your unbridled passion than his own or myhonour, has sent me hither; and for that he commands it, I, for thenonce, am entirely at your pleasure."
If Messer Ansaldo had marvelled to hear of the lady's coming, he nowmarvelled much more, and touched by Giliberto's liberality, and passingfrom passion to compassion:--"Now, God forbid, Madam," quoth he, "that,it being as you say, I should wound the honour of him that has compassionon my love; wherefore, no otherwise than as if you were my sister shallyou abide here, while you are so minded, and be free to depart at yourpleasure; nor crave I aught of you but that you shall convey from me toyour husband such thanks as you shall deem meet for courtesy such as hishas been, and entreat me ever henceforth as your brother and servant."Whereat overjoyed in the last degree:--"Nought," quoth the lady, "by whatI noted of your behaviour, could ever have caused me to anticipate othersequel of my coming hither than this which I see is your will, and forwhich I shall ever be your debtor." She then took her leave, and,attended by a guard of honour, returned to Giliberto, and told him whathad passed; between whom and Messer Ansaldo there was thenceforth a mostclose and loyal friendship.
Now the liberality shewn by Giliberto towards Messer Ansaldo, and byMesser Ansaldo towards the lady, having been marked by the necromancer,when Messer Ansaldo made ready to give him the promised reward:--"Now Godforbid," quoth he, "that, as I have seen Giliberto liberal in regard ofhis honour, and you liberal in regard of your love, I be not in likemanner liberal in regard of my reward, which accordingly, witting that'tis in good hands, I am minded that you keep." The knight was abashed,and strove hard to induce him to take, if not the whole, at least a partof the money; but finding that his labour was in vain, and that thenecromancer, having caused his garden to vanish after the third day, wasminded to depart, he bade him adieu. And the carnal love he had borne thelady being spent, he burned for her thereafter with a flame of honourableaffection. Now what shall be our verdict in this case, lovesome ladies? Alady, as it were dead, and a love grown lukewarm for utter hopelessness!Shall we set a liberality shewn in such a case above this liberality ofMesser Ansaldo, loving yet as ardently, and hoping, perchance, yet moreardently than ever, and holding in his hands the prize that he had solong pursued? Folly indeed should I deem it to compare that liberalitywith this.
NOVEL VI.
--King Charles the Old, being conqueror, falls in love with a young maiden,and afterward growing ashamed of his folly bestows her and her sisterhonourably in marriage.--
Who might fully recount with what diversity of argument the ladiesdebated which of the three, Giliberto, or Messer Ansaldo, or thenecromancer, behaved with the most liberality in the affair of MadonnaDianora? Too long were it to tell. However, when the king had allowedthem to dispute a while, he, with a glance at Fiammetta, bade her rescuethem from their wrangling by telling her story. Fiammetta made no demur,but thus began:--Illustrious my ladies, I have ever been of opinion thatin companies like ours one should speak so explicitly that the import ofwhat is said should never by excessive circumscription afford matter fordisputation; which is much more in place among students in the schools,than among us, whose powers are scarce adequate to the management of thedistaff and the spindle. Wherefore I, that had in mind a matter of,perchance, some nicety, now that I see you all at variance touching thematters last mooted, am minded to lay it aside, and tell you somewhatelse, which concerns a man by no means of slight account, but a valiantking, being a chivalrous action that he did, albeit in no wise theretoactuated by his honour.
There is none of you but may not seldom have heard tell of King Charlesthe Old, or the First, by whose magnificent emprise, and the ensuingvictory gained over King Manfred, the Ghibellines were driven forth ofFlorence, and the Guelfs returned thither. For which cause a knight,Messer Neri degli Uberti by name, departing Florence with his householdand not a little money, resolved to fix his abode under no other swaythan that of King Charles. And being fain of a lonely place in which toend his days in peace, he betook him to Castello da Mare di Stabia; andthere, perchance a cross-bow-shot from the other houses of the place,amid the olives and hazels and chestnuts that abound in those parts, hebought an estate, on which he built a goodly house and commodious, with apleasant garden beside it, in the midst of which, having no lack ofrunning water, he set, after our Florentine fashion, a pond fair andclear, and speedily filled it with fish. And while thus he lived, dailyoccupying himself with nought else but how to make his garden more fair,it befell that King Charles in the hot season betook him to Castello daMare to refresh himself a while, and hearing of the beauty of MesserNeri's garden, was desirous to view it. And having learned to whom itbelonged, he bethought him that, as the knight was an adherent of theparty opposed to him, he would use more familiarity towards him than hewould otherwise have done; and so he sent him word that he and fourcomrades would sup privily with him in his garden on the ensuing evening.Messer Neri felt himself much honoured; and having made his preparationswith magnificence, and arranged the order of the ceremonies with hishousehold, did all he could and knew to make the King cordially welcometo his fair garden.
