The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio
exceedingly how this [whereof he accused her] could have happened, for
that she knew her daughter well, as having reared her from a little
child, with many other words to the like purpose.
When they came to Arriguccio's house, they entered and proceeded to
mount the stair, whereupon Madam Sismonda, hearing them come, said,
'Who is there?' To which one of her brothers answered, 'Thou shalt
soon know who it is, vile woman that thou art!' 'God aid us!' cried
she. 'What meaneth this?' Then, rising to her feet, 'Brothers mine,'
quoth she, 'you are welcome; but what go you all three seeking at this
hour?' The brothers,--seeing her seated sewing, with no sign of
beating on her face, whereas Arriguccio avouched that he had beaten
her to a mummy,--began to marvel and curbing the violence of their
anger, demanded of her how that had been whereof Arriguccio accused
her, threatening her sore, and she told them not all. Quoth she, 'I
know not what you would have me say nor of what Arriguccio can have
complained to you of me.' Arriguccio, seeing her thus, eyed her as if
he had lost his wits, remembering that he had dealt her belike a
thousand buffets on the face and scratched her and done her all the
ill in the world, and now he beheld her as if nothing of all this had
been.
Her brothers told her briefly what they had heard from Arriguccio,
twine and beating and all, whereupon she turned to him and said,
'Alack, husband mine, what is this I hear? Why wilt thou make me pass,
to thine own great shame, for an ill woman, where as I am none, and
thyself for a cruel and wicked man, which thou art not? When wast thou
in this house to-night till now, let alone with me? When didst thou
beat me? For my part, I have no remembrance of it.' 'How, vile woman
that thou art!' cried he. 'Did we not go to bed together here? Did I
not return hither, after running after thy lover? Did I not deal thee
a thousand buffets and cut off thy hair?' 'Thou wentest not to bed in
this house to-night,' replied Sismonda. 'But let that pass, for I can
give no proof thereof other than mine own true words, and let us come
to that which thou sayest, to wit, that thou didst beat me and cut off
my hair. Me thou hast never beaten, and do all who are here and thou
thyself take note of me, if I have any mark of beating in any part of
my person. Indeed, I should not counsel thee make so bold as to lay a
hand on me, for, by Christ His Cross, I would mar thy face for thee!
Neither didst thou cut off my hair, for aught that I felt or saw; but
haply thou didst it on such wise that I perceived it not; let me see
if I have it shorn or no.' Then, putting off her veil from her head,
she showed that she had her hair unshorn and whole.
Her mother and brothers, seeing and hearing all this, turned upon her
husband and said to him, 'What meanest thou, Arriguccio? This is not
that so far which thou camest to tell us thou hadst done, and we know
not how thou wilt make good the rest.' Arriguccio stood as one in a
trance and would have spoken; but, seeing that it was not as he
thought he could show, he dared say nothing; whereupon the lady,
turning to her brothers, said to them, 'Brothers mine, I see he hath
gone seeking to have me do what I have never yet chosen to do, to wit,
that I should acquaint you with his lewdness and his vile fashions,
and I will do it. I firmly believe that this he hath told you hath
verily befallen him and that he hath done as he saith; and you shall
hear how. This worthy man, to whom in an ill hour for me you gave me
to wife, who calleth himself a merchant and would be thought a man of
credit, this fellow, forsooth, who should be more temperate than a
monk and chaster than a maid, there be few nights but he goeth
fuddling himself about the taverns, foregathering now with this lewd
woman and now with that and keeping me waiting for him, on such wise
as you find me, half the night and whiles even till morning. I doubt
not but that, having well drunken, he went to bed with some trull of
his and waking, found the twine on her foot and after did all these
his fine feats whereof he telleth, winding up by returning to her and
beating her and cutting off her hair; and not being yet well come to
himself, he fancied (and I doubt not yet fancieth) that he did all
this to me; and if you look him well in the face, you will see he is
yet half fuddled. Algates, whatsoever he may have said of me, I will
not have you take it to yourselves except as a drunken man's talk, and
since I forgive him, do you also pardon him.'
Her mother, hearing this, began to make an outcry and say, 'By Christ
His Cross, daughter mine, it shall not pass thus! Nay, he should
rather be slain for a thankless, ill-conditioned dog, who was never
worthy to have a girl of thy fashion to wife. Marry, a fine thing,
forsooth! He could have used thee no worse, had he picked thee up out
of the dirt! Devil take him if thou shalt abide at the mercy of the
spite of a paltry little merchant of asses' dung! They come to us out
of their pigstyes in the country, clad in homespun frieze, with their
bag-breeches and pen in arse, and as soon as they have gotten a leash
of groats, they must e'en have the daughters of gentlemen and right
ladies to wife and bear arms and say, "I am of such a family" and
"Those of my house did thus and thus." Would God my sons had followed
my counsel in the matter, for that they might have stablished thee so
worshipfully in the family of the Counts Guidi, with a crust of bread
to thy dowry! But they must needs give thee to this fine jewel of
fellow, who, whereas thou art the best girl in Florence and the
modestest, is not ashamed to knock us up in the middle of the night,
to tell us that thou art a strumpet, as if we knew thee not. But, by
God His faith, an they would be ruled by me, he should get such a
trouncing therefor that he should stink for it!' Then, turning to the
lady's brothers, 'My sons,' said she, 'I told you this could not be.
