"There lived long ago in the Via Vacchereccia a poor girl, who was,
however, so beautiful and graceful, and sweet in her manner, that it
seemed to be a marvel that she belonged to the people, and still more
that she was the daughter of the woman who was believed to be her mother,
for the latter was as ugly as she was wicked, brutal, and cruel before
all the world, and a witch in secret, a creature without heart or
humanity.
"Nor was the beautiful Artemisia--such being the name of the girl--in
reality her daughter, for the old woman had stolen her from her parents,
who were noble and wealthy, when she was a babe, and had brought her up,
hoping that when grown she could make money out of her in some evil way,
and live upon her. But, as sometimes happens, it seemed as if some
benevolent power watched over the poor child, for all the evil words and
worse example of the witch had no effect on her whatever.
"Now it happened that Artemisia in time attracted the attention and love
of a young gentleman, who, while of moderate estate, was by no means
rich; and he had learned to know her through his mother, an admirable
lady, who had often employed Artemisia, and been impressed by her beauty
and goodness. So it happened that the mother favoured the son's suit,
and as Artemisia loved the young man, it seemed as if her sufferings
would soon be at an end, for be it observed that the witch treated the
maid at all times with extraordinary cruelty.
"But it did not suit the views of the old woman at all that the girl on
whom she reckoned to bring in much money from great protectors, and whom
she was wont to call the cow from whom she would yet draw support, should
settle down into the wife of a small noble of moderate means. So she not
only scornfully rejected the suit, but scolded and beat Artemisia with
even greater wickedness than ever.
"But there are times when the gentlest natures (especially when supported
by good principles and truly good blood) will not give way to any
oppression, however cruel, and Artemisia, feeling keenly that the
marriage was most advantageous for her, and a great honour, and that her
whole heart had been wisely given, for once turned on the old woman and
defied her, threatening to appeal to the law, and showing that she knew
so much that was wicked in her life that the witch became as much
frightened as she was enraged, well knowing that an investigation by
justice would bring her to the bonfire. So, inspired by the devil, she
turned the girl into a cow, and shut her up in a stable in the courtyard
of the house, where she went every day two or three times to beat and
torture her victim in the most fiendish manner.
"Meanwhile the disappearance of Artemisia had excited much talk and
suspicion, as it followed immediately after the refusal of the old woman
to give her daughter to the young gentleman. And he indeed was in sad
case and great suffering, but after a while, recovering himself, he began
to wonder whether the maid was not after all confined in the Via
Vacchereccia. And as love doubles all our senses and makes the deaf
hear, and, according to the proverb, 'he who finds it in his heart will
feel spurs in his flanks,' so this young man, hearing the old woman
spoken of as a witch, began to wonder whether she might not be one in
truth, and whether Artemisia might not have been _confinata_ or enchanted
into some form of an animal, and so imprisoned.
"And, full of this thought, he went by night to the house, where there
was an opening like a window or portal in the courtyard, and began to
sing:
"'Batte le dodici a una campana,
Si sente appena dalla lontana.
"'Se almeno la voce potessi sentire,
Della mia bella che tanto deve soffrire.'
"'Midnight is striking, I hear it afar,
High in the heaven shines many a star.
"'And oh that the voice of the one I could hear,
Who suffers so sadly--the love I hold dear.
"'Oh stars, if you're looking with pity on me,
I pray you the maid from affliction to free!'
"As he sang this, he heard a cow lowing in the courtyard, and as his mind
was full of the idea of enchantment, his attention was attracted to it.
Then he sang:
"'If enchanted here you be,
Low, but gently, _one_, _two_, _three_!
Low in answer unto me,
And a rescue soon you'll see.'
"Then the cow lowed three times, very softly, and the young man,
delighted, put to her other questions, and being very shrewd, he so
managed it as to extract with only yea and nay all the story. Having
learned all this, he reflected that to beat a terrier 'tis well to take a
bulldog, and after much inquiry, he found that there dwelt in Arezzo a
great sorcerer, but a man of noble character, and was, moreover,
astonished to learn from his mother that this _gran mago_ had been a
friend of his father.
"And being well received by the wise man, and having told his story, the
sage replied:
"'Evil indeed is the woman of whom you speak--a black witch of low
degree, who has been allowed, as all of her kind are, to complete her
measure of sin, in order that she may receive her full measure of
punishment. For all things may be forgiven, but not cruelty, and she has
lived on the sufferings of others. Yet her power is of a petty kind, and
such as any priest can crush.
"'Go to the stable when she shall be absent, and I will provide that she
shall be away all to-morrow. Then bind verbena on the cow's horns, and
hang a crucifix over the door, and sprinkle all the floor with holy water
and incense, and sing to the cow:
"'The witch is not thy mother in truth,
She stole thee in thy early youth,
She has deserved thy bitterest hate,
Then fear not to retaliate;
And when she comes to thee again,
Then rush at her with might and main;
She has heaped on thee many a scorn,
Repay it with thy pointed horn.'
"'And note that there is a _halter_ on the cow's neck, and this is the
charm which gives her the form of a cow, but it cannot be removed except
in a church by the priest.'
"And to this he added other advice, which was duly followed.
"Then the next day the young man went to the stable, and did all that the
wise man had bid, and hiding near, awaited the return of the witch. Nor
had he indeed long to wait, for the witch, who was evidently in a great
rage at something, and bore a cruel-looking stick with an iron goad on
the end, rushed to the courtyard and into the stable, but fell flat on
the floor, being overcome by the holy water. And the cow, whose halter
had been untied from the post, turned on her with fury, and tossed and
gored her, and trampled on her till she was senseless, and then ran full
speed, guided by the young man, to the Baptistery, into which she
entered, and where there was a priest awaiting her. And the priest
sprinkled her with holy water, and took the halter from her neck, and she
was disenchanted, and became once more the beautiful Artemisia.
"And this done, the young man took the halter, and hurrying back to the
stable, put it about the neck of the witch, who at once became a cow
without horns, or such as are called 'the devil's own.' And as she,
maddened with rage, rushed forth, attacking everybody, all the town was
soon after her with staves, pikes, and all their dogs, and so they hunted
her down through the Uffizzi and along Lung' Arno, all roaring and
screaming and barking, out into the country, for she gave them a long run
and a good chase, till they came to a gate of a _podere_, over which was
a Saint Antony, who, indignant that she dared pass under him, descended
from his niche, and gave her a tremendous blow with his staff between the
horns, or where they would have been if she had possessed them.
Whereupon the earth opened and swallowed her up, amid a fearful flashing
of fire, and a smell which was even worse than that of the streets of
Siena in summer-time--which is often so fearful that the poorer natives
commonly carry fennel (as people do perfumed vinaigrettes in other
places) to sniff at, as a relief from the horrible odour.
"And when all this was done, the _mago_ revealed to the maiden that her
parents, who were still living, were very great and wealthy people, so
that there was soon a grand reunion, a general recognition, and a happy
marriage.
"'Maidens, beware lest witches catch you;
Think of the Via Vacchereccia;
And tourists dining in the same,
Note how the street once got its name.'"