The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio
wishing to have her to wife, caused demand her of her father, who
answered that he was poor and that therefore he would not give her to
him. The young man, enraged to see himself rejected for poverty, in
concert with certain of his friends and kinsmen, equipped a light ship
and swore never to return to Lipari, except rich. Accordingly, he
departed thence and turning corsair, fell to cruising off the coast of
Barbary and plundering all who were weaker than himself; wherein
fortune was favourable enough to him, had he known how to set bounds
to his wishes; but, it sufficing him not to have waxed very rich, he
and his comrades, in a brief space of time, it befell that, whilst
they sought to grow overrich, he was, after a long defence, taken and
plundered with all his companions by certain ships of the Saracens,
who, after scuttling the vessel and sacking the greater part of the
crew, carried Martuccio to Tunis, where he was put in prison and long
kept in misery.
[Footnote 268: Or "eminent" (_valoroso_), _i.e._ in modern parlance,
"a man of merit and talent."]
[Footnote 269: _Valoroso nel suo mestiere._ It does not appear that
Martuccio was a craftsman and it is possible, therefore, that
Boccaccio intended the word _mestiere_ to be taken in the sense (to me
unknown) of "condition" or "estate," in which case the passage would
read, "a man of worth for (_i.e._ as far as comported with) his [mean]
estate"; and this seems a probable reading.]
The news was brought to Lipari, not by one or by two, but by many and
divers persons, that he and all on board the bark had been drowned;
whereupon the girl, who had been beyond measure woebegone for her
lover's departure, hearing that he was dead with the others, wept sore
and resolved in herself to live no longer; but, her heart suffering
her not to slay herself by violence, she determined to give a new
occasion[270] to her death.[271] Accordingly, she issued secretly
forth of her father's house one night and betaking herself to the
harbour, happened upon a fishing smack, a little aloof from the other
ships, which, for that its owners had but then landed therefrom, she
found furnished with mast and sail and oars. In this she hastily
embarked and rowed herself out to sea; then, being somewhat skilled in
the mariner's art, as the women of that island mostly are, she made
sail and casting the oars and rudder adrift, committed herself
altogether to the mercy of the waves, conceiving that it must needs
happen that the wind would either overturn a boat without lading or
steersman or drive it upon some rock and break it up, whereby she
could not, even if she would, escape, but must of necessity be
drowned. Accordingly, wrapping her head in a mantle, she laid herself,
weeping, in the bottom of the boat.
[Footnote 270: Lit. necessity (_necessità_).]
[Footnote 271: _i.e._ to use a new (or strange) fashion of exposing
herself to an inevitable death (_nuova necessità dare alla sua
morte_).]
But it befell altogether otherwise than as she conceived, for that,
the wind being northerly and very light and there being well nigh no
sea, the boat rode it out in safety and brought her on the morrow,
about vespers, to a beach near a town called Susa, a good hundred
miles beyond Tunis. The girl, who, for aught that might happen, had
never lifted nor meant to lift her head, felt nothing of being ashore
more than at sea;[272] but, as chance would have it, there was on the
beach, whenas the bark struck upon it, a poor woman in act to take up
from the sun the nets of the fishermen her masters, who, seeing the
bark, marvelled how it should be left to strike full sail upon the
land. Thinking that the fishermen aboard were asleep, she went up to
the bark and seeing none therein but the damsel aforesaid, who slept
fast, called her many times and having at last aroused her and knowing
her by her habit for a Christian, asked her in Latin how she came
there in that bark all alone. The girl, hearing her speak Latin,
misdoubted her a shift of wind must have driven her back to Lipari and
starting suddenly to her feet, looked about her, but knew not the
country, and seeing herself on land, asked the good woman where she
was; to which she answered, 'Daughter mine, thou art near unto Susa in
Barbary.' The girl, hearing this, was woeful for that God had not
chosen to vouchsafe her the death she sought, and being in fear of
shame and knowing not what to do, she seated herself at the foot of
her bark and fell a-weeping.
[Footnote 272: _i.e._ knew not whether she was ashore or afloat, so
absorbed was she in her despair.]
The good woman, seeing this, took pity upon her and brought her, by
dint of entreaty, into a little hut of hers and there so humoured her
that she told her how she came thither; whereupon, seeing that she
was fasting, she set before her her own dry bread and somewhat of fish
and water and so besought her that she ate a little. Costanza after
asked her who she was that she spoke Latin thus; to which she answered
that she was from Trapani and was called Carapresa and served certain
Christian fishermen there. The girl, hearing the name of Carapresa,
albeit she was exceeding woebegone and knew not what reason moved her
thereunto, took it unto herself for a good augury to have heard this
name[273] and began to hope, without knowing what, and somewhat to
abate of her wish to die. Then, without discovering who or whence she
was, she earnestly besought the good woman to have pity, for the love
of God, on her youth and give her some counsel how she might escape
any affront being offered her.
[Footnote 273: Or "augured well from the hearing of the name."
_Carapresa_ signifies "a dear or precious prize, gain or capture."]
