THE SIXTH STORY
[Day the Fifth]
GIANNI DI PROCIDA BEING FOUND WITH A YOUNG LADY, WHOM HE LOVED AND WHO HAD BEEN GIVEN TO KING FREDERICK OF SICILY, IS BOUND WITH HER TO A STAKE TO BE BURNT; BUT, BEING RECOGNIZED BY RUGGIERI DELL' ORIA, ESCAPETH AND BECOMETH HER HUSBAND
Neifile's story, which had much pleased the ladies, being ended, thequeen bade Pampinea address herself to tell another, and sheaccordingly, raising her bright face, began: "Exceeding great,charming ladies, is the might of Love and exposeth lovers to soretravails, ay, and to excessive and unforeseen perils, as may begathered from many a thing that hath been related both to-day andotherwhiles; nevertheless, it pleaseth me yet again to demonstrate itto you with a story of an enamoured youth.
Ischia is an island very near Naples, and therein, among others, wasonce a very fair and sprightly damsel, by name Restituta, who was thedaughter of a gentleman of the island called Marino Bolgaro and whom ayouth named Gianni, a native of a little island near Ischia, calledProcida, loved more than his life, as she on like wise loved him. Notonly did he come by day from Procida to see her, but oftentimesanights, not finding a boat, he had swum from Procida to Ischia, atthe least to look upon the walls of her house, an he might nootherwise. During the continuance of this so ardent love, it befellthat the girl, being all alone one summer day on the sea-shore,chanced, as she went from rock to rock, loosening shell-fish from thestones with a knife, upon a place hidden among the cliffs, where, atonce for shade and for the commodity of a spring of very cool waterthat was there, certain young men of Sicily, coming from Naples, hadtaken up their quarters with a pinnace they had. They, seeing that shewas alone and very handsome and was yet unaware of them, took counseltogether to seize her and carry her off and put their resolve intoexecution. Accordingly, they took her, for all she made a greatoutcry, and carrying her aboard the pinnace, made the best of theirway to Calabria, where they fell to disputing of whose she should be.Brief, each would fain have her; wherefore, being unable to agreeamong themselves and fearing to come to worse and to mar their affairsfor her, they took counsel together to present her to Frederick, Kingof Sicily, who was then a young man and delighted in such toys.Accordingly, coming to Palermo, they made gift of the damsel to theking, who, seeing her to be fair, held her dear; but, for that he waspresently somewhat infirm of his person, he commanded that, against heshould be stronger, she should be lodged in a very goodly pavilion,belonging to a garden of his he called La Cuba, and there tended; andso it was done.
Great was the outcry in Ischia for the ravishment of the damsel andwhat most chagrined them was that they could not learn who they werethat had carried her off; but Gianni, whom the thing concerned morethan any other, not looking to get any news of this in Ischia andlearning in what direction the ravishers had gone, equipped anotherpinnace and embarking therein, as quickliest as he might, scoured allthe coast from La Minerva to La Scalea in Calabria, enquiringeverywhere for news of the girl. Being told at La Scalea that she hadbeen carried off to Palermo by some Sicilian sailors, he betookhimself thither, as quickliest he might, and there, after much search,finding that she had been presented to the king and was by him keptunder ward at La Cuba, he was sore chagrined and lost well nigh allhope, not only of ever having her again, but even of seeing her.Nevertheless, detained by love, having sent away his pinnace andseeing that he was known of none there, he abode behind and passingoften by La Cuba, he chanced one day to catch sight of her at a windowand she saw him, to the great contentment of them both.
Gianni, seeing the place lonely, approached as most he might andbespeaking her, was instructed by her how he must do, an he wouldthereafterward have further speech of her. He then took leave of her,having first particularly examined the ordinance of the place in everypart, and waited till a good part of the night was past, when hereturned thither and clambering up in places where a woodpecker hadscarce found a foothold, he made his way into the garden. There hefound a long pole and setting it against the window which his mistresshad shown him, climbed up thereby lightly enough. The damsel,herseeming she had already lost her honour, for the preservationwhereof she had in times past been somewhat coy to him, thinking thatshe could give herself to none more worthily than to him and doubtingnot to be able to induce him to carry her off, had resolved in herselfto comply with him in every his desire; wherefore she had left thewindow open, so he might enter forthright. Accordingly, Gianni,finding it open, softly made his way into the chamber and laid himselfbeside the girl, who slept not and who, before they came to otherwhat,discovered to him all her intent, instantly beseeching him to take herthence and carry her away. Gianni answered that nothing could be sopleasing to him as this and promised that he would without fail, assoon as he should have taken his leave of her, put the matter in trainon such wise that he might carry her away with him, the first time hereturned thither. Then, embracing each other with exceeding pleasure,they took that delight beyond which Love can afford no greater, andafter reiterating it again and again, they fell asleep, withoutperceiving it, in each other's arms.
