The Book of the Courtier by Baldassare Castiglione

Author:Baldassare Castiglione [Castiglione, Baldassare]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Literary Collections, Essays, History, Renaissance, Social History, Classics
ISBN: 9780141916514
Google: jPsubUNJrJUC
Publisher: Penguin UK
Published: 2004-04-29T05:00:00+00:00

‘This kind of joke is played very often; but more amusing still are jokes that are frightening to begin with but have a happy ending, for then the victim too laughs at himself and realizes that there was nothing to be afraid of. For example, one night I was staying in Paglia and in the same inn there happened to be three other guests, two from Pistoia and the third from Prato, who, as often happens, sat down after supper to gamble. Before very long one of the Pistoians had lost all he had and was left penniless, and he began to swear and curse and grumble with all his might; and then he went off to bed, blaspheming wickedly. After the other two had been playing a little longer, they decided to play a practical joke on the one who had left. So, when they knew that he had fallen asleep, they put out all the lights and covered the fire; and then they began to talk loudly and make a tremendous din, pretending that they had fallen out over their game, with one of them saying: “You dealt a card from underneath,” and the other retorting: “You bet on a flush; the game goes to the bank.” They carried on in this way, making such an uproar that they woke their colleague up; and, hearing that they were still playing and were talking as if they could see the cards, when he failed to see anything himself, he said: “And what the devil are you up to, shouting all night?” Then he immediately settled down again. All his two companions did, however, was to continue as before, until, being now wide awake, he started to wonder and then, when he was quite sure that he could see neither the fire nor any other light, even though the other two were still playing and quarrelling, he said: “But how can you see your cards in the dark?” One of them remarked: “You must have lost your sight as well as your money. Can’t you see by these two candles over there?” At this, the man in bed raised himself on his elbows and said angrily: “Either I’m blind or drunk or you’re telling lies.” Then the other two got up and groped their way to their beds, laughing and pretending to believe that he was making fun of them, whereas for his part he kept repeating: “I tell you, I can’t see you.” At length the two of them pretended to be very astonished, and one said to the other: “Oh dear, I really think he’s telling the truth. Give me that candle and let’s see if perhaps his sight is clouding over.” At this the poor wretch thought for sure that he had become blind, and weeping copiously he said: “Dear brothers, I’ve lost my sight….” And then he started to call on Our Lady of Loreto and beseech her to pardon the blasphemies and curses he had hurled at her after having lost his money.

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