8-10, Sicilian damsel cheats merchant

NOVEL X. 

A certain Sicilian damsel cheats a merchant of all the money he had taken for his goods at Palermo. Afterwards he pretends to return with a greater stock of goods than before; when he contrives to borrow a large sum of money of her, leaving sham pledges for her security. 

How much they were all diverted with the queen's novel, it is needless to say; and it being now ended, Dioneo began in this manner: - It is certain that a hoax is the more entertaining, the more cunning and artful the person is who is imposed upon by it. Therefore, though the other novels have been agreeable enough, yet I think to relate one that will please you better; inasmuch as the lady outwitted was a greater mistress of such devices, than any of the persons before mentioned. 

It was formerly a custom, and may be still, in seaport towns, for all the merchants that come thither, to bring their goods into a common warehouse, under the keeping of the community, or the lord of the town; when they give a particular account, in writing, of the nature and value of them; the goods are kept under lock and key, and the account entered in a register, for the merchants to pay the accustomed dues, as all or part are sold, and delivered out of the warehouse. From this register, the brokers are informed both of the quantity and quality of the goods, and also who are the owners to treat with for them, either by exchange, truck, or sale. This was the way, among other places, at Palermo, where there was likewise, and is still, great plenty of handsome women, not overstocked with modesty. And yet, to all appearance, many of them were grand ladies, and pretended to a character, though they make it their whole employ to shave and even skin such men as fell into their clutches. No sooner did they see a strange merchant, but they would inform themselves, from that register, of the nature and the value of his goods; and then, by their amorous wiles, they would endeavour to bring him to their lure, which they often did; and some have been choused out of part of their goods; others have lost ship, goods, and body, to boot: so finely have they been handled by these cunning shavers. 

Now it happened, not long since, that a certain young Florentine, called Niccola da Cigniano, though more commonly known by the nick-name Salabaetto, arrived there as a factor, with as much woollen cloth which had been left unsold at the fair of Salerno as might be worth five hundred florins; and having given in his account to the officers, and laid his goods safely up in the warehouse, he was in no great haste to despatch his business, but took a turn up and down I the town to amuse himself. Being a personable young man, one of these female shavers, that we have been speaking of, called Madam Biancofiore, having heard something of his affairs, soon took notice of him, which he perceiving, and supposing she was some great lady who had taken a fancy to him, resolved to conduct the affair with the utmost caution; so without saying a word to any one, he used to take his walks frequently by her house. She was soon sensible of this, and when she thought his affection towards her fully secured, under pretence of languishing for him, she sent one of her women to him, an adept in that sort of business, who told him, with tears in her eyes, that her lady was so in love with him, that she could get no rest night or day; therefore she desired very much, whenever he would do her that favour, to meet him at a bagnio; and with these words she took a ring out of a purse, and gave it him as a token. Salabaetto was overjoyed at the message; so taking the ring, and looking earnestly at it, and kissing it, he put it upon his finger, and said, "If your lady loves me as you say, be assured she has not misplaced her affections, for I love her more than I do mine own life, and shall be ready to meet her at any time and place she shall appoint." She had no sooner reported his answer, than she was posted back to tell him, that her mistress would meet him at such a bagnio that evening. Accordingly, he went thither at the time fixed, and found it engaged for that lady's use. 

He had not waited long before two women slaves came, the one loaded with a fine cotton mattress, and the other a hamper full of things. This mattress they laid upon a bed in one of the chambers, covering it with a fine pair of sheets, curiously edged with silk, and over the whole was spread a rich Grecian counterpoint, with two pillows, worked in a most delicate manner; after which they went into the bath, and cleaned it very carefully, The lady now came, attended by two slaves, and after some sighs and embraces, she said, “My dear Tuscan, there is nobody could have obtained this favour from me but yourself; "so they went into the bath together, and with them two of their slaves, who washed them with soap, scented with musk and gilliflowers. The other slaves then brought two fine sheets, smelling of nothing but roses, in one of which they wrapped Salabaetto, and in the other the lady, and carried them to bed, where after they had lain some time to perspire, those sheets were taken away, and they were left between the others. After this, they took out of the hamper silver canisters of rose, orange, and jessamine water, which they sprinkled upon the bed, and presented them with sweetmeats and rich wines, by way of collation: and he all the time thinking himself in paradise, wishing heartily that they would go away, and leave him in possession of his mistress. At length they left a taper lighting in the chamber, and departed. After they had lain a convenient time, the servants returned, and put on their clothes, and when they had taken more refreshment of wine and sweetmeats, and washed their hands and faces with orange-water, as they were going to depart, she said, "If it be agreeable to you, I should be vastly pleased if you would come and sup with me, and stay all night supposing himself as dear to her as her own heart, he replied, "Madam, whatever is pleasing to you is entirely so to me; now, therefore, and at all times, I shall be ready to obey your commands." 

So she went home, had her apartment richly set out, and provided a costly supper for him. Salabaetto accordingly went thither as soon as it was dark, and was very elegantly received; and after supper they went into a chamber, scented with costly odours, where was a most noble bed, and everything besides that was grand and sumptuous. All this made him conclude, that she was some very great and rich lady. And though he had heard various reports about her, yet he would not believe them for the world; nay, had he been convinced of her tricking other people, he could never have been made to believe that she would serve him so. He stayed with her all that night, and the next morning she made him a present of a fine wrought belt and purse, saying to him, "My dear Salabaetto, fare you well; and from henceforth be persuaded, as you are entirely after my own heart, that my person and all I possess are at your service," He then took his leave with great satisfaction, and went to the place where the merchants usually resort." 

Continuing his visits to her without any expense, and becoming every day more enamoured, it happened, that he sold his cloth, and gained considerable profit. She was immediately apprised of this, not by himself, but by others, and as he was with her one night, she seemed to express a more than ordinary fondness for him, and would needs make him a present of two beautiful silver cups, worth about thirty florins, which he refused to accept, having had divers things of her before, to the value of thirty more, without giving her the worth of a single farthing. At last, after she had set him all on fire, as it were, with this extraordinary love and liberality, she was called out by one of her slaves, as she had contrived beforehand. She returned in a little time full of tears, and throwing herself down upon the bed, appeared to grieve most immoderately. Salabaetto was in the greatest consternation, and taking her in his arms, he began to say, "Alas, my dear heart, what is it that has happened to you thus suddenly? Tell me, my life, I entreat you, do." At last she replied, "My dear lord, I know neither what to do, nor what to say. I have just received letters from Messina, wherein my brother informs me, that, though I pawn all I have, I must, without fail, remit a thousand florins of gold in eight days; otherwise, he must inevitably lose his head. Now I find it impossible to raise the money upon so short a notice: had I but fifteen days, I could procure it from a place whence I could command even a greater sum; or I could sell some of my lands: but as it cannot now be done, I wish I had been in my grave rather than have lived to know this trouble;" and she continued weeping. Salabaetto, whose love had taken away his understanding, thinking that her tears were real, and what she said was true, made answer, "Madam, I am unable to furnish you with a thousand; but with five hundred I can, as you think you will be able to pay me in fifteen days; and it is your good fortune that I happened to sell my cloth yesterday, otherwise I could not have spared you one farthing." - "Alas," quoth the lady, then have you been in want of money? Why did not you speak to me? For though I have not a thousand, I have always a hundred or two to spare for you. You deprive me of the assurance to accept your proffered favour." He, quite captivated with these fine speeches, made answer, "Madam, you shall have it nevertheless; had I been in the like circumstance I should have applied to you." - "Dear sir," She replied, "I am convinced of your most constant and entire love towards me, to supply me with such a sum of your own accord: I was yours before, and now am much more so; nor shall I ever forget that it is to you I am indebted for my brother's life. But Heaven knows I accept it very unwillingly, considering that you are a merchant, and must have occasion for a great deal of ready money; but being constrained by necessity, and assured also that I shall be able to return it at your time, I will make use of it; and I will pawn all my houses rather than fail in my engagement to you." 

With these words she fell, weeping, into his arms. He did all he could to comfort her, and stayed with her all that night; and the next morning, to show what a liberal lover he was, and without waiting for any farther request, he brought her the five hundred florins, which she received with laughter at her heart, though with tears in her eyes, he looking only to her simple promise. 

But after she had got the money, the times were soon changed; and whereas before he had free admittance to her as often as he pleased, now reasons were given that he could not get a sight of her once in seven times that he went; nor did he meet with those smiles and caresses, nor with the same generous reception as before. Moreover, the time limited was past, and one or two months over, and when he demanded his money he could get nothing but words by way of payment. His eyes were now opened to the arts of this wicked woman, as well as his own want of sense; but knowing that he had no proof against her, save what she herself would please to acknowledge, there being no writing of any kind between them, he was ashamed to make his complaint to any one, also on account of the disgrace which he must undergo for his monstrous credulity; so he continued uneasy and disconsolate to the last degree. At last, receiving frequent letters from his masters in which he was required to get bills of exchange for the money, and remit to them, he resolved to leave the place, in order to prevent a discovery, and he embarked on board a little vessel, not for Pisa, as he should have done, but directly for Naples. 

