of the necromancer, again desired to be in company with my Angelica.
He then turning upon me said, 'Know, they have declared that in the
space of a month you shall be in her company.'
"He then requested me to stand by him resolutely, because the legions
were now above a thousand more in number than he had designed; and
besides these were the most dangerous; so that, after they had
answered my question, it behoved him to be civil to them, and dismiss
them quietly. At the same time the boy under the pintacolo was in a
terrible fright, saying, that there were in the place a million of
fierce men who threatened to destroy us; and that, besides, there were
four armed giants of enormous stature, who endeavoured to break into
our circle. During this time, while the necromancer, trembling with
fear, endeavoured by mild means to dismiss them in the best way he
could, Vincenzio, who quivered like an aspen leaf, took care of the
perfumes. Though I was as much afraid as any of them, I did my utmost
to conceal it; so that I greatly contributed to inspire the rest with
resolution; but the truth is, I gave myself over for a dead man,
seeing the horrid fright the necromancer was in.
"The boy had placed his head between his knees; and said, 'In this
attitude will I die; for we shall all surely perish.' I told him that
those demons were under us, and what he saw was smoke and shadow; so
bid him hold up his head and take courage. No sooner did he look up,
than he cried out, 'The whole amphitheatre is burning, and the fire is
just falling on us.' So, covering his eyes with his hands, he again
exclaimed, that destruction was inevitable, and he desired to see no
more. The necromancer intreated me to have a good heart, and to take
care to burn proper perfumes; upon which I turned to Vincenzio, and
bade him burn all the most precious perfumes he had. At the same time
I cast my eyes upon Gaddi, who was terrified to such a degree, that he
could scarcely distinguish objects, and seemed to be half dead. Seeing
him in this condition, I said to him, 'Gaddi, upon these occasions a
man should not yield to fear, but stir about to give some assistance;
so come directly, and put on more of these perfumes.' Gaddi accordingly
attempted to move; but the effect was annoying both to our sense of
hearing and smell, and overcame the perfumes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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