Of which there is an English translation by E. F. M. Benecke entitled “Virgil in the Middle Ages.” London, Swan Sonnenschein and Co. Comparetti. Alexandra Dumas also used this book very freely for his “Mille et Une FantÔmes”—in fact, the latter work may be said to be based on it. The “Histoire des FantÔmes” was the first and principal source from which French lovers of the supernatural derived the interest in were-wolves and vampires which manifested itself during the time of Napoleon and more recently. “Pioneers of Evolution.” Possibly meaning that it was the first time when he recognised his power as a sage or sorcerer. Horus Apollo, “Hieroglyph.,” II. 32. Simply an omelette aux truffes, the common fashion of eating truffles among the peasants. It is possibly an old Roman dish, and may be in Apicius. “Egli ha la lupa” (i.e., fame); also “Ho una fame ch’io la veggio.”—“Proverbi Italiani da Orlando,” Pescetti, 1618. In the Italian MS.: “I figlii erano al letto del padre che sapevano alla fine, ma non una lacrima sortiva dal loro ciglio.” “Morto io, morto il porco.” Latin: “Me mortuo terra misceatur incendio” (Suetonius in “Vit Neronis”)—“When I shall be dead, the devil may take everything!” Published by William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh, 1897. Male a far ti mangiare da qualche orco—Orco is from Orcus, the Spirit of Hell. Swearing by the body or any part thereof implied the destruction or forfeiture of it, i.e., death or slavery in case the oath should be broken. The same was believed of Diana. I have omitted here much needless verbiage and repetition, and abbreviated what follows. I conjecture that this is wild poppy. A play on paura (fear) and the name of the plant. Quaintly spelled quo prire in the original MS. London, D. Nutt, 1844, price 1s., MediÆval Legends, No. II. “Legends of Florence,” collected from the people, etc., by Charles Godfrey Leland. London, David Nutt, 1896. This is certain proof that the columns had been brought from the East. This is mentioned by many writers. I read it last in a very curious old manuscript History of Florence, written apparently about 1650, which—though it was in good condition, and well bound in parchment—I purchased for four soldi, or twopence, from an itinerant dealer. Finding by a note that the work belonged to the library of the Liceo Dante, I restored it to that institution. I also found in this manuscript an account of the miracle of the blooming of the elm-tree of San Zenobio. It is worth noting en passant that, according to Max Nordau, one of the Ibsenites, modern Illuminati or Naturalists—I forget to which division of the great body of reformers he belongs—has seriously proposed this creation of donne artificiale. Vide Nordau, “Degeneration.” This is finely conceived to give an idea of the great effect of the agony expressed in the face of the spectre. Adelone would naturally be so deeply impressed by it as to be unable to maintain the interview. E ne un luogo sporco. Evidently the BelsÀbo of a preceding tale. In the MS.: “‘Many are deluded, or get a thumb at the nose,’ says the proverb.” “Maxima sero delusi, ho sia con un palma di’ naso cosi, dice il proverbio.” This expressive sign of the thumb is represented in an Irish Gospel of St. Mark of the sixth century. This superlative is rendered in the original manuscript by the very original expression: “They were so near being killed, that they were almost at the point of death.” “Lo spirito del vaso che era quel santo Virgilio.” Here Virgil is for once fairly sainted or canonized. “Bevve un barile pieno di vino, e divenne ubbriaco come un tegolo o quattro suonatori di violini.” This recalls “tight as a brick” (Manuscript). “Virgiglio e la Donna di Diaccio” (Title in MS.). In allusion, probably, to the “Madonna del Fuoco,” whose festival is annually celebrated at Forli, in the Toscana Romagna. The writer of this story was from the neighbourhood of Forli. “The Madonna del Fuoco is probably Vesta” (vide “Etrusco-Roman Legends,” by C. G. Leland). Four antique marble statues of women. Any ancient female statue is commonly called a Venus by the people at large in Italy. Here there is a hiatus, or blank in the manuscript. By crown is here meant a fillet or tiara, as will be shown anon. “Tutto era artificiale,” meaning very artistic or Æsthetic. “Alla sua religione.” “La testa d’un uomo piena di vermi e puzzolente,” a parody of the decayed cabbage. I may here note that the ruined castle of the dreaded Falkenstein is in sight of the rooms where I am now writing in Homburg-les-Bains. Singer or minstrel, one who sings his poems, and not merely a writer of poems, is understood