but had opposed themarriage until the very last. Francesca forced him to relent, bydeclaring that she would never marry any one else. When Jacopo finallygave his consent, he said to Raniero: "I have observed that men like youcan more easily win a woman's love than keep it; therefore I shall exactthis promise from you: If my daughter finds life with you so hard thatshe wishes to come back to me, you will not prevent her." Francesca saidit was needless to exact such a promise, since she was so fond ofRaniero that nothing could separate her from him. But Raniero gave hispromise promptly. "Of one thing you can be assured, Jacopo," said he--"Iwill not try to hold any woman who wishes to flee from me."
Then Francesca went to live with Raniero, and all was well between themfor a time. When they had been married a few weeks, Raniero took it intohis head that he would practice marksmanship. For several days he aimedat a painting which hung upon a wall. He soon became skilled, and hitthe mark every time. At last he thought he would like to try and shootat a more difficult mark. He looked around for something suitable, butdiscovered nothing except a quail that sat in a cage above the courtyardgate. The bird belonged to Francesca, and she was very fond of it; but,despite this, Raniero sent a page to open the cage, and shot the quailas it swung itself into the air.
This seemed to him a very good shot, and he boasted of it to any one whowould listen to him.
When Francesca learned that Raniero had shot her bird, she grew pale andlooked hard at him. She marveled that he had wished to do a thing whichmust bring grief to her; but she forgave him promptly and loved him asbefore.
Then all went well again for a time.
Raniero's father-in-law, Jacopo, was a flax weaver. He had a largeestablishment, where much work was done. Raniero thought he haddiscovered that hemp was mixed with the flax in Jacopo's workshop, andhe did not keep silent about it, but talked of it here and there in thecity. At last Jacopo also heard this chatter, and tried at once to put astop to it. He let several other flax weavers examine his yarn andcloth, and they found all of it to be of the very finest flax. Only inone pack, which was designed to be sold outside of Florence, was thereany mixture. Then Jacopo said that the deception had been practisedwithout his knowledge or consent, by some one among his journeymen. Heapprehended at once that he would find it difficult to convince peopleof this. He had always been famed for honesty, and he felt very keenlythat his honor had been smirched.
Raniero, on the other hand, plumed himself upon having succeeded inexposing a fraud, and he bragged about it even in Francesca's hearing.
She felt deeply grieved; at the same time she was as astonished as whenhe shot the bird. As she thought of this, she seemed suddenly to see herlove before her; and it was like a great piece of shimmery gold cloth.She could see how big it was, and how it shimmered. But from one cornera piece had been cut away, so that it was not as big and as beautiful asit had been in the beginning.
Still, it was as yet damaged so very little that she thought: "It willprobably last as long as I live. It is so great that it can never cometo an end."
Again, there was a period during which she and Raniero were just ashappy as they had been at first.
Francesca had a brother named Taddeo. He had been in Venice on abusiness trip, and, while there, had purchased garments of silk andvelvet. When he came home he paraded around in them. Now, in Florence itwas not the custom to go about expensively clad, so there were many whomade fun of him.
One night Taddeo and Raniero were out in the wine shops. Taddeo wasdressed in a green cloak with sable linings, and a violet jacket.Raniero tempted him to drink so much wine that he fell asleep, and thenhe took his cloak off him and hung it upon a scarecrow that was set upin a cabbage patch.
When Francesca heard of this she was vexed again with Raniero. Thatmoment she saw before her the big piece of gold cloth--which was herlove--and she seemed to see how it diminished, as Raniero cut away pieceafter piece.
After this, things were patched up between them for a time, butFrancesca was no longer so happy as in former days, because she alwaysfeared that Raniero would commit some misdemeanor that would hurt herlove.
This was not long in coming, either, for Raniero could never betranquil. He wished that people should always speak of him and praisehis courage and daring.
