6-6, Michael Scalza, Baronci

NOVEL VI. 

Michael Scalza proves to certain young gentlemen, that the family of the Baronci is the most honourable of any in the world, and wins a supper by it. 

The ladies continued laughing at Giotto's smart reply, when the queen commanded Fiammetta to follow, which she did to this purpose: - The mention of the Baronci by Pamfilo, though perhaps you may not know them so well as himself, puts me in mind of a story in which their great nobility is plainly exhibited, without deviating from our present subject, and therefore I choose to relate it. 

There lived not long since in our city a young gentleman, called Michael Scalza, who was one of the most agreeable and pleasant companions in the world; for which reason his company was much courted by all the young people of Florence, whenever they could be favoured with it. Now he was one day with some friends at Mount Ughi, when the question happened to be started, Which was the noblest and most ancient family in Florence? Accordingly, one named the Uberti, another the Lamberti, some preferring one, and some another, according to their different humours and interests; upon which Scalza smiled, and said, "You are all mistaken; the most noble, as well as the most ancient family, I do not say in Florence only, but in the whole world, is that of the Baronci; in this all philosophers are agreed, and every one that knows them, as well as myself. And, lest you should think that I speak of some other family of that name, I tell you that I mean the Baronci, our neighbours, who live by the great St. Maria." When the young gentlemen, who expected he would have mentioned some other family, heard this one named, they made the greatest fun of it that could be, and said, "You impose anything in the world upon us, as if nobody knew the Baronci but yourself." - "Indeed," quoth he, "I do not, I speak nothing but what is truth, and if there is any one among you who dares lay a wager of a supper for six of his friends, upon that head, I will stand to it; nay, more than that, I will abide by the judgment of any person whom you shall nominate." Hereupon a young spark, called Neri Vannini, said, "I am your man." It was also agreed that one Piero, a Florentine, in whose house they were, should be judge. 

The case was stated accordingly to Piero, whilst the whole company bore hard upon Scalza, making themselves very merry with his expected treat. Piero, then, who was a good sensible man, having heard Neri's story, turned to Scalza, and said, "Well, how do you make good your assertion?" Scalza replied, "I prove it by such arguments as not yourself only, but even my antagonist shall confess to be just. You know that the more ancient any family is, the more noble it is deemed; this was agreed among us at the beginning. I have then only to show, in order to win my wager, that the Baronci family is the most ancient of all others. You must understand, then, that they were formed when nature was in her infancy, and before she was perfect at her work, and that the rest of mankind were all created afterwards. To convince you of this, do but examine the figures of one and the other, you will find art and proportion in the last, whereas the first are rough drawn and imperfect; among them you will see one with a long narrow face, another with a prodigious broad one; one that is flat-nosed, another with a nose half an ell long; this has a long hooked chin, that one eye bigger and set lower down than the other. In a word, their faces resemble, for the world, what children make when they first learn to draw. Nature, then, you will allow, was in its first and earliest state, when they were created, consequently they are the most ancient of all others, and therefore the most noble." Both Piero, who was to determine, and Neri, who had wagered the treat, and the whole company likewise, on hearing this pleasant argument, agreed that Scalza was in the right, and that the Baronci were the noblest and most ancient people in the whole world. Well, therefore, was it observed by Pamfilo, in describing the ugliness and deformity of Signor Forese, that, if possible, he had a worse person than any of the Baronci. 

6-5, Forese da Rabatta, Giotto

NOVEL V. 

Forese da Rabatta and Giotto, the painter, coming from Mugello, laugh at the meanness of each other's appearance. 

The ladies having been much diverted with Chichibio's reply, Pamfilo, by the queen's order, delivered himself to this effect: - As it often happens that fortune hides, under the meanest trades in life, the greatest virtues, which has been proved by Pampinea, so are the greatest geniuses found frequently lodged by nature in the most deformed and misshapen bodies. This truth was verified in two of our own citizens, as I am now going to relate. For the one, who was called Forese da Rabatta, being a little deformed mortal, with a flat Dutch face, worse than any of the family of the Baronci, was yet esteemed by most men a repository of the civil law. And the other, whose name was Giotto, had such a prodigious fancy, that there was nothing in Nature, the parent of all things, but he could imitate it with his pencil so well, and draw it so like, as to deceive our very senses, making them imagine that to be the very thing itself which was only his painting; therefore, having brought that art again to light, which had lain buried for many ages, under the errors of such as aimed more to captivate the eyes of the ignorant, than to please the understandings of those who were really judges, he may deservedly be called one of the lights and glories of our city, and the rather as being master of his art, notwithstanding his modesty would never suffer himself to be so esteemed: which honour, though rejected by him, displayed itself in him with the greater lustre, as it was so eagerly usurped by others less knowing than himself, and by many also who had all their knowledge from him. But though his excellence in his profession was so wonderful, yet as to his person and aspect he had no way the advantage of Signor Forese. To come then to my story: 