by poeta in all these legends. So given in the text for Seneca. “Cosi moriva e tutta Roma piangeva.” Vampa. Capitalisti, bankers. “Il piÙ grande birbone.” “E cosi tutti facevano l’amore nel buio, senza sapere chi era quello che facevano. . . .” Vide “Etrusco-Roman Remains.” By inadvertence or a blunder in the original manuscript, the wizard or witch is made male and female, and the victim alternately the young lady and the lover. It would make no difference as regards the plot. “Serratura o luchetta.” Florentine folar, or follo, from foglio, a leaf. I conjecture that this is the original of the English slang vogel, a silk handerchief, and not the German vogel, a bird. It may be noted that any clever modern juggler could perform the miracle of the fish as here described. The original reduces this to a minimum—“Non piÙ grande del dito mignole di un’ bimbo di nascita.” This is exactly like a small tambourine, but more strongly made. The Boston Comic Annual, 1828. Signore Cosino, or Cosimo. This name appears here for the first time in the story. Vide “Algonkin Tales of New England,” by Charles G. Leland. In the original “La Dea della Neve.” In Italy the word “goddess” is more familiarly and frequently used than it is by peasants in England, but rather with application to great and good spirits of any kind than to deities. This was probably due to the very rapid formation of a frozen crust. Vide Nansen’s work. Anime. Comare, godmother, gossip, a familiar form of address. In French commÈre; Scotch, cummer. “Andiede bene”—Cut their lucky. “I find this is a peasant’s expression for the ‘gloaming.’ Verso sera was the explanation” (Roma Lister). Literally “between the dim and the dark.” “Entre chien et loup”—the owl’s light. Literally “ugly mammy.” This conveys the idea of complete cleanliness, as well-scoured bare walls and floors are most easily vibrated by currents of air, and consequently most echoing. “Ora siamo belli fritti.” “Passegiando, passegiando,
Me ne vengo, ricordando,”
or “walking away.” M. AnnÆi Lucani, “De Bello Civili, vel PharsaliÆ,” Liber X., 225. The reader will find this Herodias-Lilith fully described in a little work entitled “Aradia; or, The Gospel of the Witches,” by Charles Godfrey Leland. London: D. Nutt. “Scongiurati”—evoked. The sentence is twice repeated in the original. “Ed aria resplendente,” a play on the name Bell’ Aria. This I have supplied to fill a blank. Evidently with quicksilver or mercury—similia similibus. Bottles for wine are sometimes made to contain several gallons. “An Enquiry into the Life and Legend of Michael Scott,” by the Rev. J. Wood Brown, M.A. Edinburgh, David Douglas, 1897. “Pigionale come si dei ebbe volgarmente” (original text). Annunziata. “Perche e stato sempre il mio dio.” Vollmer, “WÖrterbuch der gesammten Mythologie,” p. 1162. “Anche dopo morte rimarrai la stemma di Firenze, ovunque si trovera il Giglio.” Pausanias, v. ii. “Christliche Kunstsymbolik,” p. 28; Frankfort, 1839, apud Friedrich. Here there is a manifest omission. It would appear that the Emperor made love to the girl, and that the first speech which follows was by him and not by her. Here the remark and answer are run together in absurd confusion, but I believe that I have correctly restored the original. “Sentenze,” as defined by D’Ambra, “Apothegms.” Avviso, “Quando l’ amico guardara (o), ricordava bene l’ avviso, cosi lo spirito lo guardava, e cosi quella persona diveniva buona.” “Il proverbio o poema divena
Uno spirito vivente,
Che ti aiutera
A divenire savio e sapiente.” The Bag of Nails was once a tavern sign in England. It was conjectured to be a corruption of Bacchanals—a very unlikely derivation. This means here the recitation of five prayers, after which stories are told or traditions imparted and discussed. An immense amount of folklore can be gathered on such occasions. “Ne avevano un capo e ne gnente”—No head and no nothing—in the original. The speech as given by the precocious maiden in the original text is an amusing effort at fine talk or elevated language by an illiterate person, its object being to strengthen the marvel of the child’s inspiration. That is, on her face. To do this in a pig-sty was a special means of invoking dreams or inspirations, as described in Norse sagas. It is fully illustrated in my “Etrusco-Roman Remains.” Their temples were the last which were abandoned in Rome, as Wilkie Collins has minutely described in a novel. “Wegen ihrer erregenden Eigenschaft wurde die Zwiebel ein erotisches Symbol; deshalb salaces genannt; daher in die Schamtheile weiblicher Mumien als Sinnbilder der Auferstehung gelegt wurden.”—Friedrich, “Symbolik.”
