The Decameron, Volume II

by Giovanni Boccaccio

ordained that I be poor, atleast Thou hast accorded me the consolation of a good and honest girl forwife. Mark what haste she made to shut the door when I was gone forth,that none else might enter to give her trouble.

  Now Peronella knew by his knock that 'twas her husband;wherefore:--"Alas, Giannello mine," quoth she, "I am a dead woman, forlo, here is my husband, foul fall him! come back! What it may import, Iknow not, for he is never wont to come back at this hour; perchance hecaught sight of thee as thou camest in. However, for the love of God, beit as it may, get thee into this tun that thou seest here, and I will goopen to him, and we shall see what is the occasion of this sudden returnthis morning." So Giannello forthwith got into the tun, and Peronellawent to the door, and let in her husband, and gave him black looks,saying:--"This is indeed a surprise that thou art back so soon thismorning! By what I see thou hast a mind to make this a holiday, that thoureturnest tools in hand; if so, what are we to live on? whence shall weget bread to eat? Thinkest thou I will let thee pawn my gown and otherbits of clothes? Day and night I do nought else but spin, insomuch thatthe flesh is fallen away from my nails, that at least I may have oilenough to keep our lamp alight. Husband, husband, there is never a womanin the neighbourhood but marvels and mocks at me, that I am at suchlabour and pains; and thou comest home to me with thy hands hanging idle,when thou shouldst be at work." Which said, she fell a weeping andrepeating:--"Alas, alas, woe 's me, in what evil hour was I born? in whatluckless moment came I hither, I, that might have had so goodly a youngman, and I would not, to take up with one that bestows never a thought onher whom he has made his wife? Other women have a good time with theirlovers, and never a one have we here but has two or three; they taketheir pleasure, and make their husbands believe that the moon is the sun;and I, alas! for that I am an honest woman, and have no such casualamours, I suffer, and am hard bested. I know not why I provide not myselfwith one of these lovers, as others do. Give good heed, husband, to whatI say: were I disposed to dishonour thee, I were at no loss to find theman: for here are gallants enough, that love me, and court me, and havesent me many an offer of money--no stint--or dresses or jewels, should Iprefer them; but my pride would never suffer it, because I was not bornof a woman of that sort: and now thou comest home to me when thououghtest to be at work."

  Whereto the husband:--"Wife, wife, for God's sake distress not thyself:thou shouldst give me credit for knowing what manner of woman thou art,as indeed I have partly seen this morning. True it is that I went out towork; but 'tis plain that thou knowest not, as indeed I knew not, thatto-day 'tis the feast of San Galeone, and a holiday, and that is why I amcome home at this hour; but nevertheless I have found means to provide uswith bread for more than a month; for I have sold to this gentleman, whomthou seest with me, the tun, thou wottest of, seeing that it hasencumbered the house so long, and he will give me five gigliats for it."Quoth then Peronella:--"And all this but adds to my trouble: thou, thatart a man, and goest abroad, and shouldst know affairs, hast sold forfive gigliats a tun, which I, that am but a woman, and was scarce everout of doors, have, for that it took up so much room in the house, soldfor seven gigliats to a good man, that but now, as thou cam'st back, gottherein, to see if 'twere sound." So hearing, the husband was overjoyed,and said to the man that was come to take it away:--"Good man, I wishthee Godspeed; for, as thou hearest, my wife has sold the tun for sevengigliats, whereas thou gavest me only five." Whereupon:--"So be it," saidthe good man, and took himself off. Then said Peronella to herhusband:--"Now, as thou art here, come up, and arrange the matter withthe good man."

  Now Giannello, who, meanwhile, had been all on the alert to discover ifthere were aught he had to fear or be on his guard against, no soonerheard Peronella's last words, than he sprang out of the tun, and feigningto know nought of her husband's return, began thus:--"Where art thou,good dame?" Whereto the husband, coming up, answered:--"Here am I: whatwouldst thou of me?" Quoth Giannello:--"And who art thou? I would speakwith the lady with whom I struck the bargain for this tun." Then said thegood man:--"Have no fear, you can deal with me; for I am her husband."Quoth then Giannello:--"The tun seems to me sound enough; but I think youmust have let the lees remain in it; for 'tis all encrusted with I knownot what that is so dry, that I cannot raise it with the nail; whereforeI am not minded to take it unless I first see it scoured." WhereuponPeronella:--"To be sure: that shall not hinder the bargain; my husbandwill scour it clean." And:--"Well and good," said the husband.

