The Decameron, Volume II

by Giovanni Boccaccio

the thread passed out of the window, wasconfirmed in his surmise. Wherefore, he softly severed it from the lady'stoe, and affixed it to his own; and waited, all attention, to learn theresult of his experiment. Nor had he long to wait before Ruberto came,and Arriguccio felt him jerk the thread according to his wont: and asArriguccio had not known how to attach the thread securely, and Rubertojerked it with some force, it gave way, whereby he understood that he wasto wait, and did so. Arriguccio straightway arose, caught up his arms,and hasted to the door to see who might be there, intent to do him amischief. Now Arriguccio, for all he was a merchant, was a man of spirit,and of thews and sinews; and being come to the door, he opened it by nomeans gingerly, as the lady was wont; whereby Ruberto, who was inwaiting, surmised the truth, to wit, that 'twas Arriguccio by whom thedoor was opened. Wherefore he forthwith took to flight, followed byArriguccio. But at length, when he had run a long way, as Arriguccio gavenot up the pursuit, he being also armed, drew his sword, and faced about;and so they fell to, Arriguccio attacking, and Ruberto defending himself.

  Now when Arriguccio undid the bedroom door, the lady awoke, and findingthe pack-thread cut loose from her toe, saw at a glance that her trickwas discovered; and hearing Arriguccio running after Ruberto, sheforthwith got up, foreboding what the result was like to be, and calledher maid, who was entirely in her confidence: whom she so plied with herobsecrations that at last she got her into bed in her room, beseechingher not to say who she was, but to bear patiently all the blows thatArriguccio might give her; and she would so reward her that she shouldhave no reason to complain. Then, extinguishing the light that was in theroom, forth she hied her, and having found a convenient hiding-place inthe house, awaited the turn of events. Now Arriguccio and Ruberto beinghotly engaged in the street, the neighbours, roused by the din of thecombat, got up and launched their curses upon them. Wherefore Arriguccio,fearing lest he should be recognized, drew off before he had so much asdiscovered who the young gallant was, or done him any scathe, and in afell and wrathful mood betook him home. Stumbling into the bedroom, hecried out angrily:--"Where art thou, lewd woman? Thou hast put out thelight, that I may not be able to find thee; but thou hast miscalculated."And going to the bedside, he laid hold of the maid, taking her to be hiswife, and fell a pummelling and kicking her with all the strength he hadin his hands and feet, insomuch that he pounded her face well-nigh topulp, rating her the while like the vilest woman that ever was; and lastof all he cut off her hair. The maid wept bitterly, as indeed she wellmight; and though from time to time she ejaculated an "Alas! Mercy, forGod's sake!" or "Spare me, spare me;" yet her voice was so broken by hersobs, and Arriguccio's hearing so dulled by his wrath, that he was notable to discern that 'twas not his wife's voice but that of anotherwoman. So, having soundly thrashed her, and cut off her hair, as wesaid:--"Wicked woman," quoth he, "I touch thee no more; but I go to findthy brothers, and shall do them to wit of thy good works; and then theymay come here, and deal with thee as they may deem their honour demands,and take thee hence, for be sure thou shalt no more abide in this house."With this he was gone, locking the door of the room behind him, andquitted the house alone.

  Now no sooner did Monna Sismonda, who had heard all that passed, perceivethat her husband was gone, than she opened the door of the bedroom,rekindled the light, and finding her maid all bruises and tears, did whatshe could to comfort her, and carried her back to her own room, where,causing her to be privily waited on and tended, she helped her soliberally from Arriguccio's own store, that she confessed herselfcontent. The maid thus bestowed in her room, the lady presently hied herback to her own, which she set all in neat and trim order, remaking thebed, so that it might appear as if it had not been slept in, relightingthe lamp, and dressing and tiring herself, until she looked as if she hadnot been abed that night; then, taking with her a lighted lamp and somework, she sat her down at the head of the stairs, and began sewing, whileshe waited to see how the affair would end.

