Beauty, when blent with wickedness,
Ne’er yet did faile to bring distresse,
A lovely thing that is an evil
Is the own daughter of the devil;
And what was wicked from the first
Unto the ende will be accurst,
And sow, I trow, full sinfull seede,
As ye may in this story reade!
Once upon a time there was in Arezzo a young woman of rare beauty, though
of base condition. This girl showed from her earliest years a very
strong character, great and varied talents or gifts, and the outward
appearance, at least, of great piety and morality, so that she was always
in church or absorbed in thought, which passed for pious meditation,
while she never missed early Mass on a single morning.
It came to pass that a young gentleman who was rich, handsome, clever,
and of good family, fell in love with her and offered marriage, but this
she refused, to the amazement of all, especially her parents. But the
girl declared that her disposition to religion made marriage
objectionable to her; and indeed at this time she so devoted herself to
devotion that she hardly found time to eat. Yet as she did not become a
nun, the Aretini, or people of Arezzo, called her the Beghina (Beguine),
or Sister of Charity. Yet in doing all this she had ideas of her own, or
more fish in her net than the world was aware of, for the peasants for
her services and prayers, regarding her as a saint who could work
miracles, because she indeed effected many strange things which seemed to
them to be Divine, brought her many gifts, including money, all of which
she declared would be devoted in future to the Madonna, regarding all
which she had a great work in view.
At last her reputation for sanctity spread over all the country, and it
was greatly increased when it was reported that so poor a girl had
refused to marry a rich young gentleman, so that she was visited by the
nobility, among whom she acquired great influence. And as she declared
that it was her ambition to build a small church, and with it a home for
herself, they, hoping that this would bring many pilgrims and greatly
benefit the town, at last offered her thirty thousand crowns wherewith to
carry out her pious purposes, which she with thanks and tears gratefully
accepted.
The first thing which she did, however, was to build for herself a house,
for which there was (secretly) constructed a long subterranean passage
which led out to the river. Then she left her parents, saying that for
the present she must lead a life of devotion in absolute seclusion. Then
it was observed that from time to time young gentlemen were missing, and
more than once their bodies were found floating in the river below the
house of La Beghina, yet so great was her reputation for sanctity that no
one connected their loss with her name.
So years passed by. But there was one who put no faith in her piety, and
this was the signore whom she had refused, and with whom love for her had
been succeeded by a bitter love of revenge, and by constant observation
and inquiry he found out several things which greatly confirmed his
suspicions. The first of these was the discovery of the bodies in the
river; and being resolved to find out all the secrets of her house, he
visited the mason who had built it, saying that he wished to erect a
mansion for himself, and as he greatly admired that of La Beghina, would
like to have one exactly like it. To which the old man replied that he
was willing, but as every person who built a house kept certain details a
secret to secure the safety of persons or property in certain
emergencies, he must be excused if he withheld certain particulars. But
the young signore replied that he had set his heart on having just such a
house in every respect; that he himself wished to conceal all secrets,
and, finally, that he would pay a round sum extra to have his desire
fulfilled. This was an argument which the mason could not resist, and so
explained to his patron every detail of the building, which made more
than one mystery clear to him. And having learned the secret of the
underground passage which led to the river, he began to watch it by night
with great care; and found that the exit by the river was by a stone
door, which was so artfully concealed in a rock by bushes that it was
hardly perceptible.
One night, when it was very dark, the Signore Primo, for such was his
name, being on the watch, heard a noise and saw the door open. Then
there appeared the Beghina, bearing or dragging a long package or
bundle—_un involto_—which she let fall into the flood. And at this sight
the signore could not restrain a cry of rage, understanding it all,
whereat La Beghina fled in terror into the passage, leaving the door
unfastened behind her. But the young man, unheeding her, cast himself
headlong into the river after the bundle, which he succeeded in bringing
to land, and on opening it found the body of a young gentleman of his
acquaintance, who was not, however, quite dead, as he had been merely
heavily drugged, and who with care was restored to life. And truly he
had a strange tale to tell, how he had been inveigled mysteriously and
blindfolded, and introduced to some unknown house where there was a
handsome woman, who, after he had made love with her, drugged and robbed
him, after which he became unconscious.
The Signore Primo conveyed his friend to his own home, and after caring
for his comfort and earnestly recommending him to keep the whole matter a
secret, went back to the stone door, and finding it open, and having
already learned how the house was built, he entered, and concealed
himself where he could watch the mistress.
Early in the morning there came an elderly lady, who with many tears and
in great emotion told the Beghina that she had a son gone to the war, and
was in great fear lest he should be slain, and that she had prayed to the
Virgin that he might return safe and sound; and that if the Beghina by
her piety would bring this to pass, she would at once give her fifty gold
crowns, and a very much larger sum in case her son should come to her
again soon and well. To which La Beghina replied that she could go home
with a happy heart, for in a few days she should have her son with her.
So the lady departed.
