But should he wot
not of my love before I die, sore disconsolate should I depart; and
knowing not by whom more aptly than by thee I might give him to know this
my frame, I am minded to entrust the communication thereof to thee; which
office I entreat thee not to refuse, and having discharged it, to let me
know, that dying thus consoled, I may depart this pain." Which said, she
silently wept.
Marvelling at the loftiness of the girl's spirit and her desperate
determination, Minuccio commiserated her not a little; and presently it
occurred to him that there was a way in which he might honourably serve
her: wherefore:--"Lisa," quoth he, "my faith I plight thee, wherein thou
mayst place sure confidence that I shall never play thee false, and
lauding thy high emprise, to wit, the setting thine affections upon so
great a king, I proffer thee mine aid, whereby, so thou wilt be of good
cheer, I hope, and believe, that, before thou shalt see the third day
from now go by, I shall have brought thee tidings which will be to thee
for an exceeding great joy; and, not to lose time, I will set to work at
once." And so Lisa, assuring him that she would be of good cheer, and
plying him afresh with instant obsecrations, bade him Godspeed; and
Minuccio, having taken leave of her, hied him to one Mico da Siena, a
very expert rhymester of those days, who at his instant request made the
ensuing song:--
Hence hie thee, Love; and hasting to my King,
Give him to know what torment dire I bear,
How that to death I fare,
Still close, for fear, my passion harbouring.
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