THE TWO CAKES.
I have always heard say, that he who gives pleasure finds it: the bell of Manfredonia says, "Give me, I give thee:" he who does not bait the hook of the affections with courtesy, never catches the fish of kindness; and if you wish to hear the proof of this, listen to my story, and then say whether the covetous man does not always lose more than the liberal one.
There were once two sisters, named Luceta and Troccola, who had two daughters, Marziella and Puccia. Marziella was as fair to look upon as she was good at heart; whilst, on the contrary, Puccia by the same rule had a face of ugliness and a heart of pestilence; but the girl resembled her parent, for Troccola was a harpy within and a very scarecrow without.
Now it happened that Luceta had occasion to boil some parsnips, in order to fry them with green sauce; so she said to her daughter, "Marziella, my dear, go to the well and fetch me a pitcher of water."
"With all my heart, mother," replied the girl; "but if you love me give me a cake, for I should like to eat it with a draught of the fresh water."
"By all means," said her mother; so she took from a basket that hung upon a hook a beautiful cake (for she had baked a batch the day before), and gave it to Marziella, who set the pitcher on a pad upon her head, and went to the fountain, which like a charlatan upon a marble bench, to the music of the falling water, was selling secrets to drive away thirst. And as she was stooping down to fill her pitcher, up came an old woman, who upon the stage of a large hump represented the tragedy of Time; and seeing the beautiful cake, which Marziella was just going to bite, she said to her, "My pretty girl, give me a little piece of your cake, and may Heaven send you good fortune!"
Marziella, who was as generous as a queen, replied, "Take it all, my good woman, and I am only sorry that it is not made of sugar and almonds, for I would equally give it you with all my heart."
The old woman, seeing Marziella’s kindness, said to her, "Go, and may Heaven reward you for the goodness you have shown me! and I pray all the stars that you may ever be content and happy,—that when you breathe, roses and jessamines may fall from your mouth; that when you comb your locks, pearls and garnets may fall from them, and when you set your foot on the ground, lilies and violets may spring up."
Marziella thanked the old woman, and went her way home, where her mother having cooked a bit of supper, they paid the natural debt to the body, and thus ended the day. And the next morning, when the Sun displayed in the market-place of the celestial fields the merchandize of light which he had brought from the East, as Marziella was combing her hair, she saw a shower of pearls and garnets fall from it into her lap; whereupon calling her mother with great joy, they put them all into a basket, and Luceta went to sell a great part of them to a usurer, who was a friend of hers. Meanwhile Troccola came to see her sister, and finding Marziella in great delight and busied with the pearls, she asked her how, when and where she had gotten them. But the maiden, who did not understand the ways of the world[1], and had perhaps never heard the proverb, "Do not all you are able, eat not all you wish, spend not all you have, and tell not all you know," related the whole affair to her aunt, who no longer cared to await her sister’s return, for every hour seemed to her a thousand years until she got home again. Then giving a cake to her daughter, she sent her for water to the fountain, where Puccia found the same old woman. And when the old woman asked her for a little piece of cake, she answered gruffly, "Have I nothing to do forsooth but to give you cake? do you take me for such an ass as to give you what belongs to me? Look-ye, charity begins at home[2]." And so saying she swallowed the cake in four pieces, making the old woman's mouth water, who when she saw the last morsel disappear, and her hopes buried with the cake, exclaimed in a rage, "Begone! and whenever you breathe may you foam at the mouth like a doctor's mule, may toads drop from your lips, and every time you set foot to the ground may there spring up ferns and thistles!"
Puccia took the pitcher of water and returned home, where her mother was all impatience to hear what had befallen her at the fountain. But no sooner did Puccia open her lips, than a shower of toads fell from them; at the sight of which her mother added the fire of rage to the snow of envy, sending forth flame and smoke through nose and mouth.
Now it happened some time afterwards that Ciommo, the brother of Marziella, was at the court of the king of Chiunzo; and the conversation turning on the beauty of various women, he stepped forward unasked and said, that all the handsome women might hide their heads[3] when his sister made her appearance, who, beside the beauty of her form, which made counterpoint on the canto fermo of a noble soul, possessed also a wonderful virtue in her hair, mouth and feet, which was given to her by a fairy. When the king heard these praises, he told Ciommo to bring his sister to the court, adding that, if he found her such as he had represented, he would take her to wife.
Now Ciommo thought this a chance not to be lost; so he forthwith sent a messenger post-haste to his mother, telling her what had happened, and begging her to come instantly with her daughter, in order not to let slip the good luck. But Luceta, who was very unwell, commending the lamb to the wolf, begged her sister to have the kindness to accompany Marziella to the court of Chiunzo for such and such a thing. Whereupon Troccola, who saw that matters were playing into her hand, promised her sister to take Marziella safe and sound to her brother, and then embarked with her niece and Puccia in a boat. But when they were some way out at sea, whilst the sailors were asleep, she threw Marziella into the water; and just as the poor girl was on the point of being drowned, there came a most beautiful syren, who took her in her arms and carried her off.
When Troccola arrived at Chiunzo, Ciommo, who had not seen his sister for so long a time, mistook Puccia, and received her as if she were Marziella, and led her instantly to the king. But no sooner did she open her lips, than toads dropped on the ground; and when the king looked at her more closely, he saw, that as she breathed hard from the fatigue of the journey, she made a lather at her mouth, which looked just like a washtub; then looking down on the ground, he saw a meadow of stinking plants, the sight of which made him turn quite sick. Upon this he drove Puccia and her mother away, and sent Ciommo in disgrace to keep the geese of the court.
Then Ciommo, in despair and not knowing what had happened to him, drove the geese into the fields, and letting them go their way along the seashore, he used to retire into a little straw shed, where he bewailed his lot until evening, when it was time to return home. But whilst the geese were running about on the shore, Marziella would come out of the water, and feed them with sweetmeats, and give them rose-water to drink; so that the geese grew as big as a sheep, and were so fat that they could not see out of their eyes. And in the evening when they came into a little garden under the king's window, they began to sing—
"Pire, pire, pire!
The sun and the moon are bright and clear,
But she who feeds us is still more fair."
