disciplinarians. A daughter, according to their
philosophy, had no right to have an opinion of her own as to her spouse.
She was bound by the old rules and customs of the country to accept with
submission, and not merely with submission but with meekness, and not
merely with meekness but with gratitude, the husband that might be
selected for her by the wisdom of her elders. All this volume of
feeling--and it ran with a pretty strong current--was in favor of Messer
Simone, and Messer Simone knew that it would be so in his favor, and
counted on it, and made the most of it, displaying himself very
obstreperously before the city as the defrauded husband.

Nor, as I have said, was the fact that Messer Simone had been a
party--if, indeed, this could be proved against him, and were no more
than mere malicious rumor--to a planned ambuscade, with its consequent
slaughter of Florentine chivalry, found to weigh very heavily against
him in the minds of many that belonged to the Yellow fellowship. A man
must get rid of his enemies as best he can, after all, and the
misfortune in this matter for Messer Simone was that he had flagrantly
failed in his enterprise, and had rather strengthened than weakened his
adversaries by his misadventure. Anyway, he may have had nothing
whatever to do with the matter, and must for the present be accorded the
benefit of the doubt.

All these things combined to make Messer Simone's rising a mighty
serious matter, and his appearance at the head of his little army of
followers before the house of Messer Folco of the Portinari a thing of
sufficiently grave concern for Messer Folco. Simone clamored for his
wife, Simone insisted on his wife being delivered over to him, Simone
loudly announced his intention, if the girl were not promptly and
peaceably surrendered to him, of laying siege to the Portinari palace
and taking her thence by force.

Now, of the populace of Florence, that was soon set astir and buzzing by
all this war-like circumstance, I think that the most part were against
Messer Simone in this business, because of the general pity felt for the
girl, and the general admiration for young Dante that was now proved
poet and proved soldier, and the general sympathy for two young lovers
troubled by adverse stars. But such sympathy could do little against the
grim arguments of Simone, against those steady ranks of his adherents,
heavily armed, and resolute to follow their leader wherever he might
ch