Meanwhile, the king, who had at first sight been greatly taken withthe damsel, calling her to mind and feeling himself well of body,determined, albeit it was nigh upon day, to go and abide with herawhile. Accordingly, he betook himself privily to La Cuba with certainof his servants and entering the pavilion, caused softly open thechamber wherein he knew the girl slept. Then, with a great lightedflambeau before him, he entered therein and looking upon the bed, sawher and Gianni lying asleep and naked in each other's arms; whereas hewas of a sudden furiously incensed and flamed up into such a passionof wrath that it lacked of little but he had, without saying a word,slain them both then and there with a dagger he had by his side.However, esteeming it a very base thing of any man, much more a king,to slay two naked folk in their sleep, he contained himself anddetermined to put them to death in public and by fire; wherefore,turning to one only companion he had with him, he said to him, 'Howdeemest thou of this vile woman, on whom I had set my hope?' And afterhe asked him if he knew the young man who had dared enter his house todo him such an affront and such an outrage; but he answered that heremembered not ever to have seen him. The king then departed thechamber, full of rage, and commanded that the two lovers should betaken and bound, naked as they were, and that, as soon as it was broadday, they should be carried to Palermo and there bound to a stake,back to back, in the public place, where they should be kept till thehour of tierce, so they might be seen of all, and after burnt, even asthey had deserved; and this said, he returned to his palace atPalermo, exceeding wroth.
The king gone, there fell many upon the two lovers and not onlyawakened them, but forthright without any pity took them and boundthem; which when they saw, it may lightly be conceived if they werewoeful and feared for their lives and wept and made moan. According tothe king's commandment, they were carried to Palermo and bound to astake in the public place, whilst the faggots and the fire were madeready before their eyes, to burn them at the hour appointed. Thitherstraightway flocked all the townsfolk, both men and women, to see thetwo lovers; the men all pressed to look upon the damsel and like asthey praised her for fair and well made in every part of her body,even so, on the other hand, the women, who all ran to gaze upon theyoung man, supremely commended him for handsome and well shapen. Butthe wretched lovers, both sore ashamed, stood with bowed heads andbewailed their sorry fortune, hourly expecting the cruel death byfire.
Whilst they were thus kept against the appointed hour, the default ofthem committed, being bruited about everywhere, came to the ears ofRuggieri dell' Oria, a man of inestimable worth and then the king'sadmiral, whereupon he repaired to the place where they were bound andconsidering first the girl, commended her amain for beauty, then,turning to look upon the young man, knew him without much difficultyand drawing nearer to him, asked him if he were not Gianni di Procida.The youth, raising his eyes and recognizing the admiral, answered, 'Mylord, I was indeed he of whom you ask
; but I am about to be no more.'The admiral then asked him what had brought him to that pass, and heanswered, 'Love and the king's anger.' The admiral caused him tell hisstory more at large and having heard everything from him as it hadhappened, was about to depart, when Gianni called him back and said tohim, 'For God's sake, my lord, an it may be, get me one favour of himwho maketh me to abide thus.' 'What is that?' asked Ruggieri; andGianni said, 'I see I must die, and that speedily, and I ask,therefore, by way of favour,--as I am bound with my back to thisdamsel, whom I have loved more than my life, even as she hath lovedme, and she with her back to me,--that we may be turned about with ourfaces one to the other, so that, dying, I may look upon her face andget me gone, comforted.' 'With all my heart,' answered Ruggieri,laughing; 'I will do on such wise that thou shalt yet see her tillthou grow weary of her sight.'
Then, taking leave of him, he charged those who were appointed tocarry the sentence into execution that they should proceed no farthertherein, without other commandment of the king, and straightway betookhimself to the latter, to whom, albeit he saw him sore incensed, hespared not to speak his mind, saying, 'King, in what have the twoyoung folk offended against thee, whom thou hast commanded to beburned yonder in the public place?' The king told him and Ruggieriwent on, 'The offence committed by them deserveth it indeed, but notfrom thee; for, like as defaults merit punishment, even so do goodoffices merit recompense, let alone grace and clemency. Knowest thouwho these are thou wouldst have burnt?' The king answered no, andRuggieri continued, 'Then I will have thee know them, so thou maystsee how discreetly[280] thou sufferest thyself to be carried away bythe transports of passion. The young man is the son of Landolfo diProcida, own brother to Messer Gian di Procida,[281] by whose meansthou art king and lord of this island, and the damsel is the daughterof Marino Bolgaro, to whose influence thou owest it that thineofficers have not been driven forth of Ischia. Moreover, they arelovers who have long loved one another and constrained of love, ratherthan of will to do despite to thine authority, have done this sin, ifthat can be called sin which young folk do for love. Wherefore, then,wilt thou put them to death, whenas thou shouldst rather honour themwith the greatest favours and boons at thy commandment?'
[Footnote 280: Iron., meaning "with how little discretion."]
[Footnote 281: Gianni (Giovanni) di Procida was a Sicilian noble, towhose efforts in stirring up the island to revolt against Charles ofAnjou was mainly due the popular rising known as the Sicilian Vespers(A.D. 1283) which expelled the French usurper from Sicily andtransferred the crown to the house of Arragon. The Frederick (A.D.1296-1337) named in the text was the fourth prince of the latterdynasty.]
The king, hearing this and certifying himself that Ruggieri spokesooth, not only forbore from proceeding to do worse, but repented himof that which he had done, wherefore he commanded incontinent that thetwo lovers should be loosed from the stake and brought before him;which was forthright done. Therewith, having fully acquainted himselfwith their case, he concluded that it behoved him requite them theinjury he had done them with gifts and honour; wherefore he let clothethem anew on sumptuous wise and finding them of one accord, causedGianni to take the damsel to wife. Then, making them magnificentpresents, he sent them back, rejoicing, to their own country, wherethey were received with the utmost joyance and delight."