Now the king, hearing this goose-music every evening, ordered Ciommo to be called, and asked him where, and how, and upon what he fed his geese. And Ciommo replied, "I give them nothing to eat but the fresh grass of the field." But the king, who was not satisfied with this answer, sent a trusty servant after Ciommo, to watch and observe where he drove the geese. Then the man followed in his footsteps, and saw him go into the little straw shed, leaving the geese to themselves; and going their way, they had no sooner come to the shore than Marziella rose up out of the sea; and I do not believe that even the mother of that blind boy who, as the poet[4] says, "desires no other alms than tears," ever rose from the waves so fair. When the servant of the king saw this, he ran back to his master, beside himself with amazement, and told him the pretty spectacle he had seen upon the stage of the seashore.
The curiosity of the king was increased by what the man told him, and he had a great desire to go himself and see the beautiful sight. So the next morning, when the Cock, the ringleader of the birds, excites them all to arm mankind against the Night, and Ciommo went with the geese to the accustomed spot, the king followed him closely; and when the geese came to the seashore, without Ciommo, who remained as usual in the little shed, the king saw Marziella rise out of the water. And after giving the geese a trayfull of sweetmeats to eat and a cup-full of rose-water to drink, she seated herself on a rock and began to comb her locks, from which fell handfuls of pearls and garnets; at the same time a cloud of flowers dropped from her mouth, and under her feet was a Syrian carpet of lilies and violets.
When the king saw this sight, he ordered Ciommo to be called, and pointing to Marziella, asked him whether he knew that beautiful maiden. Then Ciommo recognizing his sister ran to embrace her, and in the presence of the king heard from her all the treacherous conduct of Troccola, and how the envy of that wicked creature had brought that fair fire of love to dwell in the waters of the sea.
The joy of the king is not to be told at the acquisition of so fair a jewel; and turning to the brother, he said that he had good reason to praise Marziella so much, and indeed that he found her three times more beautiful than he had described her; he deemed her therefore more than worthy to be his wife, if she would be content to receive the sceptre of his kingdom.
"Alas, would to Heaven it could be so!" answered Marziella, "and that I could serve you as the slave of your crown! but see you not this golden chain upon my foot, by which the sorceress holds me prisoner? When I take too much fresh air, and tarry too long on the shore, she draws me into the waves, and thus keeps me held in rich slavery by a golden chain."
"What way is there," said the king, "to free you from the claws of this syren?"
"The way," replied Marziella, "would be to cut this chain with a smooth file, and to loose me from it."
"Wait till tomorrow morning," answered the king; "I will then come with all that is needful, and take you home with me, where you shall be the pupil of my eye, the core of my heart, and the life of my soul."
And then exchanging a shake of the hands as the earnest-money of their love, she went back into the water and he into the fire,—and into such a fire indeed that he had not an hour's rest the whole day long. And when the black old hag of the Night came forth to have a country-dance with the Stars, he never closed an eye, but lay ruminating in his memory over the beauties of Marziella, discoursing in thought of the marvels of her hair, the miracles of her mouth, and the wonders of her feet; and applying the gold of her graces to the touchstone of judgement, he found that it was four-and-twenty carats fine. But he upbraided the Night for not leaving off her embroidery of the Stars, and chided the Sun for not arriving with the chariot of light, to enrich his house with the treasure he longed for,—a mine of gold which produced pearls, a pearl-shell from which sprang flowers.
But whilst he was thus at sea, thinking of her who was all the while in the sea, behold the pioneers of the Sun appeared, who smooth the road along which he has to pass with the army of his rays. Then the king dressed himself, and went with Ciommo to the seashore, where he found Marziella; and the king with his own hand cut the chain from the foot of the beloved object, with the file which they had brought, but all the while he forged a still stronger one for his heart; and setting her on the saddle behind him—she who was already fixed on the saddle of his heart—he set out for the royal palace, where by his command all the handsome ladies of the land were assembled, who received Marziella as their mistress with all due honour. Then the king married her, and there were great festivities; and among all the casks which were burnt for the illuminations, the king ordered that Troccola should be shut up in a tub, and made to suffer for the treachery she had shown to Marziella. Then sending for Luceta, he gave her and Ciommo enough to live upon like princes; whilst Puccia, driven out of the kingdom, wandered about as a beggar; and, as the reward of her not having sown a little bit of cake, she had now to suffer a constant want of bread; for it is the will of Heaven that
"He who shows no pity finds none."
The story of the two cakes was verily a cake stuffed full of plums, which all relished so much that they licked their fingers after it. But as Paola was ready to start with the relation of her story, the Prince's command was like a wolf's eye[5], which robbed every one of speech, and she began as follows.
1. Literally—'how to muddy water.'
2. So cchiù becino li diente che li pariente,—'the teeth are nearer than the kinsfolk.'
3. Literally—'might go and throw bones on the bridge.' This alludes to the Ponte della Maddelena, near Naples, behind which dead dogs and rubbish are thrown. The bridge is very large,—the stream under it (the Sebeto) very small: a Spaniard crossing it exclaimed, "O meno ponte, o più fiume!"
4. Scruttendio, an old poet, who was called the Neapolitan Petrarch.
5. The belief that a person who was seen by a wolf before seeing the animal himself, lost his sight, prevailed among the ancients: see remarks in Keightley’s Notes on Virgil, p. 126.
THE SEVEN DOVES.
He who gives pleasure meets with it: kindness is the bond of friendship and the hook of love: he who sows not reaps not; of which truth Ciulla has given you the foretaste of example, and I will give you the dessert, if you will bear in mind what Cato says, "Speak little at table." Therefore have the kindness to lend me your ears awhile; and may Heaven cause them to stretch continually, to listen to pleasant and amusing things.
There was once in the county of Arzano a good woman who every year gave birth to a son, until at length there were seven of them, who looked like a syrinx of the god Pan, with seven reeds, one larger than another. And when they had changed their first teeth, they said to Jannetella their mother, who was again in the family way, "Hark-ye, mother, if, after so many sons, you do not this time have a daughter, we are resolved to leave home, and go wandering through the world like the sons of the blackbirds."
When their mother heard this sad announcement, she prayed Heaven to remove such an intention from her sons, and prevent her losing seven such jewels as they were. And when the hour of the birth was at hand, the sons said to Jannetella, "We will retire to the top of yonder hill or rock opposite; if you give birth to a son, put an inkstand and a pen up at the window; but if you have a little girl, put up a spoon and a distaff. For if we see the signal of a daughter, we shall return home and spend the rest of our lives under your wings; but if we see the signal of a son, then forget us, for you may know that we have taken ourselves off[1]."
