--"I see
- that there is nought that men keep secret but God reveals it to you;
- wherefore I shall not endeavour to hide my secrets from you. True it is that
- in my youth I was beyond measure enamoured of the unfortunate young man
- whose death is imputed to my husband; whom I mourned with grief unfeigned,
- for, albeit I shewed myself harsh and cruel towards him before his
- departure, yet neither thereby, nor by his long absence, nor yet by his
- calamitous death was my heart estranged from him." Then said the
- pilgrim:--"'Twas not the unfortunate young man now dead that you did love,
- but Tedaldo Elisei. But let that pass; now tell me: wherefore lost he your
- good graces? Did he ever offend you?" "Nay verily," answered the lady, "he
- never offended me at all. My harshness was prompted by an accursed friar, to
- whom I once confessed, and who, when I told him of the love I bore Tedaldo,
- and my intimacy with him, made my ears so tingle and sing that I still
- shudder to think of it, warning me that, if I gave it not up, I should fall
- into the jaws of the Devil in the abyss of hell, and be cast into the
- avenging fire. Whereby I was so terrified that I quite made my mind up to
- discontinue my intimacy with him, and, to trench the matter, I would
- thenceforth have none of his letters or messages; and so, I suppose, he went
- away in despair, though I doubt not, had he persevered a while longer, I
- should not have seen him wasting away like snow in sunshine without
- relenting of my harsh resolve; for in sooth there was nothing in the world I
- would so gladly have done." Then said the pilgrim:--"Madam, 'tis this sin,
- and this only, that has brought upon you your present tribulation. I know
- positively that Tedaldo did never put force upon you: 'twas of your own free
- will, and for that he pleased you, that you became enamoured of him, your
- constant visitor, your intimate friend he became, because you yourself would
- have it so; and in the course of your intimacy you shewed him such favour by
- word and deed that, if he loved you first, you multiplied his love full a
- thousandfold. And if so it was, and well I know it was so, what
- justification had you for thus harshly severing yourself from him? You
- should have considered the whole matter before the die was cast, and not
- have entered upon it, if you deemed you might have cause to repent you of it
- as a sin. As soon as he became yours, you became his. Had he not been yours,
- you might have acted as you had thought fit, at your own unfettered
- discretion, but, as you were his, 'twas robbery, 'twas conduct most
- disgraceful, to sever yourself from him against his will. Now you must know
- that I am a friar; and therefore all the ways of friars are familiar to me;
- nor does it misbecome me, as it might another, to speak for your behoof
- somewhat freely of them; as I am minded to do that you may have better
- understanding of them in the future than you would seem to have had in the
- past. Time was when the friars were most holy and worthy men, but those who
- to-day take the name and claim the reputation of friars have nought of the
- friar save only the habit: nay, they have not even that: for, whereas their
- founders ordained that their habits should be strait, of a sorry sort, and
- of coarse stuff, apt symbols of a soul that in arraying the body in so mean
- a garb did despite to all things temporal, our modern friars will have them
- full, and double, and resplendent, and of the finest stuff, and of a fashion
- goodly and pontifical, wherein without shame they flaunt it like peacocks in
- the church, in the piazza, even as do the laity in their robes. And as the
- fisherman casts his net into the stream with intent to take many fish at one
- throw: so 'tis the main solicitude and study, art and craft of these friars
- to embrace and entangle within the ample folds of their vast swelling skirts
- beguines, widows and other foolish women, ay, and men likewise in great
- number. Wherefore, to speak with more exactitude, the friars of to-day have
- nought of the habit of the friar save only the colour thereof. And, whereas
- the friars of old time sought to win men to their salvation, those of to-day
- seek to win their women and their wealth; wherefore they have made it and
- make it their sole concern by declamation and imagery to strike terror into
- the souls of fools, and to make believe that sins are purged by alms and
- masses; to the end that they, base wretches that have fled to friarage not
- to ensue holiness but to escape hardship, may receive from this man bread,
- from that man wine, and from the other man a donation for masses for the
- souls of his dead. True indeed it is that sins are purged by almsgiving and
- prayer; but, did they who give the alms know, did they but understand to
- whom they give them, they would be more apt to keep them to themselves, or
- throw them to so many pigs. And, knowing that the fewer be they that share
- great riches, the greater their ease, 'tis the study of each how best by
- declamation and intimidation to oust others from that whereof he would fain
- be the sole owner. They censure lust in men, that, they turning therefrom,
- the sole use of their women may remain to the censors: they condemn usury
- and unlawful gains, that, being entrusted with the restitution thereof, they
- may be able to enlarge their habits, and to purchase bishoprics and other
- great preferments with the very money which they have made believe must
- bring its possessor to perdition. And when they are taxed with these and
- many other discreditable practices, they deem that there is no censure,
- however grave, of which they may not be quit by their glib formula:--'Follow
- our precepts, not our practice:' as if 'twere possible that the sheep should
- be of a more austere and rigid virtue than the shepherds. And how many of
- these, whom they put off with this formula, understand it not in the way in
- which they enunciate it, not a few of them know. The friars of to-day would
- have you follow their precepts, that is to say, they would have you fill
- their purses with coin, confide to them your secrets, practise continence,
- be longsuffering, forgive those that trespass against you, keep yourselves
- from evil speaking; all which things are good, seemly, holy. But to what
- end? To the end that they may be able to do that which, if the laity do it,
- they will not be able to do. Who knows not that idleness cannot subsist
- without money? Spend thy money on thy pleasures, and the friar will not be
- able to live in sloth in his order. Go after women, and there will be no
- place for the friar. Be not longsuffering, pardon not the wrong-doer, and
- the friar will not dare to cross thy threshold to corrupt thy family. But
- wherefore pursue I the topic through every detail? They accuse themselves as
- often as they so excuse themselves in the hearing of all that have
- understanding. Why seclude they not themselves, if they misdoubt their power
- to lead continent and holy lives? Or if they must needs not live as
- recluses, why follow they not that other holy text of the Gospel:--Christ
- began to do and to teach?(1) Let them practise first, and school us with
- their precepts afterwards. A thousand such have I seen in my day, admirers,
- lovers, philanderers, not of ladies of the world alone, but of nuns; ay, and
- they too such as made the most noise in the pulpits. Is it such as they that
- we are to follow? He that does so, pleases himself; but God knows if he do
- wisely. But assume that herein we must allow that your censor, the friar,
- spoke truth, to wit, that none may break the marriage-vow without very grave
- sin. What then? to rob a man, to slay him, to make of him an exile and a
- wanderer on the face of the earth, are not these yet greater sins? None will
- deny that so they are. A woman that indulges herself in the intimate use
- with a man commits but a sin of nature; but if she rob him, or slay him, or
- drive him out into exile, her sin proceeds from depravity of spirit. That
- you did rob Tedaldo, I have already shewn you, in that, having of your own
- free will become his, you reft you from him. I now go further and say that,
- so far as in you lay, you slew him, seeing that, shewing yourself ever more
- and more cruel, you did your utmost to drive him to take his own life; and
- in the law's intent he that is the cause that wrong is done is as culpable
- as he that does it. Nor is it deniable that you were the cause that for
- seven years he has been an exile and a wanderer upon the face of the earth.
- Wherefore upon each of the said three articles you are found guilty of a
- greater crime than you committed by your intimacy with him. But consider we
- the matter more closely: perchance Tedaldo merited such treatment: nay, but
- assuredly 'twas not so. You have yourself so confessed: besides which I know
- that he loves you more dearly than himself. He would laud, he would extol,
- he would magnify you above all other ladies so as never was heard the like,
- wheresoever 'twas seemly for him to speak of you, and it might be done
- without exciting suspicion. All his bliss, all his honour, all his liberty
- he avowed was entirely in your disposal. Was he not of noble birth? And for
- beauty might he not compare with the rest of his townsfolk? Did he not excel
- in all the exercises and accomplishments proper to youth? Was he not
- beloved, held dear, well seen of all men? You will not deny it. How then
- could you at the behest of a paltry friar, silly, brutish and envious, bring
- yourself to deal with him in any harsh sort? I cannot estimate the error of
- those ladies who look askance on men and hold them cheap; whereas,
- bethinking them of what they are themselves, and what and how great is the
- nobility with which God has endowed man above all the other animals, they
- ought rather to glory in the love which men give them, and hold them most
- dear, and with all zeal study to please them, that so their love may never
- fail. In what sort you did so, instigated by the chatter of a friar, some
- broth-guzzling, pastry-gorging knave without a doubt, you know; and
- peradventure his purpose was but to instal himself in the place whence he
- sought to oust another. This then is the sin which the Divine justice,
- which, ever operative, suffers no perturbation of its even balance, or
- arrest of judgment, has decreed not to leave unpunished: wherefore, as
- without due cause you devised how you might despoil Tedaldo of yourself, so
- without due cause your husband has been placed and is in jeopardy of his
- life on Tedaldo's account, and to your sore affliction. Wherefrom if you
- would be delivered, there is that which you must promise, ay, and (much
- more) which you must perform: to wit, that, should it ever betide that
- Tedaldo return hither from his long exile, you will restore to him your
- favour, your love, your tender regard, your intimacy, and reinstate him in
- the position which he held before you foolishly hearkened to the halfwitted
- friar."
- Thus ended the pilgrim; and the lady, who had followed him with the closest
- attention, deeming all that he advanced very sound, and doubting not that
- her tribulation was, as he said, in requital of her sin, spoke thus:--
- "Friend of God, well I wot that the matters which you discourse are true,
- and, thanks to your delineation, I now in great measure know what manner of
- men are the friars, whom I have hitherto regarded as all alike holy; nor
- doubt I that great was my fault in the course which I pursued towards
- Tedaldo; and gladly, were it in my power, would I make reparation in the
- manner which you have indicated. But how is this feasible? Tedaldo can never
- return to us. He is dead. Wherefore I know not why I must needs give you a
- promise which cannot be performed." "Madam," returned the pilgrim, "'tis
- revealed to me by God that Tedaldo is by no means dead, but alive and well
- and happy, so only he enjoyed your favour." "Nay, but," said the lady,
- "speak advisedly; I saw his body done to death by more than one knife-wound;
- I folded it in these arms, and drenched the dead face with many a tear;
- whereby, perchance, I gave occasion for the bruit that has been made to my
- disadvantage." "Say what you may, Madam," rejoined the pilgrim," I assure
- you that Tedaldo lives, and if you will but give the promise, then, for its
- fulfilment, I have good hope that you will soon see him." Whereupon: "I give
- the promise," said the lady, "and right gladly will I make it good; nor is
- there aught that might happen that would yield me such delight as to see my
- husband free and scatheless, and Tedaldo alive." Tedaldo now deemed it wise
- to make himself known, and establish the lady in a more sure hope of her
- husband's safety. Wherefore he said:--"Madam, to set your mind at ease in
- regard of your husband, I must first impart to you a secret, which be
- mindful to disclose to none so long as you live." Then--for such was the
- confidence which the lady reposed in the pilgrim's apparent sanctity that
- they were by themselves in a place remote from observation--Tedaldo drew
- forth a ring which he had guarded with the most jealous care, since it had
- been given him by the lady on the last night when they were together, and
- said, as he shewed it to her:--"Madam, know you this?" The lady recognized
- it forthwith, and answered:--"I do, Sir; I gave it long ago to Tedaldo."
- Then the pilgrim, rising and throwing off his sclavine(2) and hat, said with
- the Florentine accent:--"And know you me?" The lady recognizing forthwith
- the form and semblance of Tedaldo, was struck dumb with wonder and fear as
- of a corpse that is seen to go about as if alive, and was much rather
- disposed to turn and flee from Tedaldo returned from the tomb than to come
- forward and welcome Tedaldo arrived from Cyprus. But when Tedaldo said to
- her:--"Fear not, Madam, your Tedaldo am I, alive and well, nor was I ever
- dead, whatever you and my brothers may think," the lady, partly awed, partly
- reassured by his voice, regarded him with rather more attention, and inly
- affirming that 'twas in very truth Tedaldo, threw herself upon his neck, and
- wept, and kissed him, saying:--"Sweet my Tedaldo, welcome home." "Madam,"
- replied Tedaldo after he had kissed and embraced her, "time serves not now
- for greetings more intimate. 'Tis for me to be up and doing, that
- Aldobrandino may be restored to you safe and sound; touching which matter
- you will, I trust, before to-morrow at even hear tidings that will gladden
- your heart; indeed I expect to have good news to-night, and, if so, will
- come and tell it you, when I shall be less straitened than I am at present."
- He then resumed his sclavine and hat, and having kissed the lady again, and
- bade her be of good cheer, took his leave, and hied him to the prison, where
- Aldobrandino lay more occupied with apprehension of imminent death than hope
- of deliverance to come. As ministrant of consolation, he gained ready
- admittance of the warders, and, seating himself by Aldobrandino's side, he
- said:--"Aldobrandino, in me thou seest a friend sent thee by God, who is
- touched with pity of thee by reason of thy innocence; wherefore, if in
- reverent submission to Him thou wilt grant me a slight favour that I shall
- ask of thee, without fail, before to-morrow at even, thou shalt, in lieu of
- the doom of death that thou awaitest, hear thy acquittal pronounced."
- "Worthy man," replied Aldobrandino, "I know thee not, nor mind I ever to
- have seen thee; wherefore, as thou shewest thyself solicitous for my safety,
- my friend indeed thou must needs be, even as thou sayst. And in sooth the
- crime, for which they say I ought to be doomed to death, I never committed,
- though others enough I have committed, which perchance have brought me to
- this extremity. However, if so be that God has now pity on me, this I tell
- thee in reverent submission to Him, that, whereas 'tis but a little thing
- that thou cravest of me, there is nought, however great, but I would not
- only promise but gladly do it; wherefore, even ask what thou wilt, and, if
- so be that I escape, I will without fail keep my word to the letter." "Nay,"
- returned the pilgrim, "I ask but this of thee, that thou pardon Tedaldo's
- four brothers, that in the belief that thou wast guilty of their brother's
- death they brought thee to this strait, and, so they ask thy forgiveness,
- account them as thy brothers and friends." "How sweet," replied
- Aldobrandino, "is the savour, how ardent the desire, of vengeance, none
- knows but he that is wronged; but yet, so God may take thought for my
- deliverance, I will gladly pardon, nay, I do now pardon them, and if I go
- hence alive and free, I will thenceforth have them in such regard as shall
- content thee." Satisfied with this answer, the pilgrim, without further
- parley, heartily exhorted Aldobrandino to be of good cheer; assuring him
- that, before the next day was done, he should be certified beyond all manner
- of doubt of his deliverance; and so he left him.
- On quitting the prison the pilgrim hied him forthwith to the signory, and
- being closeted with a knight that was in charge, thus spoke:--"My lord, 'tis
- the duty of all, and most especially of those who hold your place, zealously
- to bestir themselves that the truth be brought to light, in order as well
- that those bear not the penalty who have not committed the crime, as that
- the guilty be punished. And that this may come to pass to your honour and
- the undoing of the delinquent, I am come hither to you. You wot that you
- have dealt rigorously with Aldobrandino Palermini, and have found, as you
- think, that 'twas he that slew Tedaldo Elisei, and you are about to condemn
- him; wherein you are most certainly in error, as I doubt not before midnight
- to prove to you, delivering the murderers into your hands." The worthy
- knight, who was not without pity for Aldobrandino, readily gave ear to the
- pilgrim's words. He conversed at large with him, and availing himself of his
- guidance, made an easy capture of the two brothers that kept the inn and
- their servant in their first sleep. He was about to put them the torture, to
- elicit the true state of the case, when, their courage failing, they
- confessed without the least reserve, severally at first, and then jointly,
- that 'twas they that had slain Tedaldo Elisei, not knowing who he was. Asked
- for why, they answered that 'twas because he had sorely harassed the wife of
- one of them, and would have constrained her to do his pleasure, while they
- were out of doors. Whereof the pilgrim was no sooner apprised, than by leave
- of the knight he withdrew, and hied him privily to the house of Madonna
- Ermellina, whom (the rest of the household being gone to bed) he found
- awaiting him alone, and equally anxious for good news of her husband and a
- complete reconciliation with her Tedaldo. On entering, he blithely
- exclaimed:--"Rejoice, dearest my lady, for thou mayst rest assured that
- to-morrow thou shalt have thy Aldobrandino back here safe and sound;" and to
- confirm her faith in his words, he told her all that he had done. Greater
- joy was never woman's than hers of two such glad surprises; to wit, to have
- Tedaldo with her alive again, whom she had wailed for verily dead, and to
- know Aldobrandino, whom she had thought in no long time to wail for dead,
- now out of jeopardy. Wherefore, when she had affectionately embraced and
- kissed her Tedaldo, they hied them to bed together, and with hearty goodwill
- made gracious and gladsome consummation of their peace by interchange of
- sweet solace.
- With the approach of day Tedaldo rose, and having first apprised the lady of
- his purpose and enjoined her, as before, to keep it most secret, resumed his
- pilgrim's habit, and sallied forth of her house, to be ready, as occasion
- should serve, to act in Aldobrandino's interest. As soon as 'twas day, the
- signory, deeming themselves amply conversant with the affair, set
- Aldobrandino at large; and a few days later they caused the malefactors to
- be beheaded in the place where they had done the murder.
- Great was Aldobrandino's joy to find himself free, not less great was that
- of his lady and all his friends and kinsfolk; and as 'twas through the
- pilgrim that it had come about, they brought him to their house, there to
- reside as long as he cared to tarry in the city; nor could they do him
- honour and cheer enough, and most of all the lady, who knew her man. But
- after awhile, seeing that his brothers were not only become a common
- laughing-stock by reason of Aldobrandino's acquittal, but had armed
- themselves for very fear, he felt that their reconciliation with him brooked
- no delay, and accordingly craved of him performance of his promise.
- Aldobrandino replied handsomely that it should be had at once. The pilgrim
- then bade him arrange for the following day a grand banquet, at which he and
- his kinsfolk and their ladies were to entertain the four brothers and their
- ladies, adding that he would himself go forthwith as Aldobrandino's envoy,
- and bid them welcome to his peace and banquet. All which being approved by
- Aldobrandino, the pilgrim hied him with all speed to the four brothers, whom
- by ample, apt and unanswerable argument he readily induced to reinstate
- themselves in Aldobrandino's friendship by suing for his forgiveness: which
- done, he bade them and their ladies to breakfast with Aldobrandino on the
- morrow, and they, being assured of his good faith, were consenting to come.
- So, on the morrow, at the breakfast hour, Tedaldo's four brothers, still
- wearing their black, came with certain of their friends to Aldobrandino's
- house, where he awaited them; and, in presence of the company that had been
- bidden to meet them, laid down their arms, and made surrender to
- Aldobrandino, asking his pardon of that which they had done against him.
- Aldobrandino received them compassionately, wept, kissed each on the mouth,
- and let few words suffice to remit each offence. After them came their
- sisters and their wives, all habited sadly, and were graciously received by
- Madonna Ermellina and the other ladies. The guests, men and women alike,
- found all things ordered at the banquet with magnificence, nor aught unmeet
- for commendation save the restraint which the yet recent grief, betokened by
- the sombre garb of Tedaldo's kinsfolk, laid upon speech (wherein some had
- found matter to except against the banquet and the pilgrim for devising it,
- as he well knew), but, as he had premeditated, in due time, he stood up, the
- others being occupied with their dessert, and spoke thus:--"Nothing is
- wanting to complete the gaiety of this banquet except the presence of
- Tedaldo; whom, as you have been long time with him and have not known him, I
- will point out to you." So, having divested himself of his sclavine and
- whatever else in his garb denoted the pilgrim, he remained habited in a
- tunic of green taffeta, in which guise, so great was the wonder with which
- all regarded him that, though they recognized him, 'twas long before any
- dared to believe that 'twas actually Tedaldo. Marking their surprise,
- Tedaldo told them not a little about themselves, their family connexions,
- their recent history, and his own adventures. Whereat his brothers and the
- rest of the men, all weeping for joy, hasted to embrace him, followed by the
- women, as well those that were not, as those that were, of kin to him, save
- only Madonna Ermellina. Which Aldobrandino observing, said:--"What is this,
- Ermellina? How comes it that, unlike the other ladies, thou alone dost
- Tedaldo no cheer?" "Cheer," replied the lady in the hearing of all, "would I
- gladly do him such as no other woman has done or could do, seeing that I am
- more beholden to him than any other woman, in that to him I owe it that I
- have thee with me again; 'tis but the words spoken to my disadvantage, while
- we mourned him that we deemed Tedaldo, that give me pause." "Now out upon
- thee," said Aldobrandino, "thinkest thou that I heed the yelping of these
- curs? His zeal for my deliverance has abundantly disproved it, besides which
- I never believed it. Quick, get thee up, and go and embrace him." The lady,
- who desired nothing better, was in this not slow to obey her husband; she
- rose forthwith, and embraced Tedaldo as the other ladies had done, and did
- him gladsome cheer. Tedaldo's brothers and all the company, men and women
- alike, heartily approved Aldobrandino's handsomeness; and so whatever of
- despite the rumour had engendered in the minds of any was done away. And,
- now that all had done him cheer, Tedaldo with his own hands rent his
- brothers' suits of black upon their backs, as also the sad-hued garments
- which his sisters and sisters-in-law wore, and bade bring other apparel.
- Which when they had donned, there was no lack of singing, dancing and other
- sorts of merry-making; whereby the banquet, for all its subdued beginning,
- had a sonorous close. Then, just as they were, in the blithest of spirits,
- they hied them all to Tedaldo's house, where in the evening they supped; and
- in this manner they held festival for several days.
- 'Twas some time before the Florentines ceased to look on Tedaldo as a
- portent, as if he were risen from the dead; and a shadow of doubt whether he
- were really Tedaldo or no continued to lurk in the minds of not a few,
- including even his brothers: they had no assured belief; and in that frame
- had perchance long continued, but for a casual occurrence that shewed them
- who the murdered man was. It so befell that one day some men-at-arms from
- Lunigiana passed by their house, and seeing Tedaldo accosted him, saying:--
- "Good-morrow to thee, Faziuolo." To whom Tedaldo, in the presence of his
- brothers, answered:--"You take me for another." Whereat they were abashed,
- and asked his pardon, saying:--"Sooth to tell, you are liker than we ever
- knew any man like to another to a comrade of ours, Faziuolo da Pontremoli by
- name, who came hither a fortnight ago, or perhaps a little more, since when
- we have not been able to learn what became of him. Most true it is that your
- dress surprised us, because he, like ourselves, was a soldier." Whereupon
- Tedaldo's eldest brother came forward, and asked how their comrade had been
- accoutred. They told him, and 'twas found to have been exactly as they said:
- by which and other evidence 'twas established that 'twas Faziuolo that had
- been murdered, and not Tedaldo; of whom thenceforth no suspicion lurked in
- the minds of his brothers or any one else.
- So, then, Tedaldo returned home very rich, and remained constant in his
- love; nor did the lady again treat him harshly; but, using discretion, they
- long had mutual solace of their love. God grant us solace of ours.
- (1) As pointed out by Mr. Payne, these words are not from any of the
- Gospels, but from the first verse of the Acts of the Apostles. Boccaccio
- doubtless used "Evangelio" in a large sense for the whole of the New
- Testament.
- (2) Schiavina, Low Lat. sclavina, the long coarse frock worn, among others,
- by palmers.
- NOVEL VIII.
- --
- Ferondo, having taken a certain powder, is interred for dead; is disinterred
- by the abbot, who enjoys his wife; is put in prison and taught to believe
- that he is in purgatory; is then resuscitated, and rears as his own a boy
- begotten by the abbot upon his wife.
- --
- Ended Emilia's long story, which to none was the less pleasing for its
- length, but was deemed of all the ladies brief in regard of the number and
- variety of the events therein recounted, a gesture of the queen sufficed to
- convey her behest to Lauretta, and cause her thus to begin:--"Dearest
- ladies, I have it in mind to tell you a true story, which wears far more of
- the aspect of a lie than of that which it really was: 'tis brought to my
- recollection by that which we have heard of one being bewailed and buried in
- lieu of another. My story then is of one that, living, was buried for dead,
- and after believed with many others that he came out of the tomb not as one
- that had not died but as one risen from the dead; whereby he was venerated
- as a saint who ought rather to have been condemned as a criminal."
- Know then that there was and still is in Tuscany an abbey, situate, as we
- see not a few, in a somewhat solitary spot, wherein the office of abbot was
- held by a monk, who in all other matters ordered his life with great
- sanctity, save only in the commerce with women, and therein knew so well how
- to cloak his indulgence, that scarce any there were that so much as
- suspected--not to say detected it--so holy and just was he reputed in all
- matters. Now the abbot consorted much with a very wealthy contadino, Ferondo
- by name, a man coarse and gross beyond measure, whose friendship the abbot
- only cared for because of the opportunities which it afforded of deriving
- amusement from his simplicity; and during their intercourse the abbot
- discovered that Ferondo had a most beautiful wife of whom he became so hotly
- enamoured that he could think of nought else either by day or by night. But
- learning that, however simple and inept in all other matters, Ferondo shewed
- excellent good sense in cherishing and watching over this wife of his, he
- almost despaired. However, being very astute, he prevailed so far with
- Ferondo, that he would sometimes bring his wife with him to take a little
- recreation in the abbey-garden, where he discoursed to them with all
- lowliness of the blessedness of life eternal, and the most pious works of
- many men and women of times past, insomuch that the lady conceived a desire
- to confess to him, and craved and had Ferondo's leave therefor. So, to the
- abbot's boundless delight, the lady came and seated herself at his feet to
- make her confession, whereto she prefixed the following exordium:--"If God,
- Sir, had given me a husband, or had not permitted me to have one, perchance
- 'twould be easy for me, under your guidance, to enter the way, of which you
- have spoken, that leads to life eternal. But, considering what manner of man
- Ferondo is, and his stupidity, I may call myself a widow, while yet I am
- married in that, so long as he lives, I may have no other husband; and he,
- fool that he is, is without the least cause so inordinately jealous of me
- that 'tis not possible but that my life with him be one of perpetual
- tribulation and woe. Wherefore before I address myself to make further
- confession, I in all humility beseech you to be pleased to give me some
- counsel of this matter, for here or nowhere is to be found the source of the
- amelioration of my life, and if it be not found, neither confession nor any
- other good work will be of any avail." The abbot was overjoyed to hear her
- thus speak, deeming that Fortune had opened a way to the fulfilment of his
- hearts desire. Wherefore he said:--"My daughter, I doubt not that 'tis a
- great affliction to a lady, fair and delicate as you are, to have a fool for
- a husband, and still more so he should be jealous: and as your husband is
- both the one and the other, I readily credit what you say of your
- tribulation. But, to come to the point, I see no resource or remedy in this
- case, save this only, that Ferondo be cured of his jealousy. The medicine
- that shall cure him I know very well how to devise, but it behoves you to
- keep secret what I am about to tell you." "Doubt not of it, my father," said
- the lady; "for I had rather suffer death than tell any aught that you
- forbade me to tell. But the medicine, how is it to be devised?" "If we would
- have him cured," replied the abbot, "it can only be by his going to
- purgatory." "And how may that be?" returned the lady; "can he go thither
- while he yet lives?" "He must die," answered the abbot; "and so he will go
- thither; and when he has suffered pain enough to be cured of his jealousy,
- we have certain prayers with which we will supplicate God to restore him to
- life, and He will do so." "Then," said the lady; "am I to remain a widow?"
- "Yes," replied the abbot, "for a certain time, during which you must be very
- careful not to let yourself be married to another, because 'twould offend
- God, and when Ferondo was restored to life, you would have to go back to
- him, and he would be more jealous than ever." "Be it so then," said the
- lady; "if he be but cured of his jealousy, and so I be not doomed to pass
- the rest of my days in prison, I shall be content: do as you think best."
- "And so will I," said the abbot; "but what reward shall I have for such a
- service?" "My father," said the lady, "what you please; so only it be in my
- power. But what may the like of me do that may be acceptable to a man such
- as you?" "Madam," replied the abbot, "'tis in your power to do no less for
- me than I am about to do for you: as that which I am minded to do will
- ensure your comfort and consolation, so there is that which you may do which
- will be the deliverance and salvation of my life." "If so it be," said the
- lady, "I shall not be found wanting." "In that case," said the abbot, "you
- will give me your love, and gratify my passion for you, with which I am all
- afire and wasting away." Whereto the lady, all consternation, replied:--
- "Alas! my father, what is this you crave? I took you for a holy man; now
- does it beseem holy men to make such overtures to ladies that come to them
- for counsel?" "Marvel not, fair my soul," returned the abbot; "hereby is my
- holiness in no wise diminished, for holiness resides in the soul, and this
- which I ask of you is but a sin of the flesh. But, however it may be, such
- is the might of your bewitching beauty, that love constrains me thus to act.
- And, let me tell you, good cause have you to vaunt you of your beauty more
- than other women, in that it delights the saints, who are used to
- contemplate celestial beauties; whereto I may add that, albeit I am an
- abbot, yet I am a man even as others, and, as you see, not yet old. Nor need
- this matter seem formidable to you, but rather to be anticipated with
- pleasure, for, while Ferondo is in purgatory, I shall be your nightly
- companion, and will give you such solace as he should have given you; nor
- will it ever be discovered by any, for all think of me even as you did a
- while ago, or even more so. Reject not the grace that God accords you; for
- 'tis in your power to have, and, if you are wise and follow my advice, you
- shall have that which women not a few desire in vain to have. And moreover I
- have jewels fair and rare, which I am minded shall be yours and none
- other's. Wherefore, sweet my hope, deny me not due guerdon of the service
- which I gladly render you."
- The lady, her eyes still downcast, knew not how to deny him, and yet
- scrupled to gratify him: wherefore the abbot, seeing that she had hearkened
- and hesitated to answer, deemed that she was already half won, and following
- up what he had said with much more to the like effect, did not rest until he
- had persuaded her that she would do well to comply: and so with some
- confusion she told him that she was ready to obey his every behest; but it
- might not be until Ferondo was in purgatory. The abbot, well content,
- replied:--"And we will send him thither forthwith: do but arrange that he
- come hither to stay with me to-morrow or the day after." Which said, he
- slipped a most beautiful ring on her finger, and dismissed her. Pleased with
- the gift, and expecting more to come, the lady rejoined her attendants, with
- whom she forthwith fell a talking marvellous things of the abbot's sanctity,
- and so went home with them.
- Some few days after, Ferondo being come to the abbey, the abbot no sooner
- saw him than he resolved to send him to purgatory. So he selected from among
- his drugs a powder of marvellous virtue, which he had gotten in the Levant
- from a great prince, who averred that 'twas wont to be used by the Old Man
- of the Mountain, when he would send any one to or bring him from his
- paradise, and that, without doing the recipient any harm, 'twould induce in
- him, according to the quantity of the dose, a sleep of such duration and
- quality that, while the efficacy of the powder lasted, none would deem him
- to be alive.(1) Whereof he took enough to cause a three days' sleep, and
- gave it to Ferondo in his cell in a beaker that had still some wine in it,
- so that he drank it unwittingly: after which he took Ferondo to the
- cloister, and there with some of his monks fell to making merry with him and
- his ineptitudes. In no long time, however, the powder so wrought, that
- Ferondo was seized in the head with a fit of somnolence so sudden and
- violent that he slept as he stood, and sleeping fell to the ground. The
- abbot put on an agitated air, caused him to be untrussed, sent for cold
- water, and had it sprinkled on his face, and applied such other remedies as
- if he would fain call back life and sense banished by vapours of the
- stomach, or some other intrusive force; but, as, for all that he and his
- monks did, Ferondo did not revive, they, after feeling his pulse and finding
- there no sign of life, one and all pronounced him certainly dead. Wherefore
- they sent word to his wife and kinsfolk, who came forthwith, and mourned a
- while; after which Ferondo in his clothes was by the abbot's order laid in a
- tomb. The lady went home, saying that nothing should ever part her from a
- little son that she had borne Ferondo; and so she occupied herself with the
- care of her son and Ferondo's estate. At night the abbot rose noiselessly,
- and with the help of a Bolognese monk, in whom he reposed much trust, and
- who was that very day arrived from Bologna, got Ferondo out of the tomb, and
- bore him to a vault, which admitted no light, having been made to serve as a
- prison for delinquent monks; and having stripped him of his clothes, and
- habited him as a monk, they laid him on a truss of straw, and left him there
- until he should revive. Expecting which event, and instructed by the abbot
- how he was then to act, the Bolognese monk (none else knowing aught of what
- was afoot) kept watch by the tomb.
- The day after, the abbot with some of his monks paid a pastoral visit to the
- lady's house, where he found her in mourning weeds and sad at heart; and,
- after administering a little consolation, he gently asked her to redeem her
- promise. Free as she now felt herself, and hampered neither by Ferondo nor
- by any other, the lady, who had noticed another beautiful ring on the
- abbot's finger, promised immediate compliance, and arranged with the abbot
- that he should visit her the very next night. So, at nightfall, the abbot
- donned Ferondo's clothes, and, attended by his monk, paid his visit, and lay
- with her until matins to his immense delight and solace, and so returned to
- the abbey; and many visits he paid her on the same errand; whereby some that
- met him, coming or going that way, supposed that 'twas Ferondo perambulating
- those parts by way of penance; and fables not a few passed from mouth to
- mouth of the foolish rustics, and sometimes reached the ears of the lady,
- who was at no loss to account for them.
- As for Ferondo, when he revived, 'twas only to find himself he knew not
- where, while the Bolognese monk entered the tomb, gibbering horribly, and
- armed with a rod, wherewith, having laid hold of Ferondo, he gave him a
- severe thrashing. Blubbering and bellowing for pain, Ferondo could only
- ejaculate:--"Where am I?" "In purgatory," replied the monk. "How?" returned
- Ferondo, "am I dead then?" and the monk assuring him that 'twas even so, he
- fell a bewailing his own and his lady's and his son's fate, after the most
- ridiculous fashion in the world. The monk brought him somewhat to eat and
- drink. Of which when Ferondo caught sight, "Oh!" said he, "dead folk eat
- then, do they?" "They do," replied the monk, "And this, which I bring thee,
- is what the lady that was thy wife sent this morning to the church by way of
- alms for masses for thy soul; and God is minded that it be assigned to
- thee." "Now God grant her a happy year," said Ferondo; "dearly I loved her
- while I yet lived, and would hold her all night long in my arms, and cease
- not to kiss her, ay, and would do yet more to her, when I was so minded."
- Whereupon he fell to eating and drinking with great avidity, and finding the
- wine not much to his taste, he said:--"Now God do her a mischief! Why gave
- she not the priest of the wine that is in the cask by the wall?" When he had
- done eating, the monk laid hold of him again, and gave him another sound
- thrashing with the rod. Ferondo bellowed mightily, and then cried out:--
- "Alas! why servest thou me so?" "God," answered the monk, "has decreed that
- thou be so served twice a day." "For why?" said Ferondo. "Because," returned
- the monk, "thou wast jealous, notwithstanding thou hadst to wife a woman
- that has not her peer in thy countryside." "Alas," said Ferondo, "she was
- indeed all that thou sayst, ay, and the sweetest creature too,--no comfit so
- honeyed--but I knew not that God took it amiss that a man should be jealous,
- or I had not been so." "Of that," replied the monk, "thou shouldst have
- bethought thee while thou wast there, and have amended thy ways; and should
- it fall to thy lot ever to return thither, be sure that thou so lay to heart
- the lesson that I now give thee, that thou be no more jealous." "Oh!" said
- Ferondo; "dead folk sometimes return to earth, do they?" "They do," replied
- the monk; "if God so will." "Oh!" said Ferondo; "if I ever return, I will be
- the best husband in the world; never will I beat her or scold her, save for
- the wine that she has sent me this morning, and also for sending me never a
- candle, so that I have had perforce to eat in the dark." "Nay," said the
- monk, "she sent them, but they were burned at the masses." "Oh!" said
- Ferondo, "I doubt not you say true; and, of a surety, if I ever return, I
- will let her do just as she likes. But tell me, who art thou that entreatest
- me thus?" "Late of Sardinia I," answered the monk, "dead too; and, for that
- I gave my lord much countenance in his jealousy, doomed by God for my proper
- penance to entreat thee thus with food and drink and thrashings, until such
- time as He may ordain otherwise touching thee and me." "And are we two the
- only folk here?" inquired Ferondo. "Nay, there are thousands beside,"
- answered the monk; "but thou canst neither see nor hear them, nor they
- thee." "And how far," said Ferondo, "may we be from our country?" "Oh! ho!"
- returned the monk, "why, 'tis some miles clean out of shitrange." "I'faith,"
- said Ferondo, "that is far indeed: methinks we must be out of the world."
- In such a course, alternately beaten, fed and amused with idle tales, was
- Ferondo kept for ten months, while the abbot, to his great felicity, paid
- many a visit to the fair lady, and had the jolliest time in the world with
- her. But, as misfortunes will happen, the lady conceived, which fact, as
- soon as she was aware of it, she imparted to the abbot; whereupon both
- agreed that Ferondo must without delay be brought back from purgatory to
- earth and her, and be given to understand that she was with child of him. So
- the very next night the abbot went to the prison, and in a disguised voice
- pronounced Ferondo's name, and said to him:--"Ferondo, be of good cheer, for
- God is minded that thou return to earth; and on thy return thou shalt have a
- son by thy lady, and thou shalt call him Benedetto; because 'tis in answer
- to the prayers of thy holy abbot and thy lady, and for love of St. Benedict,
- that God accords thee this grace." Whereat Ferondo was overjoyed, and said:-
- -"It likes me well. God give a good year to Master Lord God, and the abbot,
- and St. Benedict, and my cheese-powdered, honey-sweet wife." Then, in the
- wine that he sent him, the abbot administered enough of the powder to cause
- him to sleep for four hours; and so, with the aid of the monk, having first
- habited him in his proper clothes, he privily conveyed him back to the tomb
- in which he had been buried. On the morrow at daybreak Ferondo revived, and
- perceiving through a chink in the tomb a glimmer of light, to which he had
- been a stranger for full ten months, he knew that he was alive, and began to
- bellow:--"Let me out, let me out:" then, setting his head to the lid of the
- tomb, he heaved amain; whereby the lid, being insecure, started; and he was
- already thrusting it aside, when the monks, matins being now ended, ran to
- the spot and recognized Ferondo's voice, and saw him issue from the tomb; by
- which unwonted event they were all so affrighted that they took to flight,
- and hied them to the abbot: who, rising as if from prayer, said:--"Sons, be
- not afraid; take the cross and the holy water, and follow me, and let us see
- what sign of His might God will vouchsafe us." And so he led the way to the
- tomb; beside which they found Ferondo, standing, deathly pale by reason of
- his long estrangement from the light. On sight of the abbot he ran and threw
- himself at his feet, saying:--"My father, it has been revealed to me that
- 'tis to your prayers and those of St. Benedict and my lady that I owe my
- release from purgatorial pain, and restoration to life; wherefore 'tis my
- prayer that God give you a good year and good calends, to-day and all days."
- "Laud we the power of God!" said the abbot. "Go then, son, as God has
- restored thee to earth, comfort thy wife, who, since thou didst depart this
- life, has been ever in tears, and mayst thou live henceforth in the love and
- service of God." "Sir," answered Ferondo, "'tis well said; and, for the
- doing, trust me that, as soon as I find her, I shall kiss her, such is the
- love I bear her." So saying, he went his way; and the abbot, left alone with
- his monks, made as if he marvelled greatly at the affair, and caused
- devoutly chant the Miserere. So Ferondo returned to his hamlet, where all
- that saw him fleeing, as folk are wont to flee from spectacles of horror, he
- called them back, asseverating that he was risen from the tomb. His wife at
- first was no less timorous: but, as folk began to take heart of grace,
- perceiving that he was alive, they plied him with many questions, all which
- he answered as one that had returned with ripe experience, and gave them
- tidings of the souls of their kinsfolk, and told of his own invention the
- prettiest fables of the purgatorial state, and in full folkmoot recounted
- the revelation vouchsafed him by the mouth of Ragnolo Braghiello(2) before
- his resuscitation.
- Thus was Ferondo reinstated in his property and reunited to his wife, who,
- being pregnant, as he thought, by himself, chanced by the time of her
- delivery to countenance the vulgar error that the woman must bear the infant
- in the womb for exactly nine months, and gave birth to a male child, who was
- named Benedetto Ferondi. Ferondo's return from purgatory, and the report he
- brought thence, immeasurably enhanced the fame of the abbot's holiness. So
- Ferondo, cured of his jealousy by the thrashings which he had gotten for it,
- verified the abbot's prediction, and never offended the lady again in that
- sort. Wherefore she lived with him, as before, in all outward seemliness;
- albeit she failed not, as occasion served, to forgather with the holy abbot,
- who had so well and sedulously served her in her especial need.
- (1) By the Old Man of the Mountain is meant the head of the confraternity of
- hashish-eaters (Assassins), whose chief stronghold was at Alamut in Persia
- (1090-1256). Cf. Marco Polo, ed. Yule, I. cap. xxiii.
- (2) Derisively for Agnolo Gabriello (the h having merely the effect of
- preserving the hardness of the g before i), i. e. Angel Gabriel.
- NOVEL IX.
- --
- Gillette of Narbonne cures the King of France of a fistula, craves for
- spouse Bertrand de Roussillon, who marries her against his will, and hies
- him in despite to Florence, where, as he courts a young woman, Gillette lies
- with him in her stead, and has two sons by him; for which cause he
- afterwards takes her into favour and entreats her as his wife.
- --
- Lauretta's story being ended, and the queen being minded not to break her
- engagement with Dioneo, 'twas now her turn to speak. Wherefore without
- awaiting the call of her subjects, thus with mien most gracious she began:--
- Now that we have heard Lauretta's story, who shall tell any to compare with
- it for beauty? Lucky indeed was it that she was not the first; for few that
- followed would have pleased; and so, I misdoubt me, 'twill fare ill with
- those that remain to complete the day's narration. However, for what it may
- be worth, I will tell you a story which seems to me germane to our theme.
- Know, then, that in the realm of France there was a gentleman, Isnard, Comte
- de Roussillon, by name, who, being in ill-health, kept ever in attendance on
- him a physician, one Master Gerard of Narbonne. The said Count had an only
- son named Bertrand, a very fine and winsome little lad; with whom were
- brought up other children of his own age, among them the said physician's
- little daughter Gillette; who with a love boundless and ardent out of all
- keeping with her tender years became enamoured of this Bertrand. And so,
- when the Count died, and his son, being left a ward of the King, must needs
- go to Paris, the girl remained beside herself with grief, and, her father
- dying soon after, would gladly have gone to Paris to see Bertrand, might she
- but have found a fair excuse; but no decent pretext could she come by, being
- left a great and sole heiress and very closely guarded. So being come of
- marriageable age, still cherishing Bertrand's memory, she rejected not a few
- suitors, to whom her kinsfolk would fain have married her, without assigning
- any reason.
- Now her passion waxing ever more ardent for Bertrand, as she learned that he
- was grown a most goodly gallant, tidings reached her that the King of
- France, in consequence of a tumour which he had had in the breast, and which
- had been ill tended, was now troubled with a fistula, which occasioned him
- extreme distress and suffering; nor had he as yet come by a physician that
- was able, though many had essayed, to cure him, but had rather grown worse
- under their hands; wherefore in despair he was minded no more to have
- recourse to any for counsel or aid. Whereat the damsel was overjoyed,
- deeming not only that she might find therein lawful occasion to go to Paris,
- but, that, if the disease was what she took it to be, it might well betide
- that she should be wedded to Bertrand. So--for not a little knowledge had
- she gotten from her father--she prepared a powder from certain herbs
- serviceable in the treatment of the supposed disease, and straightway took
- horse, and hied her to Paris. Arrived there she made it her first concern to
- have sight of Bertrand; and then, having obtained access to the King, she
- besought him of his grace to shew her his disease. The King knew not how to
- refuse so young, fair and winsome a damsel, and let her see the place.
- Whereupon, no longer doubting that she should cure him, she said:--"Sire, so
- please you, I hope in God to cure you of this malady within eight days
- without causing you the least distress or discomfort." The King inly scoffed
- at her words, saying to himself:--"How should a damsel have come by a
- knowledge and skill that the greatest physicians in the world do not
- possess?" He therefore graciously acknowledged her good intention, and
- answered that he had resolved no more to follow advice of physician. "Sire,"
- said the damsel, "you disdain my art, because I am young and a woman; but I
- bid you bear in mind that I rely not on my own skill, but on the help of
- God, and the skill of Master Gerard of Narbonne, my father, and a famous
- physician in his day." Whereupon the King said to himself:--"Perchance she
- is sent me by God; why put I not her skill to the proof, seeing that she
- says that she can cure me in a short time, and cause me no distress?" And
- being minded to make the experiment, he said:--"Damsel, and if, having
- caused me to cancel my resolve, you should fail to cure me, what are you
- content should ensue?" "Sire," answered the damsel, "set a guard upon me;
- and if within eight days I cure you not, have me burned; but if I cure you,
- what shall be my guerdon?" "You seem," said the King, "to be yet unmarried;
- if you shall effect the cure, we will marry you well and in high place."
- "Sire," returned the damsel, "well content indeed am I that you should marry
- me, so it be to such a husband as I shall ask of you, save that I may not
- ask any of your sons or any other member of the royal house." Whereto the
- King forthwith consented, and the damsel, thereupon applying her treatment,
- restored him to health before the period assigned. Wherefore, as soon as the
- King knew that he was cured:--"Damsel," said he, "well have you won your
- husband." She, answered:--"In that case, Sire, I have won Bertrand de
- Roussillon, of whom, while yet a child, I was enamoured, and whom I have
- ever since most ardently loved." To give her Bertrand seemed to the King no
- small matter; but, having pledged his word, he would not break it: so he
- sent for Bertrand, and said to him:--"Bertrand, you are now come to man's
- estate, and fully equipped to enter on it; 'tis therefore our will that you
- go back and assume the governance of your county, and that you take with you
- a damsel, whom we have given you to wife." "And who is the damsel, Sire?"
- said Bertrand. "She it is," answered the King, "that has restored us to
- health by her physic." Now Bertrand, knowing Gillette, and that her lineage
- was not such as matched his nobility, albeit, seeing her, he had found her
- very fair, was overcome with disdain, and answered:--"So, Sire, you would
- fain give me a she-doctor to wife. Now God forbid that I should ever marry
- any such woman." "Then," said the King, "you would have us fail of the faith
- which we pledged to the damsel, who asked you in marriage by way of guerdon
- for our restoration to health." "Sire," said Bertrand, "you may take from me
- all that I possess, and give me as your man to whomsoever you may be minded;
- but rest assured that I shall never be satisfied with such a match." "Nay,
- but you will," replied the King; "for the damsel is fair and discreet, and
- loves you well; wherefore we anticipate that you will live far more happily
- with her than with a dame of much higher lineage." Bertrand was silent; and
- the King made great preparations for the celebration of the nuptials. The
- appointed day came, and Bertrand, albeit reluctantly, nevertheless complied,
- and in the presence of the King was wedded to the damsel, who loved him more
- dearly than herself. Which done, Bertrand, who had already taken his
- resolution, said that he was minded to go down to his county, there to
- consummate the marriage; and so, having craved and had leave of absence of
- the King, he took horse, but instead of returning to his county he hied him
- to Tuscany; where, finding the Florentines at war with the Sienese, he
- determined to take service with the Florentines, and being made heartily and
- honourably welcome, was appointed to the command of part of their forces, at
- a liberal stipend, and so remained in their service for a long while.
- Distressed by this turn of fortune, and hoping by her wise management to
- bring Bertrand back to his county, the bride hied her to Roussillon, where
- she was received by all the tenants as their liege lady. She found that,
- during the long absence of the lord, everything had fallen into decay and
- disorder; which, being a capable woman, she rectified with great and
- sedulous care, to the great joy of the tenants, who held her in great esteem
- and love, and severely censured the Count, that he was not satisfied with
- her. When the lady had duly ordered all things in the county, she despatched
- two knights to the Count with the intelligence, praying him, that, if 'twas
- on her account that he came not home, he would so inform her; in which case
- she would gratify him by departing. To whom with all harshness he
- replied:--"She may even please herself in the matter. For my part I will go
- home and live with her, when she has this ring on her finger and a son
- gotten of me upon her arm." The ring was one which he greatly prized, and
- never removed from his finger, by reason of a virtue which he had been given
- to understand that it possessed. The knights appreciated the harshness of a
- condition which contained two articles, both of which were all but
- impossible; and, seeing that by no words of theirs could they alter his
- resolve, they returned to the lady, and delivered his message. Sorely
- distressed, the lady after long pondering determined to try how and where
- the two conditions might be satisfied, that so her husband might be hers
- again. Having formed her plan, she assembled certain of the more
- considerable and notable men of the county, to whom she gave a consecutive
- and most touching narrative of all that she had done for love of the Count,
- with the result; concluding by saying that she was not minded to tarry there
- to the Count's perpetual exile, but to pass the rest of her days in
- pilgrimages and pious works for the good of her soul: wherefore she prayed
- them to undertake the defence and governance of the county, and to inform
- the Count that she had made entire and absolute cession of it to him, and
- was gone away with the intention of never more returning to Roussillon. As
- she spoke, tears not a few coursed down the cheeks of the honest men, and
- again and again they besought her to change her mind, and stay. All in vain,
- however; she commended them to God, and, accompanied only by one of her male
- cousins and a chambermaid (all three habited as pilgrims and amply provided
- with money and precious jewels), she took the road, nor tarried until she
- was arrived at Florence. There she lodged in a little inn kept by a good
- woman that was a widow, bearing herself lowly as a poor pilgrim, and eagerly
- expectant of news of her lord.
- Now it so befell that the very next day she saw Bertrand pass in front of
- the inn on horseback at the head of his company; and though she knew him
- very well, nevertheless she asked the good woman of the inn who he was. The
- hostess replied:--"'Tis a foreign gentleman--Count Bertrand they call him--a
- very pleasant gentleman, and courteous, and much beloved in this city; and
- he is in the last degree enamoured of one of our neighbours here, who is a
- gentlewoman, but in poor circumstances. A very virtuous damsel she is too,
- and, being as yet unmarried by reason of her poverty, she lives with her
- mother, who is an excellent and most discreet lady, but for whom, perchance,
- she would before now have yielded and gratified the Count's desire." No word
- of this was lost on the lady; she pondered and meditated every detail with
- the closest attention, and having laid it all to heart, took her resolution:
- she ascertained the names and abode of the lady and her daughter that the
- Count loved, and hied her one day privily, wearing her pilgrim's weeds, to
- their house, where she found the lady and her daughter in very evident
- poverty, and after greeting them, told the lady that, if it were agreeable
- to her, she would speak with her. The gentlewoman rose and signified her
- willingness to listen to what she had to say; so they went into a room by
- themselves and sate down, and then the Countess began thus:--"Madam,
- methinks you are, as I am, under Fortune's frown; but perchance you have it
- in your power, if you are so minded, to afford solace to both of us." The
- lady answered that, so she might honourably find it, solace indeed was what
- she craved most of all things in the world. Whereupon the Countess
- continued:--"I must first be assured of your faith, wherein if I confide and
- am deceived, the interests of both of us will suffer." "Have no fear," said
- the gentlewoman, "speak your whole mind without reserve, for you will find
- that there is no deceit in me." So the Countess told who she was, and the
- whole course of her love affair, from its commencement to that hour, on such
- wise that the gentlewoman, believing her story the more readily that she had
- already heard it in part from others, was touched with compassion for her.
- The narrative of her woes complete, the Countess added:--"Now that you have
- heard my misfortunes, you know the two conditions that I must fulfil, if I
- would come by my husband; nor know I any other person than you, that may
- enable me to fulfil them; but so you may, if this which I hear is true, to
- wit, that my husband is in the last degree enamoured of your daughter."
- "Madam," replied the gentlewoman, "I know not if the Count loves my
- daughter, but true it is that he makes great shew of loving her; but how may
- this enable me to do aught for you in the matter that you have at heart?"
- "The how, madam," returned the Countess, "I will shortly explain to you; but
- you shall first hear what I intend shall ensue, if you serve me. Your
- daughter, I see, is fair and of marriageable age, and, by what I have
- learned and may well understand, 'tis because you have not the wherewith to
- marry her that you keep her at home. Now, in recompense of the service that
- you shall do me, I mean to provide her forthwith from my own moneys with
- such a dowry as you yourself shall deem adequate for her marriage." The lady
- was too needy not to be gratified by the proposal; but, nevertheless, with
- the true spirit of the gentlewoman, she answered:--"Nay but, madam, tell me
- that which I may do for you, and if it shall be such as I may honourably do,
- gladly will I do it, and then you shall do as you may be minded." Said then
- the Countess:--"I require of you, that through some one in whom you trust
- you send word to the Count, my husband, that your daughter is ready to yield
- herself entirely to his will, so she may be sure that he loves her even as
- he professes; whereof she will never be convinced, until he send her the
- ring which he wears on his finger, and which, she understands, he prizes so
- much: which, being sent, you shall give to me, and shall then send him word
- that your daughter is ready to do his pleasure, and, having brought him
- hither secretly, you shall contrive that I lie by his side instead of your
- daughter. Perchance, by God's grace I shall conceive, and so, having his
- ring on my finger, and a son gotten of him on my arm, shall have him for my
- own again, and live with him even as a wife should live with her husband,
- and owe it all to you."
- The lady felt that 'twas not a little that the Countess craved of her, for
- she feared lest it should bring reproach upon her daughter: but she
- reflected that to aid the good lady to recover her husband was an honourable
- enterprise, and that in undertaking it she would be subserving a like end;
- and so, trusting in the good and virtuous disposition of the Countess, she
- not only promised to do as she was required, but in no long time, proceeding
- with caution and secrecy, as she had been bidden, she both had the ring from
- the Count, loath though he was to part with it, and cunningly contrived that
- the Countess should lie with him in place of her daughter. In which first
- commingling, so ardently sought by the Count, it so pleased God that the
- lady was gotten, as in due time her delivery made manifest, with two sons.
- Nor once only, but many times did the lady gratify the Countess with the
- embraces of her husband, using such secrecy that no word thereof ever got
- wind, the Count all the while supposing that he lay, not with his wife, but
- with her that he loved, and being wont to give her, as he left her in the
- morning, some fair and rare jewel, which she jealously guarded.
- When she perceived that she was with child, the Countess, being minded no
- more to burden the lady with such service, said to her:--"Madam, thanks be
- to God and to you, I now have that which I desired, and therefore 'tis time
- that I make you grateful requital, and take my leave of you." The lady
- answered that she was glad if the Countess had gotten aught that gave her
- joy; but that 'twas not as hoping to have guerdon thereof that she had done
- her part, but simply because she deemed it meet and her duty so to do. "Well
- said, madam," returned the Countess, "and in like manner that which you
- shall ask of me I shall not give you by way of guerdon, but because I deem
- it meet and my duty to give it." Whereupon the lady, yielding to necessity,
- and abashed beyond measure, asked of her a hundred pounds wherewith to marry
- her daughter. The Countess, marking her embarrassment, and the modesty of
- her request, gave her five hundred pounds besides jewels fair and rare,
- worth, perhaps, no less; and having thus much more than contented her, and
- received her superabundant thanks, she took leave of her and returned to the
- inn. The lady, to render purposeless further visits or messages on
- Bertrand's part, withdrew with her daughter to the house of her kinsfolk in
- the country; nor was it long before Bertrand, on the urgent entreaty of his
- vassals and intelligence of the departure of his wife, quitted Florence and
- returned home. Greatly elated by this intelligence, the Countess tarried
- awhile in Florence, and was there delivered of two sons as like as possible
- to their father, whom she nurtured with sedulous care. But by and by she saw
- fit to take the road, and being come, unrecognized by any, to Montpellier,
- rested there a few days; and being on the alert for news of the Count and
- where he was, she learned that on All Saints' day he was to hold a great
- reception of ladies and gentlemen at Roussillon. Whither, retaining her now
- wonted pilgrim's weeds, she hied her, and finding that the ladies and
- gentlemen were all gathered in the Count's palace and on the point of going
- to table, she tarried not to change her dress, but went up into the hall,
- bearing her little ones in her arms, and threading her way through the
- throng to the place where she saw the Count stand, she threw herself at his
- feet, and sobbing, said to him:--"My lord, thy hapless bride am I, who to
- ensure thy homecoming and abidance in peace have long time been a wanderer,
- and now demand of thee observance of the condition whereof word was brought
- me by the two knights whom I sent to thee. Lo in my arms not one son only
- but twain, gotten of thee, and on my finger thy ring. 'Tis time, then, that
- I be received of thee as thy wife according to thy word." Whereat the Count
- was all dumfounded, recognizing the ring and his own lineaments in the
- children, so like were they to him; but saying to himself nevertheless:--
- "How can it have come about?" So the Countess, while the Count and all that
- were present marvelled exceedingly, told what had happened, and the manner
- of it, in precise detail. Wherefore the Count, perceiving that she spoke
- truth, and having regard to her perseverance and address and her two fine
- boys, and the wishes of all his vassals and the ladies, who with one accord
- besought him to own and honour her thenceforth as his lawful bride, laid
- aside his harsh obduracy, and raised the Countess to her feet, and embraced
- and kissed her, and acknowledged her for his lawful wife, and the children
- for his own. Then, having caused her to be rearrayed in garments befitting
- her rank, he, to the boundless delight of as many as were there, and of all
- other his vassals, gave up that day and some that followed to feasting and
- merrymaking; and did ever thenceforth honour, love and most tenderly cherish
- her as his bride and wife.
- NOVEL X.
- --
- Alibech turns hermit, and is taught by Rustico, a monk, how the Devil is put
- in hell. She is afterwards conveyed thence, and becomes the wife of
- Neerbale.
- --
- Dioneo, observing that the queen's story, which he had followed with the
- closest attention, was now ended, and that it only remained for him to
- speak, waited not to be bidden, but smilingly thus began:--
- Gracious ladies, perchance you have not yet heard how the Devil is put in
- hell; wherefore, without deviating far from the topic of which you have
- discoursed throughout the day, I will tell you how 'tis done; it may be the
- lesson will prove inspiring; besides which, you may learn therefrom that,
- albeit Love prefers the gay palace and the dainty chamber to the rude cabin,
- yet, for all that, he may at times manifest his might in wilds matted with
- forests, rugged with alps, and desolate with caverns: whereby it may be
- understood that all things are subject to his sway. But--to come to my
- story--I say that in the city of Capsa(1) in Barbary there was once a very
- rich man, who with other children had a fair and dainty little daughter,
- Alibech by name. Now Alibech, not being a Christian, and hearing many
- Christians, that were in the city, speak much in praise of the Christian
- Faith and the service of God, did one day inquire of one of them after what
- fashion it were possible to serve God with as few impediments as might be,
- and was informed that they served God best who most completely renounced the
- world and its affairs; like those who had fixed their abode in the wilds of
- the Thebaid desert. Whereupon, actuated by no sober predilection, but by
- childish impulse, the girl, who was very simple and about fourteen years of
- age, said never a word more of the matter, but stole away on the morrow, and
- quite alone set out to walk to the Thebaid desert; and, by force of
- resolution, albeit with no small suffering, she after some days reached
- those wilds; where, espying a cabin a great way off, she hied her thither,
- and found a holy man by the door, who, marvelling to see her there, asked
- her what she came there to seek. She answered that, guided by the spirit of
- God, she was come thither, seeking, if haply she might serve Him, and also
- find some one that might teach her how He ought to be served. Marking her
- youth and great beauty, the worthy man, fearing lest, if he suffered her to
- remain with him, he should be ensnared by the Devil, commended her good
- intention, set before her a frugal repast of roots of herbs, crab-apples and
- dates, with a little water to wash them down, and said to her:--"My
- daughter, there is a holy man not far from here, who is much better able to
- teach thee that of which thou art in quest than I am; go to him, therefore;"
- and he shewed her the way. But when she was come whither she was directed,
- she met with the same answer as before, and so, setting forth again, she
- came at length to the cell of a young hermit, a worthy man and very devout--
- his name Rustico--whom she interrogated as she had the others. Rustico,
- being minded to make severe trial of his constancy, did not send her away,
- as the others had done, but kept her with him in his cell, and when night
- came, made her a little bed of palm-leaves; whereon he bade her compose
- herself to sleep. Hardly had she done so before the solicitations of the
- flesh joined battle with the powers of Rustico's spirit, and he, finding
- himself left in the lurch by the latter, endured not many assaults before he
- beat a retreat, and surrendered at discretion: wherefore he bade adieu to
- holy meditation and prayer and discipline, and fell a musing on the youth
- and beauty of his companion, and also how he might so order his conversation
- with her, that without seeming to her to be a libertine he might yet compass
- that which he craved of her. So, probing her by certain questions, he
- discovered that she was as yet entirely without cognizance of man, and as
- simple as she seemed: wherefore he excogitated a plan for bringing her to
- pleasure him under colour of serving God. He began by giving her a long
- lecture on the great enmity that subsists between God and the Devil; after
- which he gave her to understand that, God having condemned the Devil to
- hell, to put him there was of all services the most acceptable to God. The
- girl asking him how it might be done, Rustico answered:--"Thou shalt know it
- in a trice; thou hast but to do that which thou seest me do." Then, having
- divested himself of his scanty clothing, he threw himself stark naked on his
- knees, as if he would pray; whereby he caused the girl, who followed his
- example, to confront him in the same posture. Whereupon Rustico, seeing her
- so fair, felt an accession of desire, and therewith came an insurgence of
- the flesh, which Alibech marking with surprise, said:--"Rustico, what is
- this, which I see thee have, that so protrudes, and which I have not?" "Oh!
- my daughter," said Rustico, "'tis the Devil of whom I have told thee: and,
- seest thou? he is now tormenting me most grievously, insomuch that I am
- scarce able to hold out." Then:--"Praise be to God," said the girl, "I see
- that I am in better case than thou, for no such Devil have I." "Sooth sayst
- thou," returned Rustico; "but instead of him thou hast somewhat else that I
- have not." "Oh!" said Alibech, "what may that be?" "Hell," answered Rustico:
- "and I tell thee, that 'tis my belief that God has sent thee hither for the
- salvation of my soul; seeing that, if this Devil shall continue to plague me
- thus, then, so thou wilt have compassion on me and permit me to put him in
- hell, thou wilt both afford me great and exceeding great solace, and render
- to God an exceeding most acceptable service, if, as thou sayst, thou art
- come into these parts for such a purpose." In good faith the girl made
- answer:--"As I have hell to match your Devil, be it, my father, as and when
- you will." Whereupon:--"Bless thee, my daughter," said Rustico, "go we then,
- and put him there, that he leave me henceforth in peace." Which said, he
- took the girl to one of the beds and taught her the posture in which she
- must lie in order to incarcerate this spirit accursed of God. The girl,
- having never before put any devil in hell, felt on this first occasion a
- twinge of pain: wherefore she said to Rustico:--"Of a surety, my father, he
- must be a wicked fellow, this devil, and in very truth a foe to God; for
- there is sorrow even in hell--not to speak of other places--when he is put
- there." "Daughter," said Rustico, "'twill not be always so." And for better
- assurance thereof they put him there six times before they quitted the bed;
- whereby they so thoroughly abased his pride that he was fain to be quiet.
- However, the proud fit returning upon him from time to time, and the girl
- addressing herself always obediently to its reduction, it so befell that she
- began to find the game agreeable, and would say to Rustico:--"Now see I
- plainly that 'twas true, what the worthy men said at Capsa, of the service
- of God being so delightful: indeed I cannot remember that in aught that ever
- I did I had so much pleasure, so much solace, as in putting the Devil in
- hell; for which cause I deem it insensate folly on the part of any one to
- have a care to aught else than the service of God." Wherefore many a time
- she would come to Rustico, and say to him:--"My father, 'twas to serve God
- that I came hither, and not to pass my days in idleness: go we then, and put
- the Devil in hell." And while they did so, she would now and again say:--"I
- know not, Rustico, why the Devil should escape from hell; were he but as
- ready to stay there as hell is to receive and retain him, he would never
- come out of it." So, the girl thus frequently inviting and exhorting Rustico
- to the service of God, there came at length a time when she had so
- thoroughly lightened his doublet that he shivered when another would have
- sweated; wherefore he began to instruct her that the Devil was not to be
- corrected and put in hell, save when his head was exalted with pride;
- adding, "and we by God's grace have brought him to so sober a mind that he
- prays God he may be left in peace;" by which means he for a time kept the
- girl quiet. But when she saw that Rustico had no more occasion for her to
- put the Devil in hell, she said to him one day:--"Rustico, if thy Devil is
- chastened and gives thee no more trouble, my hell, on the other hand, gives
- me no peace; wherefore, I with my hell have holpen thee to abase the pride
- of thy Devil, so thou wouldst do well to lend me the aid of thy Devil to
- allay the fervent heat of my hell." Rustico, whose diet was roots of herbs
- and water, was scarce able to respond to her demands: he told her that
- 'twould require not a few devils to allay the heat of hell; but that he
- would do what might be in his power; and so now and again he satisfied her;
- but so seldom that 'twas as if he had tossed a bean into the jaws of a lion.
- Whereat the girl, being fain of more of the service of God than she had, did
- somewhat repine. However, the case standing thus (deficiency of power
- against superfluity of desire) between Rustico's Devil and Alibech's hell,
- it chanced that a fire broke out in Capsa, whereby the house of Alibech's
- father was burned, and he and all his sons and the rest of his household
- perished; so that Alibech was left sole heiress of all his estate. And a
- young gallant, Neerbale by name, who by reckless munificence had wasted all
- his substance, having discovered that she was alive, addressed himself to
- the pursuit of her, and, having found her in time to prevent the
- confiscation of her father's estate as an escheat for failure of heirs, took
- her, much to Rustico's relief and against her own will, back to Capsa, and
- made her his wife, and shared with her her vast patrimony. But before he had
- lain with her, she was questioned by the ladies of the manner in which she
- had served God in the desert; whereto she answered, that she had been wont
- to serve Him by putting the Devil in hell, and that Neerbale had committed a
- great sin, when he took her out of such service. The ladies being curious to
- know how the Devil was put in hell, the girl satisfied them, partly by
- words, partly by signs. Whereat they laughed exorbitantly (and still laugh)
- and said to her:--"Be not down-hearted, daughter; 'tis done here too;
- Neerbale will know well how to serve God with you in that way." And so the
- story passing from mouth to mouth throughout the city, it came at last to be
- a common proverb, that the most acceptable service that can be rendered to
- God is to put the Devil in hell; which proverb, having travelled hither
- across the sea, is still current. Wherefore, young ladies, you that have
- need of the grace of God, see to it that you learn how to put the Devil in
- hell, because 'tis mightily pleasing to God, and of great solace to both the
- parties, and much good may thereby be engendered and ensue.
- (1) Now Gafsa, in Tunis.
- A thousand times or more had Dioneo's story brought the laugh to the lips of
- the honourable ladies, so quaint and curiously entertaining found they the
- fashion of it. And now at its close the queen, seeing the term of her
- sovereignty come, took the laurel wreath from her head, and with mien most
- debonair, set it on the brow of Filostrato, saying:--"We shall soon see
- whether the wolf will know better how to guide the sheep than the sheep have
- yet succeeded in guiding the wolves." Whereat Filostrato said with a laugh:-
- -"Had I been hearkened to, the wolves would have taught the sheep to put the
- Devil in hell even as Rustico taught Alibech. Wherefore call us not wolves,
- seeing that you have not shewn yourselves sheep: however, as best I may be
- able, I will govern the kingdom committed to my charge." Whereupon Neifile
- took him up: "Hark ye, Filostrato," she said, "while you thought to teach
- us, you might have learnt a lesson from us, as did Masetto da Lamporecchio
- from the nuns, and have recovered your speech when the bones had learned to
- whistle without a master."(1) Filostrato, perceiving that there was a scythe
- for each of his arrows, gave up jesting, and addressed himself to the
- governance of his kingdom. He called the seneschal, and held him strictly to
- account in every particular; he then judiciously ordered all matters as he
- deemed would be best and most to the satisfaction of the company, while his
- sovereignty should last; and having so done, he turned to the ladies, and
- said:--"Loving ladies, as my ill luck would have it, since I have had wit to
- tell good from evil, the charms of one or other of you have kept me ever a
- slave to Love: and for all I shewed myself humble and obedient and
- conformable, so far as I knew how, to all his ways, my fate has been still
- the same, to be discarded for another, and go ever from bad to worse; and
- so, I suppose, 'twill be with me to the hour of my death. Wherefore I am
- minded that to-morrow our discourse be of no other topic than that which is
- most germane to my condition, to wit, of those whose loves had a disastrous
- close: because mine, I expect, will in the long run be most disastrous; nor
- for other cause was the name, by which you address me, given me by one that
- well knew its signification." Which said, he arose, and dismissed them all
- until supper-time.
- So fair and delightsome was the garden that none saw fit to quit it, and
- seek diversion elsewhere. Rather--for the sun now shone with a tempered
- radiance that caused no discomfort--some of the ladies gave chase to the
- kids and conies and other creatures that haunted it, and, scampering to and
- fro among them as they sate, had caused them a hundred times, or so, some
- slight embarrassment. Dioneo and Fiammetta fell a singing of Messer
- Guglielmo and the lady of Vergiu.(2) Filomena and Pamfilo sat them down to a
- game of chess; and, as thus they pursued each their several diversions, time
- sped so swiftly that the supper-hour stole upon them almost unawares:
- whereupon they ranged the tables round the beautiful fountain, and supped
- with all glad and festal cheer.
- When the tables were removed, Filostrato, being minded to follow in the
- footsteps of his fair predecessors in sway, bade Lauretta lead a dance and
- sing a song. She answered:--"My lord, songs of others know I none, nor does
- my memory furnish me with any of mine own that seems meet for so gay a
- company; but, if you will be content with what I have, gladly will I give
- you thereof." "Nought of thine," returned the king, "could be other than
- goodly and delectable. Wherefore give us even what thou hast." So
- encouraged, Lauretta, with dulcet voice, but manner somewhat languishing,
- raised the ensuing strain, to which the other ladies responded:--
- What dame disconsolate
- May so lament as I,
- That vainly sigh, to Love still dedicate?
- He that the heaven and every orb doth move
- Formed me for His delight
- Fair, debonair and gracious, apt for love;
- That here on earth each soaring spirit might
- Have foretaste how, above,
- That beauty shews that standeth in His sight.
- Ah! but dull wit and slight,
- For that it judgeth ill,
- Liketh me not, nay, doth me vilely rate.
- There was who loved me, and my maiden grace
- Did fondly clip and strain,
- As in his arms, so in his soul's embrace,
- And from mine eyes Love's fire did drink amain,
- And time that glides apace
- In nought but courting me to spend was fain
- Whom courteous I did deign
- Ev'n as my peer to entreat;
- But am of him bereft! Ah! dolorous fate!
- Came to me next a gallant swol'n with pride,
- Brave, in his own conceit,
- And no less noble eke. Whom woe betide
- That he me took, and holds in all unmeet
- Suspicion, jealous-eyed!
- And I, who wot that me the world should greet
- As the predestined sweet
- Of many men, well-nigh
- Despair, to be to one thus subjugate.
- Ah! woe is me! cursed be the luckless day,
- When, a new gown to wear,
- I said the fatal ay; for blithe and gay
- In that plain gown I lived, no whit less fair;
- While in this rich array
- A sad and far less honoured life I bear!
- Would I had died, or e'er
- Sounded those notes of joy
- (Ah! dolorous cheer!) my woe to celebrate!
- So list my supplication, lover dear,
- Of whom such joyance I,
- As ne'er another, had. Thou that in clear
- Light of the Maker's presence art, deny
- Not pity to thy fere,
- Who thee may ne'er forget; but let one sigh
- Breathe tidings that on high
- Thou burnest still for me;
- And sue of God that He me there translate.
- So ended Lauretta her song, to which all hearkened attentively, though not
- all interpreted it alike. Some were inclined to give it a moral after the
- Milanese fashion, to wit, that a good porker was better than a pretty quean.
- Others construed it in a higher, better and truer sense, which 'tis not to
- the present purpose to unfold. Some more songs followed by command of the
- king, who caused torches not a few to be lighted and ranged about the
- flowery mead; and so the night was prolonged until the last star that had
- risen had begun to set. Then, bethinking him that 'twas time for slumber,
- the king bade all good-night, and dismissed them to their several chambers.
- (1) I.e. when you were so emaciated that your bones made music like a
- skeleton in the wind.
- (2) Evidently some version of the tragical conte "de la Chastelaine de
- Vergi, qui mori por laialment amer son ami." See "Fabliaux et Contes," ed.
- Barbazan, iv. 296: and cf. Bandello, Pt. iv. Nov. v, and Heptameron, Journee
- vii. Nouvelle lxx.
- --
- Endeth here the third day of the Decameron, beginneth the fourth, in which,
- under the rule of Filostrato, discourse is had of those whose loves had a
- disastrous close.
- --
- Dearest ladies, as well from what I heard in converse with the wise, as from
- matters that not seldom fell within my own observation and reading, I formed
- the opinion that the vehement and scorching blast of envy was apt to vent
- itself only upon lofty towers or the highest tree-tops: but therein I find
- that I misjudged; for, whereas I ever sought and studied how best to elude
- the buffetings of that furious hurricane, and to that end kept a course not
- merely on the plain, but, by preference, in the depth of the valley; as
- should be abundantly clear to whoso looks at these little stories, written
- as they are not only in the vulgar Florentine, and in prose, and without
- dedicatory flourish, but also in as homely and simple a style as may be;
- nevertheless all this has not stood me in such stead but that I have been
- shrewdly shaken, nay, all but uprooted by the blast, and altogether
- lacerated by the bite of this same envy. Whereby I may very well understand
- that 'tis true, what the sages aver, that only misery is exempt from envy in
- the present life. Know then, discreet my ladies, that some there are, who,
- reading these little stories, have alleged that I am too fond of you, and
- that 'tis not a seemly thing that I should take so much pleasure in
- ministering to your gratification and solace; and some have found more fault
- with me for praising you as I do. Others, affecting to deliver a more
- considered judgment, have said that it ill befits my time of life to ensue
- such matters, to wit, the discoursing of women, or endeavouring to pleasure
- them. And not a few, feigning a mighty tender regard to my fame, aver that I
- should do more wisely to keep ever with the Muses on Parnassus, than to
- forgather with you in such vain dalliance. Those again there are, who,
- evincing less wisdom than despite, have told me that I should shew sounder
- sense if I bethought me how to get my daily bread, than, going after these
- idle toys, to nourish myself upon the wind; while certain others, in
- disparagement of my work, strive might and main to make it appear that the
- matters which I relate fell out otherwise than as I set them forth. Such
- then, noble ladies, are the blasts, such the sharp and cruel fangs, by
- which, while I champion your cause, I am assailed, harassed and well-nigh
- pierced through and through. Which censures I hear and mark, God knows, with
- equal mind: and, though to you belongs all my defence, yet I mean not to be
- niggard of my own powers, but rather, without dealing out to them the
- castigation they deserve, to give them such slight answer as may secure my
- ears some respite of their clamour; and that without delay; seeing that, if
- already, though I have not completed the third part of my work, they are not
- a few and very presumptuous, I deem it possible, that before I have reached
- the end, should they receive no check, they may have grown so numerous, that
- 'twould scarce tax their powers to sink me; and that your forces, great
- though they be, would not suffice to withstand them. However I am minded to
- answer none of them, until I have related in my behoof, not indeed an entire
- story, for I would not seem to foist my stories in among those of so
- honourable a company as that with which I have made you acquainted, but a
- part of one, that its very incompleteness may shew that it is not one of
- them: wherefore, addressing my assailants, I say:--That in our city there
- was in old time a citizen named Filippo Balducci, a man of quite low origin,
- but of good substance and well versed and expert in matters belonging to his
- condition, who had a wife that he most dearly loved, as did she him, so that
- their life passed in peace and concord, nor there was aught they studied so
- much as how to please each other perfectly. Now it came to pass, as it does
- to every one, that the good lady departed this life, leaving Filippo nought
- of hers but an only son, that she had had by him, and who was then about two
- years old. His wife's death left Filippo as disconsolate as ever was any man
- for the loss of a loved one: and sorely missing the companionship that was
- most dear to him, he resolved to have done with the world, and devote
- himself and his little son to the service of God. Wherefore, having
- dedicated all his goods to charitable uses, he forthwith betook him to the
- summit of Monte Asinaio, where he installed himself with his son in a little
- cell, and living on alms, passed his days in fasting and prayer, being
- careful above all things to say nothing to the boy of any temporal matters,
- nor to let him see aught of the kind, lest they should distract his mind
- from his religious exercises, but discoursing with him continually of the
- glory of the life eternal and of God and the saints, and teaching him nought
- else but holy orisons: in which way of life he kept him not a few years,
- never suffering him to quit the cell or see aught but himself. From time to
- time the worthy man would go Florence, where divers of the faithful would
- afford him relief according to his needs, and so he would return to his
- cell. And thus it fell out that one day Filippo, now an aged man, being
- asked by the boy, who was about eighteen years old, whither he went, told
- him. Whereupon:--"Father," said the boy, "you are now old, and scarce able
- to support fatigue; why take you me not with you for once to Florence, and
- give me to know devout friends of God and you, so that I, who am young and
- fitter for such exertion than you, may thereafter go to Florence for our
- supplies at your pleasure, and you remain here?"
- The worthy man, bethinking him that his son was now grown up, and so
- habituated to the service of God as hardly to be seduced by the things of
- the world, said to himself:--"He says well." And so, as he must needs go to
- Florence, he took the boy with him. Where, seeing the palaces, the houses,
- the churches, and all matters else with which the city abounds, and of which
- he had no more recollection than if he had never seen them, the boy found
- all passing strange, and questioned his father of not a few of them, what
- they were and how they were named; his curiosity being no sooner satisfied
- in one particular than he plied his father with a further question. And so
- it befell that, while son and father were thus occupied in asking and
- answering questions, they encountered a bevy of damsels, fair and richly
- arrayed, being on their return from a wedding; whom the young man no sooner
- saw, than he asked his father what they might be. "My son," answered the
- father, "fix thy gaze on the ground, regard them not at all, for naughty
- things are they." "Oh!" said the son, "and what is their name?" The father,
- fearing to awaken some mischievous craving of concupiscence in the young
- man, would not denote them truly, to wit, as women, but said:--"They are
- called goslings." Whereupon, wonderful to tell! the lad who had never before
- set eyes on any woman, thought no more of the palaces, the oxen, the horses,
- the asses, the money, or aught else that he had seen, but
- exclaimed:--"Prithee, father, let me have one of those goslings." "Alas, my
- son," replied the father, "speak not of them; they are naughty things."
- "Oh!" questioned the son; "but are naughty things made like that?" "Ay,"
- returned the father. Whereupon the son:--"I know not," he said, "what you
- say, nor why they should be naughty things: for my part I have as yet seen
- nought that seemed to me so fair and delectable. They are fairer than the
- painted angels that you have so often shewn me. Oh! if you love me, do but
- let us take one of these goslings up there, and I will see that she have
- whereon to bill." "Nay," said the father, "that will not I. Thou knowest not
- whereon they bill;" and straightway, being ware that nature was more potent
- than his art, he repented him that he had brought the boy to Florence.
- But enough of this story: 'tis time for me to cut it short, and return to
- those, for whose instruction 'tis told. They say then, some of these my
- censors, that I am too fond of you, young ladies, and am at too great pains
- to pleasure you. Now that I am fond of you, and am at pains to pleasure you,
- I do most frankly and fully confess; and I ask them whether, considering
- only all that it means to have had, and to have continually, before one's
- eyes your debonair demeanour, your bewitching beauty and exquisite grace,
- and therewithal your modest womanliness, not to speak of having known the
- amorous kisses, the caressing embraces, the voluptuous comminglings, whereof
- our intercourse with you, ladies most sweet, not seldom is productive, they
- do verily marvel that I am fond of you, seeing that one who was nurtured,
- reared, and brought up on a savage and solitary mountain, within the narrow
- circuit of a cell, without other companion than his father, had no sooner
- seen you than 'twas you alone that he desired, that he demanded, that he
- sought with ardour? Will they tear, will they lacerate me with their
- censures, if I, whose body Heaven fashioned all apt for love, whose soul
- from very boyhood was dedicate to you, am not insensible to the power of the
- light of your eyes, to the sweetness of your honeyed words, to the flame
- that is kindled by your gentle sighs, but am fond of you and sedulous to
- pleasure you; you, again I bid them remember, in whom a hermit, a rude,
- witless lad, liker to an animal than to a human being, found more to delight
- him than in aught else that he saw? Of a truth whoso taxes me thus must be
- one that, feeling, knowing nought of the pleasure and power of natural
- affection, loves you not, nor craves your love; and such an one I hold in
- light esteem. And as for those that go about to find ground of exception in
- my age, they do but shew that they ill understand that the leek, albeit its
- head is white, has a green tail. But jesting apart, thus I answer them, that
- never to the end of my life shall I deem it shameful to me to pleasure those
- to whom Guido Cavalcanti and Dante Alighieri in their old age, and Messer
- Cino da Pistoia in extreme old age, accounted it an honour and found it a
- delight to minister gratification. And but that 'twere a deviation from the
- use and wont of discourse, I would call history to my aid, and shew it to
- abound with stories of noble men of old time, who in their ripest age
- studied above all things else to pleasure the ladies; whereof if they be
- ignorant, go they and get them to school. To keep with the Muses on
- Parnassus is counsel I approve; but tarry with them always we cannot, nor
- they with us, nor is a man blameworthy, if, when he happen to part from
- them, he find his delight in those that resemble them. The Muses are ladies,
- and albeit ladies are not the peers of the Muses, yet they have their
- outward semblance; for which cause, if for no other, 'tis reasonable that I
- should be fond of them. Besides which, ladies have been to me the occasion
- of composing some thousand verses, but of never a verse that I made were the
- Muses the occasion. Howbeit 'twas with their aid, 'twas under their
- influence that I composed those thousand verses, and perchance they have
- sometimes visited me to encourage me in my present task, humble indeed
- though it be, doing honour and paying, as it were, tribute, to the likeness
- which the ladies have to them; wherefore, while I weave these stories, I
- stray not so far from Mount Parnassus and the Muses as not a few perchance
- suppose. But what shall we say to those, in whom my hunger excites such
- commiseration that they bid me get me bread? Verily I know not, save this:--
- Suppose that in my need I were to beg bread of them, what would be their
- answer? I doubt not they would say:--"Go seek it among the fables." And in
- sooth the poets have found more bread among their fables than many rich men
- among their treasures. And many that have gone after fables have crowned
- their days with splendour, while, on the other hand, not a few, in the
- endeavour to get them more bread than they needed, have perished miserably.
- But why waste more words on them? Let them send me packing, when I ask bread
- of them; not that, thank God, I have yet need of it, and should I ever come
- to be in need of it, I know, like the Apostle, how to abound and to be in
- want, and so am minded to be beholden to none but myself. As for those who
- say that these matters fell out otherwise than as I relate them, I should
- account it no small favour, if they would produce the originals, and should
- what I write not accord with them, I would acknowledge the justice of their
- censure, and study to amend my ways; but, until better evidence is
- forthcoming than their words, I shall adhere to my own opinion without
- seeking to deprive them of theirs, and give them tit for tat. And being
- minded that for this while this answer suffice, I say that with God and you,
- in whom I trust, most gentle ladies, to aid and protect me, and patience for
- my stay, I shall go forward with my work, turning my back on this tempest,
- however it may rage; for I see not that I can fare worse than the fine dust,
- which the blast of the whirlwind either leaves where it lies, or bears
- aloft, not seldom over the heads of men, over the crowns of kings, of
- emperors, and sometimes suffers to settle on the roofs of lofty palaces, and
- the summits of the tallest towers, whence if it fall, it cannot sink lower
- than the level from which it was raised. And if I ever devoted myself and
- all my powers to minister in any wise to your gratification, I am now minded
- more than ever so to do, because I know that there is nought that any can
- justly say in regard thereof, but that I, and others who love you, follow
- the promptings of nature, whose laws whoso would withstand, has need of
- powers pre-eminent, and, even so, will oft-times labour not merely in vain
- but to his own most grievous disadvantage. Such powers I own that I neither
- have, nor, to such end, desire to have; and had I them, I would rather leave
- them to another than use them myself. Wherefore let my detractors hold their
- peace, and if they cannot get heat, why, let them shiver their life away;
- and, while they remain addicted to their delights, or rather corrupt tastes,
- let them leave me to follow my own bent during the brief life that is
- accorded us. But this has been a long digression, fair ladies, and 'tis time
- to retrace our steps to the point where we deviated, and continue in the
- course on which we started.
- The sun had chased every star from the sky, and lifted the dank murk of
- night from the earth, when, Filostrato being risen, and having roused all
- his company, they hied them to the fair garden, and there fell to disporting
- themselves: the time for breakfast being come, they took it where they had
- supped on the preceding evening, and after they had slept they rose, when
- the sun was in his zenith, and seated themselves in their wonted manner by
- the beautiful fountain; where Fiammetta, being bidden by Filostrato to lead
- off the story-telling, awaited no second command, but debonairly thus began.
- NOVEL I.
- --
- Tancred, Prince of Salerno, slays his daughter's lover, and sends her his
- heart in a golden cup: she pours upon it a poisonous distillation, which she
- drinks and dies.
- --
- A direful theme has our king allotted us for to-day's discourse seeing that,
- whereas we are here met for our common delectation, needs must we now tell
- of others' tears, whereby, whether telling or hearing, we cannot but be
- moved to pity. Perchance 'twas to temper in some degree the gaiety of the
- past days that he so ordained, but, whatever may have been his intent, his
- will must be to me immutable law; wherefore I will narrate to you a matter
- that befell piteously, nay woefully, and so as you may well weep thereat.
- Tancred, Prince of Salerno, a lord most humane and kind of heart, but that
- in his old age he imbrued his hands in the blood of a lover, had in the
- whole course of his life but one daughter; and had he not had her, he had
- been more fortunate.
- Never was daughter more tenderly beloved of father than she of the Prince,
- who, for that cause not knowing how to part with her, kept her unmarried for
- many a year after she had come of marriageable age: then at last he gave her
- to a son of the Duke of Capua, with whom she had lived but a short while,
- when he died and she returned to her father. Most lovely was she of form and
- feature (never woman more so), and young and light of heart, and more
- knowing, perchance, than beseemed a woman. Dwelling thus with her loving
- father, as a great lady, in no small luxury, nor failing to see that the
- Prince, for the great love he bore her, was at no pains to provide her with
- another husband, and deeming it unseemly on her part to ask one of him, she
- cast about how she might come by a gallant to be her secret lover. And
- seeing at her father's court not a few men, both gentle and simple, that
- resorted thither, as we know men use to frequent courts, and closely
- scanning their mien and manners, she preferred before all others the
- Prince's page, Guiscardo by name, a man of very humble origin, but
- pre-eminent for native worth and noble bearing; of whom, seeing him
- frequently, she became hotly enamoured, hourly extolling his qualities more
- and more highly. The young man, who for all his youth by no means lacked
- shrewdness, read her heart, and gave her his own on such wise that his love
- for her engrossed his mind to the exclusion of almost everything else. While
- thus they burned in secret for one another, the lady, desiring of all things
- a meeting with Guiscardo, but being shy of making any her confidant, hit
- upon a novel expedient to concert the affair with him. She wrote him a
- letter containing her commands for the ensuing day, and thrust it into a
- cane in the space between two of the knots, which cane she gave to
- Guiscardo, saying:--"Thou canst let thy servant have it for a bellows to
- blow thy fire up to night." Guiscardo took it, and feeling sure that 'twas
- not unadvisedly that she made him such a present, accompanied with such
- words, hied him straight home, where, carefully examining the cane, he
- observed that it was cleft, and, opening it, found the letter; which he had
- no sooner read, and learned what he was to do, than, pleased as ne'er
- another, he fell to devising how to set all in order that he might not fail
- to meet the lady on the following day, after the manner she had prescribed.
- Now hard by the Prince's palace was a grotto, hewn in days of old in the
- solid rock, and now long disused, so that an artificial orifice, by which it
- received a little light, was all but choked with brambles and plants that
- grew about and overspread it. From one of the ground-floor rooms of the
- palace, which room was part of the lady's suite, a secret stair led to the
- grotto, though the entrance was barred by a very strong door. This stair,
- having been from time immemorial disused, had passed out of mind so
- completely that there was scarce any that remembered that it was there: but
- Love, whose eyes nothing, however secret, may escape, had brought it to the
- mind of the enamoured lady. For many a day, using all secrecy, that none
- should discover her, she had wrought with her tools, until she had succeeded
- in opening the door; which done, she had gone down into the grotto alone,
- and having observed the orifice, had by her letter apprised Guiscardo of its
- apparent height above the floor of the grotto, and bidden him contrive some
- means of descending thereby. Eager to carry the affair through, Guiscardo
- lost no time in rigging up a ladder of ropes, whereby he might ascend and
- descend; and having put on a suit of leather to protect him from the
- brambles, he hied him the following night (keeping the affair close from
- all) to the orifice, made the ladder fast by one of its ends to a massive
- trunk that was rooted in the mouth of the orifice, climbed down the ladder,
- and awaited the lady. On the morrow, making as if she would fain sleep, the
- lady dismissed her damsels, and locked herself into her room: she then
- opened the door of the grotto, hied her down, and met Guiscardo, to their
- marvellous mutual satisfaction. The lovers then repaired to her room, where
- in exceeding great joyance they spent no small part of the day. Nor were
- they neglectful of the precautions needful to prevent discovery of their
- amour; but in due time Guiscardo returned to the grotto; whereupon the lady
- locked the door and rejoined her damsels. At nightfall Guiscardo reascended
- his ladder, and, issuing forth of the orifice, hied him home; nor, knowing
- now the way, did he fail to revisit the grotto many a time thereafter.
- But Fortune, noting with envious eye a happiness of such degree and
- duration, gave to events a dolorous turn, whereby the joy of the two lovers
- was converted into bitter lamentation. 'Twas Tancred's custom to come from
- time to time quite alone to his daughter's room, and tarry talking with her
- a while. Whereby it so befell that he came down there one day after
- breakfast, while Ghismonda--such was the lady's name--was in her garden with
- her damsels; so that none saw or heard him enter; nor would he call his
- daughter, for he was minded that she should not forgo her pleasure. But,
- finding the windows closed and the bed-curtains drawn down, he seated
- himself on a divan that stood at one of the corners of the bed, rested his
- head on the bed, drew the curtain over him, and thus, hidden as if of set
- purpose, fell asleep. As he slept Ghismonda, who, as it happened, had caused
- Guiscardo to come that day, left her damsels in the garden, softly entered
- the room, and having locked herself in, unwitting that there was another in
- the room, opened the door to Guiscardo, who was in waiting. Straightway they
- got them to bed, as was their wont; and, while they there solaced and
- disported them together, it so befell that Tancred awoke, and heard and saw
- what they did: whereat he was troubled beyond measure, and at first was
- minded to upbraid them; but on second thoughts he deemed it best to hold his
- peace, and avoid discovery, if so he might with greater stealth and less
- dishonour carry out the design which was already in his mind. The two lovers
- continued long together, as they were wont, all unwitting of Tancred; but at
- length they saw fit to get out of bed, when Guiscardo went back to the
- grotto, and the lady hied her forth of the room. Whereupon Tancred, old
- though he was, got out at one of the windows, clambered down into the
- garden, and, seen by none, returned sorely troubled to his room. By his
- command two men took Guiscardo early that same night, as he issued forth of
- the orifice accoutred in his suit of leather, and brought him privily to
- Tancred; who, as he saw him, all but wept, and said:--"Guiscardo, my
- kindness to thee is ill requited by the outrage and dishonour which thou
- hast done me in the person of my daughter, as to-day I have seen with my own
- eyes." To whom Guiscardo could answer nought but:--"Love is more potent than
- either, you or I." Tancred then gave order to keep him privily under watch
- and ward in a room within the palace; and so 'twas done. Next day, while
- Ghismonda wotted nought of these matters, Tancred, after pondering divers
- novel expedients, hied him after breakfast, according to his wont, to his
- daughter's room, where, having called her to him and locked himself in with
- her, he began, not without tears, to speak on this wise:--"Ghismonda,
- conceiving that I knew thy virtue and honour, never, though it had been
- reported to me, would I have credited, had I not seen with my own eyes, that
- thou wouldst so much as in idea, not to say fact, have ever yielded thyself
- to any man but thy husband: wherefore, for the brief residue of life that my
- age has in store for me, the memory of thy fall will ever be grievous to me.
- And would to God, as thou must needs demean thyself to such dishonour, thou
- hadst taken a man that matched thy nobility; but of all the men that
- frequent my court; thou must needs choose Guiscardo, a young man of the
- lowest condition, a fellow whom we brought up in charity from his tender
- years; for whose sake thou hast plunged me into the abyss of mental
- tribulation, insomuch that I know not what course to take in regard of thee.
- As to Guiscardo, whom I caused to be arrested last night as he issued from
- the orifice, and keep in durance, my course is already taken, but how I am
- to deal with thee, God knows, I know not. I am distraught between the love
- which I have ever borne thee, love such as no father ever bare to daughter,
- and the most just indignation evoked in me by thy signal folly; my love
- prompts me to pardon thee, my indignation bids me harden my heart against
- thee, though I do violence to my nature. But before I decide upon my course,
- I would fain hear what thou hast to say to this." So saying, he bent his
- head, and wept as bitterly as any child that had been soundly thrashed.
- Her father's words, and the tidings they conveyed that not only was her
- secret passion discovered, but Guiscardo taken, caused Ghismonda
- immeasurable grief, which she was again and again on the point of evincing,
- as most women do, by cries and tears; but her high spirit triumphed over
- this weakness; by a prodigious effort she composed her countenance, and
- taking it for granted that her Guiscardo was no more, she inly devoted
- herself to death rather than a single prayer for herself should escape her
- lips. Wherefore, not as a woman stricken with grief or chidden for a fault,
- but unconcerned and unabashed, with tearless eyes, and frank and utterly
- dauntless mien, thus answered she her father:--"Tancred, your accusation I
- shall not deny, neither will I cry you mercy, for nought should I gain by
- denial, nor aught would I gain by supplication: nay more; there is nought I
- will do to conciliate thy humanity and love; my only care is to confess the
- truth, to defend my honour by words of sound reason, and then by deeds most
- resolute to give effect to the promptings of my high soul. True it is that I
- have loved and love Guiscardo, and during the brief while I have yet to live
- shall love him, nor after death, so there be then love, shall I cease to
- love him; but that I love him, is not imputable to my womanly frailty so
- much as to the little zeal thou shewedst for my bestowal in marriage, and to
- Guiscardo's own worth. It should not have escaped thee, Tancred, creature of
- flesh and blood as thou art, that thy daughter was also a creature of flesh
- and blood, and not of stone or iron; it was, and is, thy duty to bear in
- mind (old though thou art) the nature and the might of the laws to which
- youth is subject; and, though thou hast spent part of thy best years in
- martial exercises, thou shouldst nevertheless have not been ignorant how
- potent is the influence even upon the aged--to say nothing of the young--of
- ease and luxury. And not only am I, as being thy daughter, a creature of
- flesh and blood, but my life is not so far spent but that I am still young,
- and thus doubly fraught with fleshly appetite, the vehemence whereof is
- marvellously enhanced by reason that, having been married, I have known the
- pleasure that ensues upon the satisfaction of such desire. Which forces
- being powerless to withstand, I did but act as was natural in a young woman,
- when I gave way to them, and yielded myself to love. Nor in sooth did I fail
- to the utmost of my power so to order the indulgence of my natural
- propensity that my sin should bring shame neither upon thee nor upon me. To
- which end Love in his pity, and Fortune in a friendly mood, found and
- discovered to me a secret way, whereby, none witting, I attained my desire:
- this, from whomsoever thou hast learned it, howsoever thou comest to know
- it, I deny not. 'Twas not at random, as many women do, that I loved
- Guiscardo; but by deliberate choice I preferred him before all other men,
- and of determinate forethought I lured him to my love, whereof, through his
- and my discretion and constancy, I have long had joyance. Wherein 'twould
- seem that thou, following rather the opinion of the vulgar than the dictates
- of truth, find cause to chide me more severely than in my sinful love, for,
- as if thou wouldst not have been vexed, had my choice fallen on a nobleman,
- thou complainest that I have forgathered with a man of low condition; and
- dost not see that therein thou censurest not my fault but that of Fortune,
- which not seldom raises the unworthy to high place and leaves the worthiest
- in low estate. But leave we this: consider a little the principles of
- things: thou seest that in regard of our flesh we are all moulded of the
- same substance, and that all souls are endowed by one and the same Creator
- with equal faculties, equal powers, equal virtues. 'Twas merit that made the
- first distinction between us, born as we were, nay, as we are, all equal,
- and those whose merits were and were approved in act the greatest were
- called noble, and the rest were not so denoted. Which law, albeit overlaid
- by the contrary usage of after times, is not yet abrogated, nor so impaired
- but that it is still traceable in nature and good manners; for which cause
- whoso with merit acts, does plainly shew himself a gentleman; and if any
- denote him otherwise, the default is his own and not his whom he so denotes.
- Pass in review all thy nobles, weigh their merits, their manners and
- bearing, and then compare Guiscardo's qualities with theirs: if thou wilt
- judge without prejudice, thou wilt pronounce him noble in the highest
- degree, and thy nobles one and all churls. As to Guiscardo's merits and
- worth I did but trust the verdict which thou thyself didst utter in words,
- and which mine own eyes confirmed. Of whom had he such commendation as of
- thee for all those excellences whereby a good man and true merits
- commendation? And in sooth thou didst him but justice; for, unless mine eyes
- have played me false, there was nought for which thou didst commend him but
- I had seen him practise it, and that more admirably than words of thine
- might express; and had I been at all deceived in this matter, 'twould have
- been by thee. Wilt thou say then that I have forgathered with a man of low
- condition? If so, thou wilt not say true. Didst thou say with a poor man,
- the impeachment might be allowed, to thy shame, that thou so ill hast known
- how to requite a good man and true that is thy servant; but poverty, though
- it take away all else, deprives no man of gentilesse. Many kings, many great
- princes, were once poor, and many a ditcher or herdsman has been and is very
- wealthy. As for thy last perpended doubt, to wit, how thou shouldst deal
- with me, banish it utterly from thy thoughts. If in thy extreme old age thou
- art minded to manifest a harshness unwonted in thy youth, wreak thy
- harshness on me, resolved as I am to cry thee no mercy, prime cause as I am
- that this sin, if sin it be, has been committed; for of this I warrant thee,
- that as thou mayst have done or shalt do to Guiscardo, if to me thou do not
- the like, I with my own hands will do it. Now get thee gone to shed thy
- tears with the women, and when thy melting mood is over, ruthlessly destroy
- Guiscardo and me, if such thou deem our merited doom, by one and the same
- blow."
- The loftiness of his daughter's spirit was not unknown to the Prince; but
- still he did not credit her with a resolve quite as firmly fixed as her
- words implied, to carry their purport into effect. So, parting from her
- without the least intention of using harshness towards her in her own
- person, he determined to quench the heat of her love by wreaking his
- vengeance on her lover, and bade the two men that had charge of Guiscardo to
- strangle him noiselessly that same night, take the heart out of the body,
- and send it to him. The men did his bidding: and on the morrow the Prince
- had a large and beautiful cup of gold brought to him, and having put
- Guiscardo's heart therein, sent it by the hand of one of his most trusted
- servants to his daughter, charging the servant to say, as he gave it to
- her:--"Thy father sends thee this to give thee joy of that which thou lovest
- best, even as thou hast given him joy of that which he loved best."
- Now when her father had left her, Ghismonda, wavering not a jot in her stern
- resolve, had sent for poisonous herbs and roots, and therefrom had distilled
- a water, to have it ready for use, if that which she apprehended should come
- to pass. And when the servant appeared with the Prince's present and
- message, she took the cup unblenchingly, and having lifted the lid, and seen
- the heart, and apprehended the meaning of the words, and that the heart was
- beyond a doubt Guiscardo's, she raised her head, and looking straight at the
- servant, said:--"Sepulture less honourable than of gold had ill befitted
- heart such as this: herein has my father done wisely." Which said, she
- raised it to her lips, and kissed it, saying:--"In all things and at all
- times, even to this last hour of my life, have I found my father most tender
- in his love, but now more so than ever before; wherefore I now render him
- the last thanks which will ever be due from me to him for this goodly
- present." So she spoke, and straining the cup to her, bowed her head over
- it, and gazing at the heart, said:--"Ah! sojourn most sweet of all my joys,
- accursed be he by whose ruthless act I see thee with the bodily eye: 'twas
- enough that to the mind's eye thou wert hourly present. Thou hast run thy
- course; thou hast closed the span that Fortune allotted thee; thou hast
- reached the goal of all; thou hast left behind thee the woes and weariness
- of the world; and thy enemy has himself granted thee sepulture accordant
- with thy deserts. No circumstance was wanting to duly celebrate thy
- obsequies, save the tears of her whom, while thou livedst, thou didst so
- dearly love; which that thou shouldst not lack, my remorseless father was
- prompted of God to send thee to me, and, albeit my resolve was fixed to die
- with eyes unmoistened and front all unperturbed by fear, yet will I accord
- thee my tears; which done, my care shall be forthwith by thy means to join
- my soul to that most precious soul which thou didst once enshrine. And is
- there other company than hers, in which with more of joy and peace I might
- fare to the abodes unknown? She is yet here within, I doubt not,
- contemplating the abodes of her and my delights, and--for sure I am that she
- loves me--awaiting my soul that loves her before all else."
- Having thus spoken, she bowed herself low over the cup; and, while no
- womanish cry escaped her, 'twas as if a fountain of water were unloosed
- within her head, so wondrous a flood of tears gushed from her eyes, while
- times without number she kissed the dead heart. Her damsels that stood
- around her knew not whose the heart might be or what her words might mean,
- but melting in sympathy, they all wept, and compassionately, as vainly,
- enquired the cause of her lamentation, and in many other ways sought to
- comfort her to the best of their understanding and power. When she had wept
- her fill, she raised her head, and dried her eyes. Then:--"O heart," said
- she, "much cherished heart, discharged is my every duty towards thee; nought
- now remains for me to do but to come and unite my soul with thine." So
- saying, she sent for the vase that held the water which the day before she
- had distilled, and emptied it into the cup where lay the heart bathed in her
- tears; then, nowise afraid, she set her mouth to the cup, and drained it
- dry, and so with the cup in her hand she got her upon her bed, and having
- there disposed her person in guise as seemly as she might, laid her dead
- lover's heart upon her own, and silently awaited death. Meanwhile the
- damsels, seeing and hearing what passed, but knowing not what the water was
- that she had drunk, had sent word of each particular to Tancred; who,
- apprehensive of that which came to pass, came down with all haste to his
- daughter's room, where he arrived just as she got her upon her bed, and, now
- too late, addressed himself to comfort her with soft words, and seeing in
- what plight she was, burst into a flood of bitter tears. To whom the lady:--
- "Reserve thy tears, Tancred, till Fortune send thee hap less longed for than
- this: waste them not on me who care not for them. Whoever yet saw any but
- thee bewail the consummation of his desire? But, if of the love thou once
- didst bear me any spark still lives in thee, be it thy parting grace to me,
- that, as thou brookedst not that I should live with Guiscardo in privity and
- seclusion, so wherever thou mayst have caused Guiscardo's body to be cast,
- mine may be united with it in the common view of all." The Prince replied
- not for excess of grief; and the lady, feeling that her end was come,
- strained the dead heart to her bosom, saying:--"Fare ye well; I take my
- leave of you;" and with eyelids drooped and every sense evanished departed
- this life of woe. Such was the lamentable end of the loves of Guiscardo and
- Ghismonda; whom Tancred, tardily repentant of his harshness, mourned not a
- little, as did also all the folk of Salerno, and had honourably interred
- side by side in the same tomb.
- NOVEL II.
- --
- Fra Alberto gives a lady to understand that she is beloved of the Angel
- Gabriel, in whose shape he lies with her sundry times; afterward, for fear
- of her kinsmen, he flings himself forth of her house, and finds shelter in
- the house of a poor man, who on the morrow leads him in the guise of a wild
- man into the piazza, where, being recognized, he is apprehended by his
- brethren and imprisoned.
- --
- More than once had Fiammetta's story brought tears to the eyes of her fair
- companions; but now that it was ended the king said with an austere air:--"I
- should esteem my life but a paltry price to pay for half the delight that
- Ghismonda had with Guiscardo: whereat no lady of you all should marvel,
- seeing that each hour that I live I die a thousand deaths; nor is there so
- much as a particle of compensating joy allotted me. But a truce to my own
- concerns: I ordain that Pampinea do next ensue our direful argument,
- wherewith the tenor of my life in part accords, and if she follow in
- Fiammetta's footsteps, I doubt not I shall presently feel some drops of dew
- distill upon my fire." Pampinea received the king's command in a spirit more
- accordant with what from her own bent she divined to be the wishes of her
- fair gossips than with the king's words; wherefore, being minded rather to
- afford them some diversion, than, save as in duty bound, to satisfy the
- king, she made choice of a story which, without deviating from the
- prescribed theme, should move a laugh, and thus began:--
- 'Tis a proverb current among the vulgar, that:--"Whoso, being wicked, is
- righteous reputed, May sin as he will, and 'twill ne'er be imputed." Which
- proverb furnishes me with abundant matter of discourse, germane to our
- theme, besides occasion to exhibit the quality and degree of the hypocrisy
- of the religious, who flaunt it in ample flowing robes, and, with faces made
- pallid by art, with voices low and gentle to beg alms, most loud and haughty
- to reprove in others their own sins, would make believe that their way of
- salvation lies in taking from us and ours in giving to them; nay, more, as
- if they had not like us Paradise to win, but were already its lords and
- masters, assign therein to each that dies a place more or less exalted
- according to the amount of the money that he has bequeathed to them; which
- if they believe, 'tis by dint of self-delusion, and to the effect of
- deluding all that put faith in their words. Of whose guile were it lawful
- for me to make as full exposure as were fitting, not a few simple folk
- should soon be enlightened as to what they cloak within the folds of their
- voluminous habits. But would to God all might have the like reward of their
- lies as a certain friar minor, no novice, but one that was reputed among
- their greatest(1) at Venice; whose story, rather than aught else, I am
- minded to tell you, if so I may, perchance, by laughter and jollity relieve
- in some degree your souls that are heavy laden with pity for the death of
- Ghismonda.
- Know then, noble ladies, that there was in Imola a man of evil and corrupt
- life, Berto della Massa by name, whose pestilent practices came at length to
- be so well known to the good folk of Imola that 'twas all one whether he
- lied or spoke the truth, for there was not a soul in Imola that believed a
- word he said: wherefore, seeing that his tricks would pass no longer there,
- he removed, as in despair, to Venice, that common sink of all abominations,
- thinking there to find other means than he had found elsewhere to the
- prosecution of his nefarious designs. And, as if conscience-stricken for his
- past misdeeds, he assumed an air of the deepest humility, turned the best
- Catholic of them all, and went and made himself a friar minor, taking the
- name of Fra Alberto da Imola. With his habit he put on a shew of austerity,
- highly commending penitence and abstinence, and eating or drinking no sort
- of meat or wine but such as was to his taste. And scarce a soul was there
- that wist that the thief, the pimp, the cheat, the assassin, had not been
- suddenly converted into a great preacher without continuing in the practice
- of the said iniquities, whensoever the same was privily possible. And
- withal, having got himself made priest, as often as he celebrated at the
- altar, he would weep over the passion of our Lord, so there were folk in
- plenty to see, for tears cost him little enough, when he had a mind to shed
- them. In short, what with his sermons and his tears, he duped the folk of
- Venice to such a tune that scarce a will was there made but he was its
- executor and depositary; nay, not a few made him trustee of their moneys,
- and most, or well-nigh most, men and women alike, their confessor and
- counsellor: in short, he had put off the wolf and put on the shepherd, and
- the fame of his holiness was such in those parts that St. Francis himself
- had never the like at Assisi.
- Now it so befell that among the ladies that came to confess to this holy
- friar was one Monna Lisetta of Ca' Quirino, the young, silly, empty-headed
- wife of a great merchant, who was gone with the galleys to Flanders. Like a
- Venetian--for unstable are they all--though she placed herself at his feet,
- she told him but a part of her sins, and when Fra Alberto asked her whether
- she had a lover, she replied with black looks:--"How now, master friar? have
- you not eyes in your head? See you no difference between my charms and those
- of other women? Lovers in plenty might I have, so I would: but charms such
- as mine must not be cheapened: 'tis not every man that might presume to love
- me. How many ladies have you seen whose beauty is comparable to mine? I
- should adorn Paradise itself." Whereto she added so much more in praise of
- her beauty that the friar could scarce hear her with patience. Howbeit,
- discerning at a glance that she was none too well furnished with sense, he
- deemed the soil meet for his plough, and fell forthwith inordinately in love
- with her, though he deferred his blandishments to a more convenient season,
- and by way of supporting his character for holiness began instead to chide
- her, telling her (among other novelties) that this was vainglory: whereto
- the lady retorted that he was a blockhead, and could not distinguish one
- degree of beauty from another. Wherefore Fra Alberto, lest he should
- occasion her too much chagrin, cut short the confession, and suffered her to
- depart with the other ladies. Some days after, accompanied by a single
- trusty friend, he hied him to Monna Lisetta's house, and having withdrawn
- with her alone into a saloon, where they were safe from observation, he fell
- on his knees at her feet, and said:--"Madam, for the love of God I crave
- your pardon of that which I said to you on Sunday, when you spoke to me of
- your beauty, for so grievously was I chastised therefor that very night,
- that 'tis but to-day that I have been able to quit my bed." "And by whom,"
- quoth my Lady Battledore, "were you so chastised?" "I will tell you,"
- returned Fra Alberto. "That night I was, as is ever my wont, at my orisons,
- when suddenly a great light shone in my cell, and before I could turn me to
- see what it was, I saw standing over me a right goodly youth with a stout
- cudgel in his hand, who seized me by the habit and threw me at his feet and
- belaboured me till I was bruised from head to foot. And when I asked him why
- he used me thus, he answered:--''Tis because thou didst to-day presume to
- speak slightingly of the celestial charms of Monna Lisetta, whom I love next
- to God Himself.' Whereupon I asked:--'And who are you?' And he made answer
- that he was the Angel Gabriel. Then said I:--'O my lord, I pray you pardon
- me.' Whereto he answered:--'I pardon thee on condition that thou go to her,
- with what speed thou mayst, and obtain her pardon, which if she accord thee
- not, I shall come back hither and give thee belabourings enough with my
- cudgel to make thee a sad man for the rest of thy days.' What more he said,
- I dare not tell you, unless you first pardon me." Whereat our flimsy
- pumpion-pated Lady Lackbrain was overjoyed, taking all the friar's words for
- gospel. So after a while she said:--"And did I not tell you, Fra Alberto,
- that my charms were celestial? But, so help me God, I am moved to pity of
- you, and forthwith I pardon you, lest worse should befall you, so only you
- tell me what more the Angel said." "So will I gladly, Madam," returned Fra
- Alberto, "now that I have your pardon; this only I bid you bear in mind,
- that you have a care that never a soul in the world hear from you a single
- word of what I shall say to you, if you would not spoil your good fortune,
- wherein there is not to-day in the whole world a lady that may compare with
- you. Know then that the Angel Gabriel bade me tell you that you stand so
- high in his favour that again and again he would have come to pass the night
- with you, but that he doubted he should affright you. So now he sends you
- word through me that he would fain come one night, and stay a while with
- you; and seeing that, being an angel, if he should visit you in his angelic
- shape, he might not be touched by you, he would, to pleasure you, present
- himself in human shape; and so he bids you send him word, when you would
- have him come, and in whose shape, and he will come; for which cause you may
- deem yourself more blessed than any other lady that lives." My Lady Vanity
- then said that she was highly flattered to be beloved of the Angel Gabriel;
- whom she herself loved so well that she had never grudged four soldi to burn
- a candle before his picture, wherever she saw it, and that he was welcome to
- visit her as often as he liked, and would always find her alone in her room;
- on the understanding, however, that he should not desert her for the Virgin
- Mary, whom she had heard he did mightily affect, and indeed 'twould so
- appear, for, wherever she saw him, he was always on his knees at her feet:
- for the rest he might even come in what shape he pleased, so that it was not
- such as to terrify her. Then said Fra Alberto:--"Madam, 'tis wisely spoken;
- and I will arrange it all with him just as you say. But 'tis in your power
- to do me a great favour, which will cost you nothing; and this favour is
- that you be consenting that he visit you in my shape. Now hear wherein you
- will confer this favour: thus will it be: he will disembody my soul, and set
- it in Paradise, entering himself into my body; and, as long as he shall be
- with you, my soul will be in Paradise." Whereto my Lady Slenderwit:--"So be
- it," she said; "I am well pleased that you have this solace to salve the
- bruises that he gives you on my account." "Good," said Fra Alberto; "then
- you will see to it that to-night he find, when he comes, your outer door
- unlatched, that he may have ingress; for, coming, as he will, in human
- shape, he will not be able to enter save by the door." "It shall be done,"
- replied the lady. Whereupon Fra Alberto took his leave, and the lady
- remained in such a state of exaltation that her nether end knew not her
- chemise, and it seemed to her a thousand years until the Angel Gabriel
- should come to visit her. Fra Alberto, bethinking him that 'twas not as an
- angel, but as a cavalier that he must acquit himself that night, fell to
- fortifying himself with comfits and other dainties, that he might not lose
- his saddle for slight cause. Then, leave of absence gotten, he betook him at
- nightfall, with a single companion, to the house of a woman that was his
- friend, which house had served on former occasions as his base when he went
- a chasing the fillies; and having there disguised himself, he hied him, when
- he deemed 'twas time, to the house of the lady, where, donning the gewgaws
- he had brought with him, he transformed himself into an angel, and going up,
- entered the lady's chamber. No sooner saw she this dazzling apparition than
- she fell on her knees before the Angel, who gave her his blessing, raised
- her to her feet, and motioned her to go to bed. She, nothing loath, obeyed
- forthwith, and the Angel lay down beside his devotee. Now, Fra Alberto was a
- stout, handsome fellow, whose legs bore themselves right bravely; and being
- bedded with Monna Lisetta, who was lusty and delicate, he covered her after
- another fashion than her husband had been wont, and took many a flight that
- night without wings, so that she heartily cried him content; and not a
- little therewithal did he tell her of the glory celestial. Then towards
- daybreak, all being ready for his return, he hied him forth, and repaired,
- caparisoned as he was, to his friend, whom, lest he should be affrighted,
- sleeping alone, the good woman of the house had solaced with her company.
- The lady, so soon as she had breakfasted, betook her to Fra Alberto, and
- reported the Angel Gabriel's visit, and what he had told her of the glory of
- the life eternal, describing his appearance, not without some added marvels
- of her own invention. Whereto Fra Alberto replied:--"Madam, I know not how
- you fared with him; but this I know, that last night he came to me, and for
- that I had done his errand with you, he suddenly transported my soul among
- such a multitude of flowers and roses as was never seen here below, and my
- soul--what became of my body I know not--tarried in one of the most
- delightful places that ever was from that hour until matins." "As for your
- body," said the lady, "do I not tell you whose it was? It lay all night long
- with the Angel Gabriel in my arms; and if you believe me not, you have but
- to took under your left pap, where I gave the Angel a mighty kiss, of which
- the mark will last for some days." "Why then," said Fra Alberto, "I will
- even do to-day what 'tis long since I did, to wit, undress, that I may see
- if you say sooth." So they fooled it a long while, and then the lady went
- home, where Fra Alberto afterwards paid her many a visit without any let.
- However, one day it so befell that while Monna Lisetta was with one of her
- gossips canvassing beauties, she, being minded to exalt her own charms above
- all others, and having, as we know, none too much wit in her pumpion-pate,
- observed:--"Did you but know by whom my charms are prized, then, for sure,
- you would have nought to say of the rest." Her gossip, all agog to hear, for
- well she knew her foible, answered:--"Madam, it may be as you say, but
- still, while one knows not who he may be, one cannot alter one's mind so
- rapidly." Whereupon my Lady Featherbrain:--"Gossip," said she, "'tis not for
- common talk, but he that I wot of is the Angel Gabriel, who loves me more
- dearly than himself, for that I am, so he tells me, the fairest lady in all
- the world, ay, and in the Maremma to boot."(2) Whereat her gossip would fain
- have laughed, but held herself in, being minded to hear more from her.
- Wherefore she said:--"God's faith, Madam, if 'tis the Angel Gabriel, and he
- tells you so, why, so of course it must needs be; but I wist not the angels
- meddled with such matters." "There you erred, gossip," said the lady:
- "zounds, he does it better than my husband, and he tells me they do it above
- there too, but, as he rates my charms above any that are in heaven, he is
- enamoured of me, and not seldom visits me: so now dost see?" So away went
- the gossip so agog to tell the story, that it seemed to her a thousand years
- till she was where it might be done; and being met for recreation with a
- great company of ladies, she narrated it all in detail: whereby it passed to
- the ladies' husbands, and to other ladies, and from them to yet other
- ladies, so that in less than two days all Venice was full of it. But among
- others, whose ears it reached, were Monna Lisetta's brothers-in-law, who,
- keeping their own counsel, resolved to find this angel and make out whether
- he knew how to fly; to which end they kept watch for some nights. Whereof no
- hint, as it happened, reached Fra Alberto's ears; and so, one night when he
- was come to enjoy the lady once more, he was scarce undressed when her
- brothers-in-law, who had seen him come, were at the door of the room and
- already opening it, when Fra Alberto, hearing the noise and apprehending the
- danger, started up, and having no other resource, threw open a window that
- looked on to the Grand Canal, and plunged into the water. The depth was
- great, and he was an expert swimmer; so that he took no hurt, but, having
- reached the other bank, found a house open, and forthwith entered it,
- praying the good man that was within, for God's sake to save his life, and
- trumping up a story to account for his being there at so late an hour, and
- stripped to the skin. The good man took pity on him, and having occasion to
- go out, he put him in his own bed, bidding him stay there until his return;
- and so, having locked him in, he went about his business.
- Now when the lady's brothers-in-law entered the room, and found that the
- Angel Gabriel had taken flight, leaving his wings behind him, being baulked
- of their prey, they roundly rated the lady, and then, leaving her
- disconsolate, betook themselves home with the Angel's spoils. Whereby it
- befell, that, when 'twas broad day, the good man, being on the Rialto, heard
- tell how the Angel Gabriel had come to pass the night with Monna Lisetta,
- and, being surprised by her brothers-in-law, had taken fright, and thrown
- himself into the Canal, and none knew what was become of him. The good man
- guessed in a trice that the said Angel was no other than the man he had at
- home, whom on his return he recognized, and, after much chaffering, brought
- him to promise him fifty ducats that he might not be given up to the lady's
- brothers-in-law. The bargain struck, Fra Alberto signified a desire to be
- going. Whereupon:--"There is no way," said the good man, "but one, if you
- are minded to take it. To-day we hold a revel, wherein folk lead others
- about in various disguises; as, one man will present a bear, another a wild
- man, and so forth; and then in the piazza of San Marco there is a hunt,
- which done, the revel is ended; and then away they hie them, whither they
- will, each with the man he has led about. If you are willing to be led by me
- in one or another of these disguises, before it can get wind that you are
- here, I can bring you whither you would go; otherwise I see not how you are
- to quit this place without being known; and the lady's brothers-in-law,
- reckoning that you must be lurking somewhere in this quarter, have set
- guards all about to take you." Loath indeed was Fra Alberto to go in such a
- guise, but such was his fear of the lady's relations that he consented, and
- told the good man whither he desired to be taken, and that he was content to
- leave the choice of the disguise to him. The good man then smeared him all
- over with honey, and covered him with down, set a chain on his neck and a
- vizard on his face, gave him a stout cudgel to carry in one hand, and two
- huge dogs, which he had brought from the shambles, to lead with the other,
- and sent a man to the Rialto to announce that whoso would see the Angel
- Gabriel should hie him to the piazza of San Marco; in all which he acted as
- a leal Venetian. And so, after a while, he led him forth, and then, making
- him go before, held him by the chain behind, and through a great throng that
- clamoured:--"What manner of thing is this? what manner of thing is this?" he
- brought him to the piazza, where, what with those that followed them, and
- those that had come from the Rialto on hearing the announcement, there were
- folk without end. Arrived at the piazza, he fastened his wild man to a
- column in a high and exposed place, making as if he were minded to wait till
- the hunt should begin; whereby the flies and gadflies, attracted by the
- honey with which he was smeared, caused him most grievous distress. However,
- the good man waited only until the piazza was thronged, and then, making as
- if he would unchain his wild man, he tore the vizard from Fra Alberto's
- face, saying:--"Gentlemen, as the boar comes not to the hunt, and the hunt
- does not take place, that it be not for nothing that you are come hither, I
- am minded to give you a view of the Angel Gabriel, who comes down from
- heaven to earth by night to solace the ladies of Venice." The vizard was no
- sooner withdrawn than all recognized Fra Alberto, and greeted him with
- hootings, rating him in language as offensive and opprobrious as ever rogue
- was abused withal, and pelting him in the face with every sort of filth that
- came to hand: in which plight they kept him an exceeding great while, until
- by chance the bruit thereof reached his brethren, of whom some six thereupon
- put themselves in motion, and, arrived at the piazza, clapped a habit on his
- back, and unchained him, and amid an immense uproar led him off to their
- convent, where, after languishing a while in prison, 'tis believed that he
- died.
- So this man, by reason that, being reputed righteous, he did evil, and 'twas
- not imputed to him, presumed to counterfeit the Angel Gabriel, and, being
- transformed into a wild man, was in the end put to shame, as he deserved,
- and vainly bewailed his misdeeds. God grant that so it may betide all his
- likes.
- (1) de' maggior cassesi. No such word as cassesi is known to the
- lexicographers or commentators; and no plausible emendation has yet been
- suggested.
- (2) With this ineptitude cf. the friar's "flowers and roses " on the
- preceding page.
- NOVEL III.
