power which he could not resist to
obey her. But that, as a man of honour, so far as he could, he would
comply with the common oath which bound them.

"Then they declared that he should ask her if she loved him, and if she
assented, that he should inform her of their oath, and that she must
share her love with all or none--_altrimenti non avrebbe mai potuta
sposarla_.

"Which he did in good faith, and she answered, 'Hadst thou loved me
sincerely and fully, thou wouldst have broken that vile oath; and yet it
is creditable to thee that, as a man of honour, thou wilt not break thy
word. Therefore thou shalt be mine, but not till after a long and bitter
punishment. Now I ask thy friends and thee, if to be mine they are
willing to take the form of demons and bear it openly before all men.'

"And when he proposed it to his friends, he found them so madly in love
with the lady that they, thinking she meant some disguise, declared that
to be hers they would willingly wear any form, however terrible.

"And the fair Alba, having heard them, said, 'Yes, ye shall indeed be
mine; more than that I do not promise. Now meet me to-morrow at the
Canto dei Diavoli--at the Devil's Corner!'

"And they gazed at her astonished, never having heard of such a place.
But she replied, 'Go into the street and your feet shall guide you, and
truly it will be a great surprise.'

"And they laughed among themselves, saying, 'The surprise will be that
she will consent to become a wife to us all.'

"But when they came to the corner, in the night, what was their amazement
to see on it four figures of devils indeed, and Alba, who said, 'Now ye
are indeed mine, but as for my being yours, that is another matter.'

"Then touching each one, she also touched a devil, and said, 'This is thy
form; enter into it. Three of ye shall ever remain as such. As for this
fourth youth, he shall be with ye for a year, and then, set free, shall
live with me in human form. And from midnight till three in the morning
ye also may be as ye were, and go to the Palazzo Cavolaia, and dance and
be merry with the rest, but through the day become devils again.'

"And so it came to pass. After a year the image of the chosen lover
disappeared; and then one of the three was stolen, and then another, till
only one remained."

* * * * *

There is some confusion in the conclusion of this story, which I have
sought to correct. The exact wo