Soon after the sons had departed it pleased Heaven that Jannetella should bring forth a pretty little daughter; then she told the nurse to make the signal to the brothers, but the woman was so stupid and confused that she put up the inkstand and the pen. As soon as the seven brothers saw this signal, they set off, and walked on and on, until at the end of three years they came to a wood, where the trees were performing the sword-dance to the sound of a river which made counterpoint upon the stones. In this wood was the house of an ogre, whose eyes having been blinded whilst asleep by a woman, he was such an enemy to the sex that he devoured all whom he could catch.
When the youths arrived at the ogre's house, tired out with walking and exhausted with hunger, they begged him for pity's sake to give them a morsel of bread. And the ogre replied, that if they would serve him, he would give them food, and they would have nothing else to do but to watch over him, like a dog, each in turn for a day. The youths, upon hearing this, thought they had found mother and father; so they consented, and remained in the service of the ogre, who having gotten their names by heart, called one while Giangrazio, at another Cecchitiello, now Pascale, now Nuccio, now Pone, now Pezzillo, and now Carcavecchia, for so the brothers were named; and giving them a room in the lower part of his house, he allowed them enough to live upon.
Meanwhile their sister had grown up; and hearing that her seven brothers, owing to the stupidity of the nurse, had set out to walk through the world, and that no tidings of them had ever been received, she took it into her head to go in search of them. And she begged and prayed her mother so long, that at last, overcome by her entreaties, she gave her leave to go, and dressed her like a pilgrim. Then the maiden walked and walked, asking at every place she came to whether any one had seen seven brothers. And thus she journeyed on, until at length she got news of them at an inn, where having inquired the way to the wood, one morning, at the hour when the Sun with the penknife of his rays scratches out the inkspots made by Night upon the sheet of Heaven, she arrived at the ogre's house, where she was recognized by her brothers with great joy, who cursed the inkstand and pen for writing falsely such misfortune for them. Then giving her a thousand caresses, they told her to remain quiet in their chamber, that the ogre might not see her; bidding her at the same time give a portion of whatever she had to eat to a cat which was in the room, or otherwise she would do her some harm. Cianna (for so the sister was named) wrote down this advice in the pocket-book of her heart, and shared everything with the cat, like a good companion, always cutting justly, and saying, "This for me—this for thee,—this for the daughter of the king!" giving the cat a share to the last morsel.
Now it happened one day that the brothers, going to hunt, for the ogre, left Cianna a little basket of chick-peas to cook; and as she was picking them, by ill-luck she found among them a hazel-nut, which was the stone of disturbance to her quiet; for having swallowed it without giving half to the cat, the latter out of spite ran up to the hearth and put out the fire. Cianna seeing this, and not knowing what to do, left the room, contrary to the command of her brothers, and going into the ogre's chamber begged him for a little fire. Then the ogre, hearing a woman's voice, said, "Welcome, madam! wait awhile,—you have found what you are seeking." And so saying he took a Genoa stone, and daubing it with oil he fell to whetting his tusks. But Cianna, who saw the cart on a wrong track, seizing a lighted stick ran to her chamber; and bolting the door inside, she placed against it bars, stools, bedsteads, tables, stones, and everything there was in the room.
As soon as the ogre had put an edge on his teeth, he ran to the chamber of the brothers, and finding the door fastened, he fell to kicking it to break it open. At this noise and disturbance the seven brothers came home, and hearing themselves accused by the ogre of treachery for making their chamber the Benevento[2] of his women enemies, Giangrazio, who was the eldest and had more sense than the others, and saw matters going badly, said to the ogre, "We know nothing of this affair, and it may be that this wicked woman has perchance come into the room whilst we were at the chase; but as she has fortified herself inside, come with me, and I will take you to a place where we can seize her without her being able to defend herself."
Then they took the ogre by the hand, and led him to a deep deep pit, where giving him a push they sent him headlong to the bottom; and taking a shovel, which they found on the ground, they covered him with earth. Then they bade their sister unfasten the door, and they rated her soundly for the fault she had committed, and the danger in which she had placed herself; telling her to be more careful in future, and to beware of plucking grass upon the spot where the ogre was buried, or they would be turned into seven doves.
"Heaven keep me from bringing such a misfortune upon you!" replied Cianna. So taking possession of all the ogre's goods and chattels, and making themselves masters of the whole house, they lived there merrily enough, waiting until winter should pass away, and the Sun, on taking possession of the house of the Bull, give a present to the Earth of a green gown embroidered with flowers, when they might set out on their journey home.
Now it happened one day, when the brothers were gone to the mountains to get firewood, to defend themselves against the cold, which increased from day to day, that a poor pilgrim came to the ogre's wood, and made faces at an ape that was perched up in a pine-tree; whereupon the ape threw down one of the fir-apples from the tree upon the man's pate, which made such a terrible bump that the poor fellow set up a loud cry. Cianna hearing the noise went out, and taking pity on his disaster, she quickly plucked a sprig of rosemary from a tuft which grew upon the ogre's grave; then she made him a plaster of it with chewed bread and salt, and after giving the man some breakfast she sent him away.
Whilst Cianna was laying the cloth, and expecting her brothers, lo! she saw seven doves come flying, who said to her, "Ah! better that your hand had been cut off, you cause of all our misfortune, ere it plucked that accursed rosemary and brought such a calamity upon us! Have you eaten the brains of a cat, O sister, that you have driven our advice from your mind? Behold us turned to birds, a prey to the talons of kites, hawks and falcons! behold us made companions of water-hens, snipes, goldfinches, woodpeckers, jays, owls, magpies, jackdaws, rooks, starlings, woodcocks, cocks, hens and chickens, turkey-cocks, blackbirds, thrushes, chaffinches, tomtits, jenny-wrens, lapwings, linnets, green-finches, crossbills, flycatchers, larks, plovers, kingfishers, wagtails, redbreasts, redfinches, sparrows, ducks, fieldfares, woodpigeons and bullfinches! A rare thing you have done! and now we may return to our country to find nets laid and twigs limed for us! To heal the head of a pilgrim, you have broken the heads of seven brothers; nor is there any help for our misfortune, unless you find the Mother of Time, who will tell you the way to get us out of trouble."
Cianna, looking like a plucked quail at the fault she had committed, begged pardon of her brothers, and offered to go round the world until she should find the dwelling of the old woman. Then praying them not to stir from the house until she returned, lest any ill should betide them, she set out, and journeyed on and on without ever tiring; and though she went on foot, her desire to aid her brothers served her as a sumpter-mule, with which she made three miles an hour. At last she came to the seashore, where with the blows of the waves the sea was banging the rocks which would not repeat the Latin it gave them to do. Here she saw a huge whale, who said to her, "My pretty maiden, what go you seeking?" And she replied, "I am seeking the dwelling of the Mother of Time."—"Hear then what you must do," replied the whale: "go straight along this shore, and on coming to the first river, follow it up to its source, and you will meet with some one who will show you the way: but do me one kindness,—when you find the good old woman, beg of her the favour to tell me some means by which I may swim about safely, without so often knocking upon the rocks and being thrown on the sands."
