of the church; and he dying
without confession, no church will receive his body; nay, he will be
cast into a ditch, like a dog. Again, even if he do confess, his sins
are so many and so horrible that the like will come of it, for that
there is nor priest nor friar who can or will absolve him thereof;
wherefore, being unshriven, he will still be cast into the ditches.
Should it happen thus, the people of the city, as well on account of
our trade, which appeareth to them most iniquitous and of which they
missay all day, as of their itch to plunder us, seeing this, will rise
up in riot and cry out, "These Lombard dogs, whom the church refuseth
to receive, are to be suffered here no longer";--and they will run to
our houses and despoil us not only of our good, but may be of our
lives, to boot; wherefore in any case it will go ill with us, if
yonder fellow die.'

Master Ciappelletto, who, as we have said, lay near the place where
the two brothers were in discourse, being quick of hearing, as is most
times the case with the sick, heard what they said of him and calling
them to him, bespoke them thus: 'I will not have you anywise misdoubt
of me nor fear to take any hurt by me. I have heard what you say of me
and am well assured that it would happen even as you say, should
matters pass as you expect; but it shall go otherwise. I have in my
lifetime done God the Lord so many an affront that it will make
neither more nor less, an I do Him yet another at the point of death;
wherefore do you make shift to bring me the holiest and worthiest
friar you may avail to have, if any such there be,[38] and leave the
rest to me, for that I will assuredly order your affairs and mine own
on such wise that all shall go well and you shall have good cause to
be satisfied.'

[Footnote 38: _i.e._ if there be such a thing as a holy and worthy
friar.]

The two brothers, albeit they conceived no great hope of this,
nevertheless betook themselves to a brotherhood of monks and demanded
some holy and learned man to hear the confession of a Lombard who lay
sick in their house. There was given them a venerable brother of holy
and good life and a past master in Holy Writ, a very reverend man, for
whom all the townsfolk had a very great and special regard, and they
carried him to their house; where, coming to the chamber where Master
Ciappelletto lay and seating himself by his side, he began first
tenderly to comfort him and after asked him how long it