f the
kitchen than the nightingale of the green boughs, especially if he
scented some serving-wench there, and who had seen in that of the inn
a gross fat cookmaid, undersized and ill-made, with a pair of paps
that showed like two manure-baskets and a face like a cadger's, all
sweaty, greasy and smoky, leaving Fra Cipolla's chamber and all his
gear to care for themselves, swooped down upon the kitchen, even as
the vulture swoopeth upon carrion, and seating himself by the fire,
for all it was August, entered into discourse with the wench in
question, whose name was Nuta, telling her that he was by rights a
gentleman and had more than nine millions of florins, beside that
which he had to give others, which was rather more than less, and that
he could do and say God only knew what. Moreover, without regard to
his bonnet, whereon was grease enough to have seasoned the caldron of
Altopascio,[319] and his doublet all torn and pieced and enamelled
with filth about the collar and under the armpits, with more spots and
patches of divers colours than ever had Turkey or India stuffs, and
his shoes all broken and hose unsewn, he told her, as he had been the
Sieur de Chatillon,[320] that he meant to clothe her and trick her out
anew and deliver her from the wretchedness of abiding with
others,[321] and bring her to hope of better fortune, if without any
great wealth in possession, and many other things, which, for all he
delivered them very earnestly, all turned to wind and came to nought,
as did most of his enterprises.

[Footnote 319: Said by the commentators to have been an abbey, where
they made cheese-soup for all comers twice a week; hence "the caldron
of Altopascio" became a proverb; but _quaere_ is not the name
Altopascio (high feeding) a fancy one?]

[Footnote 320: It does not appear to which member of this great house
Boccaccio here alludes, but the Chatillons were always rich and
magnificent gentlemen, from Gaucher de Chatillon, who followed Philip
Augustus to the third crusade, to the great Admiral de Coligny.]

[Footnote 321: Sic (_star con altrui_); but "being in the service of
or dependent upon others" seems to be the probable meaning.]

The two young men, accordingly, found Guccio busy about Nuta, whereat
they were well pleased, for that it spared them half their pains, and
entering Fra Cipolla's chamber, which they found open, the first thing
that came under their examination was the saddle-bags wherein was the