- --
- Three young men love three sisters, and flee with them to Crete. The eldest
- of the sisters slays her lover for jealousy. The second saves the life of
- the first by yielding herself to the Duke of Crete. Her lover slays her, and
- makes off with the first: the third sister and her lover are charged with
- the murder, are arrested and confess the crime. They escape death by bribing
- the guards, flee destitute to Rhodes, and there in destitution die.
- --
- Pampinea's story ended, Filostrato mused a while, and then said to her:--"A
- little good matter there was that pleased me at the close of your story,
- but, before 'twas reached, there was far too much to laugh at, which I could
- have wished had not been there." Then, turning to Lauretta, he said:--
- "Madam, give us something better to follow, if so it may be." Lauretta
- replied with a laugh:--"Harsh beyond measure are you to the lovers, to
- desire that their end be always evil; but, as in duty bound, I will tell a
- story of three, who all alike came to a bad end, having had little joyance
- of their loves;" and so saying, she began.
- Well may ye wot, young ladies, for 'tis abundantly manifest, that there is
- no vice but most grievous disaster may ensue thereon to him that practises
- it, and not seldom to others; and of all the vices that which hurries us
- into peril with loosest rein is, methinks, anger; which is nought but a rash
- and hasty impulse, prompted by a feeling of pain, which banishes reason,
- shrouds the eyes of the mind in thick darkness, and sets the soul ablaze
- with a fierce frenzy. Which, though it not seldom befall men, and one rather
- than another, has nevertheless been observed to be fraught in women with
- more disastrous consequences, inasmuch as in them the flame is both more
- readily kindled, and burns more brightly, and with less impediment to its
- vehemence. Wherein is no cause to marvel, for, if we consider it, we shall
- see that 'tis of the nature of fire to lay hold more readily of things light
- and delicate than of matters of firmer and more solid substance; and sure it
- is that we (without offence to the men be it spoken) are more delicate than
- they, and much more mobile. Wherefore, seeing how prone we are thereto by
- nature, and considering also our gentleness and tenderness, how soothing and
- consolatory they are to the men with whom we consort, and that thus this
- madness of wrath is fraught with grievous annoy and peril; therefore, that
- with stouter heart we may defend ourselves against it, I purpose by my story
- to shew you, how the loves of three young men, and as many ladies, as I said
- before, were by the anger of one of the ladies changed from a happy to a
- most woeful complexion.
- Marseilles, as you know, is situate on the coast of Provence, a city ancient
- and most famous, and in old time the seat of many more rich men and great
- merchants than are to be seen there to-day, among whom was one Narnald
- Cluada by name, a man of the lowest origin, but a merchant of unsullied
- probity and integrity, and boundless wealth in lands and goods and money,
- who had by his lady several children, three of them being daughters, older,
- each of them, than the other children, who were sons. Two of the daughters,
- who were twins, were, when my story begins, fifteen years old, and the third
- was but a year younger, so that in order to their marriage their kinsfolk
- awaited nothing but the return of Narnald from Spain, whither he was gone
- with his merchandise. One of the twins was called Ninette, the other
- Madeleine; the third daughter's name was Bertelle. A young man, Restagnon by
- name, who, though poor, was of gentle blood, was in the last degree
- enamoured of Ninette, and she of him; and so discreetly had they managed the
- affair, that, never another soul in the world witting aught of it, they had
- had joyance of their love, and that for a good while, when it so befell that
- two young friends of theirs, the one Foulques, the other Hugues by name,
- whom their fathers, recently dead, had left very wealthy, fell in love, the
- one with Madeleine, the other with Bertelle. Whereof Restagnon being
- apprised by Ninette bethought him that in their love he might find a means
- to the relief of his necessities. He accordingly consorted freely and
- familiarly with them, accompanying, now one, now the other, and sometimes
- both of them, when they went to visit their ladies and his; and when he
- judged that he had made his footing as friendly and familiar as need was, he
- bade them one day to his house, and said:--"Comrades most dear, our
- friendship, perchance, may not have left you without assurance of the great
- love I bear you, and that for you I would do even as much as for myself:
- wherefore, loving you thus much, I purpose to impart to you that which is in
- my mind, that in regard thereof, you and I together may then resolve in such
- sort as to you shall seem the best. You, if I may trust your words, as also
- what I seem to have gathered from your demeanour by day and by night, burn
- with an exceeding great love for the two ladies whom you affect, as I for
- their sister. For the assuagement whereof, I have good hope that, if you
- will unite with me, I shall find means most sweet and delightsome; to wit,
- on this wise. You possess, as I do not, great wealth: now if you are willing
- to make of your wealth a common stock with me as third partner therein, and
- to choose some part of the world where we may live in careless ease upon our
- substance, without any manner of doubt I trust so to prevail that the three
- sisters with great part of their father's substance shall come to live with
- us, wherever we shall see fit to go; whereby, each with his own lady, we
- shall live as three brethren, the happiest men in the world. 'Tis now for
- you to determine whether you will embrace this proffered solace, or let it
- slip from you." The two young men, whose love was beyond all measure
- fervent, spared themselves the trouble of deliberation: 'twas enough that
- they heard that they were to have their ladies: wherefore they answered,
- that, so this should ensue, they were ready to do as he proposed. Having
- thus their answer, Restagnon a few days later was closeted with Ninette, to
- whom 'twas a matter of no small difficulty for him to get access. Nor had he
- been long with her before he adverted to what had passed between him and the
- young men, and sought to commend the project to her for reasons not a few.
- Little need, however, had he to urge her: for to live their life openly
- together was the very thing she desired, far more than he: wherefore she
- frankly answered that she would have it so, that her sisters would do, more
- especially in this matter, just as she wished, and that he should lose no
- time in making all the needful arrangements. So Restagnon returned to the
- two young men, who were most urgent that it should be done even as he said,
- and told them that on the part of the ladies the matter was concluded. And
- so, having fixed upon Crete for their destination, and sold some estates
- that they had, giving out that they were minded to go a trading with the
- proceeds, they converted all else that they possessed into money, and bought
- a brigantine, which with all secrecy they handsomely equipped, anxiously
- expecting the time of their departure, while Ninette on her part, knowing
- well how her sisters were affected, did so by sweet converse foment their
- desire that, till it should be accomplished, they accounted their life as
- nought. The night of their embarcation being come, the three sisters opened
- a great chest that belonged to their father, and took out therefrom a vast
- quantity of money and jewels, with which they all three issued forth of the
- house in dead silence, as they had been charged, and found their three
- lovers awaiting them; who, having forthwith brought them aboard the
- brigantine, bade the rowers give way, and, tarrying nowhere, arrived the
- next evening at Genoa, where the new lovers had for the first time joyance
- and solace of their love.
- Having taken what they needed of refreshment, they resumed their course,
- touching at this port and that, and in less than eight days, speeding
- without impediment, were come to Crete. There they bought them domains both
- beautiful and broad, whereon, hard by Candia they built them mansions most
- goodly and delightsome, wherein they lived as barons, keeping a crowd of
- retainers, with dogs, hawks and horses, and speeding the time with their
- ladies in feasting and revelling and merrymaking, none so light-hearted as
- they. Such being the tenor of their life, it so befell that (as 'tis matter
- of daily experience that, however delightsome a thing may be, superabundance
- thereof will breed disgust) Restagnon, much as he had loved Ninette, being
- now able to have his joyance of her without stint or restraint, began to
- weary of her, and by consequence to abate somewhat of his love for her. And
- being mightily pleased with a fair gentlewoman of the country, whom he met
- at a merrymaking, he set his whole heart upon her, and began to shew himself
- marvellously courteous and gallant towards her; which Ninette perceiving
- grew so jealous that he might not go a step but she knew of it, and resented
- it to his torment and her own with high words. But as, while superfluity
- engenders disgust, appetite is but whetted when fruit is forbidden, so
- Ninette's wrath added fuel to the flame of Restagnon's new love. And
- whichever was the event, whether in course of time Restagnon had the lady's
- favour or had it not, Ninette, whoever may have brought her the tidings,
- firmly believed that he had it; whereby from the depths of distress she
- passed into a towering passion, and thus was transported into such a frenzy
- of rage that all the love she bore to Restagnon was converted into bitter
- hatred, and, blinded by her wrath, she made up her mind to avenge by
- Restagnon's death the dishonour which she deemed that he had done her. So
- she had recourse to an old Greek woman, that was very skilful in compounding
- poisons, whom by promises and gifts she induced to distill a deadly water,
- which, keeping her own counsel, she herself gave Restagnon to drink one
- evening, when he was somewhat heated and quite off his guard: whereby--such
- was the efficacy of the water--she despatched Restagnon before matins. On
- learning his death Foulques and Hugues and their ladies, who knew not that
- he had been poisoned, united their bitter with Ninette's feigned
- lamentations, and gave him honourable sepulture. But so it befell that, not
- many days after, the old woman, that had compounded the poison for Ninette,
- was taken for another crime; and, being put to the torture, confessed the
- compounding of the poison among other of her misdeeds, and fully declared
- what had thereby come to pass. Wherefore the Duke of Crete, breathing no
- word of his intent, came privily by night, and set a guard around Foulques'
- palace, where Ninette then was, and quietly, and quite unopposed, took and
- carried her off; and without putting her to the torture, learned from her in
- a trice all that he sought to know touching the death of Restagnon. Foulques
- and Hugues had learned privily of the Duke, and their ladies of them, for
- what cause Ninette was taken; and, being mightily distressed thereby,
- bestirred themselves with all zeal to save Ninette from the fire, to which
- they apprehended she would be condemned, as having indeed richly deserved
- it; but all their endeavours seemed to avail nothing, for the Duke was
- unwaveringly resolved that justice should be done. Madeleine, Foulques' fair
- wife, who had long been courted by the Duke, but had never deigned to shew
- him the least favour, thinking that by yielding herself to his will she
- might redeem her sister from the fire, despatched a trusty envoy to him with
- the intimation that she was entirely at his disposal upon the twofold
- condition, that in the first place her sister should be restored to her free
- and scatheless, and, in the second place, the affair should be kept secret.
- Albeit gratified by this overture, the Duke was long in doubt whether he
- should accept it; in the end, however, he made up his mind to do so, and
- signified his approval to the envoy. Then with the lady's consent he put
- Foulques and Hugues under arrest for a night, as if he were minded to
- examine them of the affair, and meanwhile quartered himself privily with
- Madeleine. Ninette, who, he had made believe, had been set in a sack, and
- was to be sunk in the sea that same night, he took with him, and presented
- her to her sister in requital of the night's joyance, which, as he parted
- from her on the morrow, he prayed her might not be the last, as it was the
- first, fruit of their love, at the same time enjoining her to send the
- guilty lady away that she might not bring reproach upon him, nor he be
- compelled to deal rigorously with her again. Released the same morning, and
- told that Ninette had been cast into the sea, Foulques and Hugues, fully
- believing that so it was, came home, thinking how they should console their
- ladies for the death of their sister; but, though Madeleine was at great
- pains to conceal Ninette, Foulques nevertheless, to his no small amazement,
- discovered that she was there; which at once excited his suspicion, for he
- knew that the Duke had been enamoured of Madeleine; and he asked how it was
- that Ninette was there. Madeleine made up a long story by way of
- explanation, to which his sagacity gave little credit, and in the end after
- long parley he constrained her to tell the truth. Whereupon, overcome with
- grief, and transported with rage, he drew his sword, and, deaf to her
- appeals for mercy, slew her. Then, fearing the vengeful justice of the Duke,
- he left the dead body in the room, and hied him to Ninette, and with a
- counterfeit gladsome mien said to her:--"Go we without delay whither thy
- sister has appointed that I escort thee, that thou fall not again into the
- hands of the Duke." Ninette believed him, and being fain to go for very
- fear, she forewent further leave-taking of her sister, more particularly as
- it was now night, and set out with Foulques, who took with him such little
- money as he could lay his hands upon; and so they made their way to the
- coast, where they got aboard a bark, but none ever knew where their voyage
- ended.
- Madeleine's dead body being discovered next day, certain evil-disposed folk,
- that bore a grudge to Hugues, forthwith apprised the Duke of the fact; which
- brought the Duke--for much he loved Madeleine--in hot haste to the house,
- where he arrested Hugues and his lady, who as yet knew nothing of the
- departure of Foulques and Ninette, and extorted from them a confession that
- they and Foulques were jointly answerable for Madeleine's death. For which
- cause being justly apprehensive of death, they with great address corrupted
- the guards that had charge of them, giving them a sum of money which they
- kept concealed in their house against occasions of need; and together with
- the guards fled with all speed, leaving all that they possessed behind them,
- and took ship by night for Rhodes, where, being arrived, they lived in great
- poverty and misery no long time. Such then was the issue, to which
- Restagnon, by his foolish love, and Ninette by her wrath brought themselves
- and others.
- NOVEL IV.
- --
- Gerbino, in breach of the plighted faith of his grandfather, King Guglielmo,
- attacks a ship of the King of Tunis to rescue thence his daughter. She being
- slain by those aboard the ship, he slays them, and afterwards he is
- beheaded.
- --
- Lauretta, her story ended, kept silence; and the king brooded as in deep
- thought, while one or another of the company deplored the sad fate of this
- or the other of the lovers, or censured Ninette's wrath, or made some other
- comment. At length, however, the king roused himself, and raising his head,
- made sign to Elisa that 'twas now for her to speak. So, modestly, Elisa thus
- began:--Gracious ladies, not a few there are that believe that Love looses
- no shafts save when he is kindled by the eyes, contemning their opinion that
- hold that passion may be engendered by words; whose error will be abundantly
- manifest in a story which I purpose to tell you; wherein you may see how
- mere rumour not only wrought mutual love in those that had never seen one
- another, but also brought both to a miserable death.
- Guglielmo, the Second,(1) as the Sicilians compute, King of Sicily, had two
- children, a son named Ruggieri, and a daughter named Gostanza. Ruggieri died
- before his father, and left a son named Gerbino; who, being carefully
- trained by his grandfather, grew up a most goodly gallant, and of great
- renown in court and camp, and that not only within the borders of Sicily,
- but in divers other parts of the world, among them Barbary, then tributary
- to the King of Sicily. And among others, to whose ears was wafted the bruit
- of Gerbino's magnificent prowess and courtesy, was a daughter of the King of
- Tunis, who, by averment of all that had seen her, was a creature as fair and
- debonair, and of as great and noble a spirit as Nature ever formed. To hear
- tell of brave men was her delight, and what she heard, now from one, now
- from another, of the brave deeds of Gerbino she treasured in her mind so
- sedulously, and pondered them with such pleasure, rehearsing them to herself
- in imagination, that she became hotly enamoured of him, and there was none
- of whom she talked, or heard others talk, so gladly. Nor, on the other hand,
- had the fame of her incomparable beauty and other excellences failed to
- travel, as to other lands, so also to Sicily, where, falling on Gerbino's
- ears, it gave him no small delight, to such effect that he burned for the
- lady no less vehemently than she for him. Wherefore, until such time as he
- might, upon some worthy occasion, have his grandfather's leave to go to
- Tunis, yearning beyond measure to see her, he charged every friend of his,
- that went thither, to give her to know, as best he might, his great and
- secret love for her, and to bring him tidings of her. Which office one of
- the said friends discharged with no small address; for, having obtained
- access to her, after the manner of merchants, by bringing jewels for her to
- look at, he fully apprised her of Gerbino's passion, and placed him, and all
- that he possessed, entirely at her disposal. The lady received both
- messenger and message with gladsome mien, made answer that she loved with
- equal ardour, and in token thereof sent Gerbino one of her most precious
- jewels. Gerbino received the jewel with extreme delight, and sent her many a
- letter and many a most precious gift by the hand of the same messenger; and
- 'twas well understood between them that, should Fortune accord him
- opportunity, he should see and know her.
- On this footing the affair remained somewhat longer than was expedient; and
- so, while Gerbino and the lady burned with mutual love, it befell that the
- King of Tunis gave her in marriage to the King of Granada;(2) whereat she
- was wroth beyond measure, for that she was not only going into a country
- remote from her lover, but, as she deemed, was severed from him altogether;
- and so this might not come to pass, gladly, could she but have seen how,
- would she have left her father and fled to Gerbino. In like manner, Gerbino,
- on learning of the marriage, was vexed beyond measure, and was oft times
- minded, could he but find means to win to her husband by sea, to wrest her
- from him by force. Some rumour of Gerbino's love and of his intent, reached
- the King of Tunis, who, knowing his prowess and power, took alarm, and as
- the time drew nigh for conveying the lady to Granada, sent word of his
- purpose to King Guglielmo, and craved his assurance that it might be carried
- into effect without let or hindrance on the part of Gerbino, or any one
- else. The old King had heard nothing of Gerbino's love affair, and never
- dreaming that 'twas on such account that the assurance was craved, granted
- it without demur, and in pledge thereof sent the King of Tunis his glove.
- Which received, the King made ready a great and goodly ship in the port of
- Carthage, and equipped her with all things meet for those that were to man
- her, and with all appointments apt and seemly for the reception of his
- daughter, and awaited only fair weather to send her therein to Granada. All
- which the young lady seeing and marking, sent one of her servants privily to
- Palermo, bidding him greet the illustrious Gerbino on her part, and tell him
- that a few days would see her on her way to Granada; wherefore 'twould now
- appear whether, or no, he were really as doughty a man as he was reputed,
- and loved her as much as he had so often protested. The servant did not fail
- to deliver her message exactly, and returned to Tunis, leaving Gerbino, who
- knew that his grandfather, King Guglielmo, had given the King of Tunis the
- desired assurance, at a loss how to act. But prompted by love, and goaded by
- the lady's words and loath to seem a craven, he hied him to Messina; and
- having there armed two light galleys, and manned them with good men and
- true, he put to sea, and stood for Sardinia, deeming that the lady's ship
- must pass that way. Nor was he far out in his reckoning; for he had not been
- there many days, when the ship, sped by a light breeze, hove in sight not
- far from the place where he lay in wait for her. Whereupon Gerbino said to
- his comrades:--"Gentlemen, if you be as good men and true as I deem you,
- there is none of you but must have felt, if he feel not now, the might of
- love; for without love I deem no mortal capable of true worth or aught that
- is good; and if you are or have been in love, 'twill be easy for you to
- understand that which I desire. I love, and 'tis because I love that I have
- laid this travail upon you; and that which I love is in the ship that you
- see before you, which is fraught not only with my beloved, but with immense
- treasures, which, if you are good men and true, we, so we but play the man
- in fight, may with little trouble make our own; nor for my share of the
- spoils of the victory demand I aught but a lady, whose love it is that
- prompts me to take arms: all else I freely cede to you from this very hour.
- Forward, then; attack we this ship; success should be ours, for God favours
- our enterprise, nor lends her wind to evade us." Fewer words might have
- sufficed the illustrious Gerbino; for the rapacious Messinese that were with
- him were already bent heart and soul upon that to which by his harangue he
- sought to animate them. So, when he had done, they raised a mighty shout, so
- that 'twas as if trumpets did blare, and caught up their arms, and smiting
- the water with their oars, overhauled the ship. The advancing galleys were
- observed while they were yet a great way off by the ship's crew, who, not
- being able to avoid the combat, put themselves in a posture of defence.
- Arrived at close quarters, the illustrious Gerbino bade send the ship's
- masters aboard the galleys, unless they were minded to do battle. Certified
- of the challenge, and who they were that made it, the Saracens answered that
- 'twas in breach of the faith plighted to them by their assailants' king that
- they were thus attacked, and in token thereof displayed King Guglielmo's
- glove, averring in set terms that there should be no surrender either of
- themselves or of aught that was aboard the ship without battle. Gerbino, who
- had observed the lady standing on the ship's poop, and seen that she was far
- more beautiful than he had imagined, burned with a yet fiercer flame than
- before, and to the display of the glove made answer, that, as he had no
- falcons there just then, the glove booted him not; wherefore, so they were
- not minded to surrender the lady, let them prepare to receive battle.
- Whereupon, without further delay, the battle began on both sides with a
- furious discharge of arrows and stones; on which wise it was long protracted
- to their common loss; until at last Gerbino, seeing that he gained little
- advantage, took a light bark which they had brought from Sardinia, and
- having fired her, bore down with her, and both the galleys, upon the ship.
- Whereupon the Saracens, seeing that they must perforce surrender the ship or
- die, caused the King's daughter, who lay beneath the deck weeping, to come
- up on deck, and led her to the prow, and shouting to Gerbino, while the lady
- shrieked alternately "mercy" and "succour," opened her veins before his
- eyes, and cast her into the sea, saying:--"Take her; we give her to thee on
- such wise as we can, and as thy faith has merited." Maddened to witness this
- deed of barbarism, Gerbino, as if courting death, recked no more of the
- arrows and the stones, but drew alongside the ship, and, despite the
- resistance of her crew, boarded her; and as a famished lion ravens amongst a
- herd of oxen, and tearing and rending, now one, now another, gluts his wrath
- before he appeases his hunger, so Gerbino, sword in hand, hacking and hewing
- on all sides among the Saracens, did ruthlessly slaughter not a few of them;
- till, as the burning ship began to blaze more fiercely, he bade the seamen
- take thereout all that they might by way of guerdon, which done, he quitted
- her, having gained but a rueful victory over his adversaries. His next care
- was to recover from the sea the body of the fair lady, whom long and with
- many a tear he mourned: and so he returned to Sicily, and gave the body
- honourable sepulture in Ustica, an islet that faces, as it were, Trapani,
- and went home the saddest man alive.
- When these tidings reached the King of Tunis, he sent to King Guglielmo
- ambassadors, habited in black, who made complaint of the breach of faith and
- recited the manner of its occurrence. Which caused King Guglielmo no small
- chagrin; and seeing not how he might refuse the justice they demanded, he
- had Gerbino arrested, and he himself, none of his barons being able by any
- entreaty to turn him from his purpose, sentenced him to forfeit his head,
- and had it severed from his body in his presence, preferring to suffer the
- loss of his only grandson than to gain the reputation of a faithless king.
- And so, miserably, within the compass of a few brief days, died the two
- lovers by woeful deaths, as I have told you, and without having known any
- joyance of their love.
- (1) First, according to the now accepted reckoning. He reigned from 1154 to
- 1166.
- (2) An anachronism; the Moorish kingdom of Granada not having been founded
- until 1238.
- NOVEL V.
- --
- Lisabetta's brothers slay her lover: he appears to her in a dream, and shews
- her where he is buried: she privily disinters the head, and sets it in a pot
- of basil, whereon she daily weeps a great while. The pot being taken from
- her by her brothers, she dies, not long after.
- --
- Elisa's story ended, the king bestowed a few words of praise upon it, and
- then laid the burden of discourse upon Filomena, who, full of compassion for
- the woes of Gerbino and his lady, heaved a piteous sigh, and thus began:--My
- story, gracious ladies, will not be of folk of so high a rank as those of
- whom Elisa has told us, but perchance 'twill not be less touching. 'Tis
- brought to my mind by the recent mention of Messina, where the matter
- befell.
- Know then that there were at Messina three young men, that were brothers and
- merchants, who were left very rich on the death of their father, who was of
- San Gimignano; and they had a sister, Lisabetta by name, a girl fair enough,
- and no less debonair, but whom, for some reason or another, they had not as
- yet bestowed in marriage. The three brothers had also in their shop a young
- Pisan, Lorenzo by name, who managed all their affairs, and who was so goodly
- of person and gallant, that Lisabetta bestowed many a glance upon him, and
- began to regard him with extraordinary favour; which Lorenzo marking from
- time to time, gave up all his other amours, and in like manner began to
- affect her, and so, their loves being equal, 'twas not long before they took
- heart of grace, and did that which each most desired. Wherein continuing to
- their no small mutual solace and delight, they neglected to order it with
- due secrecy, whereby one night as Lisabetta was going to Lorenzo's room,
- she, all unwitting, was observed by the eldest of the brothers, who, albeit
- much distressed by what he had learnt, yet, being a young man of discretion,
- was swayed by considerations more seemly, and, allowing no word to escape
- him, spent the night in turning the affair over in his mind in divers ways.
- On the morrow he told his brothers that which, touching Lisabetta and
- Lorenzo, he had observed in the night, which, that no shame might thence
- ensue either to them or to their sister, they after long consultation
- determined to pass over in silence, making as if they had seen or heard
- nought thereof, until such time as they in a safe and convenient manner
- might banish this disgrace from their sight before it could go further.
- Adhering to which purpose, they jested and laughed with Lorenzo as they had
- been wont; and after a while pretending that they were all three going forth
- of the city on pleasure, they took Lorenzo with them; and being come to a
- remote and very lonely spot, seeing that 'twas apt for their design, they
- took Lorenzo, who was completely off his guard, and slew him, and buried him
- on such wise that none was ware of it. On their return to Messina they gave
- out that they had sent him away on business; which was readily believed,
- because 'twas what they had been frequently used to do. But as Lorenzo did
- not return, and Lisabetta questioned the brothers about him with great
- frequency and urgency, being sorely grieved by his long absence, it so
- befell that one day, when she was very pressing in her enquiries, one of the
- brothers said:--"What means this? What hast thou to do with Lorenzo, that
- thou shouldst ask about him so often? Ask us no more, or we will give thee
- such answer as thou deservest." So the girl, sick at heart and sorrowful,
- fearing she knew not what, asked no questions; but many a time at night she
- called piteously to him, and besought him to come to her, and bewailed his
- long tarrying with many a tear, and ever yearning for his return, languished
- in total dejection.
- But so it was that one night, when, after long weeping that her Lorenzo came
- not back, she had at last fallen asleep, Lorenzo appeared to her in a dream,
- wan and in utter disarray, his clothes torn to shreds and sodden; and thus,
- as she thought, he spoke:--"Lisabetta, thou dost nought but call me, and vex
- thyself for my long tarrying, and bitterly upbraid me with thy tears;
- wherefore be it known to thee that return to thee I may not, because the
- last day that thou didst see me thy brothers slew me." After which, he
- described the place where they had buried him, told her to call and expect
- him no more, and vanished. The girl then awoke, and doubting not that the
- vision was true, wept bitterly. And when morning came, and she was risen,
- not daring to say aught to her brothers, she resolved to go to the place
- indicated in the vision, and see if what she had dreamed were even as it had
- appeared to her. So, having leave to go a little way out of the city for
- recreation in company with a maid that had at one time lived with them and
- knew all that she did, she hied her thither with all speed; and having
- removed the dry leaves that were strewn about the place, she began to dig
- where the earth seemed least hard. Nor had she dug long, before she found
- the body of her hapless lover, whereon as yet there was no trace of
- corruption or decay; and thus she saw without any manner of doubt that her
- vision was true. And so, saddest of women, knowing that she might not bewail
- him there, she would gladly, if she could, have carried away the body and
- given it more honourable sepulture elsewhere; but as she might not so do,
- she took a knife, and, as best she could, severed the head from the trunk,
- and wrapped it in a napkin and laid it in the lap of her maid; and having
- covered the rest of the corpse with earth, she left the spot, having been
- seen by none, and went home. There she shut herself up in her room with the
- head, and kissed it a thousand times in every part, and wept long and
- bitterly over it, till she had bathed it in her tears. She then wrapped it
- in a piece of fine cloth, and set it in a large and beautiful pot of the
- sort in which marjoram or basil is planted, and covered it with earth, and
- therein planted some roots of the goodliest basil of Salerno, and drenched
- them only with her tears, or water perfumed with roses or orange-blossoms.
- And 'twas her wont ever to sit beside this pot, and, all her soul one
- yearning, to pore upon it, as that which enshrined her Lorenzo, and when
- long time she had so done, she would bend over it, and weep a great while,
- until the basil was quite bathed in her tears.
- Fostered with such constant, unremitting care, and nourished by the richness
- given to the soil by the decaying head that lay therein, the basil burgeoned
- out in exceeding great beauty and fragrance. And, the girl persevering ever
- in this way of life, the neighbours from time to time took note of it, and
- when her brothers marvelled to see her beauty ruined, and her eyes as it
- were evanished from her head, they told them of it, saying:--"We have
- observed that such is her daily wont." Whereupon the brothers, marking her
- behaviour, chid her therefore once or twice, and as she heeded them not,
- caused the pot to be taken privily from her. Which, so soon as she missed
- it, she demanded with the utmost instance and insistence, and, as they gave
- it not back to her, ceased not to wail and weep, insomuch that she fell
- sick; nor in her sickness craved she aught but the pot of basil. Whereat the
- young men, marvelling mightily, resolved to see what the pot might contain;
- and having removed the earth they espied the cloth, and therein the head,
- which was not yet so decayed, but that by the curled locks they knew it for
- Lorenzo's head. Passing strange they found it, and fearing lest it should be
- bruited abroad, they buried the head, and, with as little said as might be,
- took order for their privy departure from Messina, and hied them thence to
- Naples. The girl ceased not to weep and crave her pot, and, so weeping,
- died. Such was the end of her disastrous love; but not a few in course of
- time coming to know the truth of the affair, there was one that made the
- song that is still sung: to wit:--
- A thief he was, I swear,
- A sorry Christian he,
- That took my basil of Salerno fair, etc.(1)
- (1) This Sicilian folk-song, of which Boccaccio quotes only the first two
- lines, is given in extenso from MS. Laurent. 38, plut. 42, by Fanfani in his
- edition of the Decameron (Florence, 1857). The following is a free
- rendering°
- A thief he was, I swear,
- A sorry Christian he,
- That took my basil of Salerno fair,
- That flourished mightily.
- Planted by mine own hands with loving care
- What time they revelled free:
- To spoil another's goods is churlish spite.
- To spoil another's goods is churlish spite,
- Ay, and most heinous sin.
- A basil had I (alas! luckless wight!),
- The fairest plant: within
- Its shade I slept: 'twas grown to such a height.
- But some folk for chagrin
- 'Reft me thereof, ay, and before my door.
- 'Reft me thereof, ay, and before my door.
- Ah! dolorous day and drear!
- Ah! woe is me! Would God I were no more!
- My purchase was so dear!
- Ah! why that day did I to watch give o'er?
- For him my cherished fere
- With marjoram I bordered it about.
- With marjoram I bordered it about
- In May-time fresh and fair,
- And watered it thrice ere each week was out,
- And marked it grow full yare:
- But now 'tis stolen. Ah! too well 'tis known!(1)
- But now 'tis stolen. Ah! too well 'tis known!
- That no more may I hide:
- But had to me a while before been shewn
- What then should me betide,
- At night before my door I had laid me down
- To watch my plant beside.
- Yet God Almighty sure me succour might.
- Ay, God Almighty sure me succour might,
- So were it but His will,
- 'Gainst him that me hath done so foul despite,
- That in dire torment still
- I languish, since the thief reft from my sight
- My plant that did me thrill,
- And to my inmost Soul such comfort lent!
- And to my inmost soul such comfort lent!
- So fresh its fragrance blew,
- That when, what time the sun uprose, I went
- My watering to do,
- I'd hear the people all in wonderment
- Say, whence this perfume new?
- And I for love of it of grief shall die.
- And I for love of it of grief shall die,
- Of my fair plant for dole.
- Would one but shew me how I might it buy!
- Ah! how 'twould me console!
- Ounces(2) an hundred of fine gold have I:
- Him would I give the whole,
- Ay, and a kiss to boot, so he were fain.
- (1) This stanza is defective in the original.
- (2) The "oncia" was a Sicilian gold coin worth rather more than a zecchino.
- NOVEL VI.
- --
- Andreuola loves Gabriotto: she tells him a dream that she has had; he tells
- her a dream of his own, and dies suddenly in her arms. While she and her
- maid are carrying his corpse to his house, they are taken by the Signory.
- She tells how the matter stands, is threatened with violence by the Podesta,
- but will not brook it. Her father hears how she is bested; and, her
- innocence being established, causes her to be set at large; but she, being
- minded to tarry no longer in the world, becomes a nun.
- --
- Glad indeed were the ladies to have heard Filomena's story, for that, often
- though they had heard the song sung, they had never yet, for all their
- enquiries, been able to learn the occasion upon which it was made. When
- 'twas ended, Pamfilo received the king's command to follow suit, and thus
- spoke:--By the dream told in the foregoing story I am prompted to relate one
- in which two dreams are told, dreams of that which was to come, as
- Lisabetta's was of that which had been, and which were both fulfilled almost
- as soon as they were told by those that had dreamed them. Wherefore, loving
- ladies, you must know that 'tis the common experience of mankind to have
- divers visions during sleep; and albeit the sleeper, while he sleeps, deems
- all alike most true, but, being awake, judges some of them to be true,
- others to be probable, and others again to be quite devoid of truth, yet not
- a few are found to have come to pass. For which cause many are as sure of
- every dream as of aught that they see in their waking hours, and so, as
- their dreams engender in them fear or hope, are sorrowful or joyous. And on
- the other hand there are those that credit no dream, until they see
- themselves fallen into the very peril whereof they were forewarned. Of whom
- I approve neither sort, for in sooth neither are all dreams true, nor all
- alike false. That they are not all true, there is none of us but may many a
- time have proved; and that they are not all alike false has already been
- shewn in Filomena's story, and shall also, as I said before, be shewn in
- mine. Wherefore I deem that in a virtuous course of life and conduct there
- is no need to fear aught by reason of any dream that is contrary thereto, or
- on that account to give up any just design; and as for crooked and sinister
- enterprises, however dreams may seem to favour them, and flatter the hopes
- of the dreamer with auspicious omens, none should trust them: rather should
- all give full credence to such as run counter thereto. But come we to the
- story.
- In the city of Brescia there lived of yore a gentleman named Messer Negro da
- Ponte Carraro, who with other children had a very fair daughter, Andreuola
- by name, who, being unmarried, chanced to fall in love with a neighbour, one
- Gabriotto, a man of low degree, but goodly of person and debonair, and
- endowed with all admirable qualities; and aided and abetted by the
- housemaid, the girl not only brought it to pass that Gabriotto knew that he
- was beloved of her, but that many a time to their mutual delight he came to
- see her in a fair garden belonging to her father. And that nought but death
- might avail to sever them from this their gladsome love, they became privily
- man and wife; and, while thus they continued their clandestine intercourse,
- it happened that one night, while the girl slept, she saw herself in a dream
- in her garden with Gabriotto, who to the exceeding great delight of both
- held her in his arms; and while thus they lay, she saw issue from his body
- somewhat dark and frightful, the shape whereof she might not discern; which,
- as she thought, laid hold of Gabriotto, and in her despite with prodigious
- force reft him from her embrace, and bore him with it underground, so that
- both were lost to her sight for evermore: whereby stricken with sore and
- inexpressible grief, she awoke; and albeit she was overjoyed to find that
- 'twas not as she had dreamed, yet a haunting dread of what she had seen in
- her vision entered her soul. Wherefore, Gabriotto being minded to visit her
- on the ensuing night, she did her best endeavour to dissuade him from
- coming; but seeing that he was bent upon it, lest he should suspect
- somewhat, she received him in her garden, where, having culled roses many,
- white and red--for 'twas summer--she sat herself down with him at the base
- of a most fair and lucent fountain. There long and joyously they dallied,
- and then Gabriotto asked her wherefore she had that day forbade his coming.
- Whereupon the lady told him her dream of the night before, and the doubt and
- fear which it had engendered in her mind. Whereat Gabriotto laughed, and
- said that 'twas the height of folly to put any faith in dreams, for that
- they were occasioned by too much or too little food, and were daily seen to
- be, one and all, things of nought, adding:--"Were I minded to give heed to
- dreams, I should not be here now, for I, too, had a dream last night, which
- was on this wise:--Methought I was in a fair and pleasant wood, and there, a
- hunting, caught a she-goat as beautiful and loveable as any that ever was
- seen, and, as it seemed to me, whiter than snow, which in a little while
- grew so tame and friendly that she never stirred from my side. All the same
- so jealous was I lest she should leave me, that, meseemed, I had set a
- collar of gold around her neck, and held her by a golden chain. And
- presently meseemed that, while the she-goat lay at rest with her head in my
- lap, there came forth, I knew not whence, a greyhound bitch, black as coal,
- famished, and most fearsome to look upon; which made straight for me, and
- for, meseemed, I offered no resistance, set her muzzle to my breast on the
- left side and gnawed through to the heart, which, meseemed, she tore out to
- carry away with her. Whereupon ensued so sore a pain that it brake my sleep,
- and as I awoke I laid my hand to my side to feel if aught were amiss there;
- but finding nothing I laughed at myself that I had searched. But what
- signifies it all? Visions of the like sort, ay, and far more appalling, have
- I had in plenty, and nought whatever, great or small, has come of any of
- them. So let it pass, and think we how we may speed the time merrily."
- What she heard immensely enhanced the already great dread which her own
- dream had inspired in the girl; but, not to vex Gabriotto, she dissembled
- her terror as best she might. But, though she made great cheer, embracing
- and kissing him, and receiving his embraces and kisses, yet she felt a
- doubt, she knew not why, and many a time, more than her wont, she would gaze
- upon his face, and ever and anon her glance would stray through the garden
- to see if any black creature were coming from any quarter. While thus they
- passed the time, of a sudden Gabriotto heaved a great sigh, and embracing
- her, said:--"Alas! my soul, thy succour! for I die." And so saying, he fell
- down upon the grassy mead. Whereupon the girl drew him to her, and laid him
- on her lap, and all but wept, and said:--"O sweet my lord, what is't that
- ails thee?" But Gabriotto was silent, and gasping sore for breath, and
- bathed in sweat, in no long time departed this life.
- How grievous was the distress of the girl, who loved him more than herself,
- you, my ladies, may well imagine. With many a tear she mourned him, and many
- times she vainly called him by his name; but when, having felt his body all
- over, and found it cold in every part, she could no longer doubt that he was
- dead, knowing not what to say or do, she went, tearful and woebegone, to
- call the maid, to whom she had confided her love, and shewed her the woeful
- calamity that had befallen her. Piteously a while they wept together over
- the dead face of Gabriotto, and then the girl said to the maid:--"Now that
- God has reft him from me, I have no mind to linger in this life; but before
- I slay myself, I would we might find apt means to preserve my honour, and
- the secret of our love, and to bury the body from which the sweet soul has
- fled." "My daughter," said the maid, "speak not of slaying thyself, for so
- wouldst thou lose in the other world, also, him that thou hast lost here;
- seeing that thou wouldst go to hell, whither, sure I am, his soul is not
- gone, for a good youth he was; far better were it to put on a cheerful
- courage, and bethink thee to succour his soul with thy prayers or pious
- works, if perchance he have need thereof by reason of any sin that he may
- have committed. We can bury him readily enough in this garden, nor will any
- one ever know; for none knows that he ever came hither; and if thou wilt not
- have it so, we can bear him forth of the garden, and leave him there; and on
- the morrow he will be found, and carried home, and buried by his kinsfolk."
- The girl, heavy-laden though she was with anguish, and still weeping, yet
- gave ear to the counsels of her maid, and rejecting the former alternative,
- made answer to the latter on this wise:--"Now God forbid that a youth so
- dear, whom I have so loved and made my husband, should with my consent be
- buried like a dog, or left out there in the street. He has had my tears, and
- so far as I may avail, he shall have the tears of his kinsfolk, and already
- wot I what we must do." And forthwith she sent the maid for a piece of
- silken cloth, which she had in one of her boxes; and when the maid returned
- with it, they spread it on the ground, and laid Gabriotto's body thereon,
- resting the head upon a pillow. She then closed the eyes and mouth, shedding
- the while many a tear, wove for him a wreath of roses, and strewed upon him
- all the roses that he and she had gathered; which done, she said to the
- maid:--"'Tis but a short way hence to the door of his house; so thither we
- will bear him, thou and I, thus as we have dight him, and will lay him at
- the door. Day will soon dawn, and they will take him up; and, though 'twill
- be no consolation to them, I, in whose arms he died, shall be glad of it."
- So saying, she burst once more into a torrent of tears, and fell with her
- face upon the face of the dead, and so long time she wept. Then, yielding at
- last to the urgency of her maid, for day was drawing nigh, she arose, drew
- from her finger the ring with which she had been wedded to Gabriotto, and
- set it on his finger, saying with tears:--"Dear my lord, if thy soul be
- witness of my tears, or if, when the spirit is fled, aught of intelligence
- or sense still lurk in the body, graciously receive the last gift of her
- whom in life thou didst so dearly love." Which said, she swooned, and fell
- upon the corpse; but, coming after a while to herself, she arose; and then
- she and her maid took the cloth whereon the body lay, and so bearing it,
- quitted the garden, and bent their steps towards the dead man's house. As
- thus they went, it chanced that certain of the Podesta's guard, that for
- some reason or another were abroad at that hour, met them, and arrested them
- with the corpse. Andreuola, to whom death was more welcome than life, no
- sooner knew them for the officers of the Signory than she frankly said:--"I
- know you, who you are, and that flight would avail me nothing: I am ready to
- come with you before the Signory, and to tell all there is to tell; but let
- none of you presume to touch me, so long as I obey you, or to take away
- aught that is on this body, if he would not that I accuse him." And so, none
- venturing to lay hand upon either her person or the corpse, she entered the
- palace.
- So soon as the Podesta was apprised of the affair, he arose, had her brought
- into his room, and there made himself conversant with the circumstances: and
- certain physicians being charged to inquire whether the good man had met his
- death by poison or otherwise, all with one accord averred that 'twas not by
- poison, but that he was choked by the bursting of an imposthume near the
- heart. Which when the Podesta heard, perceiving that the girl's guilt could
- but be slight, he sought to make a pretence of giving what it was not lawful
- for him to sell her, and told her that he would set her at liberty, so she
- were consenting to pleasure him; but finding that he did but waste his words
- he cast aside all decency, and would have used force. Whereupon Andreuola,
- kindling with scorn, waxed exceeding brave, and defended herself with a
- virile energy, and with high and contumelious words drove him from her.
- When 'twas broad day, the affair reached the ears of Messer Negro, who, half
- dead with grief, hied him with not a few of his friends to the palace;
- where, having heard all that the Podesta had to say, he required him
- peremptorily to give him back his daughter. The Podesta, being minded rather
- to be his own accuser, than that he should be accused by the girl of the
- violence that he had meditated towards her, began by praising her and her
- constancy, and in proof thereof went on to tell what he had done; he ended
- by saying, that, marking her admirable firmness, he had fallen mightily in
- love with her, and so, notwithstanding she had been wedded to a man of low
- degree, he would, if 'twere agreeable to her and to her father, Messer
- Negro, gladly make her his wife. While they thus spoke, Andreuola made her
- appearance, and, weeping, threw herself at her father's feet, saying:--"My
- father, I wot I need not tell you the story of my presumption, and the
- calamity that has befallen me, for sure I am that you have heard it and know
- it; wherefore, with all possible humility I crave your pardon of my fault,
- to wit, that without your knowledge I took for my husband him that pleased
- me best. And this I crave, not that my life may be spared, but that I may
- die as your daughter and not as your enemy;" and so, weeping, she fell at
- his feet. Messer Negro, now an old man, and naturally kindly and
- affectionate, heard her not without tears, and weeping raised her tenderly
- to her feet, saying:--"Daughter mine, I had much liefer had it that thou
- hadst had a husband that I deemed a match for thee; and in that thou hadst
- taken one that pleased thee I too had been pleased; but thy concealing thy
- choice from me is grievous to me by reason of thy distrust of me, and yet
- more so, seeing that thou hast lost him before I have known him. But as 'tis
- even so, to his remains be paid the honour which, while he lived for thy
- contentment, I had gladly done him as my son-in-law." Then, turning to his
- sons and kinsmen, he bade them order Gabriotto's obsequies with all pomp and
- honourable circumstance.
- Meanwhile the young man's kinsmen and kinswomen, having heard the news, had
- flocked thither, bringing with them almost all the rest of the folk, men and
- women alike, that were in the city. And so his body, resting on Andreuola's
- cloth, and covered with her roses, was laid out in the middle of the
- courtyard, and there was mourned not by her and his kinsfolk alone, but
- publicly by well-nigh all the women of the city, and not a few men; and
- shouldered by some of the noblest of the citizens, as it had been the
- remains of no plebeian but of a noble, was borne from the public courtyard
- to the tomb with exceeding great pomp.
- Some days afterwards, as the Podesta continued to urge his suit, Messer
- Negro would have discussed the matter with his daughter; but, as she would
- hear none of it, and he was minded in this matter to defer to her wishes,
- she and her maid entered a religious house of great repute for sanctity,
- where in just esteem they lived long time thereafter.
- NOVEL VII.
- --
- Simona loves Pasquino; they are together in a garden; Pasquino rubs a leaf
- of sage against his teeth, and dies; Simona is arrested, and, with intent to
- shew the judge how Pasquino died, rubs one of the leaves of the same plant
- against her teeth, and likewise dies.
- --
- When Pamfilo had done with his story, the king, betraying no compassion for
- Andreuola, glancing at Emilia, signified to her his desire that she should
- now continue the sequence of narration. Emilia made no demur, and thus
- began:--
- Dear gossips, Pamfilo's story puts me upon telling you another in no wise
- like thereto, save in this, that as Andreuola lost her lover in a garden, so
- also did she of whom I am to speak, and, being arrested like Andreuola, did
- also deliver herself from the court, albeit 'twas not by any vigour or
- firmness of mind, but by a sudden death. And, as 'twas said among us a while
- ago, albeit Love affects the mansions of the noble, he does not, therefore,
- disdain the dominion of the dwellings of the poor, nay, does there at times
- give proof of his might no less signal than when he makes him feared of the
- wealthiest as a most potent lord. Which, though not fully, will in some
- degree appear in my story, wherewith I am minded to return to our city, from
- which to-day's discourse, roving from matter to matter, and one part of the
- world to another, has carried us so far.
- Know then that no great while ago there dwelt in Florence a maid most fair,
- and, for her rank, debonair--she was but a poor man's daughter--whose name
- was Simona; and though she must needs win with her own hands the bread she
- ate, and maintain herself by spinning wool; yet was she not, therefore, of
- so poor a spirit, but that she dared to give harbourage in her mind to Love,
- who for some time had sought to gain entrance there by means of the gracious
- deeds and words of a young man of her own order that went about distributing
- wool to spin for his master, a wool-monger. Love being thus, with the
- pleasant image of her beloved Pasquino, admitted into her soul, mightily did
- she yearn, albeit she hazarded no advance, and heaved a thousand sighs
- fiercer than fire with every skein of yarn that she wound upon her spindle,
- while she called to mind who he was that had given her that wool to spin.
- Pasquino on his part became, meanwhile, very anxious that his master's wool
- should be well spun, and most particularly about that which Simona span, as
- if, indeed, it and it alone was to furnish forth the whole of the cloth. And
- so, what with the anxiety which the one evinced, and the gratification that
- it afforded to the other, it befell that, the one waxing unusually bold, and
- the other casting off not a little of her wonted shyness and reserve, they
- came to an understanding for their mutual solace; which proved so delightful
- to both, that neither waited to be bidden by the other, but 'twas rather
- which should be the first to make the overture.
- While thus they sped their days in an even tenor of delight, and ever grew
- more ardently enamoured of one another, Pasquino chanced to say to Simona
- that he wished of all things she would contrive how she might betake her to
- a garden, whither he would bring her, that there they might be more at their
- ease, and in greater security. Simona said that she was agreeable; and,
- having given her father to understand that she was minded to go to San Gallo
- for the pardoning, she hied her with one of her gossips, Lagina by name, to
- the garden of which Pasquino had told her. Here she found Pasquino awaiting
- her with a friend, one Puccino, otherwise Stramba; and Stramba and Lagina
- falling at once to love-making, Pasquino and Simona left a part of the
- garden to them, and withdrew to another part for their own solace.
- Now there was in their part of the garden a very fine and lovely sage-bush,
- at foot of which they sat them down and made merry together a great while,
- and talked much of a junketing they meant to have in the garden quite at
- their ease. By and by Pasquino, turning to the great sage-bush, plucked
- therefrom a leaf, and fell to rubbing his teeth and gums therewith, saying
- that sage was an excellent detergent of aught that remained upon them after
- a meal. Having done so, he returned to the topic of the junketing of which
- he had spoken before. But he had not pursued it far before his countenance
- entirely changed, and forthwith he lost sight and speech, and shortly after
- died. Whereupon Simona fell a weeping and shrieking and calling Stramba and
- Lagina; who, notwithstanding they came up with all speed, found Pasquino not
- only dead but already swollen from head to foot, and covered with black
- spots both on the face and on the body; whereupon Stramba broke forth with:-
- -"Ah! wicked woman! thou hast poisoned him;" and made such a din that 'twas
- heard by not a few that dwelt hard by the garden; who also hasted to the
- spot, and seeing Pasquino dead and swollen, and hearing Stramba bewail
- himself and accuse Simona of having maliciously poisoned him, while she, all
- but beside herself for grief to be thus suddenly bereft of her lover, knew
- not how to defend herself, did all with one accord surmise that 'twas even
- as Stramba said. Wherefore they laid hands on her, and brought her, still
- weeping bitterly, to the palace of the Podesta: where at the instant suit of
- Stramba, backed by Atticciato and Malagevole, two other newly-arrived
- friends of Pasquino, a judge forthwith addressed himself to question her of
- the matter; and being unable to discover that she had used any wicked
- practice, or was guilty, he resolved to take her with him and go see the
- corpse, and the place, and the manner of the death, as she had recounted it
- to him; for by her words he could not well understand it. So, taking care
- that there should be no disturbance, he had her brought to the place where
- Pasquino's corpse lay swollen like a tun, whither he himself presently came,
- and marvelling as he examined the corpse, asked her how the death had come
- about. Whereupon, standing by the sagebush, she told him all that had
- happened, and that he might perfectly apprehend the occasion of the death,
- she did as Pasquino had done, plucked one of the leaves from the bush, and
- rubbed her teeth with it. Whereupon Stramba and Atticciato, and the rest of
- the friends and comrades of Pasquino, making in the presence of the judge
- open mock of what she did, as an idle and vain thing, and being more than
- ever instant to affirm her guilt, and to demand the fire as the sole condign
- penalty, the poor creature, that, between grief for her lost lover and dread
- of the doom demanded by Stramba, stood mute and helpless, was stricken no
- less suddenly, and in the same manner, and for the same cause (to wit, that
- she had rubbed her teeth with the sage leaf) as Pasquino, to the no small
- amazement of all that were present.
- Oh! happy souls for whom one and the same day was the term of ardent love
- and earthly life! Happier still, if to the same bourn ye fared! Ay, and even
- yet more happy, if love there be in the other world, and there, even as
- here, ye love! But happiest above all Simona, so far as we, whom she has
- left behind, may judge, in that Fortune brooked not that the witness of
- Stramba, Atticciato and Malagevole, carders, perchance, or yet viler
- fellows, should bear down her innocence, but found a more seemly issue, and,
- appointing her a like lot with her lover, gave her at once to clear herself
- from their foul accusation, and to follow whither the soul, that she so
- loved, of her Pasquino had preceded her!
- The judge, and all else that witnessed the event, remained long time in a
- sort of stupefaction, knowing not what to say of it; but at length
- recovering his wits, the judge said:--"'Twould seem that this sage is
- poisonous, which the sage is not used to be. Let it be cut down to the roots
- and burned, lest another suffer by it in like sort." Which the gardener
- proceeding to do in the judge's presence, no sooner had he brought the great
- bush down, than the cause of the deaths of the two lovers plainly appeared:
- for underneath it was a toad of prodigious dimensions, from whose venomous
- breath, as they conjectured, the whole of the bush had contracted a
- poisonous quality. Around which toad, none venturing to approach it, they
- set a stout ring-fence of faggots, and burned it together with the sage. So
- ended Master judge's inquest on the death of hapless Pasquino, who with his
- Simona, swollen as they were, were buried by Stramba, Atticciato, Guccio
- Imbratta, and Malagevole in the church of San Paolo, of which, as it so
- happened, they were parishioners.
- NOVEL VIII.
- --
- Girolamo loves Salvestra: yielding to his mother's prayers he goes to Paris;
- he returns to find Salvestra married; he enters her house by stealth, lays
- himself by her side, and dies; he is borne to the church, where Salvestra
- lays herself by his side, and dies.
- --
- When Emilia's story was done, Neifile at a word from the king thus
- began:--Some there are, noble ladies, who, methinks, deem themselves to be
- wiser than the rest of the world, and are in fact less so; and by
- consequence presume to measure their wit against not only the counsels of
- men but the nature of things; which presumption has from time to time been
- the occasion of most grievous mishaps; but nought of good was ever seen to
- betide thereof. And as there is nought in nature that brooks to be schooled
- or thwarted so ill as love, the quality of which is such that it is more
- likely to die out of its own accord than to be done away of set purpose, I
- am minded to tell you a story of a lady, who, while she sought to be more
- wise than became her, and than she was, and indeed than the nature of the
- matter, wherein she studied to shew her wisdom, allowed, thinking to unseat
- Love from the heart that he had occupied, and wherein perchance the stars
- had established him, did in the end banish at one and the same time Love and
- life from the frame of her son.
- Know, then, that, as 'tis related by them of old time, there was once in our
- city a very great and wealthy merchant, Leonardo Sighieri by name, who had
- by his lady a son named Girolamo, after whose birth he departed this life,
- leaving his affairs in meet and due order; and well and faithfully were they
- afterwards administered in the interest of the boy by his mother and
- guardians. As he grew up, consorting more frequently with the neighbours'
- children than any others of the quarter, he made friends with a girl of his
- own age that was the daughter of a tailor; and in course of time this
- friendship ripened into a love so great and vehement, that Girolamo was ever
- ill at ease when he saw her not; nor was her love for him a whit less strong
- than his for her. Which his mother perceiving would not seldom chide him
- therefor and chastise him. And as Girolamo could not give it up, she
- confided her distress to his guardians, speaking--for by reason of her boy's
- great wealth she thought to make, as it were, an orange-tree out of a
- bramble--on this wise:--"This boy of ours, who is now scarce fourteen years
- old, is so in love with a daughter of one of our neighbours, a tailor--
- Salvestra is the girl's name--that, if we part them not, he will,
- peradventure, none else witting, take her to wife some day, and I shall
- never be happy again; or, if he see her married to another, he will pine
- away; to prevent which, methinks, you would do well to send him away to
- distant parts on the affairs of the shop; for so, being out of sight she
- will come at length to be out of mind, and then we can give him some
- well-born girl to wife." Whereto the guardians answered, that 'twas well
- said, and that it should be so done to the best of their power: so they
- called the boy into the shop, and one of them began talking to him very
- affectionately on this wise:--"My son, thou art now almost grown up; 'twere
- well thou shouldst now begin to learn something for thyself of thy own
- affairs: wherefore we should be very well pleased if thou wert to go stay at
- Paris a while, where thou wilt see how we trade with not a little of thy
- wealth, besides which thou wilt there become a much better, finer, and more
- complete gentleman than thou couldst here, and when thou hast seen the lords
- and barons and seigneurs that are there in plenty, and hast acquired their
- manners, thou canst return hither." The boy listened attentively, and then
- answered shortly that he would have none of it, for he supposed he might
- remain at Florence as well as another. Whereupon the worthy men plied him
- with fresh argument, but were unable to elicit other answer from him, and
- told his mother so. Whereat she was mightily incensed, and gave him a great
- scolding, not for his refusing to go to Paris, but for his love; which done,
- she plied him with soft, wheedling words, and endearing expressions and
- gentle entreaties that he would be pleased to do as his guardians would have
- him; whereby at length she prevailed so far, that he consented to go to
- Paris for a year and no more; and so 'twas arranged. To Paris accordingly
- our ardent lover went, and there under one pretext or another was kept for
- two years. He returned more in love than ever, to find his Salvestra married
- to a good youth that was a tent-maker; whereat his mortification knew no
- bounds. But, seeing that what must be must be, he sought to compose his
- mind; and, having got to know where she lived, he took to crossing her path,
- according to the wont of young men in love, thinking that she could no more
- have forgotten him than he her. 'Twas otherwise, however; she remembered him
- no more than if she had never seen him; or, if she had any recollection of
- him, she dissembled it: whereof the young man was very soon ware, to his
- extreme sorrow. Nevertheless he did all that he could to recall himself to
- her mind; but, as thereby he seemed to be nothing advantaged, he made up his
- mind, though he should die for it, to speak to her himself. So, being
- instructed as to her house by a neighbour, he entered it privily one evening
- when she and her husband were gone to spend the earlier hours with some
- neighbours, and hid himself in her room behind some tent-cloths that were
- stretched there, and waited till they were come back, and gone to bed, and
- he knew the husband to be asleep. Whereupon he got him to the place where he
- had seen Salvestra lie down, and said as he gently laid his hand upon her
- bosom:--"O my soul, art thou yet asleep?" The girl was awake, and was on the
- point of uttering a cry, when he forestalled her, saying:--"Hush! for God's
- sake. I am thy Girolamo." Whereupon she, trembling in every limb:--"Nay, but
- for God's sake, Girolamo, begone: 'tis past, the time of our childhood, when
- our love was excusable. Thou seest I am married; wherefore 'tis no longer
- seemly that I should care for any other man than my husband, and so by the
- one God, I pray thee, begone; for, if my husband were to know that thou art
- here, the least evil that could ensue would be that I should never more be
- able to live with him in peace or comfort, whereas, having his love, I now
- pass my days with him in tranquil happiness." Which speech caused the young
- man grievous distress; but 'twas in vain that he reminded her of the past,
- and of his love that distance had not impaired, and therewith mingled many a
- prayer and the mightiest protestations. Wherefore, yearning for death, he
- besought her at last that she would suffer him to lie a while beside her
- till he got some heat, for he was chilled through and through, waiting for
- her, and promised her that he would say never a word to her, nor touch her,
- and that as soon as he was a little warmed he would go away. On which terms
- Salvestra, being not without pity for him, granted his request. So the young
- man lay down beside her, and touched her not; but, gathering up into one
- thought the love he had so long borne her, the harshness with which she now
- requited it, and his ruined hopes, resolved to live no longer, and in a
- convulsion, without a word, and with fists clenched, expired by her side.
- After a while the girl, marvelling at his continence, and fearing lest her
- husband should awake, broke silence, saying:--"Nay, but, Girolamo, why goest
- thou not?" But, receiving no answer, she supposed that he slept. Wherefore,
- reaching forth her hand to arouse him, she touched him and found him to her
- great surprise cold as ice; and touching him again and again somewhat
- rudely, and still finding that he did not stir, she knew that he was dead.
- Her grief was boundless, and 'twas long before she could bethink her how to
- act. But at last she resolved to sound her husband's mind as to what should
- be done in such a case without disclosing that 'twas his own. So she
- awakened him, and told him how he was then bested, as if it were the affair
- of another, and then asked him, if such a thing happened to her, what course
- he would take. The good man answered that he should deem it best to take the
- dead man privily home, and there leave him, bearing no grudge against the
- lady, who seemed to have done no wrong. "And even so," said his wife, "it is
- for us to do;" and taking his hand, she laid it on the corpse. Whereat he
- started up in consternation, and struck a light, and with out further parley
- with his wife, clapped the dead man's clothes upon him, and forthwith
- (confident in his own innocence) raised him on his shoulders, and bore him
- to the door of his house, where he set him down and left him.
- Day came, and the dead man being found before his own door, there was a
- great stir made, particularly by his mother; the body was examined with all
- care from head to foot, and, no wound or trace of violence being found on
- it, the physicians were on the whole of opinion that, as the fact was, the
- man had died of grief. So the corpse was borne to a church, and thither came
- the sorrowing mother and other ladies, her kinswomen and neighbours, and
- began to wail and mourn over it without restraint after our Florentine
- fashion. And when the wailing had reached its height, the good man, in whose
- house the death had occurred, said to Salvestra:--"Go wrap a mantle about
- thy head, and hie thee to the church, whither Girolamo has been taken, and
- go about among the women and list what they say of this matter, and I will
- do the like among the men, that we may hear if aught be said to our
- disadvantage." The girl assented, for with tardy tenderness she now yearned
- to look on him dead, whom living she would not solace with a single kiss,
- and so to the church she went. Ah! how marvellous to whoso ponders it, is
- the might of Love, and how unsearchable his ways! That heart, which, while
- Fortune smiled on Girolamo, had remained sealed to him, opened to him now
- that he was fordone, and, kindling anew with all its old flame, melted with
- such compassion that no sooner saw she his dead face, as there she stood
- wrapped in her mantle, than, edging her way forward through the crowd of
- women, she stayed not till she was beside the corpse; and there, uttering a
- piercing shriek, she threw herself upon the dead youth, and as her face met
- his, and before she might drench it with her tears, grief that had reft life
- from him had even so reft it from her.
- The women strove to comfort her, and bade her raise herself a little, for as
- yet they knew her not; then, as she did not arise, they would have helped
- her, but found her stiff and stark, and so, raising her up, they in one and
- the same moment saw her to be Salvestra and dead. Whereat all the women that
- were there, overborne by a redoubled pity, broke forth in wailing new and
- louder far than before. From the church the bruit spread itself among the
- men, and reached the ears of Salvestra's husband, who, deaf to all that
- offered comfort or consolation, wept a long while; after which he told to
- not a few that were there what had passed in the night between the youth and
- his wife; and so 'twas known of all how they came to die, to the common
- sorrow of all. So they took the dead girl, and arrayed her as they are wont
- to array the dead, and laid her on the same bed beside the youth, and long
- time they mourned her: then were they both buried in the same tomb, and thus
- those, whom love had not been able to wed in life, were wedded by death in
- indissoluble union.
- NOVEL IX.
- --
- Sieur Guillaume de Roussillon slays his wife's paramour, Sieur Guillaume de
- Cabestaing, and gives her his heart to eat. She, coming to wit thereof,
- throws herself from a high window to the ground, and dies, and is buried
- with her lover.
- --
- Neifile's story, which had not failed to move her gossips to no little pity,
- being ended, none now remained to speak but the king and Dioneo, whose
- privilege the king was minded not to infringe: wherefore he thus began:--I
- propose, compassionate my ladies, to tell you a story, which, seeing that
- you so commiserate ill-starred loves, may claim no less a share of your pity
- than the last, inasmuch as they were greater folk of whom I shall speak, and
- that which befell them was more direful.
- You are to know, then, that, as the Provencals relate, there were once in
- Provence two noble knights, each having castles and vassals under him, the
- one yclept Sieur Guillaume de Roussillon, and the other Sieur Guillaume de
- Cabestaing;(1) and being both most doughty warriors, they were as brothers,
- and went ever together, and bearing the same device, to tournament or joust,
- or other passage of arms. And, albeit each dwelt in his own castle, and the
- castles were ten good miles apart, it nevertheless came to pass that, Sieur
- Guillaume de Roussillon having a most lovely lady, and amorous withal, to
- wife, Sieur Guillaume de Cabestaing, for all they were such friends and
- comrades, became inordinately enamoured of the lady, who, by this, that, and
- the other sign that he gave, discovered his passion, and knowing him for a
- most complete knight, was flattered, and returned it, insomuch that she
- yearned and burned for him above all else in the world, and waited only till
- he should make his suit to her, as before long he did; and so they met from
- time to time, and great was their love. Which intercourse they ordered with
- so little discretion that 'twas discovered by the husband, who was very
- wroth, insomuch that the great love which he bore to Cabestaing was changed
- into mortal enmity; and, dissembling it better than the lovers their love,
- he made his mind up to kill Cabestaing. Now it came to pass that, while
- Roussillon was in this frame, a great tourney was proclaimed in France,
- whereof Roussillon forthwith sent word to Cabestaing, and bade him to his
- castle, so he were minded to come, that there they might discuss whether (or
- no) to go to the tourney, and how. Cabestaing was overjoyed, and made answer
- that he would come to sup with him next day without fail. Which message
- being delivered, Roussillon wist that the time was come to slay Cabestaing.
- So next day he armed himself, and, attended by a few servants, took horse,
- and about a mile from his castle lay in ambush in a wood through which
- Cabestaing must needs pass. He waited some time, and then he saw Cabestaing
- approach unarmed with two servants behind, also unarmed, for he was without
- thought of peril on Roussillon's part. So Cabestaing came on to the place of
- Roussillon's choice, and then, fell and vengeful, Roussillon leapt forth
- lance in hand, and fell upon him, exclaiming:--"Thou art a dead man!" and
- the words were no sooner spoken than the lance was through Cabestaing's
- breast. Powerless either to defend himself or even utter a cry, Cabestaing
- fell to the ground, and soon expired. His servants waited not to see who had
- done the deed, but turned their horses' heads and fled with all speed to
- their lord's castle. Roussillon dismounted, opened Cabestaing's breast with
- a knife, and took out the heart with his own hands, wrapped it up in a
- banderole, and gave it to one of his servants to carry: he then bade none
- make bold to breathe a word of the affair, mounted his horse and rode
- back--'twas now night--to his castle. The lady, who had been told that
- Cabestaing was to come to supper that evening, and was all impatience till
- he should come, was greatly surprised to see her husband arrive without him.
- Wherefore:--"How is this, my lord?" said she. "Why tarries Cabestaing?"
- "Madam," answered her husband, "I have tidings from him that he cannot be
- here until to-morrow:" whereat the lady was somewhat disconcerted.
- Having dismounted, Roussillon called the cook, and said to him:--"Here is a
- boar's heart; take it, and make thereof the daintiest and most delicious
- dish thou canst, and when I am set at table serve it in a silver porringer."
- So the cook took the heart, and expended all his skill and pains upon it,
- mincing it and mixing with it plenty of good seasoning, and made thereof an
- excellent ragout; and in due time Sieur Guillaume and his lady sat them down
- to table. The meat was served, but Sieur Guillaume, his mind engrossed with
- his crime, ate but little. The cook set the ragout before him, but he,
- feigning that he cared to eat no more that evening, had it passed on to the
- lady, and highly commended it. The lady, nothing loath, took some of it, and
- found it so good that she ended by eating the whole. Whereupon:--"Madam,"
- quoth the knight, "how liked you this dish?" "In good faith, my lord,"
- replied the lady, "not a little." "So help me, God," returned the knight, "I
- dare be sworn you did; 'tis no wonder that you should enjoy that dead, which
- living you enjoyed more than aught else in the world." For a while the lady
- was silent; then:--"How say you?" said she; "what is this you have caused me
- to eat?" "That which you have eaten," replied the knight, "was in good sooth
- the heart of Sieur Guillaume de Cabestaing, whom you, disloyal woman that
- you are, did so much love: for assurance whereof I tell you that but a short
- while before I came back, I plucked it from his breast with my own hands."
- It boots not to ask if the lady was sorrow-stricken to receive such tidings
- of her best beloved. But after a while she said:--"'Twas the deed of a
- disloyal and recreant knight; for if I, unconstrained by him, made him lord
- of my love, and thereby did you wrong, 'twas I, not he, should have borne
- the penalty. But God forbid that fare of such high excellence as the heart
- of a knight so true and courteous as Sieur Guillaume de Cabestaing be
- followed by aught else." So saying she started to her feet, and stepping
- back to a window that was behind her, without a moment's hesitation let
- herself drop backwards therefrom. The window was at a great height from the
- ground, so that the lady was not only killed by the fall, but almost reduced
- to atoms. Stunned and conscience-stricken by the spectacle, and fearing the
- vengeance of the country folk, and the Count of Provence, Sieur Guillaume
- had his horses saddled and rode away. On the morrow the whole countryside
- knew how the affair had come about; wherefore folk from both of the castles
- took the two bodies, and bore them with grief and lamentation exceeding
- great to the church in the lady's castle, and laid them in the same tomb,
- and caused verses to be inscribed thereon signifying who they were that were
- there interred, and the manner and occasion of their death.
- (1) Boccaccio writes Guardastagno, but the troubadour, Cabestaing, or
- Cabestany, is the hero of the story.
- NOVEL X.
- --
- The wife of a leech, deeming her lover, who has taken an opiate, to be dead,
- puts him in a chest, which, with him therein, two usurers carry off to their
- house. He comes to himself, and is taken for a thief; but, the lady's maid
- giving the Signory to understand that she had put him in the chest which the
- usurers stole, he escapes the gallows, and the usurers are mulcted in moneys
- for the theft of the chest.
- --
- Now that the king had told his tale, it only remained for Dioneo to do his
- part, which he witting, and being thereto bidden by the king, thus began:--
- Sore have I--to say nought of you, my ladies--been of eyne and heart to hear
- the woeful histories of ill-starred love, insomuch that I have desired of
- all things that they might have an end. Wherefore, now that, thank God,
- ended they are, unless indeed I were minded, which God forbid, to add to
- such pernicious stuff a supplement of the like evil quality, no such
- dolorous theme do I purpose to ensue, but to make a fresh start with
- somewhat of a better and more cheerful sort, which perchance may serve to
- suggest to-morrow's argument.
- You are to know, then, fairest my damsels, that 'tis not long since there
- dwelt at Salerno a leech most eminent in surgery, his name, Master Mazzeo
- della Montagna, who in his extreme old age took to wife a fair damsel of the
- same city, whom he kept in nobler and richer array of dresses and jewels,
- and all other finery that the sex affects, than any other lady in Salerno.
- Howbeit, she was none too warm most of her time, being ill covered abed by
- the doctor; who gave her to understand--even as Messer Ricciardo di
- Chinzica, of whom we spoke a while since, taught his lady the feasts--that
- for once that a man lay with a woman he needed I know not how many days to
- recover, and the like nonsense: whereby she lived as ill content as might
- be; and, lacking neither sense nor spirit, she determined to economize at
- home, and taking to the street, to live at others' expense. So, having
- passed in review divers young men, she at last found one that was to her
- mind, on whom she set all her heart and hopes of happiness. Which the
- gallant perceiving was mightily flattered, and in like manner gave her all
- his love. Ruggieri da Jeroli--such was the gallant's name--was of noble
- birth, but of life, and conversation so evil and reprehensible that kinsman
- or friend he had none left that wished him well, or cared to see him; and
- all Salerno knew him for a common thief and rogue of the vilest character.
- Whereof the lady took little heed, having a mind to him for another reason;
- and so with the help of her maid she arranged a meeting with him. But after
- they had solaced themselves a while, the lady began to censure his past
- life, and to implore him for love of her to depart from such evil ways; and
- to afford him the means thereto, she from time to time furnished him with
- money. While thus with all discretion they continued their intercourse, it
- chanced that a man halt of one of his legs was placed under the leech's
- care. The leech saw what was amiss with him, and told his kinsfolk, that,
- unless a gangrened bone that he had in his leg were taken out, he must die,
- or have the whole leg amputated; that if the bone were removed he might
- recover; but that otherwise he would not answer for his life: whereupon the
- relatives assented that the bone should be removed, and left the patient in
- the hands of the leech; who, deeming that by reason of the pain 'twas not
- possible for him to endure the treatment without an opiate, caused to be
- distilled in the morning a certain water of his own concoction, whereby the
- patient, drinking it, might be ensured sleep during such time as he deemed
- the operation, which he meant to perform about vespers, would occupy. In the
- meantime he had the water brought into his house, and set it in the window
- of his room, telling no one what it was. But when the vesper hour was come,
- and the leech was about to visit his patient, a messenger arrived from some
- very great friends of his at Amalfi, bearing tidings of a great riot there
- had been there, in which not a few had been wounded, and bidding him on no
- account omit to hie him thither forthwith. Wherefore the leech put off the
- treatment of the leg to the morrow, and took boat to Amalfi; and the lady,
- knowing that he would not return home that night, did as she was wont in
- such a case, to wit, brought Ruggieri in privily, and locked him in her
- chamber until certain other folk that were in the house were gone to sleep.
- Ruggieri, then, being thus in the chamber, awaiting the lady, and having--
- whether it were that he had had a fatiguing day, or eaten something salt,
- or, perchance, that 'twas his habit of body--a mighty thirst, glancing at
- the window, caught sight of the bottle containing the water which the leech
- had prepared for the patient, and taking it to be drinking water, set it to
- his lips and drank it all, and in no long time fell into a deep sleep.
- So soon as she was able the lady hied her to the room, and there finding
- Ruggieri asleep, touched him and softly told him to get up: to no purpose,
- however; he neither answered nor stirred a limb. Wherefore the lady, rather
- losing patience, applied somewhat more force, and gave him a push, saying:--
- "Get up, sleepy-head; if thou hadst a mind to sleep, thou shouldst have gone
- home, and not have come hither." Thus pushed Ruggieri fell down from a box
- on which he lay, and, falling, shewed no more sign of animation than if he
- had been a corpse. The lady, now somewhat alarmed, essayed to lift him, and
- shook him roughly, and took him by the nose, and pulled him by the beard;
- again to no purpose: he had tethered his ass to a stout pin. So the lady
- began to fear he must be dead: however, she went on to pinch him shrewdly,
- and singe him with the flame of a candle; but when these methods also failed
- she, being, for all she was a leech's wife, no leech herself, believed for
- sure that he was dead; and as there was nought in the world that she loved
- so much, it boots not to ask if she was sore distressed; wherefore silently,
- for she dared not lament aloud, she began to weep over him and bewail such a
- misadventure. But, after a while, fearing lest her loss should not be
- without a sequel of shame, she bethought her that she must contrive without
- delay to get the body out of the house; and standing in need of another's
- advice, she quietly summoned her maid, shewed her the mishap that had
- befallen her, and craved her counsel. Whereat the maid marvelled not a
- little; and she too fell to pulling Ruggieri this way and that, and pinching
- him, and, as she found no sign of life in him, concurred with her mistress
- that he was verily dead, and advised her to remove him from the house. "And
- where," said the lady, "shall we put him, that to-morrow, when he is
- discovered, it be not suspected that 'twas hence he was carried?" "Madam,"
- answered the maid, "late last evening I marked in front of our neighbour the
- carpenter's shop a chest, not too large, which, if he have not put it back
- in the house, will come in very handy for our purpose, for we will put him
- inside, and give him two or three cuts with a knife, and so leave him. When
- he is found, I know not why it should be thought that 'twas from this house
- rather than from any other that he was put there; nay, as he was an evil-
- liver, 'twill more likely be supposed, that, as he hied him on some evil
- errand, some enemy slew him, and then put him in the chest." The lady said
- there was nought in the world she might so ill brook as that Ruggieri should
- receive any wound; but with that exception she approved her maid's proposal,
- and sent her to see if the chest were still where she had seen it. The maid,
- returning, reported that there it was, and, being young and strong, got
- Ruggieri, with the lady's help, upon her shoulders; and so the lady, going
- before to espy if any folk came that way, and the maid following, they came
- to the chest, and having laid Ruggieri therein, closed it and left him
- there.
- Now a few days before, two young men, that were usurers, had taken up their
- quarters in a house a little further on: they had seen the chest during the
- day, and being short of furniture, and having a mind to make great gain with
- little expenditure, they had resolved that, if it were still there at night,
- they would take it home with them. So at midnight forth they hied them, and
- finding the chest, were at no pains to examine it closely, but forthwith,
- though it seemed somewhat heavy, bore it off to their house, and set it down
- beside a room in which their women slept; and without being at pains to
- adjust it too securely they left it there for the time, and went to bed.
- Towards matins Ruggieri, having had a long sleep and digested the draught
- and exhausted its efficacy, awoke, but albeit his slumber was broken, and
- his senses had recovered their powers, yet his brain remained in a sort of
- torpor which kept him bemused for some days; and when he opened his eyes and
- saw nothing, and stretched his hands hither and thither and found himself in
- the chest, it was with difficulty that he collected his thoughts. "How is
- this?" he said to himself. "Where am I? Do I sleep or wake? I remember
- coming this evening to my lady's chamber; and now it seems I am in a chest.
- What means it? Can the leech have returned, or somewhat else have happened
- that caused the lady, while I slept, to hide me here? That was it, I
- suppose. Without a doubt it must have been so." And having come to this
- conclusion, he composed himself to listen, if haply he might hear something,
- and being somewhat ill at ease in the chest, which was none too large, and
- the side on which he lay paining him, he must needs turn over to the other,
- and did so with such adroitness that, bringing his loins smartly against one
- of the sides of the chest, which was set on an uneven floor, he caused it to
- tilt and then fall; and such was the noise that it made as it fell that the
- women that slept there awoke, albeit for fear they kept silence. Ruggieri
- was not a little disconcerted by the fall, but, finding that thereby the
- chest was come open, he judged that, happen what might, he would be better
- out of it than in it; and not knowing where he was, and being otherwise at
- his wits' end, he began to grope about the house, if haply he might find a
- stair or door whereby he might take himself off. Hearing him thus groping
- his way, the alarmed women gave tongue with:--"Who is there?" Ruggieri, not
- knowing the voice, made no answer: wherefore the women fell to calling the
- two young men, who, having had a long day, were fast asleep, and heard
- nought of what went on. Which served to increase the fright of the women,
- who rose and got them to divers windows, and raised the cry:--"Take thief,
- take thief!" At which summons there came running from divers quarters not a
- few of the neighbours, who got into the house by the roof or otherwise as
- each best might: likewise the young men, aroused by the din, got up; and,
- Ruggieri being now all but beside himself for sheer amazement, and knowing
- not whither to turn him to escape them, they took him and delivered him to
- the officers of the Governor of the city, who, hearing the uproar, had
- hasted to the spot. And so he was brought before the Governor, who, knowing
- him to be held of all a most arrant evil-doer, put him forthwith to the
- torture, and, upon his confessing that he had entered the house of the
- usurers with intent to rob, was minded to make short work of it, and have
- him hanged by the neck.
- In the morning 'twas bruited throughout all Salerno that Ruggieri had been
- taken a thieving in the house of the usurers. Whereat the lady and her maid
- were all amazement and bewilderment, insomuch that they were within an ace
- of persuading themselves that what they had done the night before they had
- not done, but had only dreamed it; besides which, the peril in which
- Ruggieri stood caused the lady such anxiety as brought her to the verge of
- madness. Shortly after half tierce the leech, being returned from Amalfi,
- and minded now to treat his patient, called for his water, and finding the
- bottle empty made a great commotion, protesting that nought in his house
- could be let alone. The lady, having other cause of annoy, lost temper, and
- said:--"What would you say, Master, of an important matter, when you raise
- such a din because a bottle of water has been upset? Is there never another
- to be found in the world?" "Madam," replied the leech, "thou takest this to
- have been mere water. 'Twas no such thing, but an artificial water of a
- soporiferous virtue;" and he told her for what purpose he had made it. Which
- the lady no sooner heard, than, guessing that Ruggieri had drunk it, and so
- had seemed to them to be dead, she said:--"Master, we knew it not; wherefore
- make you another." And so the leech, seeing that there was no help for it,
- had another made. Not long after, the maid, who by the lady's command had
- gone to find out what folk said of Ruggieri, returned, saying:--"Madam, of
- Ruggieri they say nought but evil, nor, by what I have been able to
- discover, has he friend or kinsman that has or will come to his aid; and
- 'tis held for certain that to-morrow the Stadic(1) will have him hanged.
- Besides which, I have that to tell you which will surprise you; for,
- methinks, I have found out how he came into the usurers' house. List, then,
- how it was: you know the carpenter in front of whose shop stood the chest we
- put Ruggieri into: he had to-day the most violent altercation in the world
- with one to whom it would seem the chest belongs, by whom he was required to
- make good the value of the chest, to which he made answer that he had not
- sold it, but that it had been stolen from him in the night. 'Not so,' said
- the other; 'thou soldst it to the two young usurers, as they themselves told
- me last night, when I saw it in their house at the time Ruggieri was taken.'
- 'They lie,' replied the carpenter. 'I never sold it them, but they must have
- stolen it from me last night; go we to them.' So with one accord off they
- went to the usurers' house, and I came back here. And so, you see, I make
- out that 'twas on such wise that Ruggieri was brought where he was found;
- but how he came to life again, I am at a loss to conjecture." The lady now
- understood exactly how things were, and accordingly told the maid what she
- had learned from the leech, and besought her to aid her to get Ruggieri off,
- for so she might, if she would, and at the same time preserve her honour.
- "Madam," said the maid, "do but shew me how; and glad shall I be to do just
- as you wish." Whereupon the lady, to whom necessity taught invention, formed
- her plan on the spur of the moment, and expounded it in detail to the maid;
- who (as the first step) hied her to the leech, and, weeping, thus addressed
- him:--"Sir, it behoves me to ask your pardon of a great wrong that I have
- done you." "And what may that be?" inquired the leech. "Sir," said the maid,
- who ceased not to weep, "you know what manner of man is Ruggieri da Jeroli.
- Now he took a fancy to me, and partly for fear, partly for love, I this year
- agreed to be his mistress; and knowing yestereve that you were from home, he
- coaxed me into bringing him into your house to sleep with me in my room. Now
- he was athirst, and I, having no mind to be seen by your lady, who was in
- the hall, and knowing not whither I might sooner betake me for wine or
- water, bethought me that I had seen a bottle of water in your room, and ran
- and fetched it, and gave it him to drink, and then put the bottle back in
- the place whence I had taken it; touching which I find that you have made a
- great stir in the house. Verily I confess that I did wrong; but who is there
- that does not wrong sometimes? Sorry indeed am I to have so done, but 'tis
- not for such a cause and that which ensued thereon that Ruggieri should lose
- his life. Wherefore, I do most earnestly beseech you, pardon me, and suffer
- me to go help him as best I may be able." Wroth though he was at what he
- heard, the leech replied in a bantering tone:--"Thy pardon thou hast by
- thine own deed; for, whereas thou didst last night think to have with thee a
- gallant that would thoroughly dust thy pelisse for thee, he was but a sleepy
- head; wherefore get thee gone, and do what thou mayst for the deliverance of
- thy lover, and for the future look thou bring him not into the house; else I
- will pay thee for that turn and this to boot." The maid, deeming that she
- had come off well in the first brush, hied her with all speed to the prison
- where Ruggieri lay, and by her cajoleries prevailed upon the warders to let
- her speak with him; and having told him how he must answer the Stadic if he
- would get off, she succeeded in obtaining preaudience of the Stadic; who,
- seeing that the baggage was lusty and mettlesome, was minded before he heard
- her to grapple her with the hook, to which she was by no means averse,
- knowing that such a preliminary would secure her a better hearing. When she
- had undergone the operation and was risen:--"Sir," said she, "you have here
- Ruggieri da Jeroli, apprehended on a charge of theft; which charge is
- false." Whereupon she told him the whole story from beginning to end, how
- she, being Ruggieri's mistress, had brought him into the leech's house and
- had given him the opiate, not knowing it for such, and taking him to be
- dead, had put him in the chest; and then recounting what she had heard pass
- between the carpenter and the owner of the chest, she shewed him how
- Ruggieri came into the house of the usurers. Seeing that 'twas easy enough
- to find out whether the story were true, the Stadic began by questioning the
- leech as to the water, and found that 'twas as she had said: he then
- summoned the carpenter, the owner of the chest and the usurers, and after
- much further parley ascertained that the usurers had stolen the chest during
- the night, and brought it into their house: finally he sent for Ruggieri,
- and asked him where he had lodged that night, to which Ruggieri answered
- that where he had lodged he knew not, but he well remembered going to pass
- the night with Master Mazzeo's maid, in whose room he had drunk some water
- by reason of a great thirst that he had; but what happened to him
- afterwards, except that, when he awoke, he found himself in a chest in the
- house of the usurers, he knew not. All which matters the Stadic heard with
- great interest, and caused the maid and Ruggieri and the carpenter and the
- usurers to rehearse them several times. In the end, seeing that Ruggieri was
- innocent, he released him, and mulcted the usurers in fifteen ounces for the
- theft of the chest. How glad Ruggieri was thus to escape, it boots not to
- ask; and glad beyond measure was his lady. And so, many a time did they
- laugh and make merry together over the affair, she and he and the dear maid
- that had proposed to give him a taste of the knife; and remaining constant
- in their love, they had ever better and better solace thereof. The like
- whereof befall me, sans the being put in the chest.
- (1) The Neapolitan term for the chief of police.
- Heartsore as the gentle ladies had been made by the preceding stories, this
- last of Dioneo provoked them to such merriment, more especially the passage
- about the Stadic and the hook, that they lacked not relief of the piteous
- mood engendered by the others. But the king observing that the sun was now
- taking a yellowish tinge, and that the end of his sovereignty was come, in
- terms most courtly made his excuse to the fair ladies, that he had made so
- direful a theme as lovers' infelicity the topic of their discourse; after
- which, he rose, took the laurel wreath from his head, and, while the ladies
- watched to see to whom he would give it, set it graciously upon the blond
- head of Fiammetta, saying:--"Herewith I crown thee, as deeming that thou,
- better than any other, wilt know how to make to-morrow console our fair
- companions for the rude trials of to-day." Fiammetta, whose wavy tresses
- fell in a flood of gold over her white and delicate shoulders, whose softly
- rounded face was all radiant with the very tints of the white lily blended
- with the red of the rose, who carried two eyes in her head that matched
- those of a peregrine falcon, while her tiny sweet mouth shewed a pair of
- lips that shone as rubies, replied with a smile:--"And gladly take I the
- wreath, Filostrato, and that thou mayst more truly understand what thou hast
- done, 'tis my present will and pleasure that each make ready to discourse
- to-morrow of good fortune befalling lovers after divers direful or
- disastrous adventures." The theme propounded was approved by all; whereupon
- the queen called the seneschal, and having made with him all meet
- arrangements, rose and gaily dismissed all the company until the supper
- hour; wherefore, some straying about the garden, the beauties of which were
- not such as soon to pall, others bending their steps towards the mills that
- were grinding without, each, as and where it seemed best, they took
- meanwhile their several pleasures. The supper hour come, they all gathered,
- in their wonted order, by the fair fountain, and in the gayest of spirits
- and well served they supped. Then rising they addressed them, as was their
- wont, to dance and song, and while Filomena led the dance:--"Filostrato,"
- said the queen, "being minded to follow in the footsteps of our
- predecessors, and that, as by their, so by our command a song be sung; and
- well witting that thy songs are even as thy stories, to the end that no day
- but this be vexed with thy misfortunes, we ordain that thou give us one of
- them, whichever thou mayst prefer." Filostrato answered that he would gladly
- do so; and without delay began to sing on this wise:--
- Full well my tears attest,
- O traitor Love, with what just cause the heart,
- With which thou once hast broken faith, doth smart.
- Love, when thou first didst in my heart enshrine
- Her for whom still I sigh, alas! in vain,
- Nor any hope do know,
- A damsel so complete thou didst me shew,
- That light as air I counted every pain,
- Wherewith behest of thine
- Condemned my soul to pine.
- Ah! but I gravely erred; the which to know
- Too late, alas! doth but enhance my woe.
- The cheat I knew not ere she did me leave,
- She, she, in whom alone my hopes were placed:
- For 'twas when I did most
- Flatter myself with hope, and proudly boast
- Myself her vassal lowliest and most graced,
- Nor thought Love might bereave,
- Nor dreamed he e'er might grieve,
- 'Twas then I found that she another's worth
- Into her heart had ta'en and me cast forth.
- A plant of pain, alas! my heart did bear,
- What time my hapless self cast forth I knew;
- And there it doth remain;
- And day and hour I curse and curse again,
- When first that front of love shone on my view
- That front so queenly fair,
- And bright beyond compare!
- Wherefore at once my faith, my hope, my fire
- My soul doth imprecate, ere she expire.
- My lord, thou knowest how comfortless my woe,
- Thou, Love, my lord, whom thus I supplicate
- With many a piteous moan,
- Telling thee how in anguish sore I groan,
- Yearning for death my pain to mitigate.
- Come death, and with one blow
- Cut short my span, and so
- With my curst life me of my frenzy ease;
- For wheresoe'er I go, 'twill sure decrease.
- Save death no way of comfort doth remain:
- No anodyne beside for this sore smart.
- The boon, then, Love bestow;
- And presently by death annul my woe,
- And from this abject life release my heart.
- Since from me joy is ta'en,
- And every solace, deign
- My prayer to grant, and let my death the cheer
- Complete, that she now hath of her new fere.
- Song, it may be that no one shall thee learn:
- Nor do I care; for none I wot, so well
- As I may chant thee; so,
- This one behest I lay upon thee, go
- Hie thee to Love, and him in secret tell,
- How I my life do spurn,
- My bitter life, and yearn,
- That to a better harbourage he bring
- Me, of all might and grace that own him king.
- Full well my tears attest, etc.
- Filostrato's mood and its cause were made abundantly manifest by the words
- of this song; and perchance they had been made still more so by the looks of
- a lady that was among the dancers, had not the shades of night, which had
- now overtaken them, concealed the blush that suffused her face. Other songs
- followed until the hour for slumber arrived: whereupon at the behest of the
- queen all the ladies sought their several chambers.
- END OF VOL. 1.
- End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of The Decameron, Volume I
- by Giovanni Boccaccio
- The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Decameron, Vol. II., by Giovanni Boccaccio
- This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
- almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
- re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
- with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
- Title: The Decameron, Vol. II.
- Author: Giovanni Boccaccio
- Release Date: August 3, 2004 [EBook #13102]
- Language: English
- *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DECAMERON, VOL. II. ***
- Produced by Donna Holsten
- THE DECAMERON
- OF
- GIOVANNI BOCCACCIO
- Faithfully Translated
- By J.M. Rigg
- with illustrations by Louis Chalon
- VOLUME II
- CONTENTS
- - FIFTH DAY -
- NOVEL I. - Cimon, by loving, waxes wise, wins his wife Iphigenia by
- capture on the high seas, and is imprisoned at Rhodes. He is delivered by
- Lysimachus; and the twain capture Cassandra and recapture Iphigenia in
- the hour of their marriage. They flee with their ladies to Crete, and
- having there married them, are brought back to their homes.
- NOVEL II. - Gostanza loves Martuccio Gomito, and hearing that he is dead,
- gives way to despair, and hies her alone aboard a boat, which is wafted
- by the wind to Susa. She finds him alive in Tunis, and makes herself
- known to him, who, having by his counsel gained high place in the king's
- favour, marries her, and returns with her wealthy to Lipari.
- NOVEL III. - Pietro Boccamazza runs away with Agnolella, and encounters a
- gang of robbers: the girl takes refuge in a wood, and is guided to a
- castle. Pietro is taken, but escapes out of the hands of the robbers, and
- after some adventures arrives at the castle where Agnolella is, marries
- her, and returns with her to Rome.
- NOVEL IV. - Ricciardo Manardi is found by Messer Lizio da Valbona with
- his daughter, whom he marries, and remains at peace with her father.
- NOVEL V. - Guidotto da Cremona dies leaving a girl to Giacomino da Pavia.
- She has two lovers in Faenza, to wit, Giannole di Severino and Minghino
- di Mingole, who fight about her. She is discovered to be Giannole's
- sister, and is given to Minghino to wife.
- NOVEL VI. - Gianni di Procida, being found with a damsel that he loves,
- and who had been given to King Frederic, is bound with her to a stake, so
- to be burned. He is recognized by Ruggieri dell' Oria, is delivered, and
- marries her.
- NOVEL VII. - Teodoro, being enamoured of Violante, daughter of Messer
- Amerigo, his lord, gets her with child, and is sentenced to the gallows;
- but while he is being scourged thither, he is recognized by his father,
- and being set at large, takes Violante to wife.
- NOVEL VIII. - Nastagio degli Onesti, loving a damsel of the Traversari
- family, by lavish expenditure gains not her love. At the instance of his
- kinsfolk he hies him to Chiassi, where he sees a knight hunt a damsel and
- slay her and cause her to be devoured by two dogs. He bids his kinsfolk
- and the lady that he loves to breakfast. During the meal the said damsel
- is torn in pieces before the eyes of the lady, who, fearing a like fate,
- takes Nastagio to husband.
- NOVEL IX. - Federigo degli Alberighi loves and is not loved in return: he
- wastes his substance by lavishness until nought is left but a single
- falcon, which, his lady being come to see him at his house, he gives her
- to eat: she, knowing his case, changes her mind, takes him to husband and
- makes him rich.
- NOVEL X. - Pietro di Vinciolo goes from home to sup: his wife brings a
- boy into the house to bear her company: Pietro returns, and she hides her
- gallant under a hen-coop: Pietro explains that in the house of Ercolano,
- with whom he was to have supped, there was discovered a young man
- bestowed there by Ercolano's wife: the lady thereupon censures Ercolano's
- wife: but unluckily an ass treads on the fingers of the boy that is
- hidden under the hen-coop, so that he cries for pain: Pietro runs to the
- place, sees him, and apprehends the trick played on him by his wife,
- which nevertheless he finally condones, for that he is not himself free
- from blame.
- - SIXTH DAY -
- NOVEL I. - A knight offers to carry Madonna Oretta a horseback with a
- story, but tells it so ill that she prays him to dismount her.
- NOVEL II. - Cisti, a baker, by an apt speech gives Messer Geri Spina to
- know that he has by inadvertence asked that of him which he should not.
- NOVEL III. - Monna Nonna de' Pulci by a ready retort silences the scarce
- seemly jesting of the Bishop of Florence.
- NOVEL IV. - Chichibio, cook to Currado Gianfigliazzi, owes his safety to
- a ready answer, whereby he converts Currado's wrath into laughter, and
- evades the evil fate with which Currado had threatened him.
- NOVEL V. - Messer Forese da Rabatta and Master Giotto, the painter,
- journeying together from Mugello, deride one another's scurvy appearance.
- NOVEL VI. - Michele Scalza proves to certain young men that the Baronci
- are the best gentlemen in the world and the Maremma, and wins a supper.
- NOVEL VII. - Madonna Filippa, being found by her husband with her lover,
- is cited before the court, and by a ready and jocund answer acquits
- herself, and brings about an alteration of the statute.
- NOVEL VIII. - Fresco admonishes his niece not to look at herself in the
- glass, if 'tis, as she says, grievous to her to see nasty folk.
- NOVEL IX. - Guido Cavalcanti by a quip meetly rebukes certain Florentine
- gentlemen who had taken him at a disadvantage.
- NOVEL X. - Fra Cipolla promises to shew certain country-folk a feather of
- the Angel Gabriel, in lieu of which he finds coals, which he avers to be
- of those with which St. Lawrence was roasted.
- - SEVENTH DAY -
- NOVEL I. - Gianni Lotteringhi hears a knocking at his door at night: he
- awakens his wife, who persuades him that 'tis the bogey, which they fall
- to exorcising with a prayer; whereupon the knocking ceases.
- NOVEL II. - Her husband returning home, Peronella bestows her lover in a
- tun; which, being sold by her husband, she avers to have been already
- sold by herself to one that is inside examining it to set if it be sound.
- Whereupon the lover jumps out, and causes the husband to scour the tun
- for him, and afterwards to carry it to his house.
- NOVEL III. - Fra Rinaldo lies with his gossip: her husband finds him in
- the room with her; and they make him believe that he was curing his
- godson of worms by a charm.
- NOVEL IV. - Tofano one night locks his wife out of the house: she,
- finding that by no entreaties may she prevail upon him to let her in,
- feigns to throw herself into a well, throwing therein a great stone.
- Tofano hies him forth of the house, and runs to the spot: she goes into
- the house, and locks him out, and hurls abuse at him from within.
- NOVEL V. - A jealous husband disguises himself as a priest, and hears his
- own wife's confession: she tells him that she loves a priest, who comes
- to her every night. The husband posts himself at the door to watch for
- the priest, and meanwhile the lady brings her lover in by the roof, and
- tarries with him.
- NOVEL VI. - Madonna Isabella has with her Leonetto, her accepted lover,
- when she is surprised by one Messer Lambertuccio, by whom she is beloved:
- her husband coming home about the same time, she sends Messer
- Lambertuccio forth of the house drawn sword in hand, and the husband
- afterwards escorts Leonetto home.
- NOVEL VII. - Lodovico discovers to Madonna Beatrice the love that he
- bears her: she sends Egano, her husband, into a garden disguised as
- herself, and lies with Lodovico; who thereafter, being risen, hies him to
- the garden and cudgels Egano.
- NOVEL VIII. - A husband grows jealous of his wife, and discovers that
- she has warning of her lover's approach by a piece of pack-thread, which
- she ties to her great toe a nights. While he is pursuing her lover, she
- puts another woman in bed in her place. The husband, finding her there,
- beats her, and cuts off her hair. He then goes and calls his wife's
- brothers, who, holding his accusation to be false, give him a rating.
- NOVEL IX. - Lydia, wife of Nicostratus, loves Pyrrhus, who to assure
- himself thereof, asks three things of her, all of which she does, and
- therewithal enjoys him in presence of Nicostratus, and makes Nicostratus
- believe that what he saw was not real.
- NOVEL X. - Two Sienese love a lady, one of them being her gossip: the
- gossip dies, having promised his comrade to return to him from the other
- world; which he does, and tells him what sort of life is led there.
- - EIGHTH DAY -
- NOVEL I. - Gulfardo borrows moneys of Guasparruolo, which he has agreed
- to give Guasparruolo's wife, that he may lie with her. He gives them to
- her, and in her presence tells Guasparruolo that he has done so, and she
- acknowledges that 'tis true.
- NOVEL II. - The priest of Varlungo lies with Monna Belcolore: he leaves
- with her his cloak by way of pledge, and receives from her a mortar. He
- returns the mortar, and demands of her the cloak that he had left in
- pledge, which the good lady returns him with a gibe.
- NOVEL III. - Calandrino, Bruno and Buffalmacco go in quest of the
- heliotrope beside the Mugnone. Thinking to have found it, Calandrino gets
- him home laden with stones. His wife chides him: whereat he waxes wroth,
- beats her, and tells his comrades what they know better than he.
- NOVEL IV. - The rector of Fiesole loves a widow lady, by whom he is not
- loved, and thinking to lie with her, lies with her maid, with whom the
- lady's brothers cause him to be found by his Bishop.
- NOVEL V. - Three young men pull down the breeches of a judge from the
- Marches, while he is administering justice on the bench.
- NOVEL VI. - Bruno and Buffalmacco steal a pig from Calandrino, and induce
- him to essay its recovery by means of pills of ginger and vernaccia. Of
- the said pills they give him two, one after the other, made of dog-ginger
- compounded with aloes; and it then appearing as if he had had the pig
- himself, they constrain him to buy them off, if he would not have them
- tell his wife.
- NOVEL VII. - A scholar loves a widow lady, who, being enamoured of
- another, causes him to spend a winter's night awaiting her in the snow.
- He afterwards by a stratagem causes her to stand for a whole day in July,
- naked upon a tower, exposed to the flies, the gadflies, and the sun.
- NOVEL VIII. - Two men keep with one another: the one lies with the
- other's wife: the other, being ware thereof, manages with the aid of his
- wife to have the one locked in a chest, upon which he then lies with the
- wife of him that is locked therein.
- NOVEL IX. - Bruno and Buffalmacco prevail upon Master Simone, a
- physician, to betake him by night to a certain place, there to be
- enrolled in a company that go the course. Buffalmacco throws him into a
- foul ditch, and there they leave him.
- NOVEL X. - A Sicilian woman cunningly conveys from a merchant that which
- he has brought to Palermo; he, making a shew of being come back thither
- with far greater store of goods than before, borrows money of her, and
- leaves her in lieu thereof water and tow.
- - NINTH DAY -
- NOVEL I. - Madonna Francesca, having two lovers, the one Rinuccio, the
- other Alessandro, by name, and loving neither of them, induces the one to
- simulate a corpse in a tomb, and the other to enter the tomb to fetch him
- out: whereby, neither satisfying her demands, she artfully rids herself
- of both.
- NOVEL II. - An abbess rises in haste and in the dark, with intent to
- surprise an accused nun abed with her lover: thinking to put on her veil,
- she puts on instead the breeches of a priest that she has with her: the
- nun, espying her headgear, and doing her to wit thereof, is acquitted,
- and thenceforth finds it easier to forgather with her lover.
- NOVEL III. - Master Simone, at the instance of Bruno and Buffalmacco and
- Nello, makes Calandrino believe that he is with child. Calandrino,
- accordingly, gives them capons and money for medicines, and is cured
- without being delivered.
- NOVEL IV. - Cecco, son of Messer Fortarrigo, loses his all at play at
- Buonconvento, besides the money of Cecco, son of Messer Angiulieri, whom,
- running after him in his shirt and crying out that he has robbed him, he
- causes to be taken by peasants: he then puts on his clothes, mounts his
- palfrey, and leaves him to follow in his shirt.
- NOVEL V. - Calandrino being enamoured of a damsel, Bruno gives him a
- scroll, averring that, if he but touch her therewith, she will go with
- him: he is found with her by his wife, who subjects him to a most severe
- and vexatious examination.
- NOVEL VI. - Two young men lodge at an inn, of whom the one lies with the
- host's daughter, his wife by inadvertence lying with the other. He that
- lay with the daughter afterwards gets into her father's bed and tells him
- all, taking him to be his comrade. They bandy words: whereupon the good
- woman, apprehending the circumstances, gets her to bed with her daughter,
- and by divers apt words re-establishes perfect accord.
- NOVEL VII. - Talano di Molese dreams that a wolf tears and rends all the
- neck and face of his wife: he gives her warning thereof, which she heeds
- not, and the dream comes true.
- NOVEL VIII. - Biondello gulls Ciacco in the matter of a breakfast: for
- which prank Ciacco is cunningly avenged on Biondello, causing him to be
- shamefully beaten.
- NOVEL IX. - Two young men ask counsel of Solomon; the one, how he is to
- make himself beloved, the other, how he is to reduce an unruly wife to
- order. The King bids the one to love, and the other to go to the Bridge
- of Geese.
- NOVEL X. - Dom Gianni at the instance of his gossip Pietro uses an
- enchantment to transform Pietro's wife into a mare; but, when he comes to
- attach the tail, Gossip Pietro, by saying that he will have none of the
- tail, makes the enchantment of no effect.
- - TENTH DAY -
- NOVEL I. - A knight in the service of the King of Spain deems himself ill
- requited. Wherefore the King, by most cogent proof, shews him that the
- blame rests not with him, but with the knight's own evil fortune; after
- which, he bestows upon him a noble gift.
- NOVEL II. - Ghino di Tacco, captures the Abbot of Cluny, cures him of a
- disorder of the stomach, and releases him. The abbot, on his return to
- the court of Rome, reconciles Ghino with Pope Boniface, and makes him
- prior of the Hospital.
- NOVEL III. - Mitridanes, holding Nathan in despite by reason of his
- courtesy, journey with intent to kill him, and falling in with him
- unawares, is advised by him how to compass his end. Following his advice,
- he finds him in a copse, and recognizing him, is shame-stricken, and
- becomes his friend.
- NOVEL IV. - Messer Gentile de' Carisendi, being come from Modena,
- disinters a lady that he loves, who has been buried for dead. She, being
- reanimated, gives birth to a male child; and Messer Gentile restores her,
- with her son, to Niccoluccio Caccianimico, her husband.
- NOVEL V. - Madonna Dianora craves of Messer Ansaldo a garden that shall
- be as fair in January as in May. Messer Ansaldo binds himself to a
- necromancer, and thereby gives her the garden. Her husband gives her
- leave to do Messer Ansaldo's pleasure: he, being apprised of her
- husband's liberality, releases her from her promise; and the necromancer
- releases Messer Ansaldo from his bond, and will tale nought of his.
- NOVEL VI. - King Charles the Old, being conqueror, falls in love with a
- young maiden, and afterward growing ashamed of his folly bestows her and
- her sister honourably in marriage.
- NOVEL VII. - King Pedro, being apprised of the fervent love borne him by
- Lisa, who thereof is sick, comforts her, and forthwith gives her in
- marriage to a young gentleman, and having kissed her on the brow, ever
- after professes himself her knight.
- NOVEL VIII. - Sophronia, albeit she deems herself wife to Gisippus, is
- wife to Titus Quintius Fulvus, and goes with him to Rome, where Gisippus
- arrives in indigence, and deeming himself scorned by Titus, to compass
- his own death, avers that he has slain a man. Titus recognizes him, and
- to save his life, alleges that 'twas he that slew the man: whereof he
- that did the deed being witness, he discovers himself as the murderer.
- Whereby it comes to pass that they are all three liberated by Octavianus;
- and Titus gives Gisippus his sister to wife, and shares with him all his
- substance.
- NOVEL IX. - Saladin, in guise of a merchant, is honourably entreated by
- Messer Torello. The Crusade ensuing, Messer Torello appoints a date,
- after which his wife may marry again: he is taken prisoner, and by
- training hawks comes under the Soldan's notice. The Soldan recognizes
- him, makes himself known to him, and entreats him with all honour. Messer
- Torello falls sick, and by magic arts is transported in a single night to
- Pavia, where his wife's second marriage is then to be solemnized, and
- being present thereat, is recognized by her, and returns with her to his
- house.
- NOVEL X. - The Marquis of Saluzzo, overborne by the entreaties of his
- vassals, consents to take a wife, but, being minded to please himself in
- the choice of her, takes a husbandman's daughter. He has two children by
- her, both of whom he makes her believe that he has put to death.
- Afterward, feigning to be tired of her, and to have taken another wife,
- he turns her out of doors in her shift, and brings his daughter into the
- house in guise of his bride; but, finding her patient under it all, he
- brings her home again, and shews her her children, now grown up, and
- honours her, and causes her to be honoured, as Marchioness.
- ILLUSTRATIONS TO THE DECAMERON
- VOLUME II
- Pietro and Agnolella (fifth day, third story)
- Gianni and Restituta (fifth day, sixth story)
- Calandrino singing (ninth day, fifth story)
- Titus, Gisippus, and Sophronia (tenth day, eighth story)
- --
- Endeth here the fourth day of the Decameron, beginneth the fifth, in
- which under the rule of Fiammetta discourse is had of good fortune
- befalling lovers after divers direful or disastrous adventures.
- --
- All the east was white, nor any part of our hemisphere unillumined by the
- rising beams, when the carolling of the birds that in gay chorus saluted
- the dawn among the boughs induced Fiammetta to rise and rouse the other
- ladies and the three gallants; with whom adown the hill and about the
- dewy meads of the broad champaign she sauntered, talking gaily of divers
- matters, until the sun had attained some height. Then, feeling his rays
- grow somewhat scorching, they retraced their steps, and returned to the
- villa; where, having repaired their slight fatigue with excellent wines
- and comfits, they took their pastime in the pleasant garden until the
- breakfast hour; when, all things being made ready by the discreet
- seneschal, they, after singing a stampita,(1) and a balladette or two,
- gaily, at the queen's behest, sat them down to eat. Meetly ordered and
- gladsome was the meal, which done, heedful of their rule of dancing, they
- trod a few short measures with accompaniment of music and song.
- Thereupon, being all dismissed by the queen until after the siesta, some
- hied them to rest, while others tarried taking their pleasure in the fair
- garden. But shortly after none, all, at the queen's behest, reassembled,
- according to their wont, by the fountain; and the queen, having seated
- herself on her throne, glanced towards Pamfilo, and bade him with a smile
- lead off with the stories of good fortune. Whereto Pamfilo gladly
- addressed himself, and thus began.
- (1) A song accompanied by music, but without dancing.
- NOVEL I.
- --
- Cimon, by loving, waxes wise, wins his wife Iphigenia by capture on the
- high seas, and is imprisoned at Rhodes. He is delivered by Lysimachus;
- and the twain capture Cassandra and recapture Iphigenia in the hour of
- their marriage. They flee with their ladies to Crete, and having there
- married them, are brought back to their homes.
- --
- Many stories, sweet my ladies, occur to me as meet for me to tell by way
- of ushering in a day so joyous as this will be: of which one does most
- commend itself to my mind, because not only has it, one of those happy
- endings of which to-day we are in quest, but 'twill enable you to
- understand how holy, how mighty and how salutary are the forces of Love,
- which not a few, witting not what they say, do most unjustly reprobate
- and revile: which, if I err not, should to you, for that I take you to be
- enamoured, be indeed welcome.
- Once upon a time, then, as we have read in the ancient histories of the
- Cypriotes, there was in the island of Cyprus a very great noble named
- Aristippus, a man rich in all worldly goods beyond all other of his
- countrymen, and who might have deemed himself incomparably blessed, but
- for a single sore affliction that Fortune had allotted him. Which was
- that among his sons he had one, the best grown and handsomest of them
- all, that was well-nigh a hopeless imbecile. His true name was Galesus;
- but, as neither his tutor's pains, nor his father's coaxing or
- chastisement, nor any other method had availed to imbue him with any
- tincture of letters or manners, but he still remained gruff and savage of
- voice, and in his bearing liker to a beast than to a man, all, as in
- derision, were wont to call him Cimon, which in their language signifies
- the same as "bestione" (brute)(1) in ours. The father, grieved beyond
- measure to see his son's life thus blighted, and having abandoned all
- hope of his recovery, nor caring to have the cause of his mortification
- ever before his eyes, bade him betake him to the farm, and there keep
- with his husbandmen. To Cimon the change was very welcome, because the
- manners and habits of the uncouth hinds were more to his taste than those
- of the citizens. So to the farm Cimon hied him, and addressed himself to
- the work thereof; and being thus employed, he chanced one afternoon as he
- passed, staff on shoulder, from one domain to another, to enter a
- plantation, the like of which for beauty there was not in those parts,
- and which was then--for 'twas the month of May--a mass of greenery; and,
- as he traversed it, he came, as Fortune was pleased to guide him, to a
- meadow girt in with trees exceeding tall, and having in one of its
- corners a fountain most fair and cool, beside which he espied a most
- beautiful girl lying asleep on the green grass, clad only in a vest of
- such fine stuff that it scarce in any measure veiled the whiteness of her
- flesh, and below the waist nought but an apron most white and fine of
- texture; and likewise at her feet there slept two women and a man, her
- slaves. No sooner did Cimon catch sight of her, than, as if he had never
- before seen form of woman, he stopped short, and leaning on his cudgel,
- regarded her intently, saying never a word, and lost in admiration. And
- in his rude soul, which, despite a thousand lessons, had hitherto
- remained impervious to every delight that belongs to urbane life, he felt
- the awakening of an idea, that bade his gross and coarse mind
- acknowledge, that this girl was the fairest creature that had ever been
- seen by mortal eye. And thereupon he began to distinguish her several
- parts, praising her hair, which shewed to him as gold, her brow, her nose
- and mouth, her throat and arms, and above all her bosom, which was as yet
- but in bud, and as he gazed, he changed of a sudden from a husbandman
- into a judge of beauty, and desired of all things to see her eyes, which
- the weight of her deep slumber kept close shut, and many a time he would
- fain have awakened her, that he might see them. But so much fairer seemed
- she to him than any other woman that he had seen, that he doubted she
- must be a goddess; and as he was not so devoid of sense but that he
- deemed things divine more worthy of reverence than things mundane, he
- forbore, and waited until she should awake of her own accord; and though
- he found the delay overlong, yet, enthralled by so unwonted a delight, he
- knew not how to be going. However, after he had tarried a long while, it
- so befell that Iphigenia--such was the girl's name--her slaves still
- sleeping, awoke, and raised her head, and opened her eyes, and seeing
- Cimon standing before her, leaning on his staff, was not a little
- surprised, and said:--"Cimon, what seekest thou in this wood at this
- hour?" For Cimon she knew well, as indeed did almost all the
- country-side, by reason alike of his uncouth appearance as of the rank
- and wealth of his father. To Iphigenia's question he answered never a
- word; but as soon as her eyes were open, nought could he do but intently
- regard them, for it seemed to him that a soft influence emanated from
- them, which filled his soul with a delight that he had never before
- known. Which the girl marking began to misdoubt that by so fixed a
- scrutiny his boorish temper might be prompted to some act that should
- cause her dishonour: wherefore she roused her women, and got up,
- saying:--"Keep thy distance, Cimon, in God's name." Whereto Cimon made
- answer:--"I will come with thee." And, albeit the girl refused his
- escort, being still in fear of him, she could not get quit of him; but he
- attended her home; after which he hied him straight to his father's
- house, and announced that he was minded on no account to go back to the
- farm: which intelligence was far from welcome to his father and kinsmen;
- but nevertheless they suffered him to stay, and waited to see what might
- be the reason of his change of mind. So Cimon, whose heart, closed to all
- teaching, love's shaft, sped by the beauty of Iphigenia, had penetrated,
- did now graduate in wisdom with such celerity as to astonish his father
- and kinsmen, and all that knew him. He began by requesting his father to
- let him go clad in the like apparel, and with, in all respects, the like
- personal equipment as his brothers: which his father very gladly did.
- Mixing thus with the gallants, and becoming familiar with the manners
- proper to gentlemen, and especially to lovers, he very soon, to the
- exceeding great wonder of all, not only acquired the rudiments of
- letters, but waxed most eminent among the philosophic wits. After which
- (for no other cause than the love he bore to Iphigenia) he not only
- modulated his gruff and boorish voice to a degree of smoothness suitable
- to urbane life, but made himself accomplished in singing and music; in
- riding also and in all matters belonging to war, as well by sea as by
- land, he waxed most expert and hardy. And in sum (that I go not about to
- enumerate each of his virtues in detail) he had not completed the fourth
- year from the day of his first becoming enamoured before he was grown the
- most gallant, and courteous, ay, and the most perfect in particular
- accomplishments, of the young cavaliers that were in the island of
- Cyprus. What then, gracious ladies, are we to say of Cimon? Verily nought
- else but that the high faculties, with which Heaven had endowed his noble
- soul, invidious Fortune had bound with the strongest of cords, and
- circumscribed within a very narrow region of his heart; all which cords
- Love, more potent than Fortune, burst and brake in pieces; and then with
- the might, wherewith he awakens dormant powers, he brought them forth of
- the cruel obfuscation, in which they lay, into clear light, plainly
- shewing thereby, whence he may draw, and whither he may guide, by his
- beams the souls that are subject to his sway.
- Now, albeit by his love for Iphigenia Cimon was betrayed, as young lovers
- very frequently are, into some peccadillos, yet Aristippus, reflecting
- that it had turned him from a booby into a man, not only bore patiently
- with him, but exhorted him with all his heart to continue steadfast in
- his love. And Cimon, who still refused to be called Galesus, because
- 'twas as Cimon that Iphigenia had first addressed him, being desirous to
- accomplish his desire by honourable means, did many a time urge his suit
- upon her father, Cipseus, that he would give her him to wife: whereto
- Cipseus always made the same answer, to wit, that he had promised her to
- Pasimondas, a young Rhodian noble, and was not minded to break faith with
- him. However, the time appointed for Iphigenia's wedding being come, and
- the bridegroom having sent for her, Cimon said to himself:--'Tis now for
- me to shew thee, O Iphigenia, how great is my love for thee: 'tis by thee
- that I am grown a man, nor doubt I, if I shall have thee, that I shall
- wax more glorious than a god, and verily thee will I have, or die. Having
- so said, he privily enlisted in his cause certain young nobles that were
- his friends, and secretly fitted out a ship with all equipment meet for
- combat, and put to sea on the look-out for the ship that was to bear
- Iphigenia to Rhodes and her husband. And at length, when her father had
- done lavishing honours upon her husband's friends, Iphigenia embarked,
- and, the mariners shaping their course for Rhodes, put to sea. Cimon was
- on the alert, and overhauled them the very next day, and standing on his
- ship's prow shouted amain to those that were aboard Iphigenia's
- ship:--"Bring to; strike sails, or look to be conquered and sunk in the
- sea." Then, seeing that the enemy had gotten their arms above deck, and
- were making ready to make a fight of it, he followed up his words by
- casting a grapnel upon the poop of the Rhodians, who were making great
- way; and having thus made their poop fast to his prow, he sprang, fierce
- as a lion, reckless whether he were followed or no, on to the Rhodians'
- ship, making, as it were, no account of them, and animated by love,
- hurled himself, sword in hand, with prodigious force among the enemy, and
- cutting and thrusting right and left, slaughtered them like sheep;
- insomuch that the Rhodians, marking the fury of his onset, threw down
- their arms, and as with one voice did all acknowledge themselves his
- prisoners. To whom Cimon:--"Gallants," quoth he, "'twas neither lust of
- booty nor enmity to you that caused me to put out from Cyprus to attack
- you here with force of arms on the high seas. Moved was I thereto by that
- which to gain is to me a matter great indeed, which peaceably to yield me
- is to you but a slight matter; for 'tis even Iphigenia, whom more than
- aught else I love; whom, as I might not have her of her father in
- peaceable and friendly sort, Love has constrained me to take from you in
- this high-handed fashion and by force of arms; to whom I mean to be even
- such as would have been your Pasimondas: wherefore give her to me, and go
- your way, and God's grace go with you."
- Yielding rather to force than prompted by generosity, the Rhodians
- surrendered Iphigenia, all tears, to Cimon; who, marking her tears, said
- to her:--"Grieve not, noble lady; thy Cimon am I, who, by my long love,
- have established a far better right to thee than Pasimondas by the faith
- that was plighted to him." So saying, he sent her aboard his ship,
- whither he followed her, touching nought that belonged to the Rhodians,
- and suffering them to go their way. To have gotten so dear a prize made
- him the happiest man in the world, but for a time 'twas all he could do
- to assuage her grief: then, after taking counsel with his comrades, he
- deemed it best not to return to Cyprus for the present: and so, by common
- consent they shaped their course for Crete, where most of them, and
- especially Cimon, had alliances of old or recent date, and friends not a
- few, whereby they deemed that there they might tarry with Iphigenia in
- security. But Fortune, that had accorded Cimon so gladsome a capture of
- the lady, suddenly proved fickle, and converted the boundless joy of the
- enamoured gallant into woeful and bitter lamentation. 'Twas not yet full
- four hours since Cimon had parted from the Rhodians, when with the
- approach of night, that night from which Cimon hoped such joyance as he
- had never known, came weather most turbulent and tempestuous, which
- wrapped the heavens in cloud, and swept the sea with scathing blasts;
- whereby 'twas not possible for any to see how the ship was to be worked
- or steered, or to steady himself so as to do any duty upon her deck.
- Whereat what grief was Cimon's, it boots not to ask. Indeed it seemed to
- him that the gods had granted his heart's desire only that it might be
- harder for him to die, which had else been to him but a light matter. Not
- less downcast were his comrades; but most of all Iphigenia, who, weeping
- bitterly and shuddering at every wave that struck the ship, did cruelly
- curse Cimon's love and censure his rashness, averring that this tempest
- was come upon them for no other cause than that the gods had decreed,
- that, as 'twas in despite of their will that he purposed to espouse her,
- he should be frustrate of his presumptuous intent, and having lived to
- see her expire, should then himself meet a woeful death.
- While thus and yet more bitterly they bewailed them, and the mariners
- were at their wits' end, as the gale grew hourly more violent, nor knew
- they, nor might conjecture, whither they went, they drew nigh the island
- of Rhodes, albeit that Rhodes it was they wist not, and set themselves,
- as best and most skilfully they might, to run the ship aground. In which
- enterprise Fortune favoured them, bringing them into a little bay, where,
- shortly before them, was arrived the Rhodian ship that Cimon had let go.
- Nor were they sooner ware that 'twas Rhodes they had made, than day
- broke, and, the sky thus brightening a little, they saw that they were
- about a bow-shot from the ship that they had released on the preceding
- day. Whereupon Cimon, vexed beyond measure, being apprehensive of that
- which in fact befell them, bade make every effort to win out of the bay,
- and let Fortune carry them whither she would, for nowhere might they be
- in worse plight than there. So might and main they strove to bring the
- ship out, but all in vain: the violence of the gale thwarted them to such
- purpose as not only to preclude their passage out of the bay but to drive
- them, willing nilling, ashore. Whither no sooner were they come, than
- they were recognized by the Rhodian mariners, who were already landed. Of
- whom one ran with all speed to a farm hard by, whither the Rhodian
- gallants were gone, and told them that Fortune had brought Cimon and
- Iphigenia aboard their ship into the same bay to which she had guided
- them. Whereat the gallants were overjoyed, and taking with them not a few
- of the farm-servants, hied them in hot haste to the shore, where, Cimon
- and his men being already landed with intent to take refuge in a
- neighbouring wood, they took them all (with Iphigenia) and brought them
- to the farm. Whence, pursuant to an order of the Senate of Rhodes, to
- which, so soon as he received the news, Pasimondas made his complaint,
- Cimon and his men were all marched off to prison by Lysimachus, chief
- magistrate of the Rhodians for that year, who came down from the city for
- the purpose with an exceeding great company of men at arms. On such wise
- did our hapless and enamoured Cimon lose his so lately won Iphigenia
- before he had had of her more than a kiss or two. Iphigenia was
- entertained and comforted of the annoy, occasioned as well by her recent
- capture as by the fury of the sea, by not a few noble ladies of Rhodes,
- with whom she tarried until the day appointed for her marriage. In
- recompense of the release of the Rhodian gallants on the preceding day
- the lives of Cimon and his men were spared, notwithstanding that
- Pasimondas pressed might and main for their execution; and instead they
- were condemned to perpetual imprisonment: wherein, as may be supposed,
- they abode in dolorous plight, and despaired of ever again knowing
- happiness.
- However, it so befell that, Pasimondas accelerating his nuptials to the
- best of his power, Fortune, as if repenting her that in her haste she had
- done Cimon so evil a turn, did now by a fresh disposition of events
- compass his deliverance. Pasimondas had a brother, by name Hormisdas, his
- equal in all respects save in years, who had long been contract to marry
- Cassandra, a fair and noble damsel of Rhodes, of whom Lysimachus was in
- the last degree enamoured; but owing to divers accidents the marriage had
- been from time to time put off. Now Pasimondas, being about to celebrate
- his nuptials with exceeding great pomp, bethought him that he could not
- do better than, to avoid a repetition of the pomp and expense, arrange,
- if so he might, that his brother should be wedded on the same day with
- himself. So, having consulted anew with Cassandra's kinsfolk, and come to
- an understanding with them, he and his brother and they conferred
- together, and agreed that on the same day that Pasimondas married
- Iphigenia, Hormisdas should marry Cassandra. Lysimachus, getting wind of
- this arrangement, was mortified beyond measure, seeing himself thereby
- deprived of the hope which he cherished of marrying Cassandra himself, if
- Hormisdas should not forestall him. But like a wise man he concealed his
- chagrin, and cast about how he might frustrate the arrangement: to which
- end he saw no other possible means but to carry Cassandra off. It did not
- escape him that the office which he held would render this easily
- feasible, but he deemed it all the more dishonourable than if he had not
- held the office; but, in short, after much pondering, honour yielded
- place to love, and he made up his mind that, come what might, he would
- carry Cassandra off. Then, as he took thought what company he should take
- with him, and how he should go about the affair, he remembered Cimon,
- whom he had in prison with his men, and it occurred to him that he could
- not possibly have a better or more trusty associate in such an enterprise
- than Cimon. Wherefore the same night he caused Cimon to be brought
- privily to him in his own room, and thus addressed him:--"Cimon, as the
- gods are most generous and liberal to bestow their gifts on men, so are
- they also most sagacious to try their virtue; and those whom they find to
- be firm and steadfast in all circumstances they honour, as the most
- worthy, with the highest rewards. They have been minded to be certified
- of thy worth by better proofs than thou couldst afford them, as long as
- thy life was bounded by thy father's house amid the superabundant wealth
- which I know him to possess: wherefore in the first place they so wrought
- upon thee with the shrewd incitements of Love that from an insensate
- brute, as I have heard, thou grewest to be a man; since when, it has been
- and is their intent to try whether evil fortune and harsh imprisonment
- may avail to change thee from the temper that was thine when for a short
- while thou hadst joyance of the prize thou hadst won. And so thou prove
- the same that thou wast then, they have in store for thee a boon
- incomparably greater than aught that they vouchsafed thee before: what
- that boon is, to the end thou mayst recover heart and thy wonted
- energies, I will now explain to thee. Pasimondas, exultant in thy
- misfortune and eager to compass thy death, hastens to the best of his
- power his nuptials with thy Iphigenia; that so he may enjoy the prize
- that Fortune, erstwhile smiling, gave thee, and forthwith, frowning, reft
- from thee. Whereat how sore must be thy grief, if rightly I gauge thy
- love, I know by my own case, seeing that his brother Hormisdas addresses
- himself to do me on the same day a like wrong in regard of Cassandra,
- whom I love more than aught else in the world. Nor see I that Fortune has
- left us any way of escape from this her unjust and cruel spite, save what
- we may make for ourselves by a resolved spirit and the might of our right
- hands: take we then the sword, and therewith make we, each, prize of his
- lady, thou for the second, I for the first time: for so thou value the
- recovery, I say not of thy liberty, for without thy lady I doubt thou
- wouldst hold it cheap, but of thy lady, the gods have placed it in thine
- own hands, if thou art but minded to join me in my enterprise."