Then the Beghina went into a secret room [but the Signore Primo continued
to follow and observe her] and taking a pack of cards and a chain, she
threw them against the wall and beat on the ground, saying:
“Diavoli tutti che siete nell’ inferno!
Scatenatevi, e damme portatevi,
Un comando
Vi voglio dare
Fino alla cittá
Dov’é la guerra dovete andare,
E salvare
Il figlio della signora;
Che pochanzi damme e venuta
E portatelo subito a casa sua,
In carne anima ed ossa,
Se questa grazia mi farete
L’anima di quel giovane l’avrete!”
“All ye devils who are in hell,
Loosen your chains, and come at once to me!
I give you a command—
Go to the city where the war is waged,
And save the life of the son
Of the lady who came to me of late,
And bear him quickly to her in her home!
Bear him in flesh, soul and bones!
If ye do me this favour,
Ye shall have the soul of that youth!”
And when this was sung many devils appeared and saluted her as a queen.
The Signore Primo was indeed amazed and terrified, for now he realized
that the Beghina was worse than he had supposed, or a witch of the most
malignant kind. But he left the place, and going to the lady, told her
all he had witnessed. Then she in great terror fainted, and when
restored to life declared that, if anyone could save the soul of her son,
he should have all her fortune.
Then the Signore Primo told her that if anyone could defeat the evil
witch it was a great magician who by lucky chance was in Arezzo, and that
she should seek him forthwith. This great magician was no other than
Virgil. And as soon as the lady appeared, Virgil said:
“I know why thou art come.”
Then he led her to the form of an angel clad in a rose-coloured garb,
and, kneeling before it, said:
“O tu angelo del paradiso!
Ma benche puro e innocente sei stato
In questa terra confinata
Per salvare tua madre de suoi peccati,
Ma anche nel altro mondo
Ne fa sempre di peggio,
E per questo sarai liberato te
E confinata nel tuo posto,
La compagna e complice
Di tua madre la Beghina
La Beghina di Arezzo.
Vai tu angelo beato!
Da l’angelo custode!
E dilli che invochi
Lo spirito che di la ha piu comando,
E potenza di volere salvare
L’anima di quel giovane,
Che la Beghina le ha venduta
E cosi tu tu sarai in pace!”
“Oh, thou angel of Paradise!
Yet who, though pure and ever innocent,
Hast been enchanted on this earth
(Confined in the form which thou wearest),
To save thy mother for her sins;
Yet even in another world
She will ever be worse.
Therefore thou shalt now be freed,
And thy mother and her accomplice
Be enchanted in thy place.
The Beghina of Arezzo,
Go, thou blessed angel,
To the angel who guards thee!
Bid him invoke the spirit who has most power
To save the soul of that youth
Whom the Beghina has sold;
Thus shalt thou be in peace.”
At that instant there was heard a clap of thunder, the sound of a roaring
storm, and there fell down before them two human beings like two corpses,
yet not dead, and these were La Beghina and her companion witch.
Then there entered a grand sun-ray, which flashed in light upon the angel
whom Virgil had summoned. And it said:
“The youth is saved, and whoever doeth good shall find good even in
another world. Farewell; I too am saved!”
Then the Beghina and her companion began to spit fire and flame, and they
were condemned to wander for ever, without resting, from one town to
another, ever possessed with a mad desire to do evil, but without the
ability, for Virgil had taken the power from them.
* * * * *
This story seemed to me in the original, after more than one reading, so
confused and high-flown, that I was on the point of rejecting it, when a
friend who had also perused it persuaded me that, under all its dialectic
mis-spellings, barbarous divisions of words, and manifest omissions (as,
for instance, what became of the Sieur Buridan of the Italian Tour de
Nesle, who was so nearly drowned), there was a legend which was
manifestly the mangled version of a far better original. Therefore I
have translated it very faithfully, and would specify that there was from
me no suggestion or hint of any kind, but that it is entirely of the
people.
Firstly, it may be observed that the long-continued,
deliberately-contrived hypocrisy of the Beghina, as well as the Red
Indian-like vindictiveness of the hero, is perfectly Italian or natural.
The construction of secret passages and hiding-places in buildings is
almost common even to-day. The idea of a holy spirit who undergoes a
penance, _confinata_, or enchanted and imprisoned in a statue to redeem
her mother, is also finely conceived, as is the final statement that the
Beghina and her mysterious accomplice, who is so abruptly introduced, are
condemned to wander for ever, tormented with a desire to do evil which
they are unable to satisfy.
The Beghina is an incarnation of hypocrisy, deceit, lust and treachery.
The four symbols for these were the serpent, wren, chameleon, and
goose—the latter because a certain Athenian named Lampon was wont to
swear “by the goose!” and then break his oath. Possibly the origin of
the saying “He is sound upon the goose” is derived from this.
But I sometimes think that to decide between tradition or borrowing and
independent creation is beyond the folklore of the present day.