"Where the _Croce al Trebbio_ now stands, was in very old times a great
palace occupied by one of the most ancient families of Florence. And
when it died out, there came into the house three families, but none
could remain there, being so terrified with fearful sounds and an
apparition.
"It was the custom in those days in Florence to ring a bell at ten
o'clock at night, which was a signal for every citizen to go home at
once; therefore, after that hour no one was seen in the streets except
police guards, military patrols, and riotous young men, whom the former
aimed at arresting. It often happened that such irregular folk took
refuge in the old palazzo, but if they remained there one night, they had
enough of it, and never returned, so great was the horror which they were
sure to feel.
"The first occurrence which gave the place a bad name was as follows:
Some time after the death of the last of the old line of Signori who had
occupied the palace, and the three families spoken of had come into it,
on the first night at midnight they heard some one put a key in the
house-door, open the same with great noise, and come storming and
swearing up the stairs into the great dining-hall. Then there entered a
tall and magnificently dressed gentleman, of very handsome and
distinguished appearance, but his face was deadly pale, his eyes had a
terrible gleam, and it seemed as if a light bluish flame flickered and
crept about him, ever rising and vanishing like small serpents.
"And entering, he began to scold and blaspheme in a diabolical manner, as
if at servants whom he was accustomed to have promptly at his call,
saying, '_Birbanti di servitori_--you scoundrelly waiters--you have not
got supper ready for me, nor laid the tables.' Saying this, he seized on
plates and glasses, and dashing them down violently, broke them in mad
rage. Then he entered the best bedroom in the house, where some one lay
asleep, and this man he maltreated and hurled forth, saying that the bed
was his own.
"And if after that any one dared to sleep in the old palazzo, he was
found there dead in the morning, or else lived but a few days. So it
came to pass that no one would inhabit it; nay, all the houses round
about began to be deserted, and the whole neighbourhood regarded it as a
pest. And from all this they were relieved by a marvellously strange
occurrence and a great miracle.
"There was a gentleman who was very pious, honourable, and brave, a good
man at every point, but wretchedly poor, so that he with his eight
children and wife had all been turned into the street, because he could
not pay his rent.
"Then in his distress he went to the city council and begged for some
kind of relief or employment; and they being much concerned at the time
about the haunted palazzo, knowing him to be a man who would face the
devil, with little to fear on account of his integrity, proposed to him
to occupy the building, adding that he and his family should every day be
supplied with food and wine gratis, and that if, as was generally
supposed, there was hidden treasure in the palace, and he could find it,
he should be welcome to keep it.
"To which this brave man willingly assented, and at once went his way to
the haunted palace. But while on the road he obtained olive sprigs,
salt, and frankincense, also certain images of saints, and then with much
holy water sprinkled all the rooms, stairs, and cellars, praying withal.
{33}
"And the first night there was again heard the grating of the key in the
lock, the crash of the door, the rapid heavy footfall, and the spirit
appeared with the waving plume of flame on his splendid _beretta_ or cap,
when suddenly he was checked and could go no farther, because the hall
had been blessed, yes, and thoroughly. Then the spectre began to bellow
and roar, and utter whistling screams and all horrible sounds, worse than
a wild beast.
"But the new master of the house did not let fear overcome him in the
least, and the next day he renewed the sprinkling and blessing, and
finding there was a chapel in the palace, he called in a priest, who
there read a mass for the soul of the ghost, so that he might rest in
peace.
"Now there was a beautiful little garden attached to the palace, and the
children of the new tenant were delighted to play in it.
"And in the middle of the garden they found a cross with a Christ on it,
and the cross had been shattered. But the children took the pieces and
carried them one by one into the chamber where no one dared to sleep, and
there they put them piously together, and dressed a little altar before
it, and began to sing hymns.
"But while they were thus singing in their simple devotion, wishing to
aid their father, there was a knock at the door, and a lady entered whose
face was concealed in a veil, but who seemed to be weeping as she beheld
them, and she said, 'Children, keep ever as you are; always be good and
love God, and He will love you!'