- These words restored to Cimon all that he had lost of heart and hope, nor
- pondered he long, before he replied:--"Lysimachus, comrade stouter or
- more staunch than I thou mightst not have in such an enterprise, if such
- indeed it be as thou sayst: wherefore lay upon me such behest as thou
- shalt deem meet, and thou shalt marvel to witness the vigour of my
- performance." Whereupon Lysimachus:--"On the third day from now," quoth
- he, "their husbands' houses will be newly entered by the brides, and on
- the same day at even we too will enter them in arms, thou with thy men,
- and I with some of mine, in whom I place great trust, and forcing our way
- among the guests and slaughtering all that dare to oppose us, will bear
- the ladies off to a ship which I have had privily got ready." Cimon
- approved the plan, and kept quiet in prison until the appointed time;
- which being come, the nuptials were celebrated with great pomp and
- magnificence, that filled the houses of the two brothers with festal
- cheer. Then Lysimachus having made ready all things meet, and fired Cimon
- and his men and his own friends for the enterprise by a long harangue,
- disposed them in due time, all bearing arms under their cloaks, in three
- companies; and having privily despatched one company to the port, that,
- when the time should come to embark, he might meet with no let, he
- marched with the other two companies to the house of Pasimondas, posted
- the one company at the gate, that, being entered, they might not be shut
- in or debarred their egress, and, with the other company and Cimon,
- ascended the stairs, and gained the saloon, where the brides and not a
- few other ladies were set at several tables to sup in meet order:
- whereupon in they rushed, and overthrew the tables and seized each his
- own lady, and placed them in charge of their men, whom they bade bear
- them off forthwith to the ship that lay ready to receive them. Whereupon
- the brides and the other ladies and the servants with one accord fell a
- sobbing and shrieking, insomuch that a confused din and lamentation
- filled the whole place. Cimon, Lysimachus and their band, none
- withstanding, but all giving way before them, gained the stairs, which
- they were already descending when they encountered Pasimondas, who,
- carrying a great staff in his hand, was making in the direction of the
- noise; but one doughty stroke of Cimon's sword sufficed to cleave his
- skull in twain, and lay him dead at Cimon's feet, and another stroke
- disposed of hapless Hormisdas, as he came running to his brother's aid.
- Some others who ventured to approach them were wounded and beaten off by
- the retinue. So forth of the house, that reeked with blood and resounded
- with tumult and lamentation and woe, sped Simon and Lysimachus with all
- their company, and without any let, in close order, with their fair booty
- in their midst, made good their retreat to the ship; whereon with the
- ladies they one and all embarked, for the shore was now full of armed men
- come to rescue the ladies, and, the oarsmen giving way, put to sea elate.
- Arrived at Crete, they met with a hearty welcome on the part of their
- many friends and kinsfolk; and, having married their ladies, they made
- greatly merry, and had gladsome joyance of their fair booty. Their doings
- occasioned, both in Cyprus and in Rhodes, no small stir and commotion,
- which lasted for a long while: but in the end, by the good offices of
- their friends and kinsfolk in both islands, 'twas so ordered as that
- after a certain term of exile Cimon returned with Iphigenia to Cyprus,
- and in like manner Lysimachus returned with Cassandra to Rhodes; and long
- and blithely thereafter lived they, each well contented with his own wife
- in his own land.
- (1) One of the augmentative forms of bestia.
- NOVEL II.
- --
- Gostanza loves Martuccio Gomito, and hearing that he is dead, gives way
- to despair, and hies her alone aboard a boat, which is wafted by the wind
- to Susa. She finds him alive in Tunis, and makes herself known to him,
- who, having by his counsel gained high place in the king's favour,
- marries her, and returns with her wealthy to Lipari.
- --
- Pamfilo's story being ended, the queen, after commending it not a little,
- called for one to follow from Emilia; who thus began:--
- Meet and right it is that one should rejoice when events so fall out that
- passion meets with its due reward: and as love merits in the long run
- rather joy than suffering, far gladlier obey I the queen's than I did the
- king's behest, and address myself to our present theme. You are to know
- then, dainty ladies, that not far from Sicily there is an islet called
- Lipari, in which, no great while ago, there dwelt a damsel, Gostanza by
- name, fair as fair could be, and of one of the most honourable families
- in the island. And one Martuccio Gomito, who was also of the island, a
- young man most gallant and courteous, and worthy for his condition,
- became enamoured of Gostanza; who in like manner grew so afire for him
- that she was ever ill at ease, except she saw him. Martuccio, craving her
- to wife, asked her of her father, who made answer that, Martuccio being
- poor, he was not minded to give her to him. Mortified to be thus rejected
- by reason of poverty, Martuccio took an oath in presence of some of his
- friends and kinsfolk that Lipari should know him no more, until he was
- wealthy. So away he sailed, and took to scouring the seas as a rover on
- the coast of Barbary, preying upon all whose force matched not his own.
- In which way of life he found Fortune favourable enough, had he but known
- how to rest and be thankful: but 'twas not enough that he and his
- comrades in no long time waxed very wealthy; their covetousness was
- inordinate, and, while they sought to gratify it, they chanced in an
- encounter with certain Saracen ships to be taken after a long defence,
- and despoiled, and, most part of them, thrown into the sea by their
- captors, who, after sinking his ship, took Martuccio with them to Tunis,
- and clapped him in prison, and there kept him a long time in a very sad
- plight.
- Meanwhile, not by one or two, but by divers and not a few persons,
- tidings reached Lipari that all that were with Martuccio aboard his bark
- had perished in the sea. The damsel, whose grief on Martuccio's departure
- had known no bounds, now hearing that he was dead with the rest, wept a
- great while, and made up her mind to have done with life; but, lacking
- the resolution to lay violent hands upon herself, she bethought her how
- she might devote herself to death by some novel expedient. So one night
- she stole out of her father's house, and hied her to the port, and there
- by chance she found, lying a little apart from the other craft, a fishing
- boat, which, as the owners had but just quitted her, was still equipped
- with mast and sails and oars. Aboard which boat she forthwith got, and
- being, like most of the women of the island, not altogether without
- nautical skill, she rowed some distance out to sea, and then hoisted
- sail, and cast away oars and tiller, and let the boat drift, deeming that
- a boat without lading or steersman would certainly be either capsized by
- the wind or dashed against some rock and broken in pieces, so that escape
- she could not, even if she would, but must perforce drown. And so, her
- head wrapped in a mantle, she stretched herself weeping on the floor of
- the boat. But it fell out quite otherwise than she had conjectured: for,
- the wind being from the north, and very equable, with next to no sea, the
- boat kept an even keel, and next day about vespers bore her to land hard
- by a city called Susa, full a hundred miles beyond Tunis. To the damsel
- 'twas all one whether she were at sea or ashore, for, since she had been
- aboard, she had never once raised, nor, come what might, meant she ever
- to raise, her head.
- Now it so chanced, that, when the boat grounded, there was on the shore a
- poor woman that was in the employ of some fishermen, whose nets she was
- just taking out of the sunlight. Seeing the boat under full sail, she
- marvelled how it should be suffered to drive ashore, and conjectured that
- the fishermen on board were asleep. So to the boat she hied her, and
- finding therein only the damsel fast asleep, she called her many times,
- and at length awakened her; and perceiving by her dress that she was a
- Christian, she asked her in Latin how it was that she was come thither
- all alone in the boat. Hearing the Latin speech, the damsel wondered
- whether the wind had not shifted, and carried her back to Lipari: so up
- she started, gazed about her, and finding herself ashore and the aspect
- of the country strange, asked the good woman where she was. To which the
- good woman made answer:--"My daughter, thou art hard by Susa in Barbary."
- Whereupon the damsel, sorrowful that God had not seen fit to accord her
- the boon of death, apprehensive of dishonour, and at her wits' end, sat
- herself down at the foot of her boat, and burst into tears. Which the
- good woman saw not without pity, and persuaded her to come with her into
- her hut, and there by coaxing drew from her how she was come thither; and
- knowing that she could not but be fasting, she set before her her own
- coarse bread and some fish and water, and prevailed upon her to eat a
- little. Gostanza thereupon asked her, who she was that thus spoke Latin;
- whereto she answered that her name was Carapresa, and that she was from
- Trapani, where she had served some Christian fishermen. To the damsel,
- sad indeed though she was, this name Carapresa, wherefore she knew not,
- seemed to be of happy augury, so that she began to take hope, she knew
- not why, and to grow somewhat less fain of death: wherefore without
- disclosing who or whence she was, she earnestly besought the good woman
- for the love of God to have pity on her youth, and advise her how best to
- avoid insult. Whereupon Carapresa, good woman that she was, left her in
- her hut, while with all speed she picked up her nets; and on her return
- she wrapped her in her own mantle, and led her to Susa. Arrived there,
- she said to her:--"Gostanza, I shall bring thee to the house of an
- excellent Saracen lady, for whom I frequently do bits of work, as she has
- occasion: she is an old lady and compassionate: I will commend thee to
- her care as best I may, and I doubt not she will right gladly receive
- thee, and entreat thee as her daughter: and thou wilt serve her, and,
- while thou art with her, do all thou canst to gain her favour, until such
- time as God may send thee better fortune;" and as she said, so she did.
- The old lady listened, and then, gazing steadfastly in the damsel's face,
- shed tears, and taking her hand, kissed her forehead, and led her into
- the house, where she and some other women dwelt quite by themselves,
- doing divers kinds of handiwork in silk and palm leaves and leather.
- Wherein the damsel in a few days acquired some skill, and thenceforth
- wrought together with them; and rose wondrous high in the favour and good
- graces of all the ladies, who soon taught her their language.
- Now while the damsel, mourned at home as lost and dead, dwelt thus at
- Susa, it so befell that, Mariabdela being then King of Tunis, a young
- chieftain in Granada, of great power, and backed by mighty allies, gave
- out that the realm of Tunis belonged to him, and having gathered a vast
- army, made a descent upon Tunis with intent to expel the King from the
- realm. Martuccio Gomito, who knew the language of Barbary well, heard the
- tidings in prison, and learning that the King of Tunis was mustering a
- mighty host for the defence of his kingdom, said to one of the warders
- that were in charge of him and his comrades:--"If I might have speech of
- the King, I am confident that the advice that I should give him would
- secure him the victory." The warder repeated these words to his chief,
- who forthwith carried them to the King. Wherefore by the King's command
- Martuccio was brought before him, and being asked by him what the advice,
- of which he had spoken, might be, answered on this wise:--"Sire, if in
- old days, when I was wont to visit this country of yours, I duly observed
- the manner in which you order your battle, methinks you place your main
- reliance upon archers; and therefore, if you could contrive that your
- enemy's supply of arrows should give out and your own continue plentiful,
- I apprehend that you would win the battle." "Ay indeed," replied the
- King, "I make no doubt that, could I but accomplish that, I should
- conquer." "Nay but, Sire," returned Martuccio, "you may do it, if you
- will. Listen, and I will tell you how. You must fit the bows of your
- archers with strings much finer than those that are in common use, and
- match them with arrows, the notches of which will not admit any but these
- fine strings; and this you must do so secretly that your enemy may not
- know it, else he will find means to be even with you. Which counsel I
- give you for the following reason:--When your and your enemy's archers
- have expended all their arrows, you wot that the enemy will fall to
- picking up the arrows that your men have shot during the battle, and your
- men will do the like by the enemy's arrows; but the enemy will not be
- able to make use of your men's arrows, by reason that their fine notches
- will not suffice to admit the stout strings, whereas your men will be in
- the contrary case in regard of the enemy's arrows, for the fine string
- will very well receive the large-notched arrow, and so your men will have
- an abundant supply of arrows, while the enemy will be at a loss for
- them."
- The King, who lacked not sagacity, appreciated Martuccio's advice, and
- gave full effect to it; whereby he came out of the war a conqueror, and
- Martuccio, being raised to the chief place in his favour, waxed rich and
- powerful. Which matters being bruited throughout the country, it came to
- the ears of Gostanza that Martuccio Gomito, whom she had long supposed to
- be dead, was alive; whereby her love for him, some embers of which still
- lurked in her heart, burst forth again in sudden flame, and gathered
- strength, and revived her dead hope. Wherefore she frankly told all her
- case to the good lady with whom she dwelt, saying that she would fain go
- to Tunis, that her eyes might have assurance of that which the report
- received by her ears had made them yearn to see. The lady fell heartily
- in with the girl's desire, and, as if she had been her mother, embarked
- with her for Tunis, where on their arrival they were honourably received
- in the house of one of her kinswomen. Carapresa, who had attended her,
- being sent to discover what she might touching Martuccio, brought back
- word that he was alive, and high in honour and place. The gentlewoman was
- minded that none but herself should apprise Martuccio of the arrival of
- his Gostanza: wherefore she hied her one day to Martuccio, and
- said:--"Martuccio, there is come to my house a servant of thine from
- Lipari, who would fain speak with thee here privily, and for that he
- would not have me trust another, I am come hither myself to deliver his
- message." Martuccio thanked her, and forthwith hied him with her to her
- house: where no sooner did the girl see him than she all but died for
- joy, and carried away by her feelings, fell upon his neck with open arms
- and embraced him, and, what with sorrow of his past woes and her present
- happiness, said never a word, but softly wept. Martuccio regarded her for
- a while in silent wonder; then, heaving a sigh, he said:--"Thou livest
- then, my Gostanza? Long since I heard that thou wast lost; nor was aught
- known of thee at home." Which said, he tenderly and with tears embraced
- her. Gostanza told him all her adventures, and how honourably she had
- been entreated by the gentlewoman with whom she had dwelt. And so long
- time they conversed, and then Martuccio parted from her, and hied him
- back to his lord the King, and told him all, to wit, his own adventures
- and those of the girl, adding that with his leave he was minded to marry
- her according to our law. Which matters the King found passing strange;
- and having called the girl to him, and learned from her that 'twas even
- as Martuccio had said:--"Well indeed," quoth he, "hast thou won thy
- husband." Then caused he gifts most ample and excellent to be brought
- forth, part of which he gave to Gostanza, and part to Martuccio, leaving
- them entirely to their own devices in regard of one another. Then
- Martuccio, in terms most honourable, bade farewell to the old lady with
- whom Gostanza had dwelt, thanking her for the service she had rendered to
- Gostanza, and giving her presents suited to her condition, and commending
- her to God, while Gostanza shed many a tear: after which, by leave of the
- King, they went aboard a light bark, taking with them Carapresa, and,
- sped by a prosperous breeze, arrived at Lipari, where they were received
- with such cheer as 'twere vain to attempt to describe. There were
- Martuccio and Gostanza wedded with all pomp and splendour; and there long
- time in easeful peace they had joyance of their love.
- NOVEL III.
- --
- Pietro Boccamazza runs away with Agnolella, and encounters a gang of
- robbers: the girl takes refuge in a wood, and is guided to a castle.
- Pietro is taken, but escapes out of the hands of the robbers, and after
- some adventures arrives at the castle where Agnolella is, marries her,
- and returns with her to Rome.
- --
- Ended Emilia's story, which none of the company spared to commend, the
- queen, turning to Elisa, bade her follow suit; and she, with glad
- obedience, thus began:--
- 'Tis a story, sweet ladies, of a woeful night passed by two indiscreet
- young lovers that I have in mind; but, as thereon ensued not a few days
- of joy, 'tis not inapposite to our argument, and shall be narrated.
- 'Tis no long time since at Rome, which, albeit now the tail,(1) was of
- yore the head, of the world, there dwelt a young man, Pietro Boccamazza
- by name, a scion of one of the most illustrious of the Roman houses, who
- became enamoured of a damsel exceeding fair, and amorous withal--her name
- Agnolella--the daughter of one Gigliuozzo Saullo, a plebeian, but in high
- repute among the Romans. Nor, loving thus, did Pietro lack the address to
- inspire in Agnolella a love as ardent as his own. Wherefore, overmastered
- by his passion, and minded no longer to endure the sore suffering that it
- caused him, he asked her in marriage. Whereof his kinsfolk were no sooner
- apprised, than with one accord they came to him and strongly urged him to
- desist from his purpose: they also gave Gigliuozzo Saullo to understand
- that he were best to pay no sort of heed to Pietro's words, for that, if
- he so did, they would never acknowledge him as friend or relative. Thus
- to see himself debarred of the one way by which he deemed he might attain
- to his desire, Pietro was ready to die for grief, and, all his kinsfolk
- notwithstanding, he would have married Gigliuozzo's daughter, had but the
- father consented. Wherefore at length he made up his mind that, if the
- girl were willing, nought should stand in the way; and having through a
- common friend sounded the damsel and found her apt, he brought her to
- consent to elope with him from Rome. The affair being arranged, Pietro
- and she took horse betimes one morning, and sallied forth for Anagni,
- where Pietro had certain friends, in whom he placed much trust; and as
- they rode, time not serving for full joyance of their love, for they
- feared pursuit, they held converse thereof, and from time to time
- exchanged a kiss. Now it so befell, that, the way being none too well
- known to Pietro, when, perhaps eight miles from Rome, they should have
- turned to the right, they took instead a leftward road. Whereon when they
- had ridden but little more than two miles, they found themselves close to
- a petty castle, whence, so soon as they were observed, there issued some
- dozen men at arms; and, as they drew near, the damsel, espying them, gave
- a cry, and said:--"We are attacked, Pietro, let us flee;" and guiding her
- nag as best she knew towards a great forest, she planted the spurs in his
- sides, and so, holding on by the saddle-bow, was borne by the goaded
- creature into the forest at a gallop. Pietro, who had been too engrossed
- with her face to give due heed to the way, and thus had not been ware, as
- soon as she, of the approach of the men at arms, was still looking about
- to see whence they were coming, when they came up with him, and took him
- prisoner, and forced him to dismount. Then they asked who he was, and,
- when he told them, they conferred among themselves, saying:--"This is one
- of the friends of our enemies: what else can we do but relieve him of his
- nag and of his clothes, and hang him on one of these oaks in scorn of the
- Orsini?" To which proposal all agreeing, they bade Pietro strip himself:
- but while, already divining his fate, he was so doing, an ambuscade of
- full five-and-twenty men at arms fell suddenly upon them,
- crying:--"Death, death!" Thus surprised, they let Pietro go, and stood on
- the defensive; but, seeing that the enemy greatly outnumbered them, they
- took to their heels, the others giving chase. Whereupon Pietro hastily
- resumed his clothes, mounted his nag, and fled with all speed in the
- direction which he had seen the damsel take. But finding no road or path
- through the forest, nor discerning any trace of a horse's hooves, he
- was--for that he found not the damsel--albeit he deemed himself safe out
- of the clutches of his captors and their assailants, the most wretched
- man alive, and fell a weeping and wandering hither and thither about the
- forest, uttering Agnolella's name. None answered; but turn back he dared
- not: so on he went, not knowing whither he went; besides which, he was in
- mortal dread of the wild beasts that infest the forest, as well on
- account of himself as of the damsel, whom momently he seemed to see
- throttled by some bear or wolf. Thus did our unfortunate Pietro spend the
- whole day, wandering about the forest, making it to resound with his
- cries of Agnolella's name, and harking at times back, when he thought to
- go forward; until at last, what with his cries and his tears and his
- fears and his long fasting, he was so spent that he could go no further.
- 'Twas then nightfall, and, as he knew not what else to do, he dismounted
- at the foot of an immense oak, and having tethered his nag to the trunk,
- climbed up into the branches, lest he should be devoured by the wild
- beasts during the night. Shortly afterwards the moon rose with a very
- clear sky, and Pietro, who dared not sleep, lest he should fall, and
- indeed, had he been secure from that risk, his misery and his anxiety on
- account of the damsel would not have suffered him to sleep, kept watch,
- sighing and weeping and cursing his evil luck.
- Now the damsel, who, as we said before, had fled she knew not whither,
- allowing her nag to carry her whithersoever he would, strayed so far into
- the forest that she lost sight of the place where she had entered it, and
- spent the whole day just as Pietro had done, wandering about the
- wilderness, pausing from time to time, and weeping, and uttering his
- name, and bewailing her evil fortune. At last, seeing that 'twas now the
- vesper hour and Pietro came not, she struck into a path, which the nag
- followed, until, after riding some two miles, she espied at some distance
- a cottage, for which she made with all speed, and found there a good man,
- well stricken in years, with his wife, who was likewise aged. Seeing her
- ride up alone, they said:--"Daughter, wherefore ridest thou thus alone at
- this hour in these parts?" Weeping, the damsel made answer that she had
- lost her companion in the forest, and asked how far might Anagni be from
- there? "My daughter," returned the good man, "this is not the road to
- Anagni; 'tis more than twelve miles away." "And how far off," inquired
- the damsel, "are the nearest houses in which one might find lodging for
- the night?" "There are none so near," replied the good man, "that thou
- canst reach them to-day." "Then, so please you," said the damsel, "since
- go elsewhither I cannot, for God's sake let me pass the night here with
- you." Whereto the good man made answer:--"Damsel, welcome art thou to
- tarry the night with us; but still thou art to know that these parts are
- infested both by day and by night by bands, which, be they friends or be
- they foes, are alike ill to meet with, and not seldom do much despite and
- mischief, and if by misadventure one of these bands should visit us while
- thou wert here, and marking thy youth and beauty should do thee despite
- and dishonour, we should be unable to afford thee any succour. This we
- would have thee know, that if it should so come to pass, thou mayst not
- have cause to reproach us." The damsel heard not the old man's words
- without dismay; but, seeing that the hour was now late, she
- answered:--"God, if He be so pleased, will save both you and me from such
- molestation, and if not, 'tis a much lesser evil to be maltreated by men
- than to be torn in pieces by the wild beasts in the forest." So saying,
- she dismounted, and entered the cottage, where, having supped with the
- poor man and his wife on such humble fare as they had, she laid herself
- in her clothes beside them in their bed. She slept not, however; for her
- own evil plight and that of Pietro, for whom she knew not how to augur
- aught but evil, kept her sighing and weeping all night long. And towards
- matins she heard a great noise as of men that marched; so up she got and
- hied her into a large courtyard that was in rear of the cottage, and part
- of which was covered with a great heap of hay, which she espying, hid
- herself therein, that, if the men came there, they might not so readily
- find her. Scarce had she done so than the men, who proved to be a strong
- company of marauders, were at the door of the cottage, which they forced
- open; and having entered, and found the damsel's nag, still saddled, they
- asked who was there. The damsel being out of sight, the good man
- answered:--"There is none here but my wife and I; but this nag, which has
- given some one the slip, found his way hither last night, and we housed
- him, lest he should be devoured by the wolves." "So!" said the chief of
- the band, "as he has no owner, he will come in very handy for us."
- Whereupon, in several parties, they ransacked the cottage from top to
- bottom; and one party went out into the courtyard, where, as they threw
- aside their lances and targets, it so befell that one of them, not
- knowing where else to bestow his lance, tossed it into the hay, and was
- within an ace of killing the damsel that lay hid there, as likewise she
- of betraying her whereabouts, for the lance all but grazing her left
- breast, insomuch that the head tore her apparel, she doubted she was
- wounded, and had given a great shriek, but that, remembering where she
- was, she refrained for fear. By and by the company cooked them a
- breakfast of kid's and other meat, and having eaten and drunken,
- dispersed in divers directions, as their affairs required, taking the
- girl's nag with them. And when they were gotten some little way off, the
- good man asked his wife:--"What became of the damsel, our guest of last
- night, that I have not seen her since we rose?" The good woman answered
- that she knew not where the damsel was, and went to look for her. The
- damsel, discovering that the men were gone, came forth of the hay, and
- the good man, seeing her, was overjoyed that she had not fallen into the
- hands of the ruffians, and, as day was breaking, said to her:--"Now that
- day is at hand, we will, so it like thee, escort thee to a castle, some
- five miles hence, where thou wilt be in safety; but thou must needs go
- afoot, because these villains, that are but just gone, have taken thy nag
- with them." The damsel, resigning herself to her loss, besought them for
- God's sake to take her to the castle: whereupon they set forth, and
- arrived there about half tierce. Now the castle belonged to one of the
- Orsini, Liello di Campo di Fiore by name, whose wife, as it chanced, was
- there. A most kindly and good woman she was, and, recognizing the damsel
- as soon as she saw her, gave her a hearty welcome and would fain have
- from her a particular account of how she came there. So the damsel told
- her the whole story. The lady, to whom Pietro was also known, as being a
- friend of her husband, was distressed to hear of his misadventure, and
- being told where he was taken, gave him up for dead. So she said to the
- damsel:--"Since so it is that thou knowest not how Pietro has fared, thou
- shalt stay here with me until such time as I may have opportunity to send
- thee safely back to Rome."
- Meanwhile Pietro, perched on his oak in as woeful a plight as might be,
- had espied, when he should have been in his first sleep, a full score of
- wolves, that, as they prowled, caught sight of the nag, and straightway
- were upon him on all sides. The horse, as soon as he was ware of their
- approach, strained on the reins till they snapped, and tried to make good
- his escape; but, being hemmed in, was brought to bay, and made a long
- fight of it with his teeth and hooves; but in the end they bore him down
- and throttled him and forthwith eviscerated him, and, the whole pack
- falling upon him, devoured him to the bone before they had done with him.
- Whereat Pietro, who felt that in the nag he had lost a companion and a
- comfort in his travail, was sorely dismayed, and began to think that he
- should never get out of the forest. But towards dawn, he, perched there
- in the oak, almost dead with cold, looking around him as he frequently
- did, espied about a mile off a huge fire. Wherefore, as soon as 'twas
- broad day, he got down, not without trepidation, from the oak, and bent
- his steps towards the fire; and being come to it, he found, gathered
- about it, a company of shepherds, eating and making merry, who took pity
- on him and made him welcome. And when he had broken his fast and warmed
- himself, he told them the mishap that had befallen him, and how it was
- that he was come there alone, and asked them if there was a farm or
- castle in those parts, whither he might betake him. The shepherds said
- that about three miles away there was a castle belonging to Liello di
- Campo di Fiore, where his lady was then tarrying. Pietro, much comforted,
- requested to be guided thither by some of their company; whereupon two of
- them right gladly escorted him. So Pietro arrived at the castle, where he
- found some that knew him; and while he was endeavouring to set on foot a
- search for the damsel in the forest, the lady summoned him to her
- presence, and he, forthwith obeying, and seeing Agnolella with her, was
- the happiest man that ever was. He yearned till he all but swooned to go
- and embrace her, but refrained, for bashfulness, in the lady's presence.
- And overjoyed as he was, the joy of the damsel was no less. The lady
- received him with great cheer, and though, when she had heard the story
- of his adventures from his own lips, she chid him not a little for having
- set at nought the wishes of his kinsfolk; yet, seeing that he was still
- of the same mind, and that the damsel was also constant, she said to
- herself:--To what purpose give I myself all this trouble? they love one
- another, they know one another; they love with equal ardour; their love
- is honourable, and I doubt not is well pleasing to God, seeing that the
- one has escaped the gallows and the other the lance, and both the wild
- beasts: wherefore be it as they would have it. Then, turning to them, she
- said:--"If 'tis your will to be joined in wedlock as man and wife, mine
- jumps with it: here shall your nuptials be solemnized and at Liello's
- charges, and for the rest I will see that your peace is made with your
- kinsfolk." So in the castle the pair were wedded, Pietro only less blithe
- than Agnolella, the lady ordering the nuptials as honourably as might be
- in her mountain-home, and there they had most sweet joyance of the first
- fruits of their love. So some days they tarried there, and then
- accompanied by the lady with a strong escort, they took horse and
- returned to Rome, where, very wroth though she found Pietro's kinsfolk
- for what he had done, the lady re-established solid peace between him and
- them; and so at Rome Pietro and Agnolella lived together to a good old
- age in great tranquillity and happiness.
- (1) In reference to the forlorn condition of the city while the seat of
- the papacy was at Avignon, 1308-1377.
- NOVEL IV.
- --
- Ricciardo Manardi is found by Messer Lizio da Valbona with his daughter,
- whom he marries, and remains at peace with her father.
- --
- In silence Elisa received the praise bestowed on her story by her fair
- companions; and then the queen called for a story from Filostrato, who
- with a laugh began on this wise:--Chidden have I been so often and by so
- many of you for the sore burden, which I laid upon you, of discourse
- harsh and meet for tears, that, as some compensation for such annoy, I
- deem myself bound to tell you somewhat that may cause you to laugh a
- little: wherefore my story, which will be of the briefest, shall be of a
- love, the course whereof, save for sighs and a brief passage of fear
- mingled with shame, ran smooth to a happy consummation.
- Know then, noble ladies, that 'tis no long time since there dwelt in
- Romagna a right worthy and courteous knight, Messer Lizio da Valbona by
- name, who was already verging upon old age, when, as it happened, there
- was born to him of his wife, Madonna Giacomina, a daughter, who, as she
- grew up, became the fairest and most debonair of all the girls of those
- parts, and, for that she was the only daughter left to them, was most
- dearly loved and cherished by her father and mother, who guarded her with
- most jealous care, thinking to arrange some great match for her. Now
- there was frequently in Messer Lizio's house, and much in his company, a
- fine, lusty young man, one Ricciardo de' Manardi da Brettinoro, whom
- Messer Lizio and his wife would as little have thought of mistrusting as
- if he had been their own son: who, now and again taking note of the
- damsel, that she was very fair and graceful, and in bearing and behaviour
- most commendable, and of marriageable age, fell vehemently in love with
- her, which love he was very careful to conceal. The damsel detected it,
- however, and in like manner plunged headlong into love with him, to
- Ricciardo's no small satisfaction. Again and again he was on the point of
- speaking to her, but refrained for fear; at length, however, he summoned
- up his courage, and seizing his opportunity, thus addressed
- her:--"Caterina, I implore thee, suffer me not to die for love of thee."
- Whereto the damsel forthwith responded:--"Nay, God grant that it be not
- rather that I die for love of thee." Greatly exhilarated and encouraged,
- Ricciardo made answer:--"'Twill never be by default of mine that thou
- lackest aught that may pleasure thee; but it rests with thee to find the
- means to save thy life and mine." Then said the damsel:--"Thou seest,
- Ricciardo, how closely watched I am, insomuch that I see not how 'twere
- possible for thee to come to me; but if thou seest aught that I may do
- without dishonour, speak the word, and I will do it." Ricciardo was
- silent a while, pondering many matters: then, of a sudden, he
- said:--"Sweet my Caterina, there is but one way that I can see, to wit,
- that thou shouldst sleep either on or where thou mightst have access to
- the terrace by thy father's garden, where, so I but knew that thou
- wouldst be there at night, I would without fail contrive to meet thee,
- albeit 'tis very high." "As for my sleeping there," replied Caterina, "I
- doubt not that it may be managed, if thou art sure that thou canst join
- me." Ricciardo answered in the affirmative. Whereupon they exchanged a
- furtive kiss, and parted.
- On the morrow, it being now towards the close of May, the damsel began
- complaining to her mother that by reason of the excessive heat she had
- not been able to get any sleep during the night. "Daughter," said the
- lady, "what heat was there? Nay, there was no heat at all." "Had you
- said, 'to my thinking,' mother," rejoined Caterina, "you would perhaps
- have said sooth; but you should bethink you how much more heat girls have
- in them than ladies that are advanced in years." "True, my daughter,"
- returned the lady, "but I cannot order that it shall be hot and cold, as
- thou perchance wouldst like; we must take the weather as we find it, and
- as the seasons provide it: perchance to-night it will be cooler, and thou
- wilt sleep better." "God grant it be so," said Caterina, "but 'tis not
- wonted for the nights to grow cooler as the summer comes on." "What
- then," said the lady, "wouldst thou have me do?" "With your leave and my
- father's," answered Caterina, "I should like to have a little bed made up
- on the terrace by his room and over his garden, where, hearing the
- nightingales sing, and being in a much cooler place, I should sleep much
- better than in your room." Whereupon:--"Daughter, be of good cheer," said
- the mother; "I will speak to thy father, and we will do as he shall
- decide." So the lady told Messer Lizio what had passed between her and
- the damsel; but he, being old and perhaps for that reason a little
- morose, said:--"What nightingale is this, to whose chant she would fain
- sleep? I will see to it that the cicalas shall yet lull her to sleep."
- Which speech, coming to Caterina's ears, gave her such offence, that for
- anger, rather than by reason of the heat, she not only slept not herself
- that night, but suffered not her mother to sleep, keeping up a perpetual
- complaint of the great heat. Wherefore her mother hied her in the morning
- to Messer Lizio, and said to him:--"Sir, you hold your daughter none too
- dear; what difference can it make to you that she lie on the terrace? She
- has tossed about all night long by reason of the heat; and besides, can
- you wonder that she, girl that she is, loves to hear the nightingale
- sing? Young folk naturally affect their likes." Whereto Messer Lizio made
- answer:--"Go, make her a bed there to your liking, and set a curtain
- round it, and let her sleep there, and hear the nightingale sing to her
- heart's content." Which the damsel no sooner learned, than she had a bed
- made there with intent to sleep there that same night; wherefore she
- watched until she saw Ricciardo, whom by a concerted sign she gave to
- understand what he was to do. Messer Lizio, as soon as he had heard the
- damsel go to bed, locked a door that led from his room to the terrace,
- and went to sleep himself. When all was quiet, Ricciardo with the help of
- a ladder got upon a wall, and standing thereon laid hold of certain
- toothings of another wall, and not without great exertion and risk, had
- he fallen, clambered up on to the terrace, where the damsel received him
- quietly with the heartiest of cheer. Many a kiss they exchanged; and then
- got them to bed, where well-nigh all night long they had solace and
- joyance of one another, and made the nightingale sing not a few times.
- But, brief being the night and great their pleasure, towards dawn, albeit
- they wist it not, they fell asleep, Caterina's right arm encircling
- Ricciardo's neck, while with her left hand she held him by that part of
- his person which your modesty, my ladies, is most averse to name in the
- company of men. So, peacefully they slept, and were still asleep when day
- broke and Messer Lizio rose; and calling to mind that his daughter slept
- on the terrace, softly opened the door, saying to himself:--Let me see
- what sort of night's rest the nightingale has afforded our Caterina? And
- having entered, he gently raised the curtain that screened the bed, and
- saw Ricciardo asleep with her and in her embrace as described, both being
- quite naked and uncovered; and having taken note of Ricciardo, he went
- away, and hied him to his lady's room, and called her, saying:--"Up, up,
- wife, come and see; for thy daughter has fancied the nightingale to such
- purpose that she has caught him, and holds him in her hand." "How can
- this be?" said the lady. "Come quickly, and thou shalt see," replied
- Messer Lizio. So the lady huddled on her clothes, and silently followed
- Messer Lizio, and when they were come to the bed, and had raised the
- curtain, Madonna Giacomina saw plainly enough how her daughter had
- caught, and did hold the nightingale, whose song she had so longed to
- hear. Whereat the lady, deeming that Ricciardo had played her a cruel
- trick, would have cried out and upbraided him; but Messer Lizio said to
- her:--"Wife, as thou valuest my love, say not a word; for in good sooth,
- seeing that she has caught him, he shall be hers. Ricciardo is a
- gentleman and wealthy; an alliance with him cannot but be to our
- advantage: if he would part from me on good terms, he must first marry
- her, so that the nightingale shall prove to have been put in his own cage
- and not in that of another." Whereby the lady was reassured, seeing that
- her husband took the affair so quietly, and that her daughter had had a
- good night, and was rested, and had caught the nightingale. So she kept
- silence; nor had they long to wait before Ricciardo awoke; and, seeing
- that 'twas broad day, deemed that 'twas as much as his life was worth,
- and aroused Caterina, saying:--"Alas! my soul, what shall we do, now that
- day has come and surprised me here?" Which question Messer Lizio answered
- by coming forward, and saying:--"We shall do well." At sight of him
- Ricciardo felt as if his heart were torn out of his body, and sate up in
- the bed, and said:--"My lord, I cry you mercy for God's sake. I wot that
- my disloyalty and delinquency have merited death; wherefore deal with me
- even as it may seem best to you: however, I pray you, if so it may be, to
- spare my life, that I die not." "Ricciardo," replied Messer Lizio, "the
- love I bore thee, and the faith I reposed in thee, merited a better
- return; but still, as so it is, and youth has seduced thee into such a
- transgression, redeem thy life, and preserve my honour, by making
- Caterina thy lawful spouse, that thine, as she has been for this past
- night, she may remain for the rest of her life. In this way thou mayst
- secure my peace and thy safety; otherwise commend thy soul to God."
- Pending this colloquy, Caterina let go the nightingale, and having
- covered herself, began with many a tear to implore her father to forgive
- Ricciardo, and Ricciardo to do as Messer Lizio required, that thereby
- they might securely count upon a long continuance of such nights of
- delight. But there needed not much supplication; for, what with remorse
- for the wrong done, and the wish to make amends, and the fear of death,
- and the desire to escape it, and above all ardent love, and the craving
- to possess the beloved one, Ricciardo lost no time in making frank avowal
- of his readiness to do as Messer Lizio would have him. Wherefore Messer
- Lizio, having borrowed a ring from Madonna Giacomina, Ricciardo did there
- and then in their presence wed Caterina. Which done, Messer Lizio and the
- lady took their leave, saying:--"Now rest ye a while; for so perchance
- 'twere better for you than if ye rose." And so they left the young folks,
- who forthwith embraced, and not having travelled more than six miles
- during the night, went two miles further before they rose, and so
- concluded their first day. When they were risen, Ricciardo and Messer
- Lizio discussed the matter with more formality; and some days afterwards
- Ricciardo, as was meet, married the damsel anew in presence of their
- friends and kinsfolk, and brought her home with great pomp, and
- celebrated his nuptials with due dignity and splendour. And so for many a
- year thereafter he lived with her in peace and happiness, and snared the
- nightingales day and night to his heart's content.
- NOVEL V.
- --
- Guidotto da Cremona dies leaving a girl to Giacomino da Pavia. She has
- two lovers in Faenza, to wit, Giannole di Severino and Minghino di
- Mingole, who fight about her. She is discovered to be Giannole's sister,
- and is given to Minghino to wife.
- --
- All the ladies laughed so heartily over the story of the nightingale,
- that, even when Filostrato had finished, they could not control their
- merriment. However, when the laughter was somewhat abated, the queen
- said:--"Verily if thou didst yesterday afflict us, to-day thou hast
- tickled us to such purpose that none of us may justly complain of thee."
- Then, as the turn had now come round to Neifile, she bade her give them a
- story. And thus, blithely, Neifile began:--As Filostrato went to Romagna
- for the matter of his discourse, I too am fain to make a short journey
- through the same country in what I am about to relate to you.
- I say, then, that there dwelt of yore in the city of Fano two Lombards,
- the one ycleped Guidotto da Cremona and the other Giacomino da Pavia, men
- advanced in life, who, being soldiers, had spent the best part of their
- youth in feats of arms. Now Guidotto, being at the point of death, and
- having no son or any friend or kinsman in whom he placed more trust than
- in Giacomino, left him a girl of about ten years, and all that he had in
- the world, and so, having given him to know not a little of his affairs,
- he died. About the same time the city of Faenza, which had long been at
- war and in a most sorry plight, began to recover some measure of
- prosperity; and thereupon liberty to return thither on honourable terms
- was accorded to all that were so minded. Whither, accordingly, Giacomino,
- who had dwelt there aforetime, and liked the place, returned with all his
- goods and chattels, taking with him the girl left him by Guidotto, whom
- he loved and entreated as his daughter. The girl grew up as beautiful a
- maiden as was to be found in the city; and no less debonair and modest
- was she than fair. Wherefore she lacked not admirers; but above all two
- young men, both very gallant and of equal merit, the one Giannole di
- Severino, the other Minghino di Mingole, affected her with so ardent a
- passion, that, growing jealous, they came to hate one another with an
- inordinate hatred. Right gladly would each have espoused her, she being
- now fifteen years old, but that his kinsmen forbade it; wherefore seeing
- that neither might have her in an honourable way, each determined to
- compass his end as best he might.
- Now Giacomino had in his house an ancient maid, and a man, by name
- Crivello, a very pleasant and friendly sort of fellow, with whom Giannole
- grew familiar, and in due time confided to him all his love, praying him
- to further the attainment of his desire, and promising to reward him
- handsomely, if he did so. Crivello made answer:--"Thou must know that
- there is but one way in which I might be of service to thee in this
- affair: I might contrive that thou shouldst be where she is when
- Giacomino is gone off to supper; but, were I to presume to say aught to
- her on thy behalf, she would never listen to me. This, if it please thee,
- I promise to do for thee, and will be as good as my word; and then thou
- canst do whatever thou mayst deem most expedient." Giannole said that he
- asked no more; and so 'twas arranged.
- Meanwhile Minghino on his part had made friends with the maid, on whom he
- had so wrought that she had carried several messages to the girl, and had
- gone far to kindle her to his love, and furthermore had promised to
- contrive that he should meet her when for any cause Giacomino should be
- from home in the evening. And so it befell that no long time after these
- parleys, Giacomino, by Crivello's management, was to go sup at the house
- of a friend, and by preconcert between Crivello and Giannole, upon signal
- given, Giannole was to come to Giacomino's house and find the door open.
- The maid, on her part, witting nought of the understanding between
- Crivello and Giannole, let Minghino know that Giacomino would not sup at
- home, and bade him be near the house, so that he might come and enter it
- on sight of a signal from her. The evening came; neither of the lovers
- knew aught of what the other was about; but, being suspicious of one
- another, they came to take possession, each with his own company of armed
- friends. Minghino, while awaiting the signal, rested with his company in
- the house of one of his friends hard by the girl's house: Giannole with
- his company was posted a little farther off. Crivello and the maid, when
- Giacomino was gone, did each their endeavour to get the other out of the
- way. Crivello said to the maid:--"How is it thou takest not thyself off
- to bed, but goest still hither and thither about the house?" And the maid
- said to Crivello:--"Nay, but why goest thou not after thy master? Thou
- hast supped; what awaitest thou here?" And so, neither being able to make
- the other quit the post, Crivello, the hour concerted with Giannole being
- come, said to himself:--What care I for her? If she will not keep quiet,
- 'tis like to be the worse for her. Whereupon he gave the signal, and hied
- him to the door, which he had no sooner opened, than Giannole entered
- with two of his companions, and finding the girl in the saloon, laid
- hands on her with intent to carry her off. The girl struggled, and
- shrieked amain, as did also the maid. Minghino, fearing the noise, hasted
- to the spot with his companions; and, seeing that the girl was already
- being borne across the threshold, they drew their swords, and cried out
- in chorus:--"Ah! Traitors that ye are, ye are all dead men! 'Twill go
- otherwise than ye think for. What means this force?" Which said, they
- fell upon them with their swords, while the neighbours, alarmed by the
- noise, came hurrying forth with lights and arms, and protested that 'twas
- an outrage, and took Minghino's part. So, after a prolonged struggle,
- Minghino wrested the girl from Giannole, and set her again in Giacomino's
- house. Nor were the combatants separated before the officers of the
- Governor of the city came up and arrested not a few of them; among them
- Minghino and Giannole and Crivello, whom they marched off to prison.
- However, peace being restored and Giacomino returned, 'twas with no
- little chagrin that he heard of the affair; but finding upon
- investigation that the girl was in no wise culpable, he was somewhat
- reassured; and determined, lest the like should again happen, to bestow
- the girl in marriage as soon as might be.
- On the morrow the kinsfolk of the two lovers, having learned the truth of
- the matter, and knowing what evil might ensue to the captives, if
- Giacomino should be minded to take the course which he reasonably might,
- came and gave him good words, beseeching him to let the kindly feeling,
- the love, which they believed he bore to them, his suppliants, count for
- more with him than the wrong that the hare-brained gallants had done him,
- and on their part and their own offering to make any amend that he might
- require. Giacomino, who had seen many things in his time, and lacked not
- sound sense, made answer briefly:--"Gentlemen, were I in my own country,
- as I am in yours, I hold myself in such sort your friend that nought
- would I do in this matter, or in any other, save what might be agreeable
- to you: besides which, I have the more reason to consider your wishes,
- because 'tis against you yourselves that you have offended, inasmuch as
- this damsel, whatever many folk may suppose, is neither of Cremona nor of
- Pavia, but is of Faenza, albeit neither I nor she, nor he from whom I had
- her, did ever wot whose daughter she was: wherefore, touching that you
- ask of me, I will even do just as you bid me." The worthy men found it
- passing strange that the girl should be of Faenza; and having thanked
- Giacomino for his handsome answer, they besought him that he would be
- pleased to tell them how she had come into his hands, and how he knew
- that she was of Faenza. To whom Giacomino replied on this wise:--"A
- comrade and friend I had, Guidotto da Cremona, who, being at the point of
- death, told me that, when this city of Faenza was taken by the Emperor
- Frederic, he and his comrades, entering one of the houses during the
- sack, found there good store of booty, and never a soul save this girl,
- who, being two years old or thereabouts, greeted him as father as he came
- up the stairs; wherefore he took pity on her, and carried her with
- whatever else was in the house away with him to Fano; where on his
- deathbed he left her to me, charging me in due time to bestow her in
- marriage, and give her all his goods and chattels by way of dowry: but,
- albeit she is now of marriageable age, I have not been able to provide
- her with a husband to my mind; though right glad should I be to do so,
- that nought like the event of yesterday may again befall me."
- Now among the rest of those present was one Guglielmo da Medicina, who
- had been with Guidotto on that occasion, and knew well whose house it was
- that Guidotto had sacked; and seeing the owner there among the rest, he
- went up to him, and said:--"Dost hear, Bernabuccio, what Giacomino says?"
- "Ay," answered Bernabuccio, "and I gave the more heed thereto, for that I
- call to mind that during those disorders I lost a little daughter of just
- the age that Giacomino speaks of." "'Tis verily she then," said
- Guglielmo, "for once when I was with Guidotto I heard him describe what
- house it was that he had sacked, and I wist that 'twas thine. Wherefore
- search thy memory if there be any sign by which thou thinkest to
- recognize her, and let her be examined that thou mayst be assured that
- she is thy daughter." So Bernabuccio pondered a while, and then
- recollected that she ought to have a scar, shewing like a tiny cross,
- above her left ear, being where he had excised a tumour a little while
- before that affair: wherefore without delay he went up to Giacomino, who
- was still there, and besought him to let him go home with him and see the
- damsel. Giacomino gladly did so, and no sooner was the girl brought into
- Bernabuccio's presence, than, as he beheld her, 'twas as if he saw the
- face of her mother, who was still a beautiful woman. However, he would
- not rest there, but besought Giacomino of his grace to permit him to lift
- a lock or two of hair above her left ear; whereto Giacomino consented. So
- Bernabuccio approached her where she stood somewhat shamefast, and with
- his right hand lifted her locks, and, seeing the cross, wist that in very
- truth she was his daughter, and tenderly wept and embraced her, albeit
- she withstood him; and then, turning to Giacomino, he said:--"My brother,
- the girl is my daughter; 'twas my house that Guidotto sacked, and so
- sudden was the assault that my wife, her mother, forgot her, and we have
- always hitherto supposed, that, my house being burned that same day, she
- perished in the flames." Catching his words, and seeing that he was
- advanced in years, the girl inclined to believe him, and impelled by some
- occult instinct, suffered his embraces, and melting, mingled her tears
- with his. Bernabuccio forthwith sent for her mother and her sisters and
- other kinswomen and her brothers, and having shewn her to them all, and
- told the story, after they had done her great cheer and embraced her a
- thousand times, to Giacomino's no small delight, he brought her home with
- him. Which coming to the ears of the Governor of the city, the worthy
- man, knowing that Giannole, whom he had in ward, was Bernabuccio's son
- and the girl's brother, made up his mind to deal leniently with Giannole:
- wherefore he took upon himself the part of mediator in the affair, and
- having made peace between Bernabuccio and Giacomino and Giannole and
- Minghino, gave Agnesa--such was the damsel's name--to Minghino to wife,
- to the great delight of all Minghino's kinsfolk, and set at liberty not
- only Giannole and Minghino but Crivello, and the others their
- confederates in the affair. Whereupon Minghino with the blithest of
- hearts wedded Agnesa with all due pomp and circumstance, and brought her
- home, where for many a year thereafter he lived with her in peace and
- prosperity.
- NOVEL VI.
- --
- Gianni di Procida, being found with a damsel that he loves, and who had
- been given to King Frederic, is bound with her to a stake, so to be
- burned. He is recognized by Ruggieri dell' Oria, is delivered, and
- marries her.
- --
- Neifile's story, with which the ladies were greatly delighted, being
- ended, the queen called for one from Pampinea; who forthwith raised her
- noble countenance, and thus began:--Mighty indeed, gracious ladies, are
- the forces of Love, and great are the labours and excessive and unthought
- of the perils which they induce lovers to brave; as is manifest enough by
- what we have heard to-day and on other occasions: howbeit I mean to shew
- you the same once more by a story of an enamoured youth.
- Hard by Naples is the island of Ischia, in which there dwelt aforetime
- with other young damsels one, Restituta by name, daughter of one Marin
- Bolgaro, a gentleman of the island. Very fair was she, and blithe of
- heart, and by a young gallant, Gianni by name, of the neighbouring islet
- of Procida, was beloved more dearly than life, and in like measure
- returned his love. Now, not to mention his daily resort to Ischia to see
- her, there were times not a few when Gianni, not being able to come by a
- boat, would swim across from Procida by night, that he might have sight,
- if of nought else, at least of the walls of her house. And while their
- love burned thus fervently, it so befell that one summer's day, as the
- damsel was all alone on the seashore, picking her way from rock to rock,
- detaching, as she went, shells from their beds with a knife, she came to
- a recess among the rocks, where for the sake, as well of the shade as of
- the comfort afforded by a spring of most cool water that was there, some
- Sicilian gallants, that were come from Naples, had put in with their
- felucca. Who, having taken note of the damsel, that she was very fair,
- and that she was not yet ware of them, and was alone, resolved to capture
- her, and carry her away; nor did they fail to give effect to their
- resolve; but, albeit she shrieked amain, they laid hands on her, and set
- her aboard their boat, and put to sea. Arrived at Calabria, they fell a
- wrangling as to whose the damsel should be, and in brief each claimed her
- for his own: wherefore, finding no means of coming to an agreement, and
- fearing that worse might befall them, and she bring misfortune upon them,
- they resolved with one accord to give her to Frederic, King of Sicily,
- who was then a young man, and took no small delight in commodities of
- that quality; and so, being come to Palermo, they did.
- Marking her beauty, the King set great store by her; but as she was
- somewhat indisposed, he commanded that, till she was stronger, she should
- be lodged and tended in a very pretty villa that was in one of his
- gardens, which he called Cuba; and so 'twas done. The purloining of the
- damsel caused no small stir in Ischia, more especially because 'twas
- impossible to discover by whom she had been carried off. But Gianni, more
- concerned than any other, despairing of finding her in Ischia, and being
- apprised of the course the felucca had taken, equipped one himself, and
- put to sea, and in hot haste scoured the whole coast from Minerva to
- Scalea in Calabria, making everywhere diligent search for the damsel, and
- in Scalea learned that she had been taken by Sicilian mariners to
- Palermo. Whither, accordingly, he hied him with all speed; and there
- after long search discovering that she had been given to the King, who
- kept her at Cuba, he was sore troubled, insomuch that he now scarce
- ventured to hope that he should ever set eyes on her, not to speak of
- having her for his own, again. But still, holden by Love, and seeing that
- none there knew him, he sent the felucca away, and tarried there, and
- frequently passing by Cuba, he chanced one day to catch sight of her at a
- window, and was seen of her, to their great mutual satisfaction. And
- Gianni, taking note that the place was lonely, made up to her, and had
- such speech of her as he might, and being taught by her after what
- fashion he must proceed, if he would have further speech of her, he
- departed, but not till he had made himself thoroughly acquainted with the
- configuration of the place; and having waited until night was come and
- indeed far spent, he returned thither, and though the ascent was such
- that 'twould scarce have afforded lodgment to a woodpecker, won his way
- up and entered the garden, where, finding a pole, he set it against the
- window which the damsel had pointed out as hers, and thereby swarmed up
- easily enough.
- The damsel had aforetime shewn herself somewhat distant towards him,
- being careful of her honour, but now deeming it already lost, she had
- bethought her that there was none to whom she might more worthily give
- herself than to him; and reckoning upon inducing him to carry her off,
- she had made up her mind to gratify his every desire; and to that end had
- left the window open that his ingress might be unimpeded. So, finding it
- open, Gianni softly entered, lay down beside the damsel, who was awake,
- and before they went further, opened to him all her mind, beseeching him
- most earnestly to take her thence, and carry her off. Gianni replied that
- there was nought that would give him so much pleasure, and that without
- fail, upon leaving her, he would make all needful arrangements for
- bringing her away when he next came. Whereupon with exceeding great
- delight they embraced one another, and plucked that boon than which Love
- has no greater to bestow; and having so done divers times, they
- unwittingly fell asleep in one another's arms.
- Now towards daybreak the King, who had been greatly charmed with the
- damsel at first sight, happened to call her to mind, and feeling himself
- fit, resolved, notwithstanding the hour, to go lie with her a while; and
- so, attended by a few of his servants, he hied him privily to Cuba.
- Having entered the house, he passed (the door being softly opened) into
- the room in which he knew the damsel slept. A great blazing torch was
- borne before him, and so, as he bent his glance on the bed, he espied the
- damsel and Gianni lying asleep, naked and in one another's arms. Whereat
- he was seized with a sudden and vehement passion of wrath, insomuch that,
- albeit he said never a word, he could scarce refrain from slaying both of
- them there and then with a dagger that he had with him. Then, bethinking
- him that 'twere the depth of baseness in any man--not to say a king--to
- slay two naked sleepers, he mastered himself, and determined to do them
- to death in public and by fire. Wherefore, turning to a single companion
- that he had with him, he said:--"What thinkest thou of this base woman,
- in whom I had placed my hope?" And then he asked whether he knew the
- gallant, that had presumed to enter his house to do him such outrage and
- despite. Whereto the other replied that he minded not ever to have seen
- him. Thereupon the King hied him out of the room in a rage, and bade take
- the two lovers, naked as they were, and bind them, and, as soon as 'twas
- broad day, bring them to Palermo, and bind them back to back to a stake
- in the piazza, there to remain until tierce, that all might see them,
- after which they were to be burned, as they had deserved. And having so
- ordered, he went back to Palermo, and shut himself up in his room, very
- wroth.
- No sooner was he gone than there came unto the two lovers folk not a few,
- who, having awakened them, did forthwith ruthlessly take and bind them:
- whereat, how they did grieve and tremble for their lives, and weep and
- bitterly bewail their fate, may readily be understood.
- Pursuant to the King's commandment they were brought to Palermo, and
- bound to a stake in the piazza; and before their eyes faggots and fire
- were made ready to burn them at the hour appointed by the King. Great was
- the concourse of the folk of Palermo, both men and women, that came to
- see the two lovers, the men all agog to feast their eyes on the damsel,
- whom they lauded for shapeliness and loveliness, and no less did the
- women commend the gallant, whom in like manner they crowded to see, for
- the same qualities. Meanwhile the two hapless lovers, both exceeding
- shamefast, stood with bent heads bitterly bewailing their evil fortune,
- and momently expecting their death by the cruel fire. So they awaited the
- time appointed by the King; but their offence being bruited abroad, the
- tidings reached the ears of Ruggieri dell' Oria, a man of peerless worth,
- and at that time the King's admiral, who, being likewise minded to see
- them, came to the place where they were bound, and after gazing on the
- damsel and finding her very fair, turned to look at the gallant, whom
- with little trouble he recognized, and drawing nearer to him, he asked
- him if he were Gianni di Procida. Gianni raised his head, and recognizing
- the admiral, made answer:--"My lord, he, of whom you speak, I was; but I
- am now as good as no more." The admiral then asked him what it was that
- had brought him to such a pass. Whereupon:--"Love and the King's wrath,"
- quoth Gianni. The admiral induced him to be more explicit, and having
- learned from him exactly how it had come about, was turning away, when
- Gianni called him back, saying:--"Oh! my lord, if so it may be, procure
- me one favour of him by whose behest I thus stand here." "What favour?"
- demanded Ruggieri. "I see," returned Gianni, "that die I must, and that
- right soon. I crave, then, as a favour, that, whereas this damsel and I,
- that have loved one another more dearly than life, are here set back to
- back, we may be set face to face, that I may have the consolation of
- gazing on her face as I depart." Ruggieri laughed as he replied:--"With
- all my heart. I will so order it that thou shalt see enough of her to
- tire of her." He then left him and charged the executioners to do nothing
- more without further order of the King; and being assured of their
- obedience, he hied him forthwith to the King, to whom, albeit he found
- him in a wrathful mood, he spared not to speak his mind, saying:--"Sire,
- wherein have they wronged thee, those two young folk, whom thou hast
- ordered to be burned down there in the piazza?" The King told him.
- Whereupon Ruggieri continued:--"Their offence does indeed merit such
- punishment, but not at thy hands, and if misdeeds should not go
- unpunished, services should not go unrewarded; nay, may warrant
- indulgence and mercy. Knowest thou who they are whom thou wouldst have
- burned?" The King signified that he did not. Whereupon Ruggieri:--"But
- I," quoth he, "am minded that thou shouldst know them, to the end that
- thou mayst know with what discretion thou surrenderest thyself to a
- transport of rage. The young man is the son of Landolfo di Procida,
- brother of Messer Gianni di Procida, to whom thou owest it that thou art
- lord and king of this island. The damsel is a daughter of Marin Bolgaro,
- whose might alone to-day prevents Ischia from throwing off thy yoke.
- Moreover, these young folk have long been lovers, and 'tis for that the
- might of Love constrained them, and not that they would do despite to thy
- lordship, that they have committed this offence, if indeed 'tis meet to
- call that an offence which young folk do for Love's sake. Wherefore,
- then, wouldst thou do them to death, when thou shouldst rather do them
- all cheer, and honour them with lordly gifts?" The King gave ear to
- Ruggieri's words, and being satisfied that he spoke sooth, repented him,
- not only of his evil purpose, but of what he had already done, and
- forthwith gave order to loose the two young folk from the stake, and
- bring them before him; and so 'twas done. And having fully apprised
- himself of their case, he saw fit to make them amends of the wrong he had
- done them with honours and largess. Wherefore he caused them to be
- splendidly arrayed, and being assured that they were both minded to wed,
- he himself gave Gianni his bride, and loading them with rich presents,
- sent them well content back to Ischia, where they were welcomed with all
- festal cheer, and lived long time thereafter to their mutual solace and
- delight.
- NOVEL VII.
- --
- Teodoro, being enamoured of Violante, daughter of Messer Amerigo, his
- lord, gets her with child, and is sentenced to the gallows; but while he
- is being scourged thither, he is recognized by his father, and being set
- at large, takes Violante to wife.
- --
- While they doubted whether the two lovers would be burned, the ladies
- were all fear and suspense; but when they heard of their deliverance,
- they all with one accord put on a cheerful countenance, praising God. The
- story ended, the queen ordained that the next should be told by Lauretta,
- who blithely thus began:--
- Fairest ladies, what time good King Guglielmo ruled Sicily there dwelt on
- the island a gentleman, Messer Amerigo Abate da Trapani by name, who was
- well provided, as with other temporal goods, so also with children. For
- which cause being in need of servants, he took occasion of the appearance
- in Trapani waters of certain Genoese corsairs from the Levant, who,
- scouring the coast of Armenia, had captured not a few boys, to purchase
- of them some of these youngsters, supposing them to be Turks; among whom,
- albeit most shewed as mere shepherd boys, there was one, Teodoro, by
- name, whose less rustic mien seemed to betoken gentle blood. Who, though
- still treated as a slave, was suffered to grow up in the house with
- Messer Amerigo's children, and, nature getting the better of
- circumstance, bore himself with such grace and dignity that Messer
- Amerigo gladly gave him his freedom, and still deeming him to be a Turk,
- had him baptized and named Pietro, and made him his majordomo, and placed
- much trust in him. Now among the other children that grew up in Messer
- Amerigo's house was his fair and dainty daughter, Violante; and, as her
- father was in no hurry to give her in marriage, it so befell that she
- became enamoured of Pietro, but, for all her love and the great conceit
- she had of his qualities and conduct, she nevertheless was too shamefast
- to discover her passion to him. However, Love spared her the pains, for
- Pietro had cast many a furtive glance in her direction, and had grown so
- enamoured of her that 'twas never well with him except he saw her; but
- great was his fear lest any should detect his passion, for he deemed
- 'twould be the worse for him. The damsel, who was fain indeed of the
- sight of him, understood his case; and to encourage him dissembled not
- her exceeding great satisfaction. On which footing they remained a great
- while, neither venturing to say aught to the other, much as both longed
- to do so. But, while they both burned with a mutual flame, Fortune, as if
- their entanglement were of her preordaining, found means to banish the
- fear and hesitation that kept them tongue-tied.
- Messer Amerigo possessed, a mile or so from Trapani, a goodly estate, to
- which he was wont not seldom to resort with his daughter and other ladies
- by way of recreation; and on one of these days, while there they tarried
- with Pietro, whom they had brought with them, suddenly, as will sometimes
- happen in summer, the sky became overcast with black clouds, insomuch
- that the lady and her companions, lest the storm should surprise them
- there, set out on their return to Trapani, making all the haste they
- might. But Pietro and the girl being young, and sped perchance by Love no
- less than by fear of the storm, completely outstripped her mother and the
- other ladies; and when they were gotten so far ahead as to be well-nigh
- out of sight of the lady and all the rest, the thunder burst upon them
- peal upon peal, hard upon which came a fall of hail very thick and close,
- from which the lady sought shelter in the house of a husbandman. Pietro
- and the damsel, finding no more convenient refuge, betook them to an old,
- and all but ruinous, and now deserted, cottage, which, however, still had
- a bit of roof left, whereunder they both took their stand in such close
- quarters, owing to the exiguity of the shelter, that they perforce
- touched one another. Which contact was the occasion that they gathered
- somewhat more courage to disclose their love; and so it was that Pietro
- began on this wise:--"Now would to God that this hail might never cease,
- that so I might stay here for ever!" "And well content were I," returned
- the damsel. And by and by their hands met, not without a tender pressure,
- and then they fell to embracing and so to kissing one another, while the
- hail continued. And not to dwell on every detail, the sky was not clear
- before they had known the last degree of love's felicity, and had taken
- thought how they might secretly enjoy one another in the future. The
- cottage being close to the city gate, they hied them thither, as soon as
- the storm was overpast, and having there awaited the lady, returned home
- with her. Nor, using all discretion, did they fail thereafter to meet
- from time to time in secret, to their no small solace; and the affair
- went so far that the damsel conceived, whereby they were both not a
- little disconcerted; insomuch that the damsel employed many artifices to
- arrest the course of nature, but to no effect. Wherefore Pietro, being in
- fear of his life, saw nothing for it but flight, and told her so.
- Whereupon:--"If thou leave me," quoth she, "I shall certainly kill
- myself." Much as he loved her, Pietro answered:--"Nay but, my lady,
- wherefore wouldst thou have me tarry here? Thy pregnancy will discover
- our offence: thou wilt be readily forgiven; but 'twill be my woeful lot
- to bear the penalty of thy sin and mine." "Pietro," returned the damsel,
- "too well will they wot of my offence, but be sure that, if thou confess
- not, none will ever wot of thine." Then quoth he:--"Since thou givest me
- this promise, I will stay; but mind thou keep it."
- The damsel, who had done her best to keep her condition secret, saw at
- length by the increase of her bulk that 'twas impossible: wherefore one
- day most piteously bewailing herself, she made her avowal to her mother,
- and besought her to shield her from the consequences. Distressed beyond
- measure, the lady chid her severely, and then asked her how it had come
- to pass. The damsel, to screen Pietro, invented a story by which she put
- another complexion on the affair. The lady believed her, and, that her
- fall might not be discovered, took her off to one of their estates;
- where, the time of her delivery being come, and she, as women do in such
- a case, crying out for pain, it so befell that Messer Amerigo, whom the
- lady expected not, as indeed he was scarce ever wont, to come there, did
- so, having been out a hawking, and passing by the chamber where the
- damsel lay, marvelled to hear her cries, and forthwith entered, and asked
- what it meant. On sight of whom the lady rose and sorrowfully gave him
- her daughter's version of what had befallen her. But he, less credulous
- than his wife, averred that it could not be true that she knew not by
- whom she was pregnant, and was minded to know the whole truth: let the
- damsel confess and she might regain his favour; otherwise she must expect
- no mercy and prepare for death.
- The lady did all she could to induce her husband to rest satisfied with
- what she had told him; but all to no purpose. Mad with rage, he rushed,
- drawn sword in hand, to his daughter's bedside (she, pending the parley,
- having given birth to a boy) and cried out:--"Declare whose this infant
- is, or forthwith thou diest." Overcome by fear of death, the damsel broke
- her promise to Pietro, and made a clean breast of all that had passed
- between him and her. Whereat the knight, grown fell with rage, could
- scarce refrain from slaying her. However, having given vent to his wrath
- in such words as it dictated, he remounted his horse and rode to Trapani,
- and there before one Messer Currado, the King's lieutenant, laid
- information of the wrong done him by Pietro, in consequence whereof
- Pietro, who suspected nothing, was forthwith taken, and being put to the
- torture, confessed all. Some days later the lieutenant sentenced him to
- be scourged through the city, and then hanged by the neck; and Messer
- Amerigo, being minded that one and the same hour should rid the earth of
- the two lovers and their son (for to have compassed Pietro's death was
- not enough to appease his wrath), mingled poison and wine in a goblet,
- and gave it to one of his servants with a drawn sword, saying:--"Get thee
- with this gear to Violante, and tell her from me to make instant choice
- of one of these two deaths, either the poison or the steel; else, I will
- have her burned, as she deserves, in view of all the citizens; which
- done, thou wilt take the boy that she bore a few days ago, and beat his
- brains out against the wall, and cast his body for a prey to the dogs."
- Hearing the remorseless doom thus passed by the angry father upon both
- his daughter and his grandson, the servant, prompt to do evil rather than
- good, hied him thence.
- Now, as Pietro in execution of his sentence was being scourged to the
- gallows by the serjeants, 'twas so ordered by the leaders of the band
- that he passed by an inn, where were three noblemen of Armenia, sent by
- the king of that country as ambassadors to Rome, to treat with the Pope
- of matters of the highest importance, touching a crusade that was to be;
- who, having there alighted to rest and recreate them for some days, had
- received not a few tokens of honour from the nobles of Trapani, and most
- of all from Messer Amerigo. Hearing the tramp of Pietro's escort, they
- came to a window to see what was toward; and one of them, an aged man,
- and of great authority, Fineo by name, looking hard at Pietro, who was
- stripped from the waist up, and had his hands bound behind his back,
- espied on his breast a great spot of scarlet, not laid on by art, but
- wrought in the skin by operation of Nature, being such as the ladies here
- call a rose. Which he no sooner saw, than he was reminded of a son that
- had been stolen from him by corsairs on the coast of Lazistan some
- fifteen years before, nor had he since been able to hear tidings of him;
- and guessing the age of the poor wretch that was being scourged, he set
- it down as about what his son's would be, were he living, and, what with
- the mark and the age, he began to suspect that 'twas even his son, and
- bethought him that, if so, he would scarce as yet have forgotten his name
- or the speech of Armenia. Wherefore, as he was within earshot he called
- to him:--"Teodoro!" At the word Pietro raised his head: whereupon Fineo,
- speaking in Armenian, asked him:--"Whence and whose son art thou?" The
- serjeants, that were leading him, paused in deference to the great man,
- and so Pietro answered:--"Of Armenia was I, son of one Fineo, brought
- hither by folk I wot not of, when I was but a little child." Then Fineo,
- witting that in very truth 'twas the boy that he had lost, came down with
- his companions, weeping; and, all the serjeants making way, he ran to
- him, and embraced him, and doffing a mantle of richest texture that he
- wore, he prayed the captain of the band to be pleased to tarry there
- until he should receive orders to go forward, and was answered by the
- captain that he would willingly so wait.
- Fineo already knew, for 'twas bruited everywhere, the cause for which
- Pietro was being led to the gallows; wherefore he straightway hied him
- with his companions and their retinue to Messer Currado, and said to
- him:--"Sir, this lad, whom you are sending to the gallows like a slave,
- is freeborn, and my son, and is ready to take to wife her whom, as 'tis
- said, he has deflowered; so please you, therefore, delay the execution
- until such time as it may be understood whether she be minded to have him
- for husband, lest, should she be so minded, you be found to have broken
- the law." Messer Currado marvelled to hear that Pietro was Fineo's son,
- and not without shame, albeit 'twas not his but Fortune's fault,
- confessed that 'twas even as Fineo said: and having caused Pietro to be
- taken home with all speed, and Messer Amerigo to be brought before him,
- told him the whole matter. Messer Amerigo, who supposed that by this time
- his daughter and grandson must be dead, was the saddest man in the world
- to think that 'twas by his deed, witting that, were the damsel still
- alive, all might very easily be set right: however, he sent post haste to
- his daughter's abode, revoking his orders, if they were not yet carried
- out. The servant, whom he had earlier despatched, had laid the sword and
- poison before the damsel, and, for that she was in no hurry to make her
- choice, was giving her foul words, and endeavouring to constrain her
- thereto, when the messenger arrived; but on hearing the injunction laid
- upon him by his lord, he desisted, and went back, and told him how things
- stood. Whereupon Messer Amerigo, much relieved, hied him to Fineo, and
- well-nigh weeping, and excusing himself for what had befallen, as best he
- knew how, craved his pardon, and professed himself well content to give
- Teodoro, so he were minded to have her, his daughter to wife. Fineo
- readily accepted his excuses, and made answer:--"'Tis my will that my son
- espouse your daughter, and, so he will not, let thy sentence passed upon
- him be carried out."
- So Fineo and Messer Amerigo being agreed, while Teodoro still languished
- in fear of death, albeit he was glad at heart to have found his father,
- they questioned him of his will in regard of this matter.
- When he heard that, if he would, he might have Violante to wife,
- Teodoro's delight was such that he seemed to leap from hell to paradise,
- and said that, if 'twas agreeable to them all, he should deem it the
- greatest of favours. So they sent to the damsel to learn her pleasure:
- who, having heard how it had fared, and was now like to fare, with
- Teodoro, albeit, saddest of women, she looked for nought but death, began
- at length to give some credence to their words, and to recover heart a
- little, and answered that, were she to follow the bent of her desire,
- nought that could happen would delight her more than to be Teodoro's
- wife; but nevertheless she would do as her father bade her.
- So, all agreeing, the damsel was espoused with all pomp and festal cheer,
- to the boundless delight of all the citizens, and was comforted, and
- nurtured her little boy, and in no long time waxed more beautiful than
- ever before; and, her confinement being ended, she presented herself
- before Fineo, who was then about to quit Rome on his homeward journey,
- and did him such reverence as is due to a father. Fineo, mighty well
- pleased to have so fair a daughter-in-law, caused celebrate her nuptials
- most bravely and gaily, and received, and did ever thereafter entreat,
- her as his daughter.
- And so he took her, not many days after the festivities were ended, with
- his son and little grandson, aboard a galley, and brought them to
- Lazistan, and there thenceforth the two lovers dwelt with him in easeful
- and lifelong peace.
- NOVEL VIII.
- --
- Nastagio degli Onesti, loving a damsel of the Traversari family, by
- lavish expenditure gains not her love. At the instance of his kinsfolk he
- hies him to Chiassi, where he sees a knight hunt a damsel and slay her
- and cause her to be devoured by two dogs. He bids his kinsfolk and the
- lady that he loves to breakfast. During the meal the said damsel is torn
- in pieces before the eyes of the lady, who, fearing a like fate, takes
- Nastagio to husband.
- --
- Lauretta was no sooner silent than thus at the queen's behest began
- Filomena:--Sweet ladies, as in us pity has ever its meed of praise, even
- so Divine justice suffers not our cruelty to escape severe chastisement:
- the which that I may shew you, and thereby dispose you utterly to banish
- that passion from your souls, I am minded to tell you a story no less
- touching than delightsome.
- In Ravenna, that most ancient city of Romagna, there dwelt of yore
- noblemen and gentlemen not a few, among whom was a young man, Nastagio
- degli Onesti by name, who by the death of his father and one of his
- uncles inherited immense wealth. Being without a wife, Nastagio, as 'tis
- the way with young men, became enamoured of a daughter of Messer Paolo
- Traversaro, a damsel of much higher birth than his, whose love he hoped
- to win by gifts and the like modes of courting, which, albeit they were
- excellent and fair and commendable, not only availed him not, but seemed
- rather to have the contrary effect, so harsh and ruthless and unrelenting
- did the beloved damsel shew herself towards him; for whether it was her
- uncommon beauty or her noble lineage that puffed her up, so haughty and
- disdainful was she grown that pleasure she had none either in him or in
- aught that pleased him. The burden of which disdain Nastagio found so
- hard to bear, that many a time, when he had made his moan, he longed to
- make away with himself. However he refrained therefrom, and many a time
- resolved to give her up altogether, or, if so he might, to hold her in
- despite, as she did him: but 'twas all in vain, for it seemed as if, the
- more his hope dwindled, the greater grew his love. And, as thus he
- continued, loving and spending inordinately, certain of his kinsfolk and
- friends, being apprehensive lest he should waste both himself and his
- substance, did many a time counsel and beseech him to depart Ravenna, and
- go tarry for a time elsewhere, that so he might at once cool his flame
- and reduce his charges. For a long while Nastagio answered their
- admonitions with banter; but as they continued to ply him with them, he
- grew weary of saying no so often, and promised obedience. Whereupon he
- equipped himself as if for a journey to France or Spain, or other distant
- parts, got on horseback and sallied forth of Ravenna, accompanied by not
- a few of his friends, and being come to a place called Chiassi, about
- three miles from Ravenna, he halted, and having sent for tents and
- pavilions, told his companions that there he meant to stay, and they
- might go back to Ravenna. So Nastagio pitched his camp, and there
- commenced to live after as fine and lordly a fashion as did ever any man,
- bidding divers of his friends from time to time to breakfast or sup with
- him, as he had been wont to do. Now it so befell that about the beginning
- of May, the season being very fine, he fell a brooding on the cruelty of
- his mistress, and, that his meditations might be the less disturbed, he
- bade all his servants leave him, and sauntered slowly, wrapt in thought,
- as far as the pinewood. Which he had threaded for a good half-mile, when,
- the fifth hour of the day being well-nigh past, yet he recking neither of
- food nor of aught else, 'twas as if he heard a woman wailing exceedingly
- and uttering most piercing shrieks: whereat, the train of his sweet
- melancholy being broken, he raised his head to see what was toward, and
- wondered to find himself in the pinewood; and saw, moreover, before him
- running through a grove, close set with underwood and brambles, towards
- the place where he was, a damsel most comely, stark naked, her hair
- dishevelled, and her flesh all torn by the briers and brambles, who wept
- and cried piteously for mercy; and at her flanks he saw two mastiffs,
- exceeding great and fierce, that ran hard upon her track, and not seldom
- came up with her and bit her cruelly; and in the rear he saw, riding a
- black horse, a knight sadly accoutred, and very wrathful of mien,
- carrying a rapier in his hand, and with despiteful, blood-curdling words
- threatening her with death. Whereat he was at once amazed and appalled,
- and then filled with compassion for the hapless lady, whereof was bred a
- desire to deliver her, if so he might, from such anguish and peril of
- death. Wherefore, as he was unarmed, he ran and took in lieu of a cudgel
- a branch of a tree, with which he prepared to encounter the dogs and the
- knight. Which the knight observing, called to him before he was come to
- close quarters, saying:--"Hold off, Nastagio, leave the dogs and me alone
- to deal with this vile woman as she has deserved." And, even as he spoke,
- the dogs gripped the damsel so hard on either flank that they arrested
- her flight, and the knight, being come up, dismounted. Whom Nastagio
- approached, saying:--"I know not who thou art, that knowest me so well,
- but thus much I tell thee: 'tis a gross outrage for an armed knight to go
- about to kill a naked woman, and set his dogs upon her as if she were a
- wild beast: rest assured that I shall do all I can to protect her."
- Whereupon:--"Nastagio," replied the knight, "of the same city as thou was
- I, and thou wast yet a little lad when I, Messer Guido degli Anastagi by
- name, being far more enamoured of this damsel than thou art now of her of
- the Traversari, was by her haughtiness and cruelty brought to so woeful a
- pass that one day in a fit of despair I slew myself with this rapier
- which thou seest in my hand; for which cause I am condemned to the
- eternal pains. Nor was it long after my death that she, who exulted
- therein over measure, also died, and for that she repented her not of her
- cruelty and the joy she had of my sufferings, for which she took not
- blame to herself, but merit, was likewise condemned to the pains of hell.
- Nor had she sooner made her descent, than for her pain and mine 'twas
- ordained, that she should flee before me, and that I, who so loved her,
- should pursue her, not as my beloved lady, but as my mortal enemy, and
- so, as often as I come up with her, I slay her with this same rapier with
- which I slew myself, and having ripped her up by the back, I take out
- that hard and cold heart, to which neither love nor pity had ever access,
- and therewith her other inward parts, as thou shalt forthwith see, and
- cast them to these dogs to eat. And in no long time, as the just and
- mighty God decrees, she rises even as if she had not died, and
- recommences her dolorous flight, I and the dogs pursuing her. And it so
- falls out that every Friday about this hour I here come up with her, and
- slaughter her as thou shalt see; but ween not that we rest on other days;
- for there are other places in which I overtake her, places in which she
- used, or devised how she might use, me cruelly; on which wise, changed as
- thou seest from her lover into her foe, I am to pursue her for years as
- many as the months during which she shewed herself harsh to me. Wherefore
- leave me to execute the decree of the Divine justice, and presume not to
- oppose that which thou mayst not avail to withstand."
- Affrighted by the knight's words, insomuch that there was scarce a hair
- on his head but stood on end, Nastagio shrank back, still gazing on the
- hapless damsel, and waited all a tremble to see what the knight would do.
- Nor had he long to wait; for the knight, as soon as he had done speaking,
- sprang, rapier in hand, like a mad dog upon the damsel, who, kneeling,
- while the two mastiffs gripped her tightly, cried him mercy; but the
- knight, thrusting with all his force, struck her between the breasts, and
- ran her clean through the body. Thus stricken, the damsel fell forthwith
- prone on the ground sobbing and shrieking: whereupon the knight drew
- forth a knife, and having therewith opened her in the back, took out the
- heart and all the circumjacent parts, and threw them to the two mastiffs,
- who, being famished, forthwith devoured them. And in no long time the
- damsel, as if nought thereof had happened, started to her feet, and took
- to flight towards the sea, pursued, and ever and anon bitten, by the
- dogs, while the knight, having gotten him to horse again, followed them
- as before, rapier in hand; and so fast sped they that they were quickly
- lost to Nastagio's sight.
- Long time he stood musing on what he had seen, divided between pity and
- terror, and then it occurred to him that, as this passed every Friday, it
- might avail him not a little. So, having marked the place, he rejoined
- his servants, and in due time thereafter sent for some of his kinsfolk
- and friends, and said to them:--"'Tis now a long while that you urge me
- to give up loving this lady that is no friend to me, and therewith make
- an end of my extravagant way of living; and I am now ready so to do,
- provided you procure me one favour, to wit, that next Friday Messer Paolo
- Traversaro, and his wife and daughter, and all the ladies, their
- kinswomen, and as many other ladies as you may be pleased to bid, come
- hither to breakfast with me: when you will see for yourselves the reason
- why I so desire." A small matter this seemed to them; and so, on their
- return to Ravenna, they lost no time in conveying Nastagio's message to
- his intended guests: and, albeit she was hardly persuaded, yet in the end
- the damsel that Nastagio loved came with the rest.
- Nastagio caused a lordly breakfast to be prepared, and had the tables set
- under the pines about the place where he had witnessed the slaughter of
- the cruel lady; and in ranging the ladies and gentlemen at table he so
- ordered it, that the damsel whom he loved was placed opposite the spot
- where it should be enacted. The last course was just served, when the
- despairing cries of the hunted damsel became audible to all, to their no
- small amazement; and each asking, and none knowing, what it might import,
- up they all started intent to see what was toward; and perceived the
- suffering damsel, and the knight and the dogs, who in a trice were in
- their midst. They hollaed amain to dogs and knight, and not a few
- advanced to succour the damsel: but the words of the knight, which were
- such as he had used to Nastagio, caused them to fall back,
- terror-stricken and lost in amazement. And when the knight proceeded to
- do as he had done before, all the ladies that were there, many of whom
- were of kin to the suffering damsel and to the knight, and called to mind
- his love and death, wept as bitterly as if 'twere their own case.
- When 'twas all over, and the lady and the knight had disappeared, the
- strange scene set those that witnessed it pondering many and divers
- matters: but among them all none was so appalled as the cruel damsel that
- Nastagio loved, who, having clearly seen and heard all that had passed,
- and being ware that it touched her more nearly than any other by reason
- of the harshness that she had ever shewn to Nastagio, seemed already to
- be fleeing from her angered lover, and to have the mastiffs on her
- flanks. And so great was her terror that, lest a like fate should befall
- her, she converted her aversion into affection, and as soon as occasion
- served, which was that very night, sent a trusty chambermaid privily to
- Nastagio with a request that he would be pleased to come to her, for that
- she was ready in all respects to pleasure him to the full. Nastagio made
- answer that he was greatly flattered, but that he was minded with her
- consent to have his pleasure of her in an honourable way, to wit, by
- marrying her. The damsel, who knew that none but herself was to blame
- that she was not already Nastagio's wife, made answer that she consented.
- Wherefore by her own mouth she acquainted her father and mother that she
- agreed to marry Nastagio; and, they heartily approving her choice,
- Nastagio wedded her on the ensuing Sunday, and lived happily with her
- many a year. Nor was it in her instance alone that this terror was
- productive of good: on the contrary, it so wrought among the ladies of
- Ravenna that they all became, and have ever since been, much more
- compliant with men's desires than they had been wont to be.
- NOVEL IX.
- --
- Federigo degli Alberighi loves and is not loved in return: he wastes his
- substance by lavishness until nought is left but a single falcon, which,
- his lady being come to see him at his house, he gives her to eat: she,
- knowing his case, changes her mind, takes him to husband and makes him
- rich.
- --
- So ended Filomena; and the queen, being ware that besides herself only
- Dioneo (by virtue of his privilege) was left to speak, said with gladsome
- mien:--'Tis now for me to take up my parable; which, dearest ladies, I
- will do with a story like in some degree to the foregoing, and that, not
- only that you may know how potent are your charms to sway the gentle
- heart, but that you may also learn how upon fitting occasions to make
- bestowal of your guerdons of your own accord, instead of always waiting
- for the guidance of Fortune, which most times, not wisely, but without
- rule or measure, scatters her gifts.
- You are then to know, that Coppo di Borghese Domenichi, a man that in our
- day was, and perchance still is, had in respect and great reverence in
- our city, being not only by reason of his noble lineage, but, and yet
- more, for manners and merit most illustrious and worthy of eternal
- renown, was in his old age not seldom wont to amuse himself by
- discoursing of things past with his neighbours and other folk; wherein he
- had not his match for accuracy and compass of memory and concinnity of
- speech. Among other good stories, he would tell, how that there was of
- yore in Florence a gallant named Federigo di Messer Filippo Alberighi,
- who for feats of arms and courtesy had not his peer in Tuscany; who, as
- is the common lot of gentlemen, became enamoured of a lady named Monna
- Giovanna, who in her day held rank among the fairest and most elegant
- ladies of Florence; to gain whose love he jousted, tilted, gave
- entertainments, scattered largess, and in short set no bounds to his
- expenditure. However the lady, no less virtuous than fair, cared not a
- jot for what he did for her sake, nor yet for him.
- Spending thus greatly beyond his means, and making nothing, Federigo
- could hardly fail to come to lack, and was at length reduced to such
- poverty that he had nothing left but a little estate, on the rents of
- which he lived very straitly, and a single falcon, the best in the world.
- The estate was at Campi, and thither, deeming it no longer possible for
- him to live in the city as he desired, he repaired, more in love than
- ever before; and there, in complete seclusion, diverting himself with
- hawking, he bore his poverty as patiently as he might.
- Now, Federigo being thus reduced to extreme poverty, it so happened that
- one day Monna Giovanna's husband, who was very rich, fell ill, and,
- seeing that he was nearing his end, made his will, whereby he left his
- estate to his son, who was now growing up, and in the event of his death
- without lawful heir named Monna Giovanna, whom he dearly loved, heir in
- his stead; and having made these dispositions he died.
- Monna Giovanna, being thus left a widow, did as our ladies are wont, and
- repaired in the summer to one of her estates in the country which lay
- very near to that of Federigo. And so it befell that the urchin began to
- make friends with Federigo, and to shew a fondness for hawks and dogs,
- and having seen Federigo's falcon fly not a few times, took a singular
- fancy to him, and greatly longed to have him for his own, but still did
- not dare to ask him of Federigo, knowing that Federigo prized him so
- much. So the matter stood when by chance the boy fell sick; whereby the
- mother was sore distressed, for he was her only son, and she loved him as
- much as might be, insomuch that all day long she was beside him, and
- ceased not to comfort him, and again and again asked him if there were
- aught that he wished for, imploring him to say the word, and, if it might
- by any means be had, she would assuredly do her utmost to procure it for
- him. Thus repeatedly exhorted, the boy said:--"Mother mine, do but get me
- Federigo's falcon, and I doubt not I shall soon be well." Whereupon the
- lady was silent a while, bethinking her what she should do. She knew that
- Federigo had long loved her, and had never had so much as a single kind
- look from her: wherefore she said to herself:--How can I send or go to
- beg of him this falcon, which by what I hear is the best that ever flew,
- and moreover is his sole comfort? And how could I be so unfeeling as to
- seek to deprive a gentleman of the one solace that is now left him? And
- so, albeit she very well knew that she might have the falcon for the
- asking, she was perplexed, and knew not what to say, and gave her son no
- answer. At length, however, the love she bore the boy carried the day,
- and she made up her mind, for his contentment, come what might, not to
- send, but to go herself and fetch him the falcon. So:--"Be of good cheer,
- my son," she said, "and doubt not thou wilt soon be well; for I promise
- thee that the very first thing that I shall do tomorrow morning will be
- to go and fetch thee the falcon." Whereat the child was so pleased that
- he began to mend that very day.
- On the morrow the lady, as if for pleasure, hied her with another lady to
- Federigo's little house, and asked to see him. 'Twas still, as for some
- days past, no weather for hawking, and Federigo was in his garden, busy
- about some small matters which needed to be set right there. When he
- heard that Monna Giovanna was at the door, asking to see him, he was not
- a little surprised and pleased, and hied him to her with all speed. As
- soon as she saw him, she came forward to meet him with womanly grace, and
- having received his respectful salutation, said to him:--"Good morrow,
- Federigo," and continued:--"I am come to requite thee for what thou hast
- lost by loving me more than thou shouldst: which compensation is this,
- that I and this lady that accompanies me will breakfast with thee without
- ceremony this morning." "Madam," Federigo replied with all humility, "I
- mind not ever to have lost aught by loving you, but rather to have been
- so much profited that, if I ever deserved well in aught, 'twas to your
- merit that I owed it, and to the love that I bore you. And of a surety
- had I still as much to spend as I have spent in the past, I should not
- prize it so much as this visit you so frankly pay me, come as you are to
- one who can afford you but a sorry sort of hospitality." Which said, with
- some confusion, he bade her welcome to his house, and then led her into
- his garden, where, having none else to present to her by way of
- companion, he said:--"Madam, as there is none other here, this good
- woman, wife of this husbandman, will bear you company, while I go to have
- the table set." Now, albeit his poverty was extreme, yet he had not known
- as yet how sore was the need to which his extravagance had reduced him;
- but this morning 'twas brought home to him, for that he could find nought
- wherewith to do honour to the lady, for love of whom he had done the
- honours of his house to men without number: wherefore, distressed beyond
- measure, and inwardly cursing his evil fortune, he sped hither and
- thither like one beside himself, but never a coin found he, nor yet aught
- to pledge. Meanwhile it grew late, and sorely he longed that the lady
- might not leave his house altogether unhonoured, and yet to crave help of
- his own husbandman was more than his pride could brook. In these
- desperate straits his glance happened to fall on his brave falcon on his
- perch in his little parlour. And so, as a last resource, he took him, and
- finding him plump, deemed that he would make a dish meet for such a lady.
- Wherefore, without thinking twice about it, he wrung the bird's neck, and
- caused his maid forthwith pluck him and set him on a spit, and roast him
- carefully; and having still some spotless table linen, he had the table
- laid therewith, and with a cheerful countenance hied him back to his lady
- in the garden, and told her that such breakfast as he could give her was
- ready. So the lady and her companion rose and came to table, and there,
- with Federigo, who waited on them most faithfully, ate the brave falcon,
- knowing not what they ate.
- When they were risen from table, and had dallied a while in gay converse
- with him, the lady deemed it time to tell the reason of her visit:
- wherefore, graciously addressing Federigo, thus began she:--"Federigo, by
- what thou rememberest of thy past life and my virtue, which, perchance,
- thou hast deemed harshness and cruelty, I doubt not thou must marvel at
- my presumption, when thou hearest the main purpose of my visit; but if
- thou hadst sons, or hadst had them, so that thou mightest know the full
- force of the love that is borne them, I should make no doubt that thou
- wouldst hold me in part excused. Nor, having a son, may I, for that thou
- hast none, claim exemption from the laws to which all other mothers are
- subject, and, being thus bound to own their sway, I must, though fain
- were I not, and though 'tis neither meet nor right, crave of thee that
- which I know thou dost of all things and with justice prize most highly,
- seeing that this extremity of thy adverse fortune has left thee nought
- else wherewith to delight, divert and console thee; which gift is no
- other than thy falcon, on which my boy has so set his heart that, if I
- bring him it not, I fear lest he grow so much worse of the malady that he
- has, that thereby it may come to pass that I lose him. And so, not for
- the love which thou dost bear me, and which may nowise bind thee, but for
- that nobleness of temper, whereof in courtesy more conspicuously than in
- aught else thou hast given proof, I implore thee that thou be pleased to
- give me the bird, that thereby I may say that I have kept my son alive,
- and thus made him for aye thy debtor."
- No sooner had Federigo apprehended what the lady wanted, than, for grief
- that 'twas not in his power to serve her, because he had given her the
- falcon to eat, he fell a weeping in her presence, before he could so much
- as utter a word. At first the lady supposed that 'twas only because he
- was loath to part with the brave falcon that he wept, and as good as made
- up her mind that he would refuse her: however, she awaited with patience
- Federigo's answer, which was on this wise:--"Madam, since it pleased God
- that I should set my affections upon you there have been matters not a
- few, in which to my sorrow I have deemed Fortune adverse to me; but they
- have all been trifles in comparison of the trick that she now plays me:
- the which I shall never forgive her, seeing that you are come here to my
- poor house, where, while I was rich, you deigned not to come, and ask a
- trifling favour of me, which she has put it out of my power to grant: how
- 'tis so, I will briefly tell you. When I learned that you, of your grace,
- were minded to breakfast with me, having respect to your high dignity and
- desert, I deemed it due and seemly that in your honour I should regale
- you, to the best of my power, with fare of a more excellent quality than
- is commonly set before others; and, calling to mind the falcon which you
- now ask of me, and his excellence, I judged him meet food for you, and so
- you have had him roasted on the trencher this morning; and well indeed I
- thought I had bestowed him; but, as now I see that you would fain have
- had him in another guise, so mortified am I that I am not able to serve
- you, that I doubt I shall never know peace of mind more." In witness
- whereof he had the feathers and feet and beak of the bird brought in and
- laid before her.
- The first thing the lady did, when she had heard Federigo's story, and
- seen the relics of the bird, was to chide him that he had killed so fine
- a falcon to furnish a woman with a breakfast; after which the magnanimity
- of her host, which poverty had been and was powerless to impair, elicited
- no small share of inward commendation. Then, frustrate of her hope of
- possessing the falcon, and doubting of her son's recovery, she took her
- leave with the heaviest of hearts, and hied her back to the boy: who,
- whether for fretting, that he might not have the falcon, or by the
- unaided energy of his disorder, departed this life not many days after,
- to the exceeding great grief of his mother. For a while she would do
- nought but weep and bitterly bewail herself; but being still young, and
- left very wealthy, she was often urged by her brothers to marry again,
- and though she would rather have not done so, yet being importuned, and
- remembering Federigo's high desert, and the magnificent generosity with
- which he had finally killed his falcon to do her honour, she said to her
- brothers:--"Gladly, with your consent, would I remain a widow, but if you
- will not be satisfied except I take a husband, rest assured that none
- other will I ever take save Federigo degli Alberighi." Whereupon her
- brothers derided her, saying:--"Foolish woman, what is't thou sayst? How
- shouldst thou want Federigo, who has not a thing in the world?" To whom
- she answered:--"My brothers, well wot I that 'tis as you say; but I had
- rather have a man without wealth than wealth without a man." The
- brothers, perceiving that her mind was made up, and knowing Federigo for
- a good man and true, poor though he was, gave her to him with all her
- wealth. And so Federigo, being mated with such a wife, and one that he
- had so much loved, and being very wealthy to boot, lived happily, keeping
- more exact accounts, to the end of his days.
- NOVEL X.
- --
- Pietro di Vinciolo goes from home to sup: his wife brings a boy into the
- house to bear her company: Pietro returns, and she hides her gallant
- under a hen-coop: Pietro explains that in the house of Ercolano, with
- whom he was to have supped, there was discovered a young man bestowed
- there by Ercolano's wife: the lady thereupon censures Ercolano's wife:
- but unluckily an ass treads on the fingers of the boy that is hidden
- under the hen-coop, so that he cries for pain: Pietro runs to the place,
- sees him, and apprehends the trick played on him by his wife, which
- nevertheless he finally condones, for that he is not himself free from
- blame.
- --
- When the queen had done speaking, and all had praised God that He had
- worthily rewarded Federigo, Dioneo, who never waited to be bidden, thus
- began:--I know not whether I am to term it a vice accidental and
- superinduced by bad habits in us mortals, or whether it be a fault seated
- in nature, that we are more prone to laugh at things dishonourable than
- at good deeds, and that more especially when they concern not ourselves.
- However, as the sole scope of all my efforts has been and still shall be
- to dispel your melancholy, and in lieu thereof to minister to you
- laughter and jollity; therefore, enamoured my damsels, albeit the ensuing
- story is not altogether free from matter that is scarce seemly, yet, as
- it may afford you pleasure, I shall not fail to relate it; premonishing
- you my hearers, that you take it with the like discretion as when, going
- into your gardens, you stretch forth your delicate hands and cull the
- roses, leaving the thorns alone: which, being interpreted, means that you
- will leave the caitiff husband to abide in sorry plight with his
- dishonour, and will gaily laugh at the amorous wiles or his wife, and
- commiserate her unfortunate gallant, when occasion requires.
- 'Tis no great while since there dwelt at Perugia a rich man named Pietro
- di Vinciolo, who rather, perchance, to blind others and mitigate the evil
- repute in which he was held by the citizens of Perugia, than for any
- desire to wed, took a wife: and such being his motive, Fortune provided
- him with just such a spouse as he merited. For the wife of his choice was
- a stout, red-haired young woman, and so hot-blooded that two husbands
- would have been more to her mind than one, whereas one fell to her lot
- that gave her only a subordinate place in his regard. Which she
- perceiving, while she knew herself to be fair and lusty, and felt herself
- to be gamesome and fit, waxed very wroth, and now and again had high
- words with her husband, and led but a sorry life with him at most times.
- Then, seeing that thereby she was more like to fret herself than to
- dispose her husband to conduct less base, she said to herself:--This poor
- creature deserts me to go walk in pattens in the dry; wherefore it shall
- go hard but I will bring another aboard the ship for the wet weather. I
- married him, and brought him a great and goodly dowry, knowing that he
- was a man, and supposing him to have the desires which men have and ought
- to have; and had I not deemed him to be a man, I should never have
- married him. He knew me to be a woman: why then took he me to wife, if
- women were not to his mind? 'Tis not to be endured. Had I not been minded
- to live in the world, I had become a nun; and being minded there to live,
- as I am, if I am to wait until I have pleasure or solace of him, I shall
- wait perchance until I am old; and then, too late, I shall bethink me to
- my sorrow that I have wasted my youth; and as to the way in which I
- should seek its proper solace I need no better teacher and guide than
- him, who finds his delight where I should find mine, and finds it to his
- own condemnation, whereas in me 'twere commendable. 'Tis but the laws
- that I shall set at nought, whereas he sets both them and Nature herself
- at nought.
- So the good lady reasoned, and peradventure more than once; and then,
- casting about how she might privily compass her end, she made friends
- with an old beldam, that shewed as a veritable Santa Verdiana,
- foster-mother of vipers, who was ever to be seen going to pardonings with
- a parcel of paternosters in her hand, and talked of nothing but the lives
- of the holy Fathers, and the wounds of St. Francis, and was generally
- reputed a saint; to whom in due time she opened her whole mind. "My
- daughter," replied the beldam, "God, who knows all things, knows that
- thou wilt do very rightly indeed: were it for no other reason, 'twould be
- meet for thee and every other young woman so to do, that the heyday of
- youth be not wasted; for there is no grief like that of knowing that it
- has been wasted. And what the devil are we women fit for when we are old
- except to pore over the cinders on the hearth? The which if any know, and
- may attest it, 'tis I, who, now that I am old, call to mind the time that
- I let slip from me, not without most sore and bitter and fruitless
- regret: and albeit 'twas not all wasted, for I would not have thee think
- that I was entirely without sense, yet I did not make the best use of it:
- whereof when I bethink me, and that I am now, even as thou seest me, such
- a hag that never a spark of fire may I hope to get from any, God knows
- how I rue it. Now with men 'tis otherwise: they are born meet for a
- thousand uses, not for this alone; and the more part of them are of much
- greater consequence in old age than in youth: but women are fit for
- nought but this, and 'tis but for that they bear children that they are
- cherished. Whereof, if not otherwise, thou mayst assure thyself, if thou
- do but consider that we are ever ready for it; which is not the case with
- men; besides which, one woman will tire out many men without being
- herself tired out. Seeing then that 'tis for this we are born, I tell
- thee again that thou wilt do very rightly to give thy husband thy loaf
- for his cake, that in thy old age thy soul may have no cause of complaint
- against thy flesh. Every one has just as much of this life as he
- appropriates: and this is especially true of women, whom therefore it
- behoves, much more than men, to seize the moment as it flies: indeed, as
- thou mayst see for thyself, when we grow old neither husband, nor any
- other man will spare us a glance; but, on the contrary, they banish us to
- the kitchen, there to tell stories to the cat, and to count the pots and
- pans; or, worse, they make rhymes about us:--'To the damsel dainty bits;
- to the beldam ague-fits;' and such-like catches. But to make no more
- words about it, I tell thee at once that there is no person in the world
- to whom thou couldst open thy mind with more advantage than to me; for
- there is no gentleman so fine but I dare speak my mind to him, nor any so
- harsh and forbidding but I know well how to soften him and fashion him to
- my will. Tell me only what thou wouldst have, and leave the rest to me:
- but one word more: I pray thee to have me in kindly remembrance, for that
- I am poor; and thou shalt henceforth go shares with me in all my
- indulgences and every paternoster that I say, that God may make thereof
- light and tapers for thy dead:" wherewith she ended.
- So the lady came to an understanding with the beldam, that, as soon as
- she set eyes on a boy that often came along that street, and of whom the
- lady gave her a particular description, she would know what she was to
- do: and thereupon the lady gave her a chunk of salt meat, and bade her
- God-speed. The beldam before long smuggled into the lady's chamber the
- boy of whom she had spoken, and not long after another, such being the
- humour of the lady, who, standing in perpetual dread of her husband, was
- disposed, in this particular, to make the most of her opportunities. And
- one of these days, her husband being to sup in the evening with a friend
- named Ercolano, the lady bade the beldam bring her a boy as pretty and
- dainty as was to be found in Perugia; and so the beldam forthwith did.
- But the lady and the boy being set at table to sup, lo, Pietro's voice
- was heard at the door, bidding open to him. Whereupon the lady gave
- herself up for dead; but being fain, if she might, to screen the boy, and
- knowing not where else to convey or conceal him, bestowed him under a
- hen-coop that stood in a veranda hard by the chamber in which they were
- supping, and threw over it a sorry mattress that she had that day emptied
- of its straw; which done she hastened to open the door to her husband;
- saying to him as he entered:--"You have gulped your supper mighty quickly
- to-night." Whereto Pietro replied:--"We have not so much as tasted it."
- "How so?" enquired the lady. "I will tell thee," said Pietro. "No sooner
- were we set at table, Ercolano, his wife, and I, than we heard a sneeze
- close to us, to which, though 'twas repeated, we paid no heed; but as the
- sneezer continued to sneeze a third, a fourth, a fifth, and many another
- time to boot, we all began to wonder, and Ercolano, who was somewhat out
- of humour with his wife, because she had kept us a long time at the door
- before she opened it, burst out in a sort of rage with:--'What means
- this? Who is't that thus sneezes?' and made off to a stair hard by,
- beneath which and close to its foot was a wooden closet, of the sort
- which, when folk are furnishing their houses, they commonly cause to be
- placed there, to stow things in upon occasion. And as it seemed to him
- that the sneezing proceeded thence, he undid the wicket, and no sooner
- had he opened it than out flew never so strong a stench of brimstone;
- albeit we had already been saluted by a whiff of it, and complained
- thereof, but had been put off by the lady with:--''Tis but that a while
- ago I bleached my veils with brimstone, having sprinkled it on a dish,
- that they might catch its fumes, which dish I then placed under the
- stair, so that it still smells a little.'
- "However the door being now, as I have said, open, and the smoke somewhat
- less dense, Ercolano, peering in, espied the fellow that had sneezed, and
- who still kept sneezing, being thereto constrained by the pungency of the
- brimstone. And for all he sneezed, yet was he by this time so well-nigh
- choked with the brimstone that he was like neither to sneeze nor to do
- aught else again. As soon as he caught sight of him, Ercolano bawled
- out:--'Now see I, Madam, why it was that a while ago, when we came here,
- we were kept waiting so long at the gate before 'twas opened; but woe
- betide me for the rest of my days, if I pay you not out.' Whereupon the
- lady, perceiving that her offence was discovered, ventured no excuse, but
- fled from the table, whither I know not. Ercolano, ignoring his wife's
- flight, bade the sneezer again and again to come forth; but he, being by
- this time fairly spent, budged not an inch for aught that Ercolano said.
- Wherefore Ercolano caught him by one of his feet, and dragged him forth,
- and ran off for a knife with intent to kill him; but I, standing in fear
- of the Signory on my own account, got up and would not suffer him to kill
- the fellow or do him any hurt, and for his better protection raised the
- alarm, whereby some of the neighbours came up and took the lad, more dead
- than alive, and bore him off, I know not whither. However, our supper
- being thus rudely interrupted, not only have not gulped it, but I have
- not so much as tasted it, as I said before!"
- Her husband's story shewed his wife that there were other ladies as
- knowing as she, albeit misfortune might sometimes overtake them and
- gladly would she have spoken out in defence of Ercolano's wife, but,
- thinking that, by censuring another's sin, she would secure more scope
- for her own, she launched out on this wise:--"Fine doings indeed, a right
- virtuous and saintly lady she must be: here is the loyalty of an honest
- woman, and one to whom I had lief have confessed, so spiritual I deemed
- her; and the worst of it is that, being no longer young, she sets a rare
- example to those that are so. Curses on the hour that she came into the
- world: curses upon her that she make not away with herself, basest, most
- faithless of women that she must needs be, the reproach of her sex, the
- opprobrium of all the ladies of this city, to cast aside all regard for
- her honour, her marriage vow, her reputation before the world, and, lost
- to all sense of shame, to scruple not to bring disgrace upon a man so
- worthy, a citizen so honourable, a husband by whom she was so well
- treated, ay, and upon herself to boot! By my hope of salvation no mercy
- should be shewn to such women; they should pay the penalty with their
- lives; to the fire with them while they yet live, and let them be burned
- to ashes." Then, calling to mind the lover that she had close at hand in
- the hen-coop, she fell to coaxing Pietro to get him to bed, for the hour
- grew late. Pietro, who was more set on eating than sleeping, only asked
- whether there was aught he might have by way of supper. "Supper,
- forsooth!" replied the lady. "Ay, of course 'tis our way to make much of
- supper when thou art not at home. As if I were Ercolano's wife! Now,
- wherefore tarry longer? Go, get thy night's rest: 'twere far better for
- thee."
- Now so it was that some of Pietro's husbandmen had come to the house that
- evening with divers things from the farm, and had put up their asses in a
- stable that adjoined the veranda, but had neglected to water them; and
- one of the asses being exceeding thirsty, got his head out of the halter
- and broke loose from the stable, and went about nosing everything, if
- haply he might come by water: whereby he came upon the hen-coop, beneath
- which was the boy; who, being constrained to stand on all fours, had the
- fingers of one hand somewhat protruding from under the hen-coop; and so
- as luck or rather ill-luck would have it, the ass trod on them; whereat,
- being sorely hurt, he set up a great howling, much to the surprise of
- Pietro, who perceived that 'twas within his house. So forth he came, and
- hearing the boy still moaning and groaning, for the ass still kept his
- hoof hard down on the fingers, called out:--"Who is there?" and ran to
- the hen-coop and raised it, and espied the fellow, who, besides the pain
- that the crushing of his fingers by the ass's hoof occasioned him,
- trembled in every limb for fear that Pietro should do him a mischief. He
- was one that Pietro had long been after for his foul purposes: so Pietro,
- recognizing him, asked him:--"What dost thou here?" The boy making no
- answer, save to beseech him for the love of God to do him no hurt, Pietro
- continued:--"Get up, have no fear that I shall hurt thee; but tell
- me:--How, and for what cause comest thou to be here?" The boy then
- confessed everything. Whereupon Pietro, as elated by the discovery as his
- wife was distressed, took him by the hand; and led him into the room
- where the lady in the extremity of terror awaited him; and, having seated
- himself directly in front of her, said:--"'Twas but a moment ago that
- thou didst curse Ercolano's wife, and averred that she ought to be
- burned, and that she was the reproach of your sex: why saidst thou not,
- of thyself? Or, if thou wast not minded to accuse thyself, how hadst thou
- the effrontery to censure her, knowing that thou hadst done even as she?
- Verily 'twas for no other reason than that ye are all fashioned thus, and
- study to cover your own misdeeds with the delinquencies of others: would
- that fire might fall from heaven and burn you all, brood of iniquity that
- ye are!"
- The lady, marking that in the first flush of his wrath he had given her
- nothing worse than hard words, and discerning, as she thought, that he
- was secretly overjoyed to hold so beautiful a boy by the hand, took heart
- of grace and said:--"I doubt not indeed that thou wouldst be well pleased
- that fire should fall from heaven and devour us all, seeing that thou art
- as fond of us as a dog is of the stick, though by the Holy Rood thou wilt
- be disappointed; but I would fain have a little argument with thee, to
- know whereof thou complainest. Well indeed were it with me, didst thou
- but place me on an equality with Ercolano's wife, who is an old
- sanctimonious hypocrite, and has of him all that she wants, and is
- cherished by him as a wife should be: but that is not my case. For,
- granted that thou givest me garments and shoes to my mind, thou knowest
- how otherwise ill bested I am, and how long it is since last thou didst
- lie with me; and far liefer had I go barefoot and in rags, and have thy
- benevolence abed, than have all that I have, and be treated as thou dost
- treat me. Understand me, Pietro, be reasonable; consider that I am a
- woman like other women, with the like craving; whereof if thou deny me
- the gratification, 'tis no blame to me that I seek it elsewhere; and at
- least I do thee so much honour as not forgather with stable-boys or
- scurvy knaves."
- Pietro perceived that she was like to continue in this vein the whole
- night: wherefore, indifferent as he was to her, he said:--"Now, Madam, no
- more of this; in the matter of which thou speakest I will content thee;
- but of thy great courtesy let us have something to eat by way of supper;
- for, methinks, the boy, as well as I, has not yet supped." "Ay, true
- enough," said the lady, "he has not supped; for we were but just sitting
- down to table to sup, when, beshrew thee, thou madest thy appearance."
- "Go then," said Pietro, "get us some supper; and by and by I will arrange
- this affair in such a way that thou shalt have no more cause of
- complaint." The lady, perceiving that her husband was now tranquil, rose,
- and soon had the table laid again and spread with the supper which she
- had ready; and so they made a jolly meal of it, the caitiff husband, the
- lady and the boy. What after supper Pietro devised for their mutual
- satisfaction has slipped from my memory. But so much as this I know, that
- on the morrow as he wended his way to the piazza, the boy would have been
- puzzled to say, whether of the twain, the wife or the husband, had had
- the most of his company during the night. But this I would say to you,
- dear my ladies, that whoso gives you tit, why, just give him tat; and if
- you cannot do it at once, why, bear it in mind until you can, that even
- as the ass gives, so he may receive.
- Dioneo's story, whereat the ladies laughed the less for shamefastness
- rather than for disrelish, being ended, the queen, taking note that the
- term of her sovereignty was come, rose to her feet, and took off the
- laurel wreath and set it graciously upon Elisa's head, saying:--"Madam,
- 'tis now your turn to bear sway." The dignity accepted, Elisa followed in
- all respects the example of her predecessors: she first conferred with
- the seneschal, and directed him how meetly to order all things during the
- time of her sovereignty; which done to the satisfaction of the
- company:--"Ofttimes," quoth she, "have we heard how with bright sallies,
- and ready retorts, and sudden devices, not a few have known how to repugn
- with apt checks the bites of others, or to avert imminent perils; and
- because 'tis an excellent argument, and may be profitable, I ordain that
- to-morrow, God helping us, the following be the rule of our discourse; to
- wit, that it be of such as by some sprightly sally have repulsed an
- attack, or by some ready retort or device have avoided loss, peril or
- scorn." The rule being heartily approved by all, the queen rose and
- dismissed them till supper-time. So the honourable company, seeing the
- queen risen, rose all likewise, and as their wont was, betook them to
- their diversions as to each seemed best. But when the cicalas had hushed
- their chirping, all were mustered again for supper; and having blithely
- feasted, they all addressed them to song and dance. And the queen, while
- Emilia led a dance, called for a song from Dioneo, who at once came out
- with:--'Monna Aldruda, come perk up thy mood, a piece of glad tidings I
- bring thee.' Whereat all the ladies fell a laughing, and most of all the
- queen, who bade him give them no more of that, but sing another. Quoth
- Dioneo:--"Madam, had I a tabret, I would sing:--'Up with your smock,
- Monna Lapa!' or:--'Oh! the greensward under the olive!' Or perchance you
- had liefer I should give you:--'Woe is me, the wave of the sea!' But no
- tabret have I: wherefore choose which of these others you will have.
- Perchance you would like:--'Now hie thee to us forth, that so it may be
- cut, as May the fields about.'" "No," returned the queen, "give us
- another." "Then," said Dioneo, "I will sing:--'Monna Simona, embarrel,
- embarrel. Why, 'tis not the month of October.'"(1) "Now a plague upon
- thee," said the queen, with a laugh; "give us a proper song, wilt thou?
- for we will have none of these." "Never fear, Madam," replied Dioneo;
- "only say which you prefer. I have more than a thousand songs by heart.
- Perhaps you would like:--'This my little covert, make I ne'er it overt';
- or:--'Gently, gently, husband mine'; or:--'A hundred pounds were none too
- high a price for me a cock to buy.'" The queen now shewed some offence,
- though the other ladies laughed, and:--"A truce to thy jesting, Dioneo,"
- said she, "and give us a proper song: else thou mayst prove the quality
- of my ire." Whereupon Dioneo forthwith ceased his fooling, and sang on
- this wise:--
- So ravishing a light
- Doth from the fair eyes of my mistress move
- As keeps me slave to her and thee, O Love.
- A beam from those bright orbs did radiate
- That flame that through mine own eyes to my breast
- Did whilom entrance gain.
- Thy majesty, O Love, thy might, how great
- They be, 'twas her fair face did manifest:
- Whereon to brood still fain,
- I felt thee take and chain
- Each sense, my soul enthralling on such wise
- That she alone henceforth evokes my sighs.
- Wherefore, O dear my Lord, myself I own
- Thy slave, and, all obedience, wait and yearn,
- Till thy might me console.
- Yet wot I not if it be throughly known
- How noble is the flame wherewith I burn,
- My loyalty how whole
- To her that doth control
- Ev'n in such sort my mind that shall I none,
- Nor would I, peace receive, save hers alone.
- And so I pray thee, sweet my Lord, that thou
- Give her to feel thy fire, and shew her plain
- How grievous my disease.
- This service deign to render; for that now
- Thou seest me waste for love, and in the pain
- Dissolve me by degrees:
- And then the apt moment seize
- My cause to plead with her, as is but due
- From thee to me, who fain with thee would sue.
- When Dioneo's silence shewed that his song was ended, the queen accorded
- it no stinted meed of praise; after which she caused not a few other
- songs to be sung. Thus passed some part of the night; and then the queen,
- taking note that its freshness had vanquished the heat of the day, bade
- all go rest them, if they would, till the morning.
- (1) The song is evidently amoebean.
- --
- Endeth here the fifth day of the Decameron, beginneth the sixth, wherein,
- under the rule of Elisa, discourse is had of such as by some sprightly
- sally have repulsed an attack, or by some ready retort or device have
- avoided loss, peril or scorn.
- --
- Still in mid heaven, the moon had lost her radiance, nor was any part of
- our world unillumined by the fresh splendour of the dawn, when, the queen
- being risen and having mustered her company, they hied them, gently
- sauntering, across the dewy mead some distance from the beautiful hill,
- conversing now of this, now of the other matter, canvassing the stories,
- their greater or less degree of beauty, and laughing afresh at divers of
- their incidents, until, the sun being now in his higher ascendant, they
- began to feel his heat, and turning back by common consent, retraced
- their steps to the palace, where, the tables being already set, and
- fragrant herbs and fair flowers strewn all about, they by the queen's
- command, before it should grow hotter, addressed themselves to their
- meal. So, having blithely breakfasted, they first of all sang some dainty
- and jocund ditties, and then, as they were severally minded, composed
- them to sleep or sat them down to chess or dice, while Dioneo and
- Lauretta fell a singing of Troilus and Cressida.
- The hour of session being come, they took their places, at the queen's
- summons, in their wonted order by the fountain; but, when the queen was
- about to call for the first story, that happened which had not happened
- before; to wit, there being a great uproar in the kitchen among the maids
- and men, the sound thereof reached the ears of the queen and all the
- company. Whereupon the queen called the seneschal and asked him who
- bawled so loud, and what was the occasion of the uproar. The seneschal
- made answer that 'twas some contention between Licisca and Tindaro; but
- the occasion he knew not, having but just come to quiet them, when he
- received her summons. The queen then bade him cause Licisca and Tindaro
- to come thither forthwith: so they came, and the queen enquired of them
- the cause of the uproar. Tindaro was about to make answer, when Licisca,
- who was somewhat advanced in years, and disposed to give herself airs,
- and heated to the strife of words, turned to Tindaro, and scowling upon
- him said:--"Unmannerly varlet that makest bold to speak before me; leave
- me to tell the story." Then, turning to the queen, she said:--"Madam,
- this fellow would fain instruct me as to Sicofante's wife, and--neither
- more or less--as if I had not known her well--would have me believe that,
- the first night that Sicofante lay with her, 'twas by force and not
- without effusion of blood that Master Yard made his way into Dusky Hill;
- which I deny, averring that he met with no resistance, but, on the
- contrary, with a hearty welcome on the part of the garrison. And such a
- numskull is he as fondly to believe that the girls are so simple as to
- let slip their opportunities, while they wait on the caprice of father or
- brothers, who six times out of seven delay to marry them for three or
- four years after they should. Ay, ay indeed, doubtless they were well
- advised to tarry so long! Christ's faith! I should know the truth of what
- I swear; there is never a woman in my neighbourhood whose husband had her
- virginity; and well I know how many and what manner of tricks our married
- dames play their husbands; and yet this booby would fain teach me to know
- women as if I were but born yesterday."
- While Licisca thus spoke, the ladies laughed till all their teeth were
- ready to start from their heads. Six times at least the queen bade her be
- silent: but all in vain; she halted not till she had said all that she
- had a mind to. When she had done, the queen turned with a smile to Dioneo
- saying:--"This is a question for thee to deal with, Dioneo; so hold
- thyself in readiness to give final judgment upon it, when our stories are
- ended." "Madam," replied Dioneo forthwith, "I give judgment without more
- ado: I say that Licisca is in the right; I believe that 'tis even as she
- says, and that Tindaro is a fool." Whereupon Licisca burst out laughing,
- and turning to Tindaro:--"Now did I not tell thee so?" quoth she. "Begone
- in God's name: dost think to know more than I, thou that art but a
- sucking babe? Thank God, I have not lived for nothing, not I." And had
- not the queen sternly bade her be silent, and make no more disturbance,
- unless she had a mind to be whipped, and sent both her and Tindaro back
- to the kitchen, the whole day would have been spent in nought but
- listening to her. So Licisca and Tindaro having withdrawn, the queen
- charged Filomena to tell the first story: and gaily thus Filomena began.
- NOVEL I.
- --
- A knight offers to carry Madonna Oretta a horseback with a story, but
- tells it so ill that she prays him to dismount her.
- --
- As stars are set for an ornament in the serene expanse of heaven, and
- likewise in springtime flowers and leafy shrubs in the green meadows, so,
- damsels, in the hour of rare and excellent discourse, is wit with its
- bright sallies. Which, being brief, are much more proper for ladies than
- for men, seeing that prolixity of speech, where brevity is possible, is
- much less allowable to them. But for whatever cause, be it the sorry
- quality of our understanding, or some especial enmity that heaven bears
- to our generation, few ladies or none are left to-day that, when occasion
- prompts, are able to meet it with apt speech, ay, or if aught of the kind
- they hear, can understand it aright: to our common shame be it spoken!
- But as, touching this matter, enough has already been said by
- Pampinea,(1) I purpose not to enlarge thereon; but, that you may know
- what excellence resides in speech apt for the occasion, I am minded to
- tell you after how courteous a fashion a lady imposed silence upon a
- gentleman.
- 'Tis no long time since there dwelt in our city a lady, noble, debonair
- and of excellent discourse, whom not a few of you may have seen or heard
- of, whose name--for such high qualities merit not oblivion--was Madonna
- Oretta, her husband being Messer Geri Spina. Now this lady, happening to
- be, as we are, in the country, moving from place to place for pleasure
- with a company of ladies and gentlemen, whom she had entertained the day
- before at breakfast at her house, and the place of their next sojourn,
- whither they were to go afoot, being some considerable distance off, one
- of the gentlemen of the company said to her:--"Madonna Oretta, so please
- you, I will carry you great part of the way a horseback with one of the
- finest stories in the world." "Indeed, Sir," replied the lady, "I pray
- you do so; and I shall deem it the greatest of favours." Whereupon the
- gentleman, who perhaps was no better master of his weapon than of his
- story, began a tale, which in itself was indeed excellent, but which, by
- repeating the same word three, four or six times, and now and again
- harking back, and saying:--"I said not well"; and erring not seldom in
- the names, setting one in place of another, he utterly spoiled; besides
- which, his mode of delivery accorded very ill with the character of the
- persons and incidents: insomuch that Madonna Oretta, as she listened, did
- oft sweat, and was like to faint, as if she were ill and at the point of
- death. And being at length able to bear no more of it, witting that the
- gentleman had got into a mess and was not like to get out of it, she said
- pleasantly to him:--"Sir, this horse of yours trots too hard; I pray you
- be pleased to set me down." The gentleman, being perchance more quick of
- apprehension than he was skilful in narration, missed not the meaning of
- her sally, and took it in all good and gay humour. So, leaving unfinished
- the tale which he had begun, and so mishandled, he addressed himself to
- tell her other stories.
- (1) Cf. First Day, Novel X.
- NOVEL II.
- --
- Cisti, a baker, by an apt speech gives Messer Geri Spina to know that he
- has by inadvertence asked that of him which he should not.
