the inns at lucca are large enough to lodge a whole regiment of soldiers; in one of these our pilgrims took up their abode, being directed thither by some of the guardians of the city gates, who delivered them to the host, so that on the morrow, or when they departed, he would have to give up an account of them. as they entered, the lady ruperta saw a person coming out who looked like a doctor, and saying so to the hostess, she replied, that he was one. "i do not know, lady," said she, "whether the young lady is mad, or possessed by the evil one, or rather whether she is not both mad and possessed; and yet i have hopes of her recovery, if her uncle is not in too great a hurry to take her away."
"ah! good heavens!" cried ruperta, "and have we then got into a house of mad and possessed people; if it be so, we had much better not enter here."
"your ladyship may alight without fear," said the hostess; "and i can assure you anybody might come a hundred miles to see the sight we have in this inn." they all alighted, and auristella and constance, who had heard what the hostess said, asked her what she had so very well worth seeing in her house.
"come with me," said the hostess, "and you shall see what you shall see, and you will say what i say."
she led the way, and they followed her into a room, where, on a gilded bed, was lying a very beautiful girl, seemingly not above sixteen or seventeen years of age; her arms were extended on either side, and tied with fillets to the balustrade of the bedstead, to prevent her moving them. two women, who appeared to be nurses, were going to fasten her legs in a similar way, but she cried out, "it is enough to tie my arms: my own modesty will be sufficient restraint for the rest;" and then turning to the pilgrims, she said in a loud voice, "ye heavenly creatures, ye angels in human form, i doubt not but that you come to restore me to health, for what else can i expect from your beauteous presence and christian-like visitation. if ye be what i take ye for, command them to untie these bands, for if i do give myself four or five blows it will be all i shall do, and will not hurt me much, for i am not so mad as i seem, nor he who torments me, so cruel as to torment me to death."
"poor thing! poor niece!" said an old man, who now entered the apartment; "and what is he whom thou sayest will not let thee die? commend thyself to god, isabella, and try to eat,—not thine own fair flesh, but what thy uncle, who loves thee dearly, brings to thee:—that which flies in the air, that which lives in the water, that which feeds upon the earth, all this i would offer to thee."
to which the girl answered, "let me be left alone with these angels; perhaps my enemy, the devil, will fly from me, rather than stay in their presence;" and she made signs with her head that auristella, constance, ruperta, and felicia flora should remain with her. "the rest," she said, "might go." this was accordingly done with willingness, and even with entreaty, by the unhappy old man, her uncle, from whom they learned that this was the lady in green who had passed them on the road, and whose name they had heard from the servant who remained behind, was isabella castrucho, who was going to be married at naples.
hardly did the sick person find herself alone with the four ladies we have mentioned, than she looked all round the room to see if there were no others remaining. ruperta looked and scrutinized the apartment well, and assured her that there was not a creature left but themselves; thus assured, isabella sat up as well as she could on the bed, and seemed about to speak; but first she uttered a sigh that appeared to come from the very bottom of her heart, after which she fell back on the bed fainting, and looked so nearly dead that they were forced to call for help and for some water to bathe her face.
the miserable uncle entered, carrying a cross in one hand, and in the other a sponge dipped in holy water. with him came two priests, who, thinking that she was possessed by the evil one, began to exorcise him. the hostess also entered with water, and after bathing her face she came to herself, saying, "all these ceremonies are quite unnecessary now: i shall go away soon, but it will not be at your pleasure, but when i myself think fit, and that will be when andrew marulo, the son of juan baptista marulo, a gentleman of this city, shall arrive here, which said andrew is now a student at salamanca, very little thinking of what is happening here."
all that she said only confirmed the bystanders in the opinion that she was possessed, for they could not imagine how she could know anything about juan baptista marulo, or his son andrew, and some one present hastened to tell this juan baptista what the fair maniac had said of him and of his son. she again entreated to be left alone with those she had before chosen. the priests crossed themselves, and left her as she desired; judging from all she had said, they concluded that she was verily possessed with an evil spirit.
again did felicia flora investigate the apartment, and shutting the door, she said to the afflicted young girl, "we are alone now, lady, tell us what you wish."
