ER TO A NOBLE YOUNG GENTLEMAN; THEN, KISSING HER
ON THE BROW, HE EVER AFTER AVOUCHETH HIMSELF HER KNIGHT

Fiammetta having made an end of her story and the manful magnanimity of
King Charles having been much commended, albeit there was one lady
there who, being a Ghibelline, was loath to praise him, Pampinea, by
the king's commandment, began thus, "There is no one of understanding,
worshipful ladies, but would say that which you say of good King
Charles, except she bear him ill-will for otherwhat; but, for that
there occurreth to my memory a thing, belike no less commendable than
this, done of one his adversary to one of our Florentine damsels, it
pleaseth me to relate it to you.

At the time of the expulsion of the French from Sicily, one of our
Florentines was an apothecary at Palermo, a very rich man called
Bernardo Puccini, who had by his wife an only daughter, a very fair
damsel and already apt for marriage. Now King Pedro of Arragon, become
lord of the island, held high festival with his barons at Palermo,
wherein he tilting after the Catalan fashion, it chanced that
Bernardo's daughter, whose name was Lisa, saw him running [at the
ring] from a window where she was with other ladies, and he so
marvellously pleased her that, looking upon him once and again, she
fell passionately in love with him; and the festival ended and she
abiding in her father's house, she could think of nothing but of this
her illustrious and exalted love. And what most irked her in this was
the consciousness of her own mean condition, which scarce suffered her
to cherish any hope of a happy issue; natheless, she could not
therefor bring herself to leave loving the king, albeit, for fear of
greater annoy, she dared not discover her passion. The king had not
perceived this thing and recked not of her, wherefor she suffered
intolerable chagrin, past all that can be imagined. Thus it befell
that, love still waxing in her and melancholy redoubling upon
melancholy, the fair maid, unable to endure more, fell sick and wasted
visibly away from day to day, like snow in the sun. Her father and
mother, sore concerned for this that befell her, studied with
assiduous tenderness to hearten her and succoured her in as much as
might be with physicians and medicines, but it availed nothing, for
that, despairing of her love, she had elected to live no longer.

It chanced one day that, her father offering to do her every pleasure,
she bethought hersel