- --
- All the ladies and the men alike having greatly commended Madonna
- Oretta's apt saying, the queen bade Pampinea follow suit, and thus she
- began:--
- Fair ladies, I cannot myself determine whether Nature or Fortune be the
- more at fault, the one in furnishing a noble soul with a vile body, or
- the other in allotting a base occupation to a body endowed with a noble
- soul, whereof we may have seen an example, among others, in our
- fellow-citizen, Cisti; whom, furnished though he was with a most lofty
- soul, Fortune made a baker. And verily I should curse Nature and Fortune
- alike, did I not know that Nature is most discreet, and that Fortune,
- albeit the foolish imagine her blind, has a thousand eyes. For 'tis, I
- suppose, that, being wise above a little, they do as mortals ofttimes do,
- who, being uncertain as to their future, provide against contingencies by
- burying their most precious treasures in the basest places in their
- houses, as being the least likely to be suspected; whence, in the hour of
- their greatest need, they bring them forth, the base place having kept
- them more safe than the dainty chamber would have done. And so these two
- arbitresses of the world not seldom hide their most precious commodities
- in the obscurity of the crafts that are reputed most base, that thence
- being brought to light they may shine with a brighter splendour. Whereof
- how in a trifling matter Cisti, the baker, gave proof, restoring the eyes
- of the mind to Messer Geri Spina, whom the story of his wife, Madonna
- Oretta, has brought to my recollection, I am minded to shew you in a
- narrative which shall be of the briefest.
- I say then that Pope Boniface, with whom Messer Geri Spina stood very
- high in favour and honour, having sent divers of his courtiers to
- Florence as ambassadors to treat of certain matters of great moment, and
- they being lodged in Messer Geri's house, where he treated with them of
- the said affairs of the Pope, 'twas, for some reason or another, the wont
- of Messer Geri and the ambassadors of the Pope to pass almost every
- morning by Santa Maria Ughi, where Cisti, the baker, had his bakehouse,
- and plied his craft in person. Now, albeit Fortune had allotted him a
- very humble occupation, she had nevertheless prospered him therein to
- such a degree that he was grown most wealthy, and without ever aspiring
- to change it for another, lived in most magnificent style, having among
- his other good things a cellar of the best wines, white and red, that
- were to be found in Florence, or the country parts; and marking Messer
- Geri and the ambassadors of the Pope pass every morning by his door, he
- bethought him that, as 'twas very hot, 'twould be a very courteous thing
- to give them to drink of his good wine; but comparing his rank with that
- of Messer Geri, he deemed it unseemly to presume to invite him, and cast
- about how he might lead Messer Geri to invite himself. So, wearing always
- the whitest of doublets and a spotless apron, that denoted rather the
- miller, than the baker, he let bring, every morning about the hour that
- he expected Messer Geri and the ambassadors to pass by his door, a
- spick-and-span bucket of fresh and cool spring water, and a small
- Bolognese flagon of his good white wine, and two beakers that shone like
- silver, so bright were they: and there down he sat him, as they came by,
- and after hawking once or twice, fell a drinking his wine with such gusto
- that 'twould have raised a thirst in a corpse. Which Messer Geri having
- observed on two successive mornings, said on the third:--"What is't,
- Cisti? Is't good?" Whereupon Cisti jumped up, and answered:--"Ay, Sir,
- good it is; but in what degree I might by no means make you understand,
- unless you tasted it." Messer Geri, in whom either the heat of the
- weather, or unwonted fatigue, or, perchance, the gusto with which he had
- seen Cisti drink, had bred a thirst, turned to the ambassadors and said
- with a smile:--"Gentlemen, 'twere well to test the quality of this worthy
- man's wine: it may be such that we shall not repent us." And so in a body
- they came up to where Cisti stood; who, having caused a goodly bench to
- be brought out of the bakehouse, bade them be seated, and to their
- servants, who were now coming forward to wash the beakers, said:--"Stand
- back, comrades, and leave this office to me, for I know as well how to
- serve wine as to bake bread; and expect not to taste a drop yourselves."
- Which said, he washed four fine new beakers with his own hands, and
- having sent for a small flagon of his good wine, he heedfully filled the
- beakers, and presented them to Messer Geri and his companions; who deemed
- the wine the best that they had drunk for a great while. So Messer Geri,
- having praised the wine not a little, came there to drink every morning
- with the ambassadors as long as they tarried with him.
- Now when the ambassadors had received their conge, and were about to
- depart, Messer Geri gave a grand banquet, to which he bade some of the
- most honourable of the citizens, and also Cisti, who could by no means be
- induced to come. However, Messer Geri bade one of his servants go fetch a
- flask of Cisti's wine, and serve half a beaker thereof to each guest at
- the first course. The servant, somewhat offended, perhaps, that he had
- not been suffered to taste any of the wine, took with him a large flask,
- which Cisti no sooner saw, than:--"Son," quoth he, "Messer Geri does not
- send thee to me": and often as the servant affirmed that he did, he could
- get no other answer: wherewith he was fain at last to return to Messer
- Geri. "Go, get thee back, said Messer Geri, and tell him that I do send
- thee to him, and if he answers thee so again, ask him, to whom then I
- send thee." So the servant came back, and said:--"Cisti, Messer Geri
- does, for sure, send me to thee." "Son," answered Cisti, "Messer Geri
- does, for sure, not send thee to me." "To whom then," said the servant,
- "does he send me?" "To Arno," returned Cisti. Which being reported by the
- servant to Messer Geri, the eyes of his mind were straightway opened,
- and:--"Let me see," quoth he to the servant, "what flask it is thou
- takest there." And when he had seen it:--"Cisti says sooth," he added;
- and having sharply chidden him, he caused him take with him a suitable
- flask, which when Cisti saw:--"Now know I," quoth he, "that 'tis indeed
- Messer Geri that sends thee to me," and blithely filled it. And having
- replenished the rundlet that same day with wine of the same quality, he
- had it carried with due care to Messer Geri's house, and followed after
- himself; where finding Messer Geri he said:--"I would not have you think,
- Sir, that I was appalled by the great flask your servant brought me this
- morning; 'twas but that I thought you had forgotten that which by my
- little beakers I gave you to understand, when you were with me of late;
- to wit, that this is no table wine; and so wished this morning to refresh
- your memory. Now, however, being minded to keep the wine no longer, I
- have sent you all I have of it, to be henceforth entirely at your
- disposal." Messer Geri set great store by Cisti's gift, and thanked him
- accordingly, and ever made much of him and entreated him as his friend.
- NOVEL III.
- --
- Monna Nonna de' Pulci by a ready retort silences the scarce seemly
- jesting of the Bishop of Florence.
- --
- Pampinea's story ended, and praise not a little bestowed on Cisti alike
- for his apt speech and for his handsome present, the queen was pleased to
- call forthwith for a story from Lauretta, who blithely thus began:--
- Debonair my ladies, the excellency of wit, and our lack thereof, have
- been noted with no small truth first by Pampinea and after her by
- Filomena. To which topic 'twere bootless to return: wherefore to that
- which has been said touching the nature of wit I purpose but to add one
- word, to remind you that its bite should be as a sheep's bite and not as
- a dog's; for if it bite like a dog, 'tis no longer wit but discourtesy.
- With which maxim the words of Madonna Oretta, and the apt reply of Cisti,
- accorded excellently. True indeed it is that if 'tis by way of retort,
- and one that has received a dog's bite gives the biter a like bite in
- return, it does not seem to be reprehensible, as otherwise it would have
- been. Wherefore one must consider how and when and on whom and likewise
- where one exercises one's wit. By ill observing which matters one of our
- prelates did once upon a time receive no less shrewd a bite than he gave;
- as I will shew you in a short story.
- While Messer Antonio d'Orso, a prelate both worthy and wise, was Bishop
- of Florence, there came thither a Catalan gentleman, Messer Dego della
- Ratta by name, being King Ruberto's marshal. Now Dego being very goodly
- of person, and inordinately fond of women, it so befell that of the
- ladies of Florence she that he regarded with especial favour was the very
- beautiful niece of a brother of the said bishop. And having learned that
- her husband, though of good family, was but a caitiff, and avaricious in
- the last degree, he struck a bargain with him that he should lie one
- night with the lady for five hundred florins of gold: whereupon he had
- the same number of popolins(1) of silver, which were then current,
- gilded, and having lain with the lady, albeit against her will, gave them
- to her husband. Which coming to be generally known, the caitiff husband
- was left with the loss and the laugh against him; and the bishop, like a
- wise man, feigned to know nought of the affair. And so the bishop and the
- marshal being much together, it befell that on St. John's day, as they
- rode side by side down the street whence they start to run the palio,(2)
- and took note of the ladies, the bishop espied a young gentlewoman, whom
- this present pestilence has reft from us, Monna Nonna de' Pulci by name,
- a cousin of Messer Alesso Rinucci, whom you all must know; whom, for that
- she was lusty and fair, and of excellent discourse and a good courage,
- and but just settled with her husband in Porta San Piero, the bishop
- presented to the marshal; and then, being close beside her, he laid his
- hand on the marshal's shoulder and said to her:--"Nonna, what thinkest
- thou of this gentleman? That thou mightst make a conquest of him?" Which
- words the lady resented as a jibe at her honour, and like to tarnish it
- in the eyes of those, who were not a few, in whose hearing they were
- spoken. Wherefore without bestowing a thought upon the vindication of her
- honour, but being minded to return blow for blow, she retorted
- hastily:--"Perchance, Sir, he might not make a conquest of me; but if he
- did so, I should want good money." The answer stung both the marshal and
- the bishop to the quick, the one as contriver of the scurvy trick played
- upon the bishop's brother in regard of his niece, the other as thereby
- outraged in the person of his brother's niece; insomuch that they dared
- not look one another in the face, but took themselves off in shame and
- silence, and said never a word more to her that day.
- In such a case, then, the lady having received a bite, 'twas allowable in
- her wittily to return it.
- (1) A coin of the same size and design as the fiorino d'oro, but worth
- only two soldi.
- (2) A sort of horse-race still in vogue at Siena.
- NOVEL IV.
- --
- Chichibio, cook to Currado Gianfigliazzi, owes his safety to a ready
- answer, whereby he converts Currado's wrath into laughter, and evades the
- evil fate with which Currado had threatened him.
- --
- Lauretta being now silent, all lauded Nonna to the skies; after which
- Neifile received the queen's command to follow suit, and thus began:--
- Albeit, loving ladies, ready wit not seldom ministers words apt and
- excellent and congruous with the circumstances of the speakers, 'tis also
- true that Fortune at times comes to the aid of the timid, and
- unexpectedly sets words upon the tongue, which in a quiet hour the
- speaker could never have found for himself: the which 'tis my purpose to
- shew you by my story.
- Currado Gianfigliazzi, as the eyes and ears of each of you may bear
- witness, has ever been a noble citizen of our city, open-handed and
- magnificent, and one that lived as a gentleman should with hounds and
- hawks, in which, to say nothing at present of more important matters, he
- found unfailing delight. Now, having one day hard by Peretola despatched
- a crane with one of his falcons, finding it young and plump, he sent it
- to his excellent cook, a Venetian, Chichibio by name, bidding him roast
- it for supper and make a dainty dish of it. Chichibio, who looked, as he
- was, a very green-head, had dressed the crane, and set it to the fire and
- was cooking it carefully, when, the bird being all but roasted, and the
- fumes of the cooking very strong, it so chanced that a girl, Brunetta by
- name, that lived in the same street, and of whom Chichibio was greatly
- enamoured, came into the kitchen, and perceiving the smell and seeing the
- bird, began coaxing Chichibio to give her a thigh. By way of answer
- Chichibio fell a singing:--"You get it not from me, Madam Brunetta, you
- get it not from me." Whereat Madam Brunetta was offended, and said to
- him:--"By God, if thou givest it me not, thou shalt never have aught from
- me to pleasure thee." In short there was not a little altercation; and in
- the end Chichibio, fain not to vex his mistress, cut off one of the
- crane's thighs, and gave it to her. So the bird was set before Currado
- and some strangers that he had at table with him, and Currado, observing
- that it had but one thigh, was surprised, and sent for Chichibio, and
- demanded of him what was become of the missing thigh. Whereto the
- mendacious Venetian answered readily:--"The crane, Sir, has but one thigh
- and one leg." "What the devil?" rejoined Currado in a rage: "so the crane
- has but one thigh and one leg? thinkst thou I never saw crane before
- this?" But Chichibio continued:--"'Tis even so as I say, Sir; and, so
- please you, I will shew you that so it is in the living bird." Currado
- had too much respect for his guests to pursue the topic; he only
- said:--"Since thou promisest to shew me in the living bird what I have
- never seen or heard tell of, I bid thee do so to-morrow, and I shall be
- satisfied, but if thou fail, I swear to thee by the body of Christ that I
- will serve thee so that thou shalt ruefully remember my name for the rest
- of thy days."
- No more was said of the matter that evening, but on the morrow, at
- daybreak, Currado, who had by no means slept off his wrath, got up still
- swelling therewith, and ordered his horses, mounted Chichibio on a
- hackney, and saying to him:--"We shall soon see which of us lied
- yesternight, thou or I," set off with him for a place where there was
- much water, beside which there were always cranes to be seen about dawn.
- Chichibio, observing that Currado's ire was unabated, and knowing not how
- to bolster up his lie, rode by Currado's side in a state of the utmost
- trepidation, and would gladly, had he been able, have taken to flight;
- but, as he might not, he glanced, now ahead, now aback, now aside, and
- saw everywhere nought but cranes standing on two feet. However, as they
- approached the river, the very first thing they saw upon the bank was a
- round dozen of cranes standing each and all on one foot, as is their
- wont, when asleep. Which Chichibio presently pointed out to Currado,
- saying:--"Now may you see well enough, Sir, that 'tis true as I said
- yesternight, that the crane has but one thigh and one leg; mark but how
- they stand over there." Whereupon Currado:--"Wait," quoth he, "and I will
- shew thee that they have each thighs and legs twain." So, having drawn a
- little nigher to them, he ejaculated, "Oho!" Which caused the cranes to
- bring each the other foot to the ground, and, after hopping a step or
- two, to take to flight. Currado then turned to Chichibio, saying:--"How
- now, rogue? art satisfied that the bird has thighs and legs twain?"
- Whereto Chichibio, all but beside himself with fear, made answer:--"Ay,
- Sir; but you cried not, oho! to our crane of yestereve: had you done so,
- it would have popped its other thigh and foot forth, as these have done."
- Which answer Currado so much relished, that, all his wrath changed to
- jollity and laughter:--"Chichibio," quoth he, "thou art right, indeed I
- ought to have so done."
- Thus did Chichibio by his ready and jocund retort arrest impending evil,
- and make his peace with his master.
- NOVEL V.
- --
- Messer Forese da Rabatta and Master Giotto, the painter, journeying
- together from Mugello, deride one another's scurvy appearance.
- --
- Neifile being silent, and the ladies having made very merry over
- Chichibio's retort, Pamfilo at the queen's command thus spoke:--Dearest
- ladies, if Fortune, as Pampinea has shewn us, does sometimes bide
- treasures most rich of native worth in the obscurity of base occupations,
- so in like manner 'tis not seldom found that Nature has enshrined
- prodigies of wit in the most ignoble of human forms. Whereof a notable
- example is afforded by two of our citizens, of whom I purpose for a brief
- while to discourse. The one, Messer Forese da Rabatta by name, was short
- and deformed of person and withal flat-cheeked and flat-nosed, insomuch
- that never a Baroncio(1) had a visage so misshapen but his would have
- shewed as hideous beside it; yet so conversant was this man with the
- laws, that by not a few of those well able to form an opinion he was
- reputed a veritable storehouse of civil jurisprudence. The other, whose
- name was Giotto, was of so excellent a wit that, let Nature, mother of
- all, operant ever by continual revolution of the heavens, fashion what
- she would, he with his style and pen and pencil would depict its like on
- such wise that it shewed not as its like, but rather as the thing itself,
- insomuch that the visual sense of men did often err in regard thereof,
- mistaking for real that which was but painted. Wherefore, having brought
- back to light that art which had for many ages lain buried beneath the
- blunders of those who painted rather to delight the eyes of the ignorant
- than to satisfy the intelligence of the wise, he may deservedly be called
- one of the lights that compose the glory of Florence, and the more so,
- the more lowly was the spirit in which he won that glory, who, albeit he
- was, while he yet lived, the master of others, yet did ever refuse to be
- called their master. And this title that he rejected adorned him with a
- lustre the more splendid in proportion to the avidity with which it was
- usurped by those who were less knowing than he, or were his pupils. But
- for all the exceeding greatness of his art, yet in no particular had he
- the advantage of Messer Forese either in form or in feature. But to come
- to the story:--'Twas in Mugello that Messer Forese, as likewise Giotto,
- had his country-seat, whence returning from a sojourn that he had made
- there during the summer vacation of the courts, and being, as it chanced,
- mounted on a poor jade of a draught horse, he fell in with the said
- Giotto, who was also on his way back to Florence after a like sojourn on
- his own estate, and was neither better mounted, nor in any other wise
- better equipped, than Messer Forese. And so, being both old men, they
- jogged on together at a slow pace: and being surprised by a sudden
- shower, such as we frequently see fall in summer, they presently sought
- shelter in the house of a husbandman that was known to each of them, and
- was their friend. But after a while, as the rain gave no sign of ceasing,
- and they had a mind to be at Florence that same day, they borrowed of the
- husbandman two old cloaks of Romagnole cloth, and two hats much the worse
- for age (there being no better to be had), and resumed their journey.
- Whereon they had not proceeded far, when, taking note that they were
- soaked through and through, and liberally splashed with the mud cast up
- by their nags' hooves (circumstances which are not of a kind to add to
- one's dignity), they, after long silence, the sky beginning to brighten a
- little, began to converse. And Messer Forese, as he rode and hearkened to
- Giotto, who was an excellent talker, surveyed him sideways, and from head
- to foot, and all over, and seeing him in all points in so sorry and
- scurvy a trim, and recking nought of his own appearance, broke into a
- laugh and said:--"Giotto, would e'er a stranger that met us, and had not
- seen thee before, believe, thinkst thou, that thou wert, as thou art,
- the greatest painter in the world." Whereto Giotto answered
- promptly:--"Methinks, Sir, he might, if, scanning you, he gave you credit
- for knowing the A B C." Which hearing, Messer Forese recognized his
- error, and perceived that he had gotten as good as he brought.
- (1) The name of a Florentine family famous for the extraordinary ugliness
- of its men: whereby it came to pass that any grotesque or extremely ugly
- man was called a Baroncio. Fanfani, Vocab. della Lingua Italiana, 1891.
- NOVEL VI.
- --
- Michele Scalza proves to certain young men that the Baronci are the best
- gentlemen in the world and the Maremma, and wins a supper.
- --
- The ladies were still laughing over Giotto's ready retort, when the queen
- charged Fiammetta to follow suit; wherefore thus Fiammetta
- began:--Pamfilo's mention of the Baronci, who to you, Damsels, are
- perchance not so well known as to him, has brought to my mind a story in
- which 'tis shewn how great is their nobility; and, for that it involves
- no deviation from our rule of discourse, I am minded to tell it you.
- 'Tis no long time since there dwelt in our city a young man, Michele
- Scalza by name, the pleasantest and merriest fellow in the world, and the
- best furnished with quaint stories: for which reason the Florentine youth
- set great store on having him with them when they forgathered in company.
- Now it so befell that one day, he being with a party of them at Mont'
- Ughi, they fell a disputing together on this wise; to wit, who were the
- best gentlemen and of the longest descent in Florence. One said, the
- Uberti, another, the Lamberti, or some other family, according to the
- predilection of the speaker. Whereat Scalza began to smile, and
- said:--"Now out upon you, out upon you, blockheads that ye are: ye know
- not what ye say. The best gentlemen and of longest descent in all the
- world and the Maremma (let alone Florence) are the Baronci by the common
- consent of all phisopholers,(1) and all that know them as I do; and lest
- you should otherwise conceive me, I say that 'tis of your neighbours the
- Baronci(2) of Santa Maria Maggiore that I speak." Whereupon the young
- men, who had looked for somewhat else from him, said derisively:--"Thou
- dost but jest with us; as if we did not know the Baronci as well as
- thou!" Quoth Scalza:--"By the Gospels I jest not, but speak sooth; and if
- there is any of you will wager a supper to be given to the winner and six
- good fellows whom he shall choose, I will gladly do the like, and--what
- is more--I will abide by the decision of such one of you as you may
- choose." Then said one of them whose name was Neri Mannini:--"I am ready
- to adventure this supper;" and so they agreed together that Piero di
- Fiorentino, in whose house they were, should be judge, and hied them to
- him followed by all the rest, eager to see Scalza lose, and triumph in
- his discomfiture, and told Piero all that had been said. Piero, who was a
- young man of sound sense, heard what Neri had to say; and then turning to
- Scalza:--"And how," quoth he, "mayst thou make good what thou averrest?"
- "I will demonstrate it," returned Scalza, "by reasoning so cogent that
- not only you, but he that denies it shall acknowledge that I say sooth.
- You know, and so they were saying but now, that the longer men's descent,
- the better is their gentility, and I say that the Baronci are of longer
- descent, and thus better gentlemen than any other men. If, then, I prove
- to you that they are of longer descent than any other men, without a
- doubt the victory in this dispute will rest with me. Now you must know
- that when God made the Baronci, He was but a novice in His art, of which,
- when He made the rest of mankind, He was already master. And to assure
- yourself that herein I say sooth, you have but to consider the Baronci,
- how they differ from the rest of mankind, who all have faces well
- composed and duly proportioned, whereas of the Baronci you will see one
- with a face very long and narrow, another with a face inordinately broad,
- one with a very long nose, another with a short one, one with a
- protruding and upturned chin, and great jaws like an ass's; and again
- there will be one that has one eye larger than its fellow, or set on a
- lower plane; so that their faces resemble those that children make when
- they begin to learn to draw. Whereby, as I said, 'tis plainly manifest
- that, when God made them, He was but novice in His art; and so they are
- of longer descent than the rest of mankind, and by consequence better
- gentlemen." By which entertaining argument Piero, the judge, and Neri who
- had wagered the supper, and all the rest, calling to mind the Baronci's
- ugliness, were so tickled, that they fell a laughing, and averred that
- Scalza was in the right, and that he had won the wager, and that without
- a doubt the Baronci were the best gentlemen, and of the longest descent,
- not merely in Florence, but in the world and the Maremma to boot.
- Wherefore 'twas not without reason that Pamfilo, being minded to declare
- Messer Forese's ill-favouredness, said that he would have been hideous
- beside a Baroncio.
- (1) In the Italian fisofoli: an evidently intentional distortion.
- (2) Villani, Istorie Fiorentine, iv. cap. ix., and Dante, Paradiso, xvi.
- 104, spell the name Barucci.
- NOVEL VII.
- --
- Madonna Filippa, being found by her husband with her lover, is cited
- before the court, and by a ready and jocund answer acquits herself, and
- brings about an alteration of the statute.
- --
- Fiammetta had been silent some time, but Scalza's novel argument to prove
- the pre-eminent nobility of the Baronci kept all still laughing, when the
- queen called for a story from Filostrato, who thus began:--Noble ladies,
- an excellent thing is apt speech on all occasions, but to be proficient
- therein I deem then most excellent when the occasion does most
- imperatively demand it. As was the case with a gentlewoman, of whom I
- purpose to speak to you, who not only ministered gaiety and merriment to
- her hearers, but extricated herself, as you shall hear, from the toils of
- an ignominious death.
- There was aforetime in the city of Prato a statute no less censurable
- than harsh, which, making no distinction between the wife whom her
- husband took in adultery with her lover, and the woman found pleasuring a
- stranger for money, condemned both alike to be burned. While this statute
- was in force, it befell that a gentlewoman, fair and beyond measure
- enamoured, Madonna Filippa by name, was by her husband, Rinaldo de'
- Pugliesi, found in her own chamber one night in the arms of Lazzarino de'
- Guazzagliotri, a handsome young noble of the same city, whom she loved
- even as herself. Whereat Rinaldo, very wroth, scarce refrained from
- falling upon them and killing them on the spot; and indeed, but that he
- doubted how he should afterwards fare himself, he had given way to the
- vehemence of his anger, and so done. Nor, though he so far mastered
- himself, could he forbear recourse to the statute, thereby to compass
- that which he might not otherwise lawfully compass, to wit, the death of
- his lady. Wherefore, having all the evidence needful to prove her guilt,
- he took no further counsel; but, as soon as 'twas day, he charged the
- lady and had her summoned. Like most ladies that are veritably enamoured,
- the lady was of a high courage; and, though not a few of her friends and
- kinsfolk sought to dissuade her, she resolved to appear to the summons,
- having liefer die bravely confessing the truth than basely flee and for
- defiance of the law live in exile, and shew herself unworthy of such a
- lover as had had her in his arms that night. And so, attended by many
- ladies and gentlemen, who all exhorted her to deny the charge, she came
- before the Podesta, and with a composed air and unfaltering voice asked
- whereof he would interrogate her. The Podesta, surveying her, and taking
- note of her extraordinary beauty, and exquisite manners, and the high
- courage that her words evinced, was touched with compassion for her,
- fearing she might make some admission, by reason whereof, to save his
- honour, he must needs do her to death. But still, as he could not refrain
- from examining her of that which was laid to her charge, he
- said:--"Madam, here, as you see, is your husband, Rinaldo, who prefers a
- charge against you, alleging that he has taken you in adultery, and so he
- demands that, pursuant to a statute which is in force here, I punish you
- with death: but this I may not do, except you confess; wherefore be very
- careful what you answer, and tell me if what your husband alleges against
- you be true." The lady, no wise dismayed, and in a tone not a little
- jocund, thus made answer:--"True it is, Sir, that Rinaldo is my husband,
- and that last night he found me in the arms of Lazzarino, in whose arms
- for the whole-hearted love that I bear him I have ofttimes lain; nor
- shall I ever deny it; but, as well I wot you know, the laws ought to be
- common and enacted with the common consent of all that they affect; which
- conditions are wanting to this law, inasmuch as it binds only us poor
- women, in whom to be liberal is much less reprehensible than it were in
- men; and furthermore the consent of no woman was--I say not had, but--so
- much as asked before 'twas made; for which reasons it justly deserves to
- be called a bad law. However, if in scathe of my body and your own soul,
- you are minded to put it in force, 'tis your affair; but, I pray you, go
- not on to try this matter in any wise, until you have granted me this
- trifling grace, to wit, to ask my husband if I ever gainsaid him, but did
- not rather accord him, when and so often as he craved it, complete
- enjoyment of myself." Whereto Rinaldo, without awaiting the Podesta's
- question, forthwith answered, that assuredly the lady had ever granted
- him all that he had asked of her for his gratification. "Then," promptly
- continued the lady, "if he has ever had of me as much as sufficed for his
- solace, what was I or am I to do with the surplus? Am I to cast it to the
- dogs? Is it not much better to bestow it on a gentleman that loves me
- more dearly than himself, than to suffer it to come to nought or worse?"
- Which jocund question being heard by well-nigh all the folk of Prato, who
- had flocked thither all agog to see a dame so fair and of such quality on
- her trial for such an offence, they laughed loud and long, and then all
- with one accord, and as with one voice, exclaimed that the lady was in
- the right and said well; nor left they the court until in concert with
- the Podesta they had so altered the harsh statute as that thenceforth
- only such women as should wrong their husbands for money should be within
- its purview.
- Wherefore Rinaldo left the court, discomfited of his foolish enterprise;
- and the lady blithe and free, as if rendered back to life from the
- burning, went home triumphant.
- NOVEL VIII.
- --
- Fresco admonishes his niece not to look at herself in the glass, if 'tis,
- as she says, grievous to her to see nasty folk.
- --
- 'Twas not at first without some flutterings of shame, evinced by the
- modest blush mantling on their cheeks, that the ladies heard Filostrato's
- story; but afterwards, exchanging glances, they could scarce forbear to
- laugh, and hearkened tittering. However, when he had done, the queen
- turning to Emilia bade her follow suit. Whereupon Emilia, fetching a deep
- breath as if she were roused from sleep, thus began:--Loving ladies,
- brooding thought has kept my spirit for so long time remote from here
- that perchance I may make a shift to satisfy our queen with a much
- shorter story than would have been forthcoming but for my absence of
- mind, wherein I purpose to tell you how a young woman's folly was
- corrected by her uncle with a pleasant jest, had she but had the sense to
- apprehend it. My story, then, is of one, Fresco da Celatico by name, that
- had a niece, Ciesca, as she was playfully called, who, being fair of face
- and person, albeit she had none of those angelical charms that we
- ofttimes see, had so superlative a conceit of herself, that she had
- contracted a habit of disparaging both men and women and all that she
- saw, entirely regardless of her own defects, though for odiousness,
- tiresomeness, and petulance she had not her match among women, insomuch
- that there was nought that could be done to her mind: besides which, such
- was her pride that had she been of the blood royal of France, 'twould
- have been inordinate. And when she walked abroad, so fastidious was her
- humour, she was ever averting her head, as if there was never a soul she
- saw or met but reeked with a foul smell. Now one day--not to speak of
- other odious and tiresome ways that she had--it so befell that being come
- home, where Fresco was, she sat herself down beside him with a most
- languishing air, and did nought but fume and chafe. Whereupon:--"Ciesca,"
- quoth he, "what means this, that, though 'tis a feast-day, yet thou art
- come back so soon?" She, all but dissolved with her vapourish humours,
- made answer:--"Why, the truth is, that I am come back early because
- never, I believe, were there such odious and tiresome men and women in
- this city as there are to-day. I cannot pass a soul in the street that I
- loathe not like ill-luck; and I believe there is not a woman in the world
- that is so distressed by the sight of odious people as I am; and so I am
- come home thus soon to avoid the sight of them." Whereupon Fresco, to,
- whom his niece's bad manners were distasteful in the
- extreme:--"Daughter," quoth he, "if thou loathe odious folk as much as
- thou sayest, thou wert best, so thou wouldst live happy, never to look at
- thyself in the glass." But she, empty as a reed, albeit in her own
- conceit a match for Solomon in wisdom, was as far as any sheep from
- apprehending the true sense of her uncle's jest; but answered that on the
- contrary she was minded to look at herself in the glass like other women.
- And so she remained, and yet remains, hidebound in her folly.
- NOVEL IX.
- --
- Guido Cavalcanti by a quip meetly rebukes certain Florentine gentlemen
- who had taken him at a disadvantage.
- --
- The queen, perceiving that Emilia had finished her story, and that none
- but she, and he who had the privilege of speaking last, now remained to
- tell, began on this wise:--Albeit, debonair my ladies, you have
- forestalled me to-day of more than two of the stories, of which I had
- thought to tell one, yet one is still left me to recount, which carries
- at the close of it a quip of such a sort, that perhaps we have as yet
- heard nought so pregnant.
- You are to know, then, that in former times there obtained in our city
- customs excellent and commendable not a few, whereof today not one is
- left to us, thanks to the greed which, growing with the wealth of our
- folk, has banished them all from among us. One of which customs was that
- in divers quarters of Florence the gentlemen that there resided would
- assemble together in companies of a limited number, taking care to
- include therein only such as might conveniently bear the expenses, and
- to-day one, another to-morrow, each in his turn for a day, would
- entertain the rest of the company; and so they would not seldom do honour
- to gentlemen from distant parts when they visited the city, and also to
- their fellow-citizens; and in like manner they would meet together at
- least once a year all in the same trim, and on the most notable days
- would ride together through the city, and now and again they would tilt
- together, more especially on the greater feasts, or when the city was
- rejoiced by tidings of victory or some other glad event. Among which
- companies was one of which Messer Betto Brunelleschi was the leading
- spirit, into which Messer Betto and his comrades had striven hard to
- bring Guido, son of Cavalcante de' Cavalcanti, and not without reason,
- inasmuch as, besides being one of the best logicians in the world, and an
- excellent natural philosopher (qualities of which the company made no
- great account), he was without a peer for gallantry and courtesy and
- excellence of discourse and aptitude for all matters which he might set
- his mind to, and that belonged to a gentleman; and therewithal he was
- very rich, and, when he deemed any worthy of honour, knew how to bestow
- it to the uttermost. But, as Messer Betto had never been able to gain him
- over, he and his comrades supposed that 'twas because Guido, being
- addicted to speculation, was thereby estranged from men. And, for that he
- was somewhat inclined to the opinion of the Epicureans, the vulgar
- averred that these speculations of his had no other scope than to prove
- that God did not exist. Now one day it so befell that, Guido being come,
- as was not seldom his wont, from Or San Michele by the Corso degli
- Adimari as far as San Giovanni, around which were then the great tombs of
- marble that are to-day in Santa Reparata, besides other tombs not a few,
- and Guido being between the columns of porphyry, that are there, and the
- tombs and the door of San Giovanni, which was locked, Messer Betto and
- his company came riding on to the piazza of Santa Reparata, and seeing
- him among the tombs, said:--"Go we and flout him." So they set spurs to
- their horses, and making a mock onset, were upon him almost before he saw
- them. Whereupon:--"Guido," they began, "thou wilt be none of our company;
- but, lo now, when thou hast proved that God does not exist, what wilt
- thou have achieved?" Guido, seeing that he was surrounded, presently
- answered:--"Gentlemen, you may say to me what you please in your own
- house." Thereupon he laid his hand on one of the great tombs, and being
- very nimble, vaulted over it, and so evaded them, and went his way, while
- they remained gazing in one another's faces, and some said that he had
- taken leave of his wits, and that his answer was but nought, seeing that
- the ground on which they stood was common to them with the rest of the
- citizens, and among them Guido himself. But Messer Betto, turning to
- them:--"Nay but," quoth he, "'tis ye that have taken leave of your wits,
- if ye have not understood him; for meetly and in few words he has given
- us never so shrewd a reprimand; seeing that, if you consider it well,
- these tombs are the houses of the dead, that are laid and tarry therein;
- which he calls our house, to shew us that we, and all other simple,
- unlettered men, are, in comparison of him and the rest of the learned, in
- sorrier case than dead men, and so being here, we are in our own house."
- Then none was there but understood Guido's meaning and was abashed,
- insomuch that they flouted him no more, and thenceforth reputed Messer
- Betto a gentleman of a subtle and discerning wit.
- NOVEL X.
- --
- Fra Cipolla promises to shew certain country-folk a feather of the Angel
- Gabriel, in lieu of which he finds coals, which he avers to be of those
- with which St. Lawrence was roasted.
- --
- All the company save Dioneo being delivered of their several stories, he
- wist that 'twas his turn to speak. Wherefore, without awaiting any very
- express command, he enjoined silence on those that were commending
- Guido's pithy quip, and thus began:--Sweet my ladies, albeit 'tis my
- privilege to speak of what likes me most, I purpose not to-day to deviate
- from that theme whereon you have all discoursed most appositely; but,
- following in your footsteps, I am minded to shew you with what adroitness
- and readiness of resource one of the Friars of St. Antony avoided a
- pickle that two young men had in readiness for him. Nor, if, in order to
- do the story full justice, I be somewhat prolix of speech, should it be
- burdensome to you, if you will but glance at the sun, which is yet in
- mid-heaven.
- Certaldo, as perchance you may have heard, is a town of Val d'Elsa within
- our country-side, which, small though it is, had in it aforetime people
- of rank and wealth. Thither, for that there he found good pasture, 'twas
- long the wont of one of the Friars of St. Antony to resort once every
- year, to collect the alms that fools gave them. Fra Cipolla(1)--so hight
- the friar--met with a hearty welcome, no less, perchance, by reason of
- his name than for other cause, the onions produced in that district being
- famous throughout Tuscany. He was little of person, red-haired,
- jolly-visaged, and the very best of good fellows; and therewithal, though
- learning he had none, he was so excellent and ready a speaker that whoso
- knew him not would not only have esteemed him a great rhetorician, but
- would have pronounced him Tully himself or, perchance, Quintilian; and in
- all the country-side there was scarce a soul to whom he was not either
- gossip or friend or lover. Being thus wont from time to time to visit
- Certaldo, the friar came there once upon a time in the month of August,
- and on a Sunday morning, all the good folk of the neighbouring farms
- being come to mass in the parish church, he took occasion to come forward
- and say:--"Ladies and gentlemen, you wot 'tis your custom to send year by
- year to the poor of Baron Master St. Antony somewhat of your wheat and
- oats, more or less, according to the ability and the devoutness of each,
- that blessed St. Antony may save your oxen and asses and pigs and sheep
- from harm; and you are also accustomed, and especially those whose names
- are on the books of our confraternity, to pay your trifling annual dues.
- To collect which offerings, I am hither sent by my superior, to wit,
- Master Abbot; wherefore, with the blessing of God, after none, when you
- hear the bells ring, you will come out of the church to the place where
- in the usual way I shall deliver you my sermon, and you will kiss the
- cross; and therewithal, knowing, as I do, that you are one and all most
- devoted to Baron Master St. Antony, I will by way of especial grace shew
- you a most holy and goodly relic, which I brought myself from the Holy
- Land overseas, which is none other than one of the feathers of the Angel
- Gabriel, which he left behind him in the room of the Virgin Mary, when he
- came to make her the annunciation in Nazareth." And having said thus
- much, he ceased, and went on with the mass. Now among the many that were
- in the church, while Fra Cipolla made this speech, were two very wily
- young wags, the one Giovanni del Bragoniera by name, the other Biagio
- Pizzini; who, albeit they were on the best of terms with Fra Cipolla and
- much in his company, had a sly laugh together over the relic, and
- resolved to make game of him and his feather. So, having learned that Fra
- Cipolla was to breakfast that morning in the town with one of his
- friends, as soon as they knew that he was at table, down they hied them
- into the street, and to the inn where the friar lodged, having complotted
- that Biagio should keep the friar's servant in play, while Giovanni made
- search among the friar's goods and chattels for this feather, whatever it
- might be, to carry it off, that they might see how the friar would
- afterwards explain the matter to the people. Now Fra Cipolla had for
- servant one Guccio,(2) whom some called by way of addition Balena,(3)
- others Imbratta,(4) others again Porco,(5) and who was such a rascallion
- that sure it is that Lippo Topo(6) himself never painted his like.
- Concerning whom Fra Cipolla would ofttimes make merry with his familiars,
- saying:--"My servant has nine qualities, any one of which in Solomon,
- Aristotle, or Seneca, would have been enough to spoil all their virtue,
- wisdom and holiness. Consider, then, what sort of a man he must be that
- has these nine qualities, and yet never a spark of either virtue or
- wisdom or holiness." And being asked upon divers occasions what these
- nine qualities might be, he strung them together in rhyme, and
- answered:--"I will tell you. Lazy and uncleanly and a liar he is,
- Negligent, disobedient and foulmouthed, iwis, And reckless and witless
- and mannerless: and therewithal he has some other petty vices, which
- 'twere best to pass over. And the most amusing thing about him is, that,
- wherever he goes, he is for taking a wife and renting a house, and on the
- strength of a big, black, greasy beard he deems himself so very handsome
- a fellow and seductive, that he takes all the women that see him to be in
- love with him, and, if he were left alone, he would slip his girdle and
- run after them all. True it is that he is of great use to me, for that,
- be any minded to speak with me never so secretly, he must still have his
- share of the audience; and, if perchance aught is demanded of me, such is
- his fear lest I should be at a loss what answer to make, that he
- presently replies, ay or no, as he deems meet."
- Now, when he left this knave at the inn, Fra Cipolla had strictly
- enjoined him on no account to suffer any one to touch aught of his, and
- least of all his wallet, because it contained the holy things. But Guccio
- Imbratta, who was fonder of the kitchen than any nightingale of the green
- boughs, and most particularly if he espied there a maid, and in the
- host's kitchen had caught sight of a coarse fat woman, short and
- misshapen, with a pair of breasts that shewed as two buckets of muck and
- a face that might have belonged to one of the Baronci, all reeking with
- sweat and grease and smoke, left Fra Cipolla's room and all his things to
- take care of themselves, and like a vulture swooping down upon the
- carrion, was in the kitchen in a trice. Where, though 'twas August, he
- sat him down by the fire, and fell a gossiping with Nuta--such was the
- maid's name--and told her that he was a gentleman by procuration,(7) and
- had more florins than could be reckoned, besides those that he had to
- give away, which were rather more than less, and that he could do and say
- such things as never were or might be seen or heard forever, good Lord!
- and a day. And all heedless of his cowl, which had as much grease upon it
- as would have furnished forth the caldron of Altopascio,(8) and of his
- rent and patched doublet, inlaid with filth about the neck and under the
- armpits, and so stained that it shewed hues more various than ever did
- silk from Tartary or the Indies, and of his shoes that were all to
- pieces, and of his hose that were all in tatters, he told her in a tone
- that would have become the Sieur de Chatillon, that he was minded to
- rehabit her and put her in trim, and raise her from her abject condition,
- and place her where, though she would not have much to call her own, at
- any rate she would have hope of better things, with much more to the like
- effect; which professions, though made with every appearance of good
- will, proved, like most of his schemes, insubstantial as air, and came to
- nothing.
- Finding Guccio Porco thus occupied with Nuta, the two young men gleefully
- accounted their work half done, and, none gainsaying them, entered Fra
- Cipolla's room, which was open, and lit at once upon the wallet, in which
- was the feather. The wallet opened, they found, wrapt up in many folds of
- taffeta, a little casket, on opening which they discovered one of the
- tail-feathers of a parrot, which they deemed must be that which the friar
- had promised to shew the good folk of Certaldo. And in sooth he might
- well have so imposed upon them, for in those days the luxuries of Egypt
- had scarce been introduced into Tuscany, though they have since been
- brought over in prodigious abundance, to the grave hurt of all Italy. And
- though some conversance with them there was, yet in those parts folk knew
- next to nothing of them; but, adhering to the honest, simple ways of
- their forefathers, had not seen, nay for the most part had not so much as
- heard tell of, a parrot.
- So the young men, having found the feather, took it out with great glee;
- and looking around for something to replace it, they espied in a corner
- of the room some pieces of coal, wherewith they filled the casket; which
- they then closed, and having set the room in order exactly as they had
- found it, they quitted it unperceived, and hied them merrily off with the
- feather, and posted themselves where they might hear what Fra Cipolla
- would say when he found the coals in its stead. Mass said, the simple
- folk that were in the church went home with the tidings that the feather
- of the Angel Gabriel was to be seen after none; and this goodman telling
- his neighbour, and that goodwife her gossip, by the time every one had
- breakfasted, the town could scarce hold the multitude of men and women
- that flocked thither all agog to see this feather.
- Fra Cipolla, having made a hearty breakfast and had a little nap, got up
- shortly after none, and marking the great concourse of country-folk that
- were come to see the feather, sent word to Guccio Imbratta to go up there
- with the bells, and bring with him the wallet. Guccio, though 'twas with
- difficulty that he tore himself away from the kitchen and Nuta, hied him
- up with the things required; and though, when he got up, he was winded,
- for he was corpulent with drinking nought but water, he did Fra Cipolla's
- bidding by going to the church door and ringing the bells amain. When all
- the people were gathered about the door, Fra Cipolla, all unwitting that
- aught of his was missing, began his sermon, and after much said in
- glorification of himself, caused the confiteor to be recited with great
- solemnity, and two torches to be lit by way of preliminary to the shewing
- of the feather of the Angel Gabriel: he then bared his head, carefully
- unfolded the taffeta, and took out the casket, which, after a few
- prefatory words in praise and laudation of the Angel Gabriel and his
- relic, he opened. When he saw that it contained nought but coals, he did
- not suspect Guccio Balena of playing the trick, for he knew that he was
- not clever enough, nor did he curse him, that his carelessness had
- allowed another to play it, but he inly imprecated himself, that he had
- committed his things to the keeping of one whom he knew to be "negligent
- and disobedient, reckless and witless." Nevertheless, he changed not
- colour, but with face and hands upturned to heaven, he said in a voice
- that all might hear:--"O God, blessed be Thy might for ever and ever."
- Then, closing the casket, and turning to the people:--"Ladies and
- gentlemen," he said, "you are to know, that when I was yet a very young
- man, I was sent by my superior into those parts where the sun rises, and
- I was expressly bidden to search until I should find the Privileges of
- Porcellana, which, though they cost nothing to seal, are of much more use
- to others than to us. On which errand I set forth, taking my departure
- from Venice, and traversing the Borgo de' Greci,(9) and thence on
- horseback the realm of Algarve,(10) and so by Baldacca(11) I came to
- Parione,(12) whence, somewhat athirst, I after a while got on to
- Sardinia.(13) But wherefore go I about to enumerate all the lands in
- which I pursued my quest? Having passed the straits of San Giorgio, I
- arrived at Truffia(14) and Buffia,(15) countries thickly populated and
- with great nations, whence I pursued my journey to Menzogna,(16) where I
- met with many of our own brethren, and of other religious not a few,
- intent one and all on eschewing hardship for the love of God, making
- little account of others! toil, so they might ensue their own advantage,
- and paying in nought but unminted coin(17) throughout the length and
- breadth of the country; and so I came to the land of Abruzzi, where the
- men and women go in pattens on the mountains, and clothe the hogs with
- their own entrails;(18) and a little further on I found folk that carried
- bread in staves and wine in sacks.(19) And leaving them, I arrived at the
- mountains of the Bachi,(20) where all the waters run downwards. In short
- I penetrated so far that I came at last to India Pastinaca,(21) where I
- swear to you by the habit that I wear, that I saw pruning-hooks(22) fly:
- a thing that none would believe that had not seen it. Whereof be my
- witness that I lie not Maso del Saggio, that great merchant, whom I found
- there cracking nuts, and selling the shells by retail! However, not being
- able to find that whereof I was in quest, because from thence one must
- travel by water, I turned back, and so came at length to the Holy Land,
- where in summer cold bread costs four deniers, and hot bread is to be had
- for nothing. And there I found the venerable father
- Nonmiblasmetesevoipiace,(23) the most worshipful Patriarch of Jerusalem;
- who out of respect for the habit that I have ever worn, to wit, that of
- Baron Master St. Antony, was pleased to let me see all the holy relics
- that he had by him, which were so many, that, were I to enumerate them
- all, I should not come to the end of them in some miles. However, not to
- disappoint you, I will tell you a few of them. In the first place, then,
- he shewed me the finger of the Holy Spirit, as whole and entire as it
- ever was, and the tuft of the Seraph that appeared to St. Francis, and
- one of the nails of the Cherubim, and one of the ribs of the Verbum Caro
- hie thee to the casement,(24) and some of the vestments of the Holy
- Catholic Faith, and some of the rays of the star that appeared to the
- Magi in the East, and a phial of the sweat of St. Michael a battling with
- the Devil and the jaws of death of St. Lazarus, and other relics. And for
- that I gave him a liberal supply of the acclivities(25) of Monte Morello
- in the vulgar and some chapters of Caprezio, of which he had long been in
- quest, he was pleased to let me participate in his holy relics, and gave
- me one of the teeth of the Holy Cross, and in a small phial a bit of the
- sound of the bells of Solomon's temple, and this feather of the Angel
- Gabriel, whereof I have told you, and one of the pattens of San Gherardo
- da Villa Magna, which, not long ago, I gave at Florence to Gherardo di
- Bonsi, who holds him in prodigious veneration. He also gave me some of
- the coals with which the most blessed martyr, St. Lawrence, was roasted.
- All which things I devoutly brought thence, and have them all safe. True
- it is that my superior has not hitherto permitted me to shew them, until
- he should be certified that they are genuine. However, now that this is
- avouched by certain miracles wrought by them, of which we have tidings by
- letter from the Patriarch, he has given me leave to shew them. But,
- fearing to trust them to another, I always carry them with me; and to
- tell you the truth I carry the feather of the Angel Gabriel, lest it
- should get spoiled, in a casket, and the coals, with which St. Lawrence
- was roasted, in another casket; which caskets are so like the one to the
- other, that not seldom I mistake one for the other, which has befallen me
- on this occasion; for, whereas I thought to have brought with me the
- casket wherein is the feather, I have brought instead that which contains
- the coals. Nor deem I this a mischance; nay, methinks, 'tis by
- interposition, of God, and that He Himself put the casket of coals in my
- hand, for I mind me that the feast of St. Lawrence falls but two days
- hence. Wherefore God, being minded that by shewing you the coals, with
- which he was roasted, I should rekindle in your souls the devotion that
- you ought to feel towards him, guided my hand, not to the feather which I
- meant to take, but to the blessed coals that were extinguished by the
- humours that exuded from that most holy body. And so, blessed children,
- bare your heads and devoutly draw nigh to see them. But first of all I
- would have you know, that whoso has the sign of the cross made upon him
- with these coals, may live secure for the whole of the ensuing year, that
- fire shall not touch him, that he feel it not."
- Having so said, the friar, chanting a hymn in praise of St. Lawrence,
- opened the casket, and shewed the coals. Whereon the foolish crowd gazed
- a while in awe and reverent wonder, and then came pressing forward in a
- mighty throng about Fra Cipolla with offerings beyond their wont, each
- and all praying him to touch them with the coals. Wherefore Fra Cipolla
- took the coals in his hand, and set about making on their white blouses,
- and on their doublets, and on the veils of the women crosses as big as
- might be, averring the while that whatever the coals might thus lose
- would be made good to them again in the casket, as he had often proved.
- On this wise, to his exceeding great profit, he marked all the folk of
- Certaldo with the cross, and, thanks to his ready wit and resource, had
- his laugh at those, who by robbing him of the feather thought to make a
- laughing-stock of him. They, indeed, being among his hearers, and marking
- his novel expedient, and how voluble he was, and what a long story he
- made of it, laughed till they thought their jaws would break; and, when
- the congregation was dispersed, they went up to him, and never so merrily
- told him what they had done, and returned him his feather; which next
- year proved no less lucrative to him than that day the coals had been.
- (1) Onion.
- (2) Diminutive of Arriguccio.
- (3) Whale.
- (4) Filth.
- (5) Hog.
- (6) The works of this painter seem to be lost.
- (7) One of the humorous ineptitudes of which Boccaccio is fond.
- (8) An abbey near Lucca famous for its doles of broth.
- (9) Perhaps part of the "sesto" of Florence known as the Borgo, as the
- tradition of the commentators that the friar's itinerary is wholly
- Florentine is not to be lightly set aside.
- (10) Il Garbo, a quarter or street in Florence, doubtless so called
- because the wares of Algarve were there sold. Rer. Ital. Script.
- (Muratori: Suppl. Tartini) ii. 119. Villani, Istorie Fiorentine, iv. 12,
- xii. 18.
- (11) A famous tavern in Florence. Florio, Vocab. Ital. e Ingl., ed
- Torriano, 1659.
- (12) A "borgo" in Florence. Villani, Istorie Fiorentine, iv. 7.
- (13) A suburb of Florence on the Arno, ib. ix. 256.
- (14) The land of Cajolery.
- (15) The land of Drollery.
- (16) The land of Lies.
- (17) I.e. in false promises: suggested by Dante's Pagando di moneta senza
- conio. Parad. xxix. 126.
- (18) A reference to sausage-making.
- (19) I.e. cakes fashioned in a hollow ring, and wines in leathern
- bottles.
- (20) Grubs.
- (21) In allusion to the shapeless fish, so called, which was proverbially
- taken as a type of the outlandish.
- (22) A jeu de mots, "pennati," pruning-hooks, signifying also feathered,
- though "pennuti" is more common in that sense.
- (23) Takemenottotaskanitlikeyou.
- (24) Fatti alle finestre, a subterfuge for factum est.
- (25) Piagge, jocularly for pagine: doubtless some mighty tome of school
- divinity is meant.
- Immense was the delight and diversion which this story afforded to all
- the company alike, and great and general was the laughter over Fra
- Cipolla, and more especially at his pilgrimage, and the relics, as well
- those that he had but seen as those that he had brought back with him.
- Which being ended, the queen, taking note that therewith the close of her
- sovereignty was come, stood up, took off the crown, and set it on
- Dioneo's head, saying with a laugh:--"'Tis time, Dioneo, that thou prove
- the weight of the burden of having ladies to govern and guide. Be thou
- king then; and let thy rule be such that, when 'tis ended, we may have
- cause to commend it." Dioneo took the crown, and laughingly
- answered:--"Kings worthier far than I you may well have seen many a time
- ere now--I speak of the kings in chess; but let me have of you that
- obedience which is due to a true king, and of a surety I will give you to
- taste of that solace, without which perfection of joy there may not be in
- any festivity. But enough of this: I will govern as best I may." Then, as
- was the wont, he sent for the seneschal, and gave him particular
- instruction how to order matters during the term of his sovereignty;
- which done, he said:--"Noble ladies, such and so diverse has been our
- discourse of the ways of men and their various fortunes, that but for the
- visit that we had a while ago from Madam Licisca, who by what she said
- has furnished me with matter of discourse for to-morrow, I doubt I had
- been not a little put to it to find a theme. You heard how she said that
- there was not a woman in her neighbourhood whose husband had her
- virginity; adding that well she knew how many and what manner of tricks
- they, after marriage, played their husbands. The first count we may well
- leave to the girls whom it concerns; the second, methinks, should prove a
- diverting topic: wherefore I ordain that, taking our cue from Madam
- Licisca, we discourse to-morrow of the tricks that, either for love or
- for their deliverance from peril, ladies have heretofore played their
- husbands, and whether they were by the said husbands detected or no." To
- discourse of such a topic some of the ladies deemed unmeet for them, and
- besought the king to find another theme. But the king made
- answer:--"Ladies, what manner of theme I have prescribed I know as well
- as you, nor was I to be diverted from prescribing it by that which you
- now think to declare unto me, for I wot the times are such that, so only
- men and women have a care to do nought that is unseemly, 'tis allowable
- to them to discourse of what they please. For in sooth, as you must know,
- so out of joint are the times that the judges have deserted the
- judgment-seat, the laws are silent, and ample licence to preserve his
- life as best he may is accorded to each and all. Wherefore, if you are
- somewhat less strict of speech than is your wont, not that aught unseemly
- in act may follow, but that you may afford solace to yourselves and
- others, I see not how you can be open to reasonable censure on the part
- of any. Furthermore, nought that has been said from the first day to the
- present moment has, methinks, in any degree sullied the immaculate honour
- of your company, nor, God helping us, shall aught ever sully it. Besides,
- who is there that knows not the quality of your honour? which were proof,
- I make no doubt, against not only the seductive influence of diverting
- discourse, but even the terror of death. And, to tell you the truth,
- whoso wist that you refused to discourse of these light matters for a
- while, would be apt to suspect that 'twas but for that you had yourselves
- erred in like sort. And truly a goodly honour would you confer upon me,
- obedient as I have ever been to you, if after making me your king and
- your lawgiver, you were to refuse to discourse of the theme which I
- prescribe. Away, then, with this scruple fitter for low minds than yours,
- and let each study how she may give us a goodly story, and Fortune
- prosper her therein."
- So spake the king, and the ladies, hearkening, said that, even as he
- would, so it should be: whereupon he gave all leave to do as they might
- be severally minded until the supper-hour. The sun was still quite high
- in the heaven, for they had not enlarged in their discourse: wherefore,
- Dioneo with the other gallants being set to play at dice, Elisa called
- the other ladies apart, and said:--"There is a nook hard by this place,
- where I think none of you has ever been: 'tis called the Ladies' Vale:
- whither, ever since we have been here, I have desired to take you, but
- time meet I have not found until today, when the sun is still so high:
- if, then, you are minded to visit it, I have no manner of doubt that,
- when you are there, you will be very glad you came." The ladies answered
- that they were ready, and so, saying nought to the young men, they
- summoned one of their maids, and set forth; nor had they gone much more
- than a mile, when they arrived at the Vale of Ladies. They entered it by
- a very strait gorge, through which there issued a rivulet, clear as
- crystal, and a sight, than which nought more fair and pleasant,
- especially at that time when the heat was great, could be imagined, met
- their eyes. Within the valley, as one of them afterwards told me, was a
- plain about half-a-mile in circumference, and so exactly circular that it
- might have been fashioned according to the compass, though it seemed a
- work of Nature's art, not man's: 'twas girdled about by six hills of no
- great height, each crowned with a palace that shewed as a goodly little
- castle. The slopes of the hills were graduated from summit to base after
- the manner of the successive tiers, ever abridging their circle, that we
- see in our theatres; and as many as fronted the southern rays were all
- planted so close with vines, olives, almond-trees, cherry-trees,
- fig-trees and other fruitbearing trees not a few, that there was not a
- hand's-breadth of vacant space. Those that fronted the north were in like
- manner covered with copses of oak saplings, ashes and other trees, as
- green and straight as might be. Besides which, the plain, which was shut
- in on all sides save that on which the ladies had entered, was full of
- firs, cypresses, and bay-trees, with here and there a pine, in order and
- symmetry so meet and excellent as had they been planted by an artist, the
- best that might be found in that kind; wherethrough, even when the sun
- was in the zenith, scarce a ray of light might reach the ground, which
- was all one lawn of the finest turf, pranked with the hyacinth and divers
- other flowers. Add to which--nor was there aught there more
- delightsome--a rivulet that, issuing from one of the gorges between two
- of the hills, descended over ledges of living rock, making, as it fell, a
- murmur most gratifying to the ear, and, seen from a distance, shewed as a
- spray of finest, powdered quick-silver, and no sooner reached the little
- plain, than 'twas gathered into a tiny channel, by which it sped with
- great velocity to the middle of the plain, where it formed a diminutive
- lake, like the fishponds that townsfolk sometimes make in their gardens,
- when they have occasion for them. The lake was not so deep but that a man
- might stand therein with his breast above the water; and so clear, so
- pellucid was the water that the bottom, which was of the finest gravel,
- shewed so distinct, that one, had he wished, who had nought better to do,
- might have counted the stones. Nor was it only the bottom that was to be
- seen, but such a multitude of fishes, glancing to and fro, as was at once
- a delight and a marvel to behold. Bank it had none, but its margin was
- the lawn, to which it imparted a goodlier freshness. So much of the water
- as it might not contain was received by another tiny channel, through
- which, issuing from the vale, it glided swiftly to the plain below.
- To which pleasaunce the damsels being come surveyed it with roving
- glance, and finding it commendable, and marking the lake in front of
- them, did, as 'twas very hot, and they deemed themselves secure from
- observation, resolve to take a bath. So, having bidden their maid wait
- and keep watch over the access to the vale, and give them warning, if
- haply any should approach it, they all seven undressed and got into the
- water, which to the whiteness of their flesh was even such a veil as fine
- glass is to the vermeil of the rose. They, being thus in the water, the
- clearness of which was thereby in no wise affected, did presently begin
- to go hither and thither after the fish, which had much ado where to
- bestow themselves so as to escape out of their hands. In which diversion
- they spent some time, and caught a few, and then they hied them out of
- the water and dressed them again, and bethinking them that 'twas time to
- return to the palace, they began slowly sauntering thither, dilating much
- as they went upon the beauty of the place, albeit they could not extol it
- more than they had already done. 'Twas still quite early when they
- reached the palace, so that they found the gallants yet at play where
- they had left them. To whom quoth Pampinea with a smile:--"We have stolen
- a march upon you to-day." "So," replied Dioneo, "'tis with you do first
- and say after?" "Ay, my lord," returned Pampinea, and told him at large
- whence they came, and what the place was like, and how far 'twas off, and
- what they had done. What she said of the beauty of the spot begat in the
- king a desire to see it: wherefore he straightway ordered supper, whereof
- when all had gaily partaken, the three gallants parted from the ladies
- and hied them with their servants to the vale, where none of them had
- ever been before, and, having marked all its beauties, extolled it as
- scarce to be matched in all the world. Then, as the hour was very late,
- they did but bathe, and as soon as they had resumed their clothes,
- returned to the ladies, whom they found dancing a carol to an air that
- Fiammetta sang, which done, they conversed of the Ladies' Vale, waxing
- eloquent in praise thereof: insomuch that the king called the seneschal,
- and bade him have some beds made ready and carried thither on the morrow,
- that any that were so minded might there take their siesta. He then had
- lights and wine and comfits brought; and when they had taken a slight
- refection, he bade all address them to the dance. So at his behest
- Pamfilo led a dance, and then the king, turning with gracious mien to
- Elisa:--"Fair damsel," quoth he, "'twas thou to-day didst me this honour
- of the crown; and 'tis my will that thine to-night be the honour of the
- song; wherefore sing us whatsoever thou hast most lief." "That gladly
- will I," replied Elisa smiling; and thus with dulcet voice began:--
- If of thy talons, Love, be quit I may,
- I deem it scarce can be
- But other fangs I may elude for aye.
- Service I took with thee, a tender maid,
- In thy war thinking perfect peace to find,
- And all my arms upon the ground I laid,
- Yielding myself to thee with trustful mind:
- Thou, harpy-tyrant, whom no faith may bind,
- Eftsoons didst swoop on me,
- And with thy cruel claws mad'st me thy prey.
- Then thy poor captive, bound with many a chain,
- Thou tookst, and gav'st to him, whom fate did call
- Hither my death to be; for that in pain
- And bitter tears I waste away, his thrall:
- Nor heave I e'er a sigh, or tear let fall,
- So harsh a lord is he,
- That him inclines a jot my grief to allay.
- My prayers upon the idle air are spent:
- He hears not, will not hear; wherefore in vain
- The more each hour my soul doth her torment;
- Nor may I die, albeit to die were gain.
- Ah! Lord, have pity of my bitter pain!
- Help have I none but thee;
- Then take and bind and at my feet him lay.
- But if thou wilt not, do my soul but loose
- From hope, that her still binds with triple chain.
- Sure, O my Lord, this prayer thou'lt not refuse:
- The which so thou to grant me do but deign,
- I look my wonted beauty to regain,
- And banish misery
- With roses white and red bedecked and gay.
- So with a most piteous sigh ended Elisa her song, whereat all wondered
- exceedingly, nor might any conjecture wherefore she so sang. But the
- king, who was in a jolly humour, sent for Tindaro, and bade him out with
- his cornemuse, and caused them tread many a measure thereto, until, no
- small part of the night being thus spent, he gave leave to all to betake
- them to rest.
- --
- Endeth here the sixth day of the Decameron, beginneth the seventh, in
- which, under the rule of Dioneo, discourse is had of the tricks which,
- either for love or for their deliverance from peril, ladies have
- heretofore played their husbands, and whether they were by the said
- husbands detected, or no.
- --
- Fled was now each star from the eastern sky, save only that which we call
- Lucifer, which still glowed in the whitening dawn, when uprose the
- seneschal, and with a goodly baggage-train hied him to the Ladies' Vale,
- there to make all things ready according to the ordinance and commandment
- of the king. Nor was it long after his departure that the king rose,
- being awaked by the stir and bustle that the servants made in lading the
- horses, and being risen he likewise roused all the ladies and the other
- gallants; and so, when as yet 'twas scarce clear daybreak, they all took
- the road; nor seemed it to them that the nightingales and the other birds
- had ever chanted so blithely as that morning. By which choir they were
- attended to the Ladies' Vale, where they were greeted by other warblers
- not a few, that seemed rejoiced at their arrival. Roving about the vale,
- and surveying its beauties afresh, they rated them higher than on the
- previous day, as indeed the hour was more apt to shew them forth. Then
- with good wine and comfits they broke their fast, and, that they might
- not lag behind the songsters, they fell a singing, whereto the vale
- responded, ever echoing their strains; nor did the birds, as minded not
- to be beaten, fail to swell the chorus with notes of unwonted sweetness.
- However, breakfast-time came, and then, the tables being laid under a
- living canopy of trees, and beside other goodly trees that fringed the
- little lake, they sat them down in order as to the king seemed meet. So
- they took their meal, glancing from time to time at the lake, where the
- fish darted to and fro in multitudinous shoals, which afforded not only
- delight to their eyes but matter for converse. Breakfast ended, and the
- tables removed, they fell a singing again more blithely than before.
- After which, there being set, in divers places about the little vale,
- beds which the discreet seneschal had duly furnished and equipped within
- and without with store of French coverlets, and other bedgear, all, that
- were so minded, had leave of the king to go to sleep, and those that
- cared not to sleep might betake them, as each might choose, to any of
- their wonted diversions. But, all at length being risen, and the time for
- addressing them to the story-telling being come, the king had carpets
- spread on the sward no great way from the place where they had
- breakfasted; and, all having sat them down beside the lake, he bade
- Emilia begin; which, blithe and smiling, Emilia did on this wise.
- NOVEL I.
- --
- Gianni Lotteringhi hears a knocking at his door at night: he awakens his
- wife, who persuades him that 'tis the bogey, which they fall to
- exorcising with a prayer; whereupon the knocking ceases.
- --
- My lord, glad indeed had I been, that, saving your good pleasure, some
- other than I had had precedence of discourse upon so goodly a theme as
- this of which we are to speak--I doubt I am but chosen to teach others
- confidence; but, such being your will, I will gladly obey it. And my
- endeavour shall be, dearest ladies, to tell you somewhat that may be
- serviceable to you in the future: for, if you are, as I am, timorous, and
- that most especially of the bogey, which, God wot, I know not what manner
- of thing it may be, nor yet have found any that knew, albeit we are all
- alike afraid of it, you may learn from this my story how to put it to
- flight, should it intrude upon you, with a holy, salutary and most
- efficacious orison.
- There dwelt of yore at Florence, in the quarter of San Pancrazio, a
- master-spinner, Gianni Lotteringhi by name, one that had prospered in his
- business, but had little understanding of aught else; insomuch that being
- somewhat of a simpleton, he had many a time been chosen leader of the
- band of laud-singers of Santa Maria Novella, and had charge of their
- school; and not a few like offices had he often served, upon which he
- greatly plumed himself. Howbeit, 'twas all for no other reason than that,
- being a man of substance, he gave liberal doles to the friars; who, for
- that they got thereof, this one hose, another a cloak, and a third a
- hood, would teach him good orisons, or give him the paternoster in the
- vernacular, or the chant of St. Alexis, or the lament of St. Bernard, or
- the laud of Lady Matilda, or the like sorry stuff, which he greatly
- prized, and guarded with jealous care, deeming them all most conducive to
- the salvation of his soul.
- Now our simple master-spinner had a most beautiful wife, and amorous
- withal, her name Monna Tessa. Daughter she was of Mannuccio dalla
- Cuculla, and not a little knowing and keen-witted; and being enamoured of
- Federigo di Neri Pegolotti, a handsome and lusty gallant, as he also of
- her, she, knowing her husband's simplicity, took counsel with her maid,
- and arranged that Federigo should come to chat with her at a right goodly
- pleasure-house that the said Gianni had at Camerata, where she was wont
- to pass the summer, Gianni coming now and again to sup and sleep, and
- going back in the morning to his shop, or, maybe, to his laud-singers.
- Federigo, who desired nothing better, went up there punctually on the
- appointed day about vespers, and as the evening passed without Gianni
- making his appearance, did most comfortably, and to his no small
- satisfaction, sup and sleep with the lady, who lying in his arms taught
- him that night some six of her husband's lauds. But, as neither she nor
- Federigo was minded that this beginning should also be the end of their
- intercourse, and that it might not be needful for the maid to go each
- time to make the assignation with him, they came to the following
- understanding; to wit, that as often as he came and went between the
- house and an estate that he had a little higher up, he should keep an eye
- on a vineyard that was beside the house, where he would see an ass's head
- stuck on one of the poles of the vineyard, and as often as he observed
- the muzzle turned towards Florence, he might visit her without any sort
- of misgiving; and if he found not the door open, he was to tap it thrice,
- and she would open it; and when he saw the muzzle of the ass's head
- turned towards Fiesole, he was to keep away, for then Gianni would be
- there. Following which plan, they forgathered not seldom: but on one of
- these evenings, when Federigo was to sup with Monna Tessa on two fat
- capons that she bad boiled, it so chanced that Gianni arrived there
- unexpectedly and very late, much to the lady's chagrin: so she had a
- little salt meat boiled apart, on which she supped with her husband; and
- the maid by her orders carried the two boiled capons laid in a spotless
- napkin with plenty of fresh eggs and a bottle of good wine into the
- garden, to which there was access otherwise than from the house, and
- where she was wont at times to sup with Federigo; and there the maid set
- them down at the foot of a peach-tree, that grew beside a lawn. But in
- her vexation she forgot to tell the maid to wait till Federigo should
- come, and let him know that Gianni was there, and he must take his supper
- in the garden: and she and Gianni and the maid were scarce gone to bed,
- when Federigo came and tapped once at the door, which being hard by the
- bedroom, Gianni heard the tap, as did also the lady, albeit, that Gianni
- might have no reason to suspect her, she feigned to be asleep. Federigo
- waited a little, and then gave a second tap; whereupon, wondering what it
- might mean, Gianni nudged his wife, saying:--"Tessa, dost hear what I
- hear? Methinks some one has tapped at our door." The lady, who had heard
- the noise much better than he, feigned to wake up, and:--"How? what sayst
- thou?" quoth she. "I say," replied Gianni, "that, meseems, some one has
- tapped at our door." "Tapped at it?" quoth the lady. "Alas, my Gianni,
- wottest thou not what that is? 'Tis the bogey, which for some nights past
- has so terrified me as never was, insomuch that I never hear it but I pop
- my head under the clothes and venture not to put it out again until 'tis
- broad day." "Come, come, wife," quoth Gianni, "if such it is, be not
- alarmed; for before we got into bed I repeated the Te lucis, the
- Intemerata, and divers other good orisons, besides which I made the sign
- of the cross in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit at each
- corner of the bed; wherefore we need have no fear that it may avail to
- hurt us, whatever be its power." The lady, lest Federigo, perchance
- suspecting a rival, should take offence, resolved to get up, and let him
- understand that Gianni was there: so she said to her husband:--"Well
- well; so sayst thou; but I for my part shall never deem myself safe and
- secure, unless we exorcise it, seeing that thou art here." "Oh!" said
- Gianni, "and how does one exorcise it?" "That," quoth the lady, "I know
- right well; for t'other day, when I went to Fiesole for the pardoning,
- one of those anchoresses, the saintliest creature, my Gianni, God be my
- witness, knowing how much afraid I am of the bogey, taught me a holy and
- salutary orison, which she said she had tried many a time before she was
- turned anchoress, and always with success. God wot, I should never have
- had courage to try it alone; but as thou art here, I propose that we go
- exorcise it together." Gianni made answer that he was quite of the same
- mind; so up they got, and stole to the door, on the outside of which
- Federigo, now suspicious, was still waiting. And as soon as they were
- there:--"Now," quoth the lady to Gianni, "thou wilt spit, when I tell
- thee." "Good," said Gianni. Whereupon the lady began her orison,
- saying:--
- "Bogey, bogey that goest by night,
- Tail erect, thou cam'st, tail erect, take thy flight
- Hie thee to the garden, and the great peach before,
- Grease upon grease, and droppings five score
- Of my hen shalt thou find:
- Set the flask thy lips to,
- Then away like the wind,
- And no scathe unto me or my Gianni do."
- And when she had done:--"Now, Gianni," quoth she, "spit": and Gianni
- spat.
- There was no more room for jealousy in Federigo's mind as he heard all
- this from without; nay, for all his disappointment, he was like to burst
- with suppressed laughter, and when Gianni spat, he muttered under his
- breath:--"Now out with thy teeth." The lady, having after this fashion
- thrice exorcised the bogey, went back to bed with her husband. Federigo,
- disappointed of the supper that he was to have had with her, and
- apprehending the words of the orison aright, hied him to the garden, and
- having found the two capons and the wine and the eggs at the foot of the
- peach-tree, took them home with him, and supped very comfortably. And
- many a hearty laugh had he and the lady over the exorcism during their
- subsequent intercourse.
- Now, true it is that some say that the lady had in fact turned the ass's
- head towards Fiesole, but that a husbandman, passing through the
- vineyard, had given it a blow with his stick, whereby it had swung round,
- and remained fronting Florence, and so it was that Federigo thought that
- he was invited, and came to the house, and that the lady's orison was on
- this wise:--
- "Bogey, a God's name, away thee hie,
- For whoe'er turned the ass's head, 'twas not I:
- Another it was, foul fall his eyne;
- And here am I with Gianni mine."
- Wherefore Federigo was fain to take himself off, having neither slept nor
- supped.
- But a neighbour of mine, a lady well advanced in years, tells me that, by
- what she heard when she was a girl, both stories are true; but that the
- latter concerned not Gianni Lotteringhi but one Gianni di Nello, that
- lived at Porta San Piero, and was no less a numskull than Gianni
- Lotteringhi. Wherefore, dear my ladies, you are at liberty to choose
- which exorcism you prefer, or take both if you like. They are both of
- extraordinary and approved virtue in such cases, as you have heard: get
- them by heart, therefore, and they may yet stand you in good stead.
- NOVEL II.
- --
- Her husband returning home, Peronella bestows her lover in a tun; which,
- being sold by her husband, she avers to have been already sold by herself
- to one that is inside examining it to see if it be sound. Whereupon the
- lover jumps out, and causes the husband to scour the tun for him, and
- afterwards to carry it to his house.
- --
- Great indeed was the laughter with which Emilia's story was received;
- which being ended, and her orison commended by all as good and salutary,
- the king bade Filostrato follow suit; and thus Filostrato began:--Dearest
- my ladies, so many are the tricks that men play you, and most of all your
- husbands, that, when from time to time it so befalls that some lady plays
- her husband a trick, the circumstance, whether it come within your own
- cognizance or be told you by another, should not only give you joy but
- should incite you to publish it on all hands, that men may be ware, that,
- knowing as they are, their ladies also, on their part, know somewhat:
- which cannot but be serviceable to you, for that one does not rashly
- essay to take another with guile whom one wots not to lack that quality.
- Can we doubt, then, that, should but the converse that we shall hold
- to-day touching this matter come to be bruited among men, 'twould serve
- to put a most notable check upon the tricks they play you, by doing them
- to wit of the tricks, which you, in like manner, when you are so minded,
- may play them? Wherefore 'tis my intention to tell you in what manner a
- young girl, albeit she was but of low rank, did, on the spur of the
- moment, beguile her husband to her own deliverance.
- 'Tis no long time since at Naples a poor man, a mason by craft, took to
- wife a fair and amorous maiden--Peronella was her name--who eked out by
- spinning what her husband made by his craft; and so the pair managed as
- best they might on very slender means. And as chance would have it, one
- of the gallants of the city, taking note of this Peronella one day, and
- being mightily pleased with her, fell in love with her, and by this means
- and that so prevailed that he won her to accord him her intimacy. Their
- times of forgathering they concerted as follows:--to wit, that, her
- husband being wont to rise betimes of a morning to go to work or seek for
- work, the gallant was to be where he might see him go forth, and, the
- street where she dwelt, which is called Avorio, being scarce inhabited,
- was to come into the house as soon as her husband was well out of it; and
- so times not a few they did. But on one of these occasions it befell
- that, the good man being gone forth, and Giannello Sirignario--such was
- the gallant's name--being come into the house, and being with Peronella,
- after a while, back came the good man, though 'twas not his wont to
- return until the day was done; and finding the door locked, he knocked,
- and after knocking, he fell a saying to himself:--O God, praised be Thy
- name forever; for that, albeit Thou hast ordained that I be poor, at
- least Thou hast accorded me the consolation of a good and honest girl for
- wife. Mark what haste she made to shut the door when I was gone forth,
- that none else might enter to give her trouble.
- Now Peronella knew by his knock that 'twas her husband;
- wherefore:--"Alas, Giannello mine," quoth she, "I am a dead woman, for
- lo, here is my husband, foul fall him! come back! What it may import, I
- know not, for he is never wont to come back at this hour; perchance he
- caught sight of thee as thou camest in. However, for the love of God, be
- it as it may, get thee into this tun that thou seest here, and I will go
- open to him, and we shall see what is the occasion of this sudden return
- this morning." So Giannello forthwith got into the tun, and Peronella
- went to the door, and let in her husband, and gave him black looks,
- saying:--"This is indeed a surprise that thou art back so soon this
- morning! By what I see thou hast a mind to make this a holiday, that thou
- returnest tools in hand; if so, what are we to live on? whence shall we
- get bread to eat? Thinkest thou I will let thee pawn my gown and other
- bits of clothes? Day and night I do nought else but spin, insomuch that
- the flesh is fallen away from my nails, that at least I may have oil
- enough to keep our lamp alight. Husband, husband, there is never a woman
- in the neighbourhood but marvels and mocks at me, that I am at such
- labour and pains; and thou comest home to me with thy hands hanging idle,
- when thou shouldst be at work." Which said, she fell a weeping and
- repeating:--"Alas, alas, woe 's me, in what evil hour was I born? in what
- luckless moment came I hither, I, that might have had so goodly a young
- man, and I would not, to take up with one that bestows never a thought on
- her whom he has made his wife? Other women have a good time with their
- lovers, and never a one have we here but has two or three; they take
- their pleasure, and make their husbands believe that the moon is the sun;
- and I, alas! for that I am an honest woman, and have no such casual
- amours, I suffer, and am hard bested. I know not why I provide not myself
- with one of these lovers, as others do. Give good heed, husband, to what
- I say: were I disposed to dishonour thee, I were at no loss to find the
- man: for here are gallants enough, that love me, and court me, and have
- sent me many an offer of money--no stint--or dresses or jewels, should I
- prefer them; but my pride would never suffer it, because I was not born
- of a woman of that sort: and now thou comest home to me when thou
- oughtest to be at work."
- Whereto the husband:--"Wife, wife, for God's sake distress not thyself:
- thou shouldst give me credit for knowing what manner of woman thou art,
- as indeed I have partly seen this morning. True it is that I went out to
- work; but 'tis plain that thou knowest not, as indeed I knew not, that
- to-day 'tis the feast of San Galeone, and a holiday, and that is why I am
- come home at this hour; but nevertheless I have found means to provide us
- with bread for more than a month; for I have sold to this gentleman, whom
- thou seest with me, the tun, thou wottest of, seeing that it has
- encumbered the house so long, and he will give me five gigliats for it."
- Quoth then Peronella:--"And all this but adds to my trouble: thou, that
- art a man, and goest abroad, and shouldst know affairs, hast sold for
- five gigliats a tun, which I, that am but a woman, and was scarce ever
- out of doors, have, for that it took up so much room in the house, sold
- for seven gigliats to a good man, that but now, as thou cam'st back, got
- therein, to see if 'twere sound." So hearing, the husband was overjoyed,
- and said to the man that was come to take it away:--"Good man, I wish
- thee Godspeed; for, as thou hearest, my wife has sold the tun for seven
- gigliats, whereas thou gavest me only five." Whereupon:--"So be it," said
- the good man, and took himself off. Then said Peronella to her
- husband:--"Now, as thou art here, come up, and arrange the matter with
- the good man."
- Now Giannello, who, meanwhile, had been all on the alert to discover if
- there were aught he had to fear or be on his guard against, no sooner
- heard Peronella's last words, than he sprang out of the tun, and feigning
- to know nought of her husband's return, began thus:--"Where art thou,
- good dame?" Whereto the husband, coming up, answered:--"Here am I: what
- wouldst thou of me?" Quoth Giannello:--"And who art thou? I would speak
- with the lady with whom I struck the bargain for this tun." Then said the
- good man:--"Have no fear, you can deal with me; for I am her husband."
- Quoth then Giannello:--"The tun seems to me sound enough; but I think you
- must have let the lees remain in it; for 'tis all encrusted with I know
- not what that is so dry, that I cannot raise it with the nail; wherefore
- I am not minded to take it unless I first see it scoured." Whereupon
- Peronella:--"To be sure: that shall not hinder the bargain; my husband
- will scour it clean." And:--"Well and good," said the husband.
- So he laid down his tools, stripped himself to his vest, sent for a light
- and a rasp, and was in the tun, and scraping away, in a trice. Whereupon
- Peronella, as if she were curious to see what he did, thrust her head
- into the vent of the tun, which was of no great size, and therewithal one
- of her arms up to the shoulder, and fell a saying:--"Scrape here, and
- here, and there too, and look, there is a bit left here." So, she being
- in this posture, directing and admonishing her husband, Giannello, who
- had not, that morning, fully satisfied his desire, when the husband
- arrived, now seeing that as he would, he might not, brought his mind to
- his circumstances, and resolved to take his pleasure as he might:
- wherefore he made up to the lady, who completely blocked the vent of the
- tun; and even on such wise as on the open champaign the wild and lusty
- horses do amorously assail the mares of Parthia, he sated his youthful
- appetite; and so it was that almost at the same moment that he did so,
- and was off, the tun was scoured, the husband came forth of it, and
- Peronella withdrew her head from the vent, and turning to Giannello,
- said:--"Take this light, good man, and see if 'tis scoured to thy mind."
- Whereupon Giannello, looking into the tun, said that 'twas in good trim,
- and that he was well content, and paid the husband the seven gigliats,
- and caused him carry the tun to his house.
- NOVEL III.
- --
- Fra Rinaldo lies with his gossip: her husband finds him in the room with
- her; and they make him believe that he was curing his godson of worms by
- a charm.
- --
- Filostrato knew not how so to veil what he said touching the mares of
- Parthia, but that the keen-witted ladies laughed thereat, making as if
- 'twas at somewhat else. However, his story being ended, the king called
- for one from Elisa, who, all obedience, thus began:--Debonair my ladies,
- we heard from Emilia how the bogey is exorcised, and it brought to my
- mind a story of another incantation: 'tis not indeed so good a story as
- hers; but, as no other, germane to our theme, occurs to me at present, I
- will relate it.
- You are to know, then, that there dwelt aforetime at Siena a young man,
- right gallant and of honourable family, his name Rinaldo; who, being in
- the last degree enamoured of one of his neighbours, a most beautiful
- gentlewoman and the wife of a rich man, was not without hopes that, if he
- could but find means to speak with her privately, he might have of her
- all that he desired; but seeing no way, and the lady being pregnant, he
- cast about how he might become her child's godfather. Wherefore, having
- ingratiated himself with her husband, he broached the matter to him in as
- graceful a manner as he might; and 'twas arranged. So Rinaldo, being now
- godfather to Madonna Agnesa's child, and having a more colourable pretext
- for speaking to her, took courage, and told her in words that message of
- his heart which she had long before read in his eyes; but though 'twas
- not displeasing to the lady to hear, it availed him but little.
- Now not long afterwards it so befell that, whatever may have been his
- reason, Rinaldo betook him to friarage; and whether it was that he found
- good pasture therein, or what not, he persevered in that way of life. And
- though for a while after he was turned friar, he laid aside the love he
- bore his gossip, and certain other vanities, yet in course of time,
- without putting off the habit, he resumed them, and began to take a pride
- in his appearance, and to go dressed in fine clothes, and to be quite the
- trim gallant, and to compose songs and sonnets and ballades, and to sing
- them, and to make a brave shew in all else that pertained to his new
- character. But why enlarge upon our Fra Rinaldo, of whom we speak? what
- friars are there that do not the like? Ah! opprobrium of a corrupt world!
- Sleek-faced and sanguine, daintily clad, dainty in all their accessories,
- they ruffle it shamelessly before the eyes of all, shewing not as doves
- but as insolent cocks with raised crest and swelling bosom, and, what is
- worse (to say nought of the vases full of electuaries and unguents, the
- boxes packed with divers comfits, the pitchers and phials of artificial
- waters, and oils, the flagons brimming with Malmsey and Greek and other
- wines of finest quality, with which their cells are so packed that they
- shew not as the cells of friars, but rather as apothecaries' or
- perfumers' shops), they blush not to be known to be gouty, flattering
- themselves that other folk wot not that long fasts and many of them, and
- coarse fare and little of it, and sober living, make men lean and thin
- and for the most part healthy; or if any malady come thereof, at any rate
- 'tis not the gout, the wonted remedy for which is chastity and all beside
- that belongs to the regimen of a humble friar. They flatter themselves,
- too, that others wot not that over and above the meagre diet, long vigils
- and orisons and strict discipline ought to mortify men and make them
- pale, and that neither St. Dominic nor St. Francis went clad in stuff
- dyed in grain or any other goodly garb, but in coarse woollen habits
- innocent of the dyer's art, made to keep out the cold, and not for shew.
- To which matters 'twere well God had a care, no less than to the souls of
- the simple folk by whom our friars are nourished.
- Fra Rinaldo, then, being come back to his first affections, took to
- visiting his gossip very frequently; and gaining confidence, began with
- more insistence than before to solicit her to that which he craved of
- her. So, being much urged, the good lady, to whom Fra Rinaldo, perhaps,
- seemed now more handsome than of yore, had recourse one day, when she
- felt herself unusually hard pressed by him, to the common expedient of
- all that would fain concede what is asked of them, and said:--"Oh! but
- Fra Rinaldo, do friars then do this sort of thing?" "Madam," replied Fra
- Rinaldo, "when I divest myself of this habit, which I shall do easily
- enough, you will see that I am a man furnished as other men, and no
- friar." Whereto with a truly comical air the lady made answer:--"Alas!
- woe's me! you are my child's godfather: how might it be? nay, but 'twere
- a very great mischief; and many a time I have heard that 'tis a most
- heinous sin; and without a doubt, were it not so, I would do as you
- wish." "If," said Fra Rinaldo, "you forego it for such a scruple as this,
- you are a fool for your pains. I say not that 'tis no sin; but there is
- no sin so great but God pardons it, if one repent. Now tell me: whether
- is more truly father to your son, I that held him at the font, or your
- husband that begot him?" "My husband," replied the lady. "Sooth say you,"
- returned the friar, "and does not your husband lie with you?" "Why, yes,"
- said the lady. "Then," rejoined the friar, "I that am less truly your
- son's father than your husband, ought also to lie with you, as does your
- husband." The lady was no logician, and needed little to sway her: she
- therefore believed or feigned to believe that what the friar said was
- true. So:-- "Who might avail to answer your words of wisdom?" quoth she;
- and presently forgot the godfather in the lover, and complied with his
- desires. Nor had they begun their course to end it forthwith: but under
- cover of the friar's sponsorship, which set them more at ease, as it
- rendered them less open to suspicion, they forgathered again and again.
- But on one of these occasions it so befell that Fra Rinaldo, being come
- to the lady's house, where he espied none else save a very pretty and
- dainty little maid that waited on the lady, sent his companion away with
- her into the pigeon-house, there to teach her the paternoster, while he
- and the lady, holding her little boy by the hand, went into the bedroom,
- locked themselves in, got them on to a divan that was there, and began to
- disport them. And while thus they sped the time, it chanced that the
- father returned, and, before any was ware of him, was at the bedroom
- door, and knocked, and called the lady by her name. Whereupon:--"'Tis as
- much as my life is worth," quoth Madonna Agnesa; "lo, here is my husband;
- and the occasion of our intimacy cannot but be now apparent to him."
- "Sooth say you," returned Fra Rinaldo, who was undressed, that is to say,
- had thrown off his habit and hood, and was in his tunic; "if I had but my
- habit and hood on me in any sort, 'twould be another matter; but if you
- let him in, and he find me thus, 'twill not be possible to put any face
- on it." But with an inspiration as happy as sudden:--"Now get them on
- you," quoth the lady; "and when you have them on, take your godson in
- your arms, and give good heed to what I shall say to him, that your words
- may accord with mine; and leave the rest to me."
- The good man was still knocking, when his wife made answer:-- "Coming,
- coming." And so up she got, and put on a cheerful countenance and hied
- her to the door, and opened it and said:--"Husband mine: well indeed was
- it for us that in came Fra Rinaldo, our sponsor; 'twas God that sent him
- to us; for in sooth, but for that, we had to-day lost our boy." Which the
- poor simpleton almost swooned to hear; and:--"How so?" quoth he. "O
- husband mine," replied the lady, "he was taken but now, all of a sudden,
- with a fainting fit, so that I thought he was dead: and what to do or say
- I knew not, had not Fra Rinaldo, our sponsor, come just in the nick of
- time, and set him on his shoulder, and said:--'Gossip, 'tis that he has
- worms in his body, and getting, as they do, about the heart, they might
- only too readily be the death of him; but fear not; I will say a charm
- that will kill them all; and before I take my leave, you will see your
- boy as whole as you ever saw him.' And because to say certain of the
- prayers thou shouldst have been with us, and the maid knew not where to
- find thee, he caused his companion to say them at the top of the house,
- and he and I came in here. And for that 'tis not meet for any but the
- boy's mother to assist at such a service, that we might not be troubled
- with any one else, we locked the door; and he yet has him in his arms;
- and I doubt not that he only waits till his companion have said his
- prayers, and then the charm will be complete; for the boy is already
- quite himself again."
- The good simple soul, taking all this for sooth, and overwrought by the
- love he bore his son, was entirely without suspicion of the trick his
- wife was playing him, and heaving a great sigh, said:--"I will go look
- for him." "Nay," replied the wife, "go not: thou wouldst spoil the
- efficacy of the charm: wait here; I will go see if thou mayst safely go;
- and will call thee."
- Whereupon Fra Rinaldo, who had heard all that passed, and was in his
- canonicals, and quite at his ease, and had the boy in his arms, having
- made sure that all was as it should be, cried out:--"Gossip, do I not
- hear the father's voice out there?" "Ay indeed, Sir," replied the
- simpleton. "Come in then," said Fra Rinaldo. So in came the simpleton.
- Whereupon quoth Fra Rinaldo:--"I restore to you your boy made whole by
- the grace of God, whom but now I scarce thought you would see alive at
- vespers. You will do well to have his image fashioned in wax, not less
- than life-size, and set it for a thanksgiving to God, before the statue
- of Master St. Ambrose, by whose merits you have this favour of God."
- The boy, catching sight of his father, ran to him with joyous greetings,
- as little children are wont; and the father, taking him in his arms, and
- weeping as if he were restored to him from the grave, fell by turns a
- kissing him and thanking his godfather, that he had cured him. Fra
- Rinaldo's companion, who had taught the maid not one paternoster only,
- but peradventure four or more, and by giving her a little purse of white
- thread that a nun had given him, had made her his devotee, no sooner
- heard Fra Rinaldo call the simpleton into his wife's room, than he
- stealthily got him to a place whence he might see and hear what was going
- on. Observing that the affair was now excellently arranged, he came down,
- and entered the chamber, saying:--"Fra Rinaldo, those four prayers that
- you bade me say, I have said them all." "Then well done, my brother,"
- quoth Fra Rinaldo, "well-breathed must thou be. For my part, I had but
- said two, when my gossip came in; but what with thy travail and mine, God
- of His grace has vouchsafed-us the healing or the boy." The simpleton
- then had good wine and comfits brought in, and did the honours to the
- godfather and his companion in such sort as their occasions did most
- demand. He then ushered them forth of the house, commending them to God;
- and without delay had the waxen image made, and directed it to be set up
- with the others in front of the statue of St. Ambrose, not, be it
- understood, St. Ambrose of Milan.(1)
- (1) The statue would doubtless be that of St. Ambrose of Siena, of the
- Dominican Order.
- NOVEL IV.
- --
- Tofano one night locks his wife out of the house: she, finding that by no
- entreaties may she prevail upon him to let her in, feigns to throw
- herself into a well, throwing therein a great stone. Tofano hies him
- forth of the house, and runs to the spot: she goes into the house, and
- locks him out, and hurls abuse at him from within.
- --
- The king no sooner wist that Elisa's story was ended, than, turning to
- Lauretta, he signified his will that she should tell somewhat: wherefore
- without delay she began:--O Love, how great and signal is thy potency!
- how notable thy stratagems, thy devices! Was there ever, shall there ever
- be, philosopher or adept competent to inspire, counsel and teach in such
- sort as thou by thine unpremeditated art dost tutor those that follow thy
- lead? Verily laggard teachers are they all in comparison of thee, as by
- the matters heretofore set forth may very well be understood. To which
- store I will add, loving ladies, a stratagem used by a woman of quite
- ordinary understanding, and of such a sort that I know not by whom she
- could have been taught it save by Love.
- Know, then, that there dwelt aforetime at Arezzo a rich man, Tofano by
- name, who took to wife Monna Ghita, a lady exceeding fair, of whom, for
- what cause he knew not, he presently grew jealous. Whereof the lady being
- ware, waxed resentful, and having on divers occasions demanded of him the
- reason of his jealousy, and gotten from him nought precise, but only
- generalities and trivialities, resolved at last to give him cause enough
- to die of that evil which without cause he so much dreaded. And being
- ware that a gallant, whom she deemed well worthy of her, was enamoured of
- her, she, using due discretion, came to an understanding with him; which
- being brought to the point that it only remained to give effect to their
- words in act, the lady cast about to devise how this might be. And
- witting that, among other bad habits that her husband had, he was too
- fond of his cups, she would not only commend indulgence, but cunningly
- and not seldom incite him thereto; insomuch that, well-nigh as often as
- she was so minded, she led him to drink to excess; and when she saw that
- he was well drunken, she would put him to bed; and so not once only but
- divers times without any manner of risk she forgathered with her lover;
- nay, presuming upon her husband's intoxication, she grew so bold that,
- not content with bringing her lover into her house, she would at times go
- spend a great part of the night with him at his house, which was not far
- off.
- Now such being the enamoured lady's constant practice, it so befell that
- the dishonoured husband took note that, while she egged him on to drink,
- she herself drank never a drop; whereby he came to suspect the truth, to
- wit, that the lady was making him drunk, that afterwards she might take
- her pleasure while he slept. And being minded to put his surmise to the
- proof, one evening, having drunken nought all day, he mimicked never so
- drunken a sot both in speech and in carriage. The lady, deeming him to be
- really as he appeared, and that 'twas needless to ply him with liquor,
- presently put him to bed. Which done, she, as she at times was wont, hied
- her forth to her lover's house, where she tarried until midnight. Tofano
- no sooner perceived that his wife was gone, than up he got, hied him to
- the door, locked it, and then posted himself at the window to observe her
- return, and let her know that he was ware of her misconduct. So there he
- stood until the lady returned, and finding herself locked out, was
- annoyed beyond measure, and sought to force the door open. Tofano let her
- try her strength upon it a while, and then:--"Madam," quoth he, "'tis all
- to no purpose: thou canst not get in. Go get thee back thither where thou
- hast tarried all this while, and rest assured that thou shalt never
- recross this threshold, until I have done thee such honour as is meet for
- thee in the presence of thy kinsfolk and neighbours." Thereupon the lady
- fell entreating him to be pleased to open to her for the love of God, for
- that she was not come whence he supposed, but had only been passing the
- time with one of her gossips, because the nights were long, and she could
- not spend the whole time either in sleep or in solitary watching. But her
- supplications availed her nothing, for the fool was determined that all
- Arezzo should know their shame, whereof as yet none wist aught. So as
- 'twas idle to entreat, the lady assumed a menacing tone, saying:--"So
- thou open not to me, I will make thee the saddest man alive." Whereto
- Tofano made answer:--"And what then canst thou do?" The lady, her wits
- sharpened by Love, rejoined:--"Rather than endure the indignity to which
- thou wouldst unjustly subject me, I will cast myself into the well hard
- by here, and when I am found dead there, all the world will believe that
- 'twas thou that didst it in thy cups, and so thou wilt either have to
- flee and lose all that thou hast and be outlawed, or forfeit thy head as
- guilty of my death, as indeed thou wilt be." But, for all she said,
- Tofano wavered not a jot in his foolish purpose. So at last:--"Lo, now,"
- quoth the lady, "I can no more abide thy surly humour: God forgive thee:
- I leave thee my distaff here, which be careful to bestow in a safe
- place." So saying, away she hied her to the well, and, the night being so
- dark that wayfarers could scarce see one another as they passed, she took
- up a huge stone that was by the well, and ejaculating, "God forgive me!"
- dropped it therein. Tofano, hearing the mighty splash that the stone made
- as it struck the water, never doubted that she had cast herself in: so,
- bucket and rope in hand, he flung himself out of the house, and came
- running to the well to her rescue. The lady had meanwhile hidden herself
- hard by the door, and seeing him make for the well, was in the house in a
- trice, and having locked the door, hied her to the window, and greeted
- him with:--"'Tis while thou art drinking, not now, when the night is far
- spent, that thou shouldst temper thy wine with water." Thus derided,
- Tofano came back to the door, and finding his ingress barred, began
- adjuring her to let him in. Whereupon, changing the low tone she had
- hitherto used for one so shrill that 'twas well-nigh a shriek, she broke
- out with:--"By the Holy Rood, tedious drunken sot that thou art, thou
- gettest no admittance here to-night; thy ways are more than I can endure:
- 'tis time I let all the world know what manner of man thou art, and at
- what hour of the night thou comest home." Tofano, on his part, now grew
- angry, and began loudly to upbraid her; insomuch that the neighbours,
- aroused by the noise, got up, men and women alike, and looked out of the
- windows, and asked what was the matter. Whereupon the lady fell a weeping
- and saying:--"'Tis this wicked man, who comes home drunk at even, or
- falls asleep in some tavern, and then returns at this hour. Long and to
- no purpose have I borne with him; but 'tis now past endurance, and I have
- done him this indignity of locking him out of the house in the hope that
- perchance it may cause him to mend his ways."
- Tofano, on his part, told, dolt that he was, just what had happened, and
- was mighty menacing. Whereupon:--"Now mark," quoth the lady to the
- neighbours, "the sort of man he is! What would you say if I were, as he
- is, in the street, and he were in the house, as I am? God's faith, I
- doubt you would believe what he said. Hereby you may gauge his sense. He
- tells you that I have done just what, I doubt not, he has done himself.
- He thought to terrify me by throwing I know not what into the well,
- wherein would to God he had thrown himself indeed, and drowned himself,
- whereby the wine of which he has taken more than enough, had been watered
- to some purpose!" The neighbours, men and women alike, now with one
- accord gave tongue, censuring Tofano, throwing all the blame upon him,
- and answering what he alleged against the lady with loud recrimination;
- and in short the bruit, passing from neighbour to neighbour, reached at
- last the ears of the lady's kinsfolk; who hied them to the spot, and
- being apprised of the affair from this, that and the other of the
- neighbours, laid hands on Tofano, and beat him till he was black and blue
- from head to foot. Which done, they entered his house, stripped it of all
- that belonged to the lady, and took her home with them, bidding Tofano
- look for worse to come. Thus hard bested, and ruing the plight in which
- his jealousy had landed him, Tofano, who loved his wife with all his
- heart, set some friends to work to patch matters up, whereby he did in
- fact induce his lady to forgive him and live with him again, albeit he
- was fain to promise her never again to be jealous, and to give her leave
- to amuse herself to her heart's content, provided she used such
- discretion that he should not be ware of it. On such wise, like the churl
- and booby that he was, being despoiled, he made terms. Now long live
- Love, and perish war, and all that wage it!
- NOVEL V.
- --
- A jealous husband disguises himself as a priest, and hears his own wife's
- confession: she tells him that she loves a priest, who comes to her every
- night. The husband posts himself at the door to watch for the priest, and
- meanwhile the lady brings her lover in by the roof, and tarries with him.
- --
- When Lauretta had done speaking, and all had commended the lady, for that
- she had done well, and treated her caitiff husband as he had deserved,
- the king, not to lose time, turned to Fiammetta, and graciously bade her
- take up her parable; which she did on this wise:--Most noble ladies, the
- foregoing story prompts me likewise to discourse of one of these jealous
- husbands, deeming that they are justly requited by their wives, more
- especially when they grow jealous without due cause. And had our
- legislators taken account of everything, I am of opinion that they would
- have visited ladies in such a case with no other penalty than such as
- they provide for those that offend in self-defence, seeing that a jealous
- husband does cunningly practise against the life of his lady, and most
- assiduously machinate her death. All the week the wife stays at home,
- occupied with her domestic duties; after which, on the day that is sacred
- to joy, she, like every one else, craves some solace, some peace, some
- recreation, not unreasonably, for she craves but what the husbandmen take
- in the fields, the craftsmen in the city, the magistrates in the courts,
- nay what God Himself took, when He rested from all His labours on the
- seventh day, and which laws human and Divine, mindful alike of the honour
- of God and the common well-being, have ordained, appropriating certain
- days to work, and others to repose. To which ordinance these jealous
- husbands will in no wise conform; on the contrary by then most sedulously
- secluding their wives, they make those days which to all other women are
- gladsome, to them most grievous and dolorous. And what an affliction it
- is to the poor creatures, they alone know, who have proved it; for which
- reason, to sum up, I say that a wife is rather to be commended than
- censured, if she take her revenge upon a husband that is jealous without
- cause.
- Know then that at Rimini there dwelt a merchant, a man of great substance
- in lands and goods and money, who, having a most beautiful woman to wife,
- waxed inordinately jealous of her, and that for no better reason than
- that, loving her greatly, and esteeming her exceeding fair, and knowing
- that she did her utmost endeavour to pleasure him, he must needs suppose
- that every man loved her, and esteemed her fair, and that she, moreover,
- was as zealous to stand well with every other man as with himself;
- whereby you may see that he was a poor creature, and of little sense.
- Being thus so deeply infected with jealousy, he kept so strict and close
- watch over her, that some, maybe, have lain under sentence of death and
- been less rigorously confined by their warders. 'Twas not merely that the
- lady might not go to a wedding, or a festal gathering, or even to church,
- or indeed set foot out of doors in any sort; but she dared not so much as
- shew herself at a window, or cast a glance outside the house, no matter
- for what purpose. Wherefore she led a most woeful life of it, and found
- it all the harder to bear because she knew herself to be innocent.
- Accordingly, seeing herself evilly entreated by her husband without good
- cause, she cast about how for her own consolation she might devise means
- to justify his usage of her. And for that, as she might not shew herself
- at the window, there could be no interchange of amorous glances between
- her and any man that passed along the street, but she wist that in the
- next house there was a goodly and debonair gallant, she bethought her,
- that, if there were but a hole in the wall that divided the two houses,
- she might watch thereat, until she should have sight of the gallant on
- such wise that she might speak to him, and give him her love, if he cared
- to have it, and, if so it might be contrived, forgather with him now and
- again, and after this fashion relieve the burden of her woeful life,
- until such time as the evil spirit should depart from her husband. So
- peering about, now here, now there, when her husband was away, she found
- in a very remote part of the house a place, where, by chance, the wall
- had a little chink in it. Peering through which, she made out, though not
- without great difficulty, that on the other side was a room, and said to
- herself:--If this were Filippo's room--Filippo was the name of the
- gallant, her neighbour--I should be already halfway to my goal. So
- cautiously, through her maid, who was grieved to see her thus languish,
- she made quest, and discovered that it was indeed the gallant's room,
- where he slept quite alone. Wherefore she now betook her frequently to
- the aperture, and whenever she was ware that the gallant was in the room,
- she would let fall a pebble or the like trifle; whereby at length she
- brought the gallant to the other side of the aperture to see what the
- matter was. Whereupon she softly called him, and he knowing her voice,
- answered; and so, having now the opportunity she had sought, she in few
- words opened to him all her mind. The gallant, being overjoyed, wrought
- at the aperture on such wise that albeit none might be ware thereof, he
- enlarged it; and there many a time they held converse together, and
- touched hands, though further they might not go by reason of the
- assiduous watch that the jealous husband kept.
- Now towards Christmas the lady told her husband that, if he approved, she
- would fain go on Christmas morning to church, and confess and
- communicate, like other Christians. "And what sins," quoth he, "hast thou
- committed, that wouldst be shriven?" "How?" returned the lady; "dost thou
- take me for a saint? For all thou keepest me so close, thou must know
- very well that I am like all other mortals. However, I am not minded to
- confess to thee, for that thou art no priest." Her husband, whose
- suspicions were excited by what she had said, cast about how he might
- discover these sins of hers, and having bethought him of what seemed an
- apt expedient, made answer that she had his consent, but he would not
- have her go to any church but their own chapel, where she might hie her
- betimes in the morning, and confess either to their own chaplain or some
- other priest that the chaplain might assign her, but to none other, and
- presently return to the house. The lady thought she half understood him,
- but she answered only that she would do as he required. Christmas morning
- came, and with the dawn the lady rose, dressed herself, and hied her to
- the church appointed by her husband, who also rose, and hied him to the
- same church, where he arrived before her; and having already concerted
- matters with the priest that was in charge, he forthwith put on one of
- the priest's robes with a great hood, overshadowing the face, such as we
- see priests wear, and which he pulled somewhat forward; and so disguised
- he seated himself in the choir.
- On entering the church the lady asked for the priest, who came, and
- learning that she was minded to confess, said that he could not hear her
- himself, but would send her one of his brethren; so away he hied him and
- sent her, in an evil hour for him, her husband. For though he wore an air
- of great solemnity, and 'twas not yet broad day, and he had pulled the
- hood well over his eyes, yet all did not avail, but that his lady
- forthwith recognized him, and said to herself:--God be praised! why, the
- jealous rogue is turned priest: but leave it me to give him that whereof
- he is in quest. So she feigned not to know him, and seated herself at his
- feet. (I should tell you that he had put some pebbles in his mouth, that
- his speech, being impeded, might not betray him to his wife, and in all
- other respects he deemed himself so thoroughly disguised that there was
- nought whereby she might recognize him.) Now, to come to the confession,
- the lady, after informing him that she was married, told him among other
- matters that she was enamoured of a priest, who came every night to lie
- with her. Which to hear was to her husband as if he were stricken through
- the heart with a knife; and had it not been that he was bent on knowing
- more, he would have forthwith given over the confession, and taken
- himself off. However he kept his place, and:--"How?" said he to the lady,
- "does not your husband lie with you?" The lady replied in the
- affirmative. "How, then," quoth the husband, "can the priest also lie
- with you?" "Sir," replied she, "what art the priest employs I know not;
- but door there is none, however well locked, in the house, that comes not
- open at his touch; and he tells me that, being come to the door of my
- room, before he opens it, he says certain words, whereby my husband
- forthwith falls asleep; whereupon he opens the door, and enters the room,
- and lies with me; and so 'tis always, without fail." "Then 'tis very
- wrong, Madam, and you must give it up altogether," said the husband.
- "That, Sir," returned the lady, "I doubt I can never do; for I love him
- too much." "In that case," quoth the husband, "I cannot give you
- absolution." "The pity of it!" ejaculated the lady; "I came not hither to
- tell you falsehoods: if I could give it up, I would." "Madam," replied
- the husband, "indeed I am sorry for you; for I see that you are in a fair
- way to lose your soul. However, this I will do for you; I will make
- special supplication to God on your behalf; and perchance you may be
- profited thereby. And from time to time I will send you one of my young
- clerks; and you will tell him whether my prayers have been of any help to
- you, or no, and if they have been so, I shall know what to do next."
- "Nay, Sir," quoth the lady, "do not so; send no man to me at home; for,
- should my husband come to know it, he is so jealous that nothing in the
- world would ever disabuse him of the idea that he came but for an evil
- purpose, and so I should have no peace with him all the year long."
- Madam, returned the husband, "have no fear; rest assured that I will so
- order matters that you shall never hear a word about it from him." "If
- you can make sure of that," quoth the lady, "I have no more to say." And
- so, her confession ended, and her penance enjoined, she rose, and went to
- mass, while the luckless husband, fuming and fretting, hasted to divest
- himself of his priest's trappings, and then went home bent upon devising
- some means to bring the priest and his wife together, and take his
- revenge upon them both.
- When the lady came home from church she read in her husband's face that
- she had spoiled his Christmas for him, albeit he dissembled to the
- uttermost, lest she should discover what he had done, and supposed
- himself to have learned. His mind was made up to keep watch for the
- priest that very night by his own front door. So to the lady he said:--"I
- have to go out to-night to sup and sleep; so thou wilt take care that the
- front door, and the mid-stair door, and the bedroom door are well locked;
- and for the rest thou mayst go to bed, at thine own time." "Well and
- good," replied the lady: and as soon as she was able, off she hied her to
- the aperture, and gave the wonted signal, which Filippo no sooner heard,
- than he was at the spot. The lady then told him what she had done in the
- morning, and what her husband had said to her after breakfast,
- adding:--"Sure I am that he will not stir out of the house, but will keep
- watch beside the door; wherefore contrive to come in to-night by the
- roof, that we may be together." "Madam," replied the gallant, nothing
- loath, "trust me for that."
- Night came, the husband armed, and noiselessly hid himself in a room on
- the ground floor: the lady locked all the doors, being especially careful
- to secure the mid-stair door, to bar her husband's ascent; and in due
- time the gallant, having found his way cautiously enough over the roof,
- they got them to bed, and there had solace of one another and a good
- time; and at daybreak the gallant hied him back to his house. Meanwhile
- the husband, rueful and supperless, half dead with cold, kept his armed
- watch beside his door, momently expecting the priest, for the best part
- of the night; but towards daybreak, his powers failing him, he lay down
- and slept in the ground-floor room. 'Twas hard upon tierce when he awoke,
- and the front door was then open; so, making as if he had just come in,
- he went upstairs and breakfasted. Not long afterwards he sent to his wife
- a young fellow, disguised as the priest's underling, who asked her if he
- of whom she wist had been with her again. The lady, who quite understood
- what that meant, made answer that he had not come that night, and that,
- if he continued to neglect her so, 'twas possible he might be forgotten,
- though she had no mind to forget him.
- Now, to make a long story short, the husband passed many a night in the
- same way, hoping to catch the priest as he came in, the lady and her
- gallant meanwhile having a good time. But at last the husband, being able
- to stand it no longer, sternly demanded of his wife what she had said to
- the priest the morning when she was confessed. The lady answered that she
- was not minded to tell him, for that 'twas not seemly or proper so to do.
- Whereupon:--"Sinful woman," quoth the husband, "in thy despite I know
- what thou saidst to him, and know I must and will who this priest is, of
- whom thou art enamoured, and who by dint of his incantations lies with
- thee a nights, or I will sluice thy veins for thee." "'Tis not true,"
- replied the lady, "that I am enamoured of a priest." "How?" quoth the
- husband, "saidst thou not as much to the priest that confessed thee?"
- "Thou canst not have had it from him," rejoined the lady. "Wast thou then
- present thyself? For sure I never told him so." "Then tell me," quoth the
- husband, "who this priest is; and lose no time about it." Whereat the
- lady began to smile, and:--"I find it not a little diverting," quoth she,
- "that a wise man should suffer himself to be led by a simple woman as a
- ram is led by the horns to the shambles; albeit no wise man art thou: not
- since that fatal hour when thou gavest harbourage in thy breast, thou
- wist not why, to the evil spirit of jealousy; and the more foolish and
- insensate thou art, the less glory have I. Deemest thou, my husband, that
- I am as blind of the bodily eye as thou art of the mind's eye? Nay, but
- for sure I am not so. I knew at a glance the priest that confessed me,
- and that 'twas even thyself. But I was minded to give thee that of which
- thou wast in quest, and I gave it thee. Howbeit, if thou hadst been the
- wise man thou takest thyself to be, thou wouldst not have chosen such a
- way as that to worm out thy good lady's secrets, nor wouldst thou have
- fallen a prey to a baseless suspicion, but wouldst have understood that
- what she confessed was true, and she all the while guiltless. I told thee
- that I loved a priest; and wast not thou, whom I love, though ill enough
- dost thou deserve it, turned priest? I told thee that there was no door
- in my house but would open when he was minded to lie with me: and when
- thou wouldst fain have access to me, what door was ever closed against
- thee? I told thee that the priest lay nightly with me: and what night was
- there that thou didst not lie with me? Thou sentest thy young clerk to
- me: and thou knowest that, as often as thou hadst not been with me, I
- sent word that the priest had not been with me. Who but thou, that hast
- suffered jealousy to blind thee, would have been so witless as not to
- read such a riddle? But thou must needs mount guard at night beside the
- door, and think to make me believe that thou hadst gone out to sup and
- sleep. Consider thy ways, and court not the mockery of those that know
- them as I do, but turn a man again as thou wast wont to be: and let there
- be no more of this strict restraint in which thou keepest me; for I swear
- to thee by God that, if I were minded to set horns on thy brow, I should
- not fail so to take my pastime that thou wouldst never find it out,
- though thou hadst a hundred eyes, as thou hast but two."
- Thus admonished, the jealous caitiff, who had flattered himself that he
- had very cunningly discovered his wife's secret, was ashamed, and made no
- answer save to commend his wife's wit and honour; and thus, having cause
- for jealousy, he discarded it, as he had erstwhile been jealous without
- cause. And so the adroit lady had, as it were, a charter of indulgence,
- and needed no more to contrive for her lover to come to her over the roof
- like a cat, but admitted him by the door, and using due discretion, had
- many a good time with him, and sped her life gaily.
- NOVEL VI.
- --
- Madonna Isabella has with her Leonetto, her accepted lover, when she is
- surprised by one Messer Lambertuccio, by whom she is beloved: her husband
- coming home about the same time, she sends Messer Lambertuccio forth of
- the house drawn sword in hand, and the husband afterwards escorts
- Leonetto home.
- --
- Wondrous was the delight that all the company had of Fiammetta's story,
- nor was there any but affirmed that the lady had done excellent well, and
- dealt with her insensate husband as he deserved. However, it being ended,
- the king bade Pampinea follow suit; which she did on this wise:--Not a
- few there are that in their simplicity aver that Love deranges the mind,
- insomuch that whoso loves becomes as it were witless: the folly of which
- opinion, albeit I doubt it not, and deem it abundantly proven by what has
- been already said, I purpose once again to demonstrate.
- In our city, rich in all manner of good things, there dwelt a young
- gentlewoman, fair exceedingly, and wedded to a most worthy and excellent
- gentleman. And as it not seldom happens that one cannot keep ever to the
- same diet, but would fain at times vary it, so this lady, finding her
- husband not altogether to her mind, became enamoured of a gallant,
- Leonetto by name, who, though of no high rank, was not a little debonair
- and courteous, and he in like manner fell in love with her; and (as you
- know that 'tis seldom that what is mutually desired fails to come about)
- 'twas not long before they had fruition of their love. Now the lady
- being, as I said, fair and winsome, it so befell that a gentleman, Messer
- Lambertuccio by name, grew mightily enamoured of her, but so tiresome and
- odious did she find him, that for the world she could not bring herself
- to love him. So, growing tired of fruitlessly soliciting her favour by
- ambassage, Messer Lambertuccio, who was a powerful signior, sent her at
- last another sort of message in which he threatened to defame her if she
- complied not with his wishes. Wherefore the lady, knowing her man, was
- terrified, and disposed herself to pleasure him.
- Now it so chanced that Madonna Isabella, for such was the lady's name,
- being gone, as is our Florentine custom in the summer, to spend some time
- on a very goodly estate that she had in the contado, one morning finding
- herself alone, for her husband had ridden off to tarry some days
- elsewhere, she sent for Leonetto to come and keep her company; and
- Leonetto came forthwith in high glee. But while they were together,
- Messer Lambertuccio, who, having got wind that the husband was away, had
- mounted his horse and ridden thither quite alone, knocked at the door.
- Whereupon the lady's maid hied her forthwith to her mistress, who was
- alone with Leonetto, and called her, saying:--"Madam, Messer Lambertuccio
- is here below, quite alone." Whereat the lady was vexed beyond measure;
- and being also not a little dismayed, she said to Leonetto:--"Prithee,
- let it not irk thee to withdraw behind the curtain, and there keep close
- until Messer Lambertuccio be gone." Leonetto, who stood in no less fear
- of Messer Lambertuccio than did the lady, got into his hiding-place; and
- the lady bade the maid go open to Messer Lambertuccio: she did so; and
- having dismounted and fastened his palfrey to a pin, he ascended the
- stairs; at the head of which the lady received him with a smile and as
- gladsome a greeting as she could find words for, and asked him on what
- errand he was come. The gentleman embraced and kissed her, saying:--"My
- soul, I am informed that your husband is not here, and therefore I am
- come to stay a while with you." Which said, they went into the room, and
- locked them in, and Messer Lambertuccio fell a toying with her.
- Now, while thus he sped the time with her, it befell that the lady's
- husband, albeit she nowise expected him, came home, and, as he drew nigh
- the palace, was observed by the maid, who forthwith ran to the lady's
- chamber, and said:--"Madam, the master will be here anon; I doubt he is
- already in the courtyard." Whereupon, for that she had two men in the
- house, and the knight's palfrey, that was in the courtyard, made it
- impossible to hide him, the lady gave herself up for dead. Nevertheless
- she made up her mind on the spur of the moment, and springing out of bed
- "Sir," quoth she to Messer Lambertuccio, "if you have any regard for me,
- and would save my life, you will do as I bid you: that is to say, you
- will draw your blade, and put on a fell and wrathful countenance, and hie
- you downstairs, saying:--'By God, he shall not escape me elsewhere.' And
- if my husband would stop you, or ask you aught, say nought but what I
- have told you, and get you on horseback and tarry with him on no
- account." "To hear is to obey," quoth Messer Lambertuccio, who, with the
- flush of his recent exertion and the rage that he felt at the husband's
- return still on his face, and drawn sword in hand, did as she bade him.
- The lady's husband, being now dismounted in the courtyard, and not a
- little surprised to see the palfrey there, was about to go up the stairs,
- when he saw Messer Lambertuccio coming down them, and marvelling both at
- his words and at his mien:--"What means this, Sir?" quoth he. But Messer
- Lambertuccio clapped foot in stirrup, and mounted, saying nought
- but:--"Zounds, but I will meet him elsewhere;" and so he rode off.
- The gentleman then ascended the stairs, at the head of which he found his
- lady distraught with terror, to whom he said:--"What manner of thing is
- this? After whom goes Messer Lambertuccio, so wrathful and menacing?"
- Whereto the lady, drawing nigher the room, that Leonetto might hear her,
- made answer:--"Never, Sir, had I such a fright as this. There came
- running in here a young man, who to me is quite a stranger, and at his
- heels Messer Lambertuccio with a drawn sword in his hand; and as it
- happened the young man found the door of this room open, and trembling in
- every limb, cried out:--'Madam, your succour, for God's sake, that I die
- not in your arms.' So up I got, and would have asked him who he was, and
- how bested, when up came Messer Lambertuccio, exclaiming:--'Where art
- thou, traitor?' I planted myself in the doorway, and kept him from
- entering, and seeing that I was not minded to give him admittance, he was
- courteous enough, after not a little parley, to take himself off, as you
- saw." Whereupon:--"Wife," quoth the husband, "thou didst very right.
- Great indeed had been the scandal, had some one been slain here, and
- 'twas a gross affront on Messer Lambertuccio's part to pursue a fugitive
- within the house." He then asked where the young man was. Whereto the
- lady answered:--"Nay, where he may be hiding, Sir, I wot not."
- So:--"Where art thou?" quoth the knight. "Fear not to shew thyself." Then
- forth of his hiding-place, all of a tremble, for in truth he had been
- thoroughly terrified, crept Leonetto, who had heard all that had passed.
- To whom:--"What hast thou to do with Messer Lambertuccio?" quoth the
- knight. "Nothing in the world," replied the young man: "wherefore, I
- doubt he must either be out of his mind, or have mistaken me for another;
- for no sooner had he sight of me in the street hard by the palace, than
- he laid his hand on his sword, and exclaimed:--'Traitor, thou art a dead
- man.' Whereupon I sought not to know why, but fled with all speed, and
- got me here, and so, thanks to God and this gentlewoman, I escaped his
- hands." "Now away with thy fears," quoth the knight; "I will see thee
- home safe and sound; and then 'twill be for thee to determine how thou
- shalt deal with him." And so, when they had supped, he set him on
- horseback, and escorted him to Florence, and left him not until he was
- safe in his own house. And the very same evening, following the lady's
- instructions, Leonetto spoke privily with Messer Lambertuccio, and so
- composed the affair with him, that, though it occasioned not a little
- talk, the knight never wist how he had been tricked by his wife.
- NOVEL VII.
- --
- Lodovico discovers to Madonna Beatrice the love that he bears her: she
- sends Egano, her husband, into a garden disguised as herself, and lies
- with Lodovico; who thereafter, being risen, hies him to the garden and
- cudgels Egano.
- --
- This device of Madonna Isabella, thus recounted by Pampinea, was held
- nothing short of marvellous by all the company. But, being bidden by the
- king to tell the next story, thus spake Filomena:--Loving ladies, if I
- mistake not, the device, of which you shall presently hear from me, will
- prove to be no less excellent than the last.
- You are to know, then, that there dwelt aforetime at Paris a Florentine
- gentleman, who, being by reason of poverty turned merchant, had prospered
- so well in his affairs that he was become very wealthy; and having by his
- lady an only son, Lodovico by name, whose nobility disrelished trade, he
- would not put him in any shop; but that he might be with other gentlemen,
- he caused him to enter the service of the King of France, whereby he
- acquired very fine manners and other accomplishments. Being in this
- service, Lodovico was one day with some other young gallants that talked
- of the fair ladies of France, and England, and other parts of the world,
- when they were joined by certain knights that were returned from the Holy
- Sepulchre; and hearing their discourse, one of the knights fell a saying,
- that of a surety in the whole world, so far as he had explored it, there
- was not any lady, of all that he had ever seen, that might compare for
- beauty with Madonna Beatrice, the wife of Egano de' Galluzzi, of Bologna:
- wherein all his companions, who in common with him had seen the lady at
- Bologna, concurred. Which report Lodovico, who was as yet fancy-free, no
- sooner heard, than he burned with such a yearning to see the lady that he
- was able to think of nought else: insomuch that he made up his mind to
- betake him to Bologna to see her, and if she pleased him, to remain
- there; to which end he gave his father to understand that he would fain
- visit the Holy Sepulchre, whereto his father after no little demur
- consented.
- So to Bologna Anichino--for so he now called himself--came; and, as
- Fortune would have it, the very next day, he saw the lady at a festal
- gathering, and deemed her vastly more beautiful than he had expected:
- wherefore he waxed most ardently enamoured of her, and resolved never to
- quit Bologna, until he had gained her love. So, casting about how he
- should proceed, he could devise no other way but to enter her husband's
- service, which was the more easy that he kept not a few retainers: on
- this wise Lodovico surmised that, peradventure, he might compass his end.
- He therefore sold his horses and meetly bestowed his servants, bidding
- them make as if they knew him not; and being pretty familiar with his
- host, he told him that he was minded to take service with some worthy
- lord, it any such he might find. "Thou wouldst make," quoth the host,
- "the very sort of retainer to suit a gentleman of this city, Egano by
- name, who keeps not a few of them, and will have all of them presentable
- like thee: I will mention the matter to him." And so he accordingly did,
- and before he took leave of Egano had placed Anichino with him, to
- Egano's complete satisfaction.