"Trust to me," said Cianna: then thanking the whale for pointing out the way, she set off walking along the shore; and after a long journey she came to the river, which like a clerk of the treasury was disbursing silver money into the bank of the sea. Then taking the way up to its source, she arrived at a beautiful open country, where the meadow vied with the heaven, displaying her green mantle starred over with flowers; and there she met a mouse, who said to her, "Whither are you going thus alone, my pretty girl?" And Cianna replied, "I am seeking the Mother of Time."
"You have a long way to go," said the mouse; "but do not lose heart,—everything has an end: walk on therefore toward yon mountains, which like the free lords of these fields assume the title of Highness, and you will soon have more news of what you are seeking. But do me one favour,—when you arrive at the house you wish to find, get the good old woman to tell you what we can do to rid us of the tyranny of the cats; then command me, and I am your slave."
Cianna, after promising to do the mouse this kindness, set off toward the mountains, which, although they appeared to be close at hand, seemed never to be reached. But having come to them at length, she sat down tired out upon a stone; and there she saw an army of ants, carrying a large store of grain, one of whom turning to Cianna said, "Who art thou, and whither art thou going?" And Cianna, who was courteous to every one, said to her, "I am an unhappy girl, who for a matter that concerns me am seeking the dwelling of the Mother of Time."
"Go on further," replied the ant, "and where these mountains open into a large plain you will obtain more news. But do me a great favour,—get the secret from the old woman, what we ants can do to live a little longer; for it seems to me a folly in worldly affairs to be heaping up such a large store of food for so short a life, which, like an auctioneer's candle, goes out just at the best bidding of years[3]."
"Be at ease," said Cianna; "I will return the kindness you have shown me."
Then she passed the mountains and arrived at a wide plain; and proceeding a little way over it, she came to a large oak-tree,—a memorial of antiquity, whose fruit (a mouthful which Time gives to this bitter age of its lost sweetness[4]) tasted like sweetmeats to the maiden, who was satisfied with little. Then the oak, making lips of its bark and a tongue of its pith, said to Cianna, "Whither are you going so sad, my little daughter? come and rest under my shade." Cianna thanked him much, but excused herself, saying that she was going in haste to find the Mother of Time. And when the oak heard this he replied, "You are not far from her dwelling; for before you have gone another day's journey you will see upon a mountain a house, in which you will find her whom you seek. But if you have as much kindness as beauty, I prithee learn for me what I can do to regain my lost honour; for instead of being food for great men, I am now only made the food of hogs."
"Leave that to me," replied Cianna; "I will take care to serve you." So saying she departed, and walking on and on without ever resting, she came at length to the foot of an impertinent mountain, which was poking its head into the face of the clouds. There she found an old man, who wearied and wayworn had lain down upon some hay; and as soon as he saw Cianna, he knew her at once, and that it was she who had cured his bump.
When the old man heard what she was seeking, he told her that he was carrying to Time the rent for the piece of earth which he had cultivated, and that Time was a tyrant who usurped everything in the world, claiming tribute from all, and especially from people of his age; and he added, that having received kindness from Cianna, he would now return it a hundred-fold, by giving her some good information about her arrival at the mountain; and that he was sorry he could not accompany her thither, since his old-age, which was condemned rather to go down than up, obliged him to remain at the foot of those mountains, to cast up accounts with the clerks of Time, which are the labours, the sufferings and the infirmities of life, and to pay the debt of Nature. So the old man said to her, "Now, my pretty innocent child, listen to me: you must know that on the top of this mountain you will find a ruined house, which was built long ago time out of mind: the walls are cracked, the foundations crumbling away, the doors worm-eaten, the furniture all worn out, and in short everything is gone to wrack and ruin. On one side are seen shattered columns, on another broken statues, and nothing is left in a good state except a coat-of-arms over the door, quartered, on which you will see a serpent biting its tail, a stag, a raven, and a phœnix[5]. When you enter, you will see on the ground files, saws, scythes, sickles, pruning-hooks, and hundreds and hundreds of vessels full of ashes, with the names written on them, like gallipots in an apothecary's shop; and there may be read Corinth, Saguntum, Carthage, Troy, and a thousand other cities, the ashes of which Time preserves as trophies of his conquests.
When you come near the house, hide yourself until Time goes out; and as soon as he has gone forth, enter, and you will find an old, old woman, with a beard that touches the ground and a hump reaching to the sky: her hair, like the tail of a dapple-grey horse, covers her heels; her face looks like a plaited collar, with the folds stiffened by the starch of years. The old woman is seated upon a clock, which is fastened to a wall; and her eyebrows are so large that they overshadow her eyes, so that she will not be able to see you. As soon as you enter, quickly take the weights off the clock; then call to the old woman, and beg her to answer your questions; whereupon she will instantly call her son, to come and eat you up; but the clock upon which the old woman sits having lost its weights, her son cannot move, and she will therefore be obliged to tell you what you wish. But do not trust any oath she may make, unless she swear by the wings of her son: then give faith to her, and do what she tells you, and you will be content."
So saying, the poor old man fell down and crumbled away, like a dead body brought from a catacomb to the light of day. Then Cianna took the ashes, and mixing them with a pint of tears, she made a grave and buried them, praying Heaven to grant them quiet and repose. And ascending the mountain, till she was quite out of breath, she waited until Time came out, who was an old man with a long long beard, and who wore a very old cloak covered with slips of paper, on which were worked the names of various people: he had large wings, and ran so fast that he was out of sight in an instant.
When Cianna entered the house of his mother, she started with affright at the sight of that black old chip; and instantly seizing the weights of the clock, she told what she wanted to the old woman, who setting up a loud cry called to her son. But Cianna said to her, "You may butt your head against the wall as long as you like, for you will not see your son whilst I hold these clock-weights.
Thereupon the old woman, seeing herself foiled, began to coax Cianna, saying, "Let go of them, my dear, and do not stop my son's course; for no man living has ever done that. Let go of them, and may Heaven preserve you! for I promise you by the aquafortis of my son, with which he corrodes everything, that I will do you no harm."
