Читать книгу Tales of Humour, Gallantry & Romance, Selected and Translated from the Italian - Various Authors - Страница 6

The neighbours, upon hearing this noise, ran out, and seeing the professor thus armed at all points, with his huge breast-plate, cuirass, helmet, long rapier, and stiletto, and the lady crying out, “Hold him, hold him, he is mad; he has cracked his brain with study;” thought it was really true, and that he had lost his wits. They began to say to him, “what means all this, good Signor? go to bed and rest—do not torment yourself in this way.”

“How can I rest,” he shouted, “when this wicked woman is harbouring a man in the house? I saw him go in with my own eyes.”

“Oh wretched woman that I am,” cried the lady, “ask these neighbours, all, whether they have ever witnessed improper conduct in me.” They all with one voice answered, both men and women—“Do not think, Signor, so base a thing, for never was a better woman born than this lady—more virtuous or more decorous.”

“How!” said the professor, “why I saw the man enter the house, and I am sure he is in it now.” In the mean time two of the lady’s brothers arrived, and when she saw them, she burst into tears, and said, “my dear brothers! this husband of mine is raving mad, and will have it that I have a man in the house, and wants to be the death of me, and you well know whether I am a woman likely to fall into such abominations.” The brothers said to the armed philosopher, who foamed at the mouth with rage, “we marvel much, Sir, that you should dare suspect a sister of ours of such an act, and wonder what can make you dream of such a thing, having lived with her so long.”

“I tell you,” said the professor, “that there is a man in the house, and I have seen him.”

“Well!” said the brothers, “let us hunt him out, and if he is found here, we will give her such a lesson as shall make you full amends.” One of the brothers drew the lady aside, and said, “Hast thou in truth really got any one in the house?”

“Alas!” said the lady, “heaven forbid! may I die before I harbour such a thought as no woman of our family was ever guilty of. Art thou not ashamed to put such a question?” Upon which the brother felt quite happy, and the three went up to search. The professor directly made for the damp linen, pulled them about, and stabbed them through and through in every direction, hardly leaving an inch through which he did not stick his sword, and the while taunting and insulting Bacciuolo as if he had actually been under them.