- Being thus resident with Egano, and having abundant opportunities of
- seeing the fair lady, Anichino set himself to serve Egano with no little
- zeal; wherein he succeeded so well, that Egano was more than satisfied,
- insomuch that by and by there was nought he could do without his advice,
- and he entrusted to him the guidance not only of himself, but of all his
- affairs. Now it so befell that one day when Egano was gone a hawking,
- having left Anichino at home, Madonna Beatrice, who as yet wist not of
- his love, albeit she had from time to time taken note of him and his
- manners, and had not a little approved and commended them, sat herself
- down with him to a game of chess, which, to please her, Anichino most
- dexterously contrived to lose, to the lady's prodigious delight. After a
- while, the lady's women, one and all, gave over watching their play, and
- left them to it; whereupon Anichino heaved a mighty sigh. The lady,
- looking hard at him, said:--"What ails thee, Anichino? Is it, then, such
- a mortification to thee to be conquered by me?" "Nay, Madam," replied
- Anichino, "my sigh was prompted by a much graver matter." "Then, if thou
- hast any regard for me," quoth the lady, "tell me what it is." Hearing
- himself thus adjured by "any regard" he had for her whom he loved more
- than aught else, Anichino heaved a yet mightier sigh, which caused the
- lady to renew her request that he would be pleased to tell her the
- occasion of his sighs. Whereupon:--"Madam," said Anichino, "I greatly
- fear me, that, were I to tell it you, 'twould but vex you; and, moreover,
- I doubt you might repeat it to some one else." "Rest assured," returned
- the lady, "that I shall neither be annoyed, nor, without thy leave, ever
- repeat to any other soul aught that thou mayst say." "Then," said
- Anichino, "having this pledge from you, I will tell it you." And, while
- the tears all but stood in his eyes, he told her, who he was, the report
- he had heard of her, and where and how he had become enamoured of her,
- and with what intent he had taken service with her husband: after which,
- he humbly besought her, that, if it might be, she would have pity on him,
- and gratify this his secret and ardent desire; and that, if she were not
- minded so to do, she would suffer him to retain his place there, and love
- her. Ah! Bologna! how sweetly mixed are the elements in thy women! How
- commendable in such a case are they all! No delight have they in sighs
- and tears, but are ever inclinable to prayers, and ready to yield to the
- solicitations of Love. Had I but words apt to praise them as they
- deserve, my eloquence were inexhaustible.
- The gentlewoman's gaze was fixed on Anichino as he spoke; she made no
- doubt that all he said was true, and yielding to his appeal, she
- entertained his love within her heart in such measure that she too began
- to sigh, and after a sigh or two made answer:--"Sweet my Anichino, be of
- good cheer; neither presents nor promises, nor any courting by gentleman,
- or lord, or whoso else (for I have been and am still courted by not a
- few) was ever able to sway my soul to love any of them: but thou, by the
- few words that thou hast said, hast so wrought with me that, brief though
- the time has been, I am already in far greater measure thine than mine.
- My love I deem thee to have won right worthily; and so I give it thee,
- and vow to give thee joyance thereof before the coming night be past. To
- which end thou wilt come to my room about midnight; I will leave the door
- open; thou knowest the side of the bed on which I sleep; thou wilt come
- there; should I be asleep, thou hast but to touch me, and I shall awake,
- and give thee solace of thy long-pent desire. In earnest whereof I will
- even give thee a kiss." So saying, she threw her arms about his neck, and
- lovingly kissed him, as Anichino her.
- Their colloquy thus ended, Anichino betook him elsewhere about some
- matters which he had to attend to, looking forward to midnight with
- boundless exultation. Egano came in from his hawking; and after supper,
- being weary, went straight to bed, whither the lady soon followed him,
- leaving, as she had promised, the door of the chamber open. Thither
- accordingly, at the appointed hour, came Anichino, and having softly
- entered the chamber, and closed the door behind him, stole up to where
- the lady lay, and laying his hand upon her breast, found that she was
- awake. Now, as soon as she wist that Anichino was come, she took his hand
- in both her own; and keeping fast hold of him, she turned about in the
- bed, until she awoke Egano; whereupon:--"Husband," quoth she, "I would
- not say aught of this to thee, yestereve, because I judged thou wast
- weary; but tell me, upon thy hope of salvation, Egano, whom deemest thou
- thy best and most loyal retainer, and the most attached to thee, of all
- that thou hast in the house?" "What a question is this, wife?" returned
- Egano. "Dost not know him? Retainer I have none, nor ever had, so
- trusted, or loved, as Anichino. But wherefore put such a question?"
- Now, when Anichino wist that Egano was awake, and heard them talk of
- himself, he more than once tried to withdraw his hand, being mightily
- afraid lest the lady meant to play him false; but she held it so tightly
- that he might not get free, while thus she made answer to Egano:--"I will
- tell thee what he is. I thought that he was all thou sayst, and that none
- was so loyal to thee as he, but he has undeceived me, for that yesterday,
- when thou wast out a hawking, he, being here, chose his time, and had the
- shamelessness to crave of me compliance with his wanton desires: and I,
- that I might not need other evidence than that of thine own senses to
- prove his guilt to thee, I made answer, that I was well content, and that
- to-night, after midnight, I would get me into the garden, and await him
- there at the foot of the pine. Now go thither I shall certainly not; but,
- if thou wouldst prove the loyalty of thy retainer, thou canst readily do
- so, if thou but slip on one of my loose robes, and cover thy face with a
- veil, and go down and attend his coming, for come, I doubt not, he will."
- Whereto Egano:--"Meet indeed it is," quoth he, "that I should go see;"
- and straightway up he got, and, as best he might in the dark, he put on
- one of the lady's loose robes and veiled his face, and then hied him to
- the garden, and sate down at the foot of the pine to await Anichino. The
- lady no sooner wist that he was out of the room, than she rose, and
- locked the door. Anichino, who had never been so terrified in all his
- life, and had struggled with all his might to disengage his hand from the
- lady's clasp, and had inwardly cursed her and his love, and himself for
- trusting her, a hundred thousand times, was overjoyed beyond measure at
- this last turn that she had given the affair. And so, the lady having got
- her to bed again, and he, at her bidding, having stripped and laid him
- down beside her, they had solace and joyance of one another for a good
- while. Then, the lady, deeming it unmeet for Anichino to tarry longer
- with her, caused him to get up and resume his clothes, saying to
- him:--"Sweet my mouth, thou wilt take a stout cudgel, and get thee to the
- garden, and making as if I were there, and thy suit to me had been but to
- try me, thou wilt give Egano a sound rating with thy tongue and a sound
- belabouring with thy cudgel, the sequel whereof will be wondrously
- gladsome and delightful." Whereupon Anichino hied him off to the garden,
- armed with a staff of wild willow; and as he drew nigh the pine, Egano
- saw him, and rose and came forward to meet him as if he would receive him
- with the heartiest of cheer. But:--"Ah! wicked woman!" quoth Anichino;
- "so thou art come! Thou didst verily believe, then, that I was, that I
- am, minded thus to wrong my lord? Foul fall thee a thousand times!" And
- therewith he raised his cudgel, and began to lay about him. Egano,
- however, had heard and seen enough, and without a word took to flight,
- while Anichino pursued him, crying out:--"Away with thee! God send thee a
- bad year, lewd woman that thou art; nor doubt that Egano shall hear of
- this to-morrow." Egano, having received sundry round knocks, got him back
- to his chamber with what speed he might; and being asked by the lady,
- whether Anichino had come into the garden:--"Would to God he had not!"
- quoth he, "for that, taking me for thee, he has beaten me black and blue
- with his cudgel, and rated me like the vilest woman that ever was:
- passing strange, indeed, it had seemed to me that he should have said
- those words to thee with intent to dishonour me; and now 'tis plain that
- 'twas but that, seeing thee so blithe and frolicsome, he was minded to
- prove thee." Whereto:--"God be praised," returned the lady, "that he
- proved me by words, as thee by acts: and I doubt not he may say that I
- bear his words with more patience than thou his acts. But since he is so
- loyal to thee, we must make much of him and do him honour." "Ay, indeed,"
- quoth Egano, "thou sayst sooth."
- Thus was Egano fortified in the belief that never had any gentleman wife
- so true, or retainer so loyal, as he; and many a hearty laugh had he with
- Anichino and his lady over this affair, which to them was the occasion
- that, with far less let than might else have been, they were able to have
- solace and joyance of one another, so long as it pleased Anichino to
- tarry at Bologna.
- NOVEL VIII.
- --
- A husband grows jealous of his wife, and discovers that she has warning
- of her lover's approach by a piece of pack-thread, which she ties to her
- great toe a nights. While he is pursuing her lover, she puts another
- woman in bed in her place. The husband, finding her there, beats her, and
- cuts off her hair. He then goes and calls his wife's brothers, who,
- holding his accusation to be false, give him a rating.
- --
- Rare indeed was deemed by common consent the subtlety shewn by Madonna
- Beatrice in the beguilement of her husband, and all affirmed that the
- terror of Anichino must have been prodigious, when, the lady still
- keeping fast hold of him, he had heard her say that he had made suit of
- love to her. However, Filomena being silent, the king turned to Neifile,
- saying:--"'Tis now for you to tell." Whereupon Neifile, while a slight
- smile died away upon her lips, thus began:--Fair ladies, to entertain you
- with a goodly story, such as those which my predecessors have delighted
- you withal, is indeed a heavy burden, but, God helping me, I trust fairly
- well to acquit myself thereof.
- You are to know, then, that there dwelt aforetime in our city a most
- wealthy merchant, Arriguccio Berlinghieri by name, who foolishly, as we
- wot by daily experience is the way of merchants, thinking to compass
- gentility by matrimony, took to wife a young gentlewoman, by no means
- suited to him, whose name was Monna Sismonda. Now Monna Sismonda, seeing
- that her husband was much abroad, and gave her little of his company,
- became enamoured of a young gallant, Ruberto by name, who had long
- courted her: and she being grown pretty familiar with him, and using,
- perchance, too little discretion, for she affected him extremely, it so
- befell that Arriguccio, whether it was that he detected somewhat, or
- howsoever, waxed of all men the most jealous, and gave up going abroad,
- and changed his way of life altogether, and made it his sole care to
- watch over his wife, insomuch that he never allowed himself a wink of
- sleep until he had seen her to bed: which occasioned the lady the most
- grievous dumps, because 'twas on no wise possible for her to be with her
- Ruberto. So, casting about in many ways how she might contrive to meet
- him, and being thereto not a little plied by Ruberto himself, she
- bethought her at last of the following expedient: to wit, her room
- fronting the street, and Arriguccio, as she had often observed, being
- very hard put to it to get him to sleep, but thereafter sleeping very
- soundly, she resolved to arrange with Ruberto that he should come to the
- front door about midnight, whereupon she would get her down, and open the
- door, and stay some time with him while her husband was in his deep
- sleep. And that she might have tidings of his arrival, yet so as that
- none else might wot aught thereof, she adopted the device of lowering a
- pack-thread from the bedroom window on such wise that, while with one end
- it should all but touch the ground, it should traverse the floor of the
- room, until it reached the bed, and then be brought under the clothes, so
- that, when she was abed, she might attach it to her great toe. Having so
- done, she sent word to Ruberto, that when he came, he must be sure to
- jerk the pack-thread, and, if her husband were asleep, she would loose
- it, and go open to him; but, if he were awake, she would hold it taut and
- draw it to herself, to let him know that he must not expect her. Ruberto
- fell in with the idea, came there many times, and now forgathered with
- her and again did not. But at last, they still using this cunning
- practice, it so befell that one night, while the lady slept, Arriguccio,
- letting his foot stray more than he was wont about the bed, came upon the
- pack-thread, and laying his hand upon it, found that it was attached to
- his lady's great toe, and said to himself:--This must be some trick: and
- afterwards discovering that the thread passed out of the window, was
- confirmed in his surmise. Wherefore, he softly severed it from the lady's
- toe, and affixed it to his own; and waited, all attention, to learn the
- result of his experiment. Nor had he long to wait before Ruberto came,
- and Arriguccio felt him jerk the thread according to his wont: and as
- Arriguccio had not known how to attach the thread securely, and Ruberto
- jerked it with some force, it gave way, whereby he understood that he was
- to wait, and did so. Arriguccio straightway arose, caught up his arms,
- and hasted to the door to see who might be there, intent to do him a
- mischief. Now Arriguccio, for all he was a merchant, was a man of spirit,
- and of thews and sinews; and being come to the door, he opened it by no
- means gingerly, as the lady was wont; whereby Ruberto, who was in
- waiting, surmised the truth, to wit, that 'twas Arriguccio by whom the
- door was opened. Wherefore he forthwith took to flight, followed by
- Arriguccio. But at length, when he had run a long way, as Arriguccio gave
- not up the pursuit, he being also armed, drew his sword, and faced about;
- and so they fell to, Arriguccio attacking, and Ruberto defending himself.
- Now when Arriguccio undid the bedroom door, the lady awoke, and finding
- the pack-thread cut loose from her toe, saw at a glance that her trick
- was discovered; and hearing Arriguccio running after Ruberto, she
- forthwith got up, foreboding what the result was like to be, and called
- her maid, who was entirely in her confidence: whom she so plied with her
- obsecrations that at last she got her into bed in her room, beseeching
- her not to say who she was, but to bear patiently all the blows that
- Arriguccio might give her; and she would so reward her that she should
- have no reason to complain. Then, extinguishing the light that was in the
- room, forth she hied her, and having found a convenient hiding-place in
- the house, awaited the turn of events. Now Arriguccio and Ruberto being
- hotly engaged in the street, the neighbours, roused by the din of the
- combat, got up and launched their curses upon them. Wherefore Arriguccio,
- fearing lest he should be recognized, drew off before he had so much as
- discovered who the young gallant was, or done him any scathe, and in a
- fell and wrathful mood betook him home. Stumbling into the bedroom, he
- cried out angrily:--"Where art thou, lewd woman? Thou hast put out the
- light, that I may not be able to find thee; but thou hast miscalculated."
- And going to the bedside, he laid hold of the maid, taking her to be his
- wife, and fell a pummelling and kicking her with all the strength he had
- in his hands and feet, insomuch that he pounded her face well-nigh to
- pulp, rating her the while like the vilest woman that ever was; and last
- of all he cut off her hair. The maid wept bitterly, as indeed she well
- might; and though from time to time she ejaculated an "Alas! Mercy, for
- God's sake!" or "Spare me, spare me;" yet her voice was so broken by her
- sobs, and Arriguccio's hearing so dulled by his wrath, that he was not
- able to discern that 'twas not his wife's voice but that of another
- woman. So, having soundly thrashed her, and cut off her hair, as we
- said:--"Wicked woman," quoth he, "I touch thee no more; but I go to find
- thy brothers, and shall do them to wit of thy good works; and then they
- may come here, and deal with thee as they may deem their honour demands,
- and take thee hence, for be sure thou shalt no more abide in this house."
- With this he was gone, locking the door of the room behind him, and
- quitted the house alone.
- Now no sooner did Monna Sismonda, who had heard all that passed, perceive
- that her husband was gone, than she opened the door of the bedroom,
- rekindled the light, and finding her maid all bruises and tears, did what
- she could to comfort her, and carried her back to her own room, where,
- causing her to be privily waited on and tended, she helped her so
- liberally from Arriguccio's own store, that she confessed herself
- content. The maid thus bestowed in her room, the lady presently hied her
- back to her own, which she set all in neat and trim order, remaking the
- bed, so that it might appear as if it had not been slept in, relighting
- the lamp, and dressing and tiring herself, until she looked as if she had
- not been abed that night; then, taking with her a lighted lamp and some
- work, she sat her down at the head of the stairs, and began sewing, while
- she waited to see how the affair would end.
- Arriguccio meanwhile had hied him with all speed straight from the house
- to that of his wife's brothers, where by dint of much knocking he made
- himself heard, and was admitted. The lady's three brothers, and her
- mother, being informed that 'twas Arriguccio, got up, and having set
- lights a burning, came to him and asked him on what errand he was come
- there at that hour, and alone. Whereupon Arriguccio, beginning with the
- discovery of the pack-thread attached to his lady's great toe, gave them
- the whole narrative of his discoveries and doings down to the very end;
- and to clinch the whole matter, he put in their hands the locks which he
- had cut, as he believed, from his wife's head, adding that 'twas now for
- them to come for her and deal with her on such wise as they might deem
- their honour required, seeing that he would nevermore have her in his
- house. Firmly believing what he told them, the lady's brothers were very
- wroth with her, and having provided themselves with lighted torches, set
- out with Arriguccio, and hied them to his house with intent to scorn her,
- while their mother followed, weeping and beseeching now one, now another,
- not to credit these matters so hastily, until they had seen or heard
- somewhat more thereof; for that the husband might have some other reason
- to be wroth with her, and having ill-treated her, might have trumped up
- this charge by way of exculpation, adding that, if true, 'twas passing
- strange, for well she knew her daughter, whom she had brought up from her
- tenderest years, and much more to the like effect.
- However, being come to Arriguccio's house, they entered, and were
- mounting the stairs, when Monna Sismonda, hearing them, called out:--"Who
- is there?" Whereto one of the brothers responded:--"Lewd woman, thou
- shalt soon have cause enough to know who it is." "Now Lord love us!"
- quoth Monna Sismonda, "what would he be at?" Then, rising, she greeted
- them with:--"Welcome, my brothers but what seek ye abroad at this hour,
- all three of you?" They had seen her sitting and sewing with never a sign
- of a blow on her face, whereas Arriguccio had averred that he had
- pummelled her all over: wherefore their first impression was one of
- wonder, and refraining the vehemence of their wrath, they asked her what
- might be the truth of the matter which Arriguccio laid to her charge, and
- threatened her with direful consequences, if she should conceal aught.
- Whereto the lady:--"What you would have me tell you," quoth she, "or what
- Arriguccio may have laid to my charge, that know not I." Arriguccio could
- but gaze upon her, as one that had taken leave of his wits, calling to
- mind how he had pummelled her about the face times without number, and
- scratched it for her, and mishandled her in all manner of ways, and there
- he now saw her with no trace of aught of it all upon her. However, to
- make a long story short, the lady's brothers told her what Arriguccio had
- told them touching the pack-thread and the beating and all the rest of
- it. Whereupon the lady turned to him with:--"Alas, my husband, what is
- this that I hear? Why givest thou me, to thy own great shame, the
- reputation of a lewd woman, when such I am not, and thyself the
- reputation of a wicked and cruel man, which thou art not? Wast thou ever
- to-night, I say not in my company, but so much as in the house until now?
- Or when didst thou beat me? For my part I mind me not of it." Arriguccio
- began:--"How sayst thou, lewd woman? Did we not go to bed together? Did I
- not come back, after chasing thy lover? Did I not give thee bruises not a
- few, and cut thy hair for thee?" But the lady interrupted him,
- saying:--"Nay, thou didst not lie here to-night. But leave we this, of
- which my true words are my sole witness, and pass we to this of the
- beating thou sayst thou gavest me, and how thou didst cut my hair. Never
- a beating had I from thee, and I bid all that are here, and thee among
- them, look at me, and say if I have any trace of a beating on my person;
- nor should I advise thee to dare lay hand upon me; for, by the Holy Rood,
- I would spoil thy beauty for thee. Nor didst thou cut my hair, for aught
- that I saw or felt: however, thou didst it, perchance, on such wise that
- I was not ware thereof: so let me see whether 'tis cut or no." Then,
- unveiling herself, she shewed that her hair was uncut and entire.
- Wherefore her brothers and mother now turned to Arriguccio with:--"What
- means this, Arriguccio? This accords not with what thou gavest us to
- understand thou hadst done; nor know we how thou wilt prove the residue."
- Arriguccio was lost, as it were, in a dream, and yet he would fain have
- spoken; but, seeing that what he had thought to prove was otherwise, he
- essayed no reply. So the lady turning to her brothers:--"I see," quoth
- she, "what he would have: he will not be satisfied unless I do what I
- never would otherwise have done, to wit, give you to know what a pitiful
- caitiff he is; as now I shall not fail to do. I make no manner of doubt
- that, as he has said, even so it befell, and so he did. How, you shall
- hear. This worthy man, to whom, worse luck! you gave me to wife, a
- merchant, as he calls himself, and as such would fain have credit, and
- who ought to be more temperate than a religious, and more continent than
- a girl, lets scarce an evening pass but he goes a boozing in the taverns,
- and consorting with this or the other woman of the town; and 'tis for me
- to await his return until midnight or sometimes until matins, even as you
- now find me. I doubt not that, being thoroughly well drunk, he got him to
- bed with one of these wantons, and, awaking, found the pack-thread on her
- foot, and afterwards did actually perform all these brave exploits of
- which he speaks, and in the end came back to her, and beat her, and cut
- her hair off, and being not yet quite recovered from his debauch,
- believed, and, I doubt not, still believes, that 'twas I that he thus
- treated; and if you will but scan his face closely, you will see that he
- is still half drunk. But, whatever he may have said about me, I would
- have you account it as nothing more than the disordered speech of a tipsy
- man; and forgive him as I do." Whereupon the lady's mother raised no
- small outcry, saying:--"By the Holy Rood, my daughter, this may not be! A
- daughter, such as thou, to be mated with one so unworthy of thee! The
- pestilent, insensate cur should be slain on the spot! A pretty state of
- things, indeed! Why, he might have picked thee up from the gutter! Now
- foul fall him! but thou shalt no more be vexed with the tedious drivel of
- a petty dealer in ass's dung, some blackguard, belike, that came hither
- from the country because he was dismissed the service of some petty
- squire, clad in romagnole, with belfry-breeches, and a pen in his arse,
- and for that he has a few pence, must needs have a gentleman's daughter
- and a fine lady to wife, and set up a coat of arms, and say:--'I am of
- the such and such,' and 'my ancestors did thus and thus.' Ah! had my sons
- but followed my advice! Thy honour were safe in the house of the Counts
- Guidi, where they might have bestowed thee, though thou hadst but a
- morsel of bread to thy dowry: but they must needs give thee to this rare
- treasure, who, though better daughter and more chaste there is none than
- thou in Florence, has not blushed this very midnight and in our presence
- to call thee a strumpet, as if we knew thee not. God's faith! so I were
- hearkened to, he should shrewdly smart for it." Then, turning to her
- sons, she said:--"My sons, I told you plainly enough that this ought not
- to be. Now, have you heard how your worthy brother-in-law treats your
- sister? Petty twopenny trader that he is: were it for me to act, as it is
- for you, after what he has said of her and done to her, nought would
- satisfy or appease me, till I had rid the earth of him. And were I a man,
- who am but a woman, none, other but myself should meddle with the affair.
- God's curse upon him, the woeful, shameless sot!" Whereupon the young
- men, incensed by what they had seen and heard, turned to Arriguccio, and
- after giving him the soundest rating that ever was bestowed upon caitiff,
- concluded as follows:--"This once we pardon thee, witting thee to be a
- drunken knave--but as thou holdest thy life dear, have a care that
- henceforth we hear no such tales of thee; for rest assured that if aught
- of the kind do reach our ears, we will requite thee for both turns."
- Which said, they departed. Arriguccio, standing there like one dazed, not
- witting whether his late doings were actual fact or but a dream, made no
- more words about the matter, but left his wife in peace. Thus did she by
- her address not only escape imminent peril, but open a way whereby in
- time to come she was able to gratify her passion to the full without any
- farther fear of her husband.
- NOVEL IX.
- --
- Lydia, wife of Nicostratus, loves Pyrrhus, who to assure himself thereof,
- asks three things of her, all of which she does, and therewithal enjoys
- him in presence of Nicostratus, and makes Nicostratus believe that what
- he saw was not real.
- --
- So diverting did the ladies find Neifile's story that it kept them still
- laughing and talking, though the king, having bidden Pamfilo tell his
- story, had several times enjoined silence upon them. However, as soon as
- they had done, Pamfilo thus began:--Methinks, worshipful ladies, there is
- no venture, though fraught with gravest peril, that whoso loves ardently
- will not make: of which truth, exemplified though it has been in stories
- not a few, I purpose to afford you yet more signal proof in one which I
- shall tell you; wherein you will hear of a lady who in her enterprises
- owed far more to the favour of Fortune than to the guidance of reason:
- wherefore I should not advise any of you rashly to follow in her
- footsteps, seeing that Fortune is not always in a kindly mood, nor are
- the eyes of all men equally holden.
- In Argos, that most ancient city of Achaia, the fame of whose kings of
- old time is out of all proportion to its size, there dwelt of yore
- Nicostratus, a nobleman, to whom, when he was already verging on old age,
- Fortune gave to wife a great lady, Lydia by name, whose courage matched
- her charms. Nicostratus, as suited with his rank and wealth, kept not a
- few retainers and hounds and hawks, and was mightily addicted to the
- chase. Among his dependants was a young man named Pyrrhus, a gallant of
- no mean accomplishment, and goodly of person and beloved and trusted by
- Nicostratus above all other. Of whom Lydia grew mighty enamoured,
- insomuch that neither by day nor by night might her thoughts stray from
- him: but, whether it was that Pyrrhus wist not her love, or would have
- none of it, he gave no sign of recognition; whereby the lady's suffering
- waxing more than she could bear, she made up her mind to declare her love
- to him; and having a chambermaid, Lusca by name, in whom she placed great
- trust, she called her, and said:--"Lusca, tokens thou hast had from me of
- my regard that should ensure thy obedience and loyalty; wherefore have a
- care that what I shall now tell thee reach the ears of none but him to
- whom I shall bid thee impart it. Thou seest, Lusca, that I am in the
- prime of my youth and lustihead, and have neither lack nor stint of all
- such things as folk desire, save only, to be brief, that I have one cause
- to repine, to wit, that my husband's years so far outnumber my own.
- Wherefore with that wherein young ladies take most pleasure I am but ill
- provided, and, as my desire is no less than theirs, 'tis now some while
- since I determined that, if Fortune has shewn herself so little friendly
- to me by giving me a husband so advanced in years, at least I will not be
- mine own enemy by sparing to devise the means whereby my happiness and
- health may be assured; and that herein, as in all other matters, my joy
- may be complete, I have chosen, thereto to minister by his embraces, our
- Pyrrhus, deeming him more worthy than any other man, and have so set my
- heart upon him that I am ever ill at ease save when he is present either
- to my sight or to my mind, insomuch that, unless I forgather with him
- without delay, I doubt not that 'twill be the death of me. And so, if
- thou holdest my life dear, thou wilt shew him my love on such wise as
- thou mayst deem best, and make my suit to him that he be pleased to come
- to me, when thou shalt go to fetch him." "That gladly will I," replied
- the chambermaid; and as soon as she found convenient time and place, she
- drew Pyrrhus apart, and, as best she knew how, conveyed her lady's
- message to him. Which Pyrrhus found passing strange to hear, for 'twas in
- truth a complete surprise to him, and he doubted the lady did but mean to
- try him. Wherefore he presently, and with some asperity, answered
- thus:--"Lusca, believe I cannot that this message comes from my lady:
- have a care, therefore, what thou sayst, and if, perchance, it does come
- from her, I doubt she does not mean it; and if perchance, she does mean
- it, why, then I am honoured by my lord above what I deserve, and I would
- not for my life do him such a wrong: so have a care never to speak of
- such matters to me again." Lusca, nowise disconcerted by his uncompliant
- tone, rejoined:--"I shall speak to thee, Pyrrhus, of these and all other
- matters, wherewith I may be commissioned by my lady, as often as she
- shall bid me, whether it pleases or irks thee; but thou art a blockhead."
- So, somewhat chafed, Lusca bore Pyrrhus' answer back to her lady, who
- would fain have died, when she heard it, and some days afterwards resumed
- the topic, saying:--"Thou knowest, Lusca, that 'tis not the first stroke
- that fells the oak; wherefore, methinks, thou wert best go back to this
- strange man, who is minded to evince his loyalty at my expense, and
- choosing a convenient time, declare to him all my passion, and do thy
- best endeavour that the affair be carried through; for if it should thus
- lapse, 'twould be the death of me; besides which, he would think we had
- but trifled with him, and, whereas 'tis his love we would have, we should
- earn his hatred." So, after comforting the lady, the maid hied her in
- quest of Pyrrhus, whom she found in a gladsome and propitious mood, and
- thus addressed:--"'Tis not many days, Pyrrhus, since I declared to thee
- how ardent is the flame with which thy lady and mine is consumed for love
- of thee, and now again I do thee to wit thereof, and that, if thou shalt
- not relent of the harshness that thou didst manifest the other day, thou
- mayst rest assured that her life will be short: wherefore I pray thee to
- be pleased to give her solace of her desire, and shouldst thou persist in
- thy obduracy, I, that gave thee credit for not a little sense, shall deem
- thee a great fool. How flattered thou shouldst be to know thyself beloved
- above all else by a lady so beauteous and high-born! And how indebted
- shouldst thou feel thyself to Fortune, seeing that she has in store for
- thee a boon so great and so suited to the cravings of thy youth, ay, and
- so like to be of service to thee upon occasion of need! Bethink thee, if
- there be any of thine equals whose life is ordered more agreeably than
- thine will be if thou but be wise. Which of them wilt thou find so well
- furnished with arms and horses, clothes and money as thou shalt be, if
- thou but give my lady thy love? Receive, then, my words with open mind;
- be thyself again; bethink thee that 'tis Fortune's way to confront a man
- but once with smiling mien and open lap, and, if he then accept not her
- bounty, he has but himself to blame, if afterward he find himself in
- want, in beggary. Besides which, no such loyalty is demanded between
- servants and their masters as between friends and kinsfolk; rather 'tis
- for servants, so far as they may, to behave towards their masters as
- their masters behave towards them. Thinkest thou, that, if thou hadst a
- fair wife or mother or daughter or sister that found favour in
- Nicostratus' eyes, he would be so scrupulous on the point of loyalty as
- thou art disposed to be in regard of his lady? Thou art a fool, if so
- thou dost believe. Hold it for certain, that, if blandishments and
- supplications did not suffice, he would, whatever thou mightest think of
- it, have recourse to force. Observe we, then, towards them and theirs the
- same rule which they observe towards us and ours. Take the boon that
- Fortune offers thee; repulse her not; rather go thou to meet her, and
- hail her advance; for be sure that, if thou do not so, to say nought of
- thy lady's death, which will certainly ensue, thou thyself wilt repent
- thee thereof so often that thou wilt be fain of death."
- Since he had last seen Lusca, Pyrrhus had repeatedly pondered what she
- had said to him, and had made his mind up that, should she come again, he
- would answer her in another sort, and comply in all respects with the
- lady's desires, provided he might be assured that she was not merely
- putting him to the proof; wherefore he now made answer:--"Lo, now, Lusca,
- I acknowledge the truth of all that thou sayst; but, on the other hand, I
- know that my lord is not a little wise and wary, and, as he has committed
- all his affairs to my charge, I sorely misdoubt me that 'tis with his
- approbation, and by his advice, and but to prove me, that Lydia does
- this: wherefore let her do three things which I shall demand of her for
- my assurance, and then there is nought that she shall crave of me, but I
- will certainly render her prompt obedience. Which three things are
- these:--first, let her in Nicostratus' presence kill his fine
- sparrow-hawk: then she must send me a lock of Nicostratus' beard, and
- lastly one of his best teeth." Hard seemed these terms to Lusca, and hard
- beyond measure to the lady, but Love, that great fautor of enterprise,
- and master of stratagem, gave her resolution to address herself to their
- performance: wherefore through the chambermaid she sent him word that
- what he required of her she would do, and that without either reservation
- or delay; and therewithal she told him, that, as he deemed Nicostratus so
- wise, she would contrive that they should enjoy one another in
- Nicostratus' presence, and that Nicostratus should believe that 'twas a
- mere show. Pyrrhus, therefore, anxiously expected what the lady would do.
- Some days thus passed, and then Nicostratus gave a great breakfast, as
- was his frequent wont, to certain gentlemen, and when the tables were
- removed, the lady, robed in green samite, and richly adorned, came forth
- of her chamber into the hall wherein they sate, and before the eyes of
- Pyrrhus and all the rest of the company hied her to the perch, on which
- stood the sparrow-hawk that Nicostratus so much prized, and loosed him,
- and, as if she were minded to carry him on her hand, took him by the
- jesses and dashed him against the wall so that he died.
- Whereupon:--"Alas! my lady, what hast thou done?" exclaimed Nicostratus:
- but she vouchsafed no answer, save that, turning to the gentlemen that
- had sate at meat with him, she said:--"My lords, ill fitted were I to
- take vengeance on a king that had done me despite, if I lacked the
- courage to be avenged on a sparrow-hawk. You are to know that by this
- bird I have long been cheated of all the time that ought to be devoted by
- gentlemen to pleasuring their ladies; for with the first streaks of dawn
- Nicostratus has been up and got him to horse, and hawk on hand hied him
- to the champaign to see him fly, leaving me, such as you see me, alone
- and ill content abed. For which cause I have oftentimes been minded to do
- that which I have now done, and have only refrained therefrom, that,
- biding my time, I might do it in the presence of men that should judge my
- cause justly, as I trust you will do." Which hearing, the gentlemen, who
- deemed her affections no less fixed on Nicostratus than her words
- imported, broke with one accord into a laugh, and turning to Nicostratus,
- who was sore displeased, fell a saying:--"Now well done of the lady to
- avenge her wrongs by the death of the sparrow-hawk!" and so, the lady
- being withdrawn to her chamber, they passed the affair off with divers
- pleasantries, turning the wrath of Nicostratus to laughter.
- Pyrrhus, who had witnessed what had passed, said to himself:--Nobly
- indeed has my lady begun, and on such wise as promises well for the
- felicity of my love. God grant that she so continue. And even so Lydia
- did: for not many days after she had killed the sparrow-hawk, she, being
- with Nicostratus in her chamber, from caressing passed to toying and
- trifling with him, and he, sportively pulling her by the hair, gave her
- occasion to fulfil the second of Pyrrhus' demands; which she did by
- nimbly laying hold of one of the lesser tufts of his beard, and, laughing
- the while, plucking it so hard that she tore it out of his chin. Which
- Nicostratus somewhat resenting:--"Now what cause hast thou," quoth she,
- "to make such a wry face? 'Tis but that I have plucked some half-dozen
- hairs from thy beard. Thou didst not feel it as much as did I but now thy
- tugging of my hair." And so they continued jesting and sporting with one
- another, the lady jealously guarding the tuft that she had torn from the
- beard, which the very same day she sent to her cherished lover. The third
- demand caused the lady more thought; but, being amply endowed with wit,
- and powerfully, seconded by Love, she failed not to hit upon an apt
- expedient.
- Nicostratus had in his service two lads, who, being of gentle birth, had
- been placed with him by their kinsfolk, that they might learn manners,
- one of whom, when Nicostratus sate at meat, carved before him, while the
- other gave him to drink. Both lads Lydia called to her, and gave them to
- understand that their breath smelt, and admonished them that, when they
- waited on Nicostratus, they should hold their heads as far back as
- possible, saying never a word of the matter to any. The lads believing
- her, did as she bade them. Whereupon she took occasion to say to
- Nicostratus:--"Hast thou marked what these lads do when they wait upon
- thee?" "Troth, that have I," replied Nicostratus; "indeed I have often
- had it in mind to ask them why they do so." "Nay," rejoined the lady,
- "spare thyself the pains; for I can tell thee the reason, which I have
- for some time kept close, lest it should vex thee; but as I now see that
- others begin to be ware of it, it need no longer be withheld from thee.
- 'Tis for that thy breath stinks shrewdly that they thus avert their heads
- from thee: 'twas not wont to be so, nor know I why it should be so; and
- 'tis most offensive when thou art in converse with gentlemen; and
- therefore 'twould be well to find some way of curing it." "I wonder what
- it could be," returned Nicostratus; "is it perchance that I have a
- decayed tooth in my jaw?" "That may well be," quoth Lydia: and taking him
- to a window, she caused him open his mouth, and after regarding it on
- this side and that:--"Oh! Nicostratus," quoth she, "how couldst thou have
- endured it so long? Thou hast a tooth here, which, by what I see, is not
- only decayed, but actually rotten throughout; and beyond all manner of
- doubt, if thou let it remain long in thy head, 'twill infect its
- neighbours; so 'tis my advice that thou out with it before the matter
- grows worse." "My judgment jumps with thine," quoth Nicostratus;
- "wherefore send without delay for a chirurgeon to draw it." "God forbid,"
- returned the lady, "that chirurgeon come hither for such a purpose;
- methinks, the case is such that I can very well dispense with him, and
- draw the tooth myself. Besides which, these chirurgeons do these things
- in such a cruel way, that I could never endure to see thee or know thee
- under the hands of any of them: wherefore my mind is quite made up to do
- it myself, that, at least, if thou shalt suffer too much, I may give it
- over at once, as a chirurgeon would not do." And so she caused the
- instruments that are used on such occasions to be brought her, and having
- dismissed all other attendants save Lusca from the chamber, and locked
- the door, made Nicostratus lie down on a table, set the pincers in his
- mouth, and clapped them on one of his teeth, which, while Lusca held him,
- so that, albeit he roared for pain, he might not move, she wrenched by
- main force from his jaw, and keeping it close, took from Lusca's hand
- another and horribly decayed tooth, which she shewed him, suffering and
- half dead as he was, saying:--"See what thou hadst in thy jaw; mark how
- far gone it is." Believing what she said, and deeming that, now the tooth
- was out, his breath would no more be offensive, and being somewhat eased
- of the pain, which had been extreme, and still remained, so that he
- murmured not little, by divers comforting applications, he quitted the
- chamber: whereupon the lady forthwith sent the tooth to her lover, who,
- having now full assurance of her love, placed himself entirely at her
- service. But the lady being minded to make his assurance yet more sure,
- and deeming each hour a thousand till she might be with him, now saw fit,
- for the more ready performance of the promise she had given him, to feign
- sickness; and Nicostratus, coming to see her one day after breakfast,
- attended only by Pyrrhus, she besought him for her better solacement, to
- help her down to the garden. Wherefore Nicostratus on one side, and
- Pyrrhus on the other, took her and bore her down to the garden, and set
- her on a lawn at the foot of a beautiful pear-tree: and after they had
- sate there a while, the lady, who had already given Pyrrhus to understand
- what he must do, said to him:--"Pyrrhus, I should greatly like to have
- some of those pears; get thee up the tree, and shake some of them down."
- Pyrrhus climbed the tree in a trice, and began to shake down the pears,
- and while he did so:--"Fie! Sir," quoth he, "what is this you do? And
- you, Madam, have you no shame, that you suffer him to do so in my
- presence? Think you that I am blind? 'Twas but now that you were gravely
- indisposed. Your cure has been speedy indeed to permit of your so
- behaving: and as for such a purpose you have so many goodly chambers, why
- betake you not yourselves to one of them, if you must needs so disport
- yourselves? 'Twould be much more decent than to do so in my presence."
- Whereupon the lady, turning to her husband:--"Now what can Pyrrhus mean?"
- said she. "Is he mad?" "Nay, Madam," quoth Pyrrhus; "mad am not I. Think
- you I see you not?" Whereat Nicostratus marvelled not a little;
- and:--"Pyrrhus," quoth he, "I verily believe thou dreamest." "Nay, my
- lord," replied Pyrrhus, "not a whit do I dream; neither do you; rather
- you wag it with such vigour, that, if this pear-tree did the like, there
- would be never a pear left on it." Then the lady:--"What can this mean?"
- quoth she: "can it be that it really seems to him to be as he says? Upon
- my hope of salvation, were I but in my former health, I would get me up
- there to judge for myself what these wonders are which he professes to
- see." Whereupon, as Pyrrhus in the pear-tree continued talking in the
- same strange strain:--"Come down," quoth Nicostratus; and when he was
- down:--"Now what," said Nicostratus, "is it thou sayst thou seest up
- there?" "I suppose," replied Pyrrhus, "that you take me to be deluded or
- dreaming: but as I must needs tell you the truth, I saw you lying upon
- your wife, and then, when I came down, I saw you get up and sit you down
- here where you now are." "Therein," said Nicostratus, "thou wast
- certainly deluded, for, since thou clombest the pear-tree, we have not
- budged a jot, save as thou seest." Then said Pyrrhus:--"Why make more
- words about the matter? See you I certainly did; and, seeing you, I saw
- you lying upon your own." Nicostratus' wonder now waxed momently,
- insomuch that he said:--"I am minded to see if this pear-tree be
- enchanted, so that whoso is in it sees marvels;" and so he got him up
- into it. Whereupon the lady and Pyrrhus fell to disporting them, and
- Nicostratus, seeing what they were about, exclaimed:--"Ah! lewd woman,
- what is this thou doest? And thou, Pyrrhus, in whom I so much trusted!"
- And so saying, he began to climb down. Meanwhile the lady and Pyrrhus had
- made answer:--"We are sitting here:" and seeing him descending, they
- placed themselves as they had been when he had left them, whom
- Nicostratus, being come down, no sooner saw, than he fell a rating them.
- Then quoth Pyrrhus:--"Verily, Nicostratus, I now acknowledge, that, as
- you said a while ago, what I saw when I was in the pear-tree was but a
- false show, albeit I had never understood that so it was but that I now
- see and know that thou hast also seen a false show. And that I speak
- truth, you may sufficiently assure yourself, if you but reflect whether
- 'tis likely that your wife, who for virtue and discretion has not her
- peer among women, would, if she were minded so to dishonour you, see fit
- to do so before your very eyes. Of myself I say nought, albeit I had
- liefer be hewn in pieces than that I should so much as think of such a
- thing, much less do it in your presence. Wherefore 'tis evident that 'tis
- some illusion of sight that is propagated from the pear-tree; for nought
- in the world would have made me believe that I saw not you lying there in
- carnal intercourse with your wife, had I not heard you say that you saw
- me doing that which most assuredly, so far from doing, I never so much as
- thought of." The lady then started up with a most resentful mien, and
- burst out with:--"Foul fall thee, if thou knowest so little of me as to
- suppose that, if I were minded to do thee such foul dishonour as thou
- sayst thou didst see me do, I would come hither to do it before thine
- eyes! Rest assured that for such a purpose, were it ever mine, I should
- deem one of our chambers more meet, and it should go hard but I would so
- order the matter that thou shouldst never know aught of it." Nicostratus,
- having heard both, and deeming that what they both averred must be true,
- to wit, that they would never have ventured upon such an act in his
- presence, passed from chiding to talk of the singularity of the thing,
- and how marvellous it was that the vision should reshape itself for every
- one that clomb the tree. The lady, however, made a show of being
- distressed that Nicostratus should so have thought of her,
- and:--"Verily," quoth she, "no woman, neither I nor another, shall again
- suffer loss of honour by this pear-tree: run, Pyrrhus, and bring hither
- an axe, and at one and the same time vindicate thy honour and mine by
- felling it, albeit 'twere better far Nicostratus' skull should feel the
- weight of the axe, seeing that in utter heedlessness he so readily
- suffered the eyes of his mind to be blinded; for, albeit this vision was
- seen by the bodily eye, yet ought the understanding by no means to have
- entertained and affirmed it as real."
- So Pyrrhus presently hied him to fetch the axe, and returning therewith
- felled the pear; whereupon the lady, turning towards Nicostratus:--"Now
- that this foe of my honour is fallen," quoth she, "my wrath is gone from
- me." Nicostratus then craving her pardon, she graciously granted it him,
- bidding him never again to suffer himself to be betrayed into thinking
- such a thing of her, who loved him more dearly than herself. So the poor
- duped husband went back with her and her lover to the palace, where not
- seldom in time to come Pyrrhus and Lydia took their pastime together more
- at ease. God grant us the like.
- NOVEL X.
- --
- Two Sienese love a lady, one of them being her gossip: the gossip dies,
- having promised his comrade to return to him from the other world; which
- he does, and tells him what sort of life is led there.
- --
- None now was left to tell, save the king, who, as soon as the ladies had
- ceased mourning over the fall of the pear-tree, that had done no wrong,
- and were silent, began thus:--Most manifest it is that 'tis the prime
- duty of a just king to observe the laws that he has made; and, if he do
- not so, he is to be esteemed no king, but a slave that has merited
- punishment, into which fault, and under which condemnation, I, your king,
- must, as of necessity, fall. For, indeed, when yesterday I made the law
- which governs our discourse of to-day, I thought not to-day to avail
- myself of my privilege, but to submit to the law, no less than you, and
- to discourse of the same topic whereof you all have discoursed; but not
- only has the very story been told which I had intended to tell, but
- therewithal so many things else, and so very much goodlier have been
- said, that, search my memory as I may, I cannot mind me of aught, nor wot
- I that touching such a matter there is indeed aught, for me to say, that
- would be comparable with what has been said; wherefore, as infringe I
- must the law that I myself have made, I confess myself worthy of
- punishment, and instantly declaring my readiness to pay any forfeit that
- may be demanded of me, am minded to have recourse to my wonted privilege.
- And such, dearest ladies, is the potency of Elisa's story of the
- godfather and his gossip, and therewith of the simplicity of the Sienese,
- that I am prompted thereby to pass from this topic of the beguilement of
- foolish husbands by their cunning wives to a little story touching these
- same Sienese, which, albeit there is not a little therein which you were
- best not to believe, may yet be in some degree entertaining to hear.
- Know, then, that at Siena there dwelt in Porta Salaia two young men of
- the people, named, the one, Tingoccio Mini, the other Meuccio di Tura,
- who, by what appeared, loved one another not a little, for they were
- scarce ever out of one another's company; and being wont, like other
- folk, to go to church and listen to sermons, they heard from time to time
- of the glory and the woe, which in the other world are allotted,
- according to merit, to the souls of the dead. Of which matters craving,
- but being unable to come by, more certain assurance, they agreed together
- that, whichever of them should die first, should, if he might, return to
- the survivor, and certify him of that which he would fain know; and this
- agreement they confirmed with an oath. Now, after they had made this
- engagement, and while they were still constantly together, Tingoccio
- chanced to become sponsor to one Ambruogio Anselmini, that dwelt in Campo
- Reggi, who had had a son by his wife, Monna Mita. The lady was exceeding
- fair, and amorous withal, and Tingoccio being wont sometimes to visit her
- as his gossip, and to take Meuccio with him, he, notwithstanding his
- sponsorship, grew enamoured of her, as did also Meuccio, for she pleased
- him not a little, and he heard her much commended by Tingoccio. Which
- love each concealed from the other; but not for the same reason.
- Tingoccio was averse to discover it to Meuccio, for that he deemed it an
- ignominious thing to love his gossip, and was ashamed to let any one know
- it. Meuccio was on his guard for a very different reason, to wit, that he
- was already ware that the lady was in Tingoccio's good graces. Wherefore
- he said to himself:--If I avow my love to him, he will be jealous of me,
- and as, being her gossip, he can speak with her as often as he pleases,
- he will do all he can to make her hate me, and so I shall never have any
- favour of her.
- Now, the two young men being thus, as I have said, on terms of most
- familiar friendship, it befell that Tingoccio, being the better able to
- open his heart to the lady, did so order his demeanour and discourse that
- he had from her all that he desired. Nor was his friend's success hidden
- from Meuccio; though, much as it vexed him, yet still cherishing the hope
- of eventually attaining his end, and fearing to give Tingoccio occasion
- to baulk or hamper him in some way, he feigned to know nought of the
- matter. So Tingoccio, more fortunate than his comrade, and rival in love,
- did with such assiduity till his gossip's good land that he got thereby a
- malady, which in the course of some days waxed so grievous that he
- succumbed thereto, and departed this life. And on the night of the third
- day after his decease (perchance because earlier he might not) he made
- his appearance, according to his promise, in Meuccio's chamber, and
- called Meuccio, who was fast asleep, by his name. Whereupon:--"Who art
- thou?" quoth Meuccio, as he awoke. "'Tis I, Tingoccio," replied he, "come
- back, in fulfilment of the pledge I gave thee, to give thee tidings of
- the other world." For a while Meuccio saw him not without terror: then,
- his courage reviving:--"Welcome, my brother," quoth he: and proceeded to
- ask him if he were lost. "Nought is lost but what is irrecoverable,"
- replied Tingoccio: "how then should I be here, if I were lost?" "Nay,"
- quoth then Meuccio; "I mean it not so: I would know of thee, whether thou
- art of the number of the souls that are condemned to the penal fire of
- hell." "Why no," returned Tingoccio, "not just that; but still for the
- sins that I did I am in most sore and grievous torment." Meuccio then
- questioned Tingoccio in detail of the pains there meted out for each of
- the sins done here; and Tingoccio enumerated them all. Whereupon Meuccio
- asked if there were aught he might do for him here on earth. Tingoccio
- answered in the affirmative; to wit, that he might have masses and
- prayers said and alms-deeds done for him, for that such things were of
- great service to the souls there. "That gladly will I," replied Meuccio;
- and then, as Tingoccio was about to take his leave, he bethought him of
- the gossip, and raising his head a little, he said:--"I mind me,
- Tingoccio, of the gossip, with whom thou wast wont to lie when thou wast
- here. Now what is thy punishment for that?" "My brother," returned
- Tingoccio, "as soon as I got down there, I met one that seemed to know
- all my sins by heart, who bade me betake me to a place, where, while in
- direst torment I bewept my sins, I found comrades not a few condemned to
- the same pains; and so, standing there among them, and calling to mind
- what I had done with the gossip, and foreboding in requital thereof a
- much greater torment than had yet been allotted me, albeit I was in a
- great and most vehement flame, I quaked for fear in every part of me.
- Which one that was beside me observing:--'What,' quoth he, 'hast thou
- done more than the rest of us that are here, that thou quakest thus as
- thou standest in the fire?' 'My friend,' quoth I, 'I am in mortal fear of
- the doom that I expect for a great sin that I once committed.' He then
- asked what sin it might be. ''Twas on this wise,' replied I: 'I lay with
- my gossip, and that so much that I died thereof.' Whereat, he did but
- laugh, saying:--'Go to, fool, make thy mind easy; for here there is no
- account taken of gossips.' Which completely revived my drooping spirits."
- 'Twas now near daybreak: wherefore:--"Adieu! Meuccio," quoth his friend:
- "for longer tarry with thee I may not;" and so he vanished. As for
- Meuccio, having learned that no account was taken of gossips in the other
- world, he began to laugh at his own folly in that he had already spared
- divers such; and so, being quit of his ignorance, he in that respect in
- course of time waxed wise. Which matters had Fra Rinaldo but known, he
- would not have needed to go about syllogizing in order to bring his fair
- gossip to pleasure him.
- The sun was westering, and a light breeze blew, when the king, his story
- ended, and none else being left to speak, arose, and taking off the
- crown, set it on Lauretta's head, saying:--"Madam, I crown you with
- yourself(1) queen of our company: 'tis now for you, as our sovereign
- lady, to make such ordinances as you shall deem meet for our common
- solace and delectation;" and having so said, he sat him down again. Queen
- Lauretta sent for the seneschal, and bade him have a care that the tables
- should be set in the pleasant vale somewhat earlier than had been their
- wont, that their return to the palace might be more leisurely; after
- which she gave him to know what else he had to do during her sovereignty.
- Then turning to the company:--"Yesterday," quoth she, "Dioneo would have
- it that to-day we should discourse of the tricks that wives play their
- husbands; and but that I am minded not to shew as of the breed of yelping
- curs, that are ever prompt to retaliate, I would ordain that to-morrow we
- discourse of the tricks that husbands play their wives. However, in lieu
- thereof, I will have every one take thought to tell of those tricks that,
- daily, woman plays man, or man woman, or one man another; wherein, I
- doubt not, there will be matter of discourse no less agreeable than has
- been that of to-day." So saying, she rose and dismissed the company until
- supper-time. So the ladies and the men being risen, some bared their feet
- and betook them to the clear water, there to disport them, while others
- took their pleasure upon the green lawn amid the trees that there grew
- goodly and straight. For no brief while Dioneo and Fiammetta sang in
- concert of Arcite and Palamon. And so, each and all taking their several
- pastimes, they sped the hours with exceeding great delight until
- supper-time. Which being come, they sat them down at table beside the
- little lake, and there, while a thousand songsters charmed their ears,
- and a gentle breeze, that blew from the environing hills, fanned them,
- and never a fly annoyed them, reposefully and joyously they supped. The
- tables removed, they roved a while about the pleasant vale, and then, the
- sun being still high, for 'twas but half vespers, the queen gave the
- word, and they wended their way back to their wonted abode, and going
- slowly, and beguiling the way with quips and quirks without number upon
- divers matters, nor those alone of which they had that day discoursed,
- they arrived, hard upon nightfall, at the goodly palace. There, the short
- walk's fatigue dispelled by wines most cool and comfits, they presently
- gathered for the dance about the fair fountain, and now they footed it to
- the strains of Tindaro's cornemuse, and now to other music. Which done,
- the queen bade Filomena give them a song; and thus Filomena sang:--
- Ah! woe is me, my soul!
- Ah! shall I ever thither fare again
- Whence I was parted to my grievous dole?
- Full sure I know not; but within my breast
- Throbs ever the same fire
- Of yearning there where erst I was to be.
- O thou in whom is all my weal, my rest,
- Lord of my heart's desire,
- Ah! tell me thou! for none to ask save thee
- Neither dare I, nor see.
- Ah! dear my Lord, this wasted heart disdain
- Thou wilt not, but with hope at length console.
- Kindled the flame I know not what delight,
- Which me doth so devour,
- That day and night alike I find no ease;
- For whether it was by hearing, touch, or sight,
- Unwonted was the power,
- And fresh the fire that me each way did seize;
- Wherein without release
- I languish still, and of thee, Lord, am fain,
- For thou alone canst comfort and make whole.
- Ah! tell me if it shall be, and how soon,
- That I again thee meet
- Where those death-dealing eyes I kissed. Thou, chief
- Weal of my soul, my very soul, this boon
- Deny not; say that fleet
- Thou hiest hither: comfort thus my grief.
- Ah! let the time be brief
- Till thou art here, and then long time remain;
- For I, Love-stricken, crave but Love's control.
- Let me but once again mine own thee call,
- No more so indiscreet
- As erst, I'll be, to let thee from me part:
- Nay, I'll still hold thee, let what may befall,
- And of thy mouth so sweet
- Such solace take as may content my heart
- So this be all my art,
- Thee to entice, me with thine arms to enchain:
- Whereon but musing inly chants my soul.
- This song set all the company conjecturing what new and delightsome love
- might now hold Filomena in its sway; and as its words imported that she
- had had more joyance thereof than sight alone might yield, some that were
- there grew envious of her excess of happiness. However, the song being
- ended, the queen, bethinking her that the morrow was Friday, thus
- graciously addressed them all:--"Ye wot, noble ladies, and ye also, my
- gallants, that to-morrow is the day that is sacred to the passion of our
- Lord, which, if ye remember, we kept devoutly when Neifile was queen,
- intermitting delectable discourse, as we did also on the ensuing
- Saturday. Wherefore, being minded to follow Neifile's excellent example,
- I deem that now, as then, 'twere a seemly thing to surcease from this our
- pastime of story-telling for those two days, and compose our minds to
- meditation on what was at that season accomplished for the weal of our
- souls." All the company having approved their queen's devout speech, she,
- as the night was now far spent, dismissed them; and so they all betook
- them to slumber.
- (1) A play upon laurea (laurel wreath) and Lauretta.
- --
- Endeth here the seventh day of the Decameron, beginneth the eighth, in
- which, under the rule of Lauretta, discourse is had of those tricks that,
- daily, woman plays man, or man woman, or one man another.
- --
- The summits of the loftiest mountains were already illumined by the rays
- of the rising sun, the shades of night were fled, and all things plainly
- visible, when the queen and her company arose, and hied them first to the
- dewy mead, where for a while they walked: then, about half tierce, they
- wended their way to a little church that was hard by, where they heard
- Divine service; after which, they returned to the palace, and having
- breakfasted with gay and gladsome cheer, and sung and danced a while,
- were dismissed by the queen, to rest them as to each might seem good. But
- when the sun was past the meridian, the queen mustered them again for
- their wonted pastime; and, all being seated by the fair fountain, thus,
- at her command, Neifile began.
- NOVEL I.
- --
- Gulfardo borrows moneys of Guasparruolo, which he has agreed to give
- Guasparruolo's wife, that he may lie with her. He gives them to her, and
- in her presence tells Guasparruolo that he has done so, and she
- acknowledges that 'tis true.
- --
- Sith God has ordained that 'tis for me to take the lead to-day with my
- story, well pleased am I. And for that, loving ladies, much has been said
- touching the tricks that women play men, I am minded to tell you of one
- that a man played a woman, not because I would censure what the man did,
- or say that 'twas not merited by the woman, but rather to commend the man
- and censure the woman, and to shew that men may beguile those that think
- to beguile them, as well as be beguiled by those they think to beguile;
- for peradventure what I am about to relate should in strictness of speech
- not be termed beguilement, but rather retaliation; for, as it behoves
- woman to be most strictly virtuous, and to guard her chastity as her very
- life, nor on any account to allow herself to sully it, which
- notwithstanding, 'tis not possible by reason of our frailty that there
- should be as perfect an observance of this law as were meet, I affirm,
- that she that allows herself to infringe it for money merits the fire;
- whereas she that so offends under the prepotent stress of Love will
- receive pardon from any judge that knows how to temper justice with
- mercy: witness what but the other day we heard from Filostrato touching
- Madonna Filippa at Prato.(1)
- Know, then, that there was once at Milan a German mercenary, Gulfardo by
- name, a doughty man, and very loyal to those with whom he took service; a
- quality most uncommon in Germans. And as he was wont to be most faithful
- in repaying whatever moneys he borrowed, he would have had no difficulty
- in finding a merchant to advance him any amount of money at a low rate of
- interest. Now, tarrying thus at Milan, Gulfardo fixed his affection on a
- very fine woman, named Madonna Ambruogia, the wife of a wealthy merchant,
- one Guasparruolo Cagastraccio, with whom he was well acquainted and on
- friendly terms: which amour he managed with such discretion that neither
- the husband nor any one else wist aught of it. So one day he sent her a
- message, beseeching her of her courtesy to gratify his passion, and
- assuring her that he on his part was ready to obey her every behest.
- The lady made a great many words about the affair, the upshot of which
- was that she would do as Gulfardo desired upon the following terms: to
- wit, that, in the first place, he should never discover the matter to a
- soul, and, secondly, that, as for some purpose or another she required
- two hundred florins of gold, he out of his abundance should supply her
- necessity; these conditions being satisfied she would be ever at his
- service. Offended by such base sordidness in one whom he had supposed to
- be an honourable woman, Gulfardo passed from ardent love to something
- very like hatred, and cast about how he might flout her. So he sent her
- word that he would right gladly pleasure her in this and in any other
- matter that might be in his power; let her but say when he was to come to
- see her, and he would bring the moneys with him, and none should know of
- the matter except a comrade of his, in whom he placed much trust, and who
- was privy to all that he did. The lady, if she should not rather be
- called the punk, gleefully made answer that in the course of a few days
- her husband, Guasparruolo, was to go to Genoa on business, and that, when
- he was gone, she would let Gulfardo know, and appoint a time for him to
- visit her. Gulfardo thereupon chose a convenient time, and hied him to
- Guasparruolo, to whom:--"I am come," quoth he, "about a little matter of
- business which I have on hand, for which I require two hundred florins of
- gold, and I should be glad if thou wouldst lend them me at the rate of
- interest which thou art wont to charge me." "That gladly will I," replied
- Guasparruolo, and told out the money at once. A few days later
- Guasparruolo being gone to Genoa, as the lady had said, she sent word to
- Gulfardo that he should bring her the two hundred florins of gold. So
- Gulfardo hied him with his comrade to the lady's house, where he found
- her expecting him, and lost no time in handing her the two hundred
- florins of gold in his comrade's presence, saying:--"You will keep the
- money, Madam, and give it to your husband when he returns." Witting not
- why Gulfardo so said, but thinking that 'twas but to conceal from his
- comrade that it was given by way of price, the lady made answer:--"That
- will I gladly; but I must first see whether the amount is right;"
- whereupon she told the florins out upon a table, and when she found that
- the two hundred were there, she put them away in high glee, and turning
- to Gulfardo, took him into her chamber, where, not on that night only but
- on many another night, while her husband was away, he had of her all that
- he craved. On Guasparruolo's return Gulfardo presently paid him a visit,
- having first made sure that the lady would be with him, and so in her
- presence:--"Guasparruolo," quoth he, "I had after all no occasion for the
- money, to wit, the two hundred florins of gold that thou didst lend me
- the other day, being unable to carry through the transaction for which I
- borrowed them, and so I took an early opportunity of bringing them to thy
- wife, and gave them to her: thou wilt therefore cancel the account."
- Whereupon Guasparruolo turned to the lady, and asked her if she had had
- them. She, not daring to deny the fact in presence of the witness,
- answered:--"Why, yes, I had them, and quite forgot to tell thee." "Good,"
- quoth then Guasparruolo, "we are quits, Gulfardo; make thy mind easy; I
- will see that thy account is set right." Gulfardo then withdrew, leaving
- the flouted lady to hand over her ill-gotten gains to her husband; and so
- the astute lover had his pleasure of his greedy mistress for nothing.
- (1) Cf. Sixth Day, Novel VII.
- NOVEL II.
- --
- The priest of Varlungo lies with Monna Belcolore: he leaves with her his
- cloak by way of pledge, and receives from her a mortar. He returns the
- mortar, and demands of her the cloak that he had left in pledge, which
- the good lady returns him with a gibe.
- --
- Ladies and men alike commended Gulfardo for the check that he gave to the
- greed of the Milanese lady; but before they had done, the queen turned to
- Pamfilo, and with a smile bade him follow suit: wherefore thus Pamfilo
- began:--Fair my ladies, it occurs to me to tell you a short story, which
- reflects no credit on those by whom we are continually wronged without
- being able to retaliate, to wit, the priests, who have instituted a
- crusade against our wives, and deem that, when they have made conquest of
- one of them, they have done a work every whit as worthy of recompense by
- remission of sin and punishment as if they had brought the Soldan in
- chains to Avignon: in which respect 'tis not possible for the hapless
- laity to be even with them: howbeit they are as hot to make reprisals on
- the priests' mothers, sisters, mistresses, and daughters as the priests
- to attack their wives. Wherefore I am minded to give you, as I may do in
- few words, the history of a rustic amour, the conclusion whereof was not
- a little laughable, nor barren of moral, for you may also gather
- therefrom, that 'tis not always well to believe everything that a priest
- says.
- I say then, that at Varlungo, a village hard by here, as all of you, my
- ladies, should wot either of your own knowledge or by report, there dwelt
- a worthy priest, and doughty of body in the service of the ladies: who,
- albeit he was none too quick at his book, had no lack of precious and
- blessed solecisms to edify his flock withal of a Sunday under the elm.
- And when the men were out of doors, he would visit their wives as never a
- priest had done before him, bringing them feast-day gowns and holy water,
- and now and again a bit of candle, and giving them his blessing. Now it
- so befell that among those of his fair parishioners whom he most affected
- the first place was at length taken by one Monna Belcolore, the wife of a
- husbandman that called himself Bentivegna del Mazzo. And in good sooth
- she was a winsome and lusty country lass, brown as a berry and buxom
- enough, and fitter than e'er another for his mill. Moreover she had not
- her match in playing the tabret and singing:--The borage is full
- sappy,(1) and in leading a brawl or a breakdown, no matter who might be
- next her, with a fair and dainty kerchief in her hand. Which spells so
- wrought upon Master Priest, that for love of her he grew distracted, and
- did nought all day long but loiter about the village on the chance of
- catching sight of her. And if of a Sunday morning he espied her in
- church, he strove might and main to acquit himself of his Kyrie and
- Sanctus in the style of a great singer, albeit his performance was liker
- to the braying of an ass: whereas, if he saw her not, he scarce exerted
- himself at all. However, he managed with such discretion that neither
- Bentivegna del Mazzo nor any of the neighbours wist aught of his love.
- And hoping thereby to ingratiate himself with Monna Belcolore, he from
- time to time would send her presents, now a clove of fresh garlic, the
- best in all the country-side, from his own garden, which he tilled with
- his own hands, and anon a basket of beans or a bunch of chives or
- shallots; and, when he thought it might serve his turn, he would give her
- a sly glance, and follow it up with a little amorous mocking and mowing,
- which she, with rustic awkwardness, feigned not to understand, and ever
- maintained her reserve, so that Master Priest made no headway.
- Now it so befell that one day, when the priest at high noon was aimlessly
- gadding about the village, he encountered Bentivegna del Mazzo at the
- tail of a well laden ass; and greeted him, asking him whither he was
- going. "I'faith, Sir," quoth Bentivegna, "for sure 'tis to town I go,
- having an affair or two to attend to there; and I am taking these things
- to Ser Buonaccorri da Ginestreto, to get him to stand by me in I wot not
- what matter, whereof the justice o' th' coram has by his provoker served
- me with a pertrumpery summons to appear before him." Whereupon:--"'Tis
- well, my son," quoth the priest, overjoyed, "my blessing go with thee:
- good luck to thee and a speedy return; and harkye, shouldst thou see
- Lapuccio or Naldino, do not forget to tell them to send me those thongs
- for my flails." "It shall be done," quoth Bentivegna, and jogged on
- towards Florence, while the priest, thinking that now was his time to hie
- him to Belcolore and try his fortune, put his best leg forward, and
- stayed not till he was at the house, which entering, he said:--"God be
- gracious to us! Who is within?" Belcolore, who was up in the loft, made
- answer:--"Welcome, Sir; but what dost thou, gadding about in the heat?"
- "Why, as I hope for God's blessing," quoth he, "I am just come to stay
- with thee a while, having met thy husband on his way to town." Whereupon
- down came Belcolore, took a seat, and began sifting cabbage-seed that her
- husband had lately threshed. By and by the priest began:--"So, Belcolore,
- wilt thou keep me ever a dying thus?" Whereat Belcolore tittered, and
- said:--"Why, what is't I do to you?" "Truly, nothing at all," replied the
- priest: "but thou sufferest me not to do to thee that which I had lief,
- and which God commands." "Now away with you!" returned Belcolore, "do
- priests do that sort of thing?" "Indeed we do," quoth the priest, "and to
- better purpose than others: why not? I tell you our grinding is far
- better; and wouldst thou know why? 'tis because 'tis intermittent. And in
- truth 'twill be well worth thy while to keep thine own counsel, and let
- me do it." "Worth my while!" ejaculated Belcolore. "How may that be?
- There is never a one of you but would overreach the very Devil." "'Tis
- not for me to say," returned the priest; "say but what thou wouldst have:
- shall it be a pair of dainty shoes? Or wouldst thou prefer a fillet? Or
- perchance a gay riband? What's thy will?" "Marry, no lack have I," quoth
- Belcolore, "of such things as these. But, if you wish me so well, why do
- me not a service? and I would then be at your command." "Name but the
- service," returned the priest, "and gladly will I do it." Quoth then
- Belcolore:--"On Saturday I have to go to Florence to deliver some wool
- that I have spun, and to get my spinning-wheel put in order: lend me but
- five pounds--I know you have them--and I will redeem my perse petticoat
- from the pawnshop, and also the girdle that I wear on saints' days, and
- that I had when I was married--you see that without them I cannot go to
- church or anywhere else, and then I will do just as you wish thenceforth
- and forever." Whereupon:--"So God give me a good year," quoth he, "as I
- have not the money with me: but never fear that I will see that thou hast
- it before Saturday with all the pleasure in life." "Ay, ay," rejoined
- Belcolore, "you all make great promises, but then you never keep them.
- Think you to serve me as you served Biliuzza, whom you left in the lurch
- at last? God's faith, you do not so. To think that she turned woman of
- the world just for that! If you have not the money with you, why, go and
- get it." "Prithee," returned the priest, "send me not home just now. For,
- seest thou, 'tis the very nick of time with me, and the coast is clear,
- and perchance it might not be so on my return, and in short I know not
- when it would be likely to go so well as now." Whereto she did but
- rejoin:--"Good; if you are minded to go, get you gone; if not, stay where
- you are." The priest, therefore, seeing that she was not disposed to give
- him what he wanted, as he was fain, to wit, on his own terms, but was
- bent upon having a quid pro quo, changed his tone; and:--"Lo, now," quoth
- he, "thou doubtest I will not bring thee the money; so to set thy mind at
- rest, I will leave thee this cloak--thou seest 'tis good sky-blue
- silk--in pledge." So raising her head and glancing at the cloak:--"And
- what may the cloak be worth?" quoth Belcolore. "Worth!" ejaculated the
- priest: "I would have thee know that 'tis all Douai, not to say Trouai,
- make: nay, there are some of our folk here that say 'tis Quadrouai; and
- 'tis not a fortnight since I bought it of Lotto, the secondhand dealer,
- for seven good pounds, and then had it five good soldi under value, by
- what I hear from Buglietto, who, thou knowest, is an excellent judge of
- these articles." "Oh! say you so?" exclaimed Belcolore. "So help me God,
- I should not have thought it; however, let me look at it." So Master
- Priest, being ready for action, doffed the cloak and handed it to her.
- And she, having put it in a safe place, said to him:--"Now, Sir, we will
- away to the hut; there is never a soul goes there;" and so they did. And
- there Master Priest, giving her many a mighty buss and straining her to
- his sacred person, solaced himself with her no little while.
- Which done, he hied him away in his cassock, as if he were come from
- officiating at a wedding; but, when he was back in his holy quarters, he
- bethought him that not all the candles that he received by way of
- offering in the course of an entire year would amount to the half of five
- pounds, and saw that he had made a bad bargain, and repented him that he
- had left the cloak in pledge, and cast about how he might recover it
- without paying anything. And as he did not lack cunning, he hit upon an
- excellent expedient, by which he compassed his end. So on the morrow,
- being a saint's day, he sent a neighbour's lad to Monna Belcolore with a
- request that she would be so good as to lend him her stone mortar, for
- that Binguccio dal Poggio and Nuto Buglietti were to breakfast with him
- that morning, and he therefore wished to make a sauce. Belcolore having
- sent the mortar, the priest, about breakfast time, reckoning that
- Bentivegna del Mazzo and Belcolore would be at their meal, called his
- clerk, and said to him:--"Take the mortar back to Belcolore, and
- say:--'My master thanks you very kindly, and bids you return the cloak
- that the lad left with you in pledge.'" The clerk took the mortar to
- Belcolore's house, where, finding her at table with Bentivegna, he set
- the mortar down and delivered the priest's message. Whereto Belcolore
- would fain have demurred; but Bentivegna gave her a threatening glance,
- saying:--"So, then, thou takest a pledge from Master Priest? By Christ, I
- vow, I have half a mind to give thee a great clout o' the chin. Go, give
- it back at once, a murrain on thee! And look to it that whatever he may
- have a mind to, were it our very ass, he be never denied." So, with a
- very bad grace, Belcolore got up, and went to the wardrobe, and took out
- the cloak, and gave it to the clerk, saying:--"Tell thy master from
- me:--Would to God he may never ply pestle in my mortar again, such honour
- has he done me for this turn!" So the clerk returned with the cloak, and
- delivered the message to Master Priest; who, laughing, made
- answer:--"Tell her, when thou next seest her, that, so she lend us not
- the mortar, I will not lend her the pestle: be it tit for tat."
- Bentivegna made no account of his wife's words, deeming that 'twas but
- his chiding that had provoked them. But Belcolore was not a little
- displeased with Master Priest, and had never a word to say to him till
- the vintage; after which, what with the salutary fear in which she stood
- of the mouth of Lucifer the Great, to which he threatened to consign her,
- and the must and roast chestnuts that he sent her, she made it up with
- him, and many a jolly time they had together. And though she got not the
- five pounds from him, he put a new skin on her tabret, and fitted it with
- a little bell, wherewith she was satisfied.
- (1) For this folk-song see Cantilene e Ballate, Strambotti e Madrigali,
- ed. Carducci (1871), p. 60. The fragment there printed maybe freely
- rendered as follows:--
- The borage is full sappy,
- And clusters red we see,
- And my love would make me happy;
- So that maiden give to me.
- Ill set I find this dance,
- And better might it be:
- So, comrade mine, advance,
- And, changing place with me,
- Stand thou thy love beside.
- NOVEL III.
- --
- Calandrino, Bruno and Buffalmacco go in quest of the heliotrope beside
- the Mugnone. Thinking to have found it, Calandrino gets him home laden
- with stones. His wife chides him: whereat he waxes wroth, beats her, and
- tells his comrades what they know better than he.
- --
- Ended Pamfilo's story, which moved the ladies to inextinguishable
- laughter, the queen bade Elisa follow suit: whereupon, laughing, she thus
- began:--I know not, debonair my ladies, whether with my little story,
- which is no less true than entertaining, I shall give you occasion to
- laugh as much as Pamfilo has done with his, but I will do my best.
- In our city, where there has never been lack of odd humours and queer
- folk, there dwelt, no long time ago, a painter named Calandrino, a simple
- soul, of uncouth manners, that spent most of his time with two other
- painters, the one Bruno, the other Buffalmacco, by name, pleasant fellows
- enough, but not without their full share of sound and shrewd sense, and
- who kept with Calandrino for that they not seldom found his singular ways
- and his simplicity very diverting. There was also at the same time at
- Florence one Maso del Saggio, a fellow marvellously entertaining by his
- cleverness, dexterity and unfailing resource; who having heard somewhat
- touching Calandrino's simplicity, resolved to make fun of him by playing
- him a trick, and inducing him to believe some prodigy. And happening one
- day to come upon Calandrino in the church of San Giovanni, where he sate
- intently regarding the paintings and intaglios of the tabernacle above
- the altar, which had then but lately been set there, he deemed time and
- place convenient for the execution of his design; which he accordingly
- imparted to one of his comrades: whereupon the two men drew nigh the
- place where Calandrino sate alone, and feigning not to see him fell a
- talking of the virtues of divers stones, of which Maso spoke as aptly and
- pertinently as if he had been a great and learned lapidary. Calandrino
- heard what passed between them, and witting that 'twas no secret, after a
- while got up, and joined them, to Maso's no small delight. He therefore
- continued his discourse, and being asked by Calandrino, where these
- stones of such rare virtues were to be found, made answer:--"Chiefly in
- Berlinzone, in the land of the Basques. The district is called Bengodi,
- and there they bind the vines with sausages, and a denier will buy a
- goose and a gosling into the bargain; and on a mountain, all of grated
- Parmesan cheese, dwell folk that do nought else but make macaroni and
- raviuoli,(1) and boil them in capon's broth, and then throw them down to
- be scrambled for; and hard by flows a rivulet of Vernaccia, the best that
- ever was drunk, and never a drop of water therein." "Ah! 'tis a sweet
- country!" quoth Calandrino; "but tell me, what becomes of the capons that
- they boil?" "They are all eaten by the Basques," replied Maso.
- Then:--"Wast thou ever there?" quoth Calandrino. Whereupon:--"Was I ever
- there, sayst thou?" replied Maso. "Why, if I have been there once, I have
- been there a thousand times." "And how many miles is't from here?" quoth
- Calandrino. "Oh!" returned Maso, "more than thou couldst number in a
- night without slumber." "Farther off, then, than the Abruzzi?" said
- Calandrino. "Why, yes, 'tis a bit farther," replied Maso.
- Now Calandrino, like the simple soul that he was, marking the composed
- and grave countenance with which Maso spoke, could not have believed him
- more thoroughly, if he had uttered the most patent truth, and thus taking
- his words for gospel:--"'Tis a trifle too far for my purse," quoth he;
- "were it nigher, I warrant thee, I would go with thee thither one while,
- just to see the macaroni come tumbling down, and take my fill thereof.
- But tell me, so good luck befall thee, are none of these stones, that
- have these rare virtues, to be found in these regions?" "Ay," replied
- Maso, "two sorts of stone are found there, both of virtues extraordinary.
- The one sort are the sandstones of Settignano and Montisci, which being
- made into millstones, by virtue thereof flour is made; wherefore 'tis a
- common saying in those countries that blessings come from God and
- millstones from Montisci: but, for that these sandstones are in great
- plenty, they are held cheap by us, just as by them are emeralds, whereof
- they have mountains, bigger than Monte Morello, that shine at midnight, a
- God's name! And know this, that whoso should make a goodly pair of
- millstones, and connect them with a ring before ever a hole was drilled
- in them, and take them to the Soldan, should get all he would have
- thereby. The other sort of stone is the heliotrope, as we lapidaries call
- it, a stone of very great virtue, inasmuch as whoso carries it on his
- person is seen, so long as he keep it, by never another soul, where he is
- not." "These be virtues great indeed," quoth Calandrino; "but where is
- this second stone to be found?" Whereto Maso made answer that there were
- usually some to be found in the Mugnone. "And what are its size and
- colour?" quoth Calandrino. "The size varies," replied Maso, "for some are
- bigger and some smaller than others; but all are of the same colour,
- being nearly black." All these matters duly marked and fixed in his
- memory, Calandrino made as if he had other things to attend to, and took
- his leave of Maso with the intention of going in quest of the stone, but
- not until he had let his especial friends, Bruno and Buffalmacco, know of
- his project. So, that no time might be lost, but, postponing everything
- else, they might begin the quest at once, he set about looking for them,
- and spent the whole morning in the search. At length, when 'twas already
- past none, he called to mind that they would be at work in the Faentine
- women's convent, and though 'twas excessively hot, he let nothing stand
- in his way, but at a pace that was more like a run than a walk, hied him
- thither; and so soon as he had made them ware of his presence, thus he
- spoke:--"Comrades, so you are but minded to hearken to me, 'tis in our
- power to become the richest men in Florence; for I am informed by one
- that may be trusted that there is a kind of stone in the Mugnone which
- renders whoso carries it invisible to every other soul in the world.
- Wherefore, methinks, we were wise to let none have the start of us, but
- go search for this stone without any delay. We shall find it without a
- doubt, for I know what 'tis like, and when we have found it, we have but
- to put it in the purse, and get us to the moneychangers, whose counters,
- as you know, are always laden with groats and florins, and help ourselves
- to as many as we have a mind to. No one will see us, and so, hey presto!
- we shall be rich folk in the twinkling of an eye, and have no more need
- to go besmearing the walls all day long like so many snails." Whereat
- Bruno and Buffalmacco began only to laugh, and exchanging glances, made
- as if they marvelled exceedingly, and expressed approval of Calandrino's
- project. Then Buffalmacco asked, what might be the name of the stone.
- Calandrino, like the numskull that he was, had already forgotten the
- name: so he made answer:--"Why need we concern ourselves with the name,
- since we know the stone's virtue? methinks, we were best to go look for
- it, and waste no more time." "Well, well," said Bruno, "but what are the
- size and shape of the stone?" "They are of all sizes and shapes," said
- Calandrino, "but they are all pretty nearly black; wherefore, methinks,
- we were best to collect all the black stones that we see until we hit
- upon it: and so, let us be off, and lose no more time." "Nay, but," said
- Bruno, "wait a bit." And turning to Buffalmacco:--"Methinks," quoth he,
- "that Calandrino says well: but I doubt this is not the time for such
- work, seeing that the sun is high, and his rays so flood the Mugnone as
- to dry all the stones; insomuch that stones will now shew as white that
- in the morning, before the sun had dried them, would shew as black:
- besides which, to-day being a working-day, there will be for one cause or
- another folk not a few about the Mugnone, who, seeing us, might guess
- what we were come for, and peradventure do the like themselves; whereby
- it might well be that they found the stone, and we might miss the trot by
- trying after the amble. Wherefore, so you agree, methinks we were best to
- go about it in the morning, when we shall be better able to distinguish
- the black stones from the white, and on a holiday, when there will be
- none to see us."
- Buffalmacco's advice being approved by Bruno, Calandrino chimed in; and
- so 'twas arranged that they should all three go in quest of the stone on
- the following Sunday. So Calandrino, having besought his companions above
- all things to let never a soul in the world hear aught of the matter, for
- that it had been imparted to him in strict confidence, and having told
- them what he had heard touching the land of Bengodi, the truth of which
- he affirmed with oaths, took leave of them; and they concerted their
- plan, while Calandrino impatiently expected the Sunday morning. Whereon,
- about dawn, he arose, and called them; and forth they issued by the Porta
- a San Gallo, and hied them to the Mugnone, and following its course,
- began their quest of the stone, Calandrino, as was natural, leading the
- way, and jumping lightly from rock to rock, and wherever he espied a
- black stone, stooping down, picking it up and putting it in the fold of
- his tunic, while his comrades followed, picking up a stone here and a
- stone there. Thus it was that Calandrino had not gone far, before,
- finding that there was no more room in his tunic, he lifted the skirts of
- his gown, which was not cut after the fashion of Hainault, and gathering
- them under his leathern girdle and making them fast on every side, thus
- furnished himself with a fresh and capacious lap, which, however, taking
- no long time to fill, he made another lap out of his cloak, which in like
- manner he soon filled with stones. Wherefore, Bruno and Buffalmacco
- seeing that Calandrino was well laden, and that 'twas nigh upon
- breakfast-time, and the moment for action come:--"Where is Calandrino?"
- quoth Bruno to Buffalmacco. Whereto Buffalmacco, who had Calandrino full
- in view, having first turned about and looked here, there and everywhere,
- made answer:--"That wot not I; but not so long ago he was just in front
- of us." "Not so long ago, forsooth," returned Bruno; "'tis my firm belief
- that at this very moment he is at breakfast at home, having left to us
- this wild-goose chase of black stones in the Mugnone." "Marry," quoth
- Buffalmacco, "he did but serve us right so to trick us and leave, seeing
- that we were so silly as to believe him. Why, who could have thought that
- any but we would have been so foolish as to believe that a stone of such
- rare virtue was to be found in the Mugnone?" Calandrino, hearing their
- colloquy, forthwith imagined that he had the stone in his hand, and by
- its virtue, though present, was invisible to them; and overjoyed by such
- good fortune, would not say a word to undeceive them, but determined to
- hie him home, and accordingly faced about, and put himself in motion.
- Whereupon:--"Ay!" quoth Buffalmacco to Bruno, "what are we about that we
- go not back too?" "Go we then," said Bruno; "but by God I swear that
- Calandrino shall never play me another such trick; and as to this, were I
- nigh him, as I have been all the morning, I would teach him to remember
- it for a month or so, such a reminder would I give him in the heel with
- this stone." And even as he spoke he threw back his arm, and launched the
- stone against Calandrino's heel. Galled by the blow, Calandrino gave a
- great hop and a slight gasp, but said nothing, and halted not. Then,
- picking out one of the stones that he had collected:--"Bruno," quoth
- Buffalmacco, "see what a goodly stone I have here, would it might but
- catch Calandrino in the back;" and forthwith he discharged it with main
- force upon the said back. And in short, suiting action to word, now in
- this way, now in that, they stoned him all the way up the Mugnone as far
- as the Porta a San Gallo. There they threw away the stones they had
- picked up, and tarried a while with the customs' officers, who, being
- primed by them, had let Calandrino pass unchallenged, while their
- laughter knew no bounds.
- So Calandrino, halting nowhere, betook him to his house, which was hard
- by the corner of the Macina. And so well did Fortune prosper the trick,
- that all the way by the stream and across the city there was never a soul
- that said a word to Calandrino, and indeed he encountered but few, for
- most folk were at breakfast. But no sooner was Calandrino thus gotten
- home with his stones, than it so happened that his good lady, Monna
- Tessa, shewed her fair face at the stair's head, and catching sight of
- him, and being somewhat annoyed by his long delay, chid him,
- saying:--"What the Devil brings thee here so late? Must breakfast wait
- thee until all other folk have had it?" Calandrino caught the words, and
- angered and mortified to find that he was not invisible, broke out
- with:--"Alas! curst woman! so 'twas thou! Thou hast undone me: but, God's
- faith, I will pay thee out." Whereupon he was upstairs in a trice, and
- having discharged his great load of stones in a parlour, rushed with fell
- intent upon his wife, and laid hold of her by the hair, and threw her
- down at his feet, and beat and kicked her in every part of her person
- with all the force he had in his arms and legs, insomuch that he left
- never a hair of her head or bone of her body unscathed, and 'twas all in
- vain that she laid her palms together and crossed her fingers and cried
- for mercy.
- Now Buffalmacco and Bruno, after making merry a while with the warders of
- the gate, had set off again at a leisurely pace, keeping some distance
- behind Calandrino. Arrived at his door, they heard the noise of the sound
- thrashing that he was giving his wife; and making as if they were but
- that very instant come upon the scene, they called him. Calandrino,
- flushed, all of a sweat, and out of breath, shewed himself at the window,
- and bade them come up. They, putting on a somewhat angry air, did so; and
- espied Calandrino sitting in the parlour, amid the stones which lay all
- about, untrussed, and puffing with the air of a man spent with exertion,
- while his lady lay in one of the corners, weeping bitterly, her hair all
- dishevelled, her clothes torn to shreds, and her face livid, bruised and
- battered. So after surveying the room a while:--"What means this,
- Calandrino?" quoth they. "Art thou minded to build thee a wall, that we
- see so many stones about?" And then, as they received no answer, they
- continued:--"And how's this? How comes Monna Tessa in this plight?
- 'Twould seem thou hast given her a beating! What unheard-of doings are
- these?" What with the weight of the stones that he had carried, and the
- fury with which he had beaten his wife, and the mortification that he
- felt at the miscarriage of his enterprise, Calandrino was too spent to
- utter a word by way of reply. Wherefore in a menacing tone Buffalmacco
- began again:--"However out of sorts thou mayst have been, Calandrino,
- thou shouldst not have played us so scurvy a trick as thou hast. To take
- us with thee to the Mugnone in quest of this stone of rare virtue, and
- then, without so much as saying either God-speed or Devil-speed, to be
- off, and leave us there like a couple of gowks! We take it not a little
- unkindly: and rest assured that thou shalt never so fool us again."
- Whereto with an effort Calandrino replied:--"Comrades, be not wroth with
- me: 'tis not as you think. I, luckless wight! found the stone: listen,
- and you will no longer doubt that I say sooth. When you began saying one
- to the other:--'Where is Calandrino?' I was within ten paces of you, and
- marking that you came by without seeing me, I went before, and so,
- keeping ever a little ahead of you, I came hither." And then he told them
- the whole story of what they had said and done from beginning to end, and
- shewed them his back and heel, how they had been mauled by the stones;
- after which:--"And I tell you," he went on, "that, laden though I was
- with all these stones, that you see here, never a word was said to me by
- the warders of the gate as I passed in, though you know how vexatious and
- grievous these warders are wont to make themselves in their determination
- to see everything: and moreover I met by the way several of my gossips
- and friends that are ever wont to greet me, and ask me to drink, and
- never a word said any of them to me, no, nor half a word either; but they
- passed me by as men that saw me not. But at last, being come home, I was
- met and seen by this devil of a woman, curses upon her, forasmuch as all
- things, as you know, lose their virtue in the presence of a woman;
- whereby I from being the most lucky am become the most luckless man in
- Florence: and therefore I thrashed her as long as I could stir a hand,
- nor know I wherefore I forbear to sluice her veins for her, cursed be the
- hour that first I saw her, cursed be the hour that I brought her into the
- house!" And so, kindling with fresh wrath, he was about to start up and
- give her another thrashing; when Buffalmacco and Bruno, who had listened
- to his story with an air of great surprise, and affirmed its truth again
- and again, while they all but burst with suppressed laughter, seeing him
- now frantic to renew his assault upon his wife, got up and withstood and
- held him back, averring that the lady was in no wise to blame for what
- had happened, but only he, who, witting that things lost their virtue in
- the presence of women, had not bidden her keep aloof from him that day;
- which precaution God had not suffered him to take, either because the
- luck was not to be his, or because he was minded to cheat his comrades,
- to whom he should have shewn the stone as soon as he found it. And so,
- with many words they hardly prevailed upon him to forgive his injured
- wife, and leaving him to rue the ill-luck that had filled his house with
- stones, went their way.
- (1) A sort of rissole.
- NOVEL IV.
- --
- The rector of Fiesole loves a widow lady, by whom he is not loved, and
- thinking to lie with her, lies with her maid, with whom the lady's
- brothers cause him to be found by his Bishop.
- --
- Elisa being come to the end of her story, which in the telling had
- yielded no small delight to all the company, the queen, turning to
- Emilia, signified her will, that her story should ensue at once upon that
- of Elisa. And thus with alacrity Emilia began:--Noble ladies, how we are
- teased and tormented by these priests and friars, and indeed by clergy of
- all sorts, I mind me to have been set forth in more than one of the
- stories that have been told; but as 'twere not possible to say so much
- thereof but that more would yet remain to say, I purpose to supplement
- them with the story of a rector, who, in defiance of all the world, was
- bent upon having the favour of a gentlewoman, whether she would or no.
- Which gentlewoman, being discreet above a little, treated him as he
- deserved.
- Fiesole, whose hill is here within sight, is, as each of you knows, a
- city of immense antiquity, and was aforetime great, though now 'tis
- fallen into complete decay; which notwithstanding, it always was, and
- still is the see of a bishop. Now there was once a gentlewoman, Monna
- Piccarda by name, a widow, that had an estate at Fiesole, hard by the
- cathedral, on which, for that she was not in the easiest circumstances,
- she lived most part of the year, and with her her two brothers, very
- worthy and courteous young men, both of them. And the lady being wont
- frequently to resort to the cathedral, and being still quite young and
- fair and debonair withal, it so befell that the rector grew in the last
- degree enamoured of her, and waxed at length so bold, that he himself
- avowed his passion to the lady, praying her to entertain his love, and
- requite it in like measure. The rector was advanced in years, but
- otherwise the veriest springald, being bold and of a high spirit, of a
- boundless conceit of himself, and of mien and manners most affected and
- in the worst taste, and withal so tiresome and insufferable that he was
- on bad terms with everybody, and, if with one person more than another,
- with this lady, who not only cared not a jot for him, but had liefer have
- had a headache than his company. Wherefore the lady discreetly made
- answer:--"I may well prize your love, Sir, and love you I should and will
- right gladly; but such love as yours and mine may never admit of aught
- that is not honourable. You are my spiritual father and a priest, and now
- verging towards old age, circumstances which should ensure your honour
- and chastity; and I, on my part, am no longer a girl, such as these love
- affairs might beseem, but a widow, and well you wot how it behoves widows
- to be chaste. Wherefore I pray you to have me excused; for, after the
- sort you crave, you shall never have my love, nor would I in such sort be
- loved by you." With this answer the rector was for the nonce fain to be
- content; but he was not the man to be dismayed and routed by a first
- repulse; and with his wonted temerity and effrontery he plied her again
- and again with letters and ambassages, and also by word of mouth, when he
- espied her entering the church. Wherefore the lady finding this
- persecution more grievous and harassing than she could well bear, cast
- about how she might be quit thereof in such fashion as he deserved,
- seeing that he left her no choice; howbeit she would do nought in the
- matter until she had conferred with her brothers. She therefore told them
- how the rector pursued her, and how she meant to foil him; and, with
- their full concurrence, some few days afterwards she went, as she was
- wont, to church. The rector no sooner saw her, than he approached and
- accosted her, as he was wont, in a tone of easy familiarity. The lady
- greeted him, as he came up, with a glance of gladsome recognition; and
- when he had treated her to not a little of his wonted eloquence, she drew
- him aside, and heaving a great sigh, said:--"I have oftentimes heard it
- said, Sir, that there is no castle so strong, but that, if the siege be
- continued day by day, it will sooner or later be taken; which I now
- plainly perceive is my own case. For so fairly have you hemmed me in with
- this, that, and the other pretty speech or the like blandishments, that
- you have constrained me to make nought of my former resolve, and, seeing
- that I find such favour with you, to surrender myself unto you." Whereto,
- overjoyed, the rector made answer:--"Madam, I am greatly honoured; and,
- sooth to say, I marvelled not a little how you should hold out so long,
- seeing that I have never had the like experience with any other woman,
- insomuch that I have at times said:--'Were women of silver, they would
- not be worth a denier, for there is none but would give under the
- hammer!' But no more of this: when and where may we come together?"
- "Sweet my lord," replied the lady, "for the when, 'tis just as we may
- think best, for I have no husband to whom to render account of my nights,
- but the where passes my wit to conjecture." "How so?" quoth the rector.
- "Why not in your own house?" "Sir," replied the lady, "you know that I
- have two brothers, both young men, who day and night bring their comrades
- into the house, which is none too large: for which reason it might not be
- done there, unless we were minded to make ourselves, as it were, dumb and
- blind, uttering never a word, not so much as a monosyllable, and abiding
- in the dark: in such sort indeed it might be, because they do not intrude
- upon my chamber; but theirs is so near to mine that the very least
- whisper could not but be heard." "Nay but, Madam," returned the rector,
- "let not this stand in our way for a night or two, until I may bethink me
- where else we might be more at our ease." "Be that as you will, Sir,"
- quoth the lady, "I do but entreat that the affair be kept close, so that
- never a word of it get wind." "Have no fear on that score, Madam,"
- replied the priest; "and if so it may be, let us forgather to-night."
- "With pleasure," returned the lady; and having appointed him how and when
- to come, she left him and went home.
- Now the lady had a maid, that was none too young, and had a countenance
- the ugliest and most misshapen that ever was seen; for indeed she was
- flat-nosed, wry-mouthed, and thick-lipped, with huge, ill-set teeth, eyes
- that squinted and were ever bleared, and a complexion betwixt green and
- yellow, that shewed as if she had spent the summer not at Fiesole but at
- Sinigaglia: besides which she was hip-shot and somewhat halting on the
- right side. Her name was Ciuta, but, for that she was such a scurvy bitch
- to look upon, she was called by all folk Ciutazza.(1) And being thus
- misshapen of body, she was also not without her share of guile. So the
- lady called her and said:--"Ciutazza, so thou wilt do me a service
- to-night, I will give thee a fine new shift." At the mention of the shift
- Ciutazza made answer:--"So you give me a shift, Madam, I will throw
- myself into the very fire." "Good," said the lady; "then I would have
- thee lie to-night in my bed with a man, whom thou wilt caress; but look
- thou say never a word, that my brothers, who, as thou knowest, sleep in
- the next room, hear thee not; and afterwards I will give thee the shift."
- "Sleep with a man!" quoth Ciutazza: "why, if need be, I will sleep with
- six." So in the evening Master Rector came, as he had been bidden; and
- the two young men, as the lady had arranged, being in their room, and
- making themselves very audible, he stole noiselessly, and in the dark,
- into the lady's room, and got him on to the bed, which Ciutazza, well
- advised by the lady how to behave, mounted from the other side. Whereupon
- Master Rector, thinking to have the lady by his side, took Ciutazza in
- his arms, and fell a kissing her, saying never a word the while, and
- Ciutazza did the like; and so he enjoyed her, plucking the boon which he
- had so long desired.
- The rector and Ciutazza thus closeted, the lady charged her brothers to
- execute the rest of her plan. They accordingly stole quietly out of their
- room, and hied them to the piazza, where Fortune proved propitious beyond
- what they had craved of her; for, it being a very hot night, the bishop
- had been seeking them, purposing to go home with them, and solace himself
- with their society, and quench his thirst. With which desire he
- acquainted them, as soon as he espied them coming into the piazza; and so
- they escorted him to their house, and there in the cool of their little
- courtyard, which was bright with many a lamp, he took, to his no small
- comfort, a draught of their good wine. Which done:--"Sir," said the young
- men, "since of your great courtesy you have deigned to visit our poor
- house, to which we were but now about to invite you, we should be
- gratified if you would be pleased to give a look at somewhat, a mere
- trifle though it be, which we have here to shew you." The bishop replied
- that he would do so with pleasure. Whereupon one of the young men took a
- lighted torch and led the way, the bishop and the rest following, to the
- chamber where Master Rector lay with Ciutazza.
- Now the rector, being in hot haste, had ridden hard, insomuch that he was
- already gotten above three miles on his way when they arrived; and so,
- being somewhat tired, he was resting, but, hot though the night was, he
- still held Ciutazza in his arms. In which posture he was shewn to the
- bishop, when, preceded by the young man bearing the light, and followed
- by the others, he entered the chamber. And being roused, and observing
- the light and the folk that stood about him, Master Rector was mighty
- ashamed and affrighted, and popped his head under the clothes. But the
- bishop, reprimanding him severely, constrained him to thrust his head out
- again, and take a view of his bed-fellow. Thus made aware of the trick
- which the lady had played him, the rector was now, both on that score and
- by reason of his signal disgrace, the saddest man that ever was; and his
- discomfiture was complete, when, having donned his clothes, he was
- committed by the bishop's command to close custody and sent to prison,
- there to expiate his offence by a rigorous penance.
- The bishop was then fain to know how it had come about that he had
- forgathered there with Ciutazza. Whereupon the young men related the
- whole story; which ended, the bishop commended both the lady and the
- young men not a little, for that they had taken condign vengeance upon
- him without imbruing their hands in the blood of a priest. The bishop
- caused him to bewail his transgression forty days; but what with his
- love, and the scornful requital which it had received, he bewailed it
- more than forty and nine days, not to mention that for a great while he
- could not shew himself in the street but the boys would point the finger
- at him and say:--"There goes he that lay with Ciutazza." Which was such
- an affliction to him that he was like to go mad. On this wise the worthy
- lady rid herself of the rector's vexatious importunity, and Ciutazza had
- a jolly night and earned her shift.
- (1) An augmentative form, with a suggestion of cagnazza, bitch-like.
- NOVEL V.
- --
- Three young men pull down the breeches of a judge from the Marches, while
- he is administering justice on the bench.
- --
- So ended Emilia her story; and when all had commended the widow
- lady:--"'Tis now thy turn to speak," quoth the queen, fixing her gaze
- upon Filostrato, who answered that he was ready, and forthwith thus
- began:--Sweet my ladies, by what I remember of that young man, to wit,
- Maso del Saggio, whom Elisa named a while ago, I am prompted to lay aside
- a story that I had meant to tell you, and to tell you another, touching
- him and some of his comrades, which, notwithstanding there are in it
- certain words (albeit 'tis not unseemly) which your modesty forbears to
- use, is yet so laughable that I shall relate it.
- As you all may well have heard, there come not seldom to our city
- magistrates from the Marches, who for the most part are men of a mean
- spirit, and in circumstances so reduced and beggarly, that their whole
- life seems to be but a petty-foggery; and by reason of this their inbred
- sordidness and avarice they bring with them judges and notaries that have
- rather the air of men taken from the plough or the last than trained in
- the schools of law.(1) Now one of these Marchers, being come hither as
- Podesta, brought with him judges not a few, and among them one that
- called himself Messer Niccola da San Lepidio, and looked liker to a
- locksmith than aught else. However, this fellow was assigned with the
- rest of the judges to hear criminal causes. And as folk will often go to
- the court, though they have no concern whatever there, it so befell that
- Maso del Saggio went thither one morning in quest of one of his friends,
- and there chancing to set eyes on this Messer Niccola, where he sate,
- deemed him a fowl of no common feather, and surveyed him from head to
- foot, observing that the vair which he wore on his head was all begrimed,
- that he carried an ink-horn at his girdle, that his gown was longer than
- his robe, and many another detail quite foreign to the appearance of a
- man of birth and breeding, of which that which he deemed most notable was
- a pair of breeches, which, as he saw (for the judge's outer garments
- being none too ample were open in front, as he sate), reached half-way
- down his legs. By which sight his mind was presently diverted from the
- friend whom he came there to seek; and forth he hied him in quest of
- other two of his comrades, the one Ribi, the other Matteuzzo by name,
- fellows both of them not a whit less jolly than Maso himself; and having
- found them, he said to them:--"An you love me, come with me to the court,
- and I will shew you the queerest scarecrow that ever you saw." So the two
- men hied them with him to the court; and there he pointed out to them the
- judge and his breeches. What they saw from a distance served to set them
- laughing: then drawing nearer to the dais on which Master Judge was
- seated, they observed that 'twas easy enough to get under the dais, and
- moreover that the plank, on which the judge's feet rested, was broken, so
- that there was plenty of room for the passage of a hand and arm.
- Whereupon quoth Maso to his comrades:--"'Twere a very easy matter to pull
- these breeches right down: wherefore I propose that we do so." Each of
- the men had marked how it might be done; and so, having concerted both
- what they should do and what they should say, they came to the court
- again next morning; and, the court being crowded, Matteuzzo, observed by
- never a soul, slipped beneath the dais, and posted himself right under
- the spot where the judge's feet rested, while the other two men took
- their stand on either side of the judge, each laying hold of the hem of
- his robe. Then:--"Sir, sir, I pray you for God's sake," began Maso,
- "that, before the pilfering rascal that is there beside you can make off,
- you constrain him to give me back a pair of jack boots that he has stolen
- from me, which theft he still denies, though 'tis not a month since I saw
- him getting them resoled." Meanwhile Ribi, at the top of his voice,
- shouted:--"Believe him not, Sir, the scurvy knave! 'Tis but that he knows
- that I am come to demand restitution of a valise that he has stolen from
- me that he now for the first time trumps up this story about a pair of
- jack boots that I have had in my house down to the last day or two; and
- if you doubt what I say, I can bring as witness Trecca, my neighbour, and
- Grassa, the tripe-woman, and one that goes about gathering the sweepings
- of Santa Maria a Verzaia, who saw him when he was on his way back from
- the farm." But shout as he might, Maso was still even with him, nor for
- all that did Ribi bate a jot of his clamour. And while the judge stood,
- bending now towards the one, now towards the other, the better to hear
- them, Matteuzzo seized his opportunity, and thrusting his hand through
- the hole in the plank caught hold of the judge's breeches, and tugged at
- them amain. Whereby down they came straightway, for the judge was a lean
- man, and shrunk in the buttocks. The judge, being aware of the accident,
- but knowing not how it had come about, would have gathered his outer
- garments together in front, so as to cover the defect, but Maso on the
- one side, and Ribi on the other, held him fast, shouting amain and in
- chorus:--"You do me a grievous wrong, Sir, thus to deny me justice, nay,
- even a hearing, and to think of quitting the court: there needs no writ
- in this city for such a trifling matter as this." And thus they held him
- by the clothes and in parley, until all that were in the court perceived
- that he had lost his breeches. However, after a while, Matteuzzo dropped
- the breeches, and slipped off, and out of the court, without being
- observed, and Ribi, deeming that the joke had gone far enough,
- exclaimed:--"By God, I vow, I will appeal to the Syndics;" while Maso, on
- the other side, let go the robe, saying:--"Nay, but for my part, I will
- come here again and again and again, until I find you less embarrassed
- than you seem to be to-day." And so the one this way, the other that way,
- they made off with all speed. Whereupon Master Judge, disbreeched before
- all the world, was as one that awakens from sleep, albeit he was ware of
- his forlorn condition, and asked whither the parties in the case touching
- the jack boots and the valise were gone. However, as they were not to be
- found, he fell a swearing by the bowels of God, that 'twas meet and
- proper that he should know and wit, whether 'twas the custom at Florence
- to disbreech judges sitting in the seat of justice.
- When the affair reached the ears of the Podesta, he made no little stir
- about it; but, being informed by some of his friends, that 'twould not
- have happened, but that the Florentines were minded to shew him, that, in
- place of the judges he should have brought with him, he had brought but
- gowks, to save expense, he deemed it best to say no more about it, and so
- for that while the matter went no further.
- (1) It was owing to their internal dissensions that the Florentines were
- from time to time fain to introduce these stranger Podestas.
- NOVEL VI.
- --
- Bruno and Buffalmacco steal a pig from Calandrino, and induce him to
- essay its recovery by means of pills of ginger and vernaccia. Of the said
- pills they give him two, one after the other, made of dog-ginger
- compounded with aloes; and it then appearing as if he had had the pig
- himself, they constrain him to buy them off, if he would not have them
- tell his wife.
- --
- Filostrato's story, which elicited not a little laughter, was no sooner
- ended, than the queen bade Filomena follow suit. Wherefore thus Filomena
- began:--As, gracious ladies, 'twas the name of Maso del Saggio that
- prompted Filostrato to tell the story that you have but now heard, even
- so 'tis with me in regard of Calandrino and his comrades, of whom I am
- minded to tell you another story, which you will, I think, find
- entertaining. Who Calandrino, Bruno and Buffalmacco were, I need not
- explain; you know them well enough from the former story; and therefore I
- will tarry no longer than to say that Calandrino had a little estate not
- far from Florence, which his wife had brought him by way of dowry, and
- which yielded them yearly, among other matters, a pig; and 'twas his
- custom every year in the month of December to resort to the farm with his
- wife, there to see to the killing and salting of the said pig. Now, one
- of these years it so happened that his wife being unwell, Calandrino went
- thither alone to kill the pig. And Bruno and Buffalmacco learning that he
- was gone to the farm, and that his wife was not with him, betook them to
- the house of a priest that was their especial friend and a neighbour of
- Calandrino, there to tarry a while. Upon their arrival Calandrino, who
- had that very morning killed the pig, met them with the priest, and
- accosted them, saying:--"A hearty welcome to you. I should like you to
- see what an excellent manager I am;" and so he took them into his house,
- and shewed them the pig. They observed that 'twas a very fine pig; and
- learned from Calandrino that he was minded to salt it for household
- consumption. "Then thou art but a fool," quoth Bruno. "Sell it, man, and
- let us have a jolly time with the money; and tell thy wife that 'twas
- stolen." "Not I," replied Calandrino: "she would never believe me, and
- would drive me out of the house. Urge me no further, for I will never do
- it." The others said a great deal more, but to no purpose; and Calandrino
- bade them to supper, but so coldly that they declined, and left him.
- Presently:--"Should we not steal this pig from him to-night?" quoth Bruno
- to Buffalmacco. "Could we so?" returned Buffalmacco. "How?" "Why, as to
- that," rejoined Bruno, "I have already marked how it may be done, if he
- bestow not the pig elsewhere." "So be it, then," said Buffalmacco: "we
- will steal it; and then, perchance, our good host, Master Priest, will
- join us in doing honour to such good cheer?" "That right gladly will I,"
- quoth the priest. Whereupon:--"Some address, though," quoth Bruno, "will
- be needful: thou knowest, Buffalmacco, what a niggardly fellow Calandrino
- is, and how greedily he drinks at other folk's expense. Go we, therefore,
- and take him to the tavern, and there let the priest make as if, to do us
- honour, he would pay the whole score, and suffer Calandrino to pay never
- a soldo, and he will grow tipsy, and then we shall speed excellent well,
- because he is alone in the house."
- As Bruno proposed, so they did: and Calandrino, finding that the priest
- would not suffer him to pay, drank amain, and took a great deal more
- aboard than he had need of; and the night being far spent when he left
- the tavern, he dispensed with supper, and went home, and thinking to have
- shut the door, got him to bed, leaving it open. Buffalmacco and Bruno
- went to sup with the priest; and after supper, taking with them certain
- implements with which to enter Calandrino's house, where Bruno thought it
- most feasible, they stealthily approached it; but finding the door open,
- they entered, and took down the pig, and carried it away to the priest's
- house, and having there bestowed it safely, went to bed. In the morning
- when Calandrino, his head at length quit of the fumes of the wine, got
- up, and came downstairs and found that his pig was nowhere to be seen,
- and that the door was open, he asked this, that, and the other man,
- whether they wist who had taken the pig away, and getting no answer, he
- began to make a great outcry:--"Alas, alas! luckless man that I am, that
- my pig should have been stolen from me!" Meanwhile Bruno and Buffalmacco,
- being also risen, made up to him, to hear what he would say touching the
- pig. Whom he no sooner saw, than well-nigh weeping he called them,
- saying:--"Alas! my friends! my pig is stolen from me." Bruno stepped up
- to him and said in a low tone:--"'Tis passing strange if thou art in the
- right for once." "Alas!" returned Calandrino, "what I say is but too
- true." "Why, then, out with it, man," quoth Bruno, "cry aloud, that all
- folk may know that 'tis so." Calandrino then raised his voice and
- said:--"By the body o' God I say of a truth that my pig has been stolen
- from me." "So!" quoth Bruno, "but publish it, man, publish it; lift up
- thy voice, make thyself well heard, that all may believe thy report."
- "Thou art enough to make me give my soul to the Enemy," replied
- Calandrino. "I say--dost not believe me?--that hang me by the neck if the
- pig is not stolen from me!" "Nay, but," quoth Bruno, "how can it be? I
- saw it here but yesterday. Dost think to make me believe that it has
- taken to itself wings and flown away?" "All the same 'tis as I tell
- thee," returned Calandrino. "Is it possible?" quoth Bruno. "Ay indeed,"
- replied Calandrino; "'tis even so: and I am undone, and know not how to
- go home. Never will my wife believe me; or if she do so, I shall know no
- peace this year." "Upon my hope of salvation," quoth Bruno, "'tis indeed
- a bad business, if so it really is. But thou knowest, Calandrino, that
- 'twas but yesterday I counselled thee to make believe that 'twas so. I
- should be sorry to think thou didst befool thy wife and us at the same
- time." "Ah!" vociferated Calandrino, "wilt thou drive me to despair and
- provoke me to blaspheme God and the saints and all the company of heaven?
- I tell thee that the pig has been stolen from me in the night."
- Whereupon:--"If so it be," quoth Buffalmacco, "we must find a way, if we
- can, to recover it." "Find a way?" said Calandrino: "how can we compass
- that?" "Why," replied Buffalmacco, "'tis certain that no one has come
- from India to steal thy pig: it must have been one of thy neighbours, and
- if thou couldst bring them together, I warrant thee, I know how to make
- the assay with bread and cheese, and we will find out in a trice who has
- had the pig." "Ay," struck in Bruno, "make thy assay with bread and
- cheese in the presence of these gentry hereabout, one of whom I am sure
- has had the pig! why, the thing would be seen through: and they would not
- come." "What shall we do, then?" said Buffalmacco. Whereto Bruno made
- answer:--"It must be done with good pills of ginger and good vernaccia;
- and they must be bidden come drink with us. They will suspect nothing,
- and will come; and pills of ginger can be blessed just as well as bread
- and cheese." "Beyond a doubt, thou art right," quoth Buffalmacco; "and
- thou Calandrino, what sayst thou? Shall we do as Bruno says?" "Nay, I
- entreat you for the love of God," quoth Calandrino, "do even so: for if I
- knew but who had had the pig, I should feel myself half consoled for my
- loss." "Go to, now," quoth Bruno, "I am willing to do thy errand to
- Florence for these commodities, if thou givest me the money."
- Calandrino had some forty soldi upon him, which he gave to Bruno, who
- thereupon hied him to Florence to a friend of his that was an apothecary,
- and bought a pound of good pills of ginger, two of which, being of
- dog-ginger, he caused to be compounded with fresh hepatic aloes, and then
- to be coated with sugar like the others; and lest they should be lost, or
- any of the others mistaken for them, he had a slight mark set upon them
- by which he might readily recognize them. He also bought a flask of good
- vernaccia, and, thus laden, returned to the farm, and said to
- Calandrino:--"To-morrow morning thou wilt bid those whom thou suspectest
- come hither to drink with thee: as 'twill be a saint's day, they will all
- come readily enough; and to-night I and Buffalmacco will say the
- incantation over the pills, which in the morning I will bring to thee
- here, and for our friendship's sake will administer them myself, and do
- and say all that needs to be said and done." So Calandrino did as Bruno
- advised, and on the morrow a goodly company, as well of young men from
- Florence, that happened to be in the village, as of husbandmen, being
- assembled in front of the church around the elm, Bruno and Buffalmacco
- came, bearing a box containing the ginger, and the flask of wine, and
- ranged the folk in a circle. Whereupon: "Gentlemen," said Bruno, "'tis
- meet I tell you the reason why you are gathered here, that if aught
- unpleasant to you should befall, you may have no ground for complaint
- against me. Calandrino here was the night before last robbed of a fine
- pig, and cannot discover who has had it; and, for that it must have been
- stolen by some one of us here, he would have each of you take and eat one
- of these pills and drink of this vernaccia. Wherefore I forthwith do you
- to wit, that whoso has had the pig will not be able to swallow the pill,
- but will find it more bitter than poison, and will spit it out; and so,
- rather, than he should suffer this shame in presence of so many, 'twere
- perhaps best that he that has had the pig should confess the fact to the
- priest, and I will wash my hands of the affair."
- All professed themselves ready enough to eat the pills; and so, having
- set them in a row with Calandrino among them, Bruno, beginning at one
- end, proceeded to give each a pill, and when he came to Calandrino he
- chose one of the pills of dog-ginger and put it in his hand. Calandrino
- thrust it forthwith between his teeth and began to chew it; but no sooner
- was his tongue acquainted with the aloes, than, finding the bitterness
- intolerable, he spat it out. Now, the eyes of all the company being fixed
- on one another to see who should spit out his pill, Bruno, who, not
- having finished the distribution, feigned to be concerned with nought
- else, heard some one in his rear say:--"Ha! Calandrino, what means this?"
- and at once turning round, and marking that Calandrino had spit out his
- pill:--"Wait a while," quoth he, "perchance 'twas somewhat else that
- caused thee to spit: take another;" and thereupon whipping out the other
- pill of dog-ginger, he set it between Calandrino's teeth, and finished
- the distribution. Bitter as Calandrino had found the former pill, he
- found this tenfold more so; but being ashamed to spit it out, he kept it
- a while in his mouth and chewed it, and, as he did so, tears stood in his
- eyes that shewed as large as filberts, and at length, being unable to
- bear it any longer, he spat it out, as he had its predecessor. Which
- being observed by Buffalmacco and Bruno, who were then administering the
- wine, and by all the company, 'twas averred by common consent that
- Calandrino had committed the theft himself; for which cause certain of
- them took him severely to task.
- However, the company being dispersed, and Bruno and Buffalmacco left
- alone with Calandrino, Buffalmacco began on this wise:--"I never doubted
- but that thou hadst had it thyself, and wast minded to make us believe
- that it had been stolen from thee, that we might not have of thee so much
- as a single drink out of the price which thou gottest for it."
- Calandrino, with the bitterness of the aloes still on his tongue, fell a
- swearing that he had not had it. Whereupon:--"Nay, but, comrade," quoth
- Buffalmacco, "upon thy honour, what did it fetch? Six florins?" Whereto,
- Calandrino being now on the verge of desperation, Bruno added:--"Now be
- reasonable, Calandrino; among the company that ate and drank with us
- there was one that told me that thou hadst up there a girl that thou
- didst keep for thy pleasure, giving her what by hook or by crook thou
- couldst get together, and that he held it for certain that thou hadst
- sent her this pig. And thou art grown expert in this sort of cozenage.
- Thou tookest us one while adown the Mugnone a gathering black stones, and
- having thus started us on a wild-goose chase, thou madest off; and then
- wouldst fain have us believe that thou hadst found the stone: and now, in
- like manner, thou thinkest by thine oaths to persuade us that this pig
- which thou hast given away or sold, has been stolen from thee. But we
- know thy tricks of old; never another couldst thou play us; and, to be
- round with thee, this spell has cost us some trouble: wherefore we mean
- that thou shalt give us two pair of capons, or we will let Monna Tessa
- know all." Seeing that he was not believed, and deeming his mortification
- ample without the addition of his wife's resentment, Calandrino gave them
- the two pair of capons, with which, when the pig was salted, they
- returned to Florence, leaving Calandrino with the loss and the laugh
- against him.
- NOVEL VII.
- --
- A scholar loves a widow lady, who, being enamoured of another, causes him
- to spend a winter's night awaiting her in the snow. He afterwards by a
- stratagem causes her to stand for a whole day in July, naked upon a
- tower, exposed to the flies, the gadflies, and the sun.
- --
- Over the woes of poor Calandrino the ladies laughed not a little, and had
- laughed yet more, but that it irked them that those that had robbed him
- of the pig should also take from him the capons. However, the story being
- ended, the queen bade Pampinea give them hers: and thus forthwith
- Pampinea began:--Dearest ladies, it happens oftentimes that the artful
- scorner meets his match; wherefore 'tis only little wits that delight to
- scorn. In a series of stories we have heard tell of tricks played without
- aught in the way of reprisals following: by mine I purpose in some degree
- to excite your compassion for a gentlewoman of our city (albeit the
- retribution that came upon her was but just) whose flout was returned in
- the like sort, and to such effect that she well-nigh died thereof. The
- which to hear will not be unprofitable to you, for thereby you will learn
- to be more careful how you flout others, and therein you will do very
- wisely.
- 'Tis not many years since there dwelt at Florence a lady young and fair,
- and of a high spirit, as also of right gentle lineage, and tolerably well
- endowed with temporal goods. Now Elena--such was the lady's name--being
- left a widow, was minded never to marry again, being enamoured of a
- handsome young gallant of her own choosing, with whom she, recking nought
- of any other lover, did, by the help of a maid in whom she placed much
- trust, not seldom speed the time gaily and with marvellous delight.
- Meanwhile it so befell that a young nobleman of our city, Rinieri by
- name, who had spent much time in study at Paris, not that he might
- thereafter sell his knowledge by retail, but that he might learn the
- reasons and causes of things, which accomplishment shews to most
- excellent advantage in a gentleman, returned to Florence, and there lived
- as a citizen in no small honour with his fellows, both by reason of his
- rank and of his learning. But as it is often the case that those who are
- most versed in deep matters are the soonest mastered by Love, so was it
- with Rinieri. For at a festal gathering, to which one day he went, there
- appeared before his eyes this Elena, of whom we spoke, clad in black, as
- is the wont of our Florentine widows, and shewing to his mind so much
- fairer and more debonair than any other woman that he had ever seen, that
- happy indeed he deemed the man might call himself, to whom God in His
- goodness should grant the right to hold her naked in his arms. So now and
- again he eyed her stealthily, and knowing that boons goodly and precious
- are not to be gotten without trouble, he made up his mind to study and
- labour with all assiduity how best to please her, that so he might win
- her love, and thereby the enjoyment of her.
- The young gentlewoman was not used to keep her eyes bent ever towards the
- infernal regions; but, rating herself at no less, if not more, than her
- deserts, she was dexterous to move them to and fro, and thus busily
- scanning her company, soon detected the men who regarded her with
- pleasure. By which means having discovered Rinieri's passion, she inly
- laughed, and said:--'Twill turn out that 'twas not for nothing that I
- came here to-day, for, if I mistake not, I have caught a gander by the
- bill. So she gave him an occasional sidelong glance, and sought as best
- she might to make him believe that she was not indifferent to him,
- deeming that the more men she might captivate by her charms, the higher
- those charms would be rated, and most especially by him whom she had made
- lord of them and her love. The erudite scholar bade adieu to
- philosophical meditation, for the lady entirely engrossed his mind; and,
- having discovered her house, he, thinking to please her, found divers
- pretexts for frequently passing by it. Whereon the lady, her vanity
- flattered for the reason aforesaid, plumed herself not a little, and
- shewed herself pleased to see him. Thus encouraged, the scholar found
- means to make friends with her maid, to whom he discovered his love,
- praying her to do her endeavour with her mistress, that he might have her
- favour. The maid was profuse of promises, and gave her mistress his
- message, which she no sooner heard, than she was convulsed with laughter,
- and replied:--"He brought sense enough hither from Paris: knowest thou
- where he has since been to lose it? Go to, now; let us give him that
- which he seeks. Tell him, when he next speaks to you of the matter, that
- I love him vastly more than he loves me, but that I must have regard to
- my reputation, so that I may be able to hold my head up among other
- ladies; which, if he is really the wise man they say, will cause him to
- affect me much more." Ah! poor woman! poor woman! she little knew, my
- ladies, how rash it is to try conclusions with scholars.
- The maid found the scholar, and did her mistress's errand. The scholar,
- overjoyed, proceeded to urge his suit with more ardour, to indite
- letters, and send presents. The lady received all that he sent her, but
- vouchsafed no answers save such as were couched in general terms: and on
- this wise she kept him dangling a long while. At last, having disclosed
- the whole affair to her lover, who evinced some resentment and jealousy,
- she, to convince him that his suspicions were groundless, and for that
- she was much importuned by the scholar, sent word to him by her maid,
- that never since he had assured her of his love, had occasion served her
- to do him pleasure, but that next Christmastide she hoped to be with him;
- wherefore, if he were minded to await her in the courtyard of her house
- on the night of the day next following the feast, she would meet him
- there as soon as she could. Elated as ne'er another, the scholar hied him
- at the appointed time to the lady's house, and being ushered into a
- courtyard by the maid, who forthwith turned the key upon him, addressed
- himself there to await the lady's coming.
- Now the lady's lover, by her appointment, was with her that evening; and,
- when they had gaily supped, she told him what she had in hand that night,
- adding:--"And so thou wilt be able to gauge the love which I have borne
- and bear this scholar, whom thou hast foolishly regarded as a rival." The
- lover heard the lady's words with no small delight, and waited in eager
- expectancy to see her make them good. The scholar, hanging about there in
- the courtyard, began to find it somewhat chillier than he would have
- liked, for it had snowed hard all day long, so that the snow lay
- everywhere thick on the ground; however, he bore it patiently, expecting
- to be recompensed by and by. After a while the lady said to her
- lover:--"Go we to the chamber and take a peep through a lattice at him of
- whom thou art turned jealous, and mark what he does, and how he will
- answer the maid, whom I have bidden go speak with him." So the pair hied
- them to a lattice, wherethrough they could see without being seen, and
- heard the maid call from another lattice to the scholar,
- saying:--"Rinieri, my lady is distressed as never woman was, for that one
- of her brothers is come here to-night, and after talking a long while
- with her, must needs sup with her, and is not yet gone, but, I think, he
- will soon be off; and that is the reason why she has not been able to
- come to thee, but she will come soon now. She trusts it does not irk thee
- to wait so long." Whereto the scholar, supposing that 'twas true, made
- answer:--"Tell my lady to give herself no anxiety on my account, until
- she can conveniently come to me, but to do so as soon as she may."
- Whereupon the maid withdrew from the window, and went to bed; while the
- lady said to her lover:--"Now, what sayst thou? Thinkst thou that, if I
- had that regard for him, which thou fearest, I would suffer him to tarry
- below there to get frozen?" Which said, the lady and her now partly
- reassured lover got them to bed, where for a great while they disported
- them right gamesomely, laughing together and making merry over the
- luckless scholar.
- The scholar, meanwhile, paced up and down the courtyard to keep himself
- warm, nor indeed had he where to sit, or take shelter: in this plight he
- bestowed many a curse upon the lady's brother for his long tarrying, and
- never a sound did he hear but he thought that 'twas the lady opening the
- door. But vain indeed were his hopes: the lady, having solaced herself
- with her lover until hard upon midnight, then said to him:--"How ratest
- thou our scholar, my soul? whether is the greater his wit, or the love I
- bear him, thinkst thou? Will the cold, that, of my ordaining, he now
- suffers, banish from thy breast the suspicion which my light words the
- other day implanted there?" "Ay, indeed, heart of my body!" replied the
- lover, "well wot I now that even as thou art to me, my weal, my
- consolation, my bliss, so am I to thee." "So:" quoth the lady, "then I
- must have full a thousand kisses from thee, to prove that thou sayst
- sooth." The lover's answer was to strain her to his heart, and give her
- not merely a thousand but a hundred thousand kisses. In such converse
- they dallied a while longer, and then:--"Get we up, now," quoth the lady,
- "that we may go see if 'tis quite spent, that fire, with which, as he
- wrote to me daily, this new lover of mine used to burn." So up they got
- and hied them to the lattice which they had used before, and peering out
- into the courtyard, saw the scholar dancing a hornpipe to the music that
- his own teeth made, a chattering for extremity of cold; nor had they ever
- seen it footed so nimbly and at such a pace. Whereupon:--"How sayst thou,
- sweet my hope?" quoth the lady. "Know I not how to make men dance without
- the aid of either trumpet or cornemuse?" "Indeed thou dost my heart's
- delight," replied the lover. Quoth then the lady:--"I have a mind that we
- go down to the door. Thou wilt keep quiet, and I will speak to him, and
- we shall hear what he says, which, peradventure, we shall find no less
- diverting than the sight of him."