"That's time lost," answered Cianna; "you must say something better if you would have me quit my hold."
"I swear to you by those teeth which gnaw all mortal things, that I will tell you all you desire."
"That is all nothing," answered Cianna; "for I know you are deceiving me."
"Well then," said the old woman, "I swear to you by those wings which fly over all, that I will give you more pleasure than you imagine."
Thereupon Cianna, letting go the weights, kissed the old woman's hand, which had a mouldy feel and a musty smell. And the old woman, seeing the courtesy of the damsel, said to her, "Hide yourself behind this door, and when Time comes home I will make him tell me all you wish to know. And as soon as he goes out again—for he never stays quiet in one place—you can depart. But do not let yourself be heard or seen, for he is such a glutton, that he does not spare even his own children; and when all fails, he devours himself, and then springs up anew."
Cianna did as the old woman told her, and lo! soon after Time came flying quick, quick, high and light, and having gnawed whatever came to hand, down to the very mouldiness upon the walls, he was about to depart, when his mother told him all she had heard from Cianna, beseeching him by the milk she had given him to answer exactly all her questions. After a thousand entreaties her son replied, "To the tree may be answered, that it can never be prized by men so long as it keeps treasures buried under its roots:—to the mice, that they will never be safe from the cat, unless they tie a bell to her leg, to tell them when she is coming:—to the ants, that they will live a hundred years, if they can dispense with flying; for when the ant is going to die she puts on wings:—to the whale, that it should be of good cheer, and make friends with the seamouse[6], who will serve him as a guide, so that he will never go wrong:—and to the doves, that when they alight on the column of wealth, they will return to their former state."
So saying, Time set out to run his accustomed post; and Cianna, taking leave of the old woman, descended to the foot of the mountain, just at the very time that the seven doves, who had followed their sister's footsteps, arrived there. Wearied with flying so far, they stopped to rest upon the horn of a dead ox; and no sooner had they alighted, than they were changed into handsome youths, as they were at first. But while they were marvelling at this, they heard the reply which Time had given, and saw at once that the horn, as the symbol of plenty, was the column of wealth of which Time had spoken. Then embracing their sister with great joy, they all set out on the same road by which Cianna had come. And when they came to the oak-tree, and told it what Cianna had heard from Time, the tree begged them to take away the treasure from its roots, since it was the cause why its acorns had lost their reputation. Thereupon the seven brothers, taking a spade which they found in a garden, dug and dug, until they came to a great heap of gold money, which they divided into eight parts, and shared among themselves and their sister, so that they might carry it away conveniently. But being wearied with the journey and the load, they laid themselves down to sleep under a hedge. Presently a band of robbers coming by, and seeing the poor fellows asleep, with their heads upon the cloths-full of dollars, bound them hand and foot to some trees, and took away the money, leaving them to bewail not only their wealth, which had slipped through their fingers as soon as found, but their life; for being without hope of succour, they were in peril of either soon dying of hunger or allaying the hunger of some wild beast.
As they were lamenting their unhappy lot, up came the mouse, who as soon as she heard the reply which Time had given, in return for the good service nibbled the cords with which they were bound and set them free. And having gone a little way further they met on the road the ant, who, when she heard the advice of Time, asked Cianna what was the matter, that she was so pale-faced and cast down. And when Cianna told her their misfortune, and the trick which the robbers had played them, the ant replied, "Be quiet, I can now requite the kindness you have done me. You must know, that whilst I was carrying a load of grain underground, I saw a place where these dogs of assassins hide their plunder; they have made some holes under an old building, in which they shut up all the things they have stolen; they are just now gone out for some new robbery, and I will go with you and show you the place, so that you may recover your money."
So saying she took the way toward some tumbled-down houses, and showed the seven brothers the mouth of a pit; whereupon Giangrazio, who was bolder than the rest, entering it, found there all the money of which they had been robbed. Then taking it with them, they set out, and walked towards the seashore, where they found the whale, and told him the good advice which Time—who is the father of counsel—had given them. And whilst they stood talking of their journey, and all that had befallen them, they saw the robbers suddenly appear, armed to the teeth, who had followed in their footsteps. At this sight they exclaimed, "Alas, alas! we are now wholly lost, for here come the robbers armed, and they will not leave the skin on our bodies!"
"Fear not," replied the whale; "for I can save you out of the fire, and will thus requite the love you have shown me: so get upon my back, and I will quickly carry you to a place of safety."
Cianna and her brothers, seeing the foe at their heels and the water up to their throat, climbed upon the whale, who, keeping far off from the rocks, carried them to within sight of Naples; but being afraid to land them on account of the shoals and shallows, he said, "Where would you like me to land you? on the shore of Amalfi?" And Giangrazio answered, "See whether that cannot be avoided, my dear fish; I do not wish to land at any place hereabouts; for at Massa they say barely good-day, at Sorriente thieves are plenty, at Vico they say you may go your way, at Castel-a-mare no one says how are-ye?"
Then the whale, to please them, turned about and went toward the Salt-rock, where he left them; and they got put on shore by the first fishing-boat that passed. Thereupon they returned to their own country, safe and sound and rich, to the great joy and consolation of their mother and father; and, thanks to the goodness of Cianna, they enjoyed a happy life, verifying the old saying,
"Do good whenever you can, and forget it."
If I had a throat a hundred yards long, a breast of brass, and a thousand tongues of steel, I should not be able to describe the pleasure that Paola's story gave, seeing that none of Cianna's good deeds went unrewarded; so that the dose of entreaties for Ciommetella to tell her story had to be increased, as she equally with the others had lost the courage to draw the chariot of the command of the Prince. But not being able to do less than obey, in order not to spoil the game, she began as follows.
1. Ca nce puoje mettere name penna—literally, 'for you may give us the name Wing.'
2. The famous walnut tree at Benevento is to the preaent day believed to be the great rendezrous of the witches: hence, in speaking ill of a woman, a common expression is, "She comes from Benevento."
3. See page 168, Note.
4. Alluding to the Golden Age, when man was said to live upon acorns.
5. Symbols of eternity, swiftness, great age, and resurrection.
6. Lo sorece marino—the Latin Musculus marinus, which Pliny says swam before the whale, and guided it from the shoals. See Nat. Hist. ix. 63.
THE RAVEN.