Carapresa, like a good woman as she was, hearing this, left her in her
hut, whilst she hastily gathered up her nets; then, returning to her,
she wrapped her from head to foot in her own mantle and carried her to
Susa, where she said to her, 'Costanza, I will bring thee into the
house of a very good Saracen lady, whom I serve oftentimes in her
occasions and who is old and pitiful. I will commend thee to her as
most I may and I am very certain that she will gladly receive thee and
use thee as a daughter; and do thou, abiding with her, study thine
utmost, in serving her, to gain her favour, against God send thee
better fortune.' And as she said, so she did. The lady, who was well
stricken in years, hearing the woman's story, looked the girl in the
face and fell a-weeping; then taking her by the hand, she kissed her
on the forehead and carried her into her house, where she and sundry
other women abode, without any man, and wrought all with their hands
at various crafts, doing divers works of silk and palm-fibre and
leather. Costanza soon learned to do some of these and falling to
working with the rest, became in such favour with the lady and the
others that it was a marvellous thing; nor was it long before, with
their teaching, she learnt their language.
What while she abode thus at Susa, being now mourned at home for lost
and dead, it befell that, one Mariabdela[274] being King of Tunis, a
certain youth of great family and much puissance in Granada, avouching
that that kingdom belonged to himself, levied a great multitude of
folk and came upon King Mariabdela, to oust him from the kingship.
This came to the ears of Martuccio Gomito in prison and he knowing the
Barbary language excellent well and hearing that the king was making
great efforts for his defence, said to one of those who had him and
his fellows in keeping, 'An I might have speech of the king, my heart
assureth me that I could give him a counsel, by which he should gain
this his war.' The keeper reported these words to his chief, and he
carried them incontinent to the king, who bade fetch Martuccio and
asked him what might be his counsel; whereto he made answer on this
wise, 'My lord, if, what time I have otherwhiles frequented these your
dominions, I have noted aright the order you keep in your battles,
meseemeth you wage them more with archers than with aught else;
wherefore, if a means could be found whereby your adversary's bowmen
should lack of arrows, whilst your own had abundance thereof,
methinketh your battle would be won.' 'Without doubt,' answered the
king, 'and this might be compassed, I should deem myself assured of
victory.' Whereupon, 'My lord,' quoth Martuccio, 'an you will, this
may very well be done, and you shall hear how. You must let make
strings for your archers' bows much thinner than those which are
everywhere commonly used and after let make arrows, the notches
whereof shall not serve but for these thin strings. This must be so
secretly done that your adversary should know nought thereof; else
would he find a remedy therefor; and the reason for which I counsel
you thus is this. After your enemy's archers and your own shall have
shot all their arrows, you know that, the battle lasting, it will
behove your foes to gather up the arrows shot by your men and the
latter in like manner to gather theirs; but the enemy will not be able
to make use of your arrows, by reason of the strait notches which will
not take their thick strings, whereas the contrary will betide your
men of the enemy's arrows, for that the thin strings will excellently
well take the wide-notched arrows; and so your men will have abundance
of ammunition, whilst the others will suffer default thereof.'
[Footnote 274: This name is apparently a distortion of the Arabic
_Amir Abdullah_.]
The king, who was a wise prince, was pleased with Martuccio's counsel
and punctually following it, found himself thereby to have won his
war. Wherefore Martuccio became in high favour with him and rose in
consequence to great and rich estate. The report of these things
spread over the land and it came presently to Costanza's ears that
Martuccio Gomito, whom she had long deemed dead, was alive, whereupon
the love of him, that was now grown cool in her heart, broke out of a
sudden into fresh flame and waxed greater than ever, whilst dead hope
revived in her. Therewithal she altogether discovered her every
adventure to the good lady, with whom she dwelt, and told her that she
would fain go to Tunis, so she might satisfy her eyes of that whereof
her ears had made them desireful, through the reports received. The
old lady greatly commended her purpose and taking ship with her,
carried her, as if she had been her mother, to Tunis, where they were
honourably entertained in the house of a kinswoman of hers. There she
despatched Carapresa, who had come with them, to see what she could
learn of Martuccio, and she, finding him alive and in great estate and
reporting this to the old gentlewoman, it pleased the latter to will
to be she who should signify unto Martuccio that his Costanza was come
thither to him; wherefore, betaking herself one day whereas he was,
she said to him, 'Martuccio, there is come to my house a servant of
thine from Lipari, who would fain speak with thee privily there;
wherefore, not to trust to others, I have myself, at his desire, come
to give thee notice thereof.' He thanked her and followed her to her
house, where when Costanza saw him, she was like to die of gladness
and unable to contain herself, ran straightway with open arms to
throw herself on his neck; then, embracing him, without availing to
say aught, she fell a-weeping tenderly, both for compassion of their
past ill fortunes and for present gladness.
Martuccio, seeing his mistress, abode awhile dumb for amazement, then
said sighing, 'O my Costanza, art thou then yet alive? It is long
since I heard that thou wast lost; nor in our country was aught known
of thee.' So saying, he embraced her, weeping, and kissed her