- So they stole softly out of the chamber and down to the door, which
- leaving fast closed, the lady set her lips to a little hole that was
- there, and with a low voice called the scholar, who, hearing her call
- him, praised God, making too sure that he was to be admitted, and being
- come to the door, said:--"Here am I, Madam; open for God's sake; let me
- in, for I die of cold." "Oh! ay," replied the lady, "I know thou hast a
- chill, and of course, there being a little snow about, 'tis mighty cold;
- but well I wot the nights are colder far at Paris. I cannot let thee in
- as yet, because my accursed brother, that came to sup here this evening,
- is still with me; but he will soon take himself off, and then I will let
- thee in without a moment's delay. I have but now with no small difficulty
- given him the slip, to come and give thee heart that the waiting irk thee
- not." "Nay but, Madam," replied the scholar, "for the love of God, I
- entreat you, let me in, that I may have a roof over my head, because for
- some time past there has been never so thick a fall of snow, and 'tis yet
- snowing; and then I will wait as long as you please." "Alas! sweet my
- love," quoth the lady, "that I may not, for this door makes such a din,
- when one opens it, that my brother would be sure to hear, were I to let
- thee in; but I will go tell him to get him gone, and so come back and
- admit thee." "Go at once, then," returned the scholar, "and prithee, see
- that a good fire be kindled, that, when I get in, I may warm myself, for
- I am now so chilled through and through that I have scarce any feeling
- left." "That can scarce be," rejoined the lady, "if it be true, what thou
- hast so protested in thy letters, that thou art all afire for love of me:
- 'tis plain to me now that thou didst but mock me. I now take my leave of
- thee: wait and be of good cheer."
- So the lady and her lover, who, to his immense delight, had heard all
- that passed, betook them to bed; however, little sleep had they that
- night, but spent the best part of it in disporting themselves and making
- merry over the unfortunate scholar, who, his teeth now chattering to such
- a tune that he seemed to have been metamorphosed into a stork, perceived
- that he had been befooled, and after making divers fruitless attempts to
- open the door and seeking means of egress to no better purpose, paced to
- and fro like a lion, cursing the villainous weather, the long night, his
- simplicity, and the perversity of the lady, against whom (the vehemence
- of his wrath suddenly converting the love he had so long borne her to
- bitter and remorseless enmity) he now plotted within himself divers and
- grand schemes of revenge, on which he was far more bent than ever he had
- been on forgathering with her.
- Slowly the night wore away, and with the first streaks of dawn the maid,
- by her mistress's direction, came down, opened the door of the courtyard,
- and putting on a compassionate air, greeted Rinieri with:--"Foul fall him
- that came here yestereve; he has afflicted us with his presence all night
- long, and has kept thee a freezing out here: but harkye, take it not
- amiss; that which might not be to-night shall be another time: well wot I
- that nought could have befallen that my lady could so ill brook." For all
- his wrath, the scholar, witting, like the wise man he was, that menaces
- serve but to put the menaced on his guard, kept pent within his breast
- that which unbridled resentment would have uttered, and said quietly, and
- without betraying the least trace of anger:--"In truth 'twas the worst
- night I ever spent, but I understood quite well that the lady was in no
- wise to blame, for that she herself, being moved to pity of me, came down
- here to make her excuses, and to comfort me; and, as thou sayst, what has
- not been to-night will be another time: wherefore commend me to her, and
- so, adieu!" Then, well-nigh paralysed for cold, he got him, as best he
- might, home, where, weary and fit to die for drowsiness, he threw himself
- on his bed, and fell into a deep sleep, from which he awoke to find that
- he had all but lost the use of his arms and legs. He therefore sent for
- some physicians, and having told them what a chill he had gotten, caused
- them have a care to his health. But, though they treated him with active
- and most drastic remedies, it cost them some time and no little trouble
- to restore to the cramped muscles their wonted pliancy, and, indeed, but
- for his youth and the milder weather that was at hand, 'twould have gone
- very hard with him.
- However, recover he did his health and lustihood, and nursing his enmity,
- feigned to be vastly more enamoured of his widow than ever before. And so
- it was that after a while Fortune furnished him with an opportunity of
- satisfying his resentment, for the gallant of whom the widow was
- enamoured, utterly regardless of the love she bore him, grew enamoured of
- another lady, and was minded no more to pleasure the widow in aught
- either by word or by deed; wherefore she now pined in tears and
- bitterness of spirit. However, her maid, who commiserated her not a
- little, and knew not how to dispel the dumps that the loss of her lover
- had caused her, espying the scholar pass along the street, as he had been
- wont, conceived the silly idea that the lady's lover might be induced to
- return to his old love by some practice of a necromantic order, wherein
- she doubted not that the scholar must be a thorough adept; which idea she
- imparted to her mistress. The lady, being none too well furnished with
- sense, never thinking that, if the scholar had been an adept in
- necromancy, he would have made use of it in his own behoof, gave heed to
- what her maid said, and forthwith bade her learn of the scholar whether
- he would place his skill at her service, and assure him that, if he so
- did, she, in guerdon thereof, would do his pleasure. The maid did her
- mistress's errand well and faithfully. The scholar no sooner heard the
- message, than he said to himself:--Praised be Thy name, O God, that the
- time is now come, when with Thy help I may be avenged upon this wicked
- woman of the wrong she did me in requital of the great love I bore her.
- Then, turning to the maid, he said:--"Tell my lady to set her mind at
- ease touching this matter; for that, were her lover in India, I would
- forthwith bring him hither to crave her pardon of that wherein he has
- offended her. As to the course she should take in the matter, I tarry but
- her pleasure to make it known to her, when and where she may think fit:
- tell her so, and bid her from me to be of good cheer." The maid carried
- his answer to her mistress, and arranged that they should meet in the
- church of Santa Lucia of Prato. Thither accordingly they came, the lady
- and the scholar, and conversed apart, and the lady, quite oblivious of
- the ill-usage by which she had well-nigh done him to death, opened all
- her mind to him, and besought him, if he had any regard to her welfare,
- to aid her to the attainment of her desire. "Madam," replied the scholar,
- "true it is that among other lore that I acquired at Paris was this of
- necromancy, whereof, indeed, I know all that may be known; but, as 'tis
- in the last degree displeasing to God, I had sworn never to practise it
- either for my own or for any other's behoof. 'Tis also true that the love
- I bear you is such that I know not how to refuse you aught that you would
- have me do for you; and so, were this single essay enough to consign me
- to hell, I would adventure it to pleasure you. But I mind me that 'tis a
- matter scarce so easy of performance as, perchance, you suppose, most
- especially when a woman would fain recover the love of a man, or a man
- that of a woman, for then it must be done by the postulant in proper
- person, and at night, and in lonely places, and unattended, so that it
- needs a stout heart; nor know I whether you are disposed to comply with
- these conditions." The lady, too enamoured to be discreet, made
- answer:--"So shrewdly does Love goad me, that there is nought I would not
- do to bring him back to me who wrongfully has deserted me; but tell me,
- prithee, wherein it is that I have need of this stout heart." "Madam,"
- returned the despiteful scholar, "'twill be my part to fashion in tin an
- image of him you would fain lure back to you: and when I have sent you
- the image, 'twill be for you, when the moon is well on the wane, to dip
- yourself, being stark naked, and the image, seven times in a flowing
- stream, and this you must do quite alone about the hour of first sleep,
- and afterwards, still naked, you must get you upon some tree or some
- deserted house, and facing the North, with the image in your hand, say
- certain words that I shall give you in writing seven times; which, when
- you have done, there will come to you two damsels, the fairest you ever
- saw, who will greet you graciously, and ask of you what you would fain
- have; to whom you will disclose frankly and fully all that you crave; and
- see to it that you make no mistake in the name; and when you have said
- all, they will depart, and you may then descend and return to the spot
- where you left your clothes, and resume them and go home. And rest
- assured, that before the ensuing midnight your lover will come to you in
- tears, and crave your pardon and mercy, and that thenceforth he will
- never again desert you for any other woman."
- The lady gave entire credence to the scholar's words, and deeming her
- lover as good as in her arms again, recovered half her wonted spirits:
- wherefore:--"Make no doubt," quoth she, "that I shall do as thou biddest;
- and indeed I am most favoured by circumstance; for in upper Val d'Arno I
- have an estate adjoining the river, and 'tis now July, so that to bathe
- will be delightful. Ay, and now I mind me that at no great distance from
- the river there is a little tower, which is deserted, save that now and
- again the shepherds will get them up by the chestnut-wood ladder to the
- roof, thence to look out for their strayed sheep; 'tis a place lonely
- indeed, and quite out of ken; and when I have clomb it, as climb it I
- will, I doubt not 'twill be the best place in all the world to give
- effect to your instructions."
- Well pleased to be certified of the lady's intention, the scholar, to
- whom her estate and the tower were very well known, made answer:--"I was
- never in those parts, Madam, and therefore know neither your estate nor
- the tower, but, if 'tis as you say, 'twill certainly be the best place in
- the world for your purpose. So, when time shall serve, I will send you
- the image and the orison. But I pray you, when you shall have your
- heart's desire, and know that I have done you good service, do not forget
- me, but keep your promise to me." "That will I without fail," quoth the
- lady; and so she bade him farewell, and went home. The scholar, gleefully
- anticipating the success of his enterprise, fashioned an image, and
- inscribed it with certain magical signs, and wrote some gibberish by way
- of orison, which in due time he sent to the lady, bidding her the very
- next night do as he had prescribed: and thereupon he hied him privily
- with one of his servants to the house of a friend hard by the tower,
- there to carry his purpose into effect. The lady, on her part, set out
- with her maid, and betook her to her estate, and, night being come, sent
- the maid to bed, as if she were minded to go to rest herself; and about
- the hour of first sleep stole out of the house and down to the tower,
- beside the Arno; and when, having carefully looked about her, she was
- satisfied that never a soul was to be seen or heard, she took off her
- clothes and hid them under a bush; then, with the image in her hand, she
- dipped herself seven times in the river; which done, she hied her with
- the image to the tower. The scholar, having at nightfall couched himself
- with his servant among the willows and other trees that fringed the bank,
- marked all that she did, and how, as she passed by him, the whiteness of
- her flesh dispelled the shades of night, and scanning attentively her
- bosom and every other part of her body, and finding them very fair, felt,
- as he bethought him what would shortly befall them, some pity of her;
- while, on the other hand, he was suddenly assailed by the solicitations
- of the flesh which caused that to stand which had been inert, and
- prompted him to sally forth of his ambush and take her by force, and have
- his pleasure of her. And, what with his compassion and passion, he was
- like to be worsted; but then as he bethought him who he was, and what a
- grievous wrong had been done him, and for what cause, and by whom, his
- wrath, thus rekindled, got the better of the other affections, so that he
- swerved not from his resolve, but suffered her to go her way.
- The lady ascended the tower, and standing with her face to the North,
- began to recite the scholar's orison, while he, having stolen into the
- tower but a little behind her, cautiously shifted the ladder that led up
- to the roof on which the lady stood, and waited to observe what she would
- say and do. Seven times the lady said the orison, and then awaited the
- appearance of the two damsels; and so long had she to wait--not to
- mention that the night was a good deal cooler than she would have
- liked--that she saw day break; whereupon, disconcerted that it had not
- fallen out as the scholar had promised, she said to herself:--I misdoubt
- me he was minded to give me such a night as I gave him; but if such was
- his intent, he is but maladroit in his revenge, for this night is not as
- long by a third as his was, besides which, the cold is of another
- quality. And that day might not overtake her there, she began to think of
- descending, but, finding that the ladder was removed, she felt as if the
- world had come to nought beneath her feet, her senses reeled, and she
- fell in a swoon upon the floor of the roof. When she came to herself, she
- burst into tears and piteous lamentations, and witting now very well that
- 'twas the doing of the scholar, she began to repent her that she had
- first offended him, and then trusted him unduly, having such good cause
- to reckon upon his enmity; in which frame she abode long time. Then,
- searching if haply she might find some means of descent, and finding
- none, she fell a weeping again, and bitterly to herself she said:--Alas
- for thee, wretched woman! what will thy brothers, thy kinsmen, thy
- neighbours, nay, what will all Florence say of thee, when 'tis known that
- thou hast been found here naked? Thy honour, hitherto unsuspect, will be
- known to have been but a shew, and shouldst thou seek thy defence in
- lying excuses, if any such may be fashioned, the accursed scholar, who
- knows all thy doings, will not suffer it. Ah! poor wretch! that at one
- and the same time hast lost thy too dearly cherished gallant and thine
- own honour! And therewith she was taken with such a transport of grief,
- that she was like to cast herself from the tower to the ground. Then,
- bethinking her that if she might espy some lad making towards the tower
- with his sheep, she might send him for her maid, for the sun was now
- risen, she approached one of the parapets of the tower, and looked out,
- and so it befell that the scholar, awakening from a slumber, in which he
- had lain a while at the foot of a bush, espied her, and she him.
- Whereupon:--"Good-day, Madam," quoth he:--"are the damsels yet come?" The
- lady saw and heard him not without bursting afresh into a flood of tears,
- and besought him to come into the tower, that she might speak with him: a
- request which the scholar very courteously granted. The lady then threw
- herself prone on the floor of the roof; and, only her head being visible
- through the aperture, thus through her sobs she spoke:--"Verily, Rinieri,
- if I gave thee a bad night, thou art well avenged on me, for, though it
- be July, meseemed I was sore a cold last night, standing here with never
- a thread upon me, and, besides, I have so bitterly bewept both the trick
- I played thee and my own folly in trusting thee, that I marvel that I
- have still eyes in my head. Wherefore I implore thee, not for love of me,
- whom thou hast no cause to love, but for the respect thou hast for
- thyself as a gentleman, that thou let that which thou hast already done
- suffice thee to avenge the wrong I did thee, and bring me my clothes,
- that I may be able to get me down from here, and spare to take from me
- that which, however thou mightst hereafter wish, thou couldst not restore
- to me, to wit, my honour; whereas, if I deprived thee of that one night
- with me, 'tis in my power to give thee many another night in recompense
- thereof, and thou hast but to choose thine own times. Let this, then,
- suffice, and like a worthy gentleman be satisfied to have taken thy
- revenge, and to have let me know it: put not forth thy might against a
- woman: 'tis no glory to the eagle to have vanquished a dove; wherefore
- for God's and thine own honour's sake have mercy on me."
- The scholar, albeit his haughty spirit still brooded on her evil
- entreatment of him, yet saw her not weep and supplicate without a certain
- compunction mingling with his exultation; but vengeance he had desired
- above all things, to have wreaked it was indeed sweet, and albeit his
- humanity prompted him to have compassion on the hapless woman, yet it
- availed not to subdue the fierceness of his resentment; wherefore thus he
- made answer:--"Madam Elena, had my prayers (albeit art I had none to
- mingle with them tears and honeyed words as thou dost with thine)
- inclined thee that night, when I stood perishing with cold amid the snow
- that filled thy courtyard, to accord me the very least shelter, 'twere
- but a light matter for me to hearken now to thine; but, if thou art now
- so much more careful of thy honour than thou wast wont to be, and it irks
- thee to tarry there naked, address thy prayers to him in whose arms it
- irked thee not naked to pass that night thou mindest thee of, albeit thou
- wist that I with hasty foot was beating time upon the snow in thy
- courtyard to the accompaniment of chattering teeth: 'tis he that thou
- shouldst call to succour thee, to fetch thy clothes, to adjust the ladder
- for thy descent; 'tis he in whom thou shouldst labour to inspire this
- tenderness thou now shewest for thy honour, that honour which for his
- sake thou hast not scrupled to jeopardize both now and on a thousand
- other occasions. Why, then, call'st thou not him to come to thy succour?
- To whom pertains it rather than to him? Thou art his. And of whom will he
- have a care, whom will he succour, if not thee? Thou askedst him that
- night, when thou wast wantoning with him, whether seemed to him the
- greater, my folly or the love thou didst bear him: call him now, foolish
- woman, and see if the love thou bearest him, and thy wit and his, may
- avail to deliver thee from my folly. 'Tis now no longer in thy power to
- shew me courtesy of that which I no more desire, nor yet to refuse it,
- did I desire it. Reserve thy nights for thy lover, if so be thou go hence
- alive. Be they all thine and his. One of them was more than I cared for;
- 'tis enough for me to have been flouted once. Ay, and by thy cunning of
- speech thou strivest might and main to conciliate my good-will, calling
- me worthy gentleman, by which insinuation thou wouldst fain induce me
- magnanimously to desist from further chastisement of thy baseness. But
- thy cajoleries shall not now cloud the eyes of my mind, as did once thy
- false promises. I know myself, and better now for thy one night's
- instruction than for all the time I spent at Paris. But, granted that I
- were disposed to be magnanimous, thou art not of those to whom 'tis meet
- to shew magnanimity. A wild beast such as thou, having merited vengeance,
- can claim no relief from suffering save death, though in the case of a
- human being 'twould suffice to temper vengeance with mercy, as thou
- saidst. Wherefore I, albeit no eagle, witting thee to be no dove, but a
- venomous serpent, mankind's most ancient enemy, am minded, bating no jot
- of malice or of might, to harry thee to the bitter end: natheless this
- which I do is not properly to be called vengeance but rather just
- retribution; seeing that vengeance should be in excess of the offence,
- and this my chastisement of thee will fall short of it; for, were I
- minded to be avenged on thee, considering what account thou madest of my
- heart and soul, 'twould not suffice me to take thy life, no, nor the
- lives of a hundred others such as thee; for I should but slay a vile and
- base and wicked woman. And what the Devil art thou more than any other
- pitiful baggage, that I should spare thy little store of beauty, which a
- few years will ruin, covering thy face with wrinkles? And yet 'twas not
- for want of will that thou didst fail to do to death a worthy gentleman,
- as thou but now didst call me, of whom in a single day of his life the
- world may well have more profit than of a hundred thousand like thee
- while the world shall last. Wherefore by this rude discipline I will
- teach thee what it is to flout men of spirit, and more especially what it
- is to flout scholars, that if thou escape with thy life thou mayst have
- good cause ever hereafter to shun such folly. But if thou art so fain to
- make the descent, why cast not thyself down, whereby, God helping, thou
- wouldst at once break thy neck, be quit of the torment thou endurest, and
- make me the happiest man alive? I have no more to say to thee. 'Twas my
- art and craft thus caused thee climb; be it thine to find the way down:
- thou hadst cunning enough, when thou wast minded to flout me."
- While the scholar thus spoke, the hapless lady wept incessantly, and
- before he had done, to aggravate her misery, the sun was high in the
- heaven. However, when he was silent, thus she made answer:--"Ah! ruthless
- man, if that accursed night has so rankled with thee, and thou deemest my
- fault so grave that neither my youth and beauty, nor my bitter tears, nor
- yet my humble supplications may move thee to pity, let this at least move
- thee, and abate somewhat of thy remorseless severity, that 'twas my act
- alone, in that of late I trusted thee, and discovered to thee all my
- secret, that did open the way to compass thy end, and make me cognizant
- of my guilt, seeing that, had I not confided in thee, on no wise mightst
- thou have been avenged on me; which thou wouldst seem so ardently to have
- desired. Turn thee, then, turn thee, I pray thee, from thy wrath, and
- pardon me. So thou wilt pardon me, and get me down hence, right gladly
- will I give up for ever my faithless gallant, and thou shalt be my sole
- lover and lord, albeit thou sayst hard things of my beauty, slight and
- shortlived as thou wouldst have it to be, which, however it may compare
- with others, is, I wot, to be prized, if for no other reason, yet for
- this, that 'tis the admiration and solace and delight of young men, and
- thou art not yet old. And albeit I have been harshly treated by thee, yet
- believe I cannot that thou wouldst have me do myself so shamefully to
- death as to cast me down, like some abandoned wretch, before thine eyes,
- in which, unless thou wast then, as thou hast since shewn thyself, a
- liar, I found such favour. Ah! have pity on me for God's and mercy's
- sake! The sun waxes exceeding hot, and having suffered not a little by
- the cold of last night, I now begin to be sorely afflicted by the heat."
- "Madam," rejoined the scholar, who held her in parley with no small
- delight, "'twas not for any love that thou didst bear me that thou
- trustedst me, but that thou mightst recover that which thou hadst lost,
- for which cause thou meritest but the greater punishment; and foolish
- indeed art thou if thou supposest that such was the sole means available
- for my revenge. I had a thousand others, and, while I feigned to love
- thee, I had laid a thousand gins for thy feet, into one or other of which
- in no long time, though this had not occurred, thou must needs have
- fallen, and that too to thy more grievous suffering and shame; nor was it
- to spare thee, but that I might be the sooner rejoiced by thy
- discomfiture that I took my present course. And though all other means
- had failed me, I had still the pen, with which I would have written of
- thee such matters and in such a sort, that when thou wist them, as thou
- shouldst have done, thou wouldst have regretted a thousand times that
- thou hadst ever been born. The might of the pen is greater far than they
- suppose, who have not proved it by experience. By God I swear, so may He,
- who has prospered me thus far in this my revenge, prosper me to the end!
- that I would have written of thee things that would have so shamed thee
- in thine own--not to speak of others'--sight that thou hadst put out
- thine eyes that thou mightst no more see thyself; wherefore chide not the
- sea, for that it has sent forth a tiny rivulet. For thy love, or whether
- thou be mine or no, nought care I. Be thou still his, whose thou hast
- been, if thou canst. Hate him as I once did, I now love him, by reason of
- his present entreatment of thee. Ye go getting you enamoured, ye women,
- and nought will satisfy you but young gallants, because ye mark that
- their flesh is ruddier, and their beards are blacker, than other folk's,
- and that they carry themselves well, and foot it featly in the dance, and
- joust; but those that are now more mature were even as they, and possess
- a knowledge which they have yet to acquire. And therewithal ye deem that
- they ride better, and cover more miles in a day, than men of riper age.
- Now that they dust the pelisse with more vigour I certainly allow, but
- their seniors, being more experienced, know better the places where the
- fleas lurk; and spare and dainty diet is preferable to abundance without
- savour: moreover hard trotting will gall and jade even the youngest,
- whereas an easy pace, though it bring one somewhat later to the inn, at
- any rate brings one thither fresh. Ye discern not, witless creatures that
- ye are, how much of evil this little shew of bravery serves to hide. Your
- young gallant is never content with one woman, but lusts after as many as
- he sets eyes on; nor is there any but he deems himself worthy of her:
- wherefore 'tis not possible that their love should be lasting, as thou
- hast but now proved and mayst only too truly witness. Moreover to be
- worshipped, to be caressed by their ladies they deem but their due; nor
- is there aught whereon they plume and boast them so proudly as their
- conquests: which impertinence has caused not a few women to surrender to
- the friars, who keep their own counsel. Peradventure thou wilt say that
- never a soul save thy maid, and I wist aught of thy loves; but, if so,
- thou hast been misinformed, and if thou so believest, thou dost
- misbelieve. Scarce aught else is talked of either in his quarter or in
- thine; but most often 'tis those most concerned whose ears such matters
- reach last. Moreover, they rob you, these young gallants, whereas the
- others make you presents. So, then, having made a bad choice, be thou
- still his to whom thou hast given thyself, and leave me, whom thou didst
- flout, to another, for I have found a lady of much greater charms than
- thine, and that has understood me better than thou didst. And that thou
- mayst get thee to the other world better certified of the desire of my
- eyes than thou wouldst seem to be here by my words, delay no more, but
- cast thyself down, whereby thy soul, taken forthwith, as I doubt not she
- will be, into the embrace of the Devil, may see whether thy headlong fall
- afflicts mine eyes, or no. But, for that I doubt thou meanest not thus to
- gladden me, I bid thee, if thou findest the sun begin to scorch thee,
- remember the cold thou didst cause me to endure, wherewith, by admixture,
- thou mayst readily temper the sun's heat."
- The hapless lady, seeing that the scholar's words were ever to the same
- ruthless effect, burst afresh into tears, and said:--"Lo, now, since
- nought that pertains to me may move thee, be thou at least moved by the
- love thou bearest this lady of whom thou speakest, who, thou sayst, is
- wiser than I, and loves thee, and for love of her pardon me, and fetch me
- my clothes, that I may resume them, and get me down hence." Whereat the
- scholar fell a laughing, and seeing that 'twas not a little past tierce,
- made answer:--"Lo, now, I know not how to deny thee, adjuring me as thou
- dost by such a lady: tell me, then, where thy clothes are, and I will go
- fetch them, and bring thee down." The lady, believing him, was somewhat
- comforted, and told him where she had laid her clothes. The scholar then
- quitted the tower, bidding his servant on no account to stir from his
- post, but to keep close by, and, as best he might, bar the tower against
- all comers until his return: which said, he betook him to the house of
- his friend, where he breakfasted much at his ease, and thereafter went to
- sleep. Left alone upon the tower, the lady, somewhat cheered by her fond
- hope, but still exceeding sorrowful, drew nigh to a part of the wall
- where there was a little shade, and there sate down to wait. And now lost
- in most melancholy brooding, now dissolved in tears, now plunged in
- despair of ever seeing the scholar return with her clothes, but never
- more than a brief while in any one mood, spent with grief and the night's
- vigil, she by and by fell asleep. The sun was now in the zenith, and
- smote with extreme fervour full and unmitigated upon her tender and
- delicate frame, and upon her bare head, insomuch that his rays did not
- only scorch but bit by bit excoriate every part of her flesh that was
- exposed to them, and so shrewdly burn her that, albeit she was in a deep
- sleep, the pain awoke her. And as by reason thereof she writhed a little,
- she felt the scorched skin part in sunder and shed itself, as will happen
- when one tugs at a parchment that has been singed by the fire, while her
- head ached so sore that it seemed like to split, and no wonder. Nor might
- she find place either to lie or to stand on the floor of the roof, but
- ever went to and fro, weeping. Besides which there stirred not the least
- breath of wind, and flies and gadflies did swarm in prodigious quantity,
- which, settling upon her excoriate flesh, stung her so shrewdly that
- 'twas as if she received so many stabs with a javelin, and she was ever
- restlessly feeling her sores with her hands, and cursing herself, her
- life, her lover, and the scholar.
- Thus by the exorbitant heat of the sun, by the flies and gadflies,
- harassed, goaded, and lacerated, tormented also by hunger, and yet more
- by thirst, and, thereto by a thousand distressful thoughts, she panted
- herself erect on her feet, and looked about her, if haply she might see
- or hear any one, with intent, come what might, to call to him and crave
- his succour. But even this hostile Fortune had disallowed her. The
- husbandmen were all gone from the fields by reason of the heat, and
- indeed there had come none to work that day in the neighbourhood of the
- tower, for that all were employed in threshing their corn beside their
- cottages: wherefore she heard but the cicalas, while Arno, tantalizing
- her with the sight of his waters, increased rather than diminished her
- thirst. Ay, and in like manner, wherever she espied a copse, or a patch
- of shade, or a house, 'twas a torment to her, for the longing she had for
- it. What more is to be said of this hapless woman? Only this: that what
- with the heat of the sun above and the floor beneath her, and the
- scarification of her flesh in every part by the flies and gadflies, that
- flesh, which in the night had dispelled the gloom by its whiteness, was
- now become red as madder, and so besprent with clots of blood, that whoso
- had seen her would have deemed her the most hideous object in the world.
- Thus resourceless and hopeless, she passed the long hours, expecting
- death rather than aught else, until half none was come and gone; when,
- his siesta ended, the scholar bethought him of his lady, and being minded
- to see how she fared, hied him back to the tower, and sent his servant
- away to break his fast. As soon as the lady espied him, she came, spent
- and crushed by her sore affliction, to the aperture, and thus addressed
- him:--"Rinieri, the cup of thy vengeance is full to overflowing: for if I
- gave thee a night of freezing in my courtyard, thou hast given me upon
- this tower a day of scorching, nay, of burning, and therewithal of
- perishing of hunger and thirst: wherefore by God I entreat thee to come
- up hither, and as my heart fails me to take my life, take it thou, for
- 'tis death I desire of all things, such and so grievous is my suffering.
- But if this grace thou wilt not grant, at least bring me a cup of water
- wherewith to lave my mouth, for which my tears do not suffice, so parched
- and torrid is it within." Well wist the scholar by her voice how spent
- she was; he also saw a part of her body burned through and through by the
- sun; whereby, and by reason of the lowliness of her entreaties, he felt
- some little pity for her; but all the same he made answer:--"Nay, wicked
- woman, 'tis not by my hands thou shalt die; thou canst die by thine own
- whenever thou art so minded; and to temper thy heat thou shalt have just
- as much water from me as I had fire from thee to mitigate my cold. I only
- regret that for the cure of my chill the physicians were fain to use
- foul-smelling muck, whereas thy burns can be treated with fragrant
- rose-water; and that, whereas I was like to lose my muscles and the use
- of my limbs, thou, for all thy excoriation by the heat, wilt yet be fair
- again, like a snake that has sloughed off the old skin." "Alas! woe's
- me!" replied the lady, "for charms acquired at such a cost, God grant
- them to those that hate me. But thou, most fell of all wild beasts, how
- hast thou borne thus to torture me? What more had I to expect of thee or
- any other, had I done all thy kith and kin to death with direst torments?
- Verily, I know not what more cruel suffering thou couldst have inflicted
- on a traitor that had put a whole city to the slaughter than this which
- thou hast allotted to me, to be thus roasted, and devoured of the flies,
- and therewithal to refuse me even a cup of water, though the very
- murderers condemned to death by the law, as they go to execution, not
- seldom are allowed wine to drink, so they but ask it. Lo now, I see that
- thou art inexorable in thy ruthlessness, and on no wise to be moved by my
- suffering: wherefore with resignation I will compose me to await death,
- that God may have mercy on my soul. And may this that thou doest escape
- not the searching glance of His just eyes." Which said, she dragged
- herself, sore suffering, toward the middle of the floor, despairing of
- ever escaping from her fiery torment, besides which, not once only, but a
- thousand times she thought to choke for thirst, and ever she wept
- bitterly and bewailed her evil fate. But at length the day wore to
- vespers, and the scholar, being sated with his revenge, caused his
- servant to take her clothes and wrap them in his cloak, and hied him with
- the servant to the hapless lady's house, where, finding her maid sitting
- disconsolate and woebegone and resourceless at the door:--"Good woman,"
- quoth he, "what has befallen thy mistress?" Whereto:--"Sir, I know not,"
- replied the maid. "I looked to find her this morning abed, for methought
- she went to bed last night, but neither there nor anywhere else could I
- find her, nor know I what is become of her; wherefore exceeding great is
- my distress; but have you, Sir, nought to say of the matter?" "Only
- this," returned the scholar, "that I would I had had thee with her there
- where I have had her, that I might have requited thee of thy offence,
- even as I have requited her of hers. But be assured that thou shalt not
- escape my hands, until thou hast from me such wage of thy labour that
- thou shalt never flout man more, but thou shalt mind thee of me." Then,
- turning to his servant, he said:--"Give her these clothes, and tell her
- that she may go bring her mistress away, if she will." The servant did
- his bidding; and the maid, what with the message and her recognition of
- the clothes, was mightily afraid, lest they had slain the lady, and
- scarce suppressing a shriek, took the clothes, and, bursting into tears,
- set off, as soon as the scholar was gone, at a run for the tower.
- Now one of the lady's husbandmen had had the misfortune to lose two of
- his hogs that day, and, seeking them, came to the tower not long after
- the scholar had gone thence, and peering about in all quarters, if haply
- he might have sight of his hogs, heard the woeful lamentation that the
- hapless lady made, and got him up into the tower, and called out as loud
- as he might:--"Who wails up there?" The lady recognized her husbandman's
- voice, and called him by name, saying:--"Prithee, go fetch my maid, and
- cause her come up hither to me." The husbandman, knowing her by her
- voice, replied:--"Alas! Madam, who set you there? Your maid has been
- seeking you all day long: but who would ever have supposed that you were
- there?" Whereupon he took the props of the ladder, and set them in
- position, and proceeded to secure the rounds to them with withies. Thus
- engaged he was found by the maid, who, as she entered the tower, beat her
- face and breast, and unable longer to keep silence, cried out:--"Alas,
- sweet my lady, where are you?" Whereto the lady made answer as loud as
- she might:--"O my sister, here above am I, weep not, but fetch me my
- clothes forthwith." Well-nigh restored to heart, to hear her mistress's
- voice, the maid, assisted by the husbandman, ascended the ladder, which
- he had now all but set in order, and gaining the roof, and seeing her
- lady lie there naked, spent and fordone, and liker to a half-burned stump
- than to a human being, she planted her nails in her face and fell a
- weeping over her, as if she were a corpse. However, the lady bade her for
- God's sake be silent, and help her to dress, and having learned from her
- that none knew where she had been, save those that had brought her her
- clothes and the husbandman that was there present, was somewhat consoled,
- and besought her for God's sake to say nought of the matter to any. Thus
- long time they conversed, and then the husbandman took the lady on his
- shoulders, for walk she could not, and bore her safely out of the tower.
- The unfortunate maid, following after with somewhat less caution,
- slipped, and falling from the ladder to the ground, broke her thigh, and
- roared for pain like any lion. So the husbandman set the lady down upon a
- grassy mead, while he went to see what had befallen the maid, whom,
- finding her thigh broken, he brought, and laid beside the lady: who,
- seeing her woes completed by this last misfortune, and that she of whom,
- most of all, she had expected succour, was lamed of a thigh, was
- distressed beyond measure, and wept again so piteously that not only was
- the husbandman powerless to comfort her, but was himself fain to weep.
- However, as the sun was now low, that they might not be there surprised
- by night, he, with the disconsolate lady's approval, hied him home, and
- called to his aid two of his brothers and his wife, who returned with
- him, bearing a plank, whereon they laid the maid, and so they carried her
- to the lady's house. There, by dint of cold water and words of cheer,
- they restored some heart to the lady, whom the husbandman then took upon
- his shoulders, and bore to her chamber. The husbandman's wife fed her
- with sops of bread, and then undressed her, and put her to bed. They also
- provided the means to carry her and the maid to Florence; and so 'twas
- done. There the lady, who was very fertile in artifices, invented an
- entirely fictitious story of what had happened as well in regard of her
- maid as of herself, whereby she persuaded both her brothers and her
- sisters and every one else, that 'twas all due to the enchantments of
- evil spirits. The physicians lost no time, and, albeit the lady's
- suffering and mortification were extreme, for she left more than one skin
- sticking to the sheets, they cured her of a high fever, and certain
- attendant maladies; as also the maid of her fractured thigh. The end of
- all which was that the lady forgot her lover, and having learned
- discretion, was thenceforth careful neither to love nor to flout; and the
- scholar, learning that the maid had broken her thigh, deemed his
- vengeance complete, and was satisfied to say never a word more of the
- affair. Such then were the consequences of her flouts to this foolish
- young woman, who deemed that she might trifle with a scholar with the
- like impunity as with others, not duly understanding that they--I say not
- all, but the more part--know where the Devil keeps his tail.(1)
- Wherefore, my ladies, have a care how you flout men, and more especially
- scholars.
- (1) I.e. are a match for the Devil himself in cunning.
- NOVEL VIII.
- --
- Two men keep with one another: the one lies with the other's wife: the
- other, being ware thereof, manages with the aid of his wife to have the
- one locked in a chest, upon which he then lies with the wife of him that
- is locked therein.
- --
- Grievous and distressful was it to the ladies to hear how it fared with
- Elena; but as they accounted the retribution in a measure righteous, they
- were satisfied to expend upon her but a moderate degree of compassion,
- albeit they censured the scholar as severe, intemperately relentless, and
- indeed ruthless, in his vengeance. However, Pampinea having brought the
- story to a close, the queen bade Fiammetta follow suit; and prompt to
- obey, Fiammetta thus spoke:--Debonair my ladies, as, methinks, your
- feelings must have been somewhat harrowed by the severity of the
- resentful scholar, I deem it meet to soothe your vexed spirits with
- something of a more cheerful order. Wherefore I am minded to tell you a
- little story of a young man who bore an affront in a milder temper, and
- avenged himself with more moderation. Whereby you may understand that one
- should be satisfied if the ass and the wall are quits, nor by indulging a
- vindictive spirit to excess turn the requital of a wrong into an occasion
- of wrong-doing. You are to know, then, that at Siena, as I have heard
- tell, there dwelt two young men of good substance, and, for plebeians, of
- good family, the one Spinelloccio Tanena, the other Zeppa di Mino, by
- name; who, their houses being contiguous in the Camollia,(1) kept ever
- together, and, by what appeared, loved each other as brothers, or even
- more so, and had each a very fine woman to wife. Now it so befell that
- Spinelloccio, being much in Zeppa's house, as well when Zeppa was not, as
- when he was there, grew so familiar with Zeppa's wife, that he sometimes
- lay with her; and on this wise they continued to forgather a great while
- before any one was ware of it. However, one of these days Zeppa being at
- home, though the lady wist it not, Spinelloccio came in quest of him;
- and, the lady sending word that he was not at home, he forthwith went
- upstairs and found the lady in the saloon, and seeing none else there,
- kissed her, as did she him.
- Zeppa saw all that passed, but said nothing and kept close, being minded
- to see how the game would end, and soon saw his wife and Spinelloccio,
- still in one another's arms, hie them to her chamber and lock themselves
- in: whereat he was mightily incensed. But, witting that to make a noise,
- or do aught else overt, would not lessen but rather increase his
- dishonour, he cast about how he might be avenged on such wise that,
- without the affair getting wind, he might content his soul; and having,
- after long pondering, hit, as he thought, upon the expedient, he budged
- not from his retreat, until Spinelloccio had parted from the lady.
- Whereupon he hied him into the chamber, and there finding the lady with
- her head-gear, which Spinelloccio in toying with her had disarranged,
- scarce yet readjusted:--"Madam, what dost thou?" quoth he.
- Whereto:--"Why, dost not see?" returned the lady. "Troth do I," rejoined
- he, "and somewhat else have I seen that I would I had not." And so he
- questioned her of what had passed, and she, being mightily afraid, did
- after long parley confess that which she might not plausibly deny, to
- wit, her intimacy with Spinelloccio, and fell a beseeching him with tears
- to pardon her. "Lo, now, wife," quoth Zeppa, "thou hast done wrong, and,
- so thou wouldst have me pardon thee, have a care to do exactly as I shall
- bid thee; to wit, on this wise: thou must tell Spinelloccio, to find some
- occasion to part from me to-morrow morning about tierce, and come hither
- to thee; and while he is here I will come back, and when thou hearest me
- coming, thou wilt get him into this chest, and lock him in there; which
- when thou hast done, I will tell thee what else thou hast to do, which
- thou mayst do without the least misgiving, for I promise thee I will do
- him no harm." The lady, to content him, promised to do as he bade, and
- she kept her word.
- The morrow came, and Zeppa and Spinelloccio being together about tierce,
- Spinelloccio, having promised the lady to come to see her at that hour,
- said to Zeppa:--"I must go breakfast with a friend, whom I had lief not
- keep in waiting; therefore, adieu!" "Nay, but," quoth Zeppa, "'tis not
- yet breakfast-time." "No matter," returned Spinelloccio, "I have business
- on which I must speak with him; so I must be in good time." Whereupon
- Spinelloccio took his leave of Zeppa, and having reached Zeppa's house by
- a slightly circuitous route, and finding his wife there, was taken by her
- into the chamber, where they had not been long together when Zeppa
- returned. Hearing him come, the lady, feigning no small alarm, bundled
- Spinelloccio into the chest, as her husband had bidden her, and having
- locked him in, left him there. As Zeppa came upstairs:--"Wife," quoth he,
- "is it breakfast time?" "Ay, husband, 'tis so," replied the lady.
- Whereupon:--"Spinelloccio is gone to breakfast with a friend to-day,"
- quoth Zeppa, "leaving his wife at home: get thee to the window, and call
- her, and bid her come and breakfast with us." The lady, whose fear for
- herself made her mighty obedient, did as her husband bade her; and after
- much pressing Spinelloccio's wife came to breakfast with them, though she
- was given to understand that her husband would not be of the company. So,
- she being come, Zeppa received her most affectionately, and taking her
- familiarly by the hand, bade his wife, in an undertone, get her to the
- kitchen; he then led Spinelloccio's wife into the chamber, and locked the
- door. Hearing the key turn in the lock:--"Alas!" quoth the lady, "what
- means this, Zeppa? Is't for this you have brought me here? Is this the
- love you bear Spinelloccio? Is this your loyalty to him as your friend
- and comrade?" By the time she had done speaking, Zeppa, still keeping
- fast hold of her, was beside the chest, in which her husband was locked.
- Wherefore:--"Madam," quoth he, "spare me thy reproaches, until thou hast
- heard what I have to say to thee. I have loved, I yet love, Spinelloccio
- as a brother; and yesterday, though he knew it not, I discovered that the
- trust I reposed in him has for its guerdon that he lies with my wife, as
- with thee. Now, for that I love him, I purpose not to be avenged upon him
- save in the sort in which he offended. He has had my wife, and I intend
- to have thee. So thou wilt not grant me what I crave of thee, be sure I
- shall not fail to take it; and having no mind to let this affront pass
- unavenged, will make such play with him that neither thou nor he shall
- ever be happy again." The lady hearkening, and by dint of his repeated
- asseverations coming at length to believe him:--"Zeppa mine," quoth she,
- "as this thy vengeance is to light upon me, well content am I; so only
- thou let not this which we are to do embroil me with thy wife, with whom,
- notwithstanding the evil turn she has done me, I am minded to remain at
- peace." "Have no fear on that score," replied Zeppa; "nay, I will give
- thee into the bargain a jewel so rare and fair that thou hast not the
- like." Which said, he took her in his arms and fell a kissing her, and
- having laid her on the chest, in which her husband was safe under lock
- and key, did there disport himself with her to his heart's content, as
- she with him.
- Spinelloccio in the chest heard all that Zeppa had said, and how he was
- answered by the lady, and the Trevisan dance that afterwards went on over
- his head; whereat his mortification was such that for a great while he
- scarce hoped to live through it; and, but for the fear he had of Zeppa,
- he would have given his wife a sound rating, close prisoner though he
- was. But, as he bethought him that 'twas he that had given the first
- affront, and that Zeppa had good cause for acting as he did, and that he
- had dealt with him considerately and as a good fellow should, he resolved
- that if it were agreeable to Zeppa, they should be faster friends than
- ever before. However, Zeppa, having had his pleasure with the lady, got
- down from the chest, and being reminded by the lady of his promise of the
- jewel, opened the door of the chamber and brought his wife in. Quoth she
- with a laugh:--"Madam, you have given me tit for tat," and never a word
- more. Whereupon:--"Open the chest," quoth Zeppa; and she obeying, he
- shewed the lady her Spinelloccio lying therein. 'Twould be hard to say
- whether of the twain was the more shame-stricken, Spinelloccio to be
- confronted with Zeppa, knowing that Zeppa wist what he had done, or the
- lady to meet her husband's eyes, knowing that he had heard what went on
- above his head. "Lo, here is the jewel I give thee," quoth Zeppa to her,
- pointing to Spinelloccio, who, as he came forth of the chest, blurted
- out:--"Zeppa, we are quits, and so 'twere best, as thou saidst a while
- ago to my wife, that we still be friends as we were wont, and as we had
- nought separate, save our wives, that henceforth we have them also in
- common." "Content," quoth Zeppa; and so in perfect peace and accord they
- all four breakfasted together. And thenceforth each of the ladies had two
- husbands, and each of the husbands two wives; nor was there ever the
- least dispute or contention between them on that score.
- (1) A suburb of Siena.
- NOVEL IX.
- --
- Bruno and Buffalmacco prevail upon Master Simone, a physician, to betake
- him by night to a certain place, there to be enrolled in a company that
- go the course. Buffalmacco throws him into a foul ditch, and there they
- leave him.
- --
- When the ladies had made merry a while over the partnership in wives
- established by the two Sienese, the queen, who now, unless she were
- minded to infringe Dioneo's privilege, alone remained to tell, began on
- this wise:--Fairly earned indeed, loving ladies, was the flout that
- Spinelloccio got from Zeppa. Wherefore my judgment jumps with that which
- Pampinea expressed a while ago, to wit, that he is not severely to be
- censured who bestows a flout on one that provokes it or deserves it; and
- as Spinelloccio deserved it, so 'tis my purpose to tell you of one that
- provoked it, for I deem that those from whom he received it, were rather
- to be commended than condemned. The man that got it was a physician, who,
- albeit he was but a blockhead, returned from Bologna to Florence in
- mantle and hood of vair.
- 'Tis matter of daily experience that our citizens come back to us from
- Bologna, this man a judge, that a physician, and the other a notary,
- flaunting it in ample flowing robes, and adorned with the scarlet and the
- vair and other array most goodly to see; and how far their doings
- correspond with this fair seeming, is also matter of daily experience.
- Among whom 'tis not long since Master Simone da Villa, one whose
- patrimony was more ample than his knowledge, came back wearing the
- scarlet and a broad stripe(1) on the shoulder, and a doctor, as he called
- himself, and took a house in the street that we now call Via del
- Cocomero. Now this Master Simone, being thus, as we said, come back, had
- this among other singular habits, that he could never see a soul pass
- along the street, but he must needs ask any that was by, who that man
- was; and he was as observant of all the doings of men, and as sedulous to
- store his memory with such matters, as if they were to serve him to
- compound the drugs that he was to give his patients. Now, of all that he
- saw, those that he eyed most observantly were two painters, of whom here
- to-day mention has twice been made, Bruno, to wit, and Buffalmacco, who
- were ever together, and were his neighbours. And as it struck him that
- they daffed the world aside and lived more lightheartedly than any others
- that he knew, as indeed they did, he enquired of not a few folk as to
- their rank. And learning on all hands that they were poor men and
- painters, he could not conceive it possible that they should live thus
- contentedly in poverty, but made his mind up that, being, as he was
- informed, clever fellows, they must have some secret source from which
- they drew immense gains; for which reason he grew all agog to get on
- friendly terms with them, or any rate with one of them, and did succeed
- in making friends with Bruno.
- Bruno, who had not needed to be much with him in order to discover that
- this physician was but a dolt, had never such a jolly time in palming off
- his strange stories upon him, while the physician, on his part, was
- marvellously delighted with Bruno; to whom, having bidden him to
- breakfast, and thinking that for that reason he might talk familiarly
- with him, he expressed the amazement with which he regarded both him and
- Buffalmacco, for that, being but poor men, they lived so lightheartedly,
- and asked him to tell him how they managed. At which fresh proof of the
- doctor's simplicity and fatuity Bruno was inclined to laugh; but,
- bethinking him that 'twere best to answer him according to his folly, he
- said:--"Master, there are not many persons to whom I would disclose our
- manner of life, but, as you are my friend, and I know you will not let it
- go further, I do not mind telling you. The fact is that my comrade and I
- live not only as lightheartedly and jovially as you see, but much more
- so; and yet neither our art, nor any property that we possess, yields us
- enough to keep us in water: not that I would have you suppose that we go
- a thieving: no, 'tis that we go the course, and thereby without the least
- harm done to a soul we get all that we need, nay, all that we desire; and
- thus it is that we live so lightheartedly as you see." Which explanation
- the doctor believing none the less readily that he knew not what it
- meant, was lost in wonder, and forthwith burned with a most vehement
- desire to know what going the course might be, and was instant with Bruno
- to expound it, assuring him that he would never tell a soul. "Alas!
- Master," said Bruno, "what is this you ask of me? 'Tis a mighty great
- secret you would have me impart to you: 'twould be enough to undo me, to
- send me packing out of the world, nay, into the very jaws of Lucifer of
- San Gallo,(2) if it came to be known. But such is the respect in which I
- hold your quiditative pumpionship of Legnaia, and the trust I repose in
- you, that I am not able to deny you aught you ask of me; and so I will
- tell it you, on condition that you swear by the cross at Montesone that
- you will keep your promise, and never repeat it to a soul."
- The Master gave the required assurance. Whereupon:--"You are then to
- know," quoth Bruno, "sweet my Master, that 'tis not long since there was
- in this city a great master in necromancy, hight Michael Scott, for that
- he was of Scotland, and great indeed was the honour in which he was held
- by not a few gentlemen, most of whom are now dead; and when the time came
- that he must needs depart from Florence, he at their instant entreaty
- left behind him two pupils, adepts both, whom he bade hold themselves
- ever ready to pleasure those gentlemen who had done him honour. And very
- handsomely they did serve the said gentlemen in certain of their love
- affairs and other little matters; and finding the city and the manners of
- the citizens agreeable to them, they made up their minds to stay here
- always, and grew friendly and very intimate with some of the citizens,
- making no distinction between gentle and simple, rich or poor, so only
- they were such as were conformable to their ways. And to gratify these
- their friends they formed a company of perhaps twenty-five men, to meet
- together at least twice a month in a place appointed by them; where, when
- they are met, each utters his desire, and forthwith that same night they
- accomplish it. Now Buffalmacco and I, being extraordinarily great and
- close friends with these two adepts, were by them enrolled in this
- company, and are still members of it. And I assure you that, as often as
- we are assembled together, the adornments of the saloon in which we eat
- are a marvel to see, ay, and the tables laid as for kings, and the
- multitudes of stately and handsome servants, as well women as men, at the
- beck and call of every member of the company, and the basins, and the
- ewers, the flasks and the cups, and all else that is there for our
- service in eating and drinking, of nought but gold and silver, and
- therewithal the abundance and variety of the viands, suited to the taste
- of each, that are set before us, each in due course, these too be
- marvels. 'Twere vain for me to seek to describe to you the sweet concord
- that is there of innumerable instruments of music, and the tuneful songs
- that salute our ears; nor might I hope to tell you how much wax is burned
- at these banquets, or compute the quantity of the comfits that are eaten,
- or the value of the wines that are drunk. Nor, my pumpkin o' wit, would I
- have you suppose that, when we are there, we wear our common clothes,
- such as you now see me wear; nay, there is none there so humble but he
- shews as an emperor, so sumptuous are our garments, so splendid our
- trappings. But among all the delights of the place none may compare with
- the fair ladies, who, so one do but wish, are brought thither from every
- part of the world. Why, you might see there My Lady of the Barbanichs,
- the Queen of the Basques, the Consort of the Soldan, the Empress of
- Osbech, the Ciancianfera of Nornieca, the Semistante of Berlinzone, and
- the Scalpedra of Narsia. But why seek to enumerate them all? They include
- all the queens in the world, ay, even to the Schinchimurra of Prester
- John, who has the horns sprouting out of her nether end: so there's for
- you. Now when these ladies have done with the wine and the comfits, they
- tread a measure or two, each with the man at whose behest she is come,
- and then all go with their gallants to their chambers. And know that each
- of these chambers shews as a very Paradise, so fair is it, ay, and no
- less fragrant than the cases of aromatics in your shop when you are
- pounding the cumin: and therein are beds that you would find more goodly
- than that of the Doge of Venice, and 'tis in them we take our rest; and
- how busily they ply the treadle, and how lustily they tug at the frame to
- make the stuff close and compact, I leave you to imagine. However, among
- the luckiest of all I reckon Buffalmacco and myself; for that Buffalmacco
- for the most part fetches him the Queen of France, and I do the like with
- the Queen of England, who are just the finest women in the world, and we
- have known how to carry it with them so that we are the very eyes of
- their heads. So I leave it to your own judgment to determine whether we
- have not good cause to live and bear ourselves with a lighter heart than
- others, seeing that we are beloved of two such great queens, to say
- nothing of the thousand or two thousand florins that we have of them
- whenever we are so minded. Now this in the vulgar we call going the
- course, because, as the corsairs prey upon all the world, so do we;
- albeit with this difference, that, whereas they never restore their
- spoil, we do so as soon as we have done with it. So now, my worthy
- Master, you understand what we mean by going the course; but how close it
- behoves you to keep such a secret, you may see for yourself; so I spare
- you any further exhortations."
- The Master, whose skill did not reach, perhaps, beyond the treatment of
- children for the scurf, took all that Bruno said for gospel, and burned
- with so vehement a desire to be admitted into this company, that he could
- not have longed for the summum bonum itself with more ardour. So, after
- telling Bruno that indeed 'twas no wonder they bore them lightheartedly,
- he could scarce refrain from asking him there and then to have him
- enrolled, albeit he deemed it more prudent to defer his suit, until by
- lavishing honour upon him he had gained a right to urge it with more
- confidence. He therefore made more and more of him, had him to breakfast
- and sup with him, and treated him with extraordinary respect. In short,
- such and so constant was their intercourse that it seemed as though the
- Master wist not how to live without Bruno. As it went so well with him,
- Bruno, to mark his sense of the honour done him by the doctor, painted in
- his saloon a picture symbolical of Lent, and an Agnus Dei at the entrance
- of his chamber, and an alembic over his front door, that those who would
- fain consult him might know him from other physicians, besides a battle
- of rats and mice in his little gallery, which the doctor thought an
- extremely fine piece. And from time to time, when he had not supped with
- the Master, he would say to him:--"Last night I was with the company, and
- being a little tired of the Queen of England, I fetched me the Gumedra of
- the great Can of Tarisi." "Gumedra," quoth the Master; "what is she? I
- know not the meaning of these words." "Thereat, Master," replied Bruno,
- "I marvel not; for I have heard tell that neither Porcograsso nor
- Vannacena say aught thereof." "Thou wouldst say Ippocrasso and Avicenna,"
- returned the Master. "I'faith I know not," quoth Bruno. "I as ill know
- the meaning of your words as you of mine. But Gumedra in the speech of
- the great Can signifies the same as Empress in ours. Ah! a fine woman you
- would find her, and plenty of her! I warrant she would make you forget
- your drugs and prescriptions and plasters." And so, Bruno from time to
- time whetting the Master's appetite, and the Master at length thinking
- that by his honourable entreatment of him he had fairly made a conquest
- of Bruno, it befell that one evening, while he held the light for Bruno,
- who was at work on the battle of rats and mice, he determined to discover
- to him his desire; and as they were alone, thus he spoke:--"God knows,
- Bruno, that there lives not the man, for whom I would do as much as for
- thee: why, if thou wast to bid me go all the way from here to
- Peretola,(3) I almost think I would do so; wherefore I trust thou wilt
- not deem it strange if I talk to thee as an intimate friend and in
- confidence. Thou knowest 'tis not long since thou didst enlarge with me
- on thy gay company and their doings, which has engendered in me such a
- desire as never was to know more thereof. Nor without reason, as thou
- wilt discover, should I ever become a member of the said company, for I
- straightway give thee leave to make game of me, should I not then fetch
- me the fairest maid thou hast seen this many a day, whom I saw last year
- at Cacavincigli, and to whom I am entirely devoted; and by the body of
- Christ I offered her ten Bolognese groats, that she should pleasure me,
- and she would not. Wherefore I do most earnestly entreat thee to instruct
- me what I must do to fit myself for membership in the company; and never
- doubt that in me you will have a true and loyal comrade, and one that
- will do you honour. And above all thou seest how goodly I am of my
- person, and how well furnished with legs, and of face as fresh as a rose;
- and therewithal I am a doctor of medicine, and I scarce think you have
- any such among you; and not a little excellent lore I have, and many a
- good song by heart, of which I will sing thee one;" and forthwith he fell
- a singing.
- Bruno had such a mind to laugh, that he could scarce contain himself; but
- still he kept a grave countenance; and, when the Master had ended his
- song, and said:--"How likes it thee?" he answered:--"Verily, no lyre of
- straw could vie with you, so artargutically(4) you refine your strain."
- "I warrant thee," returned the Master, "thou hadst never believed it,
- hadst thou not heard me." "Ay, indeed, sooth sayst thou," quoth Bruno.
- "And I have other songs to boot," said the Master; "but enough of this at
- present. Thou must know that I, such as thou seest me, am a gentleman's
- son, albeit my father lived in the contado; and on my mother's side I
- come of the Vallecchio family. And as thou mayst have observed I have
- quite the finest library and wardrobe of all the physicians in Florence.
- God's faith! I have a robe that cost, all told, close upon a hundred
- pounds in bagattines(5) more than ten years ago. Wherefore I make most
- instant suit to thee that thou get me enrolled, which if thou do, God's
- faith! be thou never so ill, thou shalt pay me not a stiver for my
- tendance of thee." Whereupon Bruno, repeating to himself, as he had done
- many a time before, that the doctor was a very numskull:--"Master," quoth
- he, "shew a little more light here, and have patience until I have put
- the finishing touches to the tails of these rats, and then I will answer
- you." So he finished the tails, and then, putting on an air as if he were
- not a little embarrassed by the request:--"Master mine," quoth he, "I
- should have great things to expect from you; that I know: but yet what
- you ask of me, albeit to your great mind it seems but a little thing, is
- a weighty matter indeed for me; nor know I a soul in the world, to whom,
- though well able, I would grant such a request, save to you alone: and
- this I say not for friendship's sake alone, albeit I love you as I ought,
- but for that your discourse is so fraught with wisdom, that 'tis enough
- to make a beguine start out of her boots, much more, then, to incline me
- to change my purpose; and the more I have of your company, the wiser I
- repute you. Whereto I may add, that, if for no other cause, I should
- still be well disposed towards you for the love I see you bear to that
- fair piece of flesh of which you spoke but now. But this I must tell you:
- 'tis not in my power to do as you would have me in this matter; but,
- though I cannot myself do the needful in your behalf, if you will pledge
- your faith, whole and solid as may be, to keep my secret, I will shew you
- how to go about it for yourself, and I make no doubt that, having this
- fine library and the other matters you spoke of a while ago, you will
- compass your end." Quoth then the Master:--"Nay, but speak freely; I see
- thou dost yet scarce know me, and how well I can keep a secret. There
- were few things that Messer Guasparruolo da Saliceto did, when he was
- Podesta of Forlinpopoli, that he did not confide to me, so safe he knew
- they would be in my keeping: and wouldst thou be satisfied that I say
- sooth? I assure you I was the first man whom he told that he was about to
- marry Bergamina: so there's for thee." "Well and good," said Bruno, "if
- such as he confided in you, well indeed may I do the like. Know, then,
- that you will have to proceed on this wise:--Our company is governed by a
- captain and a council of two, who are changed every six months: and on
- the calends without fail Buffalmacco will be captain, and I councillor:
- 'tis so fixed: and the captain has not a little power to promote the
- admission and enrolment of whomsoever he will: wherefore, methinks, you
- would do well to make friends with Buffalmacco and honourably entreat
- him: he is one that, marking your great wisdom, will take a mighty liking
- to you forthwith; and when you have just a little dazzled him with your
- wisdom and these fine things of yours, you may make your request to him;
- and he will not know how to say no--I have already talked with him of
- you, and he is as well disposed to you as may be--and having so done you
- will leave the rest to me." Whereupon:--"Thy words are to me for an
- exceeding great joy," quoth the Master: "and if he be one that loves to
- converse with sages, he has but to exchange a word or two with me, and I
- will answer for it that he will be ever coming to see me; for so fraught
- with wisdom am I, that I could furnish a whole city therewith, and still
- remain a great sage."
- Having thus set matters in train, Bruno related the whole affair, point
- by point, to Buffalmacco, to whom it seemed a thousand years till he
- should be able to give Master Noodle that of which he was in quest. The
- doctor, now all agog to go the course, lost no time, and found no
- difficulty, in making friends with Buffalmacco, and fell to entertaining
- him, and Bruno likewise, at breakfast and supper in most magnificent
- style; while they fooled him to the top of his bent; for, being gentlemen
- that appreciated excellent wines and fat capons, besides other good cheer
- in plenty, they were inclined to be very neighbourly, and needed no
- second bidding, but, always letting him understand that there was none
- other whose company they relished so much, kept ever with him.
- However, in due time the Master asked of Buffalmacco that which he had
- before asked of Bruno. Whereat Buffalmacco feigned to be not a little
- agitated, and turning angrily to Bruno, made a great pother about his
- ears, saying:--"By the Most High God of Pasignano I vow I can scarce
- forbear to give thee that over the head that should make thy nose fall
- about thy heels, traitor that thou art, for 'tis thou alone that canst
- have discovered these secrets to the Master." Whereupon the Master
- interposed with no little vigour, averring with oaths that 'twas from
- another source that he had gotten his knowledge; and Buffalmacco at
- length allowed himself to be pacified by the sage's words. So turning to
- him:--"Master," quoth he, "'tis evident indeed that you have been at
- Bologna, and have come back hither with a mouth that blabs not, and that
- 'twas on no pippin, as many a dolt does, but on the good long pumpkin
- that you learned your A B C; and, if I mistake not, you were baptized on
- a Sunday;(6) and though Bruno has told me that 'twas medicine you studied
- there, 'tis my opinion that you there studied the art of catching men, of
- which, what with your wisdom and your startling revelations, you are the
- greatest master that ever I knew." He would have said more, but the
- doctor, turning to Bruno, broke in with:--"Ah! what it is to consort and
- converse with the wise! Who but this worthy man would thus have read my
- mind through and through? Less quick by far to rate me at my true worth
- wast thou. But what said I when thou toldst me that Buffalmacco delighted
- to converse with sages? Confess now; have I not kept my word?" "Verily,"
- quoth Bruno, "you have more than kept it." Then, addressing
- Buffalmacco:--"Ah!" cried the Master, "what hadst thou said, hadst thou
- seen me at Bologna, where there was none, great or small, doctor or
- scholar, but was devoted to me, so well wist I how to entertain them with
- my words of wisdom. Nay more; let me tell thee that there was never a
- word I spoke but set every one a laughing, so great was the pleasure it
- gave them. And at my departure they all deplored it most bitterly, and
- would have had me remain, and by way of inducement went so far as to
- propose that I should be sole lecturer to all the students in medicine
- that were there; which offer I declined, for that I was minded to return
- hither, having vast estates here, that have ever belonged to my family;
- which, accordingly, I did." Quoth then Bruno to Buffalmacco:--"How shews
- it, now, man? Thou didst not believe me when I told thee what he was. By
- the Gospels there is never a physician in this city that has the lore of
- ass's urine by heart as he has: verily, thou wouldst not find his like
- between here and the gates of Paris. Now see if thou canst help doing as
- he would have thee." "'Tis even as Bruno says," observed the doctor, "but
- I am not understood here. You Florentines are somewhat slow of wit. Would
- you could see me in my proper element, among a company of doctors!"
- Whereupon:--"Of a truth, Master," quoth Buffalmacco, "your lore far
- exceeds any I should ever have imputed to you; wherefore, addressing you
- as 'tis meet to address a man of your wisdom, I give you disjointedly to
- understand that without fail I will procure your enrolment in our
- company."
- After this promise the honours lavished by the doctor upon the two men
- grew and multiplied; in return for which they diverted themselves by
- setting him a prancing upon every wildest chimera in the world; and
- promised, among other matters, to give him by way of mistress, the
- Countess of Civillari,(7) whom they averred to be the goodliest creature
- to be found in all the Netherlands of the human race; and the doctor
- asking who this Countess might be:--"Mature my gherkin," quoth
- Buffalmacco, "she is indeed a very great lady, and few houses are there
- in the world in which she has not some jurisdiction; nay, the very Friars
- Minors, to say nought of other folk, pay her tribute to the sound of the
- kettle-drum. And I may tell you that, when she goes abroad, she makes her
- presence very sensibly felt, albeit for the most part she keeps herself
- close: however, 'tis no great while since she passed by your door one
- night on her way to the Arno to bathe her feet and get a breath of air;
- but most of her time she abides at Laterina.(8) Serjeants has she not a
- few that go their rounds at short intervals, bearing, one and all, the
- rod and the bucket in token of her sovereignty, and barons in plenty in
- all parts, as Tamagnino della Porta,(9) Don Meta,(10) Manico di
- Scopa,(11) Squacchera,(12) and others, with whom I doubt not you are
- intimately acquainted, though you may not just now bear them in mind.
- Such, then, is the great lady, in whose soft arms we, if we delude not
- ourselves, will certainly place you, in which case you may well dispense
- with her of Cacavincigli."
- The doctor, who had been born and bred at Bologna, and understood not
- their words, found the lady quite to his mind; and shortly afterwards the
- painters brought him tidings of his election into the company. Then came
- the day of the nocturnal gathering, and the doctor had the two men to
- breakfast; and when they had breakfasted, he asked them after what manner
- he was to join the company. Whereupon:--"Lo, now, Master," quoth
- Buffalmacco, "you have need of a stout heart; otherwise you may meet with
- some let, to our most grievous hurt; and for what cause you have need of
- this stout heart, you shall hear. You must contrive to be to-night about
- the hour of first sleep on one of the raised tombs that have been lately
- placed outside of Santa Maria Novella; and mind that you wear one of your
- best gowns, that your first appearance may impress the company with a
- proper sense of your dignity, and also because, as we are informed, for
- we were not present at the time, the Countess, by reason that you are a
- gentleman, is minded to make you a Knight of the Bath at her own charges.
- So you will wait there, until one, whom we shall send, come for you: who,
- that you may know exactly what you have to expect, will be a beast black
- and horned, of no great size; and he will go snorting and bounding amain
- about the piazza in front of you, with intent to terrify you; but, when
- he perceives that you are not afraid, he will draw nigh you quietly, and
- when he is close by you, then get you down from the tomb, fearing
- nothing; and, minding you neither of God nor of the saints, mount him,
- and when you are well set on his back, then fold your arms upon your
- breast, as in submission, and touch him no more. Then, going gently, he
- will bear you to us; but once mind you of God, or the saints, or give way
- to fear, and I warn you, he might give you a fall, or dash you against
- something that you would find scarce pleasant; wherefore, if your heart
- misgives you, you were best not to come, for you would assuredly do
- yourself a mischief, and us no good at all." Quoth then the doctor:--"You
- know me not as yet; 'tis perchance because I wear the gloves and the long
- robe that you misdoubt me. Ah! did you but know what feats I have done in
- times past at Bologna, when I used to go after the women with my
- comrades, you would be lost in amazement. God's faith! on one of those
- nights there was one of them, a poor sickly creature she was too, and
- stood not a cubit in height, who would not come with us; so first I
- treated her to many a good cuff, and then I took her up by main force,
- and carried her well-nigh as far as a cross-bow will send a bolt, and so
- caused her, willy-nilly, come with us. And on another occasion I mind me
- that, having none other with me but my servant, a little after the hour
- of Ave Maria, I passed beside the cemetery of the Friars Minors, and,
- though that very day a woman had been there interred, I had no fear at
- all. So on this score you may make your minds easy; for indeed I am a man
- of exceeding great courage and prowess. And to appear before you with due
- dignity, I will don my scarlet gown, in which I took my doctor's degree,
- and it remains to be seen if the company will not give me a hearty
- welcome, and make me captain out of hand. Let me once be there, and you
- will see how things will go; else how is it that this countess, that has
- not yet seen me, is already so enamoured of me that she is minded to make
- me a Knight of the Bath? And whether I shall find knighthood agreeable,
- or know how to support the dignity well or ill, leave that to me."
- Whereupon:--"Well said, excellent well said," quoth Buffalmacco: "but
- look to it you disappoint us not, either by not coming or by not being
- found, when we send for you; and this I say, because 'tis cold weather,
- and you medical gentlemen take great care of your health." "God forbid,"
- replied the doctor, "I am none of your chilly folk; I fear not the cold:
- 'tis seldom indeed, when I leave my bed a nights, to answer the call of
- nature, as one must at times, that I do more than throw a pelisse over my
- doublet; so rest assured that I shall be there."
- So they parted; and towards nightfall the Master found a pretext for
- leaving his wife, and privily got out his fine gown, which in due time he
- donned, and so hied him to the tombs, and having perched himself on one
- of them, huddled himself together, for 'twas mighty cold, to await the
- coming of the beast. Meanwhile Buffalmacco, who was a tall man and
- strong, provided himself with one of those dominos that were wont to be
- worn in certain revels which are now gone out of fashion; and enveloped
- in a black pelisse turned inside out, shewed like a bear, save that the
- domino had the face of a devil, and was furnished with horns: in which
- guise, Bruno following close behind to see the sport, he hied him to the
- piazza of Santa Maria Novella. And no sooner wist he that the Master was
- on the tomb, than he fell a careering in a most wild and furious manner
- to and fro the piazza, and snorting and bellowing and gibbering like one
- demented, insomuch that, as soon as the Master was ware of him, each
- several hair on his head stood on end, and he fell a trembling in every
- limb, being in sooth more timid than a woman, and wished himself safe at
- home: but as there he was, he strove might and main to keep his spirits
- up, so overmastering was his desire to see the marvels of which Bruno and
- Buffalmacco had told him. However, after a while Buffalmacco allowed his
- fury to abate, and came quietly up to the tomb on which the Master was,
- and stood still. The Master, still all of a tremble with fear, could not
- at first make up his mind, whether to get on the beast's back, or no; but
- at length, doubting it might be the worse for him if he did not mount the
- beast, he overcame the one dread by the aid of the other, got down from
- the tomb, saying under his breath:--"God help me!" and seated himself
- very comfortably on the beast's back; and then, still quaking in every
- limb, he folded his arms as he had been bidden.
- Buffalmacco now started, going on all-fours, at a very slow pace, in the
- direction of Santa Maria della Scala, and so brought the Master within a
- short distance of the Convent of the Ladies of Ripoli. Now, in that
- quarter there were divers trenches, into which the husbandmen of those
- parts were wont to discharge the Countess of Civillari, that she might
- afterwards serve them to manure their land. Of one of which trenches, as
- he came by, Buffalmacco skirted the edge, and seizing his opportunity,
- raised a hand, and caught the doctor by one of his feet, and threw him
- off his back and headforemost right into the trench, and then, making a
- terrific noise and frantic gestures as before, went bounding off by Santa
- Maria della Scala towards the field of Ognissanti, where he found Bruno,
- who had betaken him thither that he might laugh at his ease; and there
- the two men in high glee took their stand to observe from a distance how
- the bemired doctor would behave. Finding himself in so loathsome a place,
- the Master struggled might and main to raise himself and get out; and
- though again and again he slipped back, and swallowed some drams of the
- ordure, yet, bemired from head to foot, woebegone and crestfallen, he did
- at last get out, leaving his hood behind him. Then, removing as much of
- the filth as he might with his hands, knowing not what else to do, he got
- him home, where, by dint of much knocking, he at last gained admittance;
- and scarce was the door closed behind the malodorous Master, when Bruno
- and Buffalmacco were at it, all agog to hear after what manner he would
- be received by his wife. They were rewarded by hearing her give him the
- soundest rating that ever bad husband got. "Ah!" quoth she, "fine doings,
- these! Thou hast been with some other woman, and wast minded to make a
- brave shew in thy scarlet gown. So I was not enough for thee! not enough
- for thee forsooth, I that might content a crowd! Would they had choked
- thee with the filth in which they have soused thee; 'twas thy fit
- resting-place. Now, to think that a physician of repute, and a married
- man, should go by night after strange women!" Thus, and with much more to
- the like effect, while the doctor was busy washing himself, she ceased
- not to torment him until midnight.
- On the morrow, Bruno and Buffalmacco, having painted their bodies all
- over with livid patches to give them the appearance of having been
- thrashed, came to the doctor's house, and finding that he was already
- risen, went in, being saluted on all hands by a foul smell, for time had
- not yet served thoroughly to cleanse the house. The doctor, being
- informed that they were come to see him, advanced to meet them, and bade
- them good morning. Whereto Bruno and Buffalmacco, having prepared their
- answer, replied:--"No good morning shall you have from us: rather we pray
- God to give you bad years enough to make an end of you, seeing that there
- lives no more arrant and faithless traitor. 'Tis no fault of yours, if
- we, that did our best to honour and pleasure you, have not come by a
- dog's death; your faithlessness has cost us to-night as many sound blows
- as would more than suffice to keep an ass a trotting all the way from
- here to Rome; besides which, we have been in peril of expulsion from the
- company in which we arranged for your enrolment. If you doubt our words,
- look but at our bodies, what a state they are in." And so, baring their
- breasts they gave him a glimpse of the patches they had painted there,
- and forthwith covered them up again. The doctor would have made them his
- excuses, and recounted his misfortunes, and how he had been thrown into
- the trench. But Buffalmacco broke in with:--"Would he had thrown you from
- the bridge into the Arno! Why must you needs mind you of God and the
- saints? Did we not forewarn you?" "God's faith," returned the doctor,
- "that did I not." "How?" quoth Buffalmacco, "you did not? You do so above
- a little; for he that we sent for you told us that you trembled like an
- aspen, and knew not where you were. You have played us a sorry trick; but
- never another shall do so; and as for you, we will give you such requital
- thereof as you deserve." The doctor now began to crave their pardon, and
- to implore them for God's sake not to expose him to shame, and used all
- the eloquence at his command to make his peace with them. And if he had
- honourably entreated them before, he thenceforth, for fear they should
- publish his disgrace, did so much more abundantly, and courted them both
- by entertaining them at his table and in other ways. And so you have
- heard how wisdom is imparted to those that get it not at Bologna.
- (1) The distinguishing mark of a doctor in those days. Fanfani, Vocab.
- della Lingua Italiana, 1891, "Batolo."
- (2) Perhaps an allusion to some frightful picture.
- (3) About four miles from Florence.
- (4) In the Italian "artagoticamente," a word of Boccaccio's own minting.
- (5) A Venetian coin of extremely low value, being reckoned as 1/4 of the
- Florentine quattrino.
- (6) I.e. without salt, that Florentine symbol of wit, not being so
- readily procurable on a holiday as on working-days.
- (7) A public sink at Florence.
- (8) In the contado of Arezzo: the equivoque is tolerably obvious.
- (9) Slang for an ill-kept jakes.
- (10) Also slang: signifying a pyramidal pile of ordure.
- (11) Broom-handle.
- (12) The meaning of this term may perhaps be divined from the sound.
- NOVEL X.
- --
- A Sicilian woman cunningly conveys from a merchant that which he has
- brought to Palermo; he, making a shew of being come back thither with far
- greater store of goods than before, borrows money of her, and leaves her
- in lieu thereof water and tow.
- --
- How much in divers passages the queen's story moved the ladies to
- laughter, it boots not to ask: none was there in whose eyes the tears
- stood not full a dozen times for excess of merriment. However, it being
- ended, and Dioneo witting that 'twas now his turn, thus spake
- he:--Gracious ladies, 'tis patent to all that wiles are diverting in the
- degree of the wiliness of him that is by them beguiled. Wherefore, albeit
- stories most goodly have been told by you all, I purpose to relate one
- which should afford you more pleasure than any that has been told, seeing
- that she that was beguiled was far more cunning in beguiling others than
- any of the beguiled of whom you have spoken.
- There was, and perhaps still is, a custom in all maritime countries that
- have ports, that all merchants arriving there with merchandise, should,
- on discharging, bring all their goods into a warehouse, called in many
- places "dogana," and maintained by the state, or the lord of the land;
- where those that are assigned to that office allot to each merchant, on
- receipt of an invoice of all his goods and the value thereof, a room in
- which he stores his goods under lock and key; whereupon the said officers
- of the dogana enter all the merchant's goods to his credit in the book of
- the dogana, and afterwards make him pay duty thereon, or on such part as
- he withdraws from the warehouse. By which book of the dogana the brokers
- not seldom find out the sorts and quantities of the merchandise that is
- there, and also who are the owners thereof, with whom, as occasion
- serves, they afterwards treat of exchanges, barters, sales and other
- modes of disposing of the goods. Which custom obtained, as in many other
- places, so also at Palermo in Sicily, where in like manner there were and
- are not a few women, fair as fair can be, but foes to virtue, who by
- whoso knows them not would be reputed great and most virtuous ladies. And
- being given not merely to fleece but utterly to flay men, they no sooner
- espy a foreign merchant in the city, than they find out from the book of
- the dogana how much he has there and what he is good for; and then by
- caressing and amorous looks and gestures, and words of honeyed sweetness,
- they strive to entice and allure the merchant to their love, and not
- seldom have they succeeded, and wrested from him great part or the whole
- of his merchandise; and of some they have gotten goods and ship and flesh
- and bones, so delightsomely have they known how to ply the shears.
- Now 'tis not long since one of our young Florentines, Niccolo da Cignano
- by name, albeit he was called Salabaetto, arrived there, being sent by
- his masters with all the woollen stuffs that he had not been able to
- dispose of at Salerno fair, which might perhaps be worth five hundred
- florins of gold; and having given the invoice to the officers of the
- dogana and stored the goods, Salabaetto was in no hurry to get them out
- of bond, but took a stroll or two about the city for his diversion. And
- as he was fresh-complexioned and fair and not a little debonair, it so
- befell that one of these ladies that plied the shears, and called herself
- Jancofiore, began to ogle him. Whereof he taking note, and deeming that
- she was a great lady, supposed that she was taken by his good looks, and
- cast about how he might manage this amour with all due discretion;
- wherefore, saying nought to a soul, he began to pass to and fro before
- her house. Which she observing, occupied herself for a few days in
- inflaming his passion, and then affecting to be dying of love for him,
- sent privily to him a woman that she had in her service, and who was an
- adept in the arts of the procuress. She, after not a little palaver, told
- him, while the tears all but stood in her eyes, that for his handsome
- person and winsome air her mistress was so enamoured of him, that she
- found no peace by day or by night; and therefore, if 'twere agreeable to
- him, there was nought she desired so much as to meet him privily at a
- bagnio: whereupon she drew a ring from her purse, and gave it him by way
- of token from her mistress. Overjoyed as ne'er another to hear such good
- news, Salabaetto took the ring, and, after drawing it across his eyes and
- kissing it, put it on his finger, and told the good woman that, if
- Madonna Jancofiore loved him, she was well requited, for that he loved
- her more dearly than himself, and that he was ready to meet her wherever
- and whenever she might see fit. With which answer the procuress hied her
- back to her mistress, and shortly afterwards Salabaetto was informed that
- he was to meet the lady at a certain bagnio at vespers of the ensuing
- day.
- So, saying nought to a soul of the matter, he hied him punctually at the
- appointed hour to the bagnio, and found that it had been taken by the
- lady; nor had he long to wait before two female slaves made their
- appearance, bearing on their heads, the one a great and goodly mattress
- of wadding, and the other a huge and well-filled basket; and having laid
- the mattress on a bedstead in one of the rooms of the bagnio, they
- covered it with a pair of sheets of the finest fabric, bordered with
- silk, and a quilt of the whitest Cyprus buckram, with two
- daintily-embroidered pillows. The slaves then undressed and got into the
- bath, which they thoroughly washed and scrubbed: whither soon afterwards
- the lady, attended by other two female slaves, came, and made haste to
- greet Salabaetto with the heartiest of cheer; and when, after heaving
- many a mighty sigh, she had embraced and kissed him:--"I know not," quoth
- she, "who but thou could have brought me to this, such a fire hast thou
- kindled in my soul, little dog of a Tuscan!" Whereupon she was pleased
- that they should undress, and get into the bath, and two of the slaves
- with them; which, accordingly, they did; and she herself, suffering none
- other to lay a hand upon him, did with wondrous care wash Salabaetto from
- head to foot with soap perfumed with musk and cloves; after which she let
- the slaves wash and shampoo herself. The slaves then brought two spotless
- sheets of finest texture, which emitted such a scent of roses, that 'twas
- as if there was nought there but roses, in one of which having wrapped
- Salabaetto, and in the other the lady, they bore them both to bed, where,
- the sheets in which they were enfolded being withdrawn by the slaves as
- soon as they had done sweating, they remained stark naked in the others.
- The slaves then took from the basket cruets of silver most goodly, and
- full, this of rose-water, that of water of orange-blossom, a third of
- water of jasmine-blossom, and a fourth of nanfa(1) water, wherewith they
- sprinkled them: after which, boxes of comfits and the finest wines being
- brought forth, they regaled them a while. To Salabaetto 'twas as if he
- were in Paradise; a thousand times he scanned the lady, who was indeed
- most beautiful; and he counted each hour as a hundred years until the
- slaves should get them gone, and he find himself in the lady's arms.
- At length, by the lady's command, the slaves departed, leaving a lighted
- torch in the room, and then the lady and Salabaetto embraced, and to
- Salabaetto's prodigious delight, for it seemed to him that she was all
- but dissolved for love of him, tarried there a good while. However, the
- time came when the lady must needs rise: so she called the slaves, with
- whose help they dressed, regaled them again for a while with wine and
- comfits, and washed their faces and hands with the odoriferous waters.
- Then as they were going, quoth the lady to Salabaetto:--"If it be
- agreeable to thee, I should deem it a very great favour if thou wouldst
- come to-night to sup and sleep with me." Salabaetto, who, captivated by
- her beauty and her studied graciousness, never doubted but he was dear to
- her as her very heart, made answer:--"Madam, there is nought you can
- desire but is in the last degree agreeable to me; wherefore to-night and
- ever 'tis my purpose to do whatsoever you may be pleased to command." So
- home the lady hied her, and having caused a brave shew to be made in her
- chamber with her dresses and other paraphernalia, and a grand supper to
- be prepared, awaited Salabaetto; who, being come there as soon as 'twas
- dark, had of her a gladsome welcome, and was regaled with an excellent
- and well-served supper. After which, they repaired to the chamber, where
- he was saluted by a wondrous sweet odour of aloe-wood, and observed that
- the bed was profusely furnished with birds,(2) after the fashion of
- Cyprus, and that not a few fine dresses were hanging upon the pegs. Which
- circumstances did, one and all, beget in him the belief that this must be
- a great and wealthy lady; and, though he had heard a hint or two to the
- contrary touching her life, he would by no means credit them; nor,
- supposing that she had perchance taken another with guile, would he
- believe that the same thing might befall him. So to his exceeding great
- solace, he lay with her that night, and ever grew more afire for her. On
- the morrow, as she was investing him with a fair and dainty girdle of
- silver, with a goodly purse attached:--"Sweet my Salabaetto," quoth she,
- "prithee forget me not; even as my person, so is all that I have at thy
- pleasure, and all that I can at thy command."
- Salabaetto then embraced and kissed her, and so bade her adieu, and
- betook him to the place where the merchants were wont to congregate. And
- so it befell that he, continuing to consort with her from time to time,
- and being never a denier the poorer thereby, disposed of his merchandise
- for ready money and at no small profit; whereof not by him but by another
- the lady was forthwith advised. And Salabaetto being come to see her one
- evening, she greeted him gaily and gamesomely, and fell a kissing and
- hugging him, and made as if she were so afire for love of him that she
- was like to die thereof in his arms; and offered to give him two most
- goodly silver cups that she had, which Salabaetto would not accept,
- having already had from her (taking one time with another) fully thirty
- florins of gold, while he had not been able to induce her to touch so
- much as a groat of his money. But when by this shew of passion and
- generosity she had thoroughly kindled his flame, in came, as she had
- arranged, one of her slaves, and spoke to her; whereupon out of the room
- she went, and after a while came back in tears, and threw herself prone
- on the bed, and set up the most dolorous lamentation that ever woman
- made. Whereat Salabaetto wondering, took her in his arms, and mingled his
- tears with hers, and said:--"Alas! heart of my body! what ails thee thus
- of a sudden? Wherefore art thou so distressed? Ah! tell me the reason, my
- soul." The lady allowed him to run on in this strain for a good while,
- and then:--"Alas! sweet my lord," quoth she, "I know not either what to
- do or what to say. I have but now received a letter from Messina, in
- which my brother bids me sell, if need be, all that I have here, and send
- him without fail within eight days a thousand florins of gold: otherwise
- he will forfeit his head. I know not how to come by them so soon: had I
- but fifteen days, I would make a shift to raise them in a quarter where I
- might raise a much larger sum, or I would sell one of our estates; but,
- as this may not be, would I had been dead or e'er this bad news had
- reached me!" Which said, affecting to be utterly broken-hearted, she
- ceased not to weep.
- Salabaetto, the ardour of whose passion had in great measure deprived him
- of the sagacity which the circumstances demanded, supposed that the tears
- were genuine enough, and the words even more so. Wherefore:--"Madam,"
- quoth he, "I could not furnish you with a thousand, but if five hundred
- florins of gold would suffice, they are at your service, if you think you
- could repay them within fifteen days; and you may deem yourself in luck's
- way, for 'twas only yesterday that I sold my woollens, which had I not
- done, I could not have lent you a groat." "Alas" returned the lady, "then
- thou hast been in straits for money? Oh! why didst thou not apply to me?
- Though I have not a thousand at my command, I could have given thee quite
- a hundred, nay indeed two hundred florins. By what thou hast said thou
- hast made me hesitate to accept the service that thou proposest to render
- me." Which words fairly delivered Salabaetto into the lady's hands,
- insomuch that:--"Madam," quoth he, "I would not have you decline my help
- for such a scruple; for had my need been as great as yours, I should
- certainly have applied to you." Quoth then the lady:--"Ah! Salabaetto
- mine, well I wot that the love thou bearest me is a true and perfect
- love, seeing that, without waiting to be asked, thou dost so handsomely
- come to my aid with so large a sum of money. And albeit I was thine
- without this token of thy love, yet, assuredly, it has made me thine in
- an even greater degree; nor shall I ever forget that 'tis to thee I owe
- my brother's life. But God knows I take thy money from thee reluctantly,
- seeing that thou art a merchant, and 'tis by means of money that
- merchants conduct all their affairs; but, as necessity constrains me, and
- I have good hope of speedily repaying thee, I will even take it, and by
- way of security, if I should find no readier method, I will pawn all that
- I have here." Which said, she burst into tears, and fell upon Salabaetto,
- pressing her cheek upon his.
- Salabaetto tried to comfort her; and having spent the night with her, on
- the morrow, being minded to shew himself her most devoted servant,
- brought her, without awaiting any reminder, five hundred fine florins of
- gold: which she, laughing at heart while the tears streamed from her
- eyes, took, Salabaetto trusting her mere promise of repayment. Now that
- the lady had gotten the money, the complexion of affairs began to alter;
- and whereas Salabaetto had been wont to have free access to her, whenever
- he was so minded, now for one reason or another he was denied admittance
- six times out of seven; nor did she greet him with the same smile, or
- shower on him the same caresses, or do him the same cheer as of yore. So
- a month, two months, passed beyond the time when he was to have been
- repaid his money; and when he demanded it, he was put off with words.
- Whereby Salabaetto, being now ware of the cheat which his slender wit had
- suffered the evil-disposed woman to put upon him, and also that, having
- neither writing nor witness against her, he was entirely at her mercy in
- regard of his claim, and being, moreover, ashamed to lodge any complaint
- with any one, as well because he had been forewarned of her character, as
- because he dreaded the ridicule to which his folly justly exposed him,
- was chagrined beyond measure, and inly bewailed his simplicity. And his
- masters having written to him, bidding him change the money and remit it
- to them, he, being apprehensive that, making default as he must, he
- should, if he remained there, be detected, resolved to depart; and having
- taken ship, he repaired, not, as he should have done, to Pisa, but to
- Naples; where at that time resided our gossip, Pietro dello Canigiano,
- treasurer of the Empress of Constantinople, a man of great sagacity and
- acuteness, and a very great friend of Salabaetto and his kinsfolk; to
- whom trusting in his great discretion, Salabaetto after a while
- discovered his distress, telling him what he had done, and the sorry
- plight in which by consequence he stood, and craving his aid and counsel,
- that he might the more readily find means of livelihood there, for that
- he was minded never to go back to Florence. Impatient to hear of such
- folly:--"'Twas ill done of thee," quoth Canigiano, "thou hast misbehaved
- thyself, wronged thy masters, and squandered an exorbitant sum in
- lewdness; however, 'tis done, and we must consider of the remedy." And
- indeed, like the shrewd man that he was, he had already bethought him
- what was best to be done; and forthwith he imparted it to Salabaetto.
- Which expedient Salabaetto approving, resolved to make the adventure; and
- having still a little money, and being furnished with a loan by
- Canigiano, he provided himself with not a few bales well and closely
- corded, and bought some twenty oil-casks, which he filled, and having put
- all on shipboard, returned to Palermo. There he gave the invoice of the
- bales, as also of the oil-casks, to the officers of the dogana, and
- having them all entered to his credit, laid them up in the store-rooms,
- saying that he purposed to leave them there until the arrival of other
- merchandise that he expected.
- Which Jancofiore learning, and being informed that the merchandise, that
- he had brought with him, was worth fully two thousand florins of gold, or
- even more, besides that which he expected, which was valued at more than
- three thousand florins of gold, bethought her that she had not aimed high
- enough, and that 'twere well to refund him the five hundred, if so she
- might make the greater part of the five thousand florins her own.
- Wherefore she sent for him, and Salabaetto, having learned his lesson of
- cunning, waited on her. Feigning to know nought of the cargo he had
- brought with him, she received him with marvellous cheer, and
- began:--"Lo, now, if thou wast angry with me because I did not repay thee
- thy money in due time:" but Salabaetto interrupted her, saying with a
- laugh:--"Madam 'tis true I was a little vexed, seeing that I would have
- plucked out my heart to pleasure you; but listen, and you shall learn the
- quality of my displeasure. Such and so great is the love I bear you, that
- I have sold the best part of all that I possess, whereby I have already
- in this port merchandise to the value of more than two thousand florins,
- and expect from the Levant other goods to the value of above three
- thousand florins, and mean to set up a warehouse in this city, and live
- here, to be ever near you, for that I deem myself more blessed in your
- love than any other lover that lives." Whereupon:--"Harkye, Salabaetto,"
- quoth the lady, "whatever advantages thee is mighty grateful to me,
- seeing that I love thee more than my very life, and right glad am I that
- thou art come back with intent to stay, for I hope to have many a good
- time with thee; but something I must say to thee by way of excuse, for
- that, whilst thou wast thinking of taking thy departure, there were times
- when thou wast disappointed of seeing me, and others when thou hadst not
- as gladsome a welcome as thou wast wont to have, and therewithal I kept
- not the time promised for the repayment of thy money. Thou must know that
- I was then in exceeding great trouble and tribulation, and whoso is thus
- bested, love he another never so much, cannot greet him with as gladsome
- a mien, or be as attentive to him, as he had lief; and thou must further
- know that 'tis by no means an easy matter for a lady to come by a
- thousand florins of gold: why, 'tis every day a fresh lie, and never a
- promise kept; and so we in our turn must needs lie to others; and 'twas
- for this cause, and not for any fault of mine, that I did not repay thee
- thy money; however, I had it but a little while after thy departure, and
- had I known whither to send it, be sure I would have remitted it to thee;
- but, as that I wist not, I have kept it safe for thee." She then produced
- a purse, in which were the very same coins that he had brought her, and
- placed it in his hand, saying:--"Count and see if there are five hundred
- there." 'Twas the happiest moment Salabaetto had yet known, as, having
- told them out, and found the sum exact, he made answer:--"Madam, I know
- that you say sooth, and what you have done abundantly proves it;
- wherefore, and for the love I bear you, I warrant you there is no sum you
- might ask of me on any occasion of need, with which, if 'twere in my
- power, I would not accommodate you; whereof, when I am settled here, you
- will be able to assure yourself."
- Having thus in words reinstated himself as her lover, he proceeded to
- treat her as his mistress, whereto she responded, doing all that was in
- her power to pleasure and honour him, and feigning to be in the last
- degree enamoured of him. But Salabaetto, being minded to requite her
- guile with his own, went to her one evening, being bidden to sup and
- sleep with her, with an aspect so melancholy and dolorous, that he shewed
- as he had lief give up the ghost. Jancofiore, as she embraced and kissed
- him, demanded of him the occasion of his melancholy. Whereto he, having
- let her be instant with him a good while, made answer:--"I am undone, for
- that the ship, having aboard her the goods that I expected, has been
- taken by the corsairs of Monaco, and held to ransom in ten thousand
- florins of gold, of which it falls to me to pay one thousand, and I have
- not a denier, for the five hundred thou repaidst me I sent forthwith to
- Naples to buy stuffs for this market, and were I to sell the merchandise
- I have here, as 'tis not now the right time to sell, I should scarce get
- half the value; nor am I as yet so well known here as to come by any to
- help me at this juncture, and so what to do or what to say I know not;
- but this I know that, if I send not the money without delay, my
- merchandise will be taken to Monaco, and I shall never touch aught of it
- again." Whereat the lady was mightily annoyed, being apprehensive of
- losing all, and bethought her how she might prevent the goods going to
- Monaco: wherefore:--"God knows," quoth she, "that for the love I bear
- thee I am not a little sorry for thee: but what boots it idly to distress
- oneself? Had I the money, God knows I would lend it thee forthwith, but I
- have it not. One, indeed, there is that accommodated me a day or two ago
- with five hundred florins that I stood in need of, but he requires a
- heavy usance, not less than thirty on the hundred, and if thou shouldst
- have recourse to him, good security must be forthcoming. Now for my part
- I am ready, so I may serve thee, to pledge all these dresses, and my
- person to boot, for as much as he will tend thee thereon; but how wilt
- thou secure the balance?"
- Salabaetto divined the motive that prompted her thus to accommodate him,
- and that she was to lend the money herself; which suiting his purpose
- well, he first of all thanked her, and then said that, being constrained
- by necessity, he would not stand out against exorbitant terms, adding
- that, as to the balance, he would secure it upon the merchandise that he
- had at the dogana by causing it to be entered in the name of the lender;
- but that he must keep the key of the storerooms, as well that he might be
- able to shew the goods, if requested, as to make sure that none of them
- should be tampered with or changed or exchanged. The lady said that this
- was reasonable, and that 'twas excellent security. So, betimes on the
- morrow, the lady sent for a broker, in whom she reposed much trust, and
- having talked the matter over with him, gave him a thousand florins of
- gold, which the broker took to Salabaetto, and thereupon had all that
- Salabaetto had at the dogana entered in his name; they then had the
- script and counterscript made out, and, the arrangement thus concluded,
- went about their respective affairs. Salabaetto lost no time in getting
- aboard a bark with his five hundred florins of gold, and being come to
- Naples, sent thence a remittance which fully discharged his obligation to
- his masters that had entrusted him with the stuffs: he also paid all that
- he owed to Pietro dello Canigiano and all his other creditors, and made
- not a little merry with Canigiano over the trick he had played the
- Sicilian lady. He then departed from Naples, and being minded to have
- done with mercantile affairs, betook him to Ferrara.
- Jancofiore, surprised at first by Salabaetto's disappearance from
- Palermo, waxed after a while suspicious; and, when she had waited fully
- two months, seeing that he did not return, she caused the broker to break
- open the store-rooms. And trying first of all the casks, she found them
- full of sea-water, save that in each there was perhaps a hog's-head of
- oil floating on the surface. Then undoing the bales, she found them all,
- save two that contained stuffs, full of tow, and in short their whole
- contents put together were not worth more than two hundred florins.
- Wherefore Jancofiore, knowing herself to have been outdone, regretted
- long and bitterly the five hundred florins of gold that she had refunded,
- and still more the thousand that she had lent, repeating many a time to
- herself:--Who with a Tuscan has to do, Had need of eyesight quick and
- true. Thus, left with the loss and the laugh against her, she discovered
- that there were others as knowing as she.
- (1) Neither the Vocab. degli Accad. della Crusca nor the Ricchezze
- attempts to define the precise nature of this scent, which Fanfani
- identifies with that of the orange-blossom.
- (2) I.e. with a sort of musical boxes in the shape of birds.
- No sooner was Dioneo's story ended, than Lauretta, witting that therewith
- the end of her sovereignty was come, bestowed her meed of praise on
- Pietro Canigiano for his good counsel, and also on Salabaetto for the
- equal sagacity which he displayed in carrying it out, and then, taking
- off the laurel wreath, set it on the head of Emilia, saying
- graciously:--"I know not, Madam, how debonair a queen you may prove, but
- at least we shall have in you a fair one. Be it your care, then, that you
- exercise your authority in a manner answerable to your charms." Which
- said, she resumed her seat.
- Not so much to receive the crown, as to be thus commended to her face and
- before the company for that which ladies are wont to covet the most,
- Emilia was a little shamefast; a tint like that of the newly-blown rose
- overspread her face, and a while she stood silent with downcast eyes:
- then, as the blush faded away, she raised them; and having given her
- seneschal her commands touching all matters pertaining to the company,
- thus she spake:--"Sweet my ladies, 'tis matter of common experience that,
- when the oxen have swunken a part of the day under the coercive yoke,
- they are relieved thereof and loosed, and suffered to go seek their
- pasture at their own sweet will in the woods; nor can we fail to observe
- that gardens luxuriant with diversity of leafage are not less, but far
- more fair to see, than woods wherein is nought but oaks. Wherefore I deem
- that, as for so many days our discourse has been confined within the
- bounds of certain laws, 'twill be not only meet but profitable for us,
- being in need of relaxation, to roam a while, and so recruit our strength
- to undergo the yoke once more. And therefore I am minded that to-morrow
- the sweet tenor of your discourse be not confined to any particular
- theme, but that you be at liberty to discourse on such wise as to each
- may seem best; for well assured am I that thus to speak of divers matters
- will be no less pleasurable than to limit ourselves to one topic; and by
- reason of this enlargement my successor in the sovereignty will find you
- more vigorous, and be therefore all the more forward to reimpose upon you
- the wonted restraint of our laws." Having so said, she dismissed all the
- company until supper-time.
- All approved the wisdom of what the queen had said; and being risen
- betook them to their several diversions, the ladies to weave garlands and
- otherwise disport them, the young men to play and sing; and so they
- whiled away the hours until supper-time; which being come, they gathered
- about the fair fountain, and took their meal with gay and festal cheer.
- Supper ended, they addressed them to their wonted pastime of song and
- dance. At the close of which the queen, notwithstanding the songs which
- divers of the company had already gladly accorded them, called for
- another from Pamfilo, who without the least demur thus sang:--
- So great, O Love, the bliss
- Through thee I prove, so jocund my estate,
- That in thy flame to burn I bless my fate!
- Such plenitude of joy my heart doth know
- Of that high joy and rare,
- Wherewith thou hast me blest,
- As, bounds disdaining, still doth overflow,
- And by my radiant air
- My blitheness manifest;
- For by thee thus possessed
- With love, where meeter 'twere to venerate,
- I still consume within thy flame elate.
- Well wot I, Love, no song may e'er reveal,
- Nor any sign declare
- What in my heart is pent
- Nay, might they so, that were I best conceal,
- Whereof were others ware,
- 'Twould serve but to torment
- Me, whose is such content,
- That weak were words and all inadequate
- A tittle of my bliss to adumbrate.
- Who would have dreamed that e'er in mine embrace
- Her I should clip and fold
- Whom there I still do feel,
- Or as 'gainst her face e'er to lay my face
- Attain such grace untold,
- And unimagined weal?
- Wherefore my bliss I seal
- Of mine own heart within the circuit strait,
- And still in thy sweet flame luxuriate.
- So ended Pamfilo his song: whereto all the company responded in full
- chorus; nor was there any but gave to its words an inordinate degree of
- attention, endeavouring by conjecture to penetrate that which he
- intimated that 'twas meet he should keep secret. Divers were the
- interpretations hazarded, but all were wide of the mark. At length,
- however, the queen, seeing that ladies and men alike were fain of rest,
- bade all betake them to bed.
- --
- Endeth here the eighth day of the Decameron, beginneth the ninth, in
- which, under the rule of Emilia, discourse is had, at the discretion of
- each, of such matters as most commend themselves to each in turn.
- --
- The luminary, before whose splendour the night takes wing, had already
- changed the eighth heaven(1) from azure to the lighter blue,(2) and in
- the meads the flowerets were beginning to lift their heads, when Emilia,
- being risen, roused her fair gossips, and, likewise, the young men. And
- so the queen leading the way at an easy pace, and the rest of the company
- following, they hied them to a copse at no great distance from the
- palace. Where, being entered, they saw the goats and stags and other wild
- creatures, as if witting that in this time of pestilence they had nought
- to fear from the hunter, stand awaiting them with no more sign of fear
- than if they had been tamed: and so, making now towards this, now towards
- the other of them as if to touch them, they diverted themselves for a
- while by making them skip and run. But, as soon as the sun was in the
- ascendant, by common consent they turned back, and whoso met them,
- garlanded as they were with oak-leaves, and carrying store of fragrant
- herbs or flowers in their hands might well have said:--"Either shall
- death not vanquish these, or they will meet it with a light heart." So,
- slowly wended they their way, now singing, now bandying quips and merry
- jests, to the palace, where they found all things in order meet, and
- their servants in blithe and merry cheer. A while they rested, nor went
- they to table until six ditties, each gayer than that which went before,
- had been sung by the young men and the ladies; which done, they washed
- their hands, and all by the queen's command were ranged by the seneschal
- at the table; and, the viands being served, they cheerily took their
- meal: wherefrom being risen, they trod some measures to the accompaniment
- of music; and then, by the queen's command, whoso would betook him to
- rest. However, the accustomed hour being come, they all gathered at the
- wonted spot for their discoursing, and the queen, bending her regard upon
- Filomena, bade her make a beginning of the day's story-telling, which she
- with a smile did on this wise:--
- (1) I.e. in the Ptolemaic system, the region of the fixed stars.
- (2) Cilestro: a word for which we have no exact equivalent, the dominant
- note of the Italian sky, when the sun is well up, being its intense
- luminosity.
- NOVEL I.
- --
- Madonna Francesca, having two lovers, the one Rinuccio, the other
- Alessandro, by name, and loving neither of them, induces the one to
- simulate a corpse in a tomb, and the other to enter the tomb to fetch him
- out: whereby, neither satisfying her demands, she artfully rids herself
- of both.
- --
- Madam, since so it pleases you, well pleased am I that in this vast, this
- boundless field of discourse, which you, our Lady Bountiful, have
- furnished us withal, 'tis mine to run the first course; wherein if I do
- well, I doubt not that those, who shall follow me, will do not only well
- but better. Such, sweet my ladies, has been the tenor of our discourse,
- that times not a few the might of Love, how great and singular it is, has
- been set forth, but yet I doubt the topic is not exhausted, nor would it
- be so, though we should continue to speak of nought else for the space of
- a full year. And as Love not only leads lovers to debate with themselves
- whether they were not best to die, but also draws them into the houses of
- the dead in quest of the dead, I am minded in this regard to tell you a
- story, wherein you will not only discern the power of Love, but will also
- learn how the ready wit of a worthy lady enabled her to disembarrass
- herself of two lovers, whose love was displeasing to her.
- Know, then, that there dwelt aforetime in the city of Pistoia a most
- beauteous widow lady, of whom it so befell that two of our citizens, the
- one Rinuccio Palermini, the other Alessandro Chiarmontesi, by name,
- tarrying at Pistoia, for that they were banished from Florence, became,
- neither witting how it stood with the other, in the last degree
- enamoured. Wherefore each used all his arts to win the love of Madonna
- Francesca de' Lazzari--such was the lady's name--and she, being thus
- continually plied with ambassages and entreaties on the part of both, and
- having indiscreetly lent ear to them from time to time, found it no easy
- matter discreetly to extricate herself, when she was minded to be rid of
- their pestering, until it occurred to her to adopt the following
- expedient, to wit, to require of each a service, such as, though not
- impracticable, she deemed none would actually perform, to the end that,
- they making default, she might have a decent and colourable pretext for
- refusing any longer to receive their ambassages. Which expedient was on
- this wise. One day there died in Pistoia, and was buried in a tomb
- outside the church of the Friars Minors, a man, who, though his forbears
- had been gentlefolk, was reputed the very worst man, not in Pistoia only,
- but in all the world, and therewithal he was of form and feature so
- preternaturally hideous that whoso knew him not could scarce see him for
- the first time without a shudder. Now, the lady pondering her design on
- the day of this man's death, it occurred to her that he might in a
- measure subserve its accomplishment: wherefore she said to her
- maid:--"Thou knowest to what worry and annoyance I am daily put by the
- ambassages of these two Florentines, Rinuccio, and Alessandro. Now I am
- not disposed to gratify either of them with my love, and therefore, to
- shake them off, I am minded, as they make such great protestations, to
- put them to the proof by requiring of each something which I am sure he
- will not perform, and thus to rid myself of their pestering: so list what
- I mean to do. Thou knowest that this morning there was interred in the
- ground of the Friars Minors this Scannadio (such was the name of the bad
- man of whom we spoke but now) whose aspect, while he yet lived, appalled
- even the bravest among us. Thou wilt therefore go privily, to Alessandro,
- and say to him:--'Madonna Francesca sends thee word by me that the time
- is now come when thou mayst win that which thou hast so much desired, to
- wit, her love and joyance thereof, if thou be so minded, on the following
- terms. For a reason, which thou shalt learn hereafter, one of her kinsmen
- is to bring home to her to-night the corpse of Scannadio, who was buried
- this morning; and she, standing in mortal dread of this dead man, would
- fain not see him; wherefore she prays thee to do her a great service, and
- be so good as to get thee this evening at the hour of first sleep to the
- tomb wherein Scannadio is buried, and go in, and having wrapped thyself
- in his grave-clothes, lie there, as thou wert Scannadio, himself, until
- one come for thee, when thou must say never a word, but let him carry
- thee forth, and bear thee to Madonna Francesca's house, where she will
- give thee welcome, and let thee stay with her, until thou art minded to
- depart, and, for the rest, thou wilt leave it to her.' And if he says
- that he will gladly do so, well and good; if not, then thou wilt tell him
- from me, never more to shew himself where I am, and, as he values his
- life, to have a care to send me no more ambassages. Which done, thou wilt
- go to Rinuccio Palermini, and wilt say to him:--'Madonna Francesca lets
- thee know that she is ready in all respects to comply with thy wishes, so
- thou wilt do her a great service, which is on this wise: to-night, about
- midnight, thou must go to the tomb wherein was this morning interred
- Scannadio, and saying never a word, whatever thou mayst hear or otherwise
- be ware of, bear him gently forth to Madonna Francesca's house, where
- thou shalt learn wherefore she requires this of thee, and shalt have thy
- solace of her; and if thou art not minded to obey her in this, see that
- thou never more send her ambassage.'"
- The maid did her mistress's errand, omitting nothing, to both the men,
- and received from each the same answer, to wit, that to pleasure the
- lady, he would adventure a journey to hell, to say nothing of entering a
- tomb. With which answer the maid returned to the lady, who waited to see
- if they would be such fools as to make it good. Night came, and at the
- hour of first sleep Alessandro Chiarmontesi, stripped to his doublet,
- quitted his house, and bent his steps towards Scannadio's tomb, with
- intent there to take the dead man's place. As he walked, there came upon
- him a great fear, and he fell a saying to himself:--Ah! what a fool am I!
- Whither go I? How know I that her kinsmen, having detected my love, and
- surmising that which is not, have not put her upon requiring this of me,
- in order that they may slay me in the tomb? In which event I alone should
- be the loser, for nought would ever be heard of it, so that they would
- escape scot-free. Or how know I but that 'tis some machination of one of
- my ill-wishers, whom perchance she loves, and is therefore minded to
- abet? And again quoth he to himself:--But allowing that 'tis neither the
- one nor the other, and that her kinsmen are really to carry me to her
- house, I scarce believe that 'tis either that they would fain embrace
- Scannadio's corpse themselves, or let her do so: rather it must be that
- they have a mind to perpetrate some outrage upon it, for that, perchance,
- he once did them an evil turn. She bids me say never a word, no matter
- what I may hear or be otherwise ware of. Suppose they were to pluck out
- my eyes, or my teeth, or cut off my hands, or treat me to some other
- horse-play of the like sort, how then? how could I keep quiet? And if I
- open my mouth, they will either recognize me, and perchance do me a
- mischief, or, if they spare me, I shall have been at pains for nought,
- for they will not leave me with the lady, and she will say that I
- disobeyed her command, and I shall never have aught of her favours.
- As thus he communed with himself, he was on the point of turning back;
- but his overmastering love plied him with opposing arguments of such
- force that he kept on his way, and reached the tomb; which having opened,
- he entered, and after stripping Scannadio, and wrapping himself in the
- grave-clothes, closed it, and laid himself down in Scannadio's place. He
- then fell a thinking of the dead man, and his manner of life, and the
- things which he had heard tell of as happening by night, and in other
- less appalling places than the houses of the dead; whereby all the hairs
- of his head stood on end, and he momently expected Scannadio to rise and
- cut his throat. However, the ardour of his love so fortified him that he
- overcame these and all other timorous apprehensions, and lay as if he
- were dead, awaiting what should betide him.
- Towards midnight Rinuccio, bent likewise upon fulfilling his lady's
- behest, sallied forth of his house, revolving as he went divers
- forebodings of possible contingencies, as that, having Scannadio's corpse
- upon his shoulders, he might fall into the hands of the Signory, and be
- condemned to the fire as a wizard, or that, should the affair get wind,
- it might embroil him with his kinsfolk, or the like, which gave him
- pause. But then with a revulsion of feeling:-- Shall I, quoth he to
- himself, deny this lady, whom I so much have loved and love, the very
- first thing that she asks of me? And that too when I am thereby to win
- her favour? No, though 'twere as much as my life is worth, far be it from
- me to fail of keeping my word. So on he fared, and arrived at the tomb,
- which he had no difficulty in opening, and being entered, laid hold of
- Alessandro, who, though in mortal fear, had given no sign of life, by the
- feet, and dragged him forth, and having hoisted him on to his shoulders,
- bent his steps towards the lady's house. And as he went, being none too
- careful of Alessandro, he swung him from time to time against one or
- other of the angles of certain benches that were by the wayside; and
- indeed the night was so dark and murky that he could not see where he was
- going. And when he was all but on the threshold of the lady's house (she
- standing within at a window with her maid, to mark if Rinuccio would
- bring Alessandro, and being already provided with an excuse for sending
- them both away), it so befell that the patrol of the Signory, who were
- posted in the street in dead silence, being on the look-out for a certain
- bandit, hearing the tramp of Rinuccio's feet, suddenly shewed a light,
- the better to know what was toward, and whither to go, and advancing
- targes and lances, cried out:--"Who goes there?" Whereupon Rinuccio,
- having little leisure for deliberation, let Alessandro fall, and took to
- flight as fast as his legs might carry him. Alessandro, albeit encumbered
- by the graveclothes, which were very long, also jumped up and made off.
- By the light shewn by the patrol the lady had very plainly perceived
- Rinuccio, with Alessandro on his back, as also that Alessandro had the
- grave-clothes upon him; and much did she marvel at the daring of both,
- but, for all that, she laughed heartily to see Rinuccio drop Alessandro,
- and Alessandro run away. Overjoyed at the turn the affair had taken, and
- praising God that He had rid her of their harass, she withdrew from the
- window, and betook her to her chamber, averring to her maid that for
- certain they must both be mightily in love with her, seeing that 'twas
- plain they had both done her bidding.
- Crestfallen and cursing his evil fortune, Rinuccio nevertheless went not
- home, but, as soon as the street was clear of the patrol, came back to
- the spot where he had dropped Alessandro, and stooped down and began
- feeling about, if haply he might find him, and so do his devoir to the
- lady; but, as he found him not, he supposed the patrol must have borne
- him thence, and so at last home he went; as did also Alessandro, knowing
- not what else to do, and deploring his mishap. On the morrow, Scannadio's
- tomb being found open and empty, for Alessandro had thrown the corpse
- into the vault below, all Pistoia debated of the matter with no small
- diversity of opinion, the fools believing that Scannadio had been carried
- off by devils. Neither of the lovers, however, forbore to make suit to
- the lady for her favour and love, telling her what he had done, and what
- had happened, and praying her to have him excused that he had not
- perfectly carried out her instructions. But she, feigning to believe
- neither of them, disposed of each with the same curt answer, to wit,
- that, as he had not done her bidding, she would never do aught for him.
- NOVEL II.
- --
- An abbess rises in haste and in the dark, with intent to surprise an
- accused nun abed with her lover: thinking to put on her veil, she puts on
- instead the breeches of a priest that she has with her: the nun, espying
- her headgear, and doing her to wit thereof, is acquitted, and thenceforth
- finds it easier to forgather with her lover.
- --
- So ended Filomena; and when all had commended the address shewn by the
- lady in ridding herself of the two lovers that she affected not, and
- contrariwise had censured the hardihood of the two lovers as not love but
- madness, the queen turned to Elisa, and with a charming air:--"Now,
- Elisa, follow," quoth she: whereupon Elisa began on this wise:--Dearest
- ladies, 'twas cleverly done of Madonna Francesca, to disembarrass herself
- in the way we have heard: but I have to tell of a young nun, who by a
- happy retort, and the favour of Fortune, delivered herself from imminent
- peril. And as you know that there are not a few most foolish folk, who,
- notwithstanding their folly, take upon themselves the governance and
- correction of others; so you may learn from my story that Fortune at
- times justly puts them to shame; which befell the abbess, who was the
- superior of the nun of whom I am about to speak.
- You are to know, then, that in a convent in Lombardy of very great repute
- for strict and holy living there was, among other ladies that there wore
- the veil, a young woman of noble family, and extraordinary beauty. Now
- Isabetta--for such was her name--having speech one day of one of her
- kinsmen at the grate, became enamoured of a fine young gallant that was
- with him; who, seeing her to be very fair, and reading her passion in her
- eyes, was kindled with a like flame for her: which mutual and unsolaced
- love they bore a great while not without great suffering to both. But at
- length, both being intent thereon, the gallant discovered a way by which
- he might with all secrecy visit his nun; and she approving, he paid her
- not one visit only, but many, to their no small mutual solace. But, while
- thus they continued their intercourse, it so befell that one night one of
- the sisters observed him take his leave of Isabetta and depart, albeit
- neither he nor she was ware that they had thus been discovered. The
- sister imparted what she had seen to several others. At first they were
- minded to denounce her to the abbess, one Madonna Usimbalda, who was
- reputed by the nuns, and indeed by all that knew her, to be a good and
- holy woman; but on second thoughts they deemed it expedient, that there
- might be no room for denial, to cause the abbess to take her and the
- gallant in the act. So they held their peace, and arranged between them
- to keep her in watch and close espial, that they might catch her
- unawares. Of which practice Isabetta recking, witting nought, it so
- befell that one night, when she had her lover to see her, the sisters
- that were on the watch were soon ware of it, and at what they deemed the
- nick of time parted into two companies of which one mounted guard at the
- threshold of Isabetta's cell, while the other hasted to the abbess's
- chamber, and knocking at the door, roused her, and as soon as they heard
- her voice, said:--"Up, Madam, without delay: we have discovered that
- Isabetta has a young man with her in her cell."
- Now that night the abbess had with her a priest whom she used not seldom
- to have conveyed to her in a chest; and the report of the sisters making
- her apprehensive lest for excess of zeal and hurry they should force the
- door open, she rose in a trice; and huddling on her clothes as best she
- might in the dark, instead of the veil that they wear, which they call
- the psalter, she caught up the priest's breeches, and having clapped them
- on her head, hied her forth, and locked the door behind her,
- saying:--"Where is this woman accursed of God?" And so, guided by the
- sisters, all so agog to catch Isabetta a sinning that they perceived not
- what manner of headgear the abbess wore, she made her way to the cell,
- and with their aid broke open the door; and entering they found the two
- lovers abed in one another's arms; who, as it were, thunderstruck to be
- thus surprised, lay there, witting not what to do. The sisters took the
- young nun forthwith, and by command of the abbess brought her to the
- chapter-house. The gallant, left behind in the cell, put on his clothes
- and waited to see how the affair would end, being minded to make as many
- nuns as he might come at pay dearly for any despite that might be done
- his mistress, and to bring her off with him. The abbess, seated in the
- chapter-house with all her nuns about her, and all eyes bent upon the
- culprit, began giving her the severest reprimand that ever woman got, for
- that by her disgraceful and abominable conduct, should it get wind, she
- had sullied the fair fame of the convent; whereto she added menaces most
- dire. Shamefast and timorous, the culprit essayed no defence, and her
- silence begat pity of her in the rest; but, while the abbess waxed more
- and more voluble, it chanced that the girl raised her head and espied the
- abbess's headgear, and the points that hung down on this side and that.
- The significance whereof being by no means lost upon her, she quite
- plucked up heart, and:--"Madam," quoth she, "so help you God, tie up your
- coif, and then you may say what you will to me." Whereto the abbess, not
- understanding her, replied:--"What coif, lewd woman? So thou hast the
- effrontery to jest! Think'st thou that what thou hast done is a matter
- meet for jests?" Whereupon:--"Madam," quoth the girl again, "I pray you,
- tie up your coif, and then you may say to me whatever you please." Which
- occasioned not a few of the nuns to look up at the abbess's head, and the
- abbess herself to raise her hands thereto, and so she and they at one and
- the same time apprehended Isabetta's meaning. Wherefore the abbess,
- finding herself detected by all in the same sin, and that no disguise was
- possible, changed her tone, and held quite another sort of language than
- before, the upshot of which was that 'twas impossible to withstand the
- assaults of the flesh, and that, accordingly, observing due secrecy as
- theretofore, all might give themselves a good time, as they had
- opportunity. So, having dismissed Isabetta to rejoin her lover in her
- cell, she herself returned to lie with her priest. And many a time
- thereafter, in spite of the envious, Isabetta had her gallant to see her,
- the others, that lacked lovers, doing in secret the best they might to
- push their fortunes.
- NOVEL III.
- --
- Master Simone, at the instance of Bruno and Buffalmacco and Nello, makes
- Calandrino believe that he is with child. Calandrino, accordingly, gives
- them capons and money for medicines, and is cured without being
- delivered.
- --
- When Elisa had ended her story, and all had given thanks to God that He
- had vouchsafed the young nun a happy escape from the fangs of her envious
- companions, the queen bade Filostrato follow suit; and without expecting
- a second command, thus Filostrato began:--Fairest my ladies, the uncouth
- judge from the Marches, of whom I told you yesterday, took from the tip
- of my tongue a story of Calandrino, which I was on the point of
- narrating: and as nought can be said of him without mightily enhancing
- our jollity, albeit not a little has already been said touching him and
- his comrades, I will now give you the story which I had meant yesterday
- to give you. Who they were, this Calandrino and the others that I am to
- tell of in this story, has already been sufficiently explained;
- wherefore, without more ado, I say that one of Calandrino's aunts having
- died, leaving him two hundred pounds in petty cash, Calandrino gave out
- that he was minded to purchase an estate, and, as if he had had ten
- thousand florins of gold to invest, engaged every broker in Florence to
- treat for him, the negotiation always falling through, as soon as the
- price was named. Bruno and Buffalmacco, knowing what was afoot, told him
- again and again that he had better give himself a jolly time with them
- than go about buying earth as if he must needs make pellets;(1) but so
- far were they from effecting their purpose, that they could not even
- prevail upon him to give them a single meal. Whereat as one day they
- grumbled, being joined by a comrade of theirs, one Nello, also a painter,
- they all three took counsel how they might wet their whistle at
- Calandrino's expense; and, their plan being soon concerted, the next
- morning Calandrino was scarce gone out, when Nello met him,
- saying:--"Good day, Calandrino:" whereto Calandrino replied:--"God give
- thee a good day and a good year." Nello then drew back a little, and
- looked him steadily in the face, until:--"What seest thou to stare at?"
- quoth Calandrino. "Hadst thou no pain in the night?" returned Nello;
- "thou seemest not thyself to me." Which Calandrino no sooner heard, than
- he began to be disquieted, and:--"Alas! How sayst thou?" quoth he. "What
- tak'st thou to be the matter with me?" "Why, as to that I have nothing to
- say," returned Nello; "but thou seemest to be quite changed: perchance
- 'tis not what I suppose;" and with that he left him.
- Calandrino, anxious, though he could not in the least have said why, went
- on; and soon Buffalmacco, who was not far off, and had observed him part
- from Nello, made up to him, and greeted him, asking him if he was not in
- pain. "I cannot say," replied Calandrino; "'twas but now that Nello told
- me that I looked quite changed: can it be that there is aught the matter
- with me?" "Aught?" quoth Buffalmacco, "ay, indeed, there might be a
- trifle the matter with thee. Thou look'st to be half dead, man."
- Calandrino now began to think he must have a fever. And then up came
- Bruno; and the first thing he said was:--"Why, Calandrino, how ill thou
- look'st! thy appearance is that of a corpse. How dost thou feel?" To be
- thus accosted by all three left no doubt in Calandrino's mind that he was
- ill, and so:--"What shall I do?" quoth he, in a great fright. "My
- advice," replied Bruno, "is that thou go home and get thee to bed and
- cover thee well up, and send thy water to Master Simone, who, as thou
- knowest, is such a friend of ours. He will tell thee at once what thou
- must do; and we will come to see thee, and will do aught that may be
- needful." And Nello then joining them, they all three went home with
- Calandrino, who, now quite spent, went straight to his room, and said to
- his wife:--"Come now, wrap me well up; I feel very ill." And so he laid
- himself on the bed, and sent a maid with his water to Master Simone, who
- had then his shop in the Mercato Vecchio, at the sign of the pumpkin.
- Whereupon quoth Bruno to his comrades:--"You will stay here with him, and
- I will go hear what the doctor has to say, and if need be, will bring him
- hither." "Prithee, do so, my friend," quoth Calandrino, "and bring me
- word how it is with me, for I feel as how I cannot say in my inside." So
- Bruno hied him to Master Simone, and before the maid arrived with the
- water, told him what was afoot. The Master, thus primed, inspected the
- water, and then said to the maid:--"Go tell Calandrino to keep himself
- very warm, and I will come at once, and let him know what is the matter
- with him, and what he must do." With which message the maid was scarce
- returned, when the Master and Bruno arrived, and the Master, having
- seated himself beside Calandrino, felt his pulse, and by and by, in the
- presence of his wife, said:--"Harkye, Calandrino, I speak to thee as a
- friend, and I tell thee that what is amiss with thee is just that thou
- art with child." Whereupon Calandrino cried out querulously:--"Woe's me!
