THE MORE I sought for rest, the more I was annoyed with all sorts of
embarrassments. Being thus daily exposed to divers persecutions, I
pondered which of two courses I ought to take; whether to decamp and
leave France to the devil, or else to fight this battle through as I had
done the rest, and see to what end God had made me. For a long while I
kept anxiously revolving the matter. At last I resolved to make off,
dreading to tempt my evil fortune, lest this should bring me to the
gallows. My dispositions were all fixed; I had made arrangements for
putting away the property I could not carry, and for charging the
lighter articles, to the best of my ability, upon myself and servants;
yet it was with great and heavy reluctance that I looked forward to such
a departure.
I had shut myself up alone in a little study. My young men were advising
me to fly; but I told them that it would be well for me to meditate this
step in solitude, although I very much inclined to their opinion.
Indeed, I reasoned that if I could escape imprisonment and let the storm
pass over, I should be able to explain matters to the King by letter,
setting forth the trap which had been laid to ruin me by the malice of
my enemies. And as I have said above, my mind was made up to this point;
when, just as I rose to act on the decision, some power took me by the
shoulder and turned me round, and I heard a voice which cried with
vehemence: “Benvenuto, do as thou art wont, and fear not!” Then, on the
instant, I changed the whole course of my plans, and said to my
Italians: “Take your good arms and come with me; obey me to the letter;
have no other thought, for I am now determined to put in my appearance.
If I were to leave Paris, you would vanish the next day in smoke; so do
as I command, and follow me.” They all began together with one heart and
voice to say: “Since we are here, and draw our livelihood from him, it
is our duty to go with him and bear him out so long as we have life to
execute what he proposes. He has hit the mark better than we did in this
matter; for on the instant when he leaves the place, his enemies will
send us to the devil. Let us keep well in mind what great works we have
begun here, and what vast importance they possess; we should not know
how to finish them without him, and his enemies would say that he had
taken flight because he shrank before such undertakings.” Many other
things bearing weightily upon the subject were said among them. But it
was the young Roman, Macaroni, who first put heart into the company; and
he also raised recruits from the Germans and the Frenchmen, who felt
well disposed toward me.
We were ten men, all counted. I set out, firmly resolved not to let
myself be taken and imprisoned alive. When we appeared before the judges
for criminal affairs, I found Caterina and her mother waiting; and on
the moment of my arrival, the two women were laughing with their
advocate. I pushed my way in, and called boldly for the judge, who was
seated, blown out big and fat, upon a tribunal high above the rest. On
catching sight of me, he threatened with his head, and spoke in a
subdued voice: “Although your name is Benvenuto, this time you are an
ill-comer.” I understood his speech, and called out the second time:
“Despatch my business quickly. Tell me what I have come to do here.”
Then the judge turned to Caterina, and said: “Caterina, relate all that
happened between you and Benvenuto.” She answered that I had used her
after the Italian fashion. The judge turned to me and said: “You hear
what Caterina deposes, Benvenuto.” I replied: “If I have consorted with
her after the Italian fashion, I have only done the same as you folk of
other nations do.” He demurred: “She means that you improperly abused
her.” I retorted that, so far from being the Italian fashion, it must be
some French habit, seeing she knew all about it, while I was ignorant;
and I commanded her to explain precisely how I had consorted with her.
Then the impudent baggage entered into plain and circumstantial details
regarding all the filth she lyingly accused me of. I made her repeat her
deposition three times in succession. When she had finished, I cried out
with a loud voice: “Lord judge, lieutenant of the Most Christian King, I
call on you for justice. Well I know that by the laws of his Most
Christian Majesty both agent and patient in this kind of crime are
punished with the stake. The woman confesses her guilt; I admit nothing
whatsoever of the sort with regard to her; her go-between of a mother is
here, who deserves to be burned for either one or the other offence.
Therefore I appeal to you for justice.” These words I repeated over and
over again at the top of my voice, continually calling out: “To the
stake with her and her mother!” I also threatened the judge that, if he
did not send her to prison there before me, I would go to the King at
once, and tell him how his lieutenant in criminal affairs of justice had
wronged me. When they heard what a tumult I was making, my adversaries
lowered their voices, but I lifted mine the more. The little hussy and
her mother fell to weeping, while I shouted to the judge: “Fire, fire!
to the stake with them!” The coward on the bench, finding that the
matter was not going as he intended, began to use soft words and excuse
the weakness of the female sex. Thereupon I felt that I had won the
victory in a nasty encounter; and, muttering threats between my teeth, I
took myself off, not without great inward satisfaction. Indeed, I would
gladly have paid five hundred crowns down to have avoided that
appearance in court. However, after escaping from the tempest, I thanked
God with all my heart, and returned in gladness with my young men to the
castle.