NOVEL VI.
King Charles the First, sumamed the Victorious, being in love with a young lady, and ashamed afterwards of his folly, marries both her and her sister much to their advantage.
It would be too long to recount the various disputes that arose amongst the company, whether Gilberto's generosity, or Ansaldo's, or, lastly, the necromancer's, with regard to Dianora, was the greatest. The king, after suffering the debate to continue awhile, ordered Fiammetta to put an end to it, and she began presently to this effect: - Ladies, I was always of opinion, that, in such company as ours, people should speak so fully as to leave no room for doubt concerning the meaning of anything that is advanced; for disputes more properly belong to students in the schools, than to us, who can scarcely manage our wheels and our distaffs. Therefore, seeing you have been already embroiled, I shall pass over something dubious which I was going to mention, and relate an affair of no insignificant person, but of a most mighty king, stating how he behaved with regard to his honour.
You must all have heard of King Charles the Ancient, or the First, by whose glorious enterprise and great victory obtained over King Manfredi, the Ghibelline faction was driven out of Florence, and the Guelphs restored. On this account a certain knight, called Neri degli Uberti, departed with his whole family and a great store of wealth, meaning to pass the remainder of his life under the protection of no other king. Choosing a solitary place, with a design to end his days in quiet, he went to Castello da Mare, where he purchased a little estate, about a bow-shot from all other houses, amongst the olives aud chestnuts, with which that place abounds, and built a small convenient house upon it, by the side of which was a most delightful garden, and in the middle of that, according to our taste, as there was great command of water, he made a fine canal, storing it well with fish. His whole delight being now to cultivate and embellish his garden, it happened that King Charles came during the summer to amuse himself at Castello da Mare for a few days; when, hearing of Neri's fine garden, he had a great desire to see it; and considering that he was of the adverse party, he resolved to use the more familiarity towards him; so he sent him word, that he and four friends would come and sup with him the next evening in his garden. This was an agreeable message to Signor Neri, who made the finest preparations in his power for the entertainment of his royal guest. The king highly commended both the house and garden; and the table being spread by the side of the canal, he sat down, ordering Count Guido di Monforte, who was amongst his attendants, to sit on one side, and Signor Neri on the other, and as for the remaining three, they sat as they were placed by Signor Neri.
Supper was now served up in the most delicate order, with the best and richest wine, greatly to the king's liking; and whilst he was eating, with great admiration of the beauty of the place, two young damsels, of about fifteen years of age, entered the garden, with their hair, like golden wire, most curiously curied, and garlands of flowers upon their heads, whilst their mien and deportment bespoke them rather angels than mortal creatures. Their garments, which were of fine linen cloth, as white as snow, were girt round their waists, and hung thence in large folds to their feet; she that came first had two fishing-nets, which she carried in her left hand upon her shoulder, and in her right was a long stick: the other followed with a frying-pan upon her left shoulder, a faggot of wood under the arm, a trevet in one hand, and in the other hand a bottle of oil and a lighted torch.
The king was greatly surprised at this spectacle, and waited attentively to see what it meant. The damsels being come before him« made their obeisance in the humblest and most modest manner; and at the entrance of the pond, she that had the pan, with the other things, laid them down upon the ground, and taking up the stick which the other carried, they both stepped into the canal, the water of which came up to their breasts. A servant immediately kindled a fire, and laying the pan upon the trevet, and putting oil therein, he began to watch till the damsels should throw him some fish. So one of them beating the places where the fish lay, and the other holding the net, they soon caught fish enough, to the great diversion of the king; and as they were threwing them to the servant, who put them alive as it were into the pan, they cast some of the finest, as they had been before instructed, upon the table before the king, Count Guido, and their father. The king was highly delighted with seeing the fish jump about, and he tossed them back in pleasantry to the fair fishers; and so they diverted themselves, till the servant had fried those he had in his pan, which were set before the king by Signor Neri's order, more as a curiosity than anything nice and dainty. The damsels, thinking they had now done enough, came out of the water, with their garments clinging about them, in such a manner as perfectly to exhibit every lineament of their forms, and modestly saluting the king as before, they returned into the house. The king, with the count and the gentlemen that attended, were much taken with their extraordinary beauty and modest behaviour: the king especially was perfectly lost in admiration, and finding a secret passion stealing upon him, without knowing which to prefer, they were so exactly alike, he turned to Signor Neri, and asked who those two damsels were?
