The Decameron, Volume II

by Giovanni Boccaccio

room inwhich he stores his goods under lock and key; whereupon the said officersof the dogana enter all the merchant's goods to his credit in the book ofthe dogana, and afterwards make him pay duty thereon, or on such part ashe withdraws from the warehouse. By which book of the dogana the brokersnot seldom find out the sorts and quantities of the merchandise that isthere, and also who are the owners thereof, with whom, as occasionserves, they afterwards treat of exchanges, barters, sales and othermodes of disposing of the goods. Which custom obtained, as in many otherplaces, so also at Palermo in Sicily, where in like manner there were andare not a few women, fair as fair can be, but foes to virtue, who bywhoso knows them not would be reputed great and most virtuous ladies. Andbeing given not merely to fleece but utterly to flay men, they no soonerespy a foreign merchant in the city, than they find out from the book ofthe dogana how much he has there and what he is good for; and then bycaressing and amorous looks and gestures, and words of honeyed sweetness,they strive to entice and allure the merchant to their love, and notseldom have they succeeded, and wrested from him great part or the wholeof his merchandise; and of some they have gotten goods and ship and fleshand bones, so delightsomely have they known how to ply the shears.

  Now 'tis not long since one of our young Florentines, Niccolo da Cignanoby name, albeit he was called Salabaetto, arrived there, being sent byhis masters with all the woollen stuffs that he had not been able todispose of at Salerno fair, which might perhaps be worth five hundredflorins of gold; and having given the invoice to the officers of thedogana and stored the goods, Salabaetto was in no hurry to get them outof bond, but took a stroll or two about the city for his diversion. Andas he was fresh-complexioned and fair and not a little debonair, it sobefell that one of these ladies that plied the shears, and called herselfJancofiore, began to ogle him. Whereof he taking note, and deeming thatshe was a great lady, supposed that she was taken by his good looks, andcast about how he might manage this amour with all due discretion;wherefore, saying nought to a soul, he began to pass to and fro beforeher house. Which she observing, occupied herself for a few days ininflaming his passion, and then affecting to be dying of love for him,sent privily to him a woman that she had in her service, and who was anadept in the arts of the procuress. She, after not a little palaver, toldhim, while the tears all but stood in her eyes, that for his handsomeperson and winsome air her mistress was so enamoured of him, that shefound no peace by day or by night; and therefore, if 'twere agreeable tohim, there was nought she desired so much as to meet him privily at abagnio: whereupon she drew a ring from her purse, and gave it him by wayof token from her mistress. Overjoyed as ne'er another to hear such goodnews, Salabaetto took the ring, and, after drawing it across his eyes andkissing it, put it on his finger, and told the good woman that, ifMadonna Jancofiore loved him, she was well requited, for that he lovedher more dearly than himself, and that he was ready to meet her whereverand whenever she might see fit. With which answer the procuress hied herback to her mistress, and shortly afterwards Salabaetto was informed thathe was to meet the lady at a certain bagnio at vespers of the ensuingday.

  So, saying nought to a soul of the matter, he hied him punctually at theappointed hour to the bagnio, and found that it had been taken by thelady; nor had he long to wait before two female slaves made theirappearance, bearing on their heads, the one a great and goodly mattressof wadding, and the other a huge and well-filled basket; and having laidthe mattress on a bedstead in one of the rooms of the bagnio, theycovered it with a pair of sheets of the finest fabric, bordered withsilk, and a quilt of the whitest Cyprus buckram, with twodaintily-embroidered pillows. The slaves then undressed and got into thebath, which they thoroughly washed and scrubbed: whither soon afterwardsthe lady, attended by other two female slaves, came, and made haste togreet Salabaetto with the heartiest of cheer; and when, after heavingmany a mighty sigh, she had embraced and kissed him:--"I know not," quothshe, "who but thou could have brought me to this, such a fire hast thoukindled in my soul, little dog of a Tuscan!" Whereupon she was pleasedthat they should undress, and get into the bath, and two of the slaveswith them; which, accordingly, they did; and she herself, suffering noneother to lay a hand upon him, did with wondrous care wash Salabaetto fromhead to foot with soap perfumed with musk and cloves; after which she letthe slaves wash and shampoo herself. The slaves then brought two spotlesssheets of finest texture, which emitted such a scent of roses, that 'twasas if there was nought there but roses, in one of which having wrappedSalabaetto, and in the other the lady, they bore them both to bed, where,the sheets in which they were enfolded being withdrawn by the slaves assoon as they had done sweating, they remained stark naked in the others.The slaves then took from the basket cruets of silver most goodly, andfull, this of rose-water, that of water of orange-blossom, a third ofwater of jasmine-blossom, and a fourth of nanfa(1) water, wherewith theysprinkled them: after which, boxes of comfits and the finest wines beingbrought forth, they regaled them a while. To Salabaetto 'twas as if hewere in Paradise; a thousand times he scanned the lady, who was indeedmost beautiful; and he counted each hour as a hundred years until theslaves should get them gone, and he find himself in the lady's arms.

