chamber:--"Minuccio," quoth she, "theehave I chosen, deeming thee most trusty, to be the keeper of my secret,relying upon thee in the first place never to betray it to a soul, andnext to lend me in regard thereof such aid as thou mayst be able; and soI pray thee to do. Thou must know, then, Minuccio mine, that on the daywhen our lord King Pedro held the great festival in celebration of histriumph, I, seeing him tilt, was so smitten with love of him that thereofwas kindled within my soul the fire which has brought me, as thou seest,to this pass; and knowing how ill it beseems me to love a king, and beingunable, I say not to banish it from my heart, but so much as to bring itwithin bounds, and finding it exceeding grievous to bear, I have madechoice of death as the lesser pain; and die I shall. But should he wotnot of my love before I die, sore disconsolate should I depart; andknowing not by whom more aptly than by thee I might give him to know thismy frame, I am minded to entrust the communication thereof to thee; whichoffice I entreat thee not to refuse, and having discharged it, to let meknow, that dying thus consoled, I may depart this pain." Which said, shesilently wept.
Marvelling at the loftiness of the girl's spirit and her desperatedetermination, Minuccio commiserated her not a little; and presently itoccurred to him that there was a way in which he might honourably serveher: wherefore:--"Lisa," quoth he, "my faith I plight thee, wherein thoumayst place sure confidence that I shall never play thee false, andlauding thy high emprise, to wit, the setting thine affections upon sogreat a king, I proffer thee mine aid, whereby, so thou wilt be of goodcheer, I hope, and believe, that, before thou shalt see the third dayfrom now go by, I shall have brought thee tidings which will be to theefor an exceeding great joy; and, not to lose time, I will set to work atonce." And so Lisa, assuring him that she would be of good cheer, andplying him afresh with instant obsecrations, bade him Godspeed; andMinuccio, having taken leave of her, hied him to one Mico da Siena, avery expert rhymester of those days, who at his instant request made theensuing song:--
Hence hie thee, Love; and hasting to my King, Give him to know what torment dire I bear, How that to death I fare, Still close, for fear, my passion harbouring.
Lo, Love, to thee with clasped hands I turn, And pray thee seek him where he tarrieth, And tell him how I oft for him do yearn, So sweetly he my heart enamoureth; And of the fire, wherewith I throughly burn, I think to die, but may the hour uneath Say, when my grievous pain shall with my breath Surcease; till when, neither may fear nor shame The least abate the flame. Ah! to his ears my woeful story bring.
Since of him I was first enamoured, Never hast thou, O Love, my fearful heart With any such fond hope encouraged, As e'er its message to him to impart, To him, my lord, that me so sore bested Holds: dying thus, 'twere grievous to depart: Perchance, were he to know my cruel smart, 'Twould not displease him; might I but make bold My soul to him to unfold, And shew him all my woeful languishing.
Love, since 'twas not thy will me to accord Such boldness as that e'er unto my King I may discover my sad heart's full hoard, Or any word or sign thereof him bring: This all my prayer to thee, O sweet my Lord: Hie thee to him, and so him whispering Mind of the day I saw him tourneying With all his paladins environed, And grew enamoured Ev'n to my very heart's disrupturing.
Which words Minuccio forthwith set to music after a soft and plaintivefashion befitting their sense; and on the third day thereafter hied himto court, while King Pedro was yet at breakfast. And being bidden by theKing to sing something to the accompaniment of his viol, he gave themthis song with such sweet concord of words and music that all the folkthat were in the King's hall seemed, as it were, entranced, so intent andabsorbed stood they to listen, and the King rather more than the rest.And when Minuccio had done singing, the King asked whence the song came,that, as far as he knew, he had never heard it before. "Sire," repliedMinuccio, "'tis not yet three days since 'twas made, words and musicalike." And being asked by the King in regard of whom 'twas made:--"Idare not," quoth he, "discover such a secret save to you alone." Bent onhearing the story, the King, when the tables were cleared, took Minucciointo his privy chamber; and there Minuccio told him everything exactly ashe had heard it from Lisa's lips. Whereby the King was much gratified,and lauded the maiden not a little, and said that a girl of such highspirit merited considerate treatment, and bade Minuccio be his envoy toher, and comfort her, and tell her that without fail that very day atvespers he would come to visit her. Overjoyed to bear the girl suchgladsome tidings, Minuccio tarried not, but hied him back to the girlwith his viol, and being closeted with her, told her all that had passed,and then sang the song to the accompaniment of his viol. Whereby the girlwas so cheered and delighted that forthwith there appeared most markedand manifest signs of the amendment of her health, while with passionatelonging (albeit none in the house knew or divined it) she awaited thevesper hour, when she was to see her lord.
