e open market-place, thou traitor to thy country and
thy God! _Apage_, _Satanas_--avaunt!--begone! lest I be seen talking
to thee and taken for a conspirator myself! _Pax_ indeed--pack off
with you, ere I hand you over to the torturers!'

"And so he rid himself of that importunate beggar."

Apropos of the egg-wife, if chickens are apropos to eggs, there is a
merry tale of a certain priest, which will, I think, amuse the reader.
Like all good folk, the Florentines make fun of their neighbours, among
whom are of course included the people of Arezzo, and tell of them this
story:

"Long long ago, a certain Bishop Angelico convoked a Synod at Arezzo,
summoning every priest in his diocese to be present; and knowing that
many had slipped into very slovenly habits as regarded the sacerdotal
uniform, made it a stern and strict order that every one should
appear in _cappa e cotta_,' {15} or in cloak and robe.

"Now there was a priest who, though he kept a well-filled cellar, and
a pretty servant-maid, and a fine poultry-yard, had none of these
clerical vestments, and knew not where to borrow them for the
occasion; so he was in great distress and _stavasi molto afflitto in
casa sua_--sat in deep affliction in his home. And his maid, who was
a bright and clever girl, seeing him so cast down, asked him the
cause of his grief, to which he replied that the Bishop had summoned
him to appear at the Synod in _cappa e cotta_.

"'Oh, nonsense!' replied the good girl. 'Is that all? My dear
master, you do not pronounce the words quite correctly, or else they
have been badly reported to you. It is not _cappa e cotta_ which the
Bishop requires, for assuredly he has plenty of such clothes, but
_capponi cotti_, 'good roast capons,' such as all bishops love, and
which he knows he can get better from the country priests than from
anybody. And _grazie a Dio_! there is nobody in all Tuscany has
better poultry than ours, and I will take good care that you give the
Bishop of the very best.'

"Now the priest being persuaded by the maid, really made his
appearance at the Council bearing in a dish well covered with a
napkin four of the finest roasted capons ever seen. And with these
he advanced _in pleno concilo_, in full assembly before the Bishop.
The great man looked severely at the priest, and said:

"'Where a