- 'Tis thy doing, Tessa, for that thou must needs be uppermost: I told thee
- plainly what would come of it," Whereat the lady, being not a little
- modest, coloured from brow to neck, and with downcast eyes, withdrew from
- the room, saying never a word by way of answer. Calandrino ran on in the
- same plaintive strain:--"Alas! woe's me! What shall I do? How shall I be
- delivered of this child? What passage can it find? Ah! I see only too
- plainly that the lasciviousness of this wife of mine has been the death
- of me: God make her as wretched as I would fain be happy! Were I as well
- as I am not, I would get me up and thrash her, till I left not a whole
- bone in her body, albeit it does but serve me right for letting her get
- the upper place; but if I do win through this, she shall never have it
- again; verily she might pine to death for it, but she should not have
- it."
- Which to hear, Bruno and Buffalmacco and Nello were like to burst with
- suppressed laughter, and Master Scimmione(2) laughed so frantically, that
- all his teeth were ready to start from his jaws. However, at length, in
- answer to Calandrino's appeals and entreaties for counsel and
- succour:--"Calandrino," quoth the Master, "thou mayst dismiss thy fears,
- for, God be praised, we were apprised of thy state in such good time that
- with but little trouble, in the course of a few days, I shall set thee
- right; but 'twill cost a little." "Woe's me," returned Calandrino, "be it
- so, Master, for the love of God: I have here two hundred pounds, with
- which I had thoughts of buying an estate: take them all, all, if you must
- have all, so only I may escape being delivered, for I know not how I
- should manage it, seeing that women, albeit 'tis much easier for them, do
- make such a noise in the hour of their labour, that I misdoubt me, if I
- suffered so, I should die before I was delivered." "Disquiet not
- thyself," said the doctor: "I will have a potion distilled for thee; of
- rare virtue it is, and not a little palatable, and in the course of three
- days 'twill purge thee of all, and leave thee in better fettle than a
- fish; but thou wilt do well to be careful thereafter, and commit no such
- indiscretions again. Now to make this potion we must have three pair of
- good fat capons, and, for divers other ingredients, thou wilt give one of
- thy friends here five pounds in small change to purchase them, and thou
- wilt have everything sent to my shop, and so, please God, I will send
- thee this distilled potion to-morrow morning, and thou wilt take a good
- beakerful each time." Whereupon:--"Be it as you bid, Master mine," quoth
- Calandrino, and handing Bruno five pounds, and money enough to purchase
- three pair of capons, he begged him, if it were not too much trouble, to
- do him the service to buy these things for him. So away went the doctor,
- and made a little decoction by way of draught, and sent it him. Bruno
- bought the capons and all else that was needed to furnish forth the
- feast, with which he and his comrades and the doctor regaled them.
- Calandrino drank of the decoction for three mornings, after which he had
- a visit from his friends and the doctor, who felt his pulse, and
- then:--"Beyond a doubt, Calandrino," quoth he, "thou art cured, and so
- thou hast no more occasion to keep indoors, but needst have no fear to do
- whatever thou hast a mind to." Much relieved, Calandrino got up, and
- resumed his accustomed way of life, and, wherever he found any one to
- talk to, was loud in praise of Master Simone for the excellent manner in
- which he had cured him, causing him in three days without the least
- suffering to be quit of his pregnancy. And Bruno and Buffalmacco and
- Nello were not a little pleased with themselves that they had so cleverly
- got the better of Calandrino's niggardliness, albeit Monna Tessa, who was
- not deceived, murmured not a little against her husband.
- (1) I.e. bolts of clay for the cross-bow.
- (2) I.e. great ape: with a play on Simone.
- NOVEL IV.
- --
- Cecco, son of Messer Fortarrigo, loses his all at play at Buonconvento,
- besides the money of Cecco, son of Messer Angiulieri; whom, running after
- him in his shirt and crying out that he has robbed him, he causes to be
- taken by peasants: he then puts on his clothes, mounts his palfrey, and
- leaves him to follow in his shirt.
- --
- All the company laughed beyond measure to hear what Calandrino said
- touching his wife: but, when Filostrato had done, Neifile, being bidden
- by the queen, thus began:--Noble ladies, were it not more difficult for
- men to evince their good sense and virtue than their folly and their
- vice, many would labour in vain to set bounds to their flow of words:
- whereof you have had a most conspicuous example in poor blundering
- Calandrino, who, for the better cure of that with which in his simplicity
- he supposed himself to be afflicted, had no sort of need to discover in
- public his wife's secret pleasures. Which affair has brought to my mind
- one that fell out contrariwise, inasmuch as the guile of one discomfited
- the good sense of another to the grievous loss and shame of the
- discomfited: the manner whereof I am minded to relate to you.
- 'Tis not many years since there were in Siena two young men, both of age,
- and both alike named Cecco, the one being son of Messer Angiulieri, the
- other of Messer Fortarrigo. Who, albeit in many other respects their
- dispositions accorded ill, agreed so well in one, to wit, that they both
- hated their fathers, that they became friends, and kept much together.
- Now Angiulieri, being a pretty fellow, and well-mannered, could not brook
- to live at Siena on the allowance made him by his father, and learning
- that there was come into the March of Ancona, as legate of the Pope, a
- cardinal, to whom he was much bounden, resolved to resort to him there,
- thinking thereby to improve his circumstances. So, having acquainted his
- father with his purpose, he prevailed upon him to give him there and then
- all that he would have given him during the next six months, that he
- might have the wherewith to furnish himself with apparel and a good
- mount, so as to travel in a becoming manner. And as he was looking out
- for some one to attend him as his servant, Fortarrigo, hearing of it,
- came presently to him and besought him with all earnestness to take him
- with him as his groom, or servant, or what he would, and he would be
- satisfied with his keep, without any salary whatsoever. Whereto
- Angiulieri made answer that he was not disposed to take him, not but that
- he well knew that he was competent for any service that might be required
- of him, but because he was given to play, and therewithal would at times
- get drunk. Fortarrigo assured him with many an oath that he would be on
- his guard to commit neither fault, and added thereto such instant
- entreaties, that Angiulieri was, as it were, vanquished, and consented.
- So one morning they took the road for Buonconvento, being minded there to
- breakfast. Now when Angiulieri had breakfasted, as 'twas a very hot day,
- he had a bed made in the inn, and having undressed with Fortarrigo's
- help, he composed himself to sleep, telling Fortarrigo to call him on the
- stroke of none. Angiulieri thus sleeping, Fortarrigo repaired to the
- tavern, where, having slaked his thirst, he sate down to a game with some
- that were there, who speedily won from him all his money, and thereafter
- in like manner all the clothes he had on his back: wherefore he, being
- anxious to retrieve his losses, went, stripped as he was to his shirt, to
- the room where lay Angiulieri; and seeing that he was sound asleep, he
- took from his purse all the money that he had, and so went back to the
- gaming-table, and staked it, and lost it all, as he had his own.
- By and by Angiulieri awoke, and got up, and dressed, and called for
- Fortarrigo; and as Fortarrigo answered not, he supposed that he must have
- had too much to drink, and be sleeping it off somewhere, as was his wont.
- He accordingly determined to leave him alone; and doubting not to find a
- better servant at Corsignano, he let saddle his palfrey and attach the
- valise; but when, being about to depart, he would have paid the host,
- never a coin could he come by. Whereat there was no small stir, so that
- all the inn was in an uproar, Angiulieri averring that he had been robbed
- in the house, and threatening to have them all arrested and taken to
- Siena; when, lo, who should make his appearance but Fortarrigo in his
- shirt, intent now to steal the clothes, as he had stolen the moneys, of
- Angiulieri? And marking that Angiulieri was accoutred for the road:--"How
- is this, Angiulieri?" quoth he. "Are we to start so soon? Nay, but wait a
- little. One will be here presently that has my doublet in pawn for
- thirty-eight soldi; I doubt not he will return it me for thirty-five
- soldi, if I pay money down." And while they were yet talking, in came one
- that made it plain to Angiulieri that 'twas Fortarrigo that had robbed
- him of his money, for he told him the amount that Fortarrigo had lost.
- Whereat Angiulieri, in a towering passion, rated Fortarrigo right
- soundly, and, but that he stood more in fear of man than of God, would
- have suited action to word; and so, threatening to have him hanged by the
- neck and proclaimed an outlaw at the gallows-tree of Siena, he mounted
- his horse.
- Fortarrigo, making as if 'twas not to him, but to another, that
- Angiulieri thus spoke, made answer:--"Come now, Angiulieri, we were best
- have done with all this idle talk, and consider the matter of substance:
- we can redeem for thirty-five soldi, if we pay forthwith, but if we wait
- till to-morrow, we shall not get off with less than thirty-eight, the
- full amount of the loan; and 'tis because I staked by his advice that he
- will make me this allowance. Now why should not we save these three
- soldi?" Whereat Angiulieri waxed well-nigh desperate, more particularly
- that he marked that the bystanders were scanning him suspiciously, as if,
- so far from understanding that Fortarrigo had staked and lost his,
- Angiulieri's money, they gave him credit for still being in funds: so he
- cried out:--"What have I to do with thy doublet? 'Tis high time thou wast
- hanged by the neck, that, not content with robbing me and gambling away
- my money, thou must needs also keep me in parley here and make mock of
- me, when I would fain be gone." Fortarrigo, however, still persisted in
- making believe that Angiulieri did not mean this for him, and only
- said:--"Nay, but why wilt not thou save me these three soldi? Think'st
- thou I can be of no more use to thee? Prithee, an thou lov'st me, do me
- this turn. Wherefore in such a hurry? We have time enough to get to
- Torrenieri this evening. Come now, out with thy purse. Thou knowest I
- might search Siena through, and not find a doublet that would suit me so
- well as this: and for all I let him have it for thirty-eight soldi, 'tis
- worth forty or more; so thou wilt wrong me twice over." Vexed beyond
- measure that, after robbing him, Fortarrigo should now keep him clavering
- about the matter, Angiulieri made no answer, but turned his horse's head,
- and took the road for Torrenieri. But Fortarrigo with cunning malice
- trotted after him in his shirt, and 'twas still his doublet, his doublet,
- that he would have of him: and when they had thus ridden two good miles,
- and Angiulieri was forcing the pace to get out of earshot of his
- pestering, Fortarrigo espied some husbandmen in a field beside the road a
- little ahead of Angiulieri, and fell a shouting to them amain:--"Take
- thief! take thief!" Whereupon they came up with their spades and their
- mattocks, and barred Angiulieri's way, supposing that he must have robbed
- the man that came shouting after him in his shirt, and stopped him and
- apprehended him; and little indeed did it avail him to tell them who he
- was, and how the matter stood. For up came Fortarrigo with a wrathful
- air, and:--"I know not," quoth he, "why I spare to kill thee on the spot,
- traitor, thief that thou art, thus to despoil me and give me the slip!"
- And then, turning to the peasants:--"You see, gentlemen," quoth he, "in
- what a trim he left me in the inn, after gambling away all that he had
- with him and on him. Well indeed may I say that under God 'tis to you I
- owe it that I have thus come by my own again: for which cause I shall
- ever be beholden to you." Angiulieri also had his say; but his words
- passed unheeded. Fortarrigo with the help of the peasants compelled him
- to dismount; and having stripped him, donned his clothes, mounted his
- horse, and leaving him barefoot and in his shirt, rode back to Siena,
- giving out on all hands that he had won the palfrey and the clothes from
- Angiulieri. So Angiulieri, having thought to present himself to the
- cardinal in the March a wealthy man, returned to Buonconvento poor and in
- his shirt; and being ashamed for the time to shew himself in Siena,
- pledged the nag that Fortarrigo had ridden for a suit of clothes, and
- betook him to his kinsfolk at Corsignano, where he tarried, until he
- received a fresh supply of money from his father. Thus, then,
- Fortarrigo's guile disconcerted Angiulieri's judicious purpose, albeit
- when time and occasion served, it was not left unrequited.
- NOVEL V.
- --
- Calandrino being enamoured of a damsel, Bruno gives him a scroll,
- averring that, if he but touch her therewith, she will go with him: he is
- found with her by his wife who subjects him to a most severe and
- vexatious examination.
- --
- So, at no great length, ended Neifile her story, which the company
- allowed to pass with none too much laughter or remark: whereupon the
- queen, turning to Fiammetta, bade her follow suit. Fiammetta, with mien
- most gladsome, made answer that she willingly obeyed, and thus began:--As
- I doubt not, ye know, ladies most debonair, be the topic of discourse
- never so well worn, it will still continue to please, if the speaker
- knows how to make due choice of time and occasion meet. Wherefore,
- considering the reason for which we are here (how that 'tis to make merry
- and speed the time gaily, and that merely), I deem that there is nought
- that may afford us mirth and solace but here may find time and occasion
- meet, and, after serving a thousand turns of discourse, should still
- prove not unpleasing for another thousand. Wherefore, notwithstanding
- that of Calandrino and his doings not a little has from time to time been
- said among us, yet, considering that, as a while ago Filostrato observed,
- there is nought that concerns him that is not entertaining, I will make
- bold to add to the preceding stories another, which I might well, had I
- been minded to deviate from the truth, have disguised, and so recounted
- it to you, under other names; but as whoso in telling a story diverges
- from the truth does thereby in no small measure diminish the delight of
- his hearers, I purpose for the reason aforesaid to give you the narrative
- in proper form.
- Niccolo Cornacchini, one of our citizens, and a man of wealth, had among
- other estates a fine one at Camerata, on which he had a grand house
- built, and engaged Bruno and Buffalmacco to paint it throughout; in which
- task, for that 'twas by no means light, they associated with them Nello
- and Calandrino, and so set to work. There were a few rooms in the house
- provided with beds and other furniture, and an old female servant lived
- there as caretaker, but otherwise the house was unoccupied, for which
- cause Niccolo's son, Filippo, being a young man and a bachelor, was wont
- sometimes to bring thither a woman for his pleasure, and after keeping
- her there for a few days to escort her thence again. Now on one of these
- occasions it befell that he brought thither one Niccolosa, whom a vile
- fellow, named Mangione, kept in a house at Camaldoli as a common
- prostitute. And a fine piece of flesh she was, and wore fine clothes, and
- for one of her sort, knew how to comport herself becomingly and talk
- agreeably.
- Now one day at high noon forth tripped the damsel from her chamber in a
- white gown, her locks braided about her head, to wash her hands and face
- at a well that was in the courtyard of the house, and, while she was so
- engaged, it befell that Calandrino came there for water, and greeted her
- familiarly. Having returned his salutation, she, rather because
- Calandrino struck her as something out of the common, than for any other
- interest she felt in him, regarded him attentively. Calandrino did the
- like by her, and being smitten by her beauty, found reasons enough why he
- should not go back to his comrades with the water; but, as he knew not
- who she was, he made not bold to address her. She, upon whom his gaze was
- not lost, being minded to amuse herself at his expense, let her glance
- from time to time rest upon him, while she heaved a slight sigh or two.
- Whereby Calandrino was forthwith captivated, and tarried in the
- courtyard, until Filippo called her back into the chamber. Returned to
- his work, Calandrino sighed like a furnace: which Bruno, who was ever
- regardful of his doings for the diversion they afforded him, failed not
- to mark, and by and by:--"What the Devil is amiss with thee, comrade
- Calandrino?" quoth he. "Thou dost nought but puff and blow." "Comrade,"
- replied Calandrino, "I should be in luck, had I but one to help me." "How
- so?" quoth Bruno. "Why," returned Calandrino, "'tis not to go farther,
- but there is a damsel below, fairer than a lamia, and so mightily in love
- with me that 'twould astonish thee. I observed it but now, when I went to
- fetch the water." "Nay, but, Calandrino, make sure she be not Filippo's
- wife," quoth Bruno. "I doubt 'tis even so," replied Calandrino, "for he
- called her and she joined him in the chamber; but what signifies it? I
- would circumvent Christ Himself in such case, not to say Filippo. Of a
- truth, comrade, I tell thee she pleases me I could not say how."
- "Comrade," returned Bruno, "I will find out for thee who she is, and if
- she be Filippo's wife, two words from me will make it all straight for
- thee, for she is much my friend. But how shall we prevent Buffalmacco
- knowing it? I can never have a word with her but he is with me." "As to
- Buffalmacco," replied Calandrino: "I care not if he do know it; but let
- us make sure that it come not to Nello's ears, for he is of kin to Monna
- Tessa, and would spoil it all." Whereto:--"Thou art in the right,"
- returned Bruno.
- Now Bruno knew what the damsel was, for he had seen her arrive, and
- moreover Filippo had told him. So, Calandrino having given over working
- for a while, and betaken him to her, Bruno acquainted Nello and
- Buffalmacco with the whole story; and thereupon they privily concerted
- how to entreat him in regard of this love affair. Wherefore, upon his
- return, quoth Bruno softly:--"Didst see her?" "Ay, woe's me!" replied
- Calandrino: "she has stricken me to the death." Quoth Bruno:--"I will go
- see if she be the lady I take her to be, and if I find that 'tis so,
- leave the rest to me." Whereupon down went Bruno, and found Filippo and
- the damsel, and fully apprised them what sort of fellow Calandrino was,
- and what he had told them, and concerted with them what each should do
- and say, that they might have a merry time together over Calandrino's
- love affair. He then rejoined Calandrino, saying:--"'Tis the very same;
- and therefore the affair needs very delicate handling, for, if Filippo
- were but ware thereof, not all Arno's waters would suffice to cleanse us.
- However, what should I say to her from thee, if by chance I should get
- speech of her?" "I'faith," replied Calandrino, "why, first, first of all,
- thou wilt tell her that I wish her a thousand bushels of the good seed of
- generation, and then that I am her servant, and if she is fain
- of--aught--thou tak'st me?" "Ay," quoth Bruno, "leave it to me."
- Supper-time came; and, the day's work done, they went down into the
- courtyard, Filippo and Niccolosa being there, and there they tarried a
- while to advance Calandrino's suit. Calandrino's gaze was soon riveted on
- Niccolosa, and such and so strange and startling were the gestures that
- he made that they would have given sight to the blind. She on her part
- used all her arts to inflame his passion, primed as she had been by
- Bruno, and diverted beyond measure as she was by Calandrino's antics,
- while Filippo, Buffalmacco and the rest feigned to be occupied in
- converse, and to see nought of what passed. However, after a while, to
- Calandrino's extreme disgust, they took their leave; and as they bent
- their steps towards Florence:--"I warrant thee," quoth Bruno to
- Calandrino, "she wastes away for thee like ice in the sunlight; by the
- body o' God, if thou wert to bring thy rebeck, and sing her one or two of
- thy love-songs, she'd throw herself out of window to be with thee." Quoth
- Calandrino:--"Think'st thou, comrade, think'st thou, 'twere well I
- brought it?" "Ay, indeed," returned Bruno. Whereupon:--"Ah! comrade,"
- quoth Calandrino, "so thou wouldst not believe me when I told thee
- to-day? Of a truth I perceive there's ne'er another knows so well what he
- would be at as I. Who but I would have known how so soon to win the love
- of a lady like that? Lucky indeed might they deem themselves, if they did
- it, those young gallants that go about, day and night, up and down, a
- strumming on the one-stringed viol, and would not know how to gather a
- handful of nuts once in a millennium. Mayst thou be by to see when I
- bring her the rebeck! thou wilt see fine sport. List well what I say: I
- am not so old as I look; and she knows it right well: ay, and anyhow I
- will soon let her know it, when I come to grapple her. By the very body
- of Christ I will have such sport with her, that she will follow me as any
- love-sick maid follows her swain." "Oh!" quoth Bruno, "I doubt not thou
- wilt make her thy prey: and I seem to see thee bite her dainty vermeil
- mouth and her cheeks, that shew as twin roses, with thy teeth, that are
- as so many lute-pegs, and afterwards devour her bodily." So encouraged,
- Calandrino fancied himself already in action, and went about singing and
- capering in such high glee that 'twas as if he would burst his skin. And
- so next day he brought the rebeck, and to the no small amusement of all
- the company sang several songs to her. And, in short, by frequently
- seeing her, he waxed so mad with passion that he gave over working; and a
- thousand times a day he would run now to the window, now to the door, and
- anon to the courtyard on the chance of catching sight of her; nor did
- she, astutely following Bruno's instructions, fail to afford him
- abundance of opportunity. Bruno played the go-between, bearing him her
- answers to all his messages, and sometimes bringing him messages from
- her. When she was not at home, which was most frequently the case, he
- would send him letters from her, in which she gave great encouragement to
- his hopes, at the same time giving him to understand that she was at the
- house of her kinsfolk, where as yet he might not visit her.
- On this wise Bruno and Buffalmacco so managed the affair as to divert
- themselves inordinately, causing him to send her, as at her request, now
- an ivory comb, now a purse, now a little knife, and other such dainty
- trifles; in return for which they brought him, now and again, a
- counterfeit ring of no value, with which Calandrino was marvellously
- pleased. And Calandrino, to stimulate their zeal in his interest, would
- entertain them hospitably at table, and otherwise flatter them. Now, when
- they had thus kept him in play for two good months, and the affair was
- just where it had been, Calandrino, seeing that the work was coming to an
- end, and bethinking him that, if it did so before he had brought his love
- affair to a successful issue, he must give up all hopes of ever so doing,
- began to be very instant and importunate with Bruno. So, in the presence
- of the damsel, and by preconcert with her and Filippo, quoth Bruno to
- Calandrino:--"Harkye, comrade, this lady has vowed to me a thousand times
- that she will do as thou wouldst have her, and as, for all that, she does
- nought to pleasure thee, I am of opinion that she leads thee by the nose:
- wherefore, as she keeps not her promises, we will make her do so,
- willy-nilly, if thou art so minded." "Nay, but, for the love of God, so
- be it," replied Calandrino, "and that speedily." "Darest thou touch her,
- then, with a scroll that I shall give thee?" quoth Bruno. "I dare,"
- replied Calandrino. "Fetch me, then," quoth Bruno, "a bit of the skin of
- an unborn lamb, a live bat, three grains of incense, and a blessed
- candle; and leave the rest to me." To catch the bat taxed all
- Calandrino's art and craft for the whole of the evening; but having at
- length taken him, he brought him with the other matters to Bruno: who,
- having withdrawn into a room by himself, wrote on the skin some
- cabalistic jargon, and handed it to him, saying:--"Know, Calandrino,
- that, if thou touch her with this scroll, she will follow thee forthwith,
- and do whatever thou shalt wish. Wherefore, should Filippo go abroad
- to-day, get thee somehow up to her, and touch her; and then go into the
- barn that is hereby--'tis the best place we have, for never a soul goes
- there--and thou wilt see that she will come there too. When she is there,
- thou wottest well what to do." Calandrino, overjoyed as ne'er another,
- took the scroll, saying only:--"Comrade, leave that to me."
- Now Nello, whom Calandrino mistrusted, entered with no less zest than the
- others into the affair, and was their confederate for Calandrino's
- discomfiture; accordingly by Bruno's direction he hied to Florence, and
- finding Monna Tessa:--"Thou hast scarce forgotten, Tessa," quoth he,
- "what a beating Calandrino gave thee, without the least cause, that day
- when he came home with the stones from Mugnone; for which I would have
- thee be avenged, and, so thou wilt not, call me no more kinsman or
- friend. He is fallen in love with a lady up there, who is abandoned
- enough to go closeting herself not seldom with him, and 'tis but a short
- while since they made assignation to forgather forthwith: so I would have
- thee go there, and surprise him in the act, and give him a sound
- trouncing." Which when the lady heard, she deemed it no laughing matter;
- but started up and broke out with:--"Alas, the arrant knave! is't thus he
- treats me? By the Holy Rood, never fear but I will pay him out!" And
- wrapping herself in her cloak, and taking a young woman with her for
- companion, she sped more at a run than at a walk, escorted by Nello, up
- to Camerata. Bruno, espying her from afar, said to Filippo:--"Lo, here
- comes our friend." Whereupon Filippo went to the place where Calandrino
- and the others were at work, and said:--"My masters, I must needs go at
- once to Florence; slacken not on that account." And so off he went, and
- hid himself where, unobserved, he might see what Calandrino would do.
- Calandrino waited only until he saw that Filippo was at some distance,
- and then he went down into the courtyard, where he found Niccolosa alone,
- and fell a talking with her. She, knowing well what she had to do, drew
- close to him, and shewed him a little more familiarity than she was wont:
- whereupon Calandrino touched her with the scroll, and having so done,
- saying never a word, bent his steps towards the barn, whither Niccolosa
- followed him, and being entered, shut the door, and forthwith embraced
- him, threw him down on the straw that lay there, and got astride of him,
- and holding him fast by the arms about the shoulders, suffered him not to
- approach his face to hers, but gazing upon him, as if he were the delight
- of her heart:--"O Calandrino, sweet my Calandrino," quoth she, "heart of
- my body, my very soul, my bliss, my consolation, ah! how long have I
- yearned to hold thee in my arms and have thee all my own! Thy endearing
- ways have utterly disarmed me; thou hast made prize of my heart with thy
- rebeck. Do I indeed hold thee in mine embrace?" Calandrino, scarce able
- to move, murmured:--"Ah! sweet my soul, suffer me to kiss thee."
- Whereto:--"Nay, but thou art too hasty," replied Niccolosa. "Let me first
- feast mine eyes on thee; let me but sate them with this sweet face of
- thine."
- Meanwhile Bruno and Buffalmacco had joined Filippo, so that what passed
- was seen and heard by all three. And while Calandrino was thus intent to
- kiss Niccolosa, lo, up came Nello with Monna Tessa. "By God, I swear they
- are both there," ejaculated Nello, as they entered the doorway; but the
- lady, now fairly furious, laid hold of him and thrust him aside, and
- rushing in, espied Niccolosa astride of Calandrino. Niccolosa no sooner
- caught sight of the lady, than up she jumped, and in a trice was beside
- Filippo. Monna Tessa fell upon Calandrino, who was still on the floor,
- planted her nails in his face, and scratched it all over: she then seized
- him by the hair, and hauling him to and fro about the barn:--"Foul,
- pestilent cur," quoth she, "is this the way thou treatest me? Thou old
- fool! A murrain on the love I have borne thee! Hast thou not enough to do
- at home, that thou must needs go falling in love with strange women? And
- a fine lover thou wouldst make! Dost not know thyself, knave? Dost not
- know thyself, wretch? Thou, from whose whole body 'twere not possible to
- wring enough sap for a sauce! God's faith, 'twas not Tessa that got thee
- with child: God's curse on her, whoever she was: verily she must be a
- poor creature to be enamoured of a jewel of thy rare quality." At sight
- of his wife, Calandrino, suspended, as it were, between life and death,
- ventured no defence; but, his face torn to shreds, his hair and clothes
- all disordered, fumbled about for his capuche, which having found, up he
- got, and humbly besought his wife not to publish the matter, unless she
- were minded that he should be cut to pieces, for that she that was with
- him was the wife of the master of the house. "Then God give her a bad
- year," replied the lady. Whereupon Bruno and Buffalmacco, who by this
- time had laughed their fill with Filippo and Niccolosa, came up as if
- attracted by the noise; and after not a little ado pacified the lady, and
- counselled Calandrino to go back to Florence, and stay there, lest
- Filippo should get wind of the affair, and do him a mischief. So
- Calandrino, crestfallen and woebegone, got him back to Florence with his
- face torn to shreds; where, daring not to shew himself at Camerata again,
- he endured day and night the grievous torment of his wife's vituperation.
- Such was the issue, to which, after ministering not a little mirth to his
- comrades, as also to Niccolosa and Filippo, this ardent lover brought his
- amour.
- NOVEL VI.
- --
- Two young men lodge at an inn, of whom the one lies with the host's
- daughter, his wife by inadvertence lying with the other. He that lay with
- the daughter afterwards gets into her father's bed and tells him all,
- taking him to be his comrade. They bandy words: whereupon the good woman,
- apprehending the circumstances, gets her to bed with her daughter, and by
- divers apt words re-establishes perfect accord.
- --
- Calandrino as on former occasions, so also on this, moved the company to
- laughter. However, when the ladies had done talking of his doings, the
- queen called for a story from Pamfilo, who thus spoke:--Worshipful
- ladies, this Niccolosa, that Calandrino loved, has brought to my mind a
- story of another Niccolosa; which I am minded to tell you, because 'twill
- shew you how a good woman by her quick apprehension avoided a great
- scandal.
- In the plain of Mugnone there was not long ago a good man that furnished
- travellers with meat and drink for money, and, for that he was in poor
- circumstances, and had but a little house, gave not lodging to every
- comer, but only to a few that he knew, and if they were hard bested. Now
- the good man had to wife a very fine woman, and by her had two children,
- to wit, a pretty and winsome girl of some fifteen or sixteen summers, as
- yet unmarried, and a little boy, not yet one year old, whom the mother
- suckled at her own breast. The girl had found favour in the eyes of a
- goodly and mannerly young gentleman of our city, who was not seldom in
- those parts, and loved her to the point of passion. And she, being
- mightily flattered to be loved by such a gallant, studied how to comport
- herself so debonairly as to retain his regard, and while she did so, grew
- likewise enamoured of him; and divers times, by consent of both their
- love had had its fruition, but that Pinuccio--such was the gallant's
- name--shrank from the disgrace that 'twould bring upon the girl and
- himself alike. But, as his passion daily waxed apace, Pinuccio, yearning
- to find himself abed with her, bethought him that he were best contrive
- to lodge with her father, deeming, from what he knew of her father's
- economy, that, if he did so, he might effect his purpose, and never a
- soul be the wiser: which idea no sooner struck him, than he set about
- carrying it into effect.
- So, late one evening Pinuccio and a trusty comrade, Adriano by name, to
- whom he had confided his love, hired two nags, and having set upon them
- two valises, filled with straw or such-like stuff, sallied forth of
- Florence, and rode by a circuitous route to the plain of Mugnone, which
- they reached after nightfall; and having fetched a compass, so that it
- might seem as if they were coming from Romagna, they rode up to the good
- man's house, and knocked at the door. The good man, knowing them both
- very well, opened to them forthwith: whereupon:--"Thou must even put us
- up to-night," quoth Pinuccio; "we thought to get into Florence, but, for
- all the speed we could make, we are but arrived here, as thou seest, at
- this hour." "Pinuccio," replied the host, "thou well knowest that I can
- but make a sorry shift to lodge gentlemen like you; but yet, as night has
- overtaken you here, and time serves not to betake you elsewhere, I will
- gladly give you such accommodation as I may." The two gallants then
- dismounted and entered the inn, and having first looked to their horses,
- brought out some supper that they had carried with them, and supped with
- the host.
- Now the host had but one little bedroom, in which were three beds, set,
- as conveniently as he could contrive, two on one side of the room, and
- the third on the opposite side, but, for all that, there was scarce room
- enough to pass through. The host had the least discomfortable of the
- three beds made up for the two friends; and having quartered them there,
- some little while afterwards, both being awake, but feigning to be
- asleep, he caused his daughter to get into one of the other two beds,
- while he and his wife took their places in the third, the good woman
- setting the cradle, in which was her little boy, beside the bed. Such,
- then, being the partition made of the beds, Pinuccio, who had taken exact
- note thereof, waited only until he deemed all but himself to be asleep,
- and then got softly up and stole to the bed in which lay his beloved, and
- laid himself beside her; and she according him albeit a timorous yet a
- gladsome welcome, he stayed there, taking with her that solace of which
- both were most fain.
- Pinuccio being thus with the girl, it chanced that certain things, being
- overset by a cat, fell with a noise that aroused the good woman, who,
- fearing that it might be a matter of more consequence, got up as best she
- might in the dark, and betook her to the place whence the noise seemed to
- proceed. At the same time Adriano, not by reason of the noise, which he
- heeded not, but perchance to answer the call of nature, also got up, and
- questing about for a convenient place, came upon the cradle beside the
- good woman's bed; and not being able otherwise to go by, took it up, and
- set it beside his own bed, and when he had accomplished his purpose, went
- back, and giving never a thought to the cradle got him to bed. The good
- woman searched until she found that the accident was no such matter as
- she had supposed; so without troubling to strike a light to investigate
- it further, she reproved the cat, and returned to the room, and groped
- her way straight to the bed in which her husband lay asleep; but not
- finding the cradle there, quoth she to herself:--Alas! blunderer that I
- am, what was I about? God's faith! I was going straight to the guests'
- bed; and proceeding a little further, she found the cradle, and laid
- herself down by Adriano in the bed that was beside it, taking Adriano for
- her husband; and Adriano, who was still awake, received her with all due
- benignity, and tackled her more than once to her no small delight.
- Meanwhile Pinuccio fearing lest sleep should overtake him while he was
- yet with his mistress, and having satisfied his desire, got up and left
- her, to return to his bed; but when he got there, coming upon the cradle,
- he supposed that 'twas the host's bed; and so going a little further, he
- laid him down beside the host, who thereupon awoke. Supposing that he had
- Adriano beside him:--"I warrant thee," quoth Pinuccio to the host, "there
- was never so sweet a piece of flesh as Niccolosa: by the body of God,
- such delight have I had of her as never had man of woman; and, mark me,
- since I left thee, I have gotten me up to the farm some six times." Which
- tidings the host being none too well pleased to learn, said first of all
- to himself:--What the Devil does this fellow here? Then, his resentment
- getting the better of his prudence:--"'Tis a gross affront thou hast put
- upon me, Pinuccio," quoth he; "nor know I what occasion thou hast to do
- me such a wrong; but by the body of God I will pay thee out." Pinuccio,
- who was not the most discreet of gallants, albeit he was now apprised of
- his error, instead of doing his best to repair it, retorted:--"And how
- wilt thou pay me out? What canst thou do?" "Hark what high words our
- guests are at together!" quoth meanwhile the host's wife to Adriano,
- deeming that she spoke to her husband. "Let them be," replied Adriano
- with a laugh:--"God give them a bad year: they drank too much yestereve."
- The good woman had already half recognized her husband's angry tones, and
- now that she heard Adriano's voice, she at once knew where she was and
- with whom. Accordingly, being a discreet woman, she started up, and
- saying never a word, took her child's cradle, and, though there was not a
- ray of light in the room, bore it, divining rather than feeling her way,
- to the side of the bed in which her daughter slept; and then, as if
- aroused by the noise made by her husband, she called him, and asked what
- he and Pinuccio were bandying words about. "Hearest thou not," replied
- the husband, "what he says he has this very night done to Niccolosa?"
- "Tush! he lies in the throat," returned the good woman: "he has not lain
- with Niccolosa; for what time he might have done so, I laid me beside her
- myself, and I have been wide awake ever since; and thou art a fool to
- believe him. You men take so many cups before going to bed that then you
- dream, and walk in your sleep, and imagine wonders. 'Tis a great pity you
- do not break your necks. What does Pinuccio there? Why keeps he not in
- his own bed?"
- Whereupon Adriano, in his turn, seeing how adroitly the good woman
- cloaked her own and her daughter's shame:--"Pinuccio," quoth he, "I have
- told thee a hundred times, that thou shouldst not walk about at night;
- for this thy bad habit of getting up in thy dreams and relating thy
- dreams for truth will get thee into a scrape some time or another: come
- back, and God send thee a bad night." Hearing Adriano thus confirm what
- his wife had said, the host began to think that Pinuccio must be really
- dreaming; so he took him by the shoulder, and fell a shaking him, and
- calling him by his name, saying:--"Pinuccio, wake up, and go back to thy
- bed." Pinuccio, taking his cue from what he had heard, began as a dreamer
- would be like to do, to talk wanderingly; whereat the host laughed amain.
- Then, feigning to be aroused by the shaking, Pinuccio uttered Adriano's
- name, saying:--"Is't already day, that thou callest me?" "Ay, 'tis so,"
- quoth Adriano: "come hither." Whereupon Pinuccio, making as if he were
- mighty drowsy, got him up from beside the host, and back to bed with
- Adriano. On the morrow, when they were risen, the host fell a laughing
- and making merry touching Pinuccio and his dreams. And so the jest passed
- from mouth to mouth, while the gallants' horses were groomed and saddled,
- and their valises adjusted: which done, they drank with the host, mounted
- and rode to Florence, no less pleased with the manner than with the
- matter of the night's adventure. Nor, afterwards, did Pinuccio fail to
- find other means of meeting Niccolosa, who assured her mother that he had
- unquestionably dreamed. For which cause the good woman, calling to mind
- Adriano's embrace, accounted herself the only one that had watched.
- NOVEL VII.
- --
- Talano di Molese dreams that a wolf tears and rends all the neck and face
- of his wife: he gives her warning thereof, which she heeds not, and the
- dream comes true.
- --
- When Pamfilo had brought his story to a close, and all had commended the
- good woman's quick perception, the queen bade Pampinea tell hers; and
- thus Pampinea began:--A while ago, debonair my ladies, we held discourse
- of the truths that dreams shew forth, which not a few of us deride; for
- which cause, albeit the topic has been handled before, I shall not spare
- to tell you that which not long ago befell a neighbour of mine, for that
- she disbelieved a dream that her husband had.
- I wot not if you knew Talano di Molese, a man right worthy to be had in
- honour; who, having married a young wife--Margarita by name--fair as e'er
- another, but without her match for whimsical, fractious, and perverse
- humours, insomuch that there was nought she would do at the instance of
- another, either for his or her own good, found her behaviour most
- grievous to bear, but was fain to endure what he might not cure. Now it
- so befell that Talano and Margarita being together at an estate that
- Talano had in the contado, he, sleeping, saw in a dream a very beautiful
- wood that was on the estate at no great distance from the house, and his
- lady there walking. And as she went, there leapt forth upon her a huge
- and fierce wolf that griped her by the throat, and bore her down to the
- ground, and (she shrieking the while for succour) would have carried her
- off by main force; but she got quit of his jaws, albeit her neck and face
- shewed as quite disfigured. On the morrow, as soon as he was risen,
- Talano said to his wife:--"Albeit for thy perversity I have not yet known
- a single good day with thee, yet I should be sorry, wife, that harm
- should befall thee; and therefore, if thou take my advice, thou wilt not
- stir out of doors to-day." "Wherefore?" quoth the lady; and thereupon he
- recounted to her all his dream.
- The lady shook her head, saying:--"Who means ill, dreams ill. Thou makest
- as if thou wast mighty tender of me, but thou bodest of me in thy dream
- that which thou wouldst fain see betide me. I warrant thee that to-day
- and all days I will have a care to avoid this or any other calamity that
- might gladden thy heart." Whereupon:--"Well wist I," replied Talano,
- "that thou wouldst so say, for such is ever the requital of those that
- comb scurfy heads; but whatever thou mayst be pleased to believe, I for
- my part speak to thee for thy good, and again I advise thee to keep
- indoors to-day, or at least not to walk in the wood." "Good," returned
- the lady, "I will look to it," and then she began communing with herself
- on this wise:--Didst mark how artfully he thinks to have scared me from
- going into the wood to-day? Doubtless 'tis that he has an assignation
- there with some light o' love, with whom he had rather I did not find
- him. Ah! he would sup well with the blind, and what a fool were I to
- believe him! But I warrant he will be disappointed, and needs must I,
- though I stay there all day long, see what commerce it is that he will
- adventure in to-day.
- Having so said, she quitted the house on one side, while her husband did
- so on the other; and forthwith, shunning observation as best she might,
- she hied her to the wood, and hid her where 'twas most dense, and there
- waited on the alert, and glancing, now this way and now that, to see if
- any were coming. And while thus she stood, nor ever a thought of a wolf
- crossed her mind, lo, forth of a close covert hard by came a wolf of
- monstrous size and appalling aspect, and scarce had she time to say, God
- help me! before he sprang upon her and griped her by the throat so
- tightly that she might not utter a cry, but, passive as any lambkin, was
- borne off by him, and had certainly been strangled, had he not
- encountered some shepherds, who with shouts compelled him to let her go.
- The shepherds recognized the poor hapless woman, and bore her home, where
- the physicians by dint of long and careful treatment cured her; howbeit
- the whole of her throat and part of her face remained so disfigured that,
- fair as she had been before, she was ever thereafter most foul and
- hideous to look upon. Wherefore, being ashamed to shew her face, she did
- many a time bitterly deplore her perversity, in that, when it would have
- cost her nothing, she would nevertheless pay no heed to the true dream of
- her husband.
- NOVEL VIII.
- --
- Biondello gulls Ciacco in the matter of a breakfast: for which prank
- Ciacco is cunningly avenged on Biondello, causing him to be shamefully
- beaten.
- --
- All the company by common consent pronounced it no dream but a vision
- that Talano had had in his sleep, so exactly, no circumstance lacking,
- had it fallen out according as he had seen it. However, as soon as all
- had done speaking, the queen bade Lauretta follow suit; which Lauretta
- did on this wise:--As, most discreet my ladies, those that have preceded
- me to-day have almost all taken their cue from somewhat that has been
- said before, so, prompted by the stern vengeance taken by the scholar in
- Pampinea's narrative of yesterday, I am minded to tell you of a vengeance
- that was indeed less savage, but for all that grievous enough to him on
- whom it was wreaked.
- Wherefore I say that there was once at Florence one that all folk called
- Ciacco, a man second to none that ever lived for inordinate gluttony,
- who, lacking the means to support the expenditure which his gluttony
- demanded, and being, for the rest, well-mannered and well furnished with
- excellent and merry jests, did, without turning exactly court jester,
- cultivate a somewhat biting wit, and loved to frequent the houses of the
- rich, and such as kept good tables; whither, bidden or unbidden, he not
- seldom resorted for breakfast or supper. There was also in those days at
- Florence one that was called Biondello, a man very short of stature, and
- not a little debonair, more trim than any fly, with his blond locks
- surmounted by a coif, and never a hair out of place; and he and Ciacco
- were two of a trade.
- Now one morning in Lent Biondello, being in the fish-market purchasing
- two mighty fat lampreys for Messer Vieri de' Cerchi, was observed thus
- engaged by Ciacco, who came up to him, and:--"What means this?" quoth he.
- "Why," replied Biondello, "'tis that yestereve Messer Corso Donati had
- three lampreys much finer than these and a sturgeon sent to his house,
- but as they did not suffice for a breakfast that he is to give certain
- gentlemen, he has commissioned me to buy him these two beside. Wilt thou
- not be there?" "Ay, marry, that will I," returned Ciacco. And in what he
- deemed due time he hied him to Messer Corso Donati's house, where he
- found him with some of his neighbours not yet gone to breakfast. And
- being asked by Messer Corso with what intent he was come, he
- answered:--"I am come, Sir, to breakfast with you and your company." "And
- welcome art thou," returned Messer Corso, "go we then to breakfast, for
- 'tis now the time." So to table they went, where nought was set before
- them but pease and the inward part of the tunny salted, and afterwards
- the common fish of the Arno fried. Wherefore Ciacco, not a little wroth
- at the trick that he perceived Biondello had played him, resolved to pay
- him out. And not many days after Biondello, who had meanwhile had many a
- laugh with his friends over Ciacco's discomfiture, met him, and after
- greeting him, asked him with a laugh what Messer Corso's lampreys had
- been like. "That question," replied Ciacco, "thou wilt be able to answer
- much better than I before eight days are gone by." And parting from
- Biondello upon the word, he went forthwith and hired a cozening rogue,
- and having thrust a glass bottle into his hand, brought him within sight
- of the Loggia de' Cavicciuli; and there, pointing to a knight, one Messer
- Filippo Argenti, a tall man and stout, and of a high courage, and
- haughty, choleric and cross-grained as ne'er another, he said to
- him:--"Thou wilt go, flask in hand, to Messer Filippo, and wilt say to
- him:--'I am sent to you, Sir, by Biondello, who entreats you to be
- pleased to colour this flask for him with some of your good red wine, for
- that he is minded to have a good time with his catamites.' And of all
- things have a care that he lay not hands upon thee, for he would make
- thee rue the day, and would spoil my sport." "Have I aught else to say?"
- enquired the rogue. "Nothing more," returned Ciacco: "and now get thee
- gone, and when thou hast delivered the message, bring me back the flask,
- and I will pay thee."
- So away went the rogue, and did the errand to Messer Filippo, who
- forthwith, being a hasty man, jumped to the conclusion that Biondello,
- whom he knew, was making mock of him, and while an angry flush overspread
- his face:--"Colour the flask, forsooth!" quoth he, "and 'Catamites!' God
- send thee and him a bad year!" and therewith up he started, and reached
- forward to lay hold of the rogue, who, being on the alert, gave him the
- slip and was off, and reported Messer Filippo's answer to Ciacco, who had
- observed what had passed. Having paid the rogue, Ciacco rested not until
- he had found Biondello, to whom:--"Wast thou but now," quoth he, "at the
- Loggia de' Cavicciuli?" "Indeed no," replied Biondello: "wherefore such a
- question?" "Because," returned Ciacco, "I may tell thee that thou art
- sought for by Messer Filippo, for what cause I know not." "Good," quoth
- Biondello, "I will go thither and speak with him." So away went
- Biondello, and Ciacco followed him to see what course the affair would
- take.
- Now having failed to catch the rogue, Messer Filippo was still very
- wroth, and inly fumed and fretted, being unable to make out aught from
- what the rogue had said save that Biondello was set on by some one or
- another to flout him. And while thus he vexed his spirit, up came
- Biondello; whom he no sooner espied than he made for him, and dealt him a
- mighty blow in the face, and tore his hair and coif, and cast his capuche
- on the ground, and to his "Alas, Sir, what means this?" still beating him
- amain:--"Traitor," cried he; "I will give thee to know what it means to
- send me such a message. 'Colour the flask,' forsooth, and 'Catamites!'
- Dost take me for a stripling, to be befooled by thee?" And therewith he
- pummelled Biondello's face all over with a pair of fists that were liker
- to iron than aught else, until it was but a mass of bruises; he also tore
- and dishevelled all his hair, tumbled him in the mud, rent all his
- clothes upon his back, and that without allowing him breathing-space to
- ask why he thus used him, or so much as utter a word. "Colour me the
- flask!" and "Catamites!" rang in his ears; but what the words signified
- he knew not. In the end very badly beaten, and in very sorry and ragged
- trim, many folk having gathered around them, they, albeit not without the
- utmost difficulty, rescued him from Messer Filippo's hands, and told him
- why Messer Filippo had thus used him, censuring him for sending him such
- a message, and adding that thenceforth he would know Messer Filippo
- better, and that he was not a man to be trifled with. Biondello told them
- in tearful exculpation that he had never sent for wine to Messer Filippo:
- then, when they had put him in a little better trim, crestfallen and
- woebegone, he went home imputing his misadventure to Ciacco. And when,
- many days afterwards, the marks of his ill-usage being gone from his
- face, he began to go abroad again, it chanced that Ciacco met him, and
- with a laugh:--"Biondello," quoth he, "how didst thou relish Messer
- Filippo's wine?" "Why, as to that," replied Biondello, "would thou hadst
- relished the lampreys of Messer Corso as much!" "So!" returned Ciacco,
- "such meat as thou then gavest me, thou mayst henceforth give me, as
- often as thou art so minded; and I will give thee even such drink as I
- have given thee." So Biondello, witting that against Ciacco his might was
- not equal to his spite, prayed God for his peace, and was careful never
- to flout him again.
- NOVEL IX.
- --
- Two young men ask counsel of Solomon; the one, how he is to make himself
- beloved, the other, how he is to reduce an unruly wife to order. The King
- bids the one to love, and the other to go to the Bridge of Geese.
- --
- None now remained to tell save the queen, unless she were minded to
- infringe Dioneo's privilege. Wherefore, when the ladies had laughed their
- fill over the misfortunes of Biondello, thus gaily the queen
- began:--Observe we, lovesome ladies, the order of things with a sound
- mind, and we shall readily perceive that we women are one and all
- subjected by Nature and custom and law unto man, by him to be ruled and
- governed at his discretion; wherefore she, that would fain enjoy quietude
- and solace and comfort with the man to whom she belongs, ought not only
- to be chaste but lowly, patient and obedient: the which is the discreet
- wife's chief and most precious possession. And if the laws, which in all
- matters have regard unto the common weal, and use and wont or custom
- (call it what you will), a power very great and to be had in awe, should
- not suffice to school us thereto; yet abundantly clear is the witness of
- Nature, which has fashioned our frames delicate and sensitive, and our
- spirits timorous and fearful, and has decreed that our bodily strength
- shall be slight, our voices tunable, and our movements graceful; which
- qualities do all avouch that we have need of others' governance. And
- whoso has need of succour and governance ought in all reason to be
- obedient and submissive and reverent towards his governor. And whom have
- we to govern and succour us save men? 'Tis then our bounden duty to give
- men all honour and submit ourselves unto them: from which rule if any
- deviate, I deem her most deserving not only of grave censure but of
- severe chastisement. Which reflections, albeit they are not new to me, I
- am now led to make by what but a little while ago Pampinea told us
- touching the perverse wife of Talano, on whom God bestowed that
- chastisement which the husband had omitted; and accordingly it jumps with
- my judgment that all such women as deviate from the graciousness,
- kindliness and compliancy, which Nature and custom and law prescribe,
- merit, as I said, stern and severe chastisement. Wherefore, as a salutary
- medicine for the healing of those of us who may be afflicted with this
- disease, I am minded to relate to you that which was once delivered by
- Solomon by way of counsel in such a case. Which let none that stands not
- in need of such physic deem to be meant for her, albeit a proverb is
- current among men; to wit:--
- Good steed, bad steed, alike need the rowel's prick,
- Good wife, bad wife, alike demand the stick.
- Which whoso should construe as a merry conceit would find you all ready
- enough to acknowledge its truth. But even in its moral significance I say
- that it ought to command assent. For women are all by nature apt to be
- swayed and to fall; and therefore, for the correction of the wrong-doing
- of such as transgress the bounds assigned to them, there is need of the
- stick punitive; and also for the maintenance of virtue in others, that
- they transgress not these appointed bounds, there is need of the stick
- auxiliary and deterrent. However, to cut short this preachment, and to
- come to that which I purpose to tell you, I say:
- That the bruit of the incomparable renown of the prodigious wisdom of
- Solomon, as also of the exceeding great liberality with which he accorded
- proof thereof to all that craved such assurance, being gone forth over
- well-nigh all the earth, many from divers parts were wont to resort to
- him for counsel in matters of most pressing and arduous importance; among
- whom was a young man, Melisso by name, a very wealthy nobleman, who was,
- as had been his fathers before him, of Lazistan, and there dwelt. And as
- Melisso fared toward Jerusalem, on his departure from Antioch he fell in
- with another young man, Giosefo by name, who was going the same way, and
- with whom, after the manner of travellers, he entered into converse.
- Melisso, having learned from Giosefo, who and whence he was, asked him
- whither he went, and on what errand: whereupon Giosefo made an answer
- that he was going to seek counsel of Solomon, how he should deal with his
- wife, who had not her match among women for unruliness and perversity,
- insomuch that neither entreaties nor blandishments nor aught else availed
- him to bring her to a better frame. And thereupon he in like manner asked
- Melisso whence he was, and whither he was bound, and on what errand:
- whereto:--"Of Lazistan, I," replied Melisso, "and like thyself in evil
- plight; for albeit I am wealthy and spend my substance freely in
- hospitably entertaining and honourably entreating my fellow-citizens, yet
- for all that, passing strange though it be to think upon, I find never a
- soul to love me; and therefore I am bound to the self-same place as thou,
- to be advised how it may come to pass that I be beloved."
- So the two men fared on together, and being arrived at Jerusalem, were,
- by the good offices of one of Solomon's barons, ushered into his
- presence, and Melisso having briefly laid his case before the King, was
- answered in one word:--"Love." Which said, Melisso was forthwith
- dismissed, and Giosefo discovered the reason of his coming. To whom
- Solomon made no answer but:--"Get thee to the Bridge of Geese." Whereupon
- Giosefo was likewise promptly ushered out of the King's presence, and
- finding Melisso awaiting him, told him what manner of answer he had
- gotten. Which utterances of the King the two men pondered, but finding
- therein nought that was helpful or relevant to their need, they doubted
- the King had but mocked them, and set forth upon their homeward journey.
- Now when they had been some days on the road, they came to a river, which
- was spanned by a fine bridge, and a great caravan of sumpter mules and
- horses being about to cross, they must needs tarry, until the caravan had
- passed by. The more part of which had done so, when it chanced that a
- mule turned sulky, as we know they will not seldom do, and stood stock
- still; wherefore a muleteer took a stick and fell a beating the mule
- therewith, albeit at first with no great vigour, to urge the mule
- forward. The mule, however, swerving, now to this, now to the other side
- of the bridge, and sometimes facing about, utterly refused to go forward.
- Whereat the muleteer, wroth beyond measure, fell a belabouring him with
- the stick now on the head, now on the flanks, and anon on the croup,
- never so lustily, but all to no purpose. Which caused Melisso and Giosefo
- ofttimes to say to him:--"How now, caitiff? What is this thou doest?
- Wouldst kill the beast? Why not try if thou canst not manage him kindly
- and gently? He would start sooner so than for this cudgelling of thine."
- To whom:--"You know your horses," replied the muleteer, "and I know my
- mule: leave me to deal with him." Which said, he resumed his cudgelling
- of the mule, and laid about him on this side and on that to such purpose
- that he started him; and so the honours of the day rested with the
- muleteer. Now, as the two young men were leaving the bridge behind them,
- Giosefo asked a good man that sate at its head what the bridge was
- called, and was answered:--"Sir, 'tis called the Bridge of Geese." Which
- Giosefo no sooner heard than he called to mind Solomon's words, and
- turning to Melisso:--"Now, comrade, I warrant thee I may yet find
- Solomon's counsel sound and good, for that I knew not how to beat my wife
- is abundantly clear to me; and this muleteer has shewn me what I have to
- do."
- Now some days afterwards they arrived at Antioch, where Giosefo prevailed
- upon Melisso to tarry with him and rest a day or two; and meeting with
- but a sorry welcome on the part of his wife, he told her to take her
- orders as to supper from Melisso, who, seeing that such was Giosefo's
- will, briefly gave her his instructions; which the lady, as had been her
- wont, not only did not obey, but contravened in almost every particular.
- Which Giosefo marking:--"Wast thou not told," quoth he angrily, "after
- what fashion thou wast to order the supper?" Whereto:--"So!" replied the
- lady haughtily: "what means this? If thou hast a mind to sup, why take
- not thy supper? No matter what I was told, 'tis thus I saw fit to order
- it. If it like thee, so be it: if not, 'tis thine affair." Melisso heard
- the lady with surprise and inward disapprobation: Giosefo retorted:--"Ay
- wife, thou art still as thou wast used to be; but I will make thee mend
- thy manners." Then, turning to Melisso:--"Friend," quoth he, "thou wilt
- soon prove the worth of Solomon's counsel: but, prithee, let it not irk
- thee to look on, and deem that what I shall do is but done in sport; and
- if thou shouldst be disposed to stand in my way, bear in mind how we were
- answered by the muleteer, when we pitied his mule." "I am in thy house,"
- replied Melisso, "and thy pleasure is to me law."
- Thereupon Giosefo took a stout cudgel cut from an oak sapling, and hied
- him into the room whither the lady had withdrawn from the table in high
- dudgeon, seized her by the hair, threw her on to the floor at his feet,
- and fell a beating her amain with the cudgel. The lady at first uttered a
- shriek or two, from which she passed to threats; but seeing that, for all
- that, Giosefo slackened not, by the time she was thoroughly well
- thrashed, she began to cry him mercy, imploring him not to kill her, and
- adding that henceforth his will should be to her for law. But still
- Giosefo gave not over, but with ever fresh fury dealt her mighty
- swingeing blows, now about the ribs, now on the haunches, now over the
- shoulders; nor had he done with the fair lady, until, in short, he had
- left never a bone or other part of her person whole, and he was fairly
- spent. Then, returning to Melisso:--"To-morrow," quoth he, "we shall see
- whether 'Get thee to the Bridge of Geese' will prove to have been sound
- advice or no." And so, having rested a while, and then washed his hands,
- he supped with Melisso. With great pain the poor lady got upon her feet
- and laid herself on her bed, and having there taken such rest as she
- might, rose betimes on the morrow, and craved to know of Giosefo what he
- was minded to have to breakfast. Giosefo, laughing with Melisso over the
- message, gave her his directions, and when in due time they came to
- breakfast, they found everything excellently ordered according as it had
- been commanded: for which cause the counsel, which they had at first
- failed to understand, now received their highest commendation.
- Some few days later Melisso, having taken leave of Giosefo, went home,
- and told a wise man the counsel he had gotten from Solomon.
- Whereupon:--"And no truer or sounder advice could he have given thee,"
- quoth the sage: "thou knowest that thou lovest never a soul, and that the
- honours thou payest and the services thou renderest to others are not
- prompted by love of them, but by love of display. Love, then, as Solomon
- bade thee, and thou shalt be loved." On such wise was the unruly
- chastised; and the young man, learning to love, was beloved.
- NOVEL X.
- --
- Dom Gianni at the instance of his gossip Pietro uses an enchantment to
- transform Pietro's wife into a mare; but, when he comes to attach the
- tail, Gossip Pietro, by saying that he will have none of the tail, makes
- the enchantment of no effect.
- --
- The queen's story evoked some murmurs from the ladies and some laughter
- from the young men; however, when they were silent, Dioneo thus
- began:--Dainty my ladies, a black crow among a flock of white doves
- enhances their beauty more than would a white swan; and so, when many
- sages are met together, their ripe wisdom not only shews the brighter and
- goodlier for the presence of one that is not so wise, but may even derive
- pleasure and diversion therefrom. Wherefore as you, my ladies, are one
- and all most discreet and judicious, I, who know myself to be somewhat
- scant of sense, should, for that by my demerit I make your merit shew the
- more glorious, be more dear to you, than if by my greater merit I
- eclipsed yours, and by consequence should have more ample license to
- reveal myself to you as I am; and therefore have more patient sufferance
- on your part than would be due to me, were I more discreet, in the
- relation of the tale which I am about to tell you. 'Twill be, then, a
- story none too long, wherefrom you may gather with what exactitude it
- behoves folk to observe the injunctions of those that for any purpose use
- an enchantment, and how slight an error committed therein make bring to
- nought all the work of the enchanter.
- A year or so ago there was at Barletta a priest named Dom Gianni di
- Barolo, who, to eke out the scanty pittance his church afforded him, set
- a pack-saddle upon his mare, and took to going the round of the fairs of
- Apulia, buying and selling merchandise. And so it befell that he clapped
- up a close acquaintance with one Pietro da Tresanti, who plied the same
- trade as he, albeit instead of a mare he had but an ass; whom in token of
- friendship and good-fellowship Dom Gianni after the Apulian fashion
- called ever Gossip Pietro, and had him to his house and there lodged and
- honourably entreated him as often as he came to Barletta. Gossip Pietro
- on his part, albeit he was very poor and had but a little cot at
- Tresanti, that scarce sufficed for himself, his fair, young wife, and
- their ass, nevertheless, whenever Dom Gianni arrived at Tresanti, made
- him welcome, and did him the honours of his house as best he might, in
- requital of the hospitality which he received at Barletta. However, as
- Gossip Pietro had but one little bed, in which he slept with his fair
- wife, 'twas not in his power to lodge Dom Gianni as comfortably as he
- would have liked; but the priest's mare being quartered beside the ass in
- a little stable, the priest himself must needs lie beside her on the
- straw. Many a time when the priest came, the wife, knowing how honourably
- he entreated her husband at Barletta, would fain have gone to sleep with
- a neighbour, one Zita Carapresa di Giudice Leo, that the priest might
- share the bed with her husband, and many a time had she told the priest
- so howbeit he would never agree to it, and on one occasion:--"Gossip
- Gemmata," quoth he, "trouble not thyself about me; I am well lodged; for,
- when I am so minded, I turn the mare into a fine lass and dally with her,
- and then, when I would, I turn her back into a mare; wherefore I could
- ill brook to part from her." The young woman, wondering but believing,
- told her husband what the priest had said, adding:--"If he is even such a
- friend as thou sayst, why dost thou not get him to teach thee the
- enchantment, so that thou mayst turn me into a mare, and have both ass
- and mare for thine occasions? We should then make twice as much gain as
- we do, and thou couldst turn me back into a woman when we came home at
- night."
- Gossip Pietro, whose wit was somewhat blunt, believed that 'twas as she
- said, approved her counsel, and began adjuring Dom Gianni, as
- persuasively as he might, to teach him the incantation. Dom Gianni did
- his best to wean him of his folly; but as all was in vain:--"Lo, now,"
- quoth he, "as you are both bent on it, we will be up, as is our wont,
- before the sun to-morrow morning, and I will shew you how 'tis done. The
- truth is that 'tis in the attachment of the tail that the great
- difficulty lies, as thou wilt see." Scarce a wink of sleep had either
- Gossip Pietro or Gossip Gemmata that night, so great was their anxiety;
- and towards daybreak up they got, and called Dom Gianni; who, being
- risen, came in his shirt into Gossip Pietro's little bedroom, and:--"I
- know not," quoth he, "that there is another soul in the world for whom I
- would do this, save you, my gossips; however, as you will have it so, I
- will do it, but it behoves you to do exactly as I bid you, if you would
- have the enchantment work." They promised obedience, and Dom Gianni
- thereupon took a light, which he handed to Gossip Pietro, saying:--"Let
- nought that I shall do or say escape thee; and have a care, so thou
- wouldst not ruin all, to say never a word, whatever thou mayst see or
- hear; and pray God that the tail may be securely attached." So Gossip
- Pietro took the light, and again promised obedience; Dom Gianni caused
- Gossip Gemmata to strip herself stark naked, and stand on all fours like
- a mare, at the same time strictly charging her that, whatever might
- happen, she must utter no word. Then, touching her head and face:--"Be
- this a fine head of a mare," quoth he; in like manner touching her hair,
- he said:--"Be this a fine mane of a mare;" touching her arms:--"Be these
- fine legs and fine hooves of a mare;" then, as he touched her breast and
- felt its firm roundness, and there awoke and arose one that was not
- called:--"And be this a fine breast of a mare," quoth he; and in like
- manner he dealt with her back, belly, croup, thighs, and legs. Last of
- all, the work being complete save for the tail, he lifted his shirt and
- took in his hand the tool with which he was used to plant men, and
- forthwith thrust it into the furrow made for it, saying:--"And be this a
- fine tail of a mare." Whereat Gossip Pietro, who had followed everything
- very heedfully to that point, disapproving that last particular,
- exclaimed:--"No! Dom Gianni, I'll have no tail, I'll have no tail." The
- essential juice, by which all plants are propagated, was already
- discharged, when Dom Gianni withdrew the tool, saying:--"Alas! Gossip
- Pietro, what hast thou done? Did I not tell thee to say never a word, no
- matter what thou mightst see? The mare was all but made; but by speaking
- thou hast spoiled all; and 'tis not possible to repeat the enchantment."
- "Well and good," replied Gossip Pietro, "I would have none of that tail.
- Why saidst thou not to me:--'Make it thou'? And besides, thou wast
- attaching it too low." "'Twas because," returned Dom Gianni, "thou
- wouldst not have known, on the first essay, how to attach it so well as
- I." Whereupon the young woman stood up, and in all good faith said to her
- husband:--"Fool that thou art, wherefore hast thou brought to nought what
- had been for the good of us both? When didst thou ever see mare without a
- tail? So help me God, poor as thou art, thou deservest to be poorer
- still." So, after Gossip Pietro's ill-timed speech, there being no way
- left of turning the young woman into a mare, downcast and melancholy she
- resumed her clothes; and Gossip Pietro plied his old trade with his ass,
- and went with Dom Gianni to the fair of Bitonto, and never asked him so
- to serve him again.
- What laughter this story drew from the ladies, who understood it better
- than Dioneo had wished, may be left to the imagination of the fair one
- that now laughs thereat. However, as the stories were ended, and the sun
- now shone with a tempered radiance, the queen, witting that the end of
- her sovereignty was come, stood up and took off the crown, and set it on
- the head of Pamfilo, whom alone it now remained thus to honour; and said
- with a smile:--"My lord, 'tis a great burden that falls upon thee, seeing
- that thou, coming last, art bound to make good my shortcomings and those
- of my predecessors; which God give thee grace to accomplish, even as He
- has given me grace to make thee king." With gladsome acknowledgment of
- the honour:--"I doubt not," replied Pamfilo, "that, thanks to your noble
- qualities and those of my other subjects, I shall win even such praise as
- those that have borne sway before me." Then, following the example of his
- predecessors, he made all meet arrangements in concert with the
- seneschal: after which, he turned to the expectant ladies, and thus
- spoke:--"Enamoured my ladies, Emilia, our queen of to-day, deeming it
- proper to allow you an interval of rest to recruit your powers, gave you
- license to discourse of such matters as should most commend themselves to
- each in turn; and as thereby you are now rested, I judge that 'tis meet
- to revert to our accustomed rule. Wherefore I ordain that for to-morrow
- you do each of you take thought how you may discourse of the ensuing
- theme: to wit, of such as in matters of love, or otherwise, have done
- something with liberality or magnificence. By the telling, and (still
- more) by the doing of such things, your spirits will assuredly be duly
- attuned and animated to emprise high and noble; whereby our life, which
- cannot but be brief, seeing that 'tis enshrined in a mortal body, fame
- shall perpetuate in glory; which whoso serves not the belly, as do the
- beasts, must not only covet, but with all zeal seek after and labour to
- attain."
- The gay company having, one and all, approved the theme, rose at a word
- from their new king, and betook them to their wonted pastimes, and so,
- according as they severally had most lief, diverted them, until they
- blithely reunited for supper, which being served with all due care and
- despatched, they rose up to dance, as they were wont, and when they had
- sung, perhaps, a thousand ditties, fitter to please by their words than
- by any excellence of musical art, the king bade Neifile sing one on her
- own account. And promptly and graciously, with voice clear and blithe,
- thus Neifile sang:--
- In prime of maidenhood, and fair and feat
- 'Mid spring's fresh foison chant I merrily:
- Thanks be to Love and to my fancies sweet.
- As o'er the grassy mead I, glancing, fare,
- I mark it white and yellow and vermeil dight
- With flowers, the thorny rose, the lily white:
- And all alike to his face I compare,
- Who, loving, hath me ta'en, and me shall e'er
- Hold bounden to his will, sith I am she
- That in his will findeth her joy complete.
- Whereof if so it be that I do find
- Any that I most like to him approve,
- That pluck I straight and kiss with words of love,
- Discovering all, as, best I may, my mind;
- Yea, all my heart's desire; and then entwined
- I set it in the chaplet daintily,
- And with my yellow tresses bind and pleat.
- And as mine eyes do drink in the delight
- Which the flower yields them, even so my mind,
- Fired with his sweet love, doth such solace find,
- As he himself were present to the sight:
- But never word of mine discover might
- That which the flower's sweet smell awakes in me:
- Witness the true tale that my sighs repeat.
- For from my bosom gentle and hot they fly,
- Not like the gusty sighs that others heave,
- Whenas they languish and do sorely grieve;
- And to my love incontinent they hie:
- Whereof when he is ware, he, by and by,
- To meward hasting, cometh suddenly,
- When:--"Lest I faint," I cry, "come, I entreat."
- The king and all the ladies did not a little commend Neifile's song;
- after which, as the night was far spent, the king bade all go to rest
- until the morrow.
- --
- Endeth here the ninth day of the Decameron, and beginneth the tenth, in
- which, under the rule of Pamfilo, discourse is had of such as in matters
- of love, or otherwise, have done something with liberality or
- magnificence.
- --
- Some cloudlets in the West still shewed a vermeil flush, albeit those of
- the eastern sky, as the sun's rays smote them anear, were already fringed
- as with most lucent gold, when uprose Pamfilo, and roused the ladies and
- his comrades. And all the company being assembled, and choice made of the
- place whither they should betake them for their diversion, he,
- accompanied by Filomena and Fiammetta, led the way at a slow pace,
- followed by all the rest. So fared they no little space, beguiling the
- time with talk of their future way of life, whereof there was much to
- tell and much to answer, until, as the sun gained strength, they
- returned, having made quite a long round, to the palace; and being
- gathered about the fountain, such as were so minded drank somewhat from
- beakers rinsed in its pure waters; and then in the delicious shade of the
- garden they hied them hither and thither, taking their pleasure until
- breakfast-time. Their meal taken, they slept as they were wont; and then,
- at a spot chosen by the king, they reassembled, where Neifile, having
- received his command to lead the way, blithely thus began.
- NOVEL I.
- --
- A knight in the service of the King of Spain deems himself ill requited.
- Wherefore the King, by most cogent proof, shews him that the blame rests
- not with him, but with the knight's own evil fortune; after which, he
- bestows upon him a noble gift.
- --
- Highly graced, indeed, do I deem myself, honourable my ladies, that our
- king should have given to me the precedence in a matter so arduous to
- tell of as magnificence: for, as the sun irradiates all the heaven with
- his glory and beauty, even so does magnificence enhance the purity and
- the splendour of every other virtue. I shall therefore tell you a story,
- which, to my thinking, is not a little pretty; and which, assuredly, it
- must be profitable to call to mind.
- You are to know, then, that, among other honourable knights that from
- days of old even until now have dwelt in our city, one, and perchance the
- worthiest of all, was Messer Ruggieri de' Figiovanni. Who, being wealthy
- and magnanimous, reflecting on the customs and manner of life of Tuscany,
- perceived that by tarrying there he was like to find little or no
- occasion of shewing his mettle, and accordingly resolved to pass some
- time at the court of Alfonso, King of Spain, who for the fame of his high
- qualities was without a peer among the potentates of his age. So, being
- well provided with arms and horses and retinue suitable to his rank, he
- hied him to Spain, where he was graciously received by the King. There
- tarrying accordingly, Messer Ruggieri very soon, as well by the splendid
- style in which he lived as by the prodigious feats of arms that he did,
- gave folk to know his high desert.
- Now, having tarried there some while, and observed the King's ways with
- much care, and how he would grant castles, cities, or baronies, to this,
- that, or the other of his subjects, he deemed that the King shewed
- therein but little judgment, seeing that he would give them to men that
- merited them not. And for that nought was given to him, he, knowing his
- merit, deemed himself gravely injured in reputation; wherefore he made up
- his mind to depart the realm, and to that end craved license of the King;
- which the King granted him, and therewith gave him one of the best and
- finest mules that was ever ridden, a gift which Messer Ruggieri, as he
- had a long journey to make, did not a little appreciate. The King then
- bade one of his discreet domestics contrive, as best he might, to ride
- with Messer Ruggieri on such wise that it might not appear that he did so
- by the King's command, and charge his memory with whatever Messer
- Ruggieri might say of him, so that he might be able to repeat it; which
- done, he was on the very next morning to bid Ruggieri return to the King
- forthwith. The King's agent was on the alert, and no sooner was Ruggieri
- out of the city, than without any manner of difficulty he joined his
- company, giving out that he was going towards Italy. As thus they rode,
- talking of divers matters, Messer Ruggieri being mounted on the mule
- given him by the King:--"Methinks," quoth the other, it being then hard
- upon tierce, "that 'twere well to give the beasts a voidance;" and by and
- by, being come to a convenient place, they voided all the beasts save the
- mule. Then, as they continued their journey, the squire hearkening
- attentively to the knight's words, they came to a river, and while there
- they watered the beasts, the mule made a voidance in the stream.
- Whereat:--"Ah, foul fall thee, beast," quoth Messer Ruggieri, "that art
- even as thy master, that gave thee to me!" Which remark, as also many
- another that fell from Ruggieri as they rode together throughout the day,
- the squire stored in his memory; but never another word did he hear
- Ruggieri say touching the King, that was not laudatory to the last
- degree.
- On the morrow, when they were gotten to horse, and had set their faces
- towards Tuscany, the squire apprised Ruggieri of the King's command, and
- thereupon Ruggieri turned back. On his arrival the King, having already
- heard what he had said touching the mule, gave him gladsome greeting, and
- asked him wherefore he had likened him to the mule, or rather the mule to
- him. Whereto Messer Ruggieri answered frankly:--"My lord, I likened you
- to the mule, for that, as you bestow your gifts where 'tis not meet, and
- where meet it were, bestow them not, so the mule where 'twas meet, voided
- not, and where 'twas not meet, voided." "Messer Ruggieri," replied the
- King, "'tis not because I have not discerned in you a knight most good
- and true, for whose desert no gift were too great, that I have not
- bestowed on you such gifts as I have bestowed upon many others, who in
- comparison of you are nothing worth: the fault is none of mine but solely
- of your fortune, which would not suffer me; and that this which I say is
- true, I will make abundantly plain to you." "My lord," returned Messer
- Ruggieri, "mortified am I, not that you gave me no gift, for thereof I
- had no desire, being too rich, but that you made no sign of recognition
- of my desert; however, I deem your explanation sound and honourable, and
- whatever you shall be pleased that I should see, that gladly will I,
- albeit I believe you without attestation."
- The King then led him into one of the great halls, in which, by his
- preordinance, were two chests closed under lock and key, and, not a few
- others being present, said to him:--"Messer Ruggieri, one these chests
- contains my crown, sceptre and orb, with many a fine girdle, buckle,
- ring, and whatever else of jewellery I possess; the other is full of
- earth: choose then, and whichever you shall choose, be it yours; thereby
- you will discover whether 'tis due to me or to your fortune that your
- deserts have lacked requital." Such being the King's pleasure, Messer
- Ruggieri chose one of the chests, which at the King's command being
- opened and found to be that which contained the earth:--"Now, Messer
- Ruggieri," quoth the King with a laugh, "your own eyes may warrant you of
- the truth of what I say touching Fortune; but verily your merit demands
- that I take arms against her in your cause. I know that you are not
- minded to become a Spaniard, and therefore I shall give you neither
- castle nor city; but that chest, which Fortune denied you, I bestow on
- you in her despite, that you may take it with you to your own country,
- and there with your neighbours justly vaunt yourself of your deserts,
- attested by my gifts." Messer Ruggieri took the chest, and having thanked
- the King in a manner befitting such a gift, returned therewith, well
- pleased, to Tuscany.
- NOVEL II.
- --
- Ghino di Tacco captures the Abbot of Cluny, cures him of a disorder of
- the stomach, and releases him. The abbot, on his return to the court of
- Rome, reconciles Ghino with Pope Boniface, and makes him prior of the
- Hospital.
- --
- When an end was made of extolling the magnificence shewn by King Alfonso
- towards the Florentine knight, the king, who had listened to the story
- with no small pleasure, bade Elisa follow suit; and forthwith Elisa
- began:--Dainty my ladies, undeniable it is that for a king to be
- magnificent, and to entreat magnificently one that has done him service,
- is a great matter, and meet for commendation. What then shall we say when
- the tale is of a dignitary of the Church that shewed wondrous
- magnificence towards one whom he might well have entreated as an enemy,
- and not have been blamed by a soul? Assuredly nought else than that what
- in the king was virtue was in the prelate nothing less than a miracle,
- seeing that for superlative greed the clergy, one and all, outdo us
- women, and wage war to the knife upon every form of liberality. And
- albeit all men are by nature prone to avenge their wrongs, 'tis notorious
- that the clergy, however they may preach longsuffering, and commend of
- all things the forgiving of trespasses, are more quick and hot to be
- avenged than the rest of mankind. Now this, to wit, after what manner a
- prelate shewed magnificence, will be made manifest to you in my story.
- Ghino di Tacco, a man redoubtable by reason of his truculence and his
- high-handed deeds, being banished from Siena, and at enmity with the
- Counts of Santa Fiore, raised Radicofani in revolt against the Church of
- Rome, and there abiding, harried all the surrounding country with his
- soldiers, plundering all wayfarers. Now Pope Boniface VIII. being at
- Rome, there came to court the Abbot of Cluny, who is reputed one of the
- wealthiest prelates in the world; and having there gotten a disorder of
- the stomach, he was advised by the physicians to go to the baths of
- Siena, where (they averred) he would certainly be cured. So, having
- obtained the Pope's leave, reckless of the bruit of Ghino's exploits, he
- took the road, being attended by a great and well-equipped train of
- sumpter-horses and servants. Ghino di Tacco, getting wind of his
- approach, spread his nets to such purpose as without the loss of so much
- as a boy to surround the abbot, with all his servants and effects, in a
- strait pass, from which there was no exit. Which done, he sent one of his
- men, the cunningest of them all, with a sufficient retinue to the abbot,
- who most lovingly on Ghino's part besought the abbot to come and visit
- Ghino at the castle. Whereto the abbot, very wroth, made answer that he
- would none of it, for that nought had he to do with Ghino; but that he
- purposed to continue his journey, and would fain see who would hinder
- him. "Sir," returned the envoy, assuming a humble tone, "you are come to
- a part of the country where we have no fear of aught save the might of
- God, and where excommunications and interdicts are one and all under the
- ban; wherefore you were best be pleased to shew yourself agreeable to
- Ghino in this particular." As they thus spoke, Ghino's soldiers shewed
- themselves on every side, and it being thus manifest to the abbot that he
- and his company were taken prisoners, he, albeit mightily incensed,
- suffered himself with all his train and effects to be conducted by the
- envoy to the castle; where the abbot, being alighted, was lodged in a
- small and very dark and discomfortable room, while his retinue, according
- to their several conditions, were provided with comfortable quarters in
- divers parts of the castle, the horses well stabled and all the effects
- secured, none being in any wise tampered with. Which done, Ghino hied him
- to the abbot, and:--"Sir," quoth he, "Ghino, whose guest you are, sends
- me to entreat you to be pleased to inform him of your destination, and
- the purpose of your journey." The abbot, vailing his pride like a wise
- man, told whither he was bound and for what purpose. Whereupon Ghino left
- him, casting about how he might cure him without a bath. To which end he
- kept a great fire ever burning in the little chamber, and had it closely
- guarded, and returned not to the abbot until the ensuing morning, when he
- brought him in a spotless napkin two slices of toast and a great beaker
- of vernaccia of Corniglia, being of the abbot's own vintage; and:--"Sir,"
- quoth he to the abbot, "Ghino, as a young man, made his studies in
- medicine, and avers that he then learned that there is no better
- treatment for disorder of the stomach than that which he will afford you,
- whereof the matters that I bring you are the beginning; wherefore take
- them and be of good cheer."
- The abbot, being far too hungry to make many words about the matter, ate
- (albeit in high dudgeon) the toast, and drank the vernaccia; which done,
- he enlarged on his wrongs in a high tone, with much questioning and
- perpending; and above all he demanded to see Ghino. Part of what the
- abbot said Ghino disregarded as of no substance, to other part he replied
- courteously enough; and having assured him that Ghino would visit him as
- soon as might be, he took his leave of him; nor did he return until the
- morrow, when he brought him toast and vernaccia in the same quantity as
- before; and so he kept him several days: then, having marked that the
- abbot had eaten some dried beans that he had secretly brought and left
- there of set purpose, he asked him in Ghino's name how he felt in the
- stomach. "Were I but out of Ghino's hands," replied the abbot, "I should
- feel myself well, indeed: next to which, I desire most of all a good
- breakfast, so excellent a cure have his medicines wrought on me."
- Whereupon Ghino caused the abbot's servants to furnish a goodly chamber
- with the abbot's own effects, and there on the morrow make ready a grand
- banquet, at which all the abbot's suite and not a few of the garrison
- being assembled, he hied him to the abbot, and:--"Sir," quoth he, "'tis
- time you left the infirmary, seeing that you now feel yourself well;" and
- so saying, he took him by the hand, and led him into the chamber made
- ready for him, and having left him there with his own people, made it his
- chief concern that the banquet should be magnificent. The abbot's spirits
- revived as he found himself again among his men, with whom he talked a
- while, telling them how he had been entreated, wherewith they contrasted
- the signal honour which they, on the other hand, had, one and all,
- received from Ghino.
- Breakfast-time came, and with order meet the abbot and the rest were
- regaled with good viands and good wines, Ghino still suffering not the
- abbot to know who he was. But when the abbot had thus passed several
- days, Ghino, having first had all his effects collected in a saloon, and
- all his horses, to the poorest jade, in the courtyard below, hied him to
- the abbot and asked him how he felt, and if he deemed himself strong
- enough to ride. The abbot replied that he was quite strong enough, and
- that 'twould be well indeed with him, were he once out of Ghino's hands.
- Ghino then led him into the saloon in which were his effects and all his
- retinue, and having brought him to a window, whence he might see all his
- horses:--"Sir Abbot," quoth he, "you must know that 'tis not for that he
- has an evil heart, but because, being a gentleman, he is banished from
- his home, and reduced to poverty, and has not a few powerful enemies,
- that in defence of his life and honour, Ghino di Tacco, whom you see
- before you, has become a robber of highways and an enemy to the court of
- Rome. But such as I am, I have cured you of your malady of the stomach,
- and taking you to be a worthy lord, I purpose not to treat you as I would
- another, from whom, were he in my hands, as you are, I should take such
- part of his goods as I should think fit; but I shall leave it to you,
- upon consideration of my need, to assign to me such portion of your goods
- as you yourself shall determine. Here are they before you undiminished
- and unimpaired, and from this window you may see your horses below in the
- courtyard; wherefore take the part or take the whole, as you may see fit,
- and be it at your option to tarry here, or go hence, from this hour
- forth."
- The abbot marvelled to hear a highway robber speak thus liberally, and
- such was his gratification that his wrath and fierce resentment departed
- from him, nay, were transformed into kindness, insomuch that in all
- cordial amity he hasted to embrace Ghino, saying:--"By God I swear, that
- to gain the friendship of a man such I now deem thee to be, I would be
- content to suffer much greater wrong than that which until now, meseemed,
- thou hadst done me. Cursed be Fortune that constrains thee to ply so
- censurable a trade." Which said, he selected a very few things, and none
- superfluous, from his ample store, and having done likewise with the
- horses, ceded all else to Ghino, and hied him back to Rome; where, seeing
- him, the Pope, who to his great grief had heard of his capture, asked him
- what benefit he had gotten from the baths. Whereto the abbot made answer
- with a smile:--"Holy Father, I found nearer here than the baths a worthy
- physician who has wrought a most excellent cure on me:" he then recounted
- all the circumstances, whereat the Pope laughed. Afterwards, still
- pursuing the topic, the abbot, yielding to the promptings of
- magnificence, asked a favour of the Pope; who, expecting that he would
- ask somewhat else than he did, liberally promised to give him whatever he
- should demand. Whereupon:--"Holy Father," quoth the abbot, "that which I
- would crave of you is that you restore Ghino di Tacco, my physician, to
- your favour; seeing that among the good men and true and meritorious that
- I have known, he is by no means of the least account. And for the evil
- life that he leads, I impute it to Fortune rather than to him: change
- then his fortune, by giving him the means whereby he may live in manner
- befitting his rank, and I doubt not that in a little while your judgment
- of him will jump with mine." Whereto the Pope, being magnanimous, and an
- admirer of good men and true, made answer that so he would gladly do, if
- Ghino should prove to be such as the abbot said; and that he would have
- him brought under safe conduct to Rome. Thither accordingly under safe
- conduct came Ghino, to the abbot's great delight; nor had he been long at
- court before the Pope approved his worth, and restored him to his favour,
- granting him a great office, to wit, that of prior of the Hospital,
- whereof he made him knight. Which office he held for the rest of his
- life, being ever a friend and vassal of Holy Church and the Abbot of
- Cluny.
- NOVEL III.
- --
- Mitridanes, holding Nathan in despite by reason of his courtesy, journeys
- with intent to kill him, and falling in with him unawares, is advised by
- him how to compass his end. Following his advice, he finds him in a
- copse, and recognizing him, is shame-stricken, and becomes his friend.
- --
- Verily like to a miracle seemed it to all to hear that a prelate had done
- aught with magnificence; but when the ladies had made an end of their
- remarks, the king bade Filostrato follow suit; and forthwith Filostrato
- began:--Noble ladies, great was the magnificence of the King of Spain,
- and perchance a thing unheard-of the magnificence of the Abbot of Cluny;
- but peradventure 'twill seem not a whit less marvellous to you to hear of
- one who, to shew liberality towards another, did resolve artfully to
- yield to him his blood, nay, his very life, for which the other thirsted,
- and had so done, had the other chosen to take them, as I shall shew you
- in a little story.
- Beyond all question, if we may believe the report of certain Genoese, and
- other folk that have been in those regions, there dwelt of yore in the
- parts of Cathay one Nathan, a man of noble lineage and incomparable
- wealth. Who, having a seat hard by a road, by which whoso would travel
- from the West eastward, or from the East westward, must needs pass, and
- being magnanimous and liberal, and zealous to approve himself such in
- act, did set on work cunning artificers not a few, and cause one of the
- finest and largest and most luxurious palaces that ever were seen, to be
- there builded and furnished in the goodliest manner with all things meet
- for the reception and honourable entertainment of gentlemen. And so,
- keeping a great array of excellent servants, he courteously and
- hospitably did the honours of his house to whoso came and went: in which
- laudable way of life he persevered, until not only the East, but
- well-nigh all the West had heard his fame; which thus, what time he was
- well-stricken in years, albeit not for that cause grown weary of shewing
- courtesy, reached the ears of one Mitridanes, a young man of a country
- not far distant. Who, knowing himself to be no less wealthy than Nathan,
- grew envious of the renown that he had of his good deeds, and resolved to
- obliterate, or at least to obscure it, by a yet greater liberality. So he
- had built for himself a palace like that of Nathan, of which he did the
- honours with a lavish courtesy that none had ever equalled, to whoso came
- or went that way; and verily in a short while he became famous enough.
- Now it so befell that on a day when the young man was all alone in the
- courtyard of the palace, there came in by one of the gates a poor woman,
- who asked of him an alms, and had it; but, not content therewith, came
- again to him by the second gate, and asked another alms, and had it, and
- after the like sort did even unto the twelfth time; but, she returning
- for the thirteenth time:--"My good woman," quoth Mitridanes, "thou art
- not a little pertinacious in thy begging:" howbeit he gave her an alms.
- Whereupon:--"Ah! the wondrous liberality of Nathan!" quoth the
- beldam:--"thirty-two gates are there to his palace, by every one of which
- I have entered, and asking alms of him, was never--for aught he
- shewed--recognized, or refused, and here, though I have entered as yet by
- but thirteen gates, I am recognized and reprimanded." And therewith she
- departed, and returned no more. Mitridanes, who accounted the mention of
- Nathan's fame an abatement of his own, was kindled by her words with a
- frenzy of wrath, and began thus to commune with himself:--Alas! when
- shall I attain to the grandeur of Nathan's liberality, to say nought of
- transcending it, as I would fain, seeing that in the veriest trifles I
- cannot approach him? Of a surety my labour is in vain, if I rid not the
- earth of him: which, since old age relieves me not of him, I must
- forthwith do with mine own hands. And in the flush of his despite up he
- started, and giving none to know of his purpose, got to horse with a
- small company, and after three days arrived at the place where Nathan
- abode; and having enjoined his comrades to make as if they were none of
- his, and knew him not, and to go quarter themselves as best they might
- until they had his further orders, he, being thus alone, towards evening
- came upon Nathan, also alone, at no great distance from his splendid
- palace. Nathan was recreating himself by a walk, and was very simply
- clad; so that Mitridanes, knowing him not, asked him if he could shew him
- where Nathan dwelt. "My son," replied Nathan gladsomely, "that can none
- in these parts better than I; wherefore, so it please thee, I will bring
- thee thither." The young man replied that 'twould be mighty agreeable to
- him, but that, if so it might be, he had a mind to be neither known nor
- seen by Nathan. "And herein also," returned Nathan, "since 'tis thy
- pleasure, I will gratify thee." Whereupon Mitridanes dismounted, and with
- Nathan, who soon engaged him in delightsome discourse, walked to the
- goodly palace. Arrived there Nathan caused one of his servants take the
- young man's horse, and drawing close to him, bade him in a whisper to see
- to it without delay that none in the house should tell the young man that
- he was Nathan: and so 'twas done.
- Being come into the palace, Nathan quartered Mitridanes in a most goodly
- chamber, where none saw him but those whom he had appointed to wait upon
- him; and he himself kept him company, doing him all possible honour. Of
- whom Mitridanes, albeit he reverenced him as a father, yet, being thus
- with him, forbore not to ask who he was. Whereto Nathan made answer:--"I
- am a petty servant of Nathan: old as I am, I have been with him since my
- childhood, and never has he advanced me to higher office than this
- wherein thou seest me: wherefore, howsoever other folk may praise him,
- little cause have I to do so." Which words afforded Mitridanes some hope
- of carrying his wicked purpose into effect with more of plan and less of
- risk than had otherwise been possible. By and by Nathan very courteously
- asked him who he was, and what business brought him thither; offering him
- such counsel and aid as he might be able to afford him. Mitridanes
- hesitated a while to reply: but at last he resolved to trust him, and
- when with no little circumlocution he had demanded of him fidelity,
- counsel and aid, he fully discovered to him who he was, and the purpose
- and motive of his coming thither. Now, albeit to hear Mitridanes thus
- unfold his horrid design caused Nathan no small inward commotion, yet
- 'twas not long before courageously and composedly he thus made
- answer:--"Noble was thy father, Mitridanes, and thou art minded to shew
- thyself not unworthy of him by this lofty emprise of thine, to wit, of
- being liberal to all comers: and for that thou art envious of Nathan's
- merit I greatly commend thee; for were many envious for a like cause, the
- world, from being a most wretched, would soon become a happy place. Doubt
- not that I shall keep secret the design which thou hast confided to me,
- for the furtherance whereof 'tis good advice rather than substantial aid
- that I have to offer thee. Which advice is this. Hence, perhaps half a
- mile off, thou mayst see a copse, in which almost every morning Nathan is
- wont to walk, taking his pleasure, for quite a long while: 'twill be an
- easy matter for thee to find him there, and deal with him as thou mayst
- be minded. Now, shouldst thou slay him, thou wilt get thee home with less
- risk of let, if thou take not the path by which thou camest hither, but
- that which thou seest issue from the copse on the left, for, though 'tis
- somewhat more rough, it leads more directly to thy house, and will be
- safer for thee."
- Possessed of this information, Mitridanes, when Nathan had left him,
- privily apprised his comrades, who were likewise lodged in the palace, of
- the place where they were to await him on the ensuing day; which being
- come, Nathan, inflexibly determined to act in all respects according to
- the advice which he had given Mitridanes, hied him forth to the copse
- unattended, to meet his death. Mitridanes, being risen, took his bow and
- sword, for other arms he had none with him, mounted his horse, and rode
- to the copse, through which, while he was yet some way off, he saw Nathan
- passing, quite alone. And being minded, before he fell upon him, to see
- his face and hear the sound of his voice, as, riding at a smart pace, he
- came up with him, he laid hold of him by his head-gear,
- exclaiming:--"Greybeard, thou art a dead man." Whereto Nathan answered
- nought but:--"Then 'tis but my desert." But Mitridanes, hearing the
- voice, and scanning the face, forthwith knew him for the same man that
- had welcomed him heartily, consorted with him familiarly, and counselled
- him faithfully; whereby his wrath presently subsided, and gave place to
- shame. Wherefore, casting away the sword that he held drawn in act to
- strike, he sprang from his horse, and weeping, threw himself at Nathan's
- feet, saying:--"Your liberality, dearest father, I acknowledge to be
- beyond all question, seeing with what craft you did plot your coming
- hither to yield me your life, for which, by mine own avowal, you knew
- that I, albeit cause I had none, did thirst. But God, more regardful of
- my duty than I myself, has now, in this moment of supreme stress, opened
- the eyes of my mind, that wretched envy had fast sealed. The prompter was
- your compliance, the greater is the debt of penitence that I owe you for
- my fault; wherefore wreak even such vengeance upon me as you may deem
- answerable to my transgression." But Nathan raised Mitridanes to his
- feet, and tenderly embraced him, saying:--"My son, thy enterprise,
- howsoever thou mayst denote it, whether evil or otherwise, was not such
- that thou shouldst crave, or I give, pardon thereof; for 'twas not in
- malice but in that thou wouldst fain have been reputed better than I that
- thou ensuedst it. Doubt then no more of me; nay, rest assured that none
- that lives bears thee such love as I, who know the loftiness of thy
- spirit, bent not to heap up wealth, as do the caitiffs, but to dispense
- in bounty thine accumulated store. Think it no shame that to enhance thy
- reputation thou wouldst have slain me; nor deem that I marvel thereat. To
- slay not one man, as thou wast minded, but countless multitudes, to waste
- whole countries with fire, and to raze cities to the ground has been
- well-nigh the sole art, by which the mightiest emperors and the greatest
- kings have extended their dominions, and by consequence their fame.
- Wherefore, if thou, to increase thy fame, wouldst fain have slain me,
- 'twas nothing marvellous or strange, but wonted."
- Whereto Mitridanes made answer, not to excuse his wicked design, but to
- commend the seemly excuse found for it by Nathan, whom at length he told
- how beyond measure he marvelled that Nathan had not only been consenting
- to the enterprise, but had aided him therein by his counsel. But Nathan
- answered:--"Liefer had I, Mitridanes, that thou didst not marvel either
- at my consent or at my counsel, for that, since I was my own master and
- of a mind to that emprise whereon thou art also bent, never a soul came
- to my house, but, so far as in me lay, I gave him all that he asked of
- me. Thou camest, lusting for my life; and so, when I heard thee crave it
- of me, I forthwith, that thou mightst not be the only guest to depart
- hence ill content, resolved to give it thee; and to that end I gave thee
- such counsel as I deemed would serve thee both to the taking of my life
- and the preservation of thine own. Wherefore yet again I bid thee, nay, I
- entreat thee, if so thou art minded, to take it for thy satisfaction: I
- know not how I could better bestow it. I have had the use of it now for
- some eighty years, and pleasure and solace thereof; and I know that, by
- the course of Nature and the common lot of man and all things mundane, it
- can continue to be mine for but a little while; and so I deem that 'twere
- much better to bestow it, as I have ever bestowed and dispensed my
- wealth, than to keep it, until, against my will, it be reft from me by
- Nature. 'Twere but a trifle, though 'twere a hundred years: how
- insignificant, then, the six or eight years that are all I have to give!
- Take it, then, if thou hadst lief, take it, I pray thee; for, long as I
- have lived here, none have I found but thee to desire it; nor know I when
- I may find another, if thou take it not, to demand it of me. And if,
- peradventure, I should find one such, yet I know that the longer I keep
- it, the less its worth will be; wherefore, ere it be thus cheapened, take
- it, I implore thee."
- Sore shame-stricken, Mitridanes made answer:--"Now God forefend that I
- should so much as harbour, as but now I did, such a thought, not to say
- do such a deed, as to wrest from you a thing so precious as your life,
- the years whereof, so far from abridging, I would gladly supplement with
- mine own." "So then," rejoined Nathan promptly, "thou wouldst, if thou
- couldst, add thy years to mine, and cause me to serve thee as I never yet
- served any man, to wit, to take from thee that which is thine, I that
- never took aught from a soul!" "Ay, that would I," returned Mitridanes.
- "Then," quoth Nathan, "do as I shall bid thee. Thou art young: tarry here
- in my house, and call thyself Nathan; and I will get me to thy house, and
- ever call myself Mitridanes." Whereto Mitridanes made answer:--"Were I
- but able to discharge this trust, as you have been and are, scarce would
- I hesitate to accept your offer; but, as too sure am I that aught that I
- might do would but serve to lower Nathan's fame, and I am not minded to
- mar that in another which I cannot mend in myself, accept it I will not."
- After which and the like interchange of delectable discourse, Nathan and
- Mitridanes, by Nathan's desire, returned to the palace; where Nathan for
- some days honourably entreated Mitridanes, and by his sage counsel
- confirmed and encouraged him in his high and noble resolve; after which,
- Mitridanes, being minded to return home with his company, took his leave
- of Nathan, fully persuaded that 'twas not possible to surpass him in
- liberality.
- NOVEL IV.
- --
- Messer Gentile de' Carisendi, being come from Modena, disinters a lady
- that he loves, who has been buried for dead. She, being reanimated, gives
- birth to a male child; and Messer Gentile restores her, with her son, to
- Niccoluccio Caccianimico, her husband.
- --
- A thing marvellous seemed it to all that for liberality a man should be
- ready to sacrifice his own life; and herein they averred that Nathan had
- without doubt left the King of Spain and the Abbot of Cluny behind.
- However, when they had discussed the matter diversely and at large, the
- king, bending his regard on Lauretta, signified to her his will that she
- should tell; and forthwith, accordingly, Lauretta began:--Goodly matters
- are they and magnificent that have been recounted to you, young ladies;
- nay, so much of our field of discourse is already filled by their
- grandeur, that for us that are yet to tell, there is, methinks, no room
- left, unless we seek our topic there where matter of discourse germane to
- every theme does most richly abound, to wit, in the affairs of love. For
- which cause, as also for that our time of life cannot but make us
- especially inclinable thereto, I am minded that my story shall be of a
- feat of magnificence done by a lover: which, all things considered, will,
- peradventure, seem to you inferior to none that have been shewn you; so
- it be true that to possess the beloved one, men will part with their
- treasures, forget their enmities, and jeopardize their own lives, their
- honour and their reputation, in a thousand ways.
- Know, then, that at Bologna, that most famous city of Lombardy, there
- dwelt a knight, Messer Gentile Carisendi by name, worshipful alike for
- his noble lineage and his native worth: who in his youth, being enamoured
- of a young gentlewoman named Madonna Catalina, wife of one Niccoluccio
- Caccianimico, and well-nigh despairing, for that the lady gave him but a
- sorry requital of his love, betook him to Modena, being called thither as
- Podesta. Now what time he was there, Niccoluccio being also away from
- Bologna, and his lady gone, for that she was with child, to lie in at a
- house she had some three miles or so from the city, it befell that she
- was suddenly smitten with a sore malady of such and so virulent a quality
- that it left no sign of life in her, so that the very physicians
- pronounced her dead. And for that the women that were nearest of kin to
- her professed to have been told by her, that she was not so far gone in
- pregnancy that the child could be perfectly formed, they, without more
- ado, laid her in a tomb in a neighbouring church, and after long
- lamentation closed it upon her.
- Whereof Messer Gentile being forthwith apprised by one of his friends,
- did, for all she had been most niggardly to him of her favour, grieve not
- a little, and at length fell a communing with himself on this wise:--So,
- Madonna Catalina, thou art dead! While thou livedst, never a glance of
- thine might I have; wherefore, now that thou art dead, 'tis but right
- that I go take a kiss from thee. 'Twas night while he thus mused; and
- forthwith, observing strict secrecy in his departure, he got him to horse
- with a single servant, and halted not until he was come to the place
- where the lady was interred; and having opened the tomb he cautiously
- entered it. Then, having lain down beside her, he set his face against
- hers; and again and again, weeping profusely the while, he kissed it. But
- as 'tis matter of common knowledge that the desires of men, and more
- especially of lovers, know no bounds, but crave ever an ampler
- satisfaction; even so Messer Gentile, albeit he had been minded to tarry
- there no longer, now said to himself:--Wherefore touch I not her bosom a
- while? I have never yet touched it, nor shall I ever touch it again.
- Obeying which impulse, he laid his hand on her bosom, and keeping it
- there some time, felt, as he thought, her heart faintly beating.
- Whereupon, banishing all fear, and examining the body with closer
- attention, he discovered that life was not extinct, though he judged it
- but scant and flickering: and so, aided by his servant, he bore her, as
- gently as he might, out of the tomb; and set her before him upon his
- horse, and brought her privily to his house at Bologna, where dwelt his
- wise and worthy mother, who, being fully apprised by him of the
- circumstances, took pity on the lady, and had a huge fire kindled, and a
- bath made ready, whereby she restored her to life. Whereof the first sign
- she gave was to heave a great sigh, and murmur:--"Alas! where am I?" To
- which the worthy lady made answer:--"Be of good cheer; thou art well
- lodged." By and by the lady, coming to herself, looked about her; and
- finding herself she knew not where, and seeing Messer Gentile before her,
- was filled with wonder, and besought his mother to tell her how she came
- to be there.
- Messer Gentile thereupon told her all. Sore distressed thereat, the lady,
- after a while, thanked him as best she might; after which she besought
- him by the love that he had borne her, and of his courtesy, that she
- might, while she tarried in his house, be spared aught that could impair
- her honour and her husband's; and that at daybreak he would suffer her to
- return home. "Madam," replied Messer Gentile, "however I did affect you
- in time past, since God in His goodness has, by means of the love I bore
- you, restored you to me alive, I mean not now, or at any time hereafter,
- to entreat you either here or elsewhere, save as a dear sister; but yet
- the service I have to-night rendered you merits some guerdon, and
- therefore lief had I that you deny me not a favour which I shall ask of
- you." Whereto the lady graciously made answer that she would be prompt to
- grant it, so only it were in her power, and consonant with her honour.
- Said then Messer Gentile:--"Your kinsfolk, Madam, one and all, nay, all
- the folk in Bologna are fully persuaded that you are dead: there is
- therefore none to expect you at home: wherefore the favour I crave of you
- is this, that you will be pleased to tarry privily here with my mother,
- until such time--which will be speedily--as I return from Modena. And
- 'tis for that I purpose to make solemn and joyous donation of you to your
- husband in presence of the most honourable folk of this city that I ask
- of you this grace." Mindful of what she owed the knight, and witting that
- what he craved was seemly, the lady, albeit she yearned not a little to
- gladden her kinsfolk with the sight of her in the flesh, consented to do
- as Messer Gentile besought her, and thereto pledged him her faith. And
- scarce had she done so, when she felt that the hour of her travail was
- come; and so, tenderly succoured by Messer Gentile's mother, she not long
- after gave birth to a fine boy. Which event did mightily enhance her own
- and Messer Gentile's happiness. Then, having made all meet provision for
- her, and left word that she was to be tended as if she were his own wife,
- Messer Gentile, observing strict secrecy, returned to Modena.
- His time of office there ended, in anticipation of his return to Bologna,
- he appointed for the morning of his arrival in the city a great and
- goodly banquet at his house, whereto were bidden not a few of the
- gentlemen of Bologna, and among them Niccoluccio Caccianimico. Whom, when
- he was returned and dismounted, he found awaiting him, as also the lady,
- fairer and more healthful than ever, and her little son doing well; and
- so with a gladness beyond compare he ranged his guests at table, and
- regaled them with many a course magnificently served. And towards the
- close of the feast, having premonished the lady of his intention, and
- concerted with her how she should behave, thus he spoke:--"Gentlemen, I
- mind me to have once heard tell of (as I deem it) a delightsome custom
- which they have in Persia; to wit, that, when one would do his friend
- especial honour, he bids him to his house, and there shews him that
- treasure, be it wife, or mistress, or daughter, or what not, that he
- holds most dear; assuring him that yet more gladly, were it possible, he
- would shew him his heart. Which custom I am minded to observe here in
- Bologna. You, of your courtesy, have honoured my feast with your
- presence, and I propose to do you honour in the Persian fashion, by
- shewing you that which in all the world I do, and must ever, hold most
- dear. But before I do so, tell me, I pray you, how you conceive of a nice
- question that I shall lay before you. Suppose that one has in his house a
- good and most faithful servant, who falls sick of a grievous disorder;
- and that the master tarries not for the death of the servant, but has him
- borne out into the open street, and concerns himself no more with him:
- that then a stranger comes by, is moved to pity of the sick man, and
- takes him to his house, and by careful tendance and at no small cost
- restores him to his wonted health. Now I would fain know whether the
- first master has in equity any just cause to complain of or be aggrieved
- with the second master, if he retain the servant in his employ, and
- refuse to restore him, when so required."
- The gentlemen discussed the matter after divers fashions, and all agreed
- in one sentence, which they committed to Niccoluccio Caccianimico, for
- that he was an eloquent and accomplished speaker, to deliver on the part
- of them all. Niccoluccio began by commending the Persian custom: after
- which he said that he and the others were all of the same opinion, to
- wit, that the first master had no longer any right in his servant, since
- he had not only abandoned but cast him forth; and that by virtue of the
- second master's kind usage of him he must be deemed to have become his
- servant; wherefore, by keeping him, he did the first master no mischief,
- no violence, no wrong. Whereupon the rest that were at the table said,
- one and all, being worthy men, that their judgment jumped with
- Niccoluccio's answer. The knight, well pleased with the answer, and that
- 'twas Niccoluccio that gave it, affirmed that he was of the same opinion;
- adding:--"'Tis now time that I shew you that honour which I promised
- you." He then called two of his servants, and sent them to the lady, whom
- he had caused to be apparelled and adorned with splendour, charging them
- to pray her to be pleased to come and gladden the gentlemen with her
- presence. So she, bearing in her arms her most lovely little son, came,
- attended by the two servants, into the saloon, and by the knight's
- direction, took a seat beside a worthy gentleman:
- whereupon:--"Gentlemen," quoth the knight, "this is the treasure that I
- hold, and mean ever to hold, more dear than aught else. Behold, and judge
- whether I have good cause."
- The gentlemen said not a little in her honour and praise, averring that
- the knight ought indeed to hold her dear: then, as they regarded her more
- attentively, there were not a few that would have pronounced her to be
- the very woman that she was, had they not believed that woman to be dead.
- But none scanned her so closely as Niccoluccio, who, the knight being
- withdrawn a little space, could no longer refrain his eager desire to
- know who she might be, but asked her whether she were of Bologna, or from
- other parts. The lady, hearing her husband's voice, could scarce forbear
- to answer; but yet, not to disconcert the knight's plan, she kept
- silence. Another asked her if that was her little boy; and yet another,
- if she were Messer Gentile's wife, or in any other wise his connection.
- To none of whom she vouchsafed an answer. Then, Messer Gentile coming
- up:--"Sir," quoth one of the guests, "this treasure of yours is goodly
- indeed; but she seems to be dumb: is she so?" "Gentlemen," quoth Messer
- Gentile, "that she has not as yet spoken is no small evidence of her
- virtue." "Then tell us, you, who she is," returned the other. "That,"
- quoth the knight, "will I right gladly, so you but promise me, that, no
- matter what I may say, none of you will stir from his place, until I have
- ended my story." All gave the required promise, and when the tables had
- been cleared, Messer Gentile, being seated beside the lady, thus
- spoke:--"Gentlemen, this lady is that loyal and faithful servant,
- touching whom a brief while ago I propounded to you my question, whom her
- own folk held none too dear, but cast out into the open street as a thing
- vile and no longer good for aught, but I took thence, and by my careful
- tendance wrested from the clutch of death; whom God, regardful of my good
- will, has changed from the appalling aspect of a corpse to the thing of
- beauty that you see before you. But for your fuller understanding of this
- occurrence, I will briefly explain it to you." He then recounted to them
- in detail all that had happened from his first becoming enamoured of the
- lady to that very hour whereto they hearkened with no small wonder; after
- which:--"And so," he added, "unless you, and more especially Niccoluccio,
- are now of another opinion than you were a brief while ago, the lady
- rightly belongs to me, nor can any man lawfully reclaim her of me."
- None answered, for all were intent to hear what more he would say. But,
- while Niccoluccio, and some others that were there, wept for sympathy,
- Messer Gentile stood up, and took the little boy in his arms and the lady
- by the hand, and approached Niccoluccio, saying:--"Rise, my gossip: I do
- not, indeed, restore thee thy wife, whom thy kinsfolk and hers cast
- forth; but I am minded to give thee this lady, my gossip, with this her
- little boy, whom I know well to be thy son, and whom I held at the font,
- and named Gentile: and I pray thee that she be not the less dear to thee
- for that she has tarried three months in my house; for I swear to thee by
- that God, who, peradventure, ordained that I should be enamoured of her,
- to the end that my love might be, as it has been, the occasion of her
- restoration to life, that never with her father, or her mother, or with
- thee, did she live more virtuously than with my mother in my house."
- Which said, he turned to the lady, saying:--"Madam, I now release you
- from all promises made to me, and so deliver you to Niccoluccio." Then,
- leaving the lady and the child in Niccoluccio's embrace, he returned to
- his seat.
- Thus to receive his wife and son was to Niccoluccio a delight great in
- the measure of its remoteness from his hope. Wherefore in the most
- honourable terms at his command he thanked the knight, whom all the rest,
- weeping for sympathy, greatly commended for what he had done, as did also
- all that heard thereof. The lady, welcomed home with wondrous cheer, was
- long a portent to the Bolognese, who gazed on her as on one raised from
- the dead. Messer Gentile lived ever after as the friend of Niccoluccio,
- and his and the lady's kinsfolk.
- Now what shall be your verdict, gracious ladies? A king's largess, though
- it was of his sceptre and crown, an abbot's reconciliation, at no cost to
- himself, of a malefactor with the Pope, or an old man's submission of his
- throat to the knife of his enemy--will you adjudge that such acts as
- these are comparable to the deed of Messer Gentile? Who, though young,
- and burning with passion, and deeming himself justly entitled to that
- which the heedlessness of another had discarded, and he by good fortune
- had recovered, not only tempered his ardour with honour, but having that
- which with his whole soul he had long been bent on wresting from another,
- did with liberality restore it. Assuredly none of the feats aforesaid
- seem to me like unto this.
- NOVEL V.
- --
- Madonna Dianora craves of Messer Ansaldo a garden that shall be as fair
- in January as in May. Messer Ansaldo binds himself to a necromancer, and
- thereby gives her the garden. Her husband gives her leave to do Messer
- Ansaldo's pleasure: he, being apprised of her husband's liberality,
- releases her from her promise; and the necromancer releases Messer
- Ansaldo from his bond, and will take nought of his.
- --
- Each of the gay company had with superlative commendation extolled Messer
- Gentile to the skies, when the king bade Emilia follow suit; and with a
- good courage, as burning to speak, thus Emilia began:--Delicate my
- ladies, none can justly say that 'twas not magnificently done of Messer
- Gentile; but if it be alleged that 'twas the last degree of magnificence,
- 'twill perchance not be difficult to shew that more was possible, as is
- my purpose in the little story that I shall tell you.
- In Friuli, a country which, though its air is shrewd, is pleasantly
- diversified by fine mountains and not a few rivers and clear fountains,
- is a city called Udine, where dwelt of yore a fair and noble lady,
- Madonna Dianora by name, wife of a wealthy grandee named Giliberto, a
- very pleasant gentleman, and debonair. Now this lady, for her high
- qualities, was in the last degree beloved by a great and noble baron,
- Messer Ansaldo Gradense by name, a man of no little consequence, and
- whose fame for feats of arms and courtesy was spread far and wide. But,
- though with all a lover's ardour he left nought undone that he might do
- to win her love, and to that end frequently plied her with his
- ambassages, 'twas all in vain. And the lady being distressed by his
- importunity, and that, refuse as she might all that he asked of her, he
- none the less continued to love her and press his suit upon her,
- bethought her how she might rid herself of him by requiring of him an
- extraordinary and, as she deemed, impossible feat. So one day, a woman
- that came oftentimes from him to her being with her:--"Good woman," quoth
- she, "thou hast many a time affirmed that Messer Ansaldo loves me above
- all else; and thou hast made proffer to me on his part of wondrous rich
- gifts which I am minded he keep to himself, for that I could never bring
- myself to love him or pleasure him for their sake; but, if I might be
- certified that he loves me as much as thou sayst, then without a doubt I
- should not fail to love him, and do his pleasure; wherefore, so he give
- me the assurance that I shall require, I shall be at his command." "What
- is it, Madam," returned the good woman, "that you would have him do?"
- "This," replied the lady; "I would have this next ensuing January, hard
- by this city, a garden full of green grass and flowers and flowering
- trees, just as if it were May; and if he cannot provide me with this
- garden, bid him never again send either thee or any other to me, for
- that, should he harass me any further, I shall no longer keep silence, as
- I have hitherto done, but shall make my complaint to my husband and all
- my kinsmen, and it shall go hard but I will be quit of him."
- The gentleman being apprised of his lady's stipulation and promise,
- notwithstanding that he deemed it no easy matter, nay, a thing almost
- impossible, to satisfy her, and knew besides that 'twas but to deprive
- him of all hope that she made the demand, did nevertheless resolve to do
- his endeavour to comply with it, and causing search to be made in divers
- parts of the world, if any he might find to afford him counsel or aid, he
- lit upon one, who for a substantial reward offered to do the thing by
- necromancy. So Messer Ansaldo, having struck the bargain with him for an
- exceeding great sum of money, gleefully expected the appointed time.
- Which being come with extreme cold, insomuch that there was nought but
- snow and ice, the adept on the night before the calends of January
- wrought with his spells to such purpose that on the morrow, as was
- averred by eye-witnesses, there appeared in a meadow hard by the city one
- of the most beautiful gardens that was ever seen, with no lack of grass
- and trees and fruits of all sorts. At sight whereof Messer Ansaldo was
- overjoyed, and caused some of the finest fruits and flowers that it
- contained to be gathered, and privily presented to his lady, whom he bade
- come and see the garden that she had craved, that thereby she might have
- assurance of his love, and mind her of the promise that she had given him
- and confirmed with an oath, and, as a loyal lady, take thought for its
- performance. When she saw the flowers and fruits, the lady, who had
- already heard not a few folk speak of the wondrous garden, began to
- repent her of her promise. But for all that, being fond of strange
- sights, she hied her with many other ladies of the city to see the
- garden, and having gazed on it with wonderment, and commended it not a
- little, she went home the saddest woman alive, bethinking her to what it
- bound her: and so great was her distress that she might not well conceal
- it; but, being written on her face, 'twas marked by her husband, who was
- minded by all means to know the cause thereof.
- The lady long time kept silence: but at last she yielded to his urgency,
- and discovered to him the whole matter from first to last. Whereat
- Giliberto was at first very wroth; but on second thoughts, considering
- the purity of the lady's purpose, he was better advised, and dismissing
- his anger:--"Dianora," quoth he, "'tis not the act of a discreet or
- virtuous lady to give ear to messages of such a sort, nor to enter into
- any compact touching her chastity with any man on any terms. Words that
- the ears convey to the heart have a potency greater than is commonly
- supposed, and there is scarce aught that lovers will not find possible.
- 'Twas then ill done of thee in the first instance to hearken, as
- afterwards to make the compact; but, for that I know the purity of thy
- soul, that thou mayst be quit of thy promise, I will grant thee that
- which, perchance, no other man would grant, being also swayed thereto by
- fear of the necromancer, whom Messer Ansaldo, shouldst thou play him
- false, might, peradventure, cause to do us a mischief. I am minded, then,
- that thou go to him, and contrive, if on any wise thou canst, to get thee
- quit of this promise without loss of virtue; but if otherwise it may not
- be, then for the nonce thou mayst yield him thy body, but not thy soul."
- Whereat the lady, weeping, would none of such a favour at her husband's
- hands. But Giliberto, for all the lady's protestations, was minded that
- so it should be.
- Accordingly, on the morrow about dawn, apparelled none too ornately,
- preceded by two servants and followed by a chambermaid, the lady hied her
- to Messer Ansaldo's house. Apprised that his lady was come to see him,
- Messer Ansaldo, marvelling not a little, rose, and having called the
- necromancer:--"I am minded," quoth he, "that thou see what goodly gain I
- have gotten by thine art." And the twain having met the lady, Ansaldo
- gave way to no unruly appetite, but received her with a seemly obeisance;
- and then the three repaired to a goodly chamber, where there was a great
- fire, and having caused the lady to be seated, thus spoke
- Ansaldo:--"Madam, if the love that I have so long borne you merit any
- guerdon, I pray you that it be not grievous to you to discover to me the
- true occasion of your coming to me at this hour, and thus accompanied."
- Shamefast, and the tears all but standing in her eyes, the lady made
- answer:--"Sir 'tis neither love that I bear you, nor pledged you, that
- brings me hither, but the command of my husband, who, regarding rather
- the pains you have had of your unbridled passion than his own or my
- honour, has sent me hither; and for that he commands it, I, for the
- nonce, am entirely at your pleasure."
- If Messer Ansaldo had marvelled to hear of the lady's coming, he now
- marvelled much more, and touched by Giliberto's liberality, and passing
- from passion to compassion:--"Now, God forbid, Madam," quoth he, "that,
- it being as you say, I should wound the honour of him that has compassion
- on my love; wherefore, no otherwise than as if you were my sister shall
- you abide here, while you are so minded, and be free to depart at your
- pleasure; nor crave I aught of you but that you shall convey from me to
- your husband such thanks as you shall deem meet for courtesy such as his
- has been, and entreat me ever henceforth as your brother and servant."
- Whereat overjoyed in the last degree:--"Nought," quoth the lady, "by what
- I noted of your behaviour, could ever have caused me to anticipate other
- sequel of my coming hither than this which I see is your will, and for
- which I shall ever be your debtor." She then took her leave, and,
- attended by a guard of honour, returned to Giliberto, and told him what
- had passed; between whom and Messer Ansaldo there was thenceforth a most
- close and loyal friendship.
- Now the liberality shewn by Giliberto towards Messer Ansaldo, and by
- Messer Ansaldo towards the lady, having been marked by the necromancer,
- when Messer Ansaldo made ready to give him the promised reward:--"Now God
- forbid," quoth he, "that, as I have seen Giliberto liberal in regard of
- his honour, and you liberal in regard of your love, I be not in like
- manner liberal in regard of my reward, which accordingly, witting that
- 'tis in good hands, I am minded that you keep." The knight was abashed,
- and strove hard to induce him to take, if not the whole, at least a part
- of the money; but finding that his labour was in vain, and that the
- necromancer, having caused his garden to vanish after the third day, was
- minded to depart, he bade him adieu. And the carnal love he had borne the
- lady being spent, he burned for her thereafter with a flame of honourable
- affection. Now what shall be our verdict in this case, lovesome ladies? A
- lady, as it were dead, and a love grown lukewarm for utter hopelessness!
- Shall we set a liberality shewn in such a case above this liberality of
- Messer Ansaldo, loving yet as ardently, and hoping, perchance, yet more
- ardently than ever, and holding in his hands the prize that he had so
- long pursued? Folly indeed should I deem it to compare that liberality
- with this.
- NOVEL VI.
- --
- King Charles the Old, being conqueror, falls in love with a young maiden,
- and afterward growing ashamed of his folly bestows her and her sister
- honourably in marriage.
- --
- Who might fully recount with what diversity of argument the ladies
- debated which of the three, Giliberto, or Messer Ansaldo, or the
- necromancer, behaved with the most liberality in the affair of Madonna
- Dianora? Too long were it to tell. However, when the king had allowed
- them to dispute a while, he, with a glance at Fiammetta, bade her rescue
- them from their wrangling by telling her story. Fiammetta made no demur,
- but thus began:--Illustrious my ladies, I have ever been of opinion that
- in companies like ours one should speak so explicitly that the import of
- what is said should never by excessive circumscription afford matter for
- disputation; which is much more in place among students in the schools,
- than among us, whose powers are scarce adequate to the management of the
- distaff and the spindle. Wherefore I, that had in mind a matter of,
- perchance, some nicety, now that I see you all at variance touching the
- matters last mooted, am minded to lay it aside, and tell you somewhat
- else, which concerns a man by no means of slight account, but a valiant
- king, being a chivalrous action that he did, albeit in no wise thereto
- actuated by his honour.
- There is none of you but may not seldom have heard tell of King Charles
- the Old, or the First, by whose magnificent emprise, and the ensuing
- victory gained over King Manfred, the Ghibellines were driven forth of
- Florence, and the Guelfs returned thither. For which cause a knight,
- Messer Neri degli Uberti by name, departing Florence with his household
- and not a little money, resolved to fix his abode under no other sway
- than that of King Charles. And being fain of a lonely place in which to
- end his days in peace, he betook him to Castello da Mare di Stabia; and
- there, perchance a cross-bow-shot from the other houses of the place,
- amid the olives and hazels and chestnuts that abound in those parts, he
- bought an estate, on which he built a goodly house and commodious, with a
- pleasant garden beside it, in the midst of which, having no lack of
- running water, he set, after our Florentine fashion, a pond fair and
- clear, and speedily filled it with fish. And while thus he lived, daily
- occupying himself with nought else but how to make his garden more fair,
- it befell that King Charles in the hot season betook him to Castello da
- Mare to refresh himself a while, and hearing of the beauty of Messer
- Neri's garden, was desirous to view it. And having learned to whom it
- belonged, he bethought him that, as the knight was an adherent of the
- party opposed to him, he would use more familiarity towards him than he
- would otherwise have done; and so he sent him word that he and four
- comrades would sup privily with him in his garden on the ensuing evening.
- Messer Neri felt himself much honoured; and having made his preparations
- with magnificence, and arranged the order of the ceremonies with his
- household, did all he could and knew to make the King cordially welcome
- to his fair garden.
- When the King had viewed the garden throughout, as also Messer Neri's
- house, and commended them, he washed, and seated himself at one of the
- tables, which were set beside the pond, and bade Count Guy de Montfort,
- who was one of his companions, sit on one side of him, and Messer Neri on
- the other, and the other three to serve, as they should be directed by
- Messer Neri. The dishes that were set before them were dainty, the wines
- excellent and rare, the order of the repast very fair and commendable,
- without the least noise or aught else that might distress; whereon the
- King bestowed no stinted praise. As thus he gaily supped, well-pleased
- with the lovely spot, there came into the garden two young maidens, each
- perhaps fifteen years old, blonde both, their golden tresses falling all
- in ringlets about them, and crowned with a dainty garland of
- periwinkle-flowers; and so delicate and fair of face were they that they
- shewed liker to angels than aught else, each clad in a robe of finest
- linen, white as snow upon their flesh, close-fitting as might be from the
- waist up, but below the waist ample, like a pavilion to the feet. She
- that was foremost bore on her shoulders a pair of nets, which she held
- with her left hand, carrying in her right a long pole. Her companion
- followed, bearing on her left shoulder a frying-pan, under her left arm a
- bundle of faggots, and in her left hand a tripod, while in the other hand
- she carried a cruse of oil and a lighted taper. At sight of whom the King
- marvelled, and gazed intent to learn what it might import. The two young
- maidens came forward with becoming modesty, and did obeisance to the
- King; which done they hied them to the place of ingress to the pond, and
- she that had the frying-pan having set it down, and afterward the other
- things, took the pole that the other carried, and so they both went down
- into the pond, being covered by its waters to their breasts. Whereupon
- one of Messer Neri's servants, having forthwith lit a fire, and set the
- tripod on the faggots and oil therein, addressed himself to wait, until
- some fish should be thrown to him by the girls. Who, the one searching
- with the pole in those parts where she knew the fish lay hid, while the
- other made ready the nets, did in a brief space of time, to the exceeding
- great delight of the King, who watched them attentively, catch fish not a
- few, which they tossed to the servant, who set them, before the life was
- well out of them, in the frying-pan. After which, the maidens, as
- pre-arranged, addressed them to catch some of the finest fish, and cast
- them on to the table before the King, and Count Guy, and their father.
