I may here add something relative to the folk-lore of bridges, which is not without interest. I once asked a witch in Florence if such a being as a spirit of the water or one of bridges and streams existed; and she replied:
"Yes, there is a spirit of the water as there is of fire, and everything else. They are rarely seen, but you can make them appear. _How_? Oh, easily enough, but you must remember that they are capricious, and appear in many delusive forms. {83}
"And this is the way to see them. You must go at twilight and look over a bridge, or it will do if it be in the daytime in the woods at a smooth stream or a dark pool-_che sia un poco oscuro_-and p.r.o.nounce the incantation, and throw a handful or a few drops of its water into the water itself. And then you must look long and patiently, always thinking of it for several days, when, _poco a poco_, you will see dim shapes pa.s.sing by in the water, at first one or two, then more and more, and if you remain quiet they will come in great numbers, and show you what you want to know. But if you tell any one what you have seen, they will never appear again, and it will be well for you should nothing worse happen.
"There was a young man at Civitella in the Romagna Toscana, and he was in great need of money. He had lost an uncle who was believed to have left a treasure buried somewhere, but no one knew where it was. Now this nephew was a reserved, solitary youth, always by himself in lone places, among ruins or in the woods-_un poco streghon_-a bit of a wizard, and he learned this secret of looking into streams or lakes, till at last, whenever he pleased, he could see swarms of all kinds of figures sweeping along in the water.
"And one evening he thus saw, as in a gla.s.s, the form of his uncle who had died, and in surprise he called out "Zio mio!"-"My uncle!" Then the uncle stopped, and the youth said, "Didst thou but know how I am suffering from poverty!" When he at once beheld in the water his home and the wood near it, and a path, and the form of his uncle pa.s.sed along the path to a lonely place where there was a great stone. Then the uncle pointed to the stone and vanished. The next day the young man went there, and under the stone he found a great bag of gold-and I hope that the same may happen to all of us!
""He who has sheep has wool in store; He who has mills hath plenty of flour; He who hath land hath these at call; He who has money has got them all.""
THE BASHFUL LOVER A LEGEND OF THE CHIESA SANTA LUCIA IN THE VIA DE" BARDI
"She never told her love-oh no!
For she was mild and meek, And his for her he dared not show, Because he hadn"t the cheek.
"Tis pity this should e"er be past, For, to judge by what all men say, "Twere best such difference should last Unto our dying day."
All who have visited Florence have noticed the Church of Santa Lucia in the Via de" Bardi, from the figure of the patron with two angels over the door in Lucca della Robbia ware. Of this place of worship there is in a jest-book a droll story, which the reader may recall when he enters the building.
"A young Florentine once fell desperately in love with a beautiful lady of unsullied character and ready wit, and so followed her about wherever she went; but he being sadly lacking in wit and sense, at all four corners, never got the nearer to her acquaintance, though he told all his friends how irresistible he would be, and what a conquest he would make, if he could only once get a chance to speak to her. Yet as this lady prized ready wit and graceful address in a man above all things, it will be seen that his chance was thin as a strip of paper.
"But one _festa_ the lady went to the Church of Santa Lucia in the Via dei Bardi, and one of the friends of the slow-witted one said to him, "Now is the lucky hour and blooming chance for you. Go up and speak to her when she approaches the font to take holy water."
"Now the lover had prepared a fine speech for the lady, which he had indeed already rehea.r.s.ed many times to his friends with great applause; but when it came to utter it to the lady a great and awful fear fell on him, the words vanished-vanished from his memory, and he was dumb as a dead a.s.s. Then his friend poking him in the ribs, whispered in his ear, "But say _something_, man, no matter what!"
"So with a gasp he brought out at last, "Signora, I would fain be your humble servant."
"To which the lady, smiling, replied, "Well, I have already in my house plenty of humble servants, and indeed only too many to sweep the rooms and wash the dishes, and there is really no place for another. . . ."
"And the young man turned aside with sickness in his heart. His wooing for that holiday was o"er."
This may be matched with the story of a bashful New England lover of the olden time, for there are none such now-a-days:-
"I don"t know how I ever got courage to do it; but one evening I went courting Miss Almira Chapin.
"And when she came in, I sat for half-an-hour, and dared not say a word. At last I made a desperate dash and got out, "Things are looking very green out of doors, Miss Almira."
"And she answered, "Seems to me they"re looking a great deal greener _in_ doors this evening."
"That extinguished me, and I retreated. And when I was outside I burst into tears."
