howing herself so enamoured and freehanded, one of her slave-girls
called her, as she had ordained beforehand; whereupon she left the
chamber and coming back, after awhile, in tears cast herself face
downward on the bed and fell to making the woefullest lamentation ever
woman made. Salabaetto, marvelling at this, caught her in his arms and
fell a-weeping with her and saying, 'Alack, heart of my body, what
aileth thee thus suddenly? What is the cause of this grief? For God's
sake, tell it me, my soul.' The lady, after letting herself be long
entreated, answered, 'Woe's me, sweet my lord, I know not what to say
or to do; I have but now received letters from Messina and my brother
writeth me that, should I sell or pawn all that is here,[418] I must
without fail send him a thousand gold florins within eight days from
this time, else will his head be cut off; and I know not how I shall
do to get this sum so suddenly. Had I but fifteen days' grace, I would
find a means of procuring it from a certain quarter whence I am to
have much more, or I would sell one of our farms; but, as this may not
be, I had liefer be dead than that this ill news should have come to
me.'

[Footnote 418: Syn. that which belongeth to us (_cio che ci e_,) _ci_,
as I have before noted, signifying both "here" and "us," dative and
accusative.]

So saying, she made a show of being sore afflicted and stinted not
from weeping; whereupon quoth Salabaetto, whom the flames of love had
bereft of great part of his wonted good sense, so that he believed
her tears to be true and her words truer yet, 'Madam, I cannot oblige
you with a thousand florins, but five hundred I can very well advance
you, since you believe you will be able to return them to me within a
fortnight from this time; and this is of your good fortune that I
chanced but yesterday to sell my stuffs; for, had it not been so, I
could not have lent you a groat.' 'Alack,' cried the lady, 'hast thou
then been straitened for lack of money? Marry, why didst thou not
require me thereof? Though I have not a thousand, I had an hundred and
even two hundred to give thee. Thou hast deprived me of all heart to
accept of thee the service thou profferest me.' Salabaetto was more
than ever taken with these words and said, 'Madam, I would not have
you refrain on that account, for, had I had such an occasion therefor
as you presently have, I would assuredly have asked you.' 'Alack,
Salabaetto mine,' replied the lady