te of it for future use. And having asked the Signore
Alessandro Strozzi for the hand of his daughter, the great lord
consented, but made it a condition that the youth should build for his
bride a palace on the corner of the Via del Proconsolo and the Borgo
degli Albizzi, and it must be ready within a year. This he said because
in his heart he did not like the match, yet for his daughter's love he
put this form upon it, and he hoped that ere the time would be out
something might happen to prevent the marriage. _In fin che v'e fiato
v'e speranza_--while there is breath, Signore, there is hope.

"Now the young man having resolved to finish with his devil for good and
all, began to give him great hope in divers ways. And one day he said to
the imp:

"'Truly thou hast great power, but I have a mind to make a great final
game with thee. _Ogni bel giuoco vuol durar poco_--no good game should
last long, and let us play this compact of ours out. If thou canst build
for me a palace at the corner of the Via del Proconsolo and the Borgo
degli Albizzi, and finish it in every detail exactly as I shall order it,
then will I be thine, and thou need'st do no more work for me. And if
thou canst not complete it to my taste, then our compact will be all
smoke, and we two past acquaintances.'

"Now it is said that to cook an egg to a turn, make a dog's bed to suit
him exactly, or teach a Florentine a trick, _sono tre cose
difficile_--are three very difficult things to do, and this contract for
building the palace on time with indefinite ornaments made the devil
shake in his shoes. However, he knew that 'Pippo found out how to stand
an egg on its end,' {94} and where there's a will there's a way,
especially when you have 'all hell to back you up'--_tutto l'inferno a
spalleggiarvi_.

"So he built and built away, with one gang of devils disguised as workmen
by day, and another, invisible, by night, and everybody was amazed to see
how the palace rose like weeds after a rain; for, as the saying is, _mala
herba presto cresce_--'ill weeds grow apace,' and this had the devil to
water it.

"Till at last one day, when the six months were nearly up, the imp said
to the master:

"'_Ebbene_, Signore, it is getting to the time for you to tell me how you
would like to have the palace decorated. Thus far everything has been
done exactly as you directed.'

"'Ah yes, I see--all done but the finishing. Well, it may be a little
hard, but I