"what i wish," said isabella, "is first that you unfasten these ligatures, which although soft, yet fatigue me, because they restrain me."
they did as she desired speedily, and then isabella seated herself upon the bed, holding auristella with one hand and ruperta with the other, and making constance and felicia flora sit as close as they could to her on the bed, forming thus a lovely group, and with a low voice and tearful eyes she thus spoke:—
"ladies, i am the unhappy isabella castrucho, whose parents bestowed on me noble birth; fortune gave me large possessions, and heaven conferred on me the gift of some degree of beauty. my parents came from capua, but i was born in spain, and brought up there in the house of an uncle, whom you saw here, and who belonged to the imperial court. ah heavens! must i go so far back to trace the origin of my misfortunes! living then in my uncle's house, and left an orphan by my parents, who, dying, bequeathed me to his guardianship, it happened that there arrived at court a young gentleman, whom i afterwards saw at church, and looked at to such purpose; (and do not for this pronounce me bold and forward, ladies, but consider i am but a woman;) i looked at him in the church i repeat, and the impression i received was such, that when i returned home his image was constantly before my eyes; i could not get the recollection of his looks out of my head. it ended in my making inquiries concerning him, and what was his quality and character, and what he was doing at court, and whither he was going; and the result of my inquiries was, that i heard he was called andrew marulo, the son of juan baptista marulo, a gentleman of this city, more noble by birth than rich in worldly goods, and that he was going to study at salamanca. during the week he remained i found means to write him a note, and tell him who i was, and what property i possessed; as to my looks, he could form his own opinion, having seen me at church: i also told him that it was my uncle's intention to marry me to a cousin of my own, so as to keep my fortune in the family,—a man who was neither to my liking, nor suited to me at all, which is the truth. i bade him seize the opportunity that offered itself, and not by refusing it give himself cause for future repentance; and i begged that he would not consider my forwardness as a reason for denying me his esteem. his answer was, that having seen me very frequently in church, for myself alone, without any of those advantages of birth and fortune of which i spoke, he would have preferred me to all others, and would, if it were in his power, gladly make me mistress of the whole world; and he implored me to continue firm and faithful in my feelings for him, at least until he could leave a friend of his at salamanca, with whom he was going to that city to finish his studies. i replied that i could promise him this, since my love was not impetuous or indiscreet—quickly kindled, and as quickly extinguished. he then parted with me at the call of honour, not wishing to desert his friend, and with many tears which i saw him shed as he was going through the street where i lived on the day of his departure, he went, yet never left me; i too went along with him, and yet i did not depart the following day; who would believe it? in how many ways doth misfortune bring about the accomplishment of her ends to the unhappy; the following day, i say, my uncle resolved to return to italy, and take me with him; and i could devise no excuse, nor feign sickness, for my pulse was strong, and my complexion healthy; my uncle could not have believed that i was ill, but that i was averse to his matrimonial project, and so sought for means to escape going. i found a moment in which to write and tell andrew what had happened, and that i was forced to depart, but that i would try and go by this city, where i would feign myself possessed by the evil one, and so gain time for delay to allow time for him to leave salamanca, and come to lucca, where, in spite of my uncle and of the whole world, he should be my husband; that my happiness and his own depended upon the haste he made. if this plan pleased him, if my letter reached him, and it must have done, for the posts are safe and certain, he will be here before three days have passed: i, on my side, have done all i could; i have a legion of devils within me, for is it not that to have an ounce of love in one's heart, when hope afar off is flattering one's affections? this, ladies, is my story; this, my madness, this, my illness, my love-sick thoughts are the demons which torment me; i feel no hunger, because i expect the fulfilment of every desire; nevertheless, doubt and anxiety pursue me, for as the saying is, there is many a slip between the cup and the lip. help me, then, dear ladies, in keeping up my imposture, and assist me by persuading my uncle, if i am not better, to delay our journey further for some days; perhaps it may please heaven to bless me with the coming of my andrew."
we need not ask whether the hearers were not greatly astonished at the story of isabella, since the story was in itself a wonder, and must strike as such the ears of all who heard it. they offered their services to assist her in her devices, and to obtain delay, in hopes of soon seeing the end of them, as they were not able to wait much longer themselves.