It is truly a great proverb,—"Rather a crooked sight than a crooked judgement;" but it is so difficult to adopt it, that the judgement of few men hits the nail on the head. On the contrary, in the sea of human affairs, the greater part are fishers in smooth waters, who catch crabs; and he who thinks to take the most exact measure of the object at which he aims, often shoots widest of the mark. The consequence of this is, that all are running pell-mell, all toiling in the dark, all thinking crookedly, all acting child's-play, all judging at random, and with a hap-hazard blow of a foolish resolution bringing upon themselves a bitter repentance; as was the case with the king of Shady-Grove; and you shall hear how it fared with him, if you summon me within the circle of modesty with the bell of courtesy, and give me a little attention.
It is said that there was once a king of Shady-Grove named Milluccio, who was so devoted to the chase, that he neglected the needful affairs of his state and household to follow the track of a hare or the flight of a thrush. And he pursued this road so far, that chance one day led him to a thicket, which had formed a solid square of earth and trees, to prevent the horses of the Sun from breaking through. There, upon a most beautiful marble stone, he found a raven, which had just been killed.
The king, seeing the bright red blood sprinkled upon the white white marble, heaved a deep sigh and exclaimed, "O heavens! and cannot I have a wife as white and red as this stone, and with hair and eyebrows as black as the feathers of this raven?" And he stood for awhile so buried in this thought, that he became a counterpart to the stone, and looked like a marble statue making love to the other marble. And this unhappy fancy fixing itself in his head, as he searched for it everywhere with the lanthorn of desire, it grew in four seconds from a picktooth to a pole, from a crab-apple to an Indian pumpkin, from a barber's embers to a glass furnace, and from a dwarf to a giant; insomuch that he thought of nothing else than the image of that object incrusted in his heart as stone to stone. Where-ever he turned his eyes, that form was always presented to him which he carried in his breast; and forgetting all besides, he had nothing but that marble in his head; in short he became in a manner so worn away upon the stone, that he was at last as thin as the edge of a penknife; and this marble was a millstone which crushed his life, a slab porphyry upon which the colours of his days were ground and mixed, a tinder-box which set fire to the brimstone match of his soul, a loadstone which attracted him, and lastly a rolling-stone which could never rest.
At length his brother Jennariello, seeing him so pale and half-dead, said to him, "My brother, what has happened to you, that you carry grief lodged in your eyes, and despair sitting under the pale banner of your face[1]? What has befallen you? Speak—open your heart to your brother: the smell of charcoal shut up in a chamber poisons people—powder pent up in a mountain blows it into the air; open your lips therefore, and tell me what is the matter with you; at all events be assured that I would lay down a thousand lives if I could to help you."
Then Milluccio, mingling words and sighs, thanked him for his love, saying that he had no doubt of his affection, but that there was no remedy for his ill, since it sprung from a stone, where he had sown desires without hope of fruit,—a stone from which he did not expect a mushroom of content,—a stone of Sisyphus, which he bore to the mountain of designs, and when it reached the top rolled over and over to the bottom. At length however, after a thousand entreaties, Milluccio told his brother all about his love; whereupon Jennariello comforted him as much as he could, and bade him be of good cheer, and not give way to an unhappy passion; for that he was resolved, in order to satisfy him, to go all the world over until he found a woman the counterpart of that stone.
Then instantly fitting out a large ship, filled with merchandize, and dressing himself like a merchant, he sailed for Venice, the wonder of Italy, the receptacle of virtuous men, the great book of the marvels of art and nature; and having procured there a safe-conduct to pass to the Levant, he set sail for Cairo. When he arrived there, and entered the city, he saw a man who was carrying a most beautiful falcon; and Jennariello at once purchased it, to take to his brother, who was a sportsman. Soon afterwards he met another man, with a splendid horse, which he also bought; whereupon he went to an inn, to refresh himself after the fatigues he had suffered at sea.
The following morning, when the army of the Stars at the command of the general of the Light, strikes the tents in the camp of the sky, and abandons the post, Jennariello set out to wander through the city, having his eyes about him like a lynx, looking at this woman and that, to see whether by chance he could find the likeness to a stone upon a face of flesh. And as he was wandering about at random, turning continually to this side and that, like a thief in fear of the constables, he met a beggar carrying an hospital of plasters and a Giudecca of rags[2] upon his back, who said to him, "My gallant sir, what makes you so frightened?"
"Have I forsooth to tell you my affairs?" answered Jennariello: "'faith I should do well to tell my reason to the constable."
"Softly, my fair youth!" replied the beggar, "for the flesh of man is not sold by weight: if Darius had not told his troubles to a groom, he would not have become king of Persia[3]. It will be no great matter therefore for you to tell your affairs to a poor beggar; for there is not a twig so slender but it may serve for a toothpick."
When Jennariello heard the poor man talking sensibly and with reason, he told him the cause that had brought him to that country; whereupon the beggar replied, "See now, my son, how necessary it is to make account of every one; for though I am only a heap of rubbish; yet I shall be able to enrich the garden of your hopes. Now listen,—under the pretext of begging alms, I will knock at the door of the young and beautiful daughter of a magician: then open your eyes wide, look at her, contemplate her, regard her, measure her from head to foot, for you will find the image of her whom your brother desires." So saying, he knocked at the door of a house close by, and Liviella opening it threw him a piece of bread.
As soon as Jennariello saw her, she seemed to him built after the model which Milluccio had given him: then he gave a good alms to the beggar, and sent him away, and going to the inn he dressed himself like a pedlar, carrying in two caskets all the wealth of the world. And thus he walked up and down before Liviella's house, crying his wares, until at length she called him, and took a view of the beautiful net-caps, hoods, ribbands, gauze, edgings, lace, handkerchiefs, collars, needles, cups of rouge, and head-gear fit for a queen, which he carried. And when she had examined all the things again and again, she told him to show her something else; and Jennariello answered, "My lady, in these caskets I have only cheap and paltry wares; but if you will deign to come to my ship, I will show you things of the other world, for I have there a host of beautiful goods worthy of any great lord."
Liviella, who was full of curiosity, not to belie the nature of her sex, replied, "If my father indeed were not out, he would have given me some money."
Nay, you can come all the better if he is out," replied Jennariello; "for perhaps he might not allow you the pleasure; and I'll promise to show you such splendid things as will make you rave—such necklaces and earrings, such bracelets and sashes, such workmanship in paper—in short I will perfectly astound you."