There lived there at that time Signor Pietro dello Canigiano, treasurer to the Empress of Constantinople, a very subtle, sensible man, and a great friend to Salabaetto and his masters. To him he made his case known, requesting his assistance in getting himself a livelihood, and declaring that he would never more return to Florence. Canigiano, who was much concerned for him, replied, "You have done very ill; very ill indeed have you behaved yourself; small is the regard which you have shown to your principals; too much have you expended upon your pleasures. It is done, however, and we must remedy it as well as we can." Then, like a prudent man, he considered what course it was best to take, and acquainted him with it. Salabaetto was pleased with the scheme and resolved to follow it; and having some money of his own, and Canigiano lending him spme, he made divers bales of goods well packed together, and procured about twenty casks for oil, which he filled, and returned with them to Palermo, where he entered them as on his own account in the register, with what value he pleased to put upon them; and he laid them up in the warehouse, declaring that they were not to be meddled with till more goods of his should arrive, which he was daily expecting. 

The lady hearing of this, and understanding that the goods he had already there were worth two thousand florins, and that what remained to come were rated at three thousand more, began to think that she had as yet got too little from him; therefore she thought of returning the five hundred, to come in for a better part of the five thousand, and accordingly she sent for him. He went with malice in his heart, whilst she, seeming to know nothing of what he had brought, appeared wonderfully pleased at seeing him, and said, "Now, were you really vexed because I failed to give you your money at your time?"He smiled, and replied, "In truth, madam, I was a little uneasy, since I would pluck my very heart out if I thought it would please you; but you shall see how much I was offended. Such is my regard for you, that I have sold the greatest part of my estate, and have brought as much merchandise as is worth two thousand florins, and I expect from the Levant what will amount to three thousand more; resolving to have a warehouse, and to abide here, for the sake of being near you, as I think nobody can be happier in his love than I am in yours." 

"Now trust me, Salabaetto," said the lady, "whatever redounds to your benefit is extremely pleasing to me, as I hold you dearer than my own life; and I am glad you are returned with an intention of staying, because I hope to have a great deal of your company; but it is fit that I excuse myself to you, for that sometimes you came to see me, and were not admitted, and at other times not so cheerfully received as before; and besides this, for my not paying you the money according to promise. Now you must know that I was then in very great trouble, and upon such occasions, be one's love what it may, one cannot look so pleasantly as at another time; I must tell you likewise that it is a very difficult thing for a lady to raise a thousand florins, people impose upon us in such a manner, without ever minding what they promise; so that we are forced to disappoint others. Hence it was, then, and for no other reason, that I did not return you your money; but I had got it ready just as you went away, and would have sent it after you, had I known where to find you; but as I did not, I kept it carefully for you. So sending for a purse, which had the very same florins in it that he had delivered to her, she put it into his hand, saying, “see, and count if there are five hundred." Never was Salabaetto so overjoyed as at that moment; so telling them over, and finding there were just five hundred, he replied, "Madam, I am convinced that what you say is true; but let us talk no more about it, you have done your part, and I assure you, upon that account, as well as the love I have for you, that whatever sum of money you shall want at any time, if it be in my power to supply you, you may command it; as you shall soon see upon trial. Thus their love being renewed, in word at least, he continued artfully his visits as before; whilst she showed him all the respect and honour that could be, expressing the same fondness as ever. But he, willing to return measure for measure, being invited one night to sup with her, went thither, all sad and melancholy, like a person in despair. When she, kissing and embracing him, would needs know the cause of all that sorrow. He, having suffered her to entreat him for some time, at last said, "I am undone; for the ship which had the goods on board, that I have been expecting, is taken by the corsairs of Monaco, and put up at the ransom of ten thousand florins, one thousand of which falls to my share, and I have not one farthing to pay it with; for the five hundred which you paid me, I sent instantly to Naples, to lay out in cloth to be sent hither; and were I to offer to sell the goods I have here, as it is an unfavourable time, I must do it to a very great loss; and, being a stranger, I have nobody to apply to; so that I know neither what to say nor what to do: and if the money be not sent immediately, the ship will be carried into Monaco, and then they will be past redemption." 