  Arriguccio meanwhile had hied him with all speed straight from the houseto that of his wife's brothers, where by dint of much knocking he madehimself heard, and was admitted. The lady's three brothers, and hermother, being informed that 'twas Arriguccio, got up, and having setlights a burning, came to him and asked him on what errand he was comethere at that hour, and alone. Whereupon Arriguccio, beginning with thediscovery of the pack-thread attached to his lady's great toe, gave themthe whole narrative of his discoveries and doings down to the very end;and to clinch the whole matter, he put in their hands the locks which hehad cut, as he believed, from his wife's head, adding that 'twas now forthem to come for her and deal with her on such wise as they might deemtheir honour required, seeing that he would nevermore have her in hishouse. Firmly believing what he told them, the lady's brothers were verywroth with her, and having provided themselves with lighted torches, setout with Arriguccio, and hied them to his house with intent to scorn her,while their mother followed, weeping and beseeching now one, now another,not to credit these matters so hastily, until they had seen or heardsomewhat more thereof; for that the husband might have some other reasonto be wroth with her, and having ill-treated her, might have trumped upthis charge by way of exculpation, adding that, if true, 'twas passingstrange, for well she knew her daughter, whom she had brought up from hertenderest years, and much more to the like effect.

  However, being come to Arriguccio's house, they entered, and weremounting the stairs, when Monna Sismonda, hearing them, called out:--"Whois there?" Whereto one of the brothers responded:--"Lewd woman, thoushalt soon have cause enough to know who it is." "Now Lord love us!"quoth Monna Sismonda, "what would he be at?" Then, rising, she greetedthem with:--"Welcome, my brothers but what seek ye abroad at this hour,all three of you?" They had seen her sitting and sewing with never a signof a blow on her face, whereas Arriguccio had averred that he hadpummelled her all over: wherefore their first impression was one ofwonder, and refraining the vehemence of their wrath, they asked her whatmight be the truth of the matter which Arriguccio laid to her charge, andthreatened her with direful consequences, if she should conceal aught.Whereto the lady:--"What you would have me tell you," quoth she, "or whatArriguccio may have laid to my charge, that know not I." Arriguccio couldbut gaze upon her, as one that had taken leave of his wits, calling tomind how he had pummelled her about the face times without number, andscratched it for her, and mishandled her in all manner of ways, and therehe now saw her with no trace of aught of it all upon her. However, tomake a long story short, the lady's brothers told her what Arriguccio hadtold them touching the pack-thread and the beating and all the rest ofit. Whereupon the lady turned to him with:--"Alas, my husband, what isthis that I hear? Why givest thou me, to thy own great shame, thereputation of a lewd woman, when such I am not, and thyself thereputation of a wicked and cruel man, which thou art not? Wast thou everto-night, I say not in my company, but so much as in the house until now?Or when didst thou beat me? For my part I mind me not of it." Arrigucciobegan:--"How sayst thou, lewd woman? Did we not go to bed together? Did Inot come back, after chasing thy lover? Did I not give thee bruises not afew, and cut thy hair for thee?" But the lady interrupted him,saying:--"Nay, thou didst not lie here to-night. But leave we this, ofwhich my true words are my sole witness, and pass we to this of thebeating thou sayst thou gavest me, and how thou didst cut my hair. Nevera beating had I from thee, and I bid all that are here, and thee amongthem, look at me, and say if I have any trace of a beating on my person;nor should I advise thee to dare lay hand upon me; for, by the Holy Rood,I would spoil thy beauty for thee. Nor didst thou cut my hair, for aughtthat I saw or felt: however, thou didst it, perchance, on such wise thatI was not ware thereof: so let me see whether 'tis cut or no." Then,unveiling herself, she shewed that her hair was uncut and entire.Wherefore her brothers and mother now turned to Arriguccio with:--"Whatmeans this, Arriguccio? This accords not with what thou gavest us tounderstand thou hadst done; nor know we how thou wilt prove the residue."

  Arriguccio was
lost, as it were, in a dream, and yet he would fain havespoken; but, seeing that what he had thought to prove was otherwise, heessayed no reply. So the lady turning to her brothers:--"I see," quothshe, "what he would have: he will not be satisfied unless I do what Inever would otherwise have done, to wit, give you to know what a pitifulcaitiff he is; as now I shall not fail to do. I make no manner of doubtthat, as he has said, even so it befell, and so he did. How, you shallhear. This worthy man, to whom, worse luck! you gave me to wife, amerchant, as he calls himself, and as such would fain have credit, andwho ought to be more temperate than a religious, and more continent thana girl, lets scarce an evening pass but he goes a boozing in the taverns,and