- The fish wriggled about the table to the prodigious delight of the King,
- who in like manner took some of them, and courteously returned them to
- the girls; with which sport they diverted them, until the servant had
- cooked the fish that had been given him: which, by Messer Neri's command,
- were set before the King rather as a side-dish than as aught very rare or
- delicious.
- When the girls saw that all the fish were cooked, and that there was no
- occasion for them to catch any more, they came forth of the pond, their
- fine white garments cleaving everywhere close to their flesh so as to
- hide scarce any part of their delicate persons, took up again the things
- that they had brought, and passing modestly before the King, returned to
- the house. The King, and the Count, and the other gentlemen that waited,
- had regarded the maidens with no little attention, and had, one and all,
- inly bestowed on them no little praise, as being fair and shapely, and
- therewithal sweet and debonair; but 'twas in the King's eyes that they
- especially found favour. Indeed, as they came forth of the water, the
- King had scanned each part of their bodies so intently that, had one then
- pricked him, he would not have felt it, and his thoughts afterwards
- dwelling upon them, though he knew not who they were, nor how they came
- to be there, he felt stir within his heart a most ardent desire to
- pleasure them, whereby he knew very well that, if he took not care, he
- would grow enamoured; howbeit he knew not whether of the twain pleased
- him the more, so like was each to the other. Having thus brooded a while,
- he turned to Messer Neri, and asked who the two damsels were.
- Whereto:--"Sire," replied Messer Neri, "they are my twin daughters, and
- they are called, the one, Ginevra the Fair, and the other, Isotta the
- Blonde." Whereupon the King was loud in praise of them, and exhorted
- Messer Neri to bestow them in marriage. To which Messer Neri demurred,
- for that he no longer had the means. And nought of the supper now
- remaining to serve, save the fruit, in came the two young damsels in
- gowns of taffeta very fine, bearing in their hands two vast silver
- salvers full of divers fruits, such as the season yielded, and set them
- on the table before the King. Which done, they withdrew a little space
- and fell a singing to music a ditty, of which the opening words were as
- follows:--
- Love, many words would not suffice
- There where I am come to tell.
- And so dulcet and delightsome was the strain that to the King, his eyes
- and ears alike charmed, it seemed as if all the nine orders of angels
- were descended there to sing. The song ended, they knelt and respectfully
- craved the King's leave to depart; which, though sorely against his will,
- he gave them with a forced gaiety.
- Supper ended, the King and his companions, having remounted their horses,
- took leave of Messer Neri, and conversing of divers matters, returned to
- the royal quarters; where the King, still harbouring his secret passion,
- nor, despite affairs of state that supervened, being able to forget the
- beauty and sweetness of Ginevra the Fair, for whose sake he likewise
- loved her twin sister, was so limed by Love that he could scarce think of
- aught else. So, feigning other reasons, he consorted familiarly with
- Messer Neri, and did much frequent his garden, that he might see Ginevra.
- And at length, being unable to endure his suffering any longer, and being
- minded, for that he could devise no other expedient, to despoil their
- father not only of the one but of the other damsel also, he discovered
- both his love and his project to Count Guy; who, being a good man and
- true, thus made answer:--"Sire, your tale causes me not a little
- astonishment, and that more especially because of your conversation from
- your childhood to this very day, I have, methinks, known more than any
- other man. And as no such passion did I ever mark in you, even in your
- youth, when Love should more readily have fixed you with his fangs, as
- now I discern, when you are already on the verge of old age, 'tis to me
- so strange, so surprising that you should veritably love, that I deem it
- little short of a miracle. And were it meet for me to reprove you, well
- wot I the language I should hold to you, considering that you are yet in
- arms in a realm but lately won, among a people as yet unknown to you, and
- wily and treacherous in the extreme, and that the gravest anxieties and
- matters of high policy engross your mind, so that you are not as yet able
- to sit you down, and nevertheless amid all these weighty concerns you
- have given harbourage to false, flattering Love. This is not the wisdom
- of a great king, but the folly of a feather-pated boy. And moreover, what
- is far worse, you say that you are resolved to despoil this poor knight
- of his two daughters, whom, entertaining you in his house, and honouring
- you to the best of his power, he brought into your presence all but
- naked, testifying thereby, how great is his faith in you, and how assured
- he is that you are a king, and not a devouring wolf. Have you so soon
- forgotten that 'twas Manfred's outrageous usage of his subjects that
- opened you the way into this realm? What treachery was he ever guilty of
- that better merited eternal torment, than 'twould be in you to wrest from
- one that honourably entreats you at once his hope and his consolation?
- What would be said of you if so you should do? Perchance you deem that
- 'twould suffice to say:--'I did it because he is a Ghibelline.' Is it
- then consistent with the justice of a king that those, be they who they
- may, who seek his protection, as this man has sought yours, should be
- entreated after this sort? King, I bid you remember that exceeding great
- as is your glory to have vanquished Manfred, yet to conquer oneself is a
- still greater glory: wherefore you, to whom belongs the correction of
- others, see to it that you conquer yourself, and refrain this unruly
- passion; and let not such a blot mar the splendour of your achievements."
- Sore stricken at heart by the Count's words, and the more mortified that
- he acknowledged their truth, the King heaved a fervent sigh or two, and
- then:--"Count," quoth he, "that enemy there is none, however mighty, but
- to the practised warrior is weak enough and easy to conquer in comparison
- of his own appetite, I make no doubt, but, great though the struggle will
- be and immeasurable the force that it demands, so shrewdly galled am I by
- your words, that not many days will have gone by before I shall without
- fail have done enough to shew you that I, that am the conqueror of
- others, am no less able to gain the victory over myself." And indeed but
- a few days thereafter, the King, on his return to Naples, being minded at
- once to leave himself no excuse for dishonourable conduct, and to
- recompense the knight for his honourable entreatment of him, did, albeit
- 'twas hard for him to endow another with that which he had most ardently
- desired for himself, none the less resolve to bestow the two damsels in
- marriage, and that not as Messer Neri's daughters, but as his own.
- Wherefore, Messer Neri consenting, he provided both with magnificent
- dowries, and gave Ginevra the Fair to Messer Maffeo da Palizzi, and
- Isotta the Blonde to Messer Guglielmo della Magna, noble knights and
- great barons both; which done, sad at heart beyond measure, he betook him
- to Apulia, and by incessant travail did so mortify his vehement appetite
- that he snapped and broke in pieces the fetters of Love, and for the rest
- of his days was no more vexed by such passion.
- Perchance there will be those who say that 'tis but a trifle for a king
- to bestow two girls in marriage; nor shall I dispute it: but say we that
- a king in love bestowed in marriage her whom he loved, neither having
- taken nor taking, of his love, leaf or flower or fruit; then this I say
- was a feat great indeed, nay, as great as might be.
- After such a sort then did this magnificent King, at once generously
- rewarding the noble knight, commendably honouring the damsels that he
- loved, and stoutly subduing himself.
- NOVEL VII.
- --
- King Pedro, being apprised of the fervent love borne him by Lisa, who
- thereof is sick, comforts her, and forthwith gives her in marriage to a
- young gentleman, and having kissed her on the brow, ever after professes
- himself her knight.
- --
- When Fiammetta was come to the end of her story, and not a little praise
- had been accorded to the virile magnificence of King Charles, albeit one
- there was of the ladies, who, being a Ghibelline, joined not therein,
- Pampinea, having received the king's command, thus began:--None is there
- of discernment, worshipful my ladies, that would say otherwise than you
- have said touching good King Charles, unless for some other cause she
- bear him a grudge; however, for that there comes to my mind the,
- perchance no less honourable, entreatment of one of our Florentine girls
- by one of his adversaries, I am minded to recount the same to you.
- What time the French were driven forth of Sicily there dwelt at Palermo
- one of our Florentines, that was an apothecary, Bernardo Puccini by name,
- a man of great wealth, that by his lady had an only and exceeding fair
- daughter, then of marriageable age. Now King Pedro of Arragon, being
- instated in the sovereignty of the island, did at Palermo make with his
- barons marvellous celebration thereof; during which, as he tilted after
- the Catalan fashion, it befell that Bernardo's daughter, Lisa by name,
- being with other ladies at a window, did thence espy him in the course,
- whereat being prodigiously delighted, she regarded him again and again,
- and grew fervently enamoured of him; nor yet, when the festivities were
- ended, and she was at home with her father, was there aught she could
- think of but this her exalted and aspiring love. In regard whereof that
- which most irked her was her sense of her low rank, which scarce
- permitted her any hope of a happy issue; but, for all that, give over her
- love for the King she would not; nor yet, for fear of worse to come,
- dared she discover it. The King, meanwhile, recking, witting nothing of
- the matter, her suffering waxed immeasurable, intolerable; and her love
- ever growing with ever fresh accessions of melancholy, the fair maiden,
- overborne at last, fell sick, and visibly day by day wasted like snow in
- sunlight. Distraught with grief thereat, her father and mother afforded
- her such succour as they might with words of good cheer, and counsel of
- physicians, and physic; but all to no purpose; for that she in despair of
- her love was resolved no more to live.
- Now her father assuring her that there was no whim of hers but should be
- gratified, the fancy took her that, if she might find apt means, she
- would, before she died, make her love and her resolve known to the King:
- wherefore one day she besought her father to cause Minuccio d'Arezzo, to
- come to her; which Minuccio, was a singer and musician of those days,
- reputed most skilful, and well seen of King Pedro. Bernardo, deeming that
- Lisa desired but to hear him play and sing a while, conveyed her message
- to him; and he, being an agreeable fellow, came to her forthwith, and
- after giving her some words of loving cheer, sweetly discoursed some airs
- upon his viol, and then sang her some songs; whereby, while he thought to
- comfort her, he did but add fire and flame to her love. Presently the
- girl said that she would fain say a few words to him in private, and when
- all else were withdrawn from the chamber:--"Minuccio," quoth she, "thee
- have I chosen, deeming thee most trusty, to be the keeper of my secret,
- relying upon thee in the first place never to betray it to a soul, and
- next to lend me in regard thereof such aid as thou mayst be able; and so
- I pray thee to do. Thou must know, then, Minuccio mine, that on the day
- when our lord King Pedro held the great festival in celebration of his
- triumph, I, seeing him tilt, was so smitten with love of him that thereof
- was kindled within my soul the fire which has brought me, as thou seest,
- to this pass; and knowing how ill it beseems me to love a king, and being
- unable, I say not to banish it from my heart, but so much as to bring it
- within bounds, and finding it exceeding grievous to bear, I have made
- choice of death as the lesser pain; and die I shall. But should he wot
- not of my love before I die, sore disconsolate should I depart; and
- knowing not by whom more aptly than by thee I might give him to know this
- my frame, I am minded to entrust the communication thereof to thee; which
- office I entreat thee not to refuse, and having discharged it, to let me
- know, that dying thus consoled, I may depart this pain." Which said, she
- silently wept.
- Marvelling at the loftiness of the girl's spirit and her desperate
- determination, Minuccio commiserated her not a little; and presently it
- occurred to him that there was a way in which he might honourably serve
- her: wherefore:--"Lisa," quoth he, "my faith I plight thee, wherein thou
- mayst place sure confidence that I shall never play thee false, and
- lauding thy high emprise, to wit, the setting thine affections upon so
- great a king, I proffer thee mine aid, whereby, so thou wilt be of good
- cheer, I hope, and believe, that, before thou shalt see the third day
- from now go by, I shall have brought thee tidings which will be to thee
- for an exceeding great joy; and, not to lose time, I will set to work at
- once." And so Lisa, assuring him that she would be of good cheer, and
- plying him afresh with instant obsecrations, bade him Godspeed; and
- Minuccio, having taken leave of her, hied him to one Mico da Siena, a
- very expert rhymester of those days, who at his instant request made the
- ensuing song:--
- Hence hie thee, Love; and hasting to my King,
- Give him to know what torment dire I bear,
- How that to death I fare,
- Still close, for fear, my passion harbouring.
- Lo, Love, to thee with clasped hands I turn,
- And pray thee seek him where he tarrieth,
- And tell him how I oft for him do yearn,
- So sweetly he my heart enamoureth;
- And of the fire, wherewith I throughly burn,
- I think to die, but may the hour uneath
- Say, when my grievous pain shall with my breath
- Surcease; till when, neither may fear nor shame
- The least abate the flame.
- Ah! to his ears my woeful story bring.
- Since of him I was first enamoured,
- Never hast thou, O Love, my fearful heart
- With any such fond hope encouraged,
- As e'er its message to him to impart,
- To him, my lord, that me so sore bested
- Holds: dying thus, 'twere grievous to depart:
- Perchance, were he to know my cruel smart,
- 'Twould not displease him; might I but make bold
- My soul to him to unfold,
- And shew him all my woeful languishing.
- Love, since 'twas not thy will me to accord
- Such boldness as that e'er unto my King
- I may discover my sad heart's full hoard,
- Or any word or sign thereof him bring:
- This all my prayer to thee, O sweet my Lord:
- Hie thee to him, and so him whispering
- Mind of the day I saw him tourneying
- With all his paladins environed,
- And grew enamoured
- Ev'n to my very heart's disrupturing.
- Which words Minuccio forthwith set to music after a soft and plaintive
- fashion befitting their sense; and on the third day thereafter hied him
- to court, while King Pedro was yet at breakfast. And being bidden by the
- King to sing something to the accompaniment of his viol, he gave them
- this song with such sweet concord of words and music that all the folk
- that were in the King's hall seemed, as it were, entranced, so intent and
- absorbed stood they to listen, and the King rather more than the rest.
- And when Minuccio had done singing, the King asked whence the song came,
- that, as far as he knew, he had never heard it before. "Sire," replied
- Minuccio, "'tis not yet three days since 'twas made, words and music
- alike." And being asked by the King in regard of whom 'twas made:--"I
- dare not," quoth he, "discover such a secret save to you alone." Bent on
- hearing the story, the King, when the tables were cleared, took Minuccio
- into his privy chamber; and there Minuccio told him everything exactly as
- he had heard it from Lisa's lips. Whereby the King was much gratified,
- and lauded the maiden not a little, and said that a girl of such high
- spirit merited considerate treatment, and bade Minuccio be his envoy to
- her, and comfort her, and tell her that without fail that very day at
- vespers he would come to visit her. Overjoyed to bear the girl such
- gladsome tidings, Minuccio tarried not, but hied him back to the girl
- with his viol, and being closeted with her, told her all that had passed,
- and then sang the song to the accompaniment of his viol. Whereby the girl
- was so cheered and delighted that forthwith there appeared most marked
- and manifest signs of the amendment of her health, while with passionate
- longing (albeit none in the house knew or divined it) she awaited the
- vesper hour, when she was to see her lord.
- Knowing the girl very well, and how fair she was, and pondering divers
- times on what Minuccio had told him, the King, being a prince of a
- liberal and kindly disposition, grew ever more compassionate. So, about
- vespers, he mounted his horse, and rode forth, as if for mere pleasure,
- and being come to the apothecary's house, demanded access to a very
- goodly garden that the apothecary had, and having dismounted, after a
- while enquired of Bernardo touching his daughter, and whether he had yet
- bestowed her in marriage. "Sire," replied Bernardo, "she is not yet
- married; and indeed she has been and still is very ill howbeit since none
- she is wonderfully amended." The significance of which amendment being
- forthwith apprehended by the King:--"In good faith," quoth he, "'twere a
- pity so fair a creature were reft from the world so early; we would go in
- and visit her." And presently, attended only by two of his lords and
- Bernardo, he betook him to her chamber, where being entered, he drew nigh
- the bed, whereon the girl half reclined, half sate in eager expectation
- of his coming; and taking her by the hand:--"Madonna," quoth he, "what
- means this? A maiden like you should be the comfort of others, and you
- suffer yourself to languish. We would entreat you that for love of us you
- be of good cheer, so as speedily to recover your health." To feel the
- touch of his hand whom she loved above all else, the girl, albeit
- somewhat shamefast, was so enraptured that 'twas as if she was in
- Paradise; and as soon as she was able:--"My lord," she said, "'twas the
- endeavour, weak as I am, to sustain a most grievous burden that brought
- this sickness upon me; but 'twill not be long ere you will see me quit
- thereof, thanks to your courtesy." The hidden meaning of which words was
- apprehended only by the King, who momently made more account of the girl,
- and again and again inly cursed Fortune, that had decreed that she should
- be the daughter of such a man. And yet a while he tarried with her, and
- comforted her, and so took his leave. Which gracious behaviour of the
- King was not a little commended, and accounted a signal honour to the
- apothecary and his daughter.
- The girl, glad at heart as was ever lady of her lover, mended with
- reviving hope, and in a few days recovered her health, and therewith more
- than all her wonted beauty. Whereupon the King, having taken counsel with
- the Queen how to reward so great a love, got him one day to horse with a
- great company of his barons, and hied him to the apothecary's house; and
- being come into the garden, he sent for the apothecary and his daughter;
- and there, being joined by the Queen with not a few ladies, who received
- the girl into their company, they made such cheer as 'twas a wonder to
- see. And after a while the King and Queen having called Lisa to them,
- quoth the King:--"Honourable damsel, by the great love that you have
- borne us we are moved greatly to honour you; and we trust that, for love
- of us, the honour that we design for you will be acceptable to you. Now
- 'tis thus we would honour you: to wit, that, seeing that you are of
- marriageable age, we would have you take for husband him that we shall
- give you; albeit 'tis none the less our purpose ever to call ourself your
- knight, demanding no other tribute of all your love but one sole kiss."
- Scarlet from brow to neck, the girl, making the King's pleasure her own,
- thus with a low voice replied:--"My lord, very sure am I that, should it
- come to be known that I was grown enamoured of you, most folk would hold
- me for a fool, deeming, perchance, that I was out of my mind, and witless
- alike of my own rank and yours; but God, who alone reads the hearts of us
- mortals, knows that even then, when first I did affect you, I wist that
- you were the King, and I but the daughter of Bernardo the apothecary, and
- that to suffer my passion to soar so high did ill become me; but, as you
- know far better than I, none loves of set and discreet purpose, but only
- according to the dictates of impulse and fancy; which law my forces,
- albeit not seldom opposed, being powerless to withstand, I loved and
- still love and shall ever love you. But as no sooner knew I myself
- subjugated to your love, than I vowed to have ever no will but yours;
- therefore not only am I compliant to take right gladly him whom you shall
- be pleased to give me for husband, thereby conferring upon me great
- honour and dignity; but if you should bid me tarry in the fire, delighted
- were I to obey, so thereby I might pleasure you. How far it beseems me to
- have you, my King, for my knight, you best know; and therefore I say
- nought thereof; nor will the kiss which you crave as your sole tribute of
- my love be granted you save by leave of my Lady the Queen. Natheless, may
- you have of this great graciousness that you and my Lady the Queen have
- shewn me, and which I may not requite, abundant recompense in the
- blessing and favour of God;" and so she was silent.
- The Queen was mightily delighted with the girl's answer, and deemed her
- as discreet as the King had said. The King then sent for the girl's
- father and mother, and being assured that his intention had their
- approval, summoned to his presence a young man, Perdicone by name, that
- was of gentle birth, but in poor circumstances, and put certain rings
- into his hand, and (he nowise gainsaying) wedded him to Lisa. Which done,
- besides jewels many and precious that he and the Queen gave the girl, he
- forthwith bestowed upon Perdicone two domains, right goodly and of ample
- revenues, to wit, Ceffalu and Calatabellotta, saying:--"We give them to
- thee for thy wife's dowry; what we have in store for thee thou wilt learn
- hereafter." Which said, he turned to the girl, and:--"Now," quoth he, "we
- are minded to cull that fruit which is due to us of thy love;" and so,
- taking her head between both his hands, he kissed her brow. Wherefore,
- great was the joy of Perdicone, and the father and mother of Lisa, and
- Lisa herself, and mighty the cheer they made, and gaily did they
- celebrate the nuptials. And, as many affirm, right well did the King keep
- his promise to the girl; for that ever, while he lived, he called himself
- her knight, nor went to any passage of arms bearing other device than
- that which he had from her.
- Now 'tis by doing after this sort that sovereigns win the hearts of their
- subjects, give others occasion of well-doing, and gain for themselves an
- imperishable renown. At which mark few or none in our times have bent the
- bow of their understanding, the more part of the princes having become
- but cruel tyrants.
- NOVEL VIII.
- --
- Sophronia, albeit she deems herself wife to Gisippus, is wife to Titus
- Quintius Fulvus, and goes with him to Rome, where Gisippus arrives in
- indigence, and deeming himself scorned by Titus, to compass his own
- death, avers that he has slain a man. Titus recognizes him, and to save
- his life, alleges that 'twas he that slew the man: whereof he that did
- the deed being witness, he discovers himself as the murderer. Whereby it
- comes to pass that they are all three liberated by Octavianus; and Titus
- gives Gisippus his sister to wife, and shares with him all his substance.
- --
- So ceased Pampinea; and when all the ladies, and most of all the
- Ghibelline, had commended King Pedro, Filomena by command of the king
- thus began:--Magnificent my ladies, who wots not that there is nought so
- great but kings, when they have a mind, may accomplish it? As also that
- 'tis of them that magnificence is most especially demanded? Now whoso,
- being powerful, does that which it appertains to him to do, does well;
- but therein is no such matter of marvel, or occasion of extolling him to
- the skies, as in his deed, of whom, for that his power is slight, less is
- demanded. Wherefore, as you are so profuse of your words in exaltation of
- the fine deeds, as you deem them, of monarchs, I make no manner of doubt,
- but that the doings of our peers must seem to you yet more delectable and
- commendable, when they equal or surpass those of kings. Accordingly 'tis
- a transaction, laudable and magnificent, that passed between two
- citizens, who were friends, that I purpose to recount to you in my story.
- I say, then, that what time Octavianus Caesar, not as yet hight Augustus,
- but being in the office called Triumvirate, swayed the empire of Rome,
- there dwelt at Rome a gentleman, Publius Quintius Fulvus by name, who,
- having a son, Titus Quintius Fulvus, that was a very prodigy of wit, sent
- him to Athens to study philosophy, and to the best of his power commended
- him to a nobleman of that city, Chremes by name, who was his very old
- friend. Chremes lodged Titus in his own house with his son Gisippus, and
- placed both Titus and Gisippus under a philosopher named Aristippus, to
- learn of him his doctrine. And the two youths, thus keeping together,
- found each the other's conversation so congruous with his own, that there
- grew up between them a friendship so close and brotherly that 'twas never
- broken by aught but death; nor knew either rest or solace save when he
- was with the other. So, gifted alike with pre-eminent subtlety of wit,
- they entered on their studies, and with even pace and prodigious applause
- scaled together the glorious heights of philosophy. In which way of life,
- to the exceeding great delight of Chremes, who entreated Titus as no less
- his son than Gisippus, they continued for full three years. At the end
- whereof, it befell (after the common course of things mundane) that
- Chremes (being now aged) departed this life. Whom with equal grief they
- mourned as a common father; and the friends and kinsfolk of Chremes were
- alike at a loss to determine whether of the twain stood in need of the
- more consolation upon the bereavement.
- Some months afterward the friends and kinsfolk of Gisippus came to him
- and exhorted him, as did also Titus, to take a wife, and found him a
- maiden, wondrous fair, of one of the most noble houses of Athens, her
- name Sophronia, and her age about fifteen years. So a time was appointed
- for their nuptials, and one day, when 'twas near at hand, Gisippus bade
- Titus come see the maiden, whom as yet he had not seen; and they being
- come into her house, and she sitting betwixt them, Titus, as he were fain
- to observe with care the several charms of his friend's wife that was to
- be, surveyed her with the closest attention, and being delighted beyond
- measure with all that he saw, grew, as inly he extolled her charms to the
- skies, enamoured of her with a love as ardent, albeit he gave no sign of
- it, as ever lover bore to lady. However, after they had tarried a while
- with her, they took their leave, and went home, where Titus repaired to
- his chamber, and there gave himself over to solitary musing on the
- damsel's charms, and the longer he brooded, the more he burned for her.
- Whereon as he reflected, having heaved many a fervent sigh, thus he began
- to commune with himself:--Ah! woe worth thy life, Titus! Whom makest thou
- the mistress of thy soul, thy love, thy hope? Knowest thou not that by
- reason as well of thy honourable entreatment by Chremes and his kin as of
- the wholehearted friendship that is between thee and Gisippus, it behoves
- thee to have his betrothed in even such pious regard as if she were thy
- sister? Whither art thou suffering beguiling love, delusive hope, to
- hurry thee? Open the eyes of thine understanding, and see thyself,
- wretched man, as thou art; obey the dictates of thy reason, refrain thy
- carnal appetite, control thine inordinate desires, and give thy thoughts
- another bent; join battle with thy lust at the outset, and conquer
- thyself while there is yet time. This which thou wouldst have is not
- meet, is not seemly: this which thou art minded to ensue, thou wouldst
- rather, though thou wert, as thou art not, sure of its attainment,
- eschew, hadst thou but the respect thou shouldst have, for the claims of
- true friendship. So, then, Titus, what wilt thou do? What but abandon
- this unseemly love, if thou wouldst do as it behoves thee?
- But then, as he remembered Sophronia, his thoughts took the contrary
- direction, and he recanted all he had said, musing on this wise:--The
- laws of Love are of force above all others; they abrogate not only the
- law of human friendship, but the law Divine itself. How many times ere
- now has father loved daughter, brother sister, step-mother step-son?
- aberrations far more notable than that a friend should love his friend's
- wife, which has happened a thousand times. Besides which, I am young, and
- youth is altogether subject to the laws of Love. Love's pleasure, then,
- should be mine. The seemly is for folk of riper years. 'Tis not in my
- power to will aught save that which Love wills. So beauteous is this
- damsel that there is none but should love her; and if I love her, who am
- young, who can justly censure me? I love her not because she is the
- affianced of Gisippus; no matter whose she was, I should love her all the
- same. Herein is Fortune to blame, that gave her to my friend, Gisippus,
- rather than to another. And if she is worthy of love, as for beauty she
- is, Gisippus, if he should come to know that I love her, ought to be less
- jealous than another.
- Then, scorning himself that he should indulge such thoughts, he relapsed
- into the opposing mood, albeit not to abide there, but ever veering to
- and fro, he spent not only the whole of that day and the ensuing night,
- but many others; insomuch that, being able neither to eat nor to sleep,
- he grew so weak that he was fain to take to his bed. Gisippus, who had
- marked his moodiness for some days, and now saw that he was fairly sick,
- was much distressed; and with sedulous care, never quitting his side, he
- tended, and strove as best he might to comfort, him, not seldom and most
- earnestly demanding to know of him the cause of his melancholy and his
- sickness. Many were the subterfuges to which Titus resorted; but, as
- Gisippus was not to be put off with his fables, finding himself hard
- pressed by him, with sighs and sobs he made answer on this
- wise:--"Gisippus, had such been the will of the Gods, I were fain rather
- to die than to live, seeing that Fortune has brought me to a strait in
- which needs must my virtue be put to the ordeal, and, to my most grievous
- shame, 'tis found wanting: whereof I confidently expect my due reward, to
- wit, death, which will be more welcome to me than to live, haunted ever
- by the memory of my baseness, which, as there is nought that from thee I
- either should or can conceal, I, not without burning shame, will discover
- to thee." And so he recounted the whole story from first to last, the
- occasion of his melancholy, its several moods, their conflict, and with
- which of them the victory rested, averring that he was dying of love for
- Sophronia, and that, knowing how ill such love beseemed him, he had, for
- penance, elected to die, and deemed the end was now not far off.
- Gisippus, hearing his words and seeing his tears, for a while knew not
- what to say, being himself smitten with the damsel's charms, albeit in a
- less degree than Titus; but ere long he made up his mind that Sophronia
- must be less dear to him than his friend's life.
- And so, moved to tears by his friend's tears:--"Titus," quoth he between
- his sobs, "but that thou art in need of comfort, I should reproach thee,
- that thou hast offended against our friendship in that thou hast so long
- kept close from me this most distressful passion; and albeit thou didst
- deem it unseemly, yet unseemly things should no more than things seemly
- be withheld from a friend, for that, as a friend rejoices with his friend
- in things seemly, so he does his endeavour to wean his friend from things
- unseemly: but enough of this for the nonce: I pass to that which, I wot,
- is of greater moment. If thou ardently lovest Sophronia, my affianced, so
- far from marvelling thereat, I should greatly marvel were it not so,
- knowing how fair she is, and how noble is thy soul, and thus the apter to
- be swayed by passion, the more excelling is she by whom thou art charmed.
- And the juster the cause thou hast to love Sophronia, the greater is the
- injustice with which thou complainest of Fortune (albeit thou dost it not
- in so many words) for giving her to me, as if thy love of her had been
- seemly, had she belonged to any other but me; whereas, if thou art still
- the wise man thou wast wont to be, thou must know that to none could
- Fortune have assigned her, with such good cause for thee to thank her, as
- to me. Had any other had her, albeit thy love had been seemly, he had
- loved her as his own, rather than as thine; which, if thou deem me even
- such a friend to thee as I am, thou wilt not apprehend from me, seeing
- that I mind me not that, since we were friends, I had ever aught that was
- not as much thine as mine. And so should I entreat thee herein as in all
- other matters, were the affair gone so far that nought else were
- possible; but as it is, I can make thee sole possessor of her; and so I
- mean to do; for I know not what cause thou shouldst have to prize my
- friendship, if, where in seemly sort it might be done, I knew not how to
- surrender my will to thine. 'Tis true that Sophronia is my betrothed, and
- that I loved her much, and had great cheer in expectation of the
- nuptials: but as thou, being much more discerning than I, dost more
- fervently affect this rare prize, rest assured that she will enter my
- chamber not mine but thine. Wherefore, away with thy moodiness, banish
- thy melancholy, recover thy lost health, thy heartiness and jollity, and
- gladsomely, even from this very hour, anticipate the guerdon of thy love,
- a love worthier far than mine."
- Delightful as was the prospect with which hope flattered Titus, as he
- heard Gisippus thus speak, no less was the shame with which right reason
- affected him, admonishing him that the greater was the liberality of
- Gisippus, the less it would become him to profit thereby. Wherefore,
- still weeping, he thus constrained himself to make answer:--"Gisippus,
- thy generous and true friendship leaves me in no doubt as to the manner
- in which it becomes me to act. God forefend that her, whom, as to the
- more worthy, He has given to thee, I should ever accept of thee for mine.
- Had He seen fit that she should be mine, far be it from thee or any other
- to suppose that He would ever have awarded her to thee. Renounce not,
- then, that which thy choice and wise counsel and His gift have made
- thine, and leave me, to whom, as unworthy, He has appointed no such
- happiness, to waste my life in tears; for either I shall conquer my
- grief, which will be grateful to thee, or it will conquer me, and so I
- shall be quit of my pain." Quoth then Gisippus:--"If our friendship,
- Titus, is of such a sort as may entitle me to enforce thee to ensue
- behests of mine, or as may induce thee of thine own free will to ensue
- the same, such is the use to which, most of all, I am minded to put it;
- and if thou lend not considerate ear unto my prayers, I shall by force,
- that force which is lawful in the interest of a friend, make Sophronia
- thine. I know the might of Love, how redoubtable it is, and how, not once
- only, but oftentimes, it has brought ill-starred lovers to a miserable
- death; and thee I see so hard bested that turn back thou mightst not, nor
- get the better of thy grief, but holding on thy course, must succumb, and
- perish, and without doubt I should speedily follow thee. And so, had I no
- other cause to love thee, thy life is precious to me in that my own is
- bound up with it. Sophronia, then, shall be thine; for thou wouldst not
- lightly find another so much to thy mind, and I shall readily find
- another to love, and so shall content both thee and me. In which matter,
- peradventure, I might not be so liberal, were wives so scarce or hard to
- find as are friends; wherefore, as 'tis so easy a matter for me to find
- another wife, I had liefer--I say not lose her, for in giving her to thee
- lose her I shall not, but only transfer her to one that is my alter ego,
- and that to her advantage--I had liefer, I say, transfer her to thee than
- lose thee. And so, if aught my prayers avail with thee, I entreat thee
- extricate thyself from this thy woeful plight, and comfort at once
- thyself and me, and in good hope, address thyself to pluck that boon
- which thy fervent love craves of her for whom thou yearnest."
- Still scrupling, for shame, to consent that Sophronia should become his
- wife, Titus remained yet a while inexorable; but, yielding at last to the
- solicitations of Love, reinforced by the exhortations of Gisippus, thus
- he made answer:--"Lo now, Gisippus, I know not how to call it, whether
- 'tis more thy pleasure than mine, this which I do, seeing that 'tis as
- thy pleasure that thou so earnestly entreatest me to do it; but, as thy
- liberality is such that my shame, though becoming, may not withstand it,
- I will even do it. But of this rest assured, that I do so, witting well
- that I receive from thee, not only the lady I love, but with her my very
- life. And, Fate permitting, may the Gods grant me to make thee such
- honourable and goodly requital as may shew thee how sensible I am of the
- boon, which thou, more compassionate of me than I am of myself,
- conferrest on me." Quoth then Gisippus:--"Now, for the giving effect to
- our purpose, methinks, Titus, we should proceed on this wise. Thou
- knowest that Sophronia, by treaty at length concluded between my family
- and hers, is become my betrothed: were I now to say that she should not
- be my wife, great indeed were the scandal that would come thereof, and I
- should affront both her family and mine own; whereof, indeed, I should
- make no account, so it gave me to see her become thine; but I fear that,
- were I to give her up at this juncture, her family would forthwith bestow
- her upon another, perchance, than thee, and so we should both be losers.
- Wherefore methinks that, so thou approve, I were best to complete what I
- have begun, bring her home as my wife, and celebrate the nuptials, and
- thereafter we can arrange that thou lie with her, privily, as thy wife.
- Then, time and occasion serving, we will disclose the whole affair, and
- if they are satisfied, well and good; if not, 'twill be done all the
- same, and as it cannot be undone, they must perforce make the best of
- it."
- Which counsel being approved by Titus, Gisippus brought the lady home as
- his wife, Titus being now recovered, and quite himself again; and when
- they had made great cheer, and night was come, the ladies, having bedded
- the bride, took their departure. Now the chambers of Titus and Gisippus
- were contiguous, and one might pass from one into the other: Gisippus,
- therefore, being come into his room, extinguished every ray of light, and
- stole into that of Titus, and bade him go get him to bed with his lady.
- Whereat Titus gave way to shame, and would have changed his mind, and
- refused to go in; but Gisippus, no less zealous at heart than in words to
- serve his friend, after no small contention prevailed on him to go
- thither. Now no sooner was Titus abed with the lady, than, taking her in
- his arms, he, as if jestingly, asked in a low tone whether she were
- minded to be his wife. She, taking him to be Gisippus, answered, yes;
- whereupon he set a fair and costly ring on her finger, saying:--"And I am
- minded to be thy husband." And having presently consummated the marriage,
- he long and amorously disported him with her, neither she, nor any other,
- being ever aware that another than Gisippus lay with her.
- Now Titus and Sophronia being after this sort wedded, Publius, the father
- of Titus, departed this life. For which cause Titus was bidden by letter
- to return forthwith to Rome to see to his affairs; wherefore he took
- counsel with Gisippus how he might take Sophronia thither with him; which
- might not well be done without giving her to know how matters stood.
- Whereof, accordingly, one day, having called her into the chamber, they
- fully apprised her, Titus for her better assurance bringing to her
- recollection not a little of what had passed between them. Whereat she,
- after glancing from one to the other somewhat disdainfully, burst into a
- flood of tears, and reproached Gisippus that he had so deluded her; and
- forthwith, saying nought of the matter to any there, she hied her forth
- of Gisippus' house and home to her father, to whom and her mother she
- recounted the deceit which Gisippus had practised upon them as upon her,
- averring that she was the wife not of Gisippus, as they supposed, but of
- Titus. Whereby her father was aggrieved exceedingly, and prolonged and
- grave complaint was made thereof by him and his own and Gisippus'
- families, and there was not a little parleying, and a world of pother.
- Gisippus earned the hatred of both his own and Sophronia's kin, and all
- agreed that he merited not only censure but severe punishment. He,
- however, averred that he had done a thing seemly, and that Sophronia's
- kinsfolk owed him thanks for giving her in marriage to one better than
- himself.
- All which Titus witnessed with great suffering, and witting that 'twas
- the way of the Greeks to launch forth in high words and menaces, and
- refrain not until they should meet with one that answered them, whereupon
- they were wont to grow not only humble but even abject, was at length
- minded that their clavers should no longer pass unanswered; and, as with
- his Roman temper he united Athenian subtlety, he cleverly contrived to
- bring the kinsfolk, as well of Gisippus as of Sophronia, together in a
- temple, where, being entered, attended only by Gisippus, thus (they being
- intent to hear) he harangued them:--"'Tis the opinion of not a few
- philosophers that whatsoever mortals do is ordained by the providence of
- the immortal Gods; for which cause some would have it that nought either
- is, or ever shall be, done, save of necessity, albeit others there are
- that restrict this necessity to that which is already done. Regard we but
- these opinions with some little attention, and we shall very plainly
- perceive that to censure that which cannot be undone is nought else but
- to be minded to shew oneself wiser than the Gods; by whom we must suppose
- that we and our affairs are swayed and governed with uniform and unerring
- wisdom. Whereby you may very readily understand how vain and foolish a
- presumption it is to pass judgment on their doings, and what manner and
- might of chains they need who suffer themselves to be transported to such
- excess of daring. Among whom, in my judgment, you must one and all be
- numbered, if 'tis true, what I hear, to wit, that you have complained and
- do continue to complain that Sophronia, albeit you gave her to Gisippus,
- is, nevertheless, become my wife; not considering that 'twas ordained
- from all eternity that she should become, not the wife of Gisippus, but
- mine, as the fact does now declare.
- "But, for that discourse of the secret providence and purposes of the
- Gods seems to many a matter hard and scarce to be understood, I am
- willing to assume that they meddle in no wise with our concerns, and to
- descend to the region of human counsels; in speaking whereof I must needs
- do two things quite at variance with my wont, to wit, in some degree
- praise myself and censure or vilify another. But, as in either case I
- mean not to deviate from the truth, and 'tis what the occasion demands, I
- shall not fail so to do. With bitter upbraidings, animated rather by rage
- than by reason, you cease not to murmur, nay, to cry out, against
- Gisippus, and to harass him with your abuse, and hold him condemned, for
- that her, whom you saw fit to give him, he has seen fit to give me, to
- wife; wherein I deem him worthy of the highest commendation, and that for
- two reasons, first, because he has done the office of a friend, and
- secondly, because he has done more wisely than you did. After what sort
- the sacred laws of friendship prescribe that friend shall entreat friend,
- 'tis not to my present purpose to declare; 'twill suffice to remind you
- that the tie of friendship should be more binding than that of blood, or
- kinship; seeing that our friends are of our own choosing, whereas our
- kinsfolk are appointed us by Fortune; wherefore, if my life was more to
- Gisippus than your goodwill, since I am, as I hold myself, his friend,
- can any wonder thereat?
- "But pass we to my second reason; in the exposition whereof I must needs
- with yet more cogency prove to you that he has been wiser than you,
- seeing that, methinks, you wot nought of the providence of the Gods, and
- still less of the consequences of friendship. I say then, that, as 'twas
- your premeditated and deliberate choice that gave Sophronia to this young
- philosopher Gisippus, so 'twas his that gave her to another young
- philosopher. 'Twas your counsel that gave her to an Athenian; 'twas his
- that gave her to a Roman: 'twas your counsel that gave her to a man of
- gentle birth; 'twas his that gave her to one of birth yet gentler:
- wealthy was he to whom your counsel gave her, most wealthy he to whom his
- counsel gave her. Not only did he to whom your counsel gave her, love her
- not, but he scarce knew her, whereas 'twas to one that loved her beyond
- all other blessings, nay, more dearly than his own life, that his counsel
- gave her. And to the end that it may appear more plainly that 'tis even
- as I say, and Gisippus' counsel more to be commended than yours, let us
- examine it point by point. That I, like Gisippus, am young and a
- philosopher, my countenance and my pursuits may, without making more
- words about the matter, sufficiently attest. We are also of the same age,
- and have ever kept pace together in our studies. Now true it is that he
- is an Athenian, and I am a Roman. But, as touching the comparative glory
- of the cities, should the matter be mooted, I say that I am of a free
- city, and he of a city tributary; that I am of a city that is mistress of
- all the world, and he of one that is subject to mine; that I am of a city
- that flourishes mightily in arms, in empire, and in arts; whereas he
- cannot boast his city as famous save in arts.
- "Moreover, albeit you see me here in the guise of a most humble scholar,
- I am not born of the dregs of the populace of Rome. My halls and the
- public places of Rome are full of the antique effigies of my forefathers,
- and the annals of Rome abound with the records of triumphs led by the
- Quintii to the Roman Capitol; and so far from age having withered it,
- to-day, yet more abundantly than ever of yore, flourishes the glory of
- our name. Of my wealth I forbear, for shame, to speak, being mindful that
- honest poverty is the time-honoured and richest inheritance of the noble
- citizens of Rome; but, allowing for the nonce the opinion of the vulgar,
- which holds poverty in disrepute, and highly appraises wealth, I, albeit
- I never sought it, yet, as the favoured of Fortune, have abundant store
- thereof. Now well I wot that, Gisippus being of your own city, you justly
- prized and prize an alliance with him; but not a whit less should you
- prize an alliance with me at Rome, considering that there you will have
- in me an excellent host, and a patron apt, zealous and potent to serve
- you as well in matters of public interest as in your private concerns.
- Who, then, dismissing all bias from his mind, and judging with impartial
- reason, would deem your counsel more commendable than that of Gisippus?
- Assuredly none. Sophronia, then, being married to Titus Quintius Fulvus,
- a citizen of Rome, of an ancient and illustrious house, and wealthy, and
- a friend of Gisippus, whoso takes umbrage or offence thereat, does that
- which it behoves him not to do, and knows not what he does.
- "Perchance some will say that their complaint is not that Sophronia is
- the wife of Titus, but that she became his wife after such a sort, to
- wit, privily, by theft, neither friend nor any of her kin witting aught
- thereof; but herein is no matter of marvel, no prodigy as yet unheard-of.
- I need not instance those who before now have taken to them husbands in
- defiance of their fathers' will, or have eloped with their lovers and
- been their mistresses before they were their wives, or of whose marriages
- no word has been spoken, until their pregnancy or parturition published
- them to the world, and necessity sanctioned the fact: nought of this has
- happened in the case of Sophronia; on the contrary, 'twas in proper form,
- and in meet and seemly sort, that Gisippus gave her to Titus. And others,
- peradventure, will say that 'twas by one to whom such office belonged not
- that she was bestowed in marriage. Nay, but this is but vain and womanish
- querulousness, and comes of scant consideration. Know we not, then, that
- Fortune varies according to circumstances her methods and her means of
- disposing events to their predetermined ends? What matters it to me, if
- it be a cobbler, rather than a philosopher, that Fortune has ordained to
- compass something for me, whether privily or overtly, so only the result
- is as it should be? I ought, indeed, to take order, if the cobbler be
- indiscreet, that he meddle no more in affairs of mine, but, at the same
- time, I ought to thank him for what he has done. If Gisippus has duly
- bestowed Sophronia in marriage, it is gratuitous folly to find fault with
- the manner and the person. If you mistrust his judgment, have a care that
- it be not in his power to do the like again, but thank him for this turn.
- "Natheless, you are to know that I used no cunning practice or deceit to
- sully in any degree the fair fame of your house in the person of
- Sophronia; and, albeit I took her privily to wife, I came not as a
- ravisher to despoil her of her virginity, nor in any hostile sort was I
- minded to make her mine on dishonourable terms, and spurn your alliance;
- but, being fervently enamoured of her bewitching beauty and her noble
- qualities, I wist well that, should I make suit for her with those
- formalities which you, perchance, will say were due, then, for the great
- love you bear her, and for fear lest I should take her away with me to
- Rome, I might not hope to have her. Accordingly I made use of the secret
- practice which is now manifest to you, and brought Gisippus to consent in
- my interest to that whereto he was averse; and thereafter, ardently
- though I loved her, I sought not to commingle with her as a lover, but as
- a husband, nor closed with her, until, as she herself by her true witness
- may assure you, I had with apt words and with the ring made her my lawful
- wife, asking her if she would have me to husband, whereto she answered,
- yes. Wherein if she seem to have been tricked, 'tis not I that am to
- blame, but she, for that she asked me not who I was.
- "This, then, is the great wrong, sin, crime, whereof for love and
- friendship's sake Gisippus and I are guilty, that Sophronia is privily
- become the wife of Titus Quintius: 'tis for this that you harass him with
- your menaces and hostile machinations. What more would you do, had he
- given her to a villein, to a caitiff, to a slave? Where would you find
- fetters, dungeons, crosses adequate to your vengeance? But enough of this
- at present: an event, which I did not expect, has now happened; my father
- is dead; and I must needs return to Rome; wherefore, being fain to take
- Sophronia with me, I have discovered to you that which otherwise I had,
- perchance, still kept close. Whereto, if you are wise, you will gladly
- reconcile yourselves; for that, if I had been minded to play you false,
- or put an affront upon you, I might have scornfully abandoned her to you;
- but God forefend that such baseness be ever harboured in a Roman breast.
- Sophronia, then, by the will of the Gods, by force of law, and by my own
- love-taught astuteness, is mine. The which it would seem that you,
- deeming yourselves, peradventure, wiser than the Gods, or the rest of
- mankind, do foolishly set at nought, and that in two ways alike most
- offensive to me; inasmuch as you both withhold from me Sophronia, in whom
- right, as against me, you have none, and also entreat as your enemy
- Gisippus, to whom you are rightfully bounden. The folly whereof I purpose
- not at present fully to expound to you, but in friendly sort to counsel
- you to abate your wrath and abandon all your schemes of vengeance, and
- restore Sophronia to me, that I may part from you on terms of amity and
- alliance, and so abide: but of this rest assured, that whether this,
- which is done, like you or not, if you are minded to contravene it, I
- shall take Gisippus hence with me, and once arrived in Rome, shall in
- your despite find means to recover her who is lawfully mine, and pursuing
- you with unremitting enmity, will apprise you by experience of the full
- measure and effect of a Roman's wrath."
- Having so said, Titus started to his feet, his countenance distorted by
- anger, and took Gisippus by the hand, and with manifest contempt for all
- the rest, shaking his head at them and threatening them, led him out of
- the temple. They that remained in the temple, being partly persuaded by
- his arguments to accept his alliance and friendship, partly terrified by
- his last words, resolved by common consent that 'twas better to have the
- alliance of Titus, as they had lost that of Gisippus, than to add to that
- loss the enmity of Titus. Wherefore they followed Titus, and having come
- up with him, told him that they were well pleased that Sophronia should
- be his, and that they should prize his alliance and the friendship of
- dear Gisippus; and having ratified this treaty of amity and alliance with
- mutual cheer, they departed and sent Sophronia to Titus. Sophronia,
- discreetly making a virtue of necessity, transferred forthwith to Titus
- the love she had borne Gisippus, and being come with Titus to Rome, was
- there received with no small honour. Gisippus tarried in Athens, held in
- little account by well-nigh all the citizens, and being involved in
- certain of their broils, was, not long afterwards, with all his
- household, banished the city, poor, nay, destitute, and condemned to
- perpetual exile. Thus hard bested, and at length reduced to mendicancy,
- he made his way, so as least discomfortably he might, to Rome, being
- minded to see whether Titus would remember him: and there, learning that
- Titus lived, and was much affected by all the Romans, and having found
- out his house, he took his stand in front of it, and watched until Titus
- came by; to whom, for shame of the sorry trim that he was in, he ventured
- no word, but did his endeavour that he might be seen of him, hoping that
- Titus might recognize him, and call him by his name: but Titus passing
- on, Gisippus deeming that he had seen and avoided him, and calling to
- mind that which aforetime he had done for him, went away wroth and
- desperate. And fasting and penniless, and--for 'twas now night--knowing
- not whither he went, and yearning above all for death, he wandered by
- chance to a spot, which, albeit 'twas within the city, had much of the
- aspect of a wilderness, and espying a spacious grotto, he took shelter
- there for the night; and worn out at last with grief, on the bare ground,
- wretchedly clad as he was, he fell asleep.
- Now two men that had that night gone out a thieving, having committed the
- theft, came towards morning to the grotto, and there quarrelled, and the
- stronger slew the other, and took himself off. Aroused by the noise,
- Gisippus witnessed the murder, and deeming that he had now the means of
- compassing, without suicide, the death for which he so much longed,
- budged not a jot, but stayed there, until the serjeants of the court,
- which had already got wind of the affair, came on the scene, and laid
- violent hands upon him, and led him away. Being examined, he confessed
- that he had slain the man, and had then been unable to make his escape
- from the grotto. Wherefore the praetor, Marcus Varro by name, sentenced
- him to death by crucifixion, as was then the custom. But Titus, who
- happened at that moment to come into the praetorium, being told the crime
- for which he was condemned, and scanning the poor wretch's face,
- presently recognized him for Gisippus, and marvelled how he should come
- to be there, and in such a woeful plight. And most ardently desiring to
- succour him, nor seeing other way to save his life except to exonerate
- him by accusing himself, he straightway stepped forward, and said with a
- loud voice:--"Marcus Varro, call back the poor man on whom thou hast
- passed sentence, for he is innocent. 'Tis enough that I have incurred the
- wrath of the Gods by one deed of violence, to wit, the murder of him whom
- your serjeants found dead this morning, without aggravating my offence by
- the death of another innocent man." Perplexed, and vexed that he should
- have been heard by all in the praetorium, but unable honourably to avoid
- compliance with that which the laws enjoined, Varro had Gisippus brought
- back, and in presence of Titus said to him:--"How camest thou to be so
- mad as, though no constraint was put upon thee, to confess a deed thou
- never didst, thy life being at stake? Thou saidst that 'twas thou by whom
- the man was slain last night, and now comes this other, and says that
- 'twas not thou but he that slew him." Gisippus looked, and seeing Titus,
- wist well that, being grateful for the service rendered by him in the
- past, Titus was now minded to save his life at the cost of his own:
- wherefore, affected to tears, he said:--"Nay but, Varro, in very sooth I
- slew him, and 'tis now too late, this tender solicitude of Titus for my
- deliverance." But on his part:--"Praetor," quoth Titus, "thou seest this
- man is a stranger, and was found unarmed beside the murdered man; thou
- canst not doubt that he was fain of death for very wretchedness:
- wherefore discharge him, and let punishment light on me who have merited
- it."
- Marvelling at the importunity of both, Varro readily surmised that
- neither was guilty. And while he was casting about how he might acquit
- them, lo, in came a young man, one Publius Ambustus, a desperate
- character, and known to all the Romans for an arrant thief. He it was
- that had verily committed the murder, and witting both the men to be
- innocent of that of which each accused himself, so sore at heart was he
- by reason of their innocence, that, overborne by an exceeding great
- compassion, he presented himself before Varro, and:--"Praetor," quoth he,
- "'tis destiny draws me hither to loose the knot of these men's
- contention; and some God within me leaves me no peace of his whips and
- stings, until I discover my offence: wherefore know that neither of these
- men is guilty of that of which each accuses himself. 'Tis verily I that
- slew the man this morning about daybreak; and before I slew him, while I
- was sharing our plunder with him, I espied this poor fellow asleep there.
- Nought need I say to clear Titus: the general bruit of his illustrious
- renown attests that he is not a man of such a sort. Discharge him,
- therefore, and exact from me the penalty prescribed by the laws."
- The affair had by this time come to the ears of Octavianus, who caused
- all three to be brought before him, and demanded to know the causes by
- which they had been severally moved to accuse themselves; and, each
- having told his story, Octavianus released the two by reason of their
- innocence, and the third for love of them. Titus took Gisippus home,
- having first chidden him not a little for his faint-heartedness and
- diffidence, and there, Sophronia receiving him as a brother, did him
- marvellous cheer; and having comforted him a while, and arrayed him in
- apparel befitting his worth and birth, he first shared with him all his
- substance, and then gave him his sister, a young damsel named Fulvia, to
- wife, and said to him:--"Choose now, Gisippus, whether thou wilt tarry
- here with me, or go back to Achaia with all that I have given thee."
- Partly perforce of his banishment from his city, partly for that the
- sweet friendship of Titus was justly dear to him, Gisippus consented to
- become a Roman. And so, long and happily they lived together at Rome,
- Gisippus with his Fulvia, and Titus with his Sophronia, in the same
- house, growing, if possible, greater friends day by day.
- Exceeding sacred then, is friendship, and worthy not only to be had in
- veneration, but to be extolled with never-ending praise, as the most
- dutiful mother of magnificence and seemliness, sister of gratitude and
- charity, and foe to enmity and avarice; ever, without waiting to be
- asked, ready to do as generously by another as she would be done by
- herself. Rarely indeed is it to-day that twain are found, in whom her
- most holy fruits are manifest; for which is most shamefully answerable
- the covetousness of mankind, which, regarding only private interest, has
- banished friendship beyond earth's farthest bourne, there to abide in
- perpetual exile. How should love, or wealth, or kinship, how should aught
- but friendship have so quickened the soul of Gisippus that the tears and
- sighs of Titus should incline his heart to cede to him the fair and
- gracious lady that was his betrothed and his beloved? Laws, menaces,
- terror! How should these, how should aught but friendship, have withheld
- Gisippus, in lonely places, in hidden retreats, in his own bed, from
- enfolding (not perchance unsolicited by her) the fair damsel within his
- youthful embrace? Honours, rewards, gains! Would Gisippus for these,
- would he for aught but friendship, have made nothing of the loss of
- kindred--his own and Sophronia's--have made nothing of the injurious
- murmurs of the populace, have made nothing of mocks and scorns, so only
- he might content his friend? And on the other hand, for what other cause
- than friendship had Titus, when he might decently have feigned not to
- see, have striven with the utmost zeal to compass his own death, and set
- himself upon the cross in Gisippus' stead? And what but friendship had
- left no place for suspicion in the soul of Titus, and filled it with a
- most fervent desire to give his sister to Gisippus, albeit he saw him to
- be reduced to extreme penury and destitution? But so it is that men covet
- hosts of acquaintance, troops of kinsfolk, offspring in plenty; and the
- number of their dependants increases with their wealth; and they reflect
- not that there is none of these, be he who he may, but will be more
- apprehensive of the least peril threatening himself than cumbered to
- avert a great peril from his lord or kinsman, whereas between friends we
- know 'tis quite contrariwise.
- NOVEL IX.
- --
- Saladin, in guise of a merchant, is honourably entreated by Messer
- Torello. The Crusade ensuing, Messer Torello appoints a date, after which
- his wife may marry again: he is taken prisoner, and by training hawks
- comes under the Soldan's notice. The Soldan recognizes him, makes himself
- known to him, and entreats him with all honour. Messer Torello falls
- sick, and by magic arts is transported in a single night to Pavia, where
- his wife's second marriage is then to be solemnized, and being present
- thereat, is recognized by her, and returns with her to his house.
- --
- So ended Filomena her story, and when all alike had commended the
- magnificence shewn by Titus in his gratitude, the king, reserving the
- last place for Dioneo, thus began:--Lovesome my ladies, true beyond all
- question is what Filomena reports of friendship, and with justice did she
- deplore in her closing words the little account in which 'tis held to-day
- among mortals. And were we here for the purpose of correcting, or even of
- censuring, the vices of the age, I should add a copious sequel to her
- discourse; but as we have another end in view, it has occurred to me to
- set before you in a narrative, which will be of considerable length, but
- entertaining throughout, an instance of Saladin's magnificence, to the
- end that, albeit, by reason of our vices, it may not be possible for us
- to gain to the full the friendship of any, yet by the matters whereof you
- shall hear in my story we may at least be incited to take delight in
- doing good offices, in the hope that sooner or later we may come by our
- reward thereof.
- I say, then, that in the time of the Emperor Frederic I., as certain
- writers affirm, the Christians made common emprise for the recovery of
- the Holy Land. Whereof that most valiant prince, Saladin, then Soldan of
- Babylonia, being in good time apprised, resolved to see for himself the
- preparations made by the Christian potentates for the said emprise, that
- he might put himself in better trim to meet them. So, having ordered all
- things to his mind in Egypt, he made as if he were bound on a pilgrimage,
- and attended only by two of his chiefest and sagest lords, and three
- servants, took the road in the guise of a merchant. And having surveyed
- many provinces of Christendom, as they rode through Lombardy with intent
- to cross the Alps, they chanced, between Milan and Pavia, to fall in with
- a gentleman, one Messer Torello d'Istria da Pavia, who with his servants
- and his dogs and falcons was betaking him to a fine estate that he had on
- the Ticino, there to tarry a while. Now Messer Torello no sooner espied
- Saladin and his lords than he guessed them to be gentlemen and
- foreigners; and, being zealous to do them honour, when Saladin asked one
- of his servants how far off Pavia might still be, and if he might win
- there in time to enter the town, he suffered not the servant to make
- answer, but:--"No, gentlemen," quoth he, "by the time you reach Pavia
- 'twill be too late for you to enter." "So!" replied Saladin, "then might
- you be pleased to direct us, as we are strangers, where we may best be
- lodged?" "That gladly will I," returned Messer Torello. "I was but now
- thinking to send one of these my men on an errand to Pavia; I will send
- him with you, and he will guide you to a place where you will find very
- comfortable quarters." Then, turning to one of his most trusty servants,
- he gave him his instructions, and despatched him with them: after which,
- he repaired to his estate, and forthwith, as best he might, caused a
- goodly supper to be made ready, and the tables set in his garden; which
- done, he stationed himself at the gate on the look-out for his guests.
- The servant, conversing with the gentlemen of divers matters, brought
- them by devious roads to his lord's estate without their being ware of
- it. Whom as soon as Messer Torello espied, he came forth afoot to meet
- them, and said with a smile:--"A hearty welcome to you, gentlemen." Now
- Saladin, being very quick of apprehension, perceived that the knight had
- doubted, when he met them, that, were he to bid them to his house, they
- might not accept his hospitality; and accordingly, that it might not be
- in their power to decline it, had brought them to his house by a ruse.
- And so, returning his greeting:--"Sir," quoth he, "were it meet to find
- fault with those that shew courtesy, we should have a grievance against
- you, for that, to say nought of somewhat delaying our journey, you have
- in guerdon of a single greeting constrained us to accept so noble a
- courtesy as yours." Whereto the knight, who was of good understanding and
- well-spoken, made answer:--"Gentlemen, such courtesy as we shew you will,
- in comparison of that which, by what I gather from your aspect, were meet
- for you, prove but a sorry thing; but in sooth this side of Pavia you
- might not anywhere have been well lodged; wherefore take it not amiss
- that you have come somewhat out of your way to find less discomfortable
- quarters." And as he spoke, about them flocked the servants, who, having
- helped them to dismount, saw to their horses; whereupon Messer Torello
- conducted them to the chambers that were made ready for them, where,
- having caused them to be relieved of their boots, and refreshed with the
- coolest of wines, he held pleasant converse with them until supper-time.
- Saladin and his lords and servants all knew Latin, so that they both
- understood and made themselves understood very well, and there was none
- of them but adjudged this knight to be the most agreeable and debonair
- man, and therewithal the best talker, that he had ever seen; while to
- Messer Torello, on the other hand, they shewed as far greater magnificoes
- than he had at first supposed, whereby he was inly vexed that he had not
- been able that evening to do them the honours of company, and a more
- ceremonious banquet. For which default he resolved to make amends on the
- ensuing morning: wherefore, having imparted to one of his servants that
- which he would have done, he sent him to his most judicious and
- highminded lady at Pavia, which was close by, and where never a gate was
- locked. Which done, he brought the gentlemen into the garden, and
- courteously asked them who they were. "We are Cypriote merchants,"
- replied Saladin, "and 'tis from Cyprus we come, and we are on our way to
- Paris on business." Quoth then Messer Torello:--"Would to God that our
- country bred gentlemen of such a quality as are the merchants that I see
- Cyprus breeds!" From which they passed to discourse of other matters,
- until, supper-time being come, he besought them to seat them at table;
- whereat, considering that the supper was but improvised, their
- entertainment was excellent and well-ordered.
- The tables being cleared, Messer Torello, surmising that they must be
- weary, kept them no long time from their rest, but bestowed them in most
- comfortable beds, and soon after went to rest himself. Meanwhile the
- servant that he had sent to Pavia did his lord's errand to the lady, who,
- in the style rather of a queen than of a housewife, forthwith assembled
- not a few of Messer Torello's friends and vassals, and caused all meet
- preparation to be made for a magnificent banquet, and by messengers
- bearing torches bade not a few of the noblest of the citizens thereto;
- and had store of silken and other fabrics and vair brought in, and all
- set in order in every point as her husband had directed. Day came, and
- the gentlemen being risen, Messer Torello got him to horse with them, and
- having sent for his hawks, brought them to a ford, and shewed them how
- the hawks flew. By and by, Saladin requesting of him a guide to the best
- inn at Pavia:--"I myself will be your guide," returned Messer Torello,
- "for I have occasion to go thither." Which offer they, nothing doubting,
- did gladly accept, and so with him they set forth; and about tierce,
- being come to the city, and expecting to be directed to the best inn,
- they were brought by Messer Torello, to his own house, where they were
- forthwith surrounded by full fifty of the greatest folk of the city,
- gathered there to give the gentlemen a welcome; and 'twas who should hold
- a bridle or a stirrup, while they dismounted. Whereby Saladin and his
- lords more than guessing the truth:--"Messer Torello," quoth they, "'twas
- not this that we craved of you. Honour enough had we from you last night,
- and far in excess of our desires; wherefore thou mightst very well have
- left us to go our own road." Whereto:--"Gentlemen," replied Messer
- Torello, "for that which was done yestereve I have to thank Fortune
- rather than you: seeing that Fortune surprised you on the road at an hour
- when you must needs repair to my little house: for that which shall be
- done this morning I shall be beholden to you, as will also these
- gentlemen that surround you, with whom, if you deem it courteous so to
- do, you may refuse to breakfast, if you like."
- Fairly conquered, Saladin and his lords dismounted, and heartily welcomed
- by the gentlemen, were conducted to the chambers which had been most
- sumptuously adorned for their use; and having laid aside their riding
- dress, and taken some refreshment, repaired to the saloon, where all had
- been made ready with splendour. There, having washed their hands, they
- sat them down to table, and were regaled with a magnificent repast of
- many courses, served with all stately and fair ceremony, insomuch that,
- had the Emperor himself been there, 'twould not have been possible to do
- him more honour. And albeit Saladin and his lords were grandees and used
- to exceeding great displays of pomp and state, nevertheless this shewed
- to them as not a little marvellous, and one of the greatest they had ever
- seen, having regard to the quality of their host, whom they knew to be
- but a citizen, and no lord. Breakfast done, and the tables cleared, they
- conversed a while of high matters, and then, as 'twas very hot, all the
- gentlemen of Pavia--so it pleased Messer Torello--retired for their
- siesta, while he remained with his three guests; with whom he presently
- withdrew into a chamber, whither, that there might be nought that he held
- dear which they had not seen, he called his noble lady. And so the dame,
- exceeding fair and stately of person, and arrayed in rich apparel, with
- her two little boys, that shewed as two angels, on either hand, presented
- herself before them, and graciously greeted them. Whereupon they rose,
- and returned her salutation with reverence, and caused her to sit down
- among them, and made much of her two little boys. But after some
- interchange of gracious discourse, Messer Torello being withdrawn
- somewhat apart, she asked them courteously, whence they came and whither
- they were bound, and had of them the same answer that Messer Torello had
- received. "So!" quoth the lady with a joyful air, "then I see that my
- woman's wit will be of service to you; wherefore I pray you as a special
- favour neither to reject nor to despise the little gift that I am about
- to present to you; but reflecting that, as women have but small minds, so
- they make but small gifts, accept it, having regard rather to the good
- will of the giver than the magnitude of the gift." She then caused bring
- forth for each of them two pair of robes, lined the one with silk, the
- other with vair, no such robes as citizens or merchants, but such as
- lords, use to wear, and three vests of taffeta, besides linen clothes,
- and:--"Take them," quoth she. "The robes I give you are even such as I
- have arrayed my lord withal: the other things, considering that you are
- far from your wives, and have come a long way, and have yet a long way to
- go, and that merchants love to be neat and trim, may, albeit they are of
- no great value, be yet acceptable to you."
- Wondering, the gentlemen acknowledged without reserve that there was no
- point of courtesy wherein Messer Torello was not minded to acquit himself
- towards them. And noting the lordly fashion of the robes, unsuited to the
- quality of merchants, they misdoubted that Messer Torello had recognized
- them. However, quoth one of them to the lady:--"Gifts great indeed are
- these, Madam, nor such as lightly to accept, were it not that thereto we
- are constrained by your prayers, to which we may on no account say, no."
- Whereupon, Messer Torello being now come back, the lady bade them adieu,
- and took her leave of them; and in like manner did she cause their
- servants to be supplied with equipment suitable to them. The gentlemen,
- being much importuned thereto by Messer Torello, consented to tarry the
- rest of the day with him; and so, having slept, they donned their robes,
- and rode a while with him about the city; and supper-time being come,
- they feasted magnificently, and with a numerous and honourable company.
- And so in due time they betook them to rest; and at daybreak, being
- risen, they found, in lieu of their jaded nags, three stout and excellent
- palfreys, and in like manner fresh and goodly mounts for their servants.
- Which Saladin marking turned to his lords, and:--"By God," quoth he,
- "never was gentleman more complete and courteous and considerate than
- this Messer Torello, and if the Christian kings are as kingly as he is
- knightly, there is none of them whose onset the Soldan of Babylon might
- well abide, to say nought of so many as we see making ready to fall upon
- him." However, knowing that 'twas not permissible to refuse, he very
- courteously thanked Messer Torello: and so they got them to horse. Messer
- Torello with a numerous company escorted them far beyond the gate of the
- city, until, loath though Saladin was to part from him, so greatly did he
- now affect him, yet as he must needs speed on, he besought him to turn
- back. Whereupon, albeit it irked him to take leave of them:--"Gentlemen,"
- quoth Messer Torello, "since such is your pleasure, I obey; but this I
- must say to you. Who you are I know not, nor would I know more than you
- are pleased to impart; but whoever you may be, you will not make me
- believe that you are merchants this while; and so adieu!" To whom
- Saladin, having already taken leave of all his company, thus made
- answer:--"Peradventure, Sir, we shall one day give you to see somewhat of
- our merchandise, and thereby confirm your belief: and so adieu!"
- Thus parted Saladin and his company from Messer Torello, Saladin burning
- with an exceeding great desire, if life should be continued to him, and
- the war, which he anticipated, should not undo him, to shew Messer
- Torello no less honour than he had received at his hands, and conversing
- not a little with his lords both of Messer Torello himself and of his
- lady, and all that he did and that in any wise concerned him, ever more
- highly commending them. However, having with much diligence spied out all
- the West, he put to sea, and returned with his company to Alexandria; and
- having now all needful information, he put himself in a posture of
- defence. Messer Torello, his mind full of his late guests, returned to
- Pavia; but, though he long pondered who they might be, he came never at
- or anywhere near the truth.
- Then with great and general mustering of forces came the time for
- embarking on the emprise, and Messer Torello, heeding not the tearful
- entreaties of his wife, resolved to join therein. So, being fully
- equipped and about to take horse, he said to his lady, whom he most
- dearly loved:--"Wife, for honour's sake and for the weal of my soul, I
- go, as thou seest, on this emprise: our substance and our honour I
- commend to thy care. Certain I am of my departure, but, for the thousand
- accidents that may ensue, certitude have I none of my return: wherefore I
- would have thee do me this grace, that, whatever be my fate, shouldst
- thou lack certain intelligence that I live, thou wilt expect me a year
- and a month and a day from this my departure, before thou marry again."
- Whereto the lady, weeping bitterly, made answer:--"Messer Torello, I know
- not how I shall support the distress in which, thus departing, you leave
- me; but should my life not fail beneath it, and aught befall thee, live
- and die secure that I shall live and die the wife of Messer Torello, and
- of his memory." Whereupon:--"Wife," returned Messer Torello, "well
- assured I am that, so far as in thee shall lie, this promise of thine
- will be kept; but thou art young, and fair, and of a great family, and
- thy virtue is rare and generally known: wherefore I make no doubt that,
- should there be any suspicion of my death, thou wilt be asked of thy
- brothers and kinsmen by many a great gentleman: against whose attacks,
- though thou desire it never so, thou wilt not be able to hold out, but
- wilt perforce be fain to gratify one or other of them; for which cause it
- is that I ask thee to wait just so long and no longer." "As I have said,"
- replied the lady, "so, in so far as I may, I shall do; and if I must
- needs do otherwise, rest assured that of this your behest I shall render
- you obedience. But I pray God that He bring neither you nor me to such a
- strait yet a while." Which said, the lady wept, and having embraced
- Messer Torello, drew from her finger a ring, and gave it to him,
- saying:--"Should it betide that I die before I see you again, mind you of
- me, when you look upon it."
- Messer Torello took the ring, and got him to horse, and having bidden all
- adieu, fared forth on his journey; and being arrived with his company at
- Genoa, he embarked on a galley, and having departed thence, in no long
- time arrived at Acre, and joined the main Christian host; wherein there
- by and by broke out an exceeding great and mortal sickness; during which,
- whether owing to Saladin's strategy, or his good fortune, he made an easy
- capture of well-nigh all the remnant of the Christians that were escaped,
- and quartered them in divers prisons in many cities; of which captives
- Messer Torello being one, was brought to Alexandria and there confined.
- Where, not being known, and fearing to make himself known, he, under
- constraint of necessity, applied him to the training of hawks, whereof he
- was a very great master; and thereby he fell under the notice of Saladin,
- who took him out of the prison, and made him his falconer. The Soldan
- called him by no other name than "Christian," and neither recognized, nor
- was recognized by, him, who, his whole soul ever in Pavia, essayed many a
- time to escape, that he might return thither, but still without success:
- wherefore, certain Genoese, that were come to Alexandria as ambassadors
- to the Soldan for the redemption of some of their townsfolk, being about
- to return, he resolved to write to his lady, how that he lived, and would
- come back to her, as soon as he might, and that she should expect his
- return; and having so done, he earnestly besought one of the ambassadors,
- whom he knew, to see that the letter reached the hands of the Abbot of
- San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro, who was his uncle.
- Now, such being the posture of Messer Torello's affairs, it befell one
- day that, while he talked with Saladin of his hawks, he smiled; whereby
- his mouth shaped itself in a fashion, of which Saladin had taken
- particular note, while he was at Pavia. And so, recalling Messer Torello
- to mind, he fixed his gaze upon him, and it seemed to him that 'twas
- indeed Messer Torello; wherefore, leaving the matter of which they were
- conversing:--"Tell me, Christian," quoth he, "of what country art thou in
- the West?" "My lord," replied Messer Torello, "I am a Lombard, of a city
- called Pavia, a poor man, and of humble condition." Which when he heard,
- Saladin, well-nigh resolved of his doubt, said joyfully to himself:--"God
- has provided me with occasion meet to prove to this man what store I set
- by his courtesy;" and without another word he brought him into a room
- where he kept all his wearing apparel, and said:--"Look, Christian, if
- among these robes there be any that thou hast ever seen before." So
- Messer Torello examined the robes, and espied those which his lady had
- given to Saladin; but, deeming they could not be the same, he
- replied:--"My lord, there is no robe here that I recognize, albeit 'tis
- true that those two robes are such as I once wore myself, in company with
- three merchants that came to my house." Whereupon Saladin could refrain
- himself no longer; but, tenderly embracing him:--"You," quoth he, "are
- Messer Torello d'Istria, and I am one of those three merchants to whom
- your lady gave these robes; and now is the time to warrant you of the
- quality of my merchandise, as, when I parted from you, I told you might
- come to pass." Which to hear, Messer Torello was at once overjoyed and
- abashed, overjoyed to have entertained so illustrious a guest, and
- abashed, for that it seemed to him that he had given him but a sorry
- entertainment. To whom:--"Messer Torello," quoth Saladin, "since hither
- has God sent you to me, deem that 'tis no more I that am lord here, but
- you." And so they made great cheer together; and then Saladin caused
- Messer Torello to be royally arrayed; and presented him to all his
- greatest lords, and having extolled his merit in no stinted measure, bade
- all, as they hoped for grace from him, honour Messer Torello even as
- himself. And so from that hour did they all; but most especially the two
- lords that had been with Saladin at Messer Torello's house.
- The glory, to which Messer Torello thus suddenly found himself raised,
- somewhat diverted his mind from the affairs of Lombardy, and the more so,
- for that he entertained no doubt that his letter had reached his uncle's
- hands. But for that in the camp, or rather army, of the Christians, on
- the day when they were taken by Saladin, there died and was buried one
- Messer Torello de Dignes, an obscure knight of Provence, whereas Messer
- Torello d'Istria was known to all the host for a right noble gentleman,
- whoso heard tell that Messer Torello was dead, supposed that 'twas Messer
- Torello d'Istria, and not Messer Torello de Dignes; nor did what happened
- after, to wit, the capture, avail to undeceive them; for not a few
- Italians had carried the report home with them; among whom there were
- some who made bold to say that they had seen Messer Torello d'Istria's
- dead body, and had been present at its interment. Which rumour coming to
- the ears of his lady and his kinsfolk, great indeed, nay, immeasurable
- was the distress that it occasioned not only to them, but to all that had
- known him. The mode and measure of his lady's grief, her mourning, her
- lamentation, 'twere tedious to describe. Enough that, after some months
- spent in almost unmitigated tribulation, her sorrow shewed signs of
- abatement; whereupon, suit being made for her hand by some of the
- greatest men of Lombardy, her brothers and other kinsfolk began to
- importune her to marry again. Times not a few, and with floods of tears,
- she refused; but, overborne at last, she consented to do as they would
- have her, upon the understanding that she was to remain unmarried until
- the term for which she had bound herself to Messer Torello was fulfilled.
- Now the lady's affairs being in this posture at Pavia, it befell that
- some eight days or so before the time appointed for her marriage, Messer
- Torello one day espied in Alexandria one that he had observed go with the
- Genoese ambassadors aboard the galley that took them to Genoa; wherefore
- he called him, and asked him what sort of a voyage they had had, and when
- they had reached Genoa. "My lord," replied the other, "the galley made
- but a sorry voyage of it, as I learned in Crete, where I remained; for
- that, while she was nearing Sicily, there arose a terrible gale from the
- North that drove her on to the shoals of Barbary, and never a soul
- escaped, and among the rest my two brothers were lost." Which report
- believing--and 'twas indeed most true--and calling to mind that in a few
- days the term that he had asked of his wife would be fulfilled, and
- surmising that there could be no tidings of him at Pavia, Messer Torello
- made no question but that the lady was provided with another husband;
- whereby he sank into such a depth of woe that he lost all power to eat,
- and betook him to his bed and resigned himself to die. Which when
- Saladin, by whom he was most dearly beloved, learned, he came to him, and
- having plied him with many and most instant entreaties, learned at length
- the cause of his distress and sickness; and, having chidden him not a
- little that he had not sooner apprised him thereof, he besought him to
- put on a cheerful courage, assuring him, that, if so he did, he would
- bring it to pass that he should be in Pavia at the time appointed, and
- told him how. Believing Saladin's words the more readily that he had many
- times heard that 'twas possible, and had not seldom been done, Messer
- Torello recovered heart, and was instant with Saladin that he should make
- all haste.
- Accordingly Saladin bade one of his necromancers, of whose skill he had
- already had proof, to devise a method whereby Messer Torello should be
- transported abed in a single night to Pavia: the necromancer made answer
- that it should be done, but that 'twere best he put Messer Torello to
- sleep. The matter being thus arranged, Saladin hied him back to Messer
- Torello, and finding him most earnestly desirous to be in Pavia at the
- time appointed, if so it might be, and if not, to die:--"Messer Torello,"
- quoth he, "if you dearly love your lady, and misdoubt that she may become
- the bride of another, no wise, God wot, do I censure you, for that, of
- all the ladies that ever I saw, she, for bearing, manners, and
- address--to say nought of beauty, which is but the flower that
- perishes--seems to me the most worthy to be lauded and cherished. Much
- had I been gratified, since Fortune has sent you hither to me, that,
- while you and I yet live, we had exercised equal lordship in the
- governance of this my realm, and, if such was not God's will, and this
- must needs come upon you, that you are fain either to be at Pavia at the
- time appointed or to die, I had desired of all things to have been
- apprised thereof at such a time that I might have sent you home with such
- honourable circumstance and state and escort as befit your high desert;
- which not being vouchsafed me, and as nought will content you but to be
- there forthwith, I do what I can, and speed you thither on such wise as I
- have told you." "My lord," replied Messer Torello, "had you said nought,
- you have already done enough to prove your goodwill towards me, and that
- in so high a degree as is quite beyond my deserts, and most assured of
- the truth of what you say shall I live and die, and so had done, had you
- not said it; but, seeing that my resolve is taken, I pray you that that,
- which you promise to do, be done speedily, for that after to-morrow I may
- no longer count on being expected."
- Saladin assured him that 'twas so ordered that he should not be
- disappointed. And on the morrow, it being his purpose to speed him on his
- journey that same night, he caused to be set up in one of his great halls
- a most goodly and sumptuous bed composed of mattresses, all, as was their
- wont, of velvet and cloth of gold, and had it covered with a quilt,
- adorned at certain intervals with enormous pearls, and most rare precious
- stones, insomuch that 'twas in after time accounted a priceless treasure,
- and furnished with two pillows to match it. Which done, he bade array
- Messer Torello, who was now quite recovered, in a robe after the
- Saracenic fashion, the richest and goodliest thing of the kind that was
- ever seen, and wrap about his head, according to their wont, one of their
- huge turbans. Then, at a late hour, Saladin, attended by certain of his
- lords, entered the chamber where Messer Torello was, and seating himself
- beside him, all but wept as thus he began:--"Messer Torello, the time is
- nigh at hand when you and I must part; wherefore, since I may neither
- give you my own, nor others' company (the journey that you are about to
- make not permitting it), I am come here, as 'tis fitting, in this chamber
- to take my leave of you. Wherefore, before I bid you adieu, I entreat
- you, by that friendship, that love, which is between us, that you forget
- me not, and that, if it be possible, when you have settled your affairs
- in Lombardy, you come at least once, before our days are ended, to visit
- me, that thereby I may both have the delight of seeing you again, and
- make good that omission which, by reason of your haste, I must needs now
- make; and that in the meanwhile it irk thee not to visit me by letter,
- and to ask of me whatever you shall have a mind to, and be sure that
- there lives not the man whom I shall content more gladly than you."
- Messer Torello could not refrain his tears, and so, with words few, and
- broken by his sobs, he answered that 'twas impossible that the Soldan's
- generous deeds and chivalrous character should ever be forgotten by him,
- and that without fail he would do as he bade him, so soon as occasion
- should serve him. Whereupon Saladin tenderly embraced and kissed him, and
- with many a tear bade him adieu, and quitted the chamber. His lords then
- took leave of Messer Torello, and followed Saladin into the hall, where
- he had had the bed made ready.
- 'Twas now late, and the necromancer being intent to hasten Messer
- Torello's transit, a physician brought him a potion, and having first
- shewn him what he was to give him by way of viaticum, caused him to drink
- it; and not long after he fell asleep. In which state he was carried by
- Saladin's command, and laid on the goodly bed, whereon he set a large and
- fair and most sumptuous crown, marking it in such sort that there could
- be no mistake that it was sent by Saladin to Messer Torello's wife. He
- next placed on Messer Torello's finger a ring, in which was set a
- carbuncle of such brilliance that it shewed as a lighted torch, and of
- well-nigh inestimable value. After which he girded on him a sword, the
- appointments of which might not readily be appraised. And therewithal he
- adorned him in front with a pendant, wherein were pearls, the like of
- which had never been seen, and not a few other rare jewels. And,
- moreover, on either side of him he set two vast basins of gold full of
- pistoles; and strings of pearls not a few, and rings and girdles, and
- other things, which 'twere tedious to enumerate, he disposed around him.
- Which done, he kissed Messer Torello again, and bade the necromancer
- speed him on his journey. Whereupon, forthwith, the bed, with Messer
- Torello thereon, was borne away from before Saladin's eyes, and he and
- his barons remained conversing thereof.
- The bed, as Messer Torello had requested, had already been deposited in
- the church of San Piero in Ciel d'Oro at Pavia, and Messer Torello, with
- all the aforesaid jewels and ornaments upon and about him, was lying
- thereon, and still slept, when, upon the stroke of matins, the sacristan
- came into the church, light in hand, and presently setting eyes on the
- sumptuous bed, was not only amazed, but mightily terrified, insomuch that
- he turned back, and took to flight. Which the abbot and monks observing
- with no small surprise, asked wherefore he fled and he told them.
- Whereupon:--"Oh," quoth the abbot, "thou art no longer a child, nor yet
- so new to this church, that thou shouldst so lightly be appalled: go we
- now, and see who it is that has given thee this childish fright." So,
- with a blaze of torches, the abbot, attended by his monks, entered the
- church, and espied this wondrous costly bed whereon the knight slept, and
- while, hesitant and fearful, daring not to approach the bed, they scanned
- the rare and splendid jewels, it befell that, the efficacy of the potion
- being exhausted, Messer Torello awoke and heaved a great sigh. Whereat
- the monks and the abbot quaking and crying out:--"Lord, help us!" one and
- all took to flight. Messer Torello, opening his eyes and looking about
- him, saw, to his no small satisfaction, that without a doubt he was in
- the very place where he had craved of Saladin to be; so up he sate, and
- taking particular note of the matters with which he was surrounded,
- accounted the magnificence of Saladin to exceed even the measure, great
- though it was, that he already knew. However, he still kept quiet, save
- that, perceiving the monks in flight, and surmising the reason, he began
- to call the abbot by name, bidding him be of good courage, for that he
- was his nephew, Torello. Whereat the abbot did but wax more terrified,
- for that he deemed Torello had been many a month dead; but, after a
- while, as he heard himself still called, sound judgment got the better of
- his fears, and making the sign of the cross, he drew nigh Torello; who
- said to him:--"Father, what is't you fear? By God's grace I live, and
- hither am come back from overseas." Whom, for all he had grown a long
- beard and was dressed in the Saracenic fashion, the abbot after a while
- recognized, and now, quite reassured, took by the hand, saying:--"Son,
- welcome home:" then:--"No cause hast thou to marvel at our fears," he
- went on, "seeing that there is never a soul in these parts but firmly
- believes thee to be dead, insomuch that I may tell thee that Madonna
- Adalieta, thy wife, overborne by the entreaties and menaces of her
- kinsfolk, and against her will, is provided with another husband, to whom
- she is this morning to go, and all is made ready for the nuptials and the
- attendant festivities."
- Whereupon Messer Torello, being risen from the sumptuous bed, did the
- abbot and the monks wondrous cheer, and besought them, one and all, to
- tell never a soul of his return, until he had completed something that he
- had on hand. After which, having put the costly jewels in safe keeping,
- he recounted to the abbot all the story of his adventures to that very
- hour. The abbot, rejoicing in his good fortune, joined with him in
- offering thanks to God. Messer Torello then asked him who might be his
- wife's new husband, and the abbot told him. Quoth then Messer
- Torello:--"Before my return be known, I purpose to see how my wife will
- comport herself at the nuptials: wherefore, though 'tis not the wont of
- men of religion to go to such gatherings, I had lief that for love of me
- you arranged for us to go thither together." The abbot answered that, he
- would gladly do so, and as soon as 'twas day, he sent word to the
- bridegroom that he had thoughts of being present at his nuptials,
- accompanied by a friend; whereto the gentleman made answer that he was
- much gratified. So, at the breakfast hour Messer Torello, dressed as he
- was, hied him with the abbot to the bridegroom's house, as many as saw
- them gazing on him with wonder, but none recognizing him, and the abbot
- giving all to understand that he was a Saracen sent by the Soldan as
- ambassador to the King of France. Messer Torello was accordingly seated
- at a table directly opposite that of his lady, whom he eyed with
- exceeding great delight, the more so that he saw that in her face which
- shewed him that she was chagrined by the nuptials. She in like manner
- from time to time bent her regard on him; howbeit, what with his long
- beard, and his foreign garb, and her firm persuasion that he was dead,
- she had still no sort of recollection of him. However, Messer Torello at
- length deemed it time to make trial of her, whether she would remember
- him; wherefore he took the ring that the lady had given, him on his
- departure, and keeping it close in the palm of his hand, he called to him
- a page that waited upon her, and said to him:--"Tell the bride from me
- that 'tis the custom in my country, that, when a stranger, such as I,
- eats with a bride, like herself, at her wedding-feast, she, in token that
- he is welcome to her board, sends him the cup from which she herself
- drinks, full of wine; and when the stranger has drunk his fill, he closes
- the cup, and the bride drinks what is left therein."
- The page carried the message to the lady, who, being of good
- understanding and manners, and supposing him to be some very great man,
- by way of shewing that she was gratified by his presence, commanded that
- a gilt cup, that was on the table before her, should be rinsed, and
- filled with wine, and borne to the gentleman. Which being done, Messer
- Torello, having privily conveyed her ring into his mouth, let it fall
- (while he drank) into the cup on such wise that none wist thereof; and
- leaving but a little wine at the bottom, closed the cup and returned it
- to the lady; who, having taken it, that she might do full honour to the
- custom of her guest's country, lifted the lid, and set the cup to her
- mouth; whereby espying the ring, she thereon mutely gazed a while, and
- recognizing it for that which she had given Messer Torello on his
- departure, she steadfastly regarded the supposed stranger, whom now she
- also recognized. Whereupon well-nigh distracted, oversetting the table in
- front of her, she exclaimed:--"'Tis my lord, 'tis verily Messer Torello;"
- and rushing to the table at which he sate, giving never a thought to her
- apparel, or aught that was on the table, she flung herself upon it; and
- reaching forward as far as she could, she threw her arms about him, and
- hugged him; nor, for aught that any said or did, could she be induced to
- release his neck, until Messer Torello himself bade her forbear a while,
- for that she would have time enough to kiss him thereafter. The lady then
- stood up, and for a while all was disorder, albeit the feast was yet more
- gladsome than before by reason of the recovery of so honourable a knight:
- then, at Messer Torello's entreaty, all were silent, while he recounted
- to them the story of his adventures from the day of his departure to that
- hour, concluding by saying that the gentleman who, deeming him to be
- dead, had taken his lady to wife, ought not to be affronted, if he, being
- alive, reclaimed her. The bridegroom, albeit he was somewhat crestfallen,
- made answer in frank and friendly sort, that 'twas for Messer Torello to
- do what he liked with his own. The lady resigned the ring and the crown
- that her new spouse had given her, and put on the ring she had taken from
- the cup, and likewise the crown sent her by the Soldan; and so, forth
- they hied them, and with full nuptial pomp wended their way to Messer
- Torello's house; and there for a great while they made merry with his
- late disconsolate friends and kinsfolk and all the citizens, who
- accounted his restoration as little short of a miracle.
- Messer Torello, having bestowed part of his rare jewels upon him who had
- borne the cost of the wedding-feast, and part on the abbot, and many
- other folk; and having by more than one messenger sent word of his safe
- home-coming and prosperous estate to Saladin, acknowledging himself ever
- his friend and vassal, lived many years thereafter with his worthy lady,
- acquitting himself yet more courteously than of yore. Such, then, was the
- end of the troubles of Messer Torello and his dear lady, and such the
- reward of their cheerful and ready courtesies.
- Now some there are that strive to do offices of courtesy, and have the
- means, but do them with so ill a grace, that, ere they are done, they
- have in effect sold them at a price above their worth: wherefore, if no
- reward ensue to them thereof, neither they nor other folk have cause to
- marvel.
- NOVEL X.
- --
- The Marquis of Saluzzo, overborne by the entreaties of his vassals,
- consents to take a wife, but, being minded to please himself in the
- choice of her, takes a husbandman's daughter. He has two children by her,
- both of whom he makes her believe that he has put to death. Afterward,
- feigning to be tired of her, and to have taken another wife, he turns her
- out of doors in her shift, and brings his daughter into the house in
- guise of his bride; but, finding her patient under it all, he brings her
- home again, and shews her her children, now grown up, and honours her,
- and causes her to be honoured, as Marchioness.
- --
- Ended the king's long story, with which all seemed to be very well
- pleased, quoth Dioneo with a laugh:--"The good man that looked that night
- to cause the bogey's tail to droop, would scarce have contributed two
- pennyworth of all the praise you bestow on Messer Torello:" then, witting
- that it now only remained for him to tell, thus he began:--Gentle my
- ladies, this day, meseems, is dedicate to Kings and Soldans and folk of
- the like quality; wherefore, that I stray not too far from you, I am
- minded to tell you somewhat of a Marquis; certes, nought magnificent, but
- a piece of mad folly, albeit there came good thereof to him in the end.
- The which I counsel none to copy, for that great pity 'twas that it
- turned out well with him.
- There was in olden days a certain Marquis of Saluzzo, Gualtieri by name,
- a young man, but head of the house, who, having neither wife nor child,
- passed his time in nought else but in hawking and hunting, and of taking
- a wife and begetting children had no thought; wherein he should have been
- accounted very wise: but his vassals, brooking it ill, did oftentimes
- entreat him to take a wife, that he might not die without an heir, and
- they be left without a lord; offering to find him one of such a pattern,
- and of such parentage, that he might marry with good hope, and be well
- content with the sequel. To whom:--"My friends," replied Gualtieri, "you
- enforce me to that which I had resolved never to do, seeing how hard it
- is to find a wife, whose ways accord well with one's own, and how
- plentiful is the supply of such as run counter thereto, and how grievous
- a life he leads who chances upon a lady that matches ill with him. And to
- say that you think to know the daughters by the qualities of their
- fathers and mothers, and thereby--so you would argue--to provide me with
- a wife to my liking, is but folly; for I wot not how you may penetrate
- the secrets of their mothers so as to know their fathers; and granted
- that you do know them, daughters oftentimes resemble neither of their
- parents. However, as you are minded to rivet these fetters upon me, I am
- content that so it be; and that I may have no cause to reproach any but
- myself, should it turn out ill, I am resolved that my wife shall be of my
- own choosing; but of this rest assured, that, no matter whom I choose, if
- she receive not from you the honour due to a lady, you shall prove to
- your great cost, how sorely I resent being thus constrained by your
- importunity to take a wife against my will."
- The worthy men replied that they were well content, so only he would
- marry without more ado. And Gualtieri, who had long noted with approval
- the mien of a poor girl that dwelt on a farm hard by his house, and found
- her fair enough, deemed that with her he might pass a tolerably happy
- life. Wherefore he sought no further, but forthwith resolved to marry
- her; and having sent for her father, who was a very poor man, he
- contracted with him to take her to wife. Which done, Gualtieri assembled
- all the friends he had in those parts, and:--"My friends," quoth he, "you
- were and are minded that I should take a wife, and rather to comply with
- your wishes, than for any desire that I had to marry, I have made up my
- mind to do so. You remember the promise you gave me, to wit, that,
- whomsoever I should take, you would pay her the honour due to a lady.
- Which promise I now require you to keep, the time being come when I am to
- keep mine. I have found hard by here a maiden after mine own heart, whom
- I purpose to take to wife, and to bring hither to my house in the course
- of a few days. Wherefore bethink you, how you may make the nuptial feast
- splendid, and welcome her with all honour; that I may confess myself
- satisfied with your observance of your promise, as you will be with my
- observance of mine." The worthy men, one and all, answered with alacrity
- that they were well content, and that, whoever she might be, they would
- entreat her as a lady, and pay her all due honour as such. After which,
- they all addressed them to make goodly and grand and gladsome celebration
- of the event, as did also Gualtieri. He arranged for a wedding most
- stately and fair, and bade thereto a goodly number of his friends and
- kinsfolk, and great gentlemen, and others, of the neighbourhood; and
- therewithal he caused many a fine and costly robe to be cut and fashioned
- to the figure of a girl who seemed to him of the like proportions as the
- girl that he purposed to wed; and laid in store, besides, of girdles and
- rings, with a costly and beautiful crown, and all the other paraphernalia
- of a bride.
- The day that he had appointed for the wedding being come, about half
- tierce he got him to horse with as many as had come to do him honour, and
- having made all needful dispositions:--"Gentlemen," quoth he, "'tis time
- to go bring home the bride." And so away he rode with his company to the
- village; where, being come to the house of the girl's father, they found
- her returning from the spring with a bucket of water, making all the
- haste she could, that she might afterwards go with the other women to see
- Gualtieri's bride come by. Whom Gualtieri no sooner saw, than he called
- her by her name, to wit, Griselda, and asked her where her father was. To
- whom she modestly made answer:--"My lord, he is in the house." Whereupon
- Gualtieri dismounted, and having bidden the rest await him without,
- entered the cottage alone; and meeting her father, whose name was
- Giannucolo:--"I am come," quoth he, "to wed Griselda, but first of all
- there are some matters I would learn from her own lips in thy presence."
- He then asked her, whether, if he took her to wife, she would study to
- comply with his wishes, and be not wroth, no matter what he might say or
- do, and be obedient, with not a few other questions of a like sort: to
- all which she answered, ay. Whereupon Gualtieri took her by the hand, led
- her forth, and before the eyes of all his company, and as many other folk
- as were there, caused her to strip naked, and let bring the garments that
- he had had fashioned for her, and had her forthwith arrayed therein, and
- upon her unkempt head let set a crown; and then, while all
- wondered:--"Gentlemen," quoth he, "this is she whom I purpose to make my
- wife, so she be minded to have me for husband." Then, she standing
- abashed and astonied, he turned to her, saying:--"Griselda, wilt thou
- have me for thy husband?" To whom:--"Ay, my lord," answered she. "And I
- will have thee to wife," said he, and married her before them all. And
- having set her upon a palfrey, he brought her home with pomp.
- The wedding was fair and stately, and had he married a daughter of the
- King of France, the feast could not have been more splendid. It seemed as
- if, with the change of her garb, the bride had acquired a new dignity of
- mind and mien. She was, as we have said, fair of form and feature; and
- therewithal she was now grown so engaging and gracious and debonair, that
- she shewed no longer as the shepherdess, and the daughter of Giannucolo,
- but as the daughter of some noble lord, insomuch that she caused as many
- as had known her before to marvel. Moreover, she was so obedient and
- devoted to her husband, that he deemed himself the happiest and luckiest
- man in the world. And likewise so gracious and kindly was she to her
- husband's vassals, that there was none of them but loved her more dearly
- than himself, and was zealous to do her honour, and prayed for her
- welfare and prosperity and aggrandisement, and instead of, as erstwhile,
- saying that Gualtieri had done foolishly to take her to wife, now averred
- that he had not his like in the world for wisdom and discernment, for
- that, save to him, her noble qualities would ever have remained hidden
- under her sorry apparel and the garb of the peasant girl. And in short
- she so comported herself as in no long time to bring it to pass that, not
- only in the marquisate, but far and wide besides, her virtues and her
- admirable conversation were matter of common talk, and, if aught had been
- said to the disadvantage of her husband, when he married her, the
- judgment was now altogether to the contrary effect.
- She had not been long with Gualtieri before she conceived; and in due
- time she was delivered of a girl; whereat Gualtieri made great cheer.
- But, soon after, a strange humour took possession of him, to wit, to put
- her patience to the proof by prolonged and intolerable hard usage;
- wherefore he began by afflicting her with his gibes, putting on a vexed
- air, and telling her that his vassals were most sorely dissatisfied with
- her by reason of her base condition, and all the more so since they saw
- that she was a mother, and that they did nought but most ruefully murmur
- at the birth of a daughter. Whereto Griselda, without the least change of
- countenance or sign of discomposure, made answer:--"My lord, do with me
- as thou mayst deem best for thine own honour and comfort, for well I wot
- that I am of less account than they, and unworthy of this honourable
- estate to which of thy courtesy thou hast advanced me." By which answer
- Gualtieri was well pleased, witting that she was in no degree puffed up
- with pride by his, or any other's, honourable entreatment of her. A while
- afterwards, having in general terms given his wife to understand that the
- vassals could not endure her daughter, he sent her a message by a
- servant. So the servant came, and:--"Madam," quoth he with a most
- dolorous mien, "so I value my life, I must needs do my lord's bidding. He
- has bidden me take your daughter and..." He said no more, but the lady by
- what she heard, and read in his face, and remembered of her husband's
- words, understood that he was bidden to put the child to death. Whereupon
- she presently took the child from the cradle, and having kissed and
- blessed her, albeit she was very sore at heart, she changed not
- countenance, but placed it in the servant's arms, saying:--"See that thou
- leave nought undone that my lord and thine has charged thee to do, but
- leave her not so that the beasts and the birds devour her, unless he have
- so bidden thee." So the servant took the child, and told Gualtieri what
- the lady had said; and Gualtieri, marvelling at her constancy, sent him
- with the child to Bologna, to one of his kinswomen, whom he besought to
- rear and educate the child with all care, but never to let it be known
- whose child she was.
- Soon after it befell that the lady again conceived, and in due time was
- delivered of a son, whereat Gualtieri was overjoyed. But, not content
- with what he had done, he now even more poignantly afflicted the lady;
- and one day with a ruffled mien:--"Wife," quoth he, "since thou gavest
- birth to this boy, I may on no wise live in peace with my vassals, so
- bitterly do they reproach me that a grandson of Giannucolo is to succeed
- me as their lord; and therefore I fear that, so I be not minded to be
- sent a packing hence, I must even do herein as I did before, and in the
- end put thee away, and take another wife." The lady heard him patiently,
- and answered only:--"My lord, study how thou mayst content thee and best
- please thyself, and waste no thought upon me, for there is nought I
- desire save in so far as I know that 'tis thy pleasure." Not many days
- after, Gualtieri, in like manner as he had sent for the daughter, sent
- for the son, and having made a shew of putting him to death, provided for
- his, as for the girl's, nurture at Bologna. Whereat the lady shewed no
- more discomposure of countenance or speech than at the loss of her
- daughter: which Gualtieri found passing strange, and inly affirmed that
- there was never another woman in the world that would have so done. And
- but that he had marked that she was most tenderly affectionate towards
- her children, while 'twas well pleasing to him, he had supposed that she
- was tired of them, whereas he knew that 'twas of her discretion that she
- so did. His vassals, who believed that he had put the children to death,
- held him mightily to blame for his cruelty, and felt the utmost
- compassion for the lady. She, however, said never aught to the ladies
- that condoled with her on the death of her children, but that the
- pleasure of him that had begotten them was her pleasure likewise.
- Years not a few had passed since the girl's birth, when Gualtieri at
- length deemed the time come to put his wife's patience to the final
- proof. Accordingly, in the presence of a great company of his vassals he
- declared that on no wise might he longer brook to have Griselda to wife,
- that he confessed that in taking her he had done a sorry thing and the
- act of a stripling, and that he therefore meant to do what he could to
- procure the Pope's dispensation to put Griselda away, and take another
- wife: for which cause being much upbraided by many worthy men, he made no
- other answer but only that needs must it so be. Whereof the lady being
- apprised, and now deeming that she must look to go back to her father's
- house, and perchance tend the sheep, as she had aforetime, and see him,
- to whom she was utterly devoted, engrossed by another woman, did inly
- bewail herself right sorely: but still with the same composed mien with
- which she had borne Fortune's former buffets, she set herself to endure
- this last outrage. Nor was it long before Gualtieri by counterfeit
- letters, which he caused to be sent to him from Rome, made his vassals
- believe that the Pope had thereby given him a dispensation to put
- Griselda away, and take another wife. Wherefore, having caused her to be
- brought before him, he said to her in the presence of not a few:--"Wife,
- by license granted me by the Pope, I am now free to put thee away, and
- take another wife; and, for that my forbears have always been great
- gentlemen and lords of these parts, whereas thine have ever been
- husbandmen, I purpose that thou go back to Giannucolo's house with the
- dowry that thou broughtest me; whereupon I shall bring home a lady that I
- have found, and who is meet to be my wife."
- 'Twas not without travail most grievous that the lady, as she heard this
- announcement, got the better of her woman's nature, and suppressing her
- tears, made answer:--"My lord, I ever knew that my low degree was on no
- wise congruous with your nobility, and acknowledged that the rank I had
- with you was of your and God's bestowal, nor did I ever make as if it
- were mine by gift, or so esteem it, but still accounted it as a loan.
- 'Tis your pleasure to recall it, and therefore it should be, and is, my
- pleasure to render it up to you. So, here is your ring, with which you
- espoused me; take it back. You bid me take with me the dowry that I
- brought you; which to do will require neither paymaster on your part nor
- purse nor packhorse on mine; for I am not unmindful that naked was I when
- you first had me. And if you deem it seemly that that body in which I
- have borne children, by you begotten, be beheld of all, naked will I
- depart; but yet, I pray you, be pleased, in guerdon of the virginity that
- I brought you and take not away, to suffer me to bear hence upon my back
- a single shift--I crave no more--besides my dowry." There was nought of
- which Gualtieri was so fain as to weep; but yet, setting his face as a
- flint, he made answer:--"I allow thee a shift to thy back; so get thee
- hence." All that stood by besought him to give her a robe, that she, who
- had been his wife for thirteen years and more, might not be seen to quit
- his house in so sorry and shameful a plight, having nought on her but a
- shift. But their entreaties went for nothing: the lady in her shift, and
- barefoot and bareheaded, having bade them adieu, departed the house, and
- went back to her father amid the tears and lamentations of all that saw
- her. Giannucolo, who had ever deemed it a thing incredible that Gualtieri
- should keep his daughter to wife, and had looked for this to happen every
- day, and had kept the clothes that she had put off on the morning that
- Gualtieri had wedded her, now brought them to her; and she, having
- resumed them, applied herself to the petty drudgery of her father's
- house, as she had been wont, enduring with fortitude this cruel
- visitation of adverse Fortune.
- Now no sooner had Gualtieri dismissed Griselda, than he gave his vassals
- to understand that he had taken to wife a daughter of one of the Counts
- of Panago. He accordingly made great preparations as for the nuptials,
- during which he sent for Griselda. To whom, being come, quoth he:--"I am
- bringing hither my new bride, and in this her first home-coming I purpose
- to shew her honour; and thou knowest that women I have none in the house
- that know how to set chambers in due order, or attend to the many other
- matters that so joyful an event requires; wherefore do thou, that
- understandest these things better than another, see to all that needs be
- done, and bid hither such ladies as thou mayst see fit, and receive them,
- as if thou wert the lady of the house, and then, when the nuptials are
- ended, thou mayst go back to thy cottage." Albeit each of these words
- pierced Griselda's heart like a knife, for that, in resigning her good
- fortune, she had not been able to renounce the love she bore Gualtieri,
- nevertheless:--"My lord," she made answer, "I am ready and prompt to do
- your pleasure." And so, clad in her sorry garments of coarse romagnole,
- she entered the house, which, but a little before, she had quitted in her
- shift, and addressed her to sweep the chambers, and arrange arras and
- cushions in the halls, and make ready the kitchen, and set her hand to
- everything, as if she had been a paltry serving-wench: nor did she rest
- until she had brought all into such meet and seemly trim as the occasion
- demanded. This done, she invited in Gualtieri's name all the ladies of
- those parts to be present at his nuptials, and awaited the event. The day
- being come, still wearing her sorry weeds, but in heart and soul and mien
- the lady, she received the ladies as they came, and gave each a gladsome
- greeting.
- Now Gualtieri, as we said, had caused his children to be carefully
- nurtured and brought up by a kinswoman of his at Bologna, which kinswoman
- was married into the family of the Counts of Panago; and, the girl being
- now twelve years old, and the loveliest creature that ever was seen, and
- the boy being about six years old, he had sent word to his kinswoman's
- husband at Bologna, praying him to be pleased to come with this girl and
- boy of his to Saluzzo, and to see that he brought a goodly and honourable
- company with him, and to give all to understand that he brought the girl
- to him to wife, and on no wise to disclose to any, who she really was.
- The gentleman did as the Marquis bade him, and within a few days of his
- setting forth arrived at Saluzzo about breakfast-time with the girl, and
- her brother, and a noble company, and found all the folk of those parts,
- and much people besides, gathered there in expectation of Gualtieri's new
- bride. Who, being received by the ladies, was no sooner come into the
- hall, where the tables were set, than Griselda advanced to meet her,
- saying with hearty cheer:--"Welcome, my lady." So the ladies, who had
- with much instance, but in vain, besought Gualtieri, either to let
- Griselda keep in another room, or at any rate to furnish her with one of
- the robes that had been hers, that she might not present herself in such
- a sorry guise before the strangers, sate down to table; and the service
- being begun, the eyes of all were set on the girl, and every one said
- that Gualtieri had made a good exchange, and Griselda joined with the
- rest in greatly commending her, and also her little brother. And now
- Gualtieri, sated at last with all that he had seen of his wife's
- patience, marking that this new and strange turn made not the least
- alteration in her demeanour, and being well assured that 'twas not due to
- apathy, for he knew her to be of excellent understanding, deemed it time
- to relieve her of the suffering which he judged her to dissemble under a
- resolute front; and so, having called her to him in presence of them all,
- he said with a smile:--"And what thinkst thou of our bride?" "My lord,"
- replied Griselda, "I think mighty well of her; and if she be but as
- discreet as she is fair--and so I deem her--I make no doubt but you may
- reckon to lead with her a life of incomparable felicity; but with all
- earnestness I entreat you, that you spare her those tribulations which
- you did once inflict upon another that was yours, for I scarce think she
- would be able to bear them, as well because she is younger, as for that
- she has been delicately nurtured, whereas that other had known no respite
- of hardship since she was but a little child." Marking that she made no
- doubt but that the girl was to be his wife, and yet spoke never a whit
- the less sweetly, Gualtieri caused her to sit down beside him,
- and:--"Griselda," said he, "'tis now time that thou see the reward of thy
- long patience, and that those, who have deemed me cruel and unjust and
- insensate, should know that what I did was done of purpose aforethought,
- for that I was minded to give both thee and them a lesson, that thou
- mightst learn to be a wife, and they in like manner might learn how to
- take and keep a wife, and that I might beget me perpetual peace with thee
- for the rest of my life; whereof being in great fear, when I came to take
- a wife, lest I should be disappointed, I therefore, to put the matter to
- the proof, did, and how sorely thou knowest, harass and afflict thee. And
- since I never knew thee either by deed or by word to deviate from my
- will, I now, deeming myself to have of thee that assurance of happiness
- which I desired, am minded to restore to thee at once all that, step by
- step, I took from thee, and by extremity of joy to compensate the
- tribulations that I inflicted on thee. Receive, then, this girl, whom
- thou supposest to be my bride, and her brother, with glad heart, as thy
- children and mine. These are they, whom by thee and many another it has
- long been supposed that I did ruthlessly to death, and I am thy husband,
- that loves thee more dearly than aught else, deeming that other there is
- none that has the like good cause to be well content with his wife."
- Which said, he embraced and kissed her; and then, while she wept for joy,
- they rose and hied them there where sate the daughter, all astonied to
- hear the news, whom, as also her brother, they tenderly embraced, and
- explained to them, and many others that stood by, the whole mystery.
- Whereat the ladies, transported with delight, rose from table and betook
- them with Griselda to a chamber, and, with better omen, divested her of
- her sorry garb, and arrayed her in one of her own robes of state; and so,
- in guise of a lady (howbeit in her rags she had shewed as no less) they
- led her back into the hall. Wondrous was the cheer which there they made
- with the children; and, all overjoyed at the event, they revelled and
- made merry amain, and prolonged the festivities for several days; and
- very discreet they pronounced Gualtieri, albeit they censured as
- intolerably harsh the probation to which he had subjected Griselda, and
- most discreet beyond all compare they accounted Griselda.
- Some days after, the Count of Panago returned to Bologna, and Gualtieri
- took Giannucolo from his husbandry, and established him in honour as his
- father-in-law, wherein to his great solace he lived for the rest of his
- days. Gualtieri himself, having mated his daughter with a husband of high
- degree, lived long and happily thereafter with Griselda, to whom he ever
- paid all honour.
- Now what shall we say in this case but that even into the cots of the
- poor the heavens let fall at times spirits divine, as into the palaces of
- kings souls that are fitter to tend hogs than to exercise lordship over
- men? Who but Griselda had been able, with a countenance not only
- tearless, but cheerful, to endure the hard and unheard-of trials to which
- Gualtieri subjected her? Who perhaps might have deemed himself to have
- made no bad investment, had he chanced upon one, who, having been turned
- out of his house in her shift, had found means so to dust the pelisse of
- another as to get herself thereby a fine robe.
- So ended Dioneo's story, whereof the ladies, diversely inclining, one to
- censure where another found matter for commendation, had discoursed not a
- little, when the king, having glanced at the sky, and marked that the sun
- was now low, insomuch that 'twas nigh the vesper hour, still keeping his
- seat, thus began:--"Exquisite my ladies, as, methinks, you wot, 'tis not
- only in minding them of the past and apprehending the present that the
- wit of mortals consists; but by one means or the other to be able to
- foresee the future is by the sages accounted the height of wisdom. Now,
- to-morrow, as you know, 'twill be fifteen days since, in quest of
- recreation and for the conservation of our health and life, we, shunning
- the dismal and dolorous and afflicting spectacles that have ceased not in
- our city since this season of pestilence began, took our departure from
- Florence. Wherein, to my thinking, we have done nought that was not
- seemly; for, if I have duly used my powers of observation, albeit some
- gay stories, and of a kind to stimulate concupiscence, have here been
- told, and we have daily known no lack of dainty dishes and good wine, nor
- yet of music and song, things, one and all, apt to incite weak minds to
- that which is not seemly, neither on your part, nor on ours, have I
- marked deed or word, or aught of any kind, that called for reprehension;
- but, by what I have seen and heard, seemliness and the sweet intimacy of
- brothers and sisters have ever reigned among us. Which, assuredly, for
- the honour and advantage which you and I have had thereof, is most
- grateful to me. Wherefore, lest too long continuance in this way of life
- might beget some occasion of weariness, and that no man may be able to
- misconstrue our too long abidance here, and as we have all of us had our
- day's share of the honour which still remains in me, I should deem it
- meet, so you be of like mind, that we now go back whence we came: and
- that the rather that our company, the bruit whereof has already reached
- divers others that are in our neighbourhood, might be so increased that
- all our pleasure would be destroyed. And so, if my counsel meet with your
- approval, I will keep the crown I have received of you until our
- departure, which, I purpose, shall be tomorrow morning. Should you decide
- otherwise, I have already determined whom to crown for the ensuing day."
- Much debate ensued among the ladies and young men; but in the end they
- approved the king's proposal as expedient and seemly; and resolved to do
- even as he had said. The king therefore summoned the seneschal; and
- having conferred with him of the order he was to observe on the morrow,
- he dismissed the company until supper-time. So, the king being risen, the
- ladies and the rest likewise rose, and betook them, as they were wont, to
- their several diversions. Supper-time being come, they supped with
- exceeding great delight. Which done, they addressed them to song and
- music and dancing; and, while Lauretta was leading a dance, the king bade
- Fiammetta give them a song; whereupon Fiammetta right debonairly sang on
- this wise:--
- So came but Love, and brought no jealousy,
- So blithe, I wot, as I,
- Dame were there none, be she whoe'er she be.
- If youth's fresh, lusty pride
- May lady of her lover well content,
- Or valour's just renown,
- Hardihood, prowess tried,
- Wit, noble mien, discourse most excellent,
- And of all grace the crown;
- That she am I, who, fain for love to swoun,
- There where my hope doth lie
- These several virtues all conjoined do see.
- But, for that I less wise
- Than me no whit do other dames discern,
- Trembling with sore dismay,
- I still the worst surmise,
- Deeming their hearts with the same flame to burn
- That of mine maketh prey:
- Wherefore of him that is my hope's one stay
- Disconsolate I sigh,
- Yea mightily, and daily do me dree.
- If but my lord as true
- As worthy to be loved I might approve,
- I were not jealous then:
- But, for that charmer new
- Doth all too often gallant lure to love,
- Forsworn I hold all men,
- And sick at heart I am, of death full fain;
- Nor lady doth him eye,
- But I do quake, lest she him wrest from me.
- 'Fore God, then, let each she
- List to my prayer, nor e'er in my despite
- Such grievous wrong essay;
- For should there any be
- That by or speech or mien's allurements light
- Of him to rob me may
- Study or plot, I, witting, shall find way,
- My beauty it aby!
- To cause her sore lament such frenesie.
- As soon as Fiammetta had ended her song, Dioneo, who was beside her, said
- with a laugh:--"Madam, 'twould be a great courtesy on your part to do all
- ladies to wit, who he is, that he be not stolen from you in ignorance,
- seeing that you threaten such dire resentment." Several other songs
- followed; and it being then nigh upon midnight, all, as the king was
- pleased to order, betook them to rest. With the first light of the new
- day they rose, and, the seneschal having already conveyed thence all
- their chattels, they, following the lead of their discreet king, hied
- them back to Florence; and in Santa Maria Novella, whence they had set
- forth, the three young men took leave of the seven ladies, and departed
- to find other diversions elsewhere, while the ladies in due time repaired
- to their homes.
- THE AUTHOR'S EPILOGUE.
- Most noble damsels, for whose solace I addressed me to this long and
- toilsome task, meseems that, aided by the Divine grace, the bestowal
- whereof I impute to the efficacy of your pious prayers, and in no wise to
- merits of mine, I have now brought this work to the full and perfect
- consummation which in the outset thereof I promised you. Wherefore, it
- but remains for me to render, first to God, and then to you, my thanks,
- and so to give a rest to my pen and weary hand. But this I purpose not to
- allow them, until, briefly, as to questions tacitly mooted--for well
- assured I am that these stories have no especial privilege above any
- others, nay, I forget not that at the beginning of the Fourth Day I have
- made the same plain--I shall have answered certain trifling objections
- that one of you, maybe, or some other, might advance. Peradventure, then,
- some of you will be found to say that I have used excessive license in
- the writing of these stories, in that I have caused ladies at times to
- tell, and oftentimes to list, matters that, whether to tell or to list,
- do not well beseem virtuous women. The which I deny, for that there is
- none of these stories so unseemly, but that it may without offence be
- told by any one, if but seemly words be used; which rule, methinks, has
- here been very well observed. But assume we that 'tis even so (for with
- you I am not minded to engage in argument, witting that you would
- vanquish me), then, I say that for answer why I have so done, reasons
- many come very readily to hand. In the first place, if aught of the kind
- in any of these stories there be, 'twas but such as was demanded by the
- character of the stories, which let but any person of sound judgment scan
- with the eye of reason, and 'twill be abundantly manifest that, unless I
- had been minded to deform them, they could not have been otherwise
- recounted. And if, perchance, they do, after all, contain here and there
- a trifling indiscretion of speech, such as might ill sort with one of
- your precious prudes, who weigh words rather than deeds, and are more
- concerned to appear, than to be, good, I say that so to write was as
- permissible to me, as 'tis to men and women at large in their converse to
- make use of such terms as hole, and pin, and mortar, and pestle, and
- sausage, and polony, and plenty more besides of a like sort. And
- therewithal privilege no less should be allowed to my pen than to the
- pencil of the painter, who without incurring any, or at least any just,
- censure, not only will depict St. Michael smiting the serpent, or St.
- George the dragon, with sword or lance at his discretion; but male he
- paints us Christ, and female Eve, and His feet that for the salvation of
- our race willed to die upon the cross he fastens thereto, now with one,
- now with two nails.
- Moreover, 'tis patent to all that 'twas not in the Church, of matters
- whereto pertaining 'tis meet we speak with all purity of heart and
- seemliness of phrase, albeit among her histories there are to be found
- not a few that will ill compare with my writings; nor yet in the schools
- of the philosophers, where, as much as anywhere, seemliness is demanded,
- nor in any place where clergy or philosophers congregate, but in gardens,
- in pleasaunces, and among folk, young indeed, but not so young as to be
- seducible by stories, and at a time when, if so one might save one's
- life, the most sedate might without disgrace walk abroad with his
- breeches for headgear, that these stories were told. Which stories, such
- as they are, may, like all things else, be baneful or profitable
- according to the quality of the hearer. Who knows not that wine is, as
- Cinciglione and Scolaio(1) and many another aver, an excellent thing for
- the living creature, and yet noxious to the fevered patient? Are we, for
- the mischief it does to the fever-stricken, to say that 'tis a bad thing?
- Who knows not that fire is most serviceable, nay, necessary, to mortals?
- Are we to say that, because it burns houses and villages and cities, it
- is a bad thing? Arms, in like manner, are the safeguard of those that
- desire to live in peace, and also by them are men not seldom maliciously
- slain, albeit the malice is not in them, but in those that use them for a
- malicious purpose. Corrupt mind did never yet understand any word in a
- wholesome sense; and as such a mind has no profit of seemly words, so
- such as are scarce seemly may as little avail to contaminate a healthy
- mind as mud the radiance of the sun, or the deformities of earth the
- splendours of the heavens. What books, what words, what letters, are more
- sacred, more excellent, more venerable, than those of Holy Writ? And yet
- there have been not a few that, perversely construing them, have brought
- themselves and others to perdition. Everything is in itself good for
- somewhat, and being put to a bad purpose, may work manifold mischief. And
- so, I say, it is with my stories. If any man shall be minded to draw from
- them matters of evil tendency or consequence, they will not gainsay him,
- if, perchance, such matters there be in them, nor will such matters fail
- to be found in them, if they be wrested and distorted. Nor, if any shall
- seek profit and reward in them, will they deny him the same; and censured
- or accounted as less than profitable and seemly they can never be, if the
- times or the persons when and by whom they are read be such as when they
- were recounted. If any lady must needs say paternosters or make cakes or
- tarts for her holy father, let her leave them alone; there is none after
- whom they will run a begging to be read: howbeit, there are little
- matters that even the beguines tell, ay, and do, now and again.
- In like manner there will be some who will say that there are stories
- here which 'twere better far had been omitted. Granted; but 'twas neither
- in my power, nor did it behove me, to write any but such stories as were
- narrated; wherefore, 'twas for those by whom they were told to have a
- care that they were proper; in which case they would have been no less so
- as I wrote them. But, assuming that I not only wrote but invented the
- stories, as I did not, I say that I should take no shame to myself that
- they were not all proper; seeing that artist there is none to be found,
- save God, that does all things well and perfectly. And Charlemagne,
- albeit he created the Paladins, wist not how to make them in such numbers
- as to form an army of them alone. It must needs be that in the multitude
- of things there be found diversities of quality. No field was ever so
- well tilled but that here and there nettle, or thistle, or brier would be
- found in it amid the goodlier growths. Whereto I may add that, having to
- address me to young and unlearned ladies, as you for the most part are, I
- should have done foolishly, had I gone about searching and swinking to
- find matters very exquisite, and been sedulous to speak with great
- precision. However, whoso goes a reading among these stories, let him
- pass over those that vex him, and read those that please him. That none
- may be misled, each bears on its brow the epitome of that which it hides
- within its bosom.
- Again, I doubt not there will be such as will say that some of the
- stories are too long. To whom, once more, I answer, that whoso has aught
- else to do would be foolish to read them, albeit they were short. And
- though, now that I approach the end of my labours, 'tis long since I
- began to write, I am not, therefore, oblivious that 'twas to none but
- leisured ladies that I made proffer of my pains; nor can aught be long to
- him that reads but to pass the time, so only he thereby accomplish his
- purpose. Succinctness were rather to be desired by students, who are at
- pains not merely to pass, but usefully to employ, their time, than by
- you, who have as much time at your disposal as you spend not in amorous
- delights. Besides which, as none of you goes either to Athens, or to
- Bologna, or to Paris to study, 'tis meet that what is meant for you
- should be more diffuse than what is to be read by those whose minds have
- been refined by scholarly pursuits.
- Nor make I any doubt but there are yet others who will say that the said
- stories are too full of jests and merry conceits, and that it ill beseems
- a man of weight and gravity to have written on such wise. To these I am
- bound to render, and do render, my thanks, for that, prompted by
- well-meant zeal, they have so tender a regard to my reputation. But to
- that, which they urge against me, I reply after this sort:--That I am of
- weight I acknowledge, having been often weighed in my time; wherefore, in
- answer to the fair that have not weighed me, I affirm that I am not of
- gravity; on the contrary I am so light that I float on the surface of the
- water; and considering that the sermons which the friars make, when they
- would chide folk for their sins, are to-day, for the most part, full of
- jests and merry conceits, and drolleries, I deemed that the like stuff
- would not ill beseem my stories, written, as they were, to banish women's
- dumps. However, if thereby they should laugh too much, they may be
- readily cured thereof by the Lament of Jeremiah, the Passion of the
- Saviour, or the Complaint of the Magdalen.
- And who shall question but that yet others there are who will say that I
- have an evil tongue and venomous, because here and there I tell the truth
- about the friars? Now for them that so say there is forgiveness, for that
- 'tis not to be believed but that they have just cause; seeing that the
- friars are good folk, and eschew hardship for the love of God, and grind
- intermittently, and never blab; and, were they not all a trifle
- malodorous, intercourse with them would be much more agreeable.
- Nevertheless, I acknowledge that the things of this world have no
- stability, but are ever undergoing change; and this may have befallen my
- tongue, albeit, no great while ago, one of my fair neighbours--for in
- what pertains to myself I trust not my own judgment, but forgo it to the
- best of my power--told me 'twas the goodliest and sweetest tongue in the
- world; and in sooth, when this occurred, few of the said stories were yet
- to write; nor, for that those who so tax me do it despitefully, am I
- minded to vouchsafe them any further answer.
- So, then, be every lady at liberty to say and believe whatever she may
- think fit: but 'tis now time for me to bring these remarks to a close,
- with humble thanks to Him, by whose help and guidance I, after so long
- travail, have been brought to the desired goal. And may you, sweet my
- ladies, rest ever in His grace and peace; and be not unmindful of me, if,
- peradventure, any of you may, in any measure, have been profited by
- reading these stories.
- (1) Noted topers of the day.
- --
- Endeth here the tenth and last day of the book called Decameron,
- otherwise Prince Galeotto.
- --
- THE END.
- End of Project Gutenberg's The Decameron, Vol. II., by Giovanni Boccaccio
- *** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DECAMERON, VOL. II. ***
- ***** This file should be named 13102.txt or 13102.zip *****
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