She was under great concern at hearing this, reckoning a good part of it as lost to herself; and considering how to I prevent the goods being sent to Monaco, at last she said, "Heaven knows how much my love for you makes me grieve I for your misfortune. But to what purpose is that? Had I the money, I would instantly give it you; but I have not. Indeed there is a person that lent me five hundred florins the other day, when I was in distress, but he expects an exorbitant interest, viz., no less than thirty in the hundred. If you will have the money of this man, you must give him good security. Now I am ready to pledge my goods here, and pass my word as far as that will go to serve you; but how will you secure the remainder? Salabaetto knew the reason of her proposing this piece of service, and that she herself was to lend the money; so, being well pleased, he returned her thanks, and said, that, let the interest be what it would, his necessity was such that he must agree to it: then he added, that he would give security upon his goods which he had in the warehouse, and that they should be assigned over in the register to the person who advanced the money, but that he would keep the key, as well for the sake of showing them, if anybody should want to see them, as to prevent their being exchanged or meddled with. The lady replied, "That will do very well, the security is sufficient;"and, at the time appointed, sending for a broker, in whom she put great confidence, she told him what he was to do, and gave hira the money, which he carried straightway to Salabaetto, who assigned over his goods to him at the custom- house, and they were entered in his name; thus they parted, giving each other counter-security. Salabaetto now immediately embarked with the fifteen hundred florins, and went to Pietro dello Canigiano at Naples, whence he remitted to his masters at Florence the entire amount of what he had made of their cloth; and having paid Pietro and every one else what he owed them, they laughed very heartily together at the trick put upon his Sicilian mistress. Thence, resolving to trade no longer, he went to Florence. In the meantime the lady, finding Salabaetto was not at Palermo, began to wonder, and grow half suspicious; and, after waiting two months, and hearing nothing of his return, she made the broker force open the warehouse, when first she tried the casks, which she supposed had been full of oil, and found them full of salt water, with a small quantity of oil at the top, just at the bung-hole. She then looked into the bales of goods, only two of which had cloth in them, the rest being stuffed with coarse hurds of hemp; and, in short, the whole was not worth two hundred florins. So, finding herself thus imposed upon, she was under great affliction for a long time, with regard to the five hundred florins that she had restored, and much more for the thousand she had lent, often saying, "that whoever had to do with a Tuscan, had need have all their eyes about them." Thus she became a common jest afterwards, having found to her cost that some people have as much cunning as others. 

[A story like this may be found in "Petrus Alphonsus," and another in the
"Arabian Nights,"] 

After Dioneo had made an end, Lauretta, knowing that her reign was concluded, and having commended the good advice of Pietro Canigiano, as appeared by its effect, and the sagacity of Salabaetto, no less to be admired, in putting it in execution, took the crown from her own head, and placed it upon Emilia's saying, "Madam, I do not know whether you will make a pleasant queen or not, but a pretty one I am sure you will. See then that your works correspond with your beauty." Emilia, not so much for the honour conferred upon her, as for hearing herself commended on account of that which ladies most of all covet, blushed a little, her face looking like the opening of a rose in the morning. After she had bent her eyes upon the ground, till the redness was something gone off, and had given her orders to the master of the household, concerning what she would have done, she began in this manner: "We often see, ladies, that after oxen have laboured at the yoke all the day, they are then turned loose, and permitted to graze through the forests at their pleasure. It is also certain, that gardens, which have a variety of trees in them, are more delightful than groves where nothing is seen but oaks: for which reasons, considering how many days we have been confined to certain laws, it may be convenient for us all to take a little liberty to refresh, and gain strength against our returning to the yoke. I shall, therefore, give you no particular subject for tomorrow, but leave you all to please yourselves, being of opinion, that a variety of things will be no less entertaining than keeping strictly to one. My successor, if he pleases, may keep to the old laws." She then gave them leave to depart till supper-time. The queen's order was generally approved, and they went to their different amusements. The ladies made nose-gays and chaplets of flowers, and the gentlemen sat down to play, or else to sing; and thus they were employed till supper, when they placed themselves by the fountain-side, and supped very merrily together. Afterwards they began to dance and sing, when the queen, to pursue the method of her predecessors, besides what many of them had voluntarily given, ordered Pamfilo to sing a song, which he did as follows: 

SONG. 

Such the abundant am'rous joy,

With which my heart elate hath been. 

As no restraint, no bounds to know 

And flushing in my face is seen! 

In vain my feeble song essays 

To paint what cannot be exprest; 

And which more fully to have known, 

Would bring but jealousy at best. 

Could I have formed a wish like this. 

My utmost hope have reached so far, 

To clasp her yielding taper waist, 

And press my eager lips to her? 

Everyone joined in Pamfilo's song; nor were there any among them but made more conjectures than were necessary, to find out what he meant to conceal; and though they imagined different things, yet none of them guessed right. Finally the queen, seeing the song was ended, and that the company were disposed to rest, gave orders for them all to retire to bed.