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From "The Italian Novelists" translated from the originals with Critical and Biographical Notices by Thomas Roscoe; Frederick Warne and Co.; London; [undated edition, c. 1900; first published, c. 1824]; pp. v-xx.


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[Click on the Author, Introductory Notice, Novel, or page number and you will go to that page!]


v

CONTENTS

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NOVELLE ANTICHE.

PAGE

IL NOVELLINO, Libro di Novelle e di bel parlar gentile 3



NOVELLA II.   How a learned Greek, whom a king held in prison, passed his judgment on a horse 4



NOVELLA XIX.   Remarkable proof of liberality and courtesy in the King of England6



NOVELLA XXIV.   The liberal manner in which the Sultan Saladin bestowed two thousand marks; and how his treasurer entered it in his books 8



NOVELLA XXX.   Anecdote of a certain tale-teller in the service of Messer Azzolino 10



NOVELLA XXXI.   Concerning the valiant deeds of Riccar Logherico del Illa 11



NOVELLA XLIV.   The novel way in which a cavalier recommended himself to the lady he admired 11



NOVELLA XLIX.   Concerning an alarm bell, instituted in the time of King Giovanni 12



NOVELLA LVI.   Some account of a gentleman whom the Emperor caused to be hanged 13



NOVELLA LVII.   We are here informed how Charles of Anjou loved for the sake of love 14



NOVELLA LX.   The good King Meliadus and the Knight without Fear 16



NOVELLA LXXII.   The Sultan being in want of money, endeavours to find means of extorting it from a Jew 17



NOVELLA LXXV.   An account of the great slaughter made by King Richard in battle against the Saracens 18



NOVELLA LXXXI.   We here learn how the Lady of Scalot died for love of Launcelot of the Lake 19



NOVELLA LXXXII.   How a certain hermit, on his way through a forest, found a great treasure, and what ensued 19


vi

NOVELS OF BOCCACCIO.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 23



SECOND DAY, NOVELLA II.   Landolfo Ruffolo, being reduced to poverty, turns corsair; is taken by the Genoese and suffers shipwreck, but escapes upon a chest containing very rich jewels, and being hospitably relieved by a woman, returns in wealthy circumstances to his own abode 28



EIGHTH DAY, NOVELLA III.   Calandrino, Bruno, and Buffalmacco go in search of the heliotrope, and Calandrino, thinking that he has found it, returns home loaded with pebbles; his wife reproaches him, whereupon he beats her, and narrates to his companions what they know better than he 31



TENTH DAY, NOVELLA III.   Mitridanes, envying the superior courtesy of Nathan, and going to kill him, without being acquainted with him, meets with Nathan himself, and being instructed by him, encounters him, as he had arranged, in a wood, where Mitridanes, recognising him, is smitten with shame, and becomes his friend 37



TENTH DAY, NOVELLA XIX.   The Sultan Saladin, disguised as a merchant, is entertained by Messer Torello. The latter, going abroad, appoints a time within which his wife is not to marry again, and being taken prisoner, is recognised by the Sultan, who loads him with honours. Messer Torello falls sick, and by magical art is conveyed in a single night to Pavia, where he arrives just in time to prevent his wife’s second nuptials 41



SECOND DAY, NOVELLA VI.   Madonna Beritola is found upon an island, with two goats, having lost her two children; she is carried to Lunigiana, where one of her sons, having entered into an intrigue with the daughter of his master, is imprisoned, but being recognised by his mother, he marries the lady, and the other son being also found, the family returns home in a prosperous condition 51



SECOND DAY, NOVELLA VIII.   The Count of Angiers, being falsely accused, retires into exile, and leaves his two children in different places in England; he returns in disguise and finds them well established, whereupon he enters in a mean station into the army of the King of France, and his innocence being at length proved, he is reinstated in his rank and possessions 59



FIFTH DAY, NOVELLA I.   Cimon becomes intelligent by force of love, and flies with the lady over seas, but is cast into prison at Rhodes, whence he is released by Lysimachus, and they fly together, with Iphigenia and Cassandra, to Crete, where their espousals are celebrated, and they then return home 67


vii

FIFTH DAY, NOVELLA VIII.   Anastasio degli Honesti is enamoured of a lady of the Traversari family, but is rejected; he retires to Chiassi, where he sees the vision of a lady pursued by a cavalier and slain by him, and then devoured by two hounds; he invites his friends and the lady whom he loves to an entertainment, when they all witness this spectacle, and the lady, apprehensive of a similar fate, gives her hand to Anastasio 73