  At length, by the lady's command, the slaves departed, leaving a lightedtorch in the room, and then the lady and Salabaetto embraced, and toSalabaetto's prodigious delight, for it seemed to him that she was allbut dissolved for love of him, tarried there a good while. However, thetime came when the lady must needs rise: so she called the slaves, withwhose help they dressed, regaled them again for a while with wine andcomfits, and washed their faces and hands with the odoriferous waters.Then as they were going, quoth the lady to Salabaetto:--"If it beagreeable to thee, I should deem it a very great favour if thou wouldstcome to-night to sup and sleep with me." Salabaetto, who, captivated byher beauty and her studied graciousness, never doubted but he was dear toher as her very heart, made answer:--"Madam, there is nought you candesire but is in the last degree agreeable to me; wherefore to-night andever 'tis my purpose to do whatsoever you may be pleased to command." Sohome the lady hied her, and having caused a brave shew to be made in herchamber with her dresses and other paraphernalia, and a grand supper tobe prepared, awaited Salabaetto; who, being come there as soon as 'twasdark, had of her a gladsome welcome, and was regaled with an excellentand well-served supper. After which, they repaired to the chamber, wherehe was saluted by a wondrous sweet odour of aloe-wood, and observed thatthe bed was profusely furnished with birds,(2) after the fashion ofCyprus, and that not a few fine dresses were hanging upon the pegs. Whichcircumstances did, one and all, beget in him the belief that this must bea great and wealthy lady; and, though he had heard a hint or two to thecontrary touching her life, he would by no means credit them; nor,supposing that she had perchance taken another with guile, would hebelieve that the same thing might befall him. So to his exceeding greatsolace, he lay with her that night, and ever grew more afire for her. Onthe morrow, as she was investing him with a fair and dainty girdle ofsilver, with a goodly purse attached:--"Sweet my Salabaetto," quoth she,"prithee forget me not; even as my person, so is all that I have at thypleasure, and all that I can at thy command."

  Salabaetto then embraced and kissed her, and so bade her adieu, andbetook him to the place where the merchants were wont to congregate. Andso it befell that he, continuing to consort with her from time to time,and being never a denier the poorer thereby, disposed of his merchandisefor ready money and at no small profit; whereof not by him but by anotherthe lady was forthwith advised. And Salabaetto being come to see her oneevening, she greeted him gaily and gamesomely, and fell a kissing andhugging him, and made as if she were so afire for love of him that shewas like to die thereof in his arms; and offered to give him two mostgoodly silver cups that she had, which Salabaetto would not accept,having already had from her (taking one time with another) fully thirtyflorins of gold, while he had not been able to induce her to touch somuch as a groat of his money. But when by this shew of passion andg
enerosity she had thoroughly kindled his flame, in came, as she hadarranged, one of her slaves, and spoke to her; whereupon out of the roomshe went, and after a while came back in tears, and threw herself proneon the bed, and set up the most dolorous lamentation that ever womanmade. Whereat Salabaetto wondering, took her in his arms, and mingled histears with hers, and said:--"Alas! heart of my body! what ails thee thusof a sudden? Wherefore art thou so distressed? Ah! tell me the reason, mysoul." The lady allowed him to run on in this strain for a good while,and then:--"Alas! sweet my lord," quoth she, "I know not either what todo or what to say. I have but now received a letter from Messina, inwhich my brother bids me sell, if need be, all that I have here, and sendhim without fail within eight days a thousand florins of gold: otherwisehe will forfeit his head. I know