"My lord," he replied, "they are my daughters, born both at a birth, one of whom is called Ginevra the Pretty, and the other Isotta the Fair." The king commended them very much, and advised him to marry them; but Signor Neri excused himself, alleging that he was not in circumstances to do it.
Nothing now remained to be served up but the dessert, when the two ladies came attired in rich satin, with two silver dishes in their hands, full of all manner of fruit, which they set before the king; and retiring afterwards to some distance, they sang a song, beginning with.
Thy power, O love, who can resist? etc.
They sang with such exquisite sweetness, that it seemed to the king as if choirs of angels were descended from heaven for his entertainment. The song being ended, they fell upon their knees before him, to take their leave, which the king graciously accorded, though he was secretly grieved at their departure. When supper was concluded, the king, with his attendants, mounted their horses, and returned to the palace, where, being unable to forego the love that he had conceived for Ginevra, for whose sake he also loved her sister, who exactly resembled her, he grew so uneasy that he could think of nothing else. He therefore cultivated, under other pretences, a close intimacy with the father, and used frequently to visit him at his garden, in order to see Ginevra.
At last, unable to contain his passion any longer, and seeing he could think of no better way, he resolved to take from Neri not one daughter only, but both, by force; and he signified his intention to the Count Guido, who, being a nobleman of strict honour, said: "My liege, I am greatly surprised at what you now say, and more perhaps than any other person would be, since I have known you better, even from your infancy; and as I never remember any such thing of you in your youth, when love has the greatest power over us, it seems now so strange, that I can scarcely give credit to it. Did it become me to reprove you, I know very well what I might say, considering that you are yet in arras in a kingdom newly conquered, amongst a people not known to you, abounding with treachery and deceit, and that you have many great and weighty affairs upon your hands; yet you can sit down at ease in such circumstances, and give way to such an idle passion as love. This is not like a great king, so much as an inglorious stripling. And, what is worse, you say you are resolved to take his two daughters away from a poor gentleman, who had them to wait upon you out of his abundant respect, as well as to show his great confidence in you, believing you to be a generous prince, and not a rapacious wolf. Have you so soon forgotten that it was Manfredi's taking the same liberties which opened your way to this kingdom? Can there be a baser crime than to take away from one who honours you, his honour, his hope, his entire comfort? What will people say in such a case? Do you think it any excuse that he is of a different party? Is this kingly justice, to treat people in that manner, be they of what party they will, who throw themselves under your protection? It was great glory to conquer Manfredi, but let me tell you, it will be much greater to conquer yourself. You, therefore, who are ordained to correct vice in others, learn to subdue your own; curb that unruly appetite, nor stain with so foul a blot the character you have so gloriously acquired."
These words touched the king to the quick, and so much the more as he knew them to be true; he sighed, therefore, and said, "Count, I hold the conquest of an enemy, however formidable, to be an easy thing compared to a victory over one's own passion; but, be the difficulty ever so great, such is the force of your words, that before many days are past I will convince you, that if I know how to conquer others, I am able also to withstand myself." So he went to Naples soon after, when, to put it out of his power to do a base thing, as well as to reward the knight for his generosity, he resolved, however grating it seemed, to give another the possession of that which he himself coveted, and to marry both the ladies, not as Signor Neri's daughters, but his own. Bestowing, then, large fortunes upon them, he gave Ginevra the Pretty to Signor Maffeo da Palizzi, and Isotta the Fair to Signor Guilielmo della Magna, both worthy knights. Having done this, he retired to Puglia, where, with great pains and trouble, he got the better at last of his passion, and lived with ease and quiet ever after.
Now some people, perhaps, may say, that it is a small thing for a king to bestow two ladies in marriage. I allow it: but for a king to give away the very lady that he himself was in love with, and without plucking the least bud, flower, or fruit of his love, that I will maintain to be great indeed. - Such, then, were the virtues of this most generous king, rewarding the courtesy of a noble knight, showing a great and proper regard to his beloved fair one, and subduing his own desires with strict resolution and honour.