  So he laid down his tools, stripped himself to his vest, sent for a lightand a rasp, and was in the tun, and scraping away, in a trice. WhereuponPeronella, as if she were curious to see what he did, thrust her headinto the vent of the tun, which was of no great size, and therewithal oneof her arms up to the shoulder, and fell a saying:--"Scrape here, andhere, and there too, and look, there is a bit left here." So, she beingin this posture, directing and admonishing her husband, Giannello, whohad not, that morning, fully satisfied his desire, when the husbandarrived, now seeing that as he would, he might not, brought his mind tohis circumstances, and resolved to take his pleasure as he might:wherefore he made up to the lady, who completely blocked the vent of thetun; and even on such wise as on the open champaign the wild and lustyhorses do amorously assail the mares of Parthia, he sated his youthfulappetite; and so it was that almost at the same moment that he did so,and was off, the tun was scoured, the husband came forth of it, andPeronella withdrew her head from the vent, and turning to Giannello,said:--"Take this light, good man, and see if 'tis scoured to thy mind."Whereupon Giannello, looking into the tun, said that 'twas in good trim,and that he was well content, and paid the husband the seven gigliats,and caused him carry the tun to his house.

  NOVEL III.

  --Fra Rinaldo lies with his gossip: her husband finds him in the room withher; and they make him believe that he was curing his godson of worms bya charm.--

  Filostrato knew not how so to veil what he said touching the mares ofParthia, but that the keen-witted ladies laughed thereat, making as if'twas at somewhat else. However, his story being ended, the king calledfor one from Elisa, who, all obedience, thus began:--Debonair my ladies,we heard from Emilia how the bogey is exorcised, and it brought to mymind a story of another incantation: 'tis not indeed so good a story ashers; but, as no other, germane to our theme, occurs to me at present, Iwill relate it.

  You are to know, then, that there dwelt aforetime at Siena a young man,right gallant and of honourable family, his name Rinaldo; who, being inthe last degree enamoured of one of his neighbours, a most beautifulgentlewoman and the wife of a rich man, was not without hopes that, if hecould but find means to speak with her privately, he might have of herall that he desired; but seeing no way, and the lady being pregnant, hecast about how he might become her child's godfather. Wherefore, havingingratiated himself with her husband, he broached the matter to him in asgraceful a manner as he might; and 'twas arranged. So Rinaldo, being nowgodfather to Madonna Agnesa's child, and having a more colourable pretextfor speaking to her, took courage, and told her in words that message ofhis heart which she had long before read in his eyes; but though 'twasnot displeasing to the lady to hear, it availed him but little.

  Now not long afterwards it so befell that, whatever may have been hisreason, Rinaldo betook him to friarage; and whether it was that he foundgood pasture therein, or what not, he persevered in that way of life. Andthough for a while after he was turned friar, he laid aside the love hebore his gossip, and certain other vanities, yet in course of time,without putting off the habit, he resumed them, and began to take a pridein his appearance, and to go dressed in fine clothes, and to be quite thetrim gallant, and to compose songs and sonnets and ballades, and to singthem, and to make a brave shew in all else that pertained to his newcharacter. But why enlarge upon our Fra Rinaldo, of whom we speak? whatfriars are there that do not the like? Ah! opprobrium of a corrupt world!Sleek-faced and sanguine, daintily clad, dainty in all their accessories,they ruffle it shamelessly before the eyes of
all, shewing not as dovesbut as insolent cocks with raised crest and swelling bosom, and, what isworse (to say nought of the vases full of electuaries and unguents, theboxes packed with divers comfits, the pitchers and phials of artificialwaters, and oils, the flagons brimming with Malmsey and Greek and otherwines of finest quality, with which their cells are so packed that theyshew not as the cells of friars, but rather as apothecaries' orperfumers' shops), they blush not to be known to be gouty, flatteringthemselves that other folk wot not that long fasts and many of them, andcoarse fare and little of it, and sober living, make men lean and thinand for the most part healthy; or if any malady come thereof, at any rate'tis not the gout, the wonted remedy for