"Then she continued, 'The master of this house was a gambler and a
blasphemer; when he lost money at gambling he would return home and beat
this image of Christ, till one night, being in a mad rage, he broke it
and threw it into the garden.'
"'But soon after that he fell ill, and knowing that he was dying, he
buried all his treasure in the garden. Love God, and you shall find it.
So he died, blaspheming and condemned. Love God, and He will love you!'
And saying this, she vanished.
"The children, all astonished, ran to their father and mother, and told
them that a beautiful lady had visited them, and what she had said.
"Then they said to the children, 'You must indeed be always good, for
that Lady who spoke to you was the Holy Virgin, who will always protect
you.' And then the father called in a priest to say midnight mass at the
time when the spirit would appear. And he came, and said, 'I am he who
broke the cross, and for that I was damned!' Then the priest began to
sprinkle holy water, with exorcisms, when all at once the accursed one
disappeared in a tremendous, over-whelming crash of thunder, and the
whole palace fell to gravel and dust--there was not left one stone
standing on the other, save the cross which the children had repaired,
which rose alone in the middle of the garden.
"Then the next day the good man dug away the rubbish by the cross, and
when this was removed, they found a mass of charcoal, and under this the
treasure.
"Then the Signore, grown rich, had, to commemorate this, a beautiful
column built, on which he placed the cross, and this is known to this day
as the Croce al Trebbio, or the Crucifix of the Cross-roads."
* * * * *
If the Croce al Trebbio really commemorates one of the most iniquitous
massacres which ever disgraced even the Church, then to find this tender
and graceful little tale springing up from it, reminds me of what I once
heard of a violet which was found growing in the Far West, and blooming
in an Indian's skull. The conception of the children playing at
worshipping, and yet half-worshipping, is very Italian. I have seen
little boys and girls thus rig up a small chapel in the streets of Rome,
and go through the mass and other ceremonies with intense interest.
It may also be observed that in this, as in many other legends, charcoal
is found over a hidden treasure. The folk-lore of coal in connection
with money is so extensive and varied, that one could write on it a small
book. I believe that the two are synonyms in all canting jargons or
"slanguages."
"Hence probably came," remarks Flaxius, "the saying, 'To haul one over
the coals,' meaning to go over money-accounts with any one who has cause
to dread the ordeal. Truly 'tis but a conjecture, yet I remember that in
my youth it was generally applied to such investigations.
"'And so 'twas held in early Christian time
That glowing coals were a sure test of truth
And holy innocence, as was full proved
By Santa Agnatesis of the Franks,
And fair Lupita of the Irish isle.'"
Since writing the foregoing I have found the whole of the ancient
inscription of the cross, as it was preserved by two chroniclers. This
will be found in another chapter.
THE TWO FAIRIES OF THE WELL
A LEGEND OF THE VIA CALZAIOLI
"When looking down into a well,
You'll see a fairy, so they tell,
Although she constantly appears
With your own face instead of hers;
And if you cry aloud, you'll hear
Her voice in the ringing echo clear;
Thus every one unto himself
May be a fairy, or an elf."
"And truly those nymphs and fairies who inhabit wells, or are found
in springs and fountains, can predict or know what is to take place,
as may be read in Pausanias, and this power they derive from their
_habitat_, or, as Creuzer declares (_Symbolik_, part iv. 72), they
are called Muses, inasmuch as they dwell in Hippocrene and Aganippe,
the inspiring springs of the Muses."--_On the Mysteries of Water_.
FRIEDRICH (_Symbolik_).
Long after Christianity had come in, there were many places in the vast
edifice of society whence the old heathen deities refused to go out, and
there are even yet nooks and corners in the mountains where they receive
a kind of sorcerer's worship as _folletti_. A trace of this lingering in
a faith outworn, in nymphs, dryads, and _fata_, is found in the following
story: