"And finally, no one so physically strong, as he was accustomed to boast
to everybody on first acquaintance, and give them proofs of it--he having
heard somewhere that 'physical force makes a deeper impression than
courtesy.' But all these fine gifts failed to inspire respect (and here
was another puzzle in his nature), either because he was so tremendously
vain that he looked down on all mortals as so many insects, and all
pretty much alike as compared to himself, or else from a foolish
carelessness and want of respect, he made himself quite as familiar with
trivial people as with anybody. {213}
"One evening the Signore Pietro gave a grand ball in his palace, and as
the guests came in--the beauty and grace and courtly style of all Italy
in its golden time--he half closed his eyes, lazily looking at the
brilliant swarm of human butterflies and walking flowers, despising while
admiring them, though if he had been asked to give a reason for his
contempt he would have been puzzled, not having any great amount of
self-respect for himself. And they spun round and round in the dance. .
. .
"When all at once he saw among the guests a lady, unknown to him, of such
striking and singular appearance as to rouse him promptly from his idle
thought. She was indeed wonderfully beautiful, but what was very
noticeable was her absolutely ivory white complexion, which hardly seemed
human, her profuse black silken hair; and most of all her unearthly large
jet-black eyes, of incredible brilliancy, with such a strange expression
as neither the Signore Pietro nor any one else present had ever seen
before. There was a power in them, a kind of basilisk-fascination allied
to angelic sweetness--fire and ice . . . _ostra e tramontan_--a hot and
cold wind.
"The Signore Pietro, with his prompt tact, made the lady's paleness a
pretence for addressing her. 'Did she feel ill--everything in the house
was at her disposition--
"'Servants, carpets, chairs and tables,
Kitchen, pantry, hall and stables,
Everything above or under;
All my present earthly plunder,
All too small for such a wonder.'
"The lady, with a smile and a glance in which there was not the slightest
trace of being startled or abashed, replied:
"''Tis not worth while your house to rifle,
_O mio Signor_, for such a trifle.
'Tis but a slight indisposition,
For which I'll rest, by your permission.'
"The Signore Pietro, as an improvisatore, was delighted with such a ready
answer, and remarking that he was something of a doctor, begged
permission to bring a soothing cordial, admirable for the nerves, which
he hoped to have the honour of placing directly in that fairy-like hand.
. . . The Signore vanished to seek the _calmante_.
"The guests had begun by this time to notice this lady, and from her
extremely strange appearance they gathered round her, expecting at first
to have some sport in listening to, or quizzing, an eccentric or a
character. But they changed their mind as they came to consider
her--some feeling an awe as if she were a _fata_, and all being finally
convinced that whoever she was she had come there to _sell_ somebody
amazingly cheap, nor did they feel quite assured that they themselves
were not included in the bargain.
"The Signore Pietro returned with the soothing cordial; he had evidently
not drunk any of it himself while on the errand, for there was a massive
chased iron table inlaid with gold and silver in his way, and the mighty
lord with an angry blow from his giant arm, like one from a blacksmith's
No. 1 hammer, broke it, adding an artisan-like oath, and knocked it over.
Flirtation had begun.
"'Did you hurt yourself, Signore?' asked the lady amiably.
"'Not I, indeed,' he replied proudly. 'A Stone is my name, but it ought
to have been Iron, lady, for I am hard as nails, a regular Ferrone or big
man of iron, and all my ancestors were Ferroni too; ah! we are a strong
lot--at your service!' Saying this he handed the cup to the lady, who
drank the potion, and then, instead of giving the goblet back to the
Signore Pietro, as he expected, meaning to gallantly drink off _les doux
restes_, she beckoned with her finger and an upward scoop of her hand to
the table, which was lying disconsolately on its back with its legs
upwards, like a trussed chicken waiting to be carved, when lo! at the
signal it jumped up and came walking to her like a Christian, its legs
moving most humanly, and yet all present were appalled at the sight, and
the Signore gasped--
"'I believe the devil's in it!'
"The lady composedly placed the draught on the table and smiled
benevolently. There was something in that angelic smile which made the
Signore feel as if he had been made game of. In a rage he rushed at the
table, which reared up on its hind legs and showed fight with its
forepaws, on which there were massy round iron balls, as on the other
extremities. Truly it was a desperate battle, and both combatants
covered themselves with dust and glory. Now the table would put a ball
well in, and the Signore would counter, or, as I may say, cannon or
cannon-ball it off; and then they would grapple and roll over and over
till the Signora called them to time. At last the lord wrenched all the
cannon-balls off from the table, which first, making a jump to the
ceiling, came down in its usual position, while the balls began dancing
on it like mad.
"At such a sight all present roared with laughter, and it was observed
that the lady, no longer pale, flushed with merriment like a rose. As
for Signore Pietro he was red as a beet, and heaved out that he had been
_canzonato_ or quizzed.
"'Truly yes,' replied the lady; 'but henceforth you shall have a name,
for to do you justice you are as hard as iron, and Iron you shall be
called--Big Iron Ferrone--and cannon-balls shall be your coat-of-arms,
_in saecula saeculorum_. By edict of the Queen of the Fairies!'
"Now at this all the love in the Signore Pietro concentrated itself in
his heart, passed into his tongue, and caused him to burst forth in song
in the following _ottava_, while the music accompanied:
"'Quando vedo le femmine rammone,
Mi sento andare il cuore in convulsione,
Hanno certe facette vispe e sane,
Da fare entrare in sen la tentazione,
Oh donnina! Non siate disumana!
Di Pietro abbiate compassione!
Scusante la modestia se l'e troppo
Di questi personali non sene poppo.'
"'When I behold thy all too lovely features,
I feel my heart in soft convulsions heaving,
Thou art the most entrancing of all creatures,
I tell you so in sooth, without deceiving,
In fact there is no beauty which can beat yours;
And Pietro loves you, lady, past believing;
In breasts like cannon-balls there's naught to blame;
But oh! I hope your heart's not like the same!'
"But as this exquisite poem concluded with an immense sigh, there
appeared before them a golden and pearl car, in which the fairy entered,
and rising sailed away through a great hole in the ceiling, which opened
before and closed behind her, Signore Pietro remaining _a bocca aperta_,
gaping with opened jaws, till all was o'er.
"'Well!' exclaimed the master, 'she gave me the slip, but we have had a
jolly evening of it, and I'm the first man who ever fought an iron table,
and I've got a good idea. My name is now Feroni--the Big Iron
Man--ladies and gentlemen, please remember, and cannon-balls are in my
coat-of-arms!'"
* * * * *
I have naturally taken some liberty as regards mere text in translating
this tale, in order to render the better the spirit of the original; but
not so much as may be supposed, and spirit and words are, on the whole,
accurately rendered.
The reader is not to suppose that there are any traces of true history in
this fairy tale. I am very greatly indebted to Miss Wyndham of Florence
(who has herself made collections in folk-lore), for investigating this
subject of the Feroni family, with the following result--it being
premised that it had occurred to the lady that the "cannon-balls" or
Medicean pills, or pawnbroker's sign, whatever it was, had been
attributed by mistake to the Feroni. Miss Wyndham, after consulting with
authority, found that the Feroni themselves had not the balls, but, owing
probably to transfer of property, there is found on their palaces the
Alessandri shield, on which the upper half and lower left quarter contain
the Medici spheres. She also sent me this extract from the old work,
_Marietta di Ricci_:
"The Feroni family, originally named from Balducci da Vinci, and of
peasant origin, owes its fortune to Francesco, son of Baldo di Paolo
di Ferone, a dyer of Empoli. Going as a merchant to Holland, he
accumulated a large fortune. Made known to Cosimo III. (just called
to the Grand Duchy) by his travels, he was called to Florence. In
1673 he was made citizen of Florence, in 1674 he was elected senator,
and in 1681 appointed Marquis of Bellavista. He left a colossal
fortune, which has been kept up by his heirs to the present day. His
grandson Guiseppe was made cardinal in 1753.
"Their arms are an arm mailed in iron, holding a sword, and above it
a golden lily in a blue field."
This extract is interesting, as showing how a family could rise by
industry and wealth, even in one generation, by the work of a single man,
to the highest honours in Florence. And it is very remarkable that some
impression of the origin of this vigorous artisan and merchant, of
peasant stock, is evident in the tale. He is there clever and strong,
but vulgar and familiar, so that he was not personally liked. He remains
standing open-mouthed, like a comic actor, when the fairy vanishes. In
fact the whole tale suggests the elements of a humorous melodrama or
operetta, a _bourgeois gentilhomme_.
"And should it come to pass that any read
This tale in Viesseux, his library,
In the Feroni palace, let them think
That, even in the rooms where they do read,
The things which I have told once came to pass--
Even so the echo ever haunts the shrine!"