FIFTH DAY, NOVELLA XIX.   Federigo degli Alberighi, falling in love with a lady, expends all his property in attempting to gain her affections, but to no purpose; his falcon alone remains, which, having nothing else to offer, he serves up at table to the lady who had visited him; she thereupon changes her mind, marries him, and makes him richer than before. 76



NOVELS OF SACCHETTI.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 83



NOVELLA IV.   Messer Bernabo, lord of Milan, demands from a certain Abbot the solution of four questions, which a miller, dressed up in the Abbot’s clothes, expounds; whereupon he is made Abbot, and the Abbot turns miller 85



NOVELLA XXXI.   Two men of Casentino are sent as ambassadors to Guido, Bishop of Arezzo; they forget the business of their embassy and the reply of the Bishop, and on their return receive great rewards for their able conduct 88



NOVELLA XLVIII.   Lapaccio di Geri da Montelupo unwittingly sleeps with a corpse at Ca Salvadeja and kicks it out of bed; he at first believes he has killed the man, but soon discovering the truth, flies from the place in great perturbation of mind 91



NOVELLA LII.   Sandro Tornabelli, finding that a creditor intended to arrest him for a bill which had been paid, privately agrees with the officer to be arrested, and shares with him the fees 93



NOVELLA CXXIII.   How Vitale da Pietra Santa, instigated by his wife, desires his son, a student of laws, to cut up a capon by rule of grammar, and how he distributes it accordingly 95



NOVELLA CXXXII.   The town of Macerata being attacked by Count Luzio, an inundation happens one night, whereupon a report is spread that the enemy is at hand, and a strange scene of confusion follows 97


viii

NOVELLA CXL.   Three blind men join company, and upon a certain occasion quarrel and beat each other unmercifully; the landlord interferes, and, with the help of his wife, beats them again 98



NOVELLA CLII.   Messer Giletto di Spagna presents a curious ass to Messer Bernabo; Messer Michelozzo da Firenze, believing that lord to be fond of asses, sends him two in scarlet housings, and is suitably rewarded for his kindness 101



NOVELLA CLXI.   How Bishop Guido of Arezzo employs Bonamico to paint some pictures; they are spoiled in the night-time by an ape, upon which Bonamico revenges himself in the manner therein set forth 104



NOVELLA CXCVIII.   A blind man of Orvieto, whose mental sight is clear, having been robbed of a hundred florins, contrives so well, that the thief replaces them in the spot from which he had stolen them 106



NOVELS OF SER GIOVANNI FIORENTINO.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 111



FIRST DAY, NOVELLA I.   Messer Galgano, a noble youth of Sienna, falls in love with the lady of Messer Stricca, who grants him an interview, and relating to him the kind terms in which her husband had spoken of him, Galgano honourably desists from his addresses, and becomes the faithful friend of Messer Stricca 112



FIRST DAY, NOVELLA II.   Bucciolo, a student of Bologna, is instructed by his tutor in the art of falling in love, and selects the wife of the tutor as the object of his affections: the tutor for some time encourages him in his pursuit, but at length discovers his mistake, and some laughable scenes ensue 115



FOURTH DAY, NOVELLA II.   How Count Aldobrandino, well stricken in years, marries the young daughter of his friend Carsivalo, having conquered all his competitors in a great tournament by means of an ingenious stratagem 123



EIGHTH DAY, NOVELLA I.   Messer Buondelmonte of Florence, being betrothed to a lady of the Amidei family, breaks his engagement, and marries another woman: the relations of the lady assassinate him, whence a feud arises, which introduces the faction of the Guelfs and Ghibellines into Italy 127



THIRTEENTH DAY, NOVELLA I.   The origin of the factions of the Bianchi and Neri in Pistoia, and in what manner they gained a footing, with most pernicious effects, in the city of Florence 129


ix

NOVELS OF MASSUCCIO SALERNITANO.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 133