At that time the cathedral in Florence was much smaller than the presentone, and there hung at the top of one of its towers a big, heavy shield,which had been placed there by one of Francesca's ancestors. It was theheaviest shield any man in Florence had been able to lift, and all theUberti family were proud because it was one of their own who had climbedup in the tower and hung it there.
But Raniero climbed up to the shield one day, hung it on his back, andcame down with it.
When Francesca heard of this for the first time she spoke to Raniero ofwhat troubled her, and begged him not to humiliate her family in thisway. Raniero, who had expected that she would commend him for his feat,became very angry. He retorted that he had long observed that she didnot rejoice in his success, but thought only of her own kin. "It'ssomething else I am thinking of," said Francesca, "and that is my love.I know not what will become of it if you keep on in this way."
After this they frequently exchanged harsh words, for Raniero happenednearly always to do the very thing that was most distasteful toFrancesca.
There was a workman in Raniero's shop who was little and lame. This manhad loved Francesca before she was married, and continued to love hereven after her marriage. Raniero, who knew this, undertook to joke withhim before all who sat at a table. It went so far that finally the mancould no longer bear to be held up to ridicule in Francesca's hearing,so he rushed upon Raniero and wanted to fight with him. But Raniero onlysmiled derisively and kicked him aside. Then the poor fellow thought hedid not care to live any longer, and went off and hanged himself.
When this happened, Francesca and Raniero had been married about a year.Francesca thought continually that she saw her love before her as ashimmery piece of cloth, but on all sides large pieces were cut away, sothat it was scarcely half as big as it had been in the beginning.
She became very much alarmed when she saw this, and thought: "If I staywith Raniero another year, he will destroy my love. I shall become justas poor as I have hitherto been rich."
Then she concluded to leave Raniero's house and go to live with herfather, that the day might not come when she should hate Raniero as muchas she now loved him.
Jacopo degli Uberti was sitting at the loom with all his workmen busyaround him when he saw her coming. He said that now the thing had cometo pass which he had long expected, and bade her be welcome. Instantlyhe ordered all the people to leave off their work and arm themselves andclose the house.
Then Jacopo went over to Raniero. He met him in the workshop. "Mydaughter has this day returned to me and begged that she may live againunder my roof," he said to his son-in-law. "And now I expect that youwill not compel her to return to you, after the promise you have givenme."
Raniero did not seem to take this very seriously, but answered calmly:"Even if I had not given you my word, I would not demand the return of awoman who does not wish to be mine."
He knew how much Francesca loved him, and said to himself: "She will beback with me before evening."
Yet she did not appear either that day or the next.
The third day Raniero went out and pursued a couple of robbers who hadlong disturbed the Florentine merchants. He succeeded in catching them,and took them captives to Florence.
He remained quiet a couple of days, until he was positive that this featwas known throughout the city. But it did not turn out as he hadexpected--that it would bring Francesca back to him.
Raniero had the greatest desire to appeal to the courts, to force herreturn to him, but he felt himself unable to do this because of hispromise. It seemed impossible for him to live in the same city with awife who had abandoned him, so he moved away from Florence.
He first became a soldier, and very soon he made himself
commander of avolunteer company. He was always in a fight, and served many masters.
He won much renown as a warrior, as he had always said he would. He wasmade a knight by the Emperor, and was accounted a great man.
Before he left Florence, he had made a vow at a sacred image of theMadonna in the Cathedral to present to the Blessed Virgin the best andrarest that he won in every battle. Before this image one always sawcostly gifts, which were presented by Raniero.
Raniero was aware that all his deeds were known in his native city. Hemarveled much that Francesca degli Uberti did not come back to him, whenshe knew all about his success.
At that time sermons were preached to start the Crusades for therecovery of the Holy Sepulchre from the Saracens, and Raniero took thecross and departed for the Orient. He not only hoped to win castles andlands to rule over, but also to succeed in performing such brilliantfeats that his wife would again be fond of him, and return to