When Liviella heard of all this display of finery, she called a gossip of hers to accompany her, and went to the ship. But no sooner had she embarked, than Jennariello, whilst keeping her enchanted with the sight of all the beautiful things he had brought, craftily ordered the anchor to be weighed and the sails to be set; so that before Liviella raised her eyes from the wares and saw that she had left the land, they had already gone many miles. When at length she perceived the trick, she began to act Olympia[4] the reverse way; for whereas Olympia bewailed being left upon a rock, Liviella lamented leaving the rocks. But when Jennariello told her who he was, whither he was carrying her, and the good fortune that awaited her, and pictured to her moreover Milluccio's beauty, his valour, his virtues, and lastly the love with which he would receive her, he succeeded in pacifying her, and she even prayed the wind to bear her quickly to see the colouring of the design which Jennariello had drawn.
As they were sailing merrily along, they heard the waves grumbling beneath the ship; and although they spoke in an under tone, the captain of the ship, who understood in an instant what it meant, cried out, "All hands aboard! for here comes a storm, and Heaven save us!" No sooner had he spoken these words, than there came the testimony of a whistling of the wind; and behold the sky was overcast with clouds, and the sea was covered with white-crested waves. And whilst the waves on either side of the ship, curious to know what the others were about, leaped uninvited to the nuptials upon the deck, one man baled them with a bowl into a tub, another drove them off with a pump; and whilst every sailor was hard at work,—as it concerned his own safety,—one minding the rudder, another hauling the foresail, another the mainsheet, Jennariello ran up to the top-mast, to see with a telescope if he could discover any land where they might cast anchor. And lo! whilst he was measuring a hundred miles of distance with two feet of telescope, he saw a dove and its mate come flying up and alight upon the sailyard. Then the male bird said, "Rucche, rucche!" And his mate answered, "What's the matter, husband, that you are lamenting so?"—"This poor prince," replied the other, "has bought a falcon, which as soon as it shall be in his brother's hands will pick out his eyes; but if he does not take it him, or if he warns him of the danger, he will turn to marble." And thereupon he began again to cry, "Rucche, rucche!" And his mate said to him, "What, still lamenting! is there anything new?"—"Ay indeed," answered the male dove; "he has also bought a horse, and the first time his brother rides him the horse will break his neck; but if he does not take it him, or if he warns him of the danger, he will turn to marble. "Rucche, rucche!" he cried again. "Alas with all these Rucche, rucche" said the female dove; "what's the matter now?" And her mate said, "This man is taking a beautiful wife to his brother; but the first night, as soon as they go to sleep, they will both be devoured by a frightful dragon; yet if he does not take her to him, or if he warns him of the danger, he will turn to marble."
As he spoke, the tempest ceased, and the rage of the sea and the fury of the wind subsided; but a far greater tempest arose in Jennariello's breast, from what he had heard, and more than twenty times he was on the point of throwing all the things into the sea, in order not to carry to his brother the cause of his ruin. But on the other hand he thought of himself, and reflected that charity begins at home; and fearing that, if he did not carry these things to his brother, or if he warned him of the danger, he should turn to marble, he resolved to look rather to the nomen proprium than to the appellativum, since the shirt was closer to him than the jacket.
When he arrived at Shady-Grove, he found his brother on the shore, awaiting with great joy the return of the ship, which he had seen at a distance. And when he saw that it bore her whom he carried in his heart, and confronting one face with the other perceived that there was not the difference of a hair, his joy was so great that he was almost weighed down under the excessive burden of delight. Then embracing his brother fervently, he said to him, "What falcon is that you are carrying on your fist?" And Jennariello answered, "I have bought it on purpose to give it you."—"I see clearly that you love me," replied Milluccio, "since you go about seeking to give me pleasure; truly if you had brought me a costly treasure, it could not have given me greater delight than this falcon." And just as he was going to take it in his hand, Jennariello quickly drew a large knife which he carried at his side and cut off its head. At this deed the king stood aghast, and thought his brother mad to have done such a stupid act; but not to interrupt the joy at his arrival, he remained silent. Presently however he saw the horse, and on asking his brother whose it was, heard that it was his own; then he felt a great desire to ride him, and just as he was ordering the stirrup to be held, Jennariello quickly cut off the horse's legs with his knife. Thereat the king waxed wrath, for his brother seemed to have done it on purpose to vex him, and his choler began to rise; however he did not think it a right time to show resentment, lest he should poison the pleasure of the bride at the first sight, whom he could never gaze upon enough.
When they arrived at the royal palace, he invited all the lords and ladies of the city to a grand feast, at which the hall seemed just like a riding-school full of horses, curvetting and prancing, with a number of foals in the form of women. But when the ball was ended, and a great banquet had been despatched, they all retired to rest.
Jennariello, who thought of nothing else than to save his brother's life, hid himself behind the bed of the bridal pair; and as he stood watching to see the dragon come, behold at midnight a fierce dragon entered the chamber, who sent forth flames from his eyes and smoke from his mouth, and who, from the terror he carried in his look, would have been a good agent to sell all the antidotes to fear in the apothecaries' shops. As soon as Jennariello saw the monster, he began to lay about him right and left with a Damascus blade which he had hidden under his cloak, and he struck one blow so furiously that it cut in halves a post of the king's bed; at which noise the king awoke, and the dragon disappeared.
When Milluccio saw the sword in his brother's hand, and the bedpost cut in two, he set up a loud cry, "Help here! hola! help! this traitor of a brother is come to kill me!" Whereupon hearing the cries, a number of servants who slept in the antechamber came running up, and the king ordered Jennariello to be bound, and sent him the same hour to prison.
The next morning, as soon as the Sun opened his bank, to deliver the deposit of light to the creditors of the Day, the king summoned the council; and when he told them what had passed, confirming the wicked intention shown in killing the falcon and the horse, on purpose to vex him, they judged that Jennariello deserved to die. The prayers of Liviella were all unavailing to soften the heart of the king, who said, "You do not love me, wife; for you have more regard for your brother-in-law than for my life. You have seen with your own eyes this dog of an assassin come with a sword that would cut a hair in the air[5] to kill me; and if the bedpost (the column of my life) had not protected me, you would at this moment have been a widow." So saying he gave orders that justice should take its course.
When Jennariello heard this sentence, and saw himself so ill-rewarded for doing good, he knew not what to think or to do; if he said nothing, bad—if he spoke, worse; and whatever he should do was a fall from the tree into the wolf's mouth: if he remained silent, he should lose his head under an axe,—if he spoke, he should end his days in a stone. At length, after various resolutions, he made up his mind to disclose the matter to his brother; and since he must die at all events, he thought it better to tell his brother the truth, and to end his days with the title of an innocent man, than to keep the truth to himself and be sent out of the world as a traitor. So sending word to the king that he had something to say of importance to his state, he was led into his presence; where he first made a long preamble of the love he had always borne him; then he went on to tell of the deception he had practised on Liviella, in order to give him pleasure, and then what he had heard from the doves about the falcon, and how, to avoid being turned to marble, he had brought it him, and without revealing the secret had killed it, in order not to see him without eyes.
As he spoke, he felt his legs stiffen and turn to marble; and when he went on to relate the affair of the horse in the same manner, he became visibly stone up to the waist, stiffening miserably,—a thing which at another time he would have paid in ready money, but which now his heart wept at. At last, when he came to the affair of the dragon, he stood like a statue in the middle of the hall, stone from head to foot. When the king saw this, reproaching himself for the error he had committed and the rash sentence he had passed upon so good and loving a brother, he mourned him more than a year, and every time he thought of him he shed a river of tears.
Meanwhile Liviella gave birth to two sons, who were two of the most beautiful creatures in the world. And after a few months, when the queen was gone into the country for pleasure, and the father and his two little boys chanced to be standing in the middle of the hall, gazing with tearful eyes on the statue—the memorial of his folly, which had taken from him the flower of men,—behold a stately and venerable old man entered, whose long hair fell upon his shoulders and whose beard covered his breast. And making a reverence to the king, the old man said to him, "What would your Majesty give to have this noble brother return to his former state?" And the king answered, "I would give my kingdom." "Nay," replied the old man, "this is not a thing that requires payment in wealth, but being an affair of life it must be paid for with as much again of life."
Then the king, partly out of the love he bore Jennariello, and partly from hearing himself reproached with the injury he had done him, answered, "Believe me, my good sir, I would give my own life for his life; and provided that he came out of the stone, I should be content to be enclosed in a stone."
Hearing this the old man said, "Without putting your life to this risk,—since it takes so long to rear a man,—the blood of these your two little boys, smeared upon the marble, would suffice to make him instantly come to life." Then the king replied, "Children I may have again, but I have a brother, and another I can never more hope to see." So saying, he made a pitiable sacrifice of two little innocent kids before an idol of stone, and besmearing the statue with their blood, it instantly became alive; whereupon the king embraced his brother, and their joy is not to be told. Then they had those poor little creatures put into a coffin, in order to give them burial with all due honour; but just at that instant the queen returned home, and the king, bidding his brother hide himself, said to his wife, "What would you give, my heart, to have my brother restored to life?" "I would give this whole kingdom," replied Liviella. And the king answered, "Would you give the blood of your children?" "Nay, not that indeed," replied the queen; "for I could not be so cruel as to tear out with my own hands the apple of my eyes." "Alas!" said the king, "in order to see a brother alive, I have killed my own children! for this was the price of Jennariello's life."
So saying, he showed the queen the little boys in the coffin; and when she saw this sad spectacle, she cried aloud like one mad, saying, "O my children! you props of my life, joys of my heart, fountains of my blood! who has painted red the windows of the sun[6]? who has without a doctor's licence bled the chief vein of my life? Alas, my children, my children! my hope now taken from me, my light now darkened, my joy now poisoned, my support now lost! you are stabbed by the sword, I am pierced by grief; you are drowned in blood, I in tears. Alas that, to give life to an uncle, you have slain your mother! for I am no longer able to weave the thread of my days, without you, the fair counterpoises of the loom of my unhappy life. The organ of my voice must be silent, now that its bellows are taken away. O children, children, why do ye not give answer to your mother, who once gave you the blood in your veins, and now weeps it for you from her eyes? But since fate shows me the fountain of my happiness dried up, I will no longer live the sport of fortune in the world, but will go at once to find you again!"
So saying she ran to a window, to throw herself out; but just at that instant her father entered by the same window in a cloud, and called to her, "Stop, Liviella! I have now accomplished what I intended, and killed three birds with one stone[7]: I have revenged myself on Jennariello, who came to my house to rob me of my daughter, by making him stand all these months like a marble statue in a block of stone; I have punished you for your ill conduct in going away in a ship without my permission, by showing you your two children, your two jewels, killed by their own father; and I have punished the king for the caprice he took into his head, by making him first the judge of his brother, and afterwards the executioner of his children. But as I have wished only to shear and not to flay you, I desire now that all the poison may turn into sweetmeats for you. Therefore go, take again your children and my grandchildren, who are more beautiful than ever. And you, Milluccio, embrace me,—I receive you as my son-in-law and as my son; and I pardon Jennariello his offence, having done all that he did out of love to so excellent a brother."
As he spoke, the little children came, and the grandfather was never satisfied with embracing and kissing them; and in the midst of the rejoicings Jennariello entered, as a third sharer in them, who after suffering so many storms of fate was now swimming in maccaroni broth. But notwithstanding all the after pleasures that he enjoyed in life, his past dangers never went from his mind, and he was always thinking on the error his brother had committed, and how careful a man ought to be not to fall into the ditch, since
"All human judgement is false and perverse."
If Ciommetella had not quickly caused the magician to appear and throw water on the fire, the spirits of all present would have been exhausted out of pity for Liviella, for their breath already began to grow short; but in the consolation of poor Liviella they all found consolation themselves and were satisfied.
The stories set down in the list for this day being now finished, the Prince called Cicco Antuono and Narduccio, and ordered them to perform their part; then they came forth from a corner of the garden, with trencher-caps, black breeches with knee-ties, and slashed doublets with lace ruffles, and recited a pastoral dialogue.
It is impossible to say whether the beginning or the end of the beautiful banquet of this Day pleased the most; for if the one was relished greatly by all present, the other penetrated to the very tips of their fingers. And the Prince was in such delight that, to show himself generous and like a great lord, he called the master of the wardrobe, and commanded him to give the reciters of the dialogue the lining of an old cap which had belonged to his grandfather. But the Sun having been now called in haste to the other pole, to give succour to his dominions which were usurped by Darkness, they all rose from their seats and went their way home, after receiving the injunction to return on the morrow to the same spot.
1. An allusion to the Roman army.
2. The Giudecca is the Jewry, or quarter of the town inhabited by the Jews.
3. Herodotus, iii. 85.
4. Orlando Furioso, x. 19, &c.
5. The Irish say, "to cut wool upon water."
6. A red mark made upon a person's house used to be looked upon as the greatest insult.
7. Fatto no viaggio e ttre servixie.
No comments:
Post a Comment