NOVELLA XX.   Giacomo Pinto, being in love with a widow lady, endeavours to obtain a return of his affection through the necromancy of Messer Angelo, who raises the spirit of Barabas, to whom Giacomo makes certain offerings and then runs away: discovering the cheat, he pays Messer Angelo all he owes to him, and acts like a man of common sense in future 135



NOVELLA XXXII.   Mariotto of Sienna, in love with Gianozza, is compelled to fly to Alexandria: Gianozza simulates death, and being taken from the vault, proceeds in search of her lover, who having heard of her death, returns in the meantime to Sienna, where he is taken and condemned to die: the lady, not finding him in Alexandria, returns to Sienna, and learning that Mariotto has been executed, dies of grief 139



NOVELLA XLIV.   Marino Caraciuolo loves a lady, who returns his attachment; but she, having seen Alfonso, Duke of Calabria, proves unfaithful to her first lover: the Duke, having been made acquainted with the prior claims of his friend Marino, generously abandons his pretensions in his favour 143



NOVELLA XLV.   A scholar of Castille, travelling to Bologna, falls in love at Avignon and loses a thousand florins; he departs disconsolate, and meeting with the husband of the lady, without knowing him, relates his adventure: the husband carries the scholar back to Avignon, restores the money, and puts his wife to death, and dismisses the scholar with honourable treatment 146



NOVELLA XLVI.   The King of Portugal takes prisoner in battle a Moorish chieftain, whose mother repairs to the king’s camp in order to ransom him; the king restores him to liberty without ransom, and the Moor, in his next campaign, joins him with a great army, at his own expense 150



NOVELLA L.   A Castilian cavalier, favoured by the Count d’Armagnac, rises in the service of the King of France to the rank of Campo Major; the daughter of the Count is enamoured of him, and makes advances, which the cavalier honourably declines; the Count duly appreciates his conduct, and gives him his daughter in marriage, and the king makes him a great lord 153


x

NOVELS OF SABADINO DEGLI ARIENTI.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 159



NOVELLA IV.   A Bolognese advocate smites a learned brother in the face in open court, whereupon being amerced, and wishing to pay the fine, but having nothing but gold in his purse, he pays down the contents, gives another blow to his learned friend, and leaves the court 160



NOVELLA IX.   Malatesta de’ Carbonesi espouses Lelia, and carries her to his house, where he is inhumanly put to death by her father and brothers; Lelia, in despair, hangs herself, whence great miseries ensue 161



NOVELLA XLII.   Maestro Niccolo da Massa, a physician called Portantino, buys a pig, which is stolen from him by certain scholars; the doctor lays an information, and the magistrates send officers to search the lodgings of the scholars for the pig, which they find in bed, and understanding that the patient is sick of the plague, they precipitately retreat, and the scholars feast on the pig 165



LUIGI DA PORTO.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 171



THE NOVEL OF JULIET .   How Romeo de’ Montecchi is enamoured of Giulietta de’ Cappelletti, and of their melancholy fortunes 174



BERNARDO ILLICINI.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 191



NOVELLA I.   A very rare instance of magnanimity and courtesy that took place between two noble gentlemen of Sienna 193



NOVELS OF ALESSANDRO SOZZINI.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 203



NOVELLA I.   A device of the good citizen Dore, by which he got two capons for nothing 204



NOVELLA II.   Ingenious expedient of Messer Sacazzone for obtaining a dinner 205



NOVELLA III.   Another specimen of the ingenuity of our identical friend Scacazzone in the giving of alms to blind beggars 206



NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 209



NOVELLA   The story of Belphagor, or the marriage of the devil 210


xi

NOVELS OF AGNOLO FIRENZUOLA.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 219



NOVELLA I.   Messer Niccolo, going on a voyage to Valencia, is taken into Barbary, where he is sold. The wife of his master becomes enamoured of him, and is converted by him to the Christian faith. They take flight, in company with another captive, and arrive in Sicily, where they are recognised by the ambassador of the King of Tunis, and sent back. When just on the point of entering the port, they are driven by a tempest to Leghorn, where they are seized by corsairs; but being finally ransomed, they all arrive happily at Florence 219



NOVELLA X.   Fra Serafino persuades a widow lady to endow a chapel; her sons oppose this arrangement, giving the friar at the same time to understand that she has made a will, which they refuse to show him: the good brother cites them to appear before the vicar, in whose presence they read the will, containing some severe animadversions and ridicule upon the friar 226



PIETRO FORTINI.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 233



NOVELLA XIII.   Instance of unexampled heroism and magnanimity in the beautiful Fiordespina, who triumphs over the cruelty and barbarity of the governor of Spoleti 234



NOVELS OF GENTILE SERMINI.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 239



NOVELLA III.   The adventures of Gallio and Cardina, or the triumph of patriotism and love 240



NOVELLA VIII.   History of the rival houses of Monforte and Belvaso, in which is clearly shown the just punishment of traitors 246



NOVELS OF GIOVANNI BREVIO.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 253



NOVELLA II.   Antonio da Piperno, a dissolute priest, procures letters of recommendation from Angelo Romano, in Naples, to his brother Luca, a saddler in Rome; he suppresses the letters, and forges others in their place, by means of which he imposes himself on Luca as Cardinal Adriano, and cheats him and others of large sums of money 254


xii

NOVELLA III.   Messer Antonio de’ Torelli, growing old, divides his property amongst his three sons; they prove ungrateful and neglect him; by an artful stratagem he secures their attentions during the remainder of his life, and punishes them for their mercenary conduct after his death 260



NOVELS OF GIROLAMO PARABOSCO.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 265



FIRST DAY, NOVELLA VIII.   Tommaso promises twenty-five ducats to a notary, who instructs him how to evade the restitution of a sum of money fraudulently obtained; and when the notary asks him for the ducats, employs against him the counsel which the notary had devised against others 265



SECOND DAY, NOVELLA XIV.   Faustino, in love with Eugenia, enjoys an opportunity of seeing her at a certain church; and because Nastagio de’ Rodiotti interrupts him in his pursuit, plays upon him a notable trick, which effectually prevents him from frequenting the church for the future 268



MARCO CADEMOSTO DA LODI.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 275



SCIPIONE SANGUINACCIO, of Padua, by his will disinherits his sons, and leaves all his property to charitable uses; Galeazzo, an ancient servant of the house, after the death of the father removes the body, and, taking the place of the deceased in bed, makes another will in his person, revoking the first, and leaves himself a legacy of two thousand ducats 275



NOVELS OF GIOVAMBATTISTA GIRALDI CINTHIO.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 281



FIRST DECADE, NOVELLA VIII.   Ercole da Este the First, being solicited by the King of Naples, and others who conspired against him, to embark in a ruinous enterprise, under pretence of conferring upon him the Dukedom of Ferrara, which Borso had usurped, detects their object, and the conspirators fall into their own snares: owing to the great clemency of Duke Borso they are at length pardoned 284


xiii

FIRST DECADE, NOVELLA IX.   Filargiro loses a purse containing many crown-pieces; he proclaims a high reward to whomsoever shall restore the same: upon receiving them safe, he attempts to defraud the person who restored them, for which he is condemned to forfeit the whole amount 290



FIFTH DECADE, NOVELLA IV.   Giovanni Panigarolo is condemned to death, but he escapes from prison by the aid of his wife, who disguises him in her clothes, and remains in his place; the governor commanding her to be executed, Giovanni returns and surrenders himself; both receive a pardon, and Giovanni amends his life for the future 292



SEVENTH DECADE, NOVELLA IX.   A formidable troop of banditti are upon the point of being seized, and conducted to Rome; their chief, aware of the approach of the officers, has recourse to an ingenious stratagem, to which he is indebted for his life, his companions being all taken and executed 298



NOVELS OF ANTON-FRANCESCO GRAZZINI.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 303



FIRST EVENING, NOVELLA I.   Lazzaro di Maestro Basilio of Milan is so unlucky as to accompany his neighbour Gabriel a fishing, and is drowned: from his remarkable resemblance to the deceased, Gabriel is induced to counterfeit his person, and, raising an alarm, he declares that Gabriel, the poor fisherman, is drowned. In the person of Lazzaro, he then takes possession of the property of the deceased: out of compassion for his own wife, he consoles and again espouses her, every one applauding his generosity in taking her and her children home, and with them he lives long and happily 304