Have you heard how your fine brother-in-law here entreateth your
sister? Four-farthing[353] huckster that he is! Were I in your shoes,
he having said what he hath of her and doing that which he doth, I
would never hold myself content nor appeased till I had rid the earth
of him; and were I a man, as I am a woman, I would trouble none other
than myself to despatch his business. Confound him for a sorry drunken
beast, that hath no shame!'
[Footnote 353: Or, in modern parlance, "twopennny-halfpenny."]
The young men, seeing and hearing all this, turned upon Arriguccio and
gave him the soundest rating ever losel got; and ultimately they said
to him. 'We pardon thee this as to a drunken man; but, as thou
tenderest thy life, look henceforward we hear no more news of this
kind, for, if aught of the like come ever again to our ears, we will
pay thee at once for this and for that.' So saying, they went their
ways, leaving Arriguccio all aghast, as it were he had taken leave of
his wits, unknowing in himself whether that which he had done had
really been or whether he had dreamed it; wherefore he made no more
words thereof, but left his wife in peace. Thus the lady, by her ready
wit, not only escaped the imminent peril [that threatened her,] but
opened herself a way to do her every pleasure in time to come, without
evermore having any fear of her husband."
THE NINTH STORY
[Day the Seventh]
LYDIA, WIFE OF NICOSTRATUS, LOVETH PYRRHUS, WHO, SO HE MAY
BELIEVE IT, REQUIRETH OF HER THREE THINGS, ALL WHICH SHE
DOTH. MOREOVER, SHE SOLACETH HERSELF WITH HIM IN THE
PRESENCE OF NICOSTRATUS AND MAKETH THE LATTER BELIEVE THAT
THAT WHICH HE HATH SEEN IS NOT REAL
Neifile's story so pleased the ladies that they could neither give
over to laugh at nor to talk of it, albeit the king, having bidden
Pamfilo tell his story, had several times imposed silence upon them.
However, after they had held their peace, Pamfilo began thus: "I do
not believe, worshipful ladies, that there is anything, how hard and
doubtful soever it be, that whoso loveth passionately will not dare to
do; the which, albeit it hath already been demonstrated in many
stories, methinketh, nevertheless, I shall be able yet more plainly to
show forth to you in one which I purpose to tell you and wherein you
shall hear of a lady, who was in her actions much more favoured of
fortune than well-advised of reason; wherefore I would not counsel any
one to adventure herself in the footsteps of her of whom I am to tell,
for that fortune is not always well disposed nor are all men in the
world equally blind.
In Argos, city of Achia far more famous for its kings of past time
than great in itself, there was once a nobleman called Nicostratus, to
whom, when already neighbouring on old age, fortune awarded a lady of
great family to wife, whose name was Lydia and who was no less
high-spirited than fair. Nicostratus, like a nobleman and a man of
wealth as he was, kept many servants and hounds and hawks and took the
utmost delight in the chase. Among his other servants he had a young
man called Pyrrhus, who was sprightly and well bred and comely of his
person and adroit in all that he had a mind to do, and him he loved
and trusted over all else. Of this Pyrrhus Lydia became so sore
enamoured that neither by day nor by night could she have her thought
otherwhere than with him; but he, whether it was that he perceived not
her liking for him or that he would none of it, appeared to reck
nothing thereof, by reason whereof the lady suffered intolerable
chagrin in herself and being altogether resolved to give him to know
of her passion, called a chamberwoman of hers, Lusca by name, in whom
she much trusted, and said to her, 'Lusca, the favours thou hast had
of me should make thee faithful and obedient; wherefore look thou none
ever know that which I shall presently say to thee, save he to whom I
shall charge thee tell it. As thou seest, Lusca, I am a young and
lusty lady, abundantly endowed with all those things which any woman
can desire; in brief, I can complain of but one thing, to wit, that my
husband's years are overmany, an they be measured by mine own,
wherefore I fare but ill in the matter of that thing wherein young
women take most pleasure, and none the less desiring it, as other
women do, I have this long while determined in myself, since fortune
hath been thus little my friend in giving me so old a husband, that I
will not be so much mine own enemy as not to contrive to find means
for my pleasures and my weal; which that I may have as complete in
this as in other things, I have bethought myself to will that our
Pyrrhus, as being worthier thereof than any other, should furnish them
with his embracements; nay, I have vowed him so great a love that I
never feel myself at ease save whenas I see him or think of him, and
except I foregather with him without delay, methinketh I shall
certainly die thereof. Wherefore, if my life be dear to thee, thou
wilt, on such wise as shall seem best to thee, signify to him any love
and beseech him, on my part, to be pleased to come to me, whenas thou
shalt go for him.'
The chamberwoman replied that she would well and taking Pyrrhus apart,
whenas first it seemed to her time and place, she did her lady's
errand to him as best she knew. Pyrrhus, hearing this, was sore amazed
thereat, as one who had never anywise perceived aught of the matter,
and misdoubted him the lady had let say this to him to try him;
wherefore he answered roughly and hastily, 'Lusca, I cannot believe
that these words come from my lady; wherefore, have a care what thou
sayst; or, if they do indeed come from her, I do not believe that she
caused thee say them with intent, and even if she did so, my lord doth