love, to diminish his anguish for his absence. Thereupon Canneloro laid hold on his dagger and stuck it into the ground, and instantly a fine fountain rose up. Then said he to the prince, "This is the best memorial I can leave you; for by the flowing of this fountain you will know the course of my life; if you see it run clear, know that my life will likewise be clear and tranquil; if you see it turbid, think that I am passing through troubles; and if you find it dry, (which Heaven forbid!) depend on it that the oil of my lamp is all consumed, and I have paid the toll that belongs to Nature."
So saying he took his sword, and sticking it into the ground, he made a plant of myrtle spring up, saying to the prince, "As long as you see this myrtle green, know that I am green as a leek; if you see it wither, think that my fortunes are not the best in the world; but if it becomes quite dried up, you may say a requiem[1] for your Canneloro."
So saying, after embracing one another again, Canneloro set out on his travels; and journeying on and on, after various adventures which would be too long to recount,—such as quarrels with vetturini, disputes with
- ↑ Requie, scarpe, e zoccoli.-The two first words are a corruption of requiescat in pace, and zoccoli (slippers) is added to answer to scarpe (shoes); or because the Frati Zoccolanti (Franciscans) usually attended funerals. The dead were borne to the grave drest, and with shoes on them.