NOVELLA VI.   Scheggia and Pilucca, with two of their companions, agree to practice a jest upon Guasparri del Calandra, which nearly frightens him to death: they next contrive to obtain from him a fine ruby ring, and, having sold it to him again, they make merry upon the proceeds 312



NOVELLA IX.   Brancazio Malespini, passing early in the morning before the Porta Alla Giustizia, sees that which, though not unfrequently met with, nearly frightens him out of his wits 319

FIRST EVENING, NOVELLA V.   The story of Fazio 321


xiv

NOVELS OF ORTENSIO LANDO.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 331



NOVELLA IV.   In this story are exhibited the disastrous effects of ignorant and tyrannical government; and, finally, the benefit to be derived from obedience to paternal injunctions 332



NOVELLA V.   We are here convinced of the futility of astrological knowledge, illustrated in the superior divining powers of irrational animals 337



NOVELLA VI.   In this tale the shameful vice of lying is held up to reprobation, with some specimens of monstrous lies, which astonished even those who were most addicted to them 340



NOVELLA XIII.   An ungrateful son, reproved by his own child, is struck with a sense of his guilt, and repents of his heinous offence in having treated his parent with inhumanity 343



NOVELS OF GIOVAN-FRANCESCO STRAPAROLA.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 347



TENTH NIGHT, NOVELLA IV.   Ambrogetto Valsabbia, citizen of Como, being at the point of death, makes his will, in which he bequeaths his own soul, together with those of his notary and of his confessor, to the great Satan, and dies impenitent 348



NOVELS OF MATTEO BANDELLO.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 353



PART I. NOVELLA LVII.   King Mansor of Morocco loses his way while hunting, and takes refuge in the hut of a poor fisherman, who, ignorant of his rank, entertains him so kindly and hospitably, that the king raises on the spot a great city, and presents it to the fisherman 354



PART IIII. NOVELLA X.   The Signor Filiberto becomes enamoured of Donna Zilia, who, by a single kiss, deprives him for a long period of the power of speech, at the end of which he takes a severe revenge 357



PART III. NOVELLA XXXIX.   A mischievous ape, upon occasion of a lady’s funeral, clothes himself in the garments of the deceased, and terrifies the survivors and the priest who came to exorcise him 364


xv

PART IV. NOVELLA XVIII.   Marulla, a maiden of Lemnos, heroically repulse the assault of the Turks on her native town, and receives public thanks from the Venetian Senate 367



NOVELS OF FRANCESCO SANSOVINO.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 371



DAY VII. NOVELLA VI.   Offo the Third is enamoured of a fair maid of Florence, named Gualdrada, but finding her as virtuous and innocent as she was beautiful, magnanimously vanquishes his passion, and bestows her in marriage on Guido, a nobleman of great worth 372



DAY X. NOVELLA VIII.   Adventure of two youthful fops arrayed in gay attire, who are ridiculed by a youth of somewhat more wit 374



NOVELS OF ANTON-FRANCESCO DONI.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 379



NOVELLA I.   Curious story of the hunchbacks, which shows the danger of imposing upon others, and that the impostor has no right to complain when he is outwitted in his turn 380



NOVELLA IV   Girolamo Linaiuolo, imaging that he has died, permits himself to be buried, and afterwards rises from the dead 384



NOVELLA VI.   Benetto da Francolino invites the legate of the Pope at Venice to visit Ferrara, where his Holiness then is, and offers him accommodation in a house which is not his own, for which he is suitably punished 386



NOVELLA XI.   A valiant cavalier, being surprised by a base and unmanly enemy, is at once deprived of his honour and miserably slain 389



NOVELLA XII.   Maestro Giovanni, a saintly rogue, taking refuge in a convent, there dies, and obtains the honour of canonisation 391



NOVELLA XIV.   Two cavaliers of Portugal meeting in single combat, the victor, though he is the injured party, generously solicits from the king a free pardon for his adversary 392



NOVELLA XXII.   A certain Greek gentleman has the ingenuity to rid his house of the society of a buffoon, who wished to become an appendage to his dining-table 394