LA FORTUNA A LEGEND OF THE VIA DE" CERCHI
"One day Good Luck came to my home, I begged of her to stay.
"There"s no one loves you more than I, Oh, rest with me for aye,"
"It may not be; it may not be, I rest with no one long," said she."
-"_Witch Ballads_," by C. G. LELAND.
The manner in which many of the G.o.ds in exile still live in Italy is very fully ill.u.s.trated by the following story:
"It is a hard thing sometimes now-a-days for a family to pa.s.s for n.o.ble if they are poor, or only poor relations. But it was easy in the old time, Signore Carlo, easy as drinking good Chianti. A signore had only to put his shield with something carved on it over his window, and he was all right. He was n.o.ble _senza dubbio_.
"Now the n.o.bles had their own n.o.ble stories as to what these n.o.ble pictures in stone meant, but the ign.o.ble people often had another story just as good. Coa.r.s.e woollen cloth wears as well as silk. Now you may see on an old palazzo in the Via de" Cerchi, and indeed in several other places, a shield with three rings. But people call them three wheels.
And this is the story about the three wheels."
LA FORTUNA.
"There was a man, _tanto buono_, as good as could be, who lived in squalid misery. He had a wife and two children, one blind and another _storpia_ or crippled, and so ugly, both-_non si dice_-beyond telling!
"This poor man in despair often wept, and then he would repeat:
""The wheel of Fortune turns, they say, But for me it turns the other way; I work with good-will, but do what I may, I have only bad luck from day to day."
""Yes, little to eat and less to wear, and two poor girls, one blind and one lame. People say that Fortune is blind herself, and cannot walk, but she does not bless those who are like her, that is sure!" And so he wailed and wept, till it was time to go forth to seek work to gain their daily bread. And a hard time he had of it.
"Now it happened that very late one night, or very early one morning, as one may say, between dark and dawn, he went to the forest to cut wood.
When having called to Fortune as was his wont-_Ai_! what was his surprise to see-_tutta ad un tratto_-all at once, before his eyes, a gleam of light, and raising his head, he beheld a lady of enchanting beauty pa.s.sing along rapidly, and yet not walking-on a rolling ball-_e ciondolava le gambe_-moving her limbs-I cannot say feet, for she had none. In place of them were two wheels, and these wheels, as they turned, threw off flowers from which there came delicious perfume.
"The poor man uttered a sigh of relief seeing this, and said:
""Beautiful lady, believe me when I say that I have invoked thee every day. Thou art the Lady of the Wheels of Fortune, and had I known how beautiful thou art, I would have worshipped thee for thy beauty alone.
Even thy very name is beautiful to utter, though I have never been able to couple it with mine, for one may see that I am not one of the fortunate. Yet, though thou art mine enemy, give me, I pray, just a little of the luck which flies from thy wheel!
""Yet do not believe, I pray, that I am envious of those who are thy favourites, nor that because thou art my enemy that I am thine, for if thou dost not deem that I am worthy, a.s.suredly I do not deserve thy grace, nor will I, like many, say that Fortune is not beautiful, for having seen thee, I can now praise thee more than ever."
""I do not cast my favours always on those who deserve them," replied Fortune, "yet this time my wheel shall a.s.sist thee. But tell me, thou man of honesty and without envy, which wouldst thou prefer-to be fortunate in all things thyself alone, or to give instead as much good luck to _two_ men as miserable as thou art? If thou wilt gain the prize for thyself alone, turn and pluck one of these flowers! If for others, then take two."
"The poor man replied: "It is far better, lady, to raise two families to prosperity than one. As for me, I can work, and I thank G.o.d and thee that I can do so much good to so many, although I do not profit by it myself;" and saying this, he advanced and plucked two flowers.
"Fortune smiled. "Thou must have heard," she said, "that where I spend, I am lavish and extravagant, and a.s.suredly thou knowest the saying that "Three is the lucky number," or nine. Now I make it a rule that when I relieve families, I always do it by threes-_la spando a tre famiglie_-so do thou go and pluck a flower for thyself!"
"Then the poor man, hearing this, went to the wheels, and let them turn till a very large fine flower came forth, and seized it, whereat Fortune smiled, and said:
""I always favour the bold. Now go and sit on yonder bench till some one comes." And saying this, she vanished.
"There came two very poor woodcutters whom he knew well. One had two sons, another a son and a daughter, and one and all were as poor and miserable as could be.
""What has come over thee, that thou art looking so handsome and young,"
said one amazed, as he came up.