Knowing the girl very well, and how fair she was, and pondering diverstimes on what Minuccio had told him, the King, being a prince of aliberal and kindly disposition, grew ever more compassionate. So, aboutvespers, he mounted his horse, and rode forth, as if for mere pleasure,and being come to the apothecary's house, demanded access to a verygoodly garden that the apothecary had, and having dismounted, after awhile enquired of Bernardo touching his daughter, and whether he had yetbestowed her in marriage. "Sire," replied Bernardo, "she is not yetmarried; and indeed she has been and still is very ill howbeit since noneshe is wonderfully amended." The significance of which amendment beingforthwith apprehended by the King:--"In good faith," quoth he, "'twere apity so fair a creature were reft from the world so early; we would go inand visit her." And presently, attended only by two of his lords andBernardo, he betook him to her chamber, where being entered, he drew nighthe bed, whereon the girl half reclined, half sate in eager expectationof his coming; and taking her by the hand:--"Madonna," quoth he, "whatmeans this? A maiden like you should be the comfort of others, and yousuffer yourself to languish. We would entreat you that for love of us yoube of good cheer, so as speedily to recover your health." To feel thetouch of his hand whom she loved above all else, the girl, albeitsomewhat shamefast, was so enraptured that 'twas as if she was inParadise; and as soon as she was able:--"My lord," she said, "'twas theendeavour, weak as I am, to sustain a most grievous burden that broughtthis sickness upon me; but 'twill not be long ere you will see me quitthereof, thanks to your courtesy." The hidden meaning of which words wasapprehended only by the King, who momently made more account of the girl,and again and again inly cursed Fortune, that had decreed that she shouldbe the daughter of such a man. And yet a while he tarried with her, andcomforted her, and so took his leave. Which gracious behaviour of theKing was not a little commended, and accounted a signal honour to theapothecary and his daughter.
The girl, glad at heart as was ever lady of her lover, mended withreviving hope, and in a few days recovered her health, and therewith morethan all her wonted beauty. Whereupon the King, having taken counsel withthe Queen how to reward so great a love, got him one day to horse with agreat company of his barons, and hied him to the apothecary's house; andbeing come into the garden, he sent for the apothecary and his daughter;and there, being joined by the Queen with not a few ladies, who receivedthe girl into their company, they made such cheer as 'twas a wonder tosee. And after a while the King and Queen having called Lisa to them,quoth the King:--"Honourable damsel, by the great love that you haveborne us we are moved greatly to honour you; and we trust that, for loveof us, the honour that we design for you will be acceptable to you. Now'tis thus we would honour you: to wit, that, seeing that you are ofmarriageable age, we would have you take for husband him that we shallgive you; albeit 'tis none the less our purpose ever to call ourself yourknight, demanding no other tribute of all your love but one sole kiss."Scarlet from brow to neck, the girl, making the King's pleasure her own,thus with a low voice replied:--"My lord, very sure am I that, should itcome to be known that I was grown enamoured of you, most folk would holdme
for a fool, deeming, perchance, that I was out of my mind, and witlessalike of my own rank and yours; but God, who alone reads the hearts of usmortals, knows that even then, when first I did affect you, I wist thatyou were the King, and I but the daughter of Bernardo the apothecary, andthat to suffer my passion to soar so high did ill become me; but, as youknow far better than I, none loves of set and discreet purpose, but onlyaccording to the dictates of impulse and fancy; which law my forces,albeit not seldom opposed, being powerless to withstand, I loved andstill love and shall ever love you. But as no sooner knew I myselfsubjugated to your love, than I vowed to have ever no will but yours;therefore not only am I compliant to take right