NOVELLA XXX.   The Duke Alessandro de’ Medici compels one of his courtiers to espouse a poor young girl whom he had seduced, and the friend of the courtier to furnish her with a dowry 395


xvi

NOVELS OF SEBASTIANO ERIZZO.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 399



NOVELLA XXV.   Piero, who had been pardoned by the King of Portugal, at the intercession of his friend Giovanni, when the latter was subsequently condemned and sought his safety in flight, treacherously surprises and assassinates him, and claims the price set upon his head by the king 400



NOVELLA XXXV.   Timocrates having conspired against the life of the tyrant Nicocles, is betrayed by his companion: being condemned to death, he is visited in prison, and released by the heroic tenderness of his wife, who in his place braves the tyrant’s fury: she is at length pardoned, while the guards are all of them put to death 402



NICCOLO GRANUCCI.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 407



NOVELLA I.   The lady Ortensia is attached to Polidoro, who, upon being unjustly accused of having assassinated his rival, is heroically defended and rescued by the lady 407



NOVELS OF ASCANIO MORI DA CENO.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 413



NOVELLA II.   Messer Maffeo Strada has the misfortune to be considered mad by his nephew: the latter having seized and bound him, after a hard struggle, causes him to be bled and blistered, until he is brought to the last extremity 414



NOVELLA III.   Two natives of Cremona being condemned to death, obtain their pardon through the intercession of their uncle, but are unlucky enough not to enjoy the benefit of it 417



NOVELS OF CELIO MALESPINI.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 423



PART I. NOVELLA XLI.   Account of the sumptuous entertainment of the Compagnia della Calza 424



PART I. NOVELLA XCVI.   A trick played by a Genoese upon different gentlemen, by persuading them that he knew the process of making gold 428



PART I. NOVELLA XI.   Account of the splendid nuptials of Duke Guglielmo Gonzaga 433


xvii

PART II. NOVELLA LXI.   A gentleman entraps an admirer of his wife into a large chest, and having locked him up, he summons all his relatives to witness the truth of his accusation against the lady; but on opening the chest, they only find a young ass 438



SALVUCCIO SALVUCCI.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 443



Four dukes discourse on the question whether the military man, the lawyer, the physician, or the merchant, be, in their peculiar avocations, most beneficial or injurious to the lives, the property, and the honour of their employers: the Prince of Bisignano, in support of the favourable view of the question, and the Prince of Salerno, on the contrary side, narrate, as conveying their decisions, two stories, which leave it uncertain to which side the victory inclines 443



NOVELS BY ANONYMOUS AUTHORS.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 451



NOVELLA.   Filippo di Ser Brunellesco persuades Grasso, the carver in ebony, that he is become another man, called Matteo: he believes it, and is imprisoned for debt as Matteo, and various adventures befall him: he is released from prison and taken home by the brothers of Matteo, and is visited by a priest; ultimately he is compelled to fly to Hungary to recover his personal identity 451



NOVELLA.   Ranieri, a merchant, is entreated by his wife to bring home a purse full of good sense from the fair of Troyes: he has difficulty in meeting with the commodity, but persisting in the search, is in the end a great gainer 459



NOVELLA.   Bianco Alfani is induced, by some mischievous wits, to believe that he has been elected chief magistrate of Norcia; he makes magnificent preparations for his instalment, and repairs to Norcia to take possession of his office; the corporate body there receive him with surprise, and he returns, mortified and ashamed, to Florence 462



NOVELS OF MAIOLINO BISACCIONI.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 475



NOVELLA IX.   Rolando Crescenzi of Verona joins the party of the Guelfs, and marries Eufemia, daughter of Pietro Maladura: xviii Eufemia is captured by Rinaldo of Ferrara, a partisan of the Ghibelline faction, who endeavours to carry her off to a castle of his own, but is encountered and worsted by Rolando; the latter is ultimately banished for ever from Verona, and his wife, attending him through all his misfortunes, dies in his arms 476



NOVELLAX.   Constanzo having been taken by the Turks, is redeemed by Eurispe, and enters into her service as steward; an attachment takes place between them, and Eurispe consents to marry him, but subsequently retracts her promise and induces Constanzo to espouse Lesbia; after their marriage, her love for Constanzo revives, and reproaching him with ingratitude, she leaves her home; Constanzo, attempting to follow and soothe her, is stabbed by her, and dies 484



