Legends Of Florence Part 20

"Son la figlia del re, Vo vedere il tuo giardin'?"

"Entra pur nel mio giardino, O bella figlia del re, Purche tu non tocchi niente, A ci che dentro v'e!"

Entrata nel giardino, La bella figlia del re, Non vidde cola niente, Che fiori e foglie.

Le foglie eran d'argento, Di oro ogni fior, I frutti eran' gemmi, Nel bel giardin d'amor.

Sedi sulla panchetta, Sotto il frascame la; Che vissi nel sentiero?

Un bell' anello c'era.

Non seppe che il Contino, Fu stregone appostator; Non seppe che l'anello, Era lo stesso signor.

Ella ando nel suo letto, Con l'anello nella man', Non 'n sospetto che la tra.s.se Sul dito un giovan.

Svegliato da un bacino, Tra la mezzanotte e tre; Si trov il bel Contino Accanto alla figlia del re.

Credo che fu ben contenta Con la cosa come era; Come molte donne sarebbero Con tal stregoneria.

Portar dei gioielli, A de' sposi il fior; Il di un di-amante, La notte un bel signor.

D'avere un bel diamante Piace ognuno, si; Ma meglio e un amante Quando non ha piu il _di_.

Chi scrisse questa canzone Un gran Contino e, Anch 'egli il stregone Ch' amava la figlia del re.

The Garden of Love, or The King's Daughter and the Wizard Count.

There was a Count of high degree, All others far above; He had a garden fair to see, 'Twas called the Garden of Love.

"Now who is knocking at my gate?

Who is it that makes so free?"

"Oh, I am the daughter of the king, And your garden I would see!"

"Oh, come into my garden, Fair daughter of the king!

Look well at all that's growing, But touch not anything!"

She entered in the garden, The princess young and fair, She looked it all well over, Yet nothing but trees were there.

But every leaf was of silver, The flowers of gold; in the grove The fruits were gems and jewels In the beautiful Garden of Love.

She sat beneath the foliage, The daughter of the king; What shone in the path before her?

A beautiful diamond ring!

She knew not that the County Was a wizard wondrous wise; She did not know that the diamond Was the wizard in disguise.

And when at night, fast sleeping, The diamond ring she wore, She never dreamed that her finger Was bearing a young signor.

Awakened by his kisses As she heard the midnight ring, There was the handsome wizard By the daughter of the king.

I ween she was well contented, As many dames would be, If they could be enchanted With just such sorcery.

To have not only a jewel, But a husband, which is more, All day a dazzling diamond, And by night a bright signor!

Who was it wrote this ballad About this loving pair?

He was the Count and wizard Who won the princess fair.

STORIES OF SAN MINIATO

"The picturesque height of San Miniato, now the great cemetery of the city which dominates the Arno from the south, has an especial religious and saintly interest. The grand Basilica, with its glittering ancient mosaic, shines amid the cypresses against the sky, and whether it gleams in the sunlight against the blue, or is cut in black on the primrose sky of twilight, it is equally imposing."-"_Echoes of Old Florence_," _by_ LEADER SCOTT.

To the old people of Florence, who still see visions and dream dreams, and behold the wind and the stars at noonday (which latter thing I have myself beheld), the very ancient convent of San Miniato, "the only one in Tuscany which has preserved the ancient form of the Roman basilica," and the neighbourhood, are still a kind of Sleepy Hollow, where witches fly of nights more than elsewhere, where ghosts or _folletti_ are most commonly seen, and where the _orco_ and the nightmare and her whole ninefold disturb slumbers _a bel agio_ at their easiest ease, as appears by the following narrative:

SAN MINIATO FRA LE TORRE.

"This is a place which not long ago was surrounded by towers, which were inhabited by many witches.

"Those who lived in the place often noticed by night in those towers, serpents, cats, small owls, and similar creatures, and they were alarmed by frequently seeing their infants die like candles blown out-_struggere i bambini come candele_; nor could they understand it; but those who believed in witchcraft, seeking in the children's beds, often found threads woven together in forms like animals or garlands, and when mothers had left their children alone with the doors open, found their infants, on returning, in the fireplace under the ashes. And at such times there was always found a strange cat in the room.

"And believing the cat to be a witch, they took it, and first tying the two hind-paws, cut off the fore-claws (_zampe_, claws or paws), and said:

"'Fammi guarire La mia creatura; Altrimenti per te saranno Pene e guai!'

"'Cure my child, Or there shall be; Trouble and sorrow Enough for thee!'

"This happened once, and the next day the mother was sitting out of doors with her child, when she saw a woman who was her intimate friend at her window, and asked her if she would not wash for her her child's clothes, since she herself was ill. But the other replied: 'I cannot, for I have my hands badly cut.'

"Then the mother in a rage told this to other women whose children had been bewitched or died.

"Then all together seized the witch, and by beating her, aided with knives crossed, and whatever injuries they could think of, subdued her and drenched her under a tower with holy water. And the witch began to howl, not being able to endure this, and least of all the holy water!

"When all at once there came a mighty wind, which blew down the witch-tower, and carried away the witch, and killed all the uncanny animals which dwelt in the ruins. And unbelievers say that this was done by an earthquake; but this is not true, for the witches were really the cause (_chagione_) of its overthrow.

"And though many old things are destroyed and rebuilt, there are many cats still there which are a.s.suredly witches.

"And in the houses thereabout people often perceive and see spirits, and if any one will go at night in the Piazza San Miniato fra le Torri, especially where those old things (_chose vecche_) were cleared away, he will see sparks of fire (_faville di fuocho_) break out, and then flames; and this signifies that some diabolical creature or animal is still confined there which needs relief (_che a bisogna di bene_), or that in that spot lies a treasure which requires to be discovered."

I consider this as very interesting, because I most truthfully guarantee that this specimen of witch-lore was written in good faith and firm belief, and is not at all, like most of the tales gleaned or gathered now-a-days, taken from people who got them from others who perhaps only half believed in them. She who wrote it has no more doubt that witch-cats prowl, and that wild-fire hisses forth from evil spirits in durance pent 'neath the soil of San Miniato, than that the spirit of the Arno appears as "a small white hand pointing tremulously upwards."

There is given in the _Facetiae_ of Piovano Arlotto, which is considered a truthful record of the adventures of its subject, a tale relative to San Miniato which cannot here be deemed out of place. It is as follows:

LA TESTA DI SAN MINIATO.