These two worthies had each his country seat at Mugello, and Forese being gone thither in the vacation time, and riding upon an unsightly steed, chanced to meet there with Giotto, who was no better equipped than himself, and they returned together to Florence. Travelling slowly along, as they were able to go no faster, they were overtaken by a great shower of rain, and forced to take shelter in a poor man's house, who was well known to them both; and as there was no appearance of the weather's clearing up, and each was desirous of getting home that night, they borrowed two old russet cloaks, and two rusty hats, and proceeded on their journey. After they had got a good part of their way, thoroughly wet, and covered with dirt and mire, which their two shuffling steeds had thrown upon them, and which by no means improved their looks, it began to clear up at last, and they, who had hitherto said but little to each other, now turned to discourse together. Forese, as he jogged on, listening to Giotto, who was excellent at telling a story, began at last to view him attentively from head to foot, and seeing him in that wretched dirty pickle, without ever thinking of his own plight, he fell a laughing, and said, "Do you suppose, Giotto, if a stranger were to meet with you now, who had never seen you before, that he would imagine you to be the best painter in the world, as you really are?" Giotto readily replied, "Yes, sir, I believe he might think so, if looking at you at the same time, he could ever conclude that you had learned your A, B, C." At this Forese was sensible of his mistake, finding himself well paid in his own coin. 

6-5, Chichibio, cook, Currado Gianfiliazzi, crane

NOVEL IV. 

Chichibio, cook to Currado Gianfiliazzi, by a sudden reply which he makes to his master, turns his wrath into laughter, and so escapes the punishment with which he had threatened him. 

Lauretta being silent, Neifile was ordered to follow, which she did in this manner: - Though ready wit and invention furnish people with words proper to their different occasions; yet sometimes does fortune, an assistant to the timorous, tip the tongue with a sudden, and yet a more pertinent reply than the most mature deliberation could ever have suggested, as I shall now briefly relate to you. 

Currado Gianfiliazzi, as most of you have both known and seen, was always esteemed a gallant and worthy citizen, delighting much in hounds and hawks, not to mention his other excellences, as no way relating to our present purpose. Having taken a crane one day with his hawk, and finding it to be young and fat, he sent it home to his cook, Chichibio, who was a Venetian, with orders to prepare it for supper. The cook, a poor simple fellow, trussed and spitted it, and when it was nearly roasted, and began to smell pretty well, it chanced that a woman of the neighbourhood, called Brunetta, with whom he was much enamoured, came into the kitchen, and being taken with the high savour, earnestly begged of him to give her a leg. He replied, very merrily, singing all the time, "Madam Brunetta, you shall have no leg from me." Nettled at this, she retorted, "As I hope to live, if you do not give it me, you need never expect any favour more from me." The dispute was carried to a great height between them, and to quiet her, at last, he was forced to give her one of the legs. Accordingly the crane was served up at supper, with only one leg, Currado having a friend along with him. Currado wondered at this, and, sending for the cook, demanded what was become of the other leg. He very foolishly replied, and without the least thought, "Cranes have only one leg, sir." - "What the devil does the man talk of?" cried Currado, in great wrath. "Only one leg! Rascal, dost think I never saw a crane before?" Chichibio still persisted in his denial. "Believe me, sir, it is as I say, and I will prove it to you whenever you please, upon living cranes." - "Well," said Currado, who did not choose to have any more words then out of regard to his friend,." as thou undertakest to show me a thing which I never saw or heard of before, I am content to make proof thereof tomorrow morning; but by all the saints, if I find it otherwise, I will make thee remember it the longest day thou hast to live." 

There was an end to the matter for that night, and the next morning Currado, whose passion would scarcely suffer him to get any rest, rose betimes, ordered his horses, and took Chichibio along with him towards a river, where he used early in the morning to see plenty of cranes. "We shall soon see," said he, "whether you spoke truth, or not, last night." Chichibio, finding his master's wrath not at all abated, and that he was now to make good his random words, rode on first with all the fear imaginable: gladly would he have made his escape, but he saw no possible means: and he was continually looking about him, expecting everything that appeared to be a crane with two legs. But being come near to the river, he chanced to see, before anybody else, a number of cranes, each standing upon one leg, as they are used to do when they are sleeping; whereupon, showing them quickly to his master, he said, "Now, sir, yourself may see 

that I spoke nothing but truth, when I said that cranes have only one leg: look at those yonder, if you please." Currado, beholding the cranes, replied, "Yes, sirrah! but stay awhile, and I will show thee they have two." Then, riding up to them, he cried out, “shough! shough!" which made them set down the other foot, and after taking a step or two, they all flew away. Currado then turned to him, and said, "Well, thou lying knave, art thou now convinced that they have two legs?" Chichibio, quite at his wit's end, and scarcely knowing whether he was on his head or his heels, suddenly made answer, "Yes, sir; but you did not shout out "Shough! shough!" to that crane last night, as you have done to these; if you had, it would have put down the other leg, as these did now." This pleased Currado so much, that, turning all wrath into mirth and laughter, he said, "Chichibio, thou sayest right, I should have done so indeed." By this sudden and comical answer, Chichibio escaped a sound drubbing, and made peace with his master.