When the King had viewed the garden throughout, as also Messer Neri'shouse, and commended them, he washed, and seated himself at one of thetables, which were set beside the pond, and bade Count Guy de Montfort,who was one of his companions, sit on one side of him, and Messer Neri onthe other, and the other three to serve, as they should be directed byMesser Neri. The dishes that were set before them were dainty, the winesexcellent and rare, the order of the repast very fair and commendable,without the least noise or aught else that might distress; whereon theKing bestowed no stinted praise. As thus he gaily supped, well-pleasedwith the lovely spot, there came into the garden two young maidens, eachperhaps fifteen years old, blonde both, their golden tresses falling allin ringlets about them, and crowned with a dainty garland ofperiwinkle-flowers; and so delicate and fair of face were they that theyshewed liker to angels than aught else, each clad in a robe of finestlinen, white as snow upon their flesh, close-fitting as might be from thewaist up, but below the waist ample, like a pavilion to the feet. Shethat was foremost bore on her shoulders a pair of nets, which she heldwith her left hand, carrying in her right a long pole. Her companionfollowed, bearing on her left shoulder a frying-pan, under her left arm abundle of faggots, and in her left hand a tripod, while in the other handshe carried a cruse of oil and a lighted taper. At sight of whom the Kingmarvelled, and gazed intent to learn what it might import. The two youngmaidens came forward with becoming modesty, and did obeisance to theKing; which done they hied them to the place of ingress to the pond, andshe that had the frying-pan having set it down, and afterward the otherthings, took the pole that the other carried, and so they both went downinto the pond, being covered by its waters to their breasts. Whereuponone of Messer Neri's servants, having forthwith lit a fire, and set thetripod on the faggots and oil therein, addressed himself to wait, untilsome fish should be thrown to him by the girls. Who, the one searchingwith the pole in those parts where she knew the fish lay hid, while theother made ready the nets, did in a brief space of time, to the exceedinggreat delight of the King, who watched them attentively, catch fish not afew, which they tossed to the servant, who set them, before the life waswell out of them, in the frying-pan. After which, the maidens, aspre-arranged, addressed them to catch some of the finest fish, and castthem on to the table before the King, and Count Guy, and their father.The fish wriggled about the table to the prodigious delight of the King,who in like manner took some of them, and courteously returned them tothe girls; with which sport they diverted them, until the servant hadcooked the fish that had been given him: which, by Messer Neri's command,were set before the King rather as a side-dish than as aught very rare ordelicious.
When the girls saw that all the fish were cooked, and that there was nooccasion for them to catch any more, they came forth of the pond, theirfine white garments cleaving everywhere close to their flesh so as tohide scarce any part of their delicate person
s, took up again the thingsthat they had brought, and passing modestly before the King, returned tothe house. The King, and the Count, and the other gentlemen that waited,had regarded the maidens with no little attention, and had, one and all,inly bestowed on them no little praise, as being fair and shapely, andtherewithal sweet and debonair; but 'twas in the King's eyes that theyespecially found favour. Indeed, as they came forth of the water, theKing had scanned each part of their bodies so intently that, had one thenpricked him, he would not have felt it, and his thoughts afterwardsdwelling upon them, though he knew not who they were, nor how they cameto be there, he felt stir within his heart a most ardent desire topleasure them, whereby he knew very well that, if he took not care, hewould grow enamoured; howbeit he knew not whether of the twain pleasedhim the more, so like was each to the other. Having thus brooded a