MICHELE COLOMBO.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 497



NOVELLA.   Gilbert, entering a wood for the purpose of gathering faggots, ties his ass to a tree: Father Timothy finding it there, sends his brother Anthony with it to the convent, and takes its place: Gilbert, returning from the wood, is astonished at the metamorphosis, and takes the friar home with him to supper: some days after he meets with his ass at a fair, and believing that it is Father Timothy, buys it, and fosters the beast with so much indulgence that he becomes vicious and scandalous, and finally dies impenitent 498



SCIPIONE BARGAGLI.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 507



PART II. NOVELLA I.   Ippolito de’ Saracini is enamoured of Gangenova de’ Salimbeni, and both being thwarted in their affection, meet with a deplorable death 508



GIOVANNI BOTTARI.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 517



NOVELLA I.   A monk leaves his convent to console his widowed mother and arrange the affairs of his family, from which the abbot vehemently dissuades him, declaring his intention to be a suggestion of the devil: the monk persists, and begins his journey, in which he is disappointed, and incurs many dreadful dangers, from which he is, by the Divine aid, at last delivered 517


xix

ALBERGATI CAPACELLI.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 527



NOVELLA II.   The pleasures of beneficence 528



FRANCESCO SOAVE.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 535



NOVELLA II.   Alimek, or the pursuit of happiness 535



NOVELLA III.   A soldier on guard is relieved during a cold night by his betrothed wife; but his absence being discovered, he is condemned to die; the maiden, by her intercessions and prayers, procures his pardon, and they are united in marriage 535



GIANFRANCESCO ALTANESI.

NOVELLA I.   The pleasures of friendship 547



NOVELLA II.   The true friend 551



COUNT LORENZO MAGALOTTI.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 557



NOVELLA I.   The unfortunate and innocent loves of Sigismond, Count d’Arco, and the Princess Claudia Felice of Innspruck, afterwards Empress of Germany 557



CARLO LODOLI.

NOVELLA II.   The Doctor and the ass 575



NOVELLA IV.   Democritus and the scholar 576



DOMENICO MARIA MANNI.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 579



NOVELLA I.   Ginevra degli Amieri is beloved by Antonio Rondinelli, but compelled to marry Francesco Agolanti: in the year of the great plague, Ginevra is taken sick, and having apparently expired, is buried: she releases herself from the tomb, and not being admitted by her husband and friends, takes refuge with Antonio, and is married to him 579


xx

AUTORE IGNOTO.

NOVELLA.   Story of a Persian peasant who is cheated by three thieves 585



GIROLAMO PADOVANI.

NOVELLA I.   Inculcating the virtue of modesty 589



LUIGI SANVITALE.

NOVELLA I.   The Emperor Augustus reproves Vedio Pollione for his luxury and cruelty 595



NOVELLA XII.   A cavalier having been robbed by the distressed father of a family, follows him and relieves their necessities 596



COUNT CARLO GOZZI.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 599



NOVELLA I.   A young nobleman having thrown down his horse, a multitude of people endeavour in vain to raise it: Battista Moscione, passing by, reproves them and promises to do wonders: when they anxiously watch his motions, he gives them a piece of unexpected advice, and leaves them in astonishment 600



NOVELLA VII.   Messer Gherardo Benvenga, a merchant, loses ten sequins out of his purse, and finds in their place a valuable bracelet: he recovers his money and restores the bracelet in a manner sufficiently curious 601



NOVELLA VIII.   Carlo Foschino, Girolamo Petrani, and Menico Cedola, go to steal grapes in the night: they are pursued by armed villagers, but, after a dreadful panic, they succeed, by means of an artful stratagem, in effecting their escape unhurt, and loaded with excellent grapes 605



LUIGI BRAMIERI.

HISTORICAL NOVEL, drawn from the Roman Annals, entitled “Instance of Fraternal Affection” 611



ROBUSTIANO GIRONI.

NOVELLA.   The fatal consequences of an inclination in youth to emancipate themselves from the paternal control 615








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