The Lambertville Record

FABIO'S NOTE.
Of all the merchants in Venice. Fabio
Mutinelli was the most exact in keeping
his engagements. He was liberal
and magnificent on every occasion, and
especially with ladies and people of the
church. The elegant polity of his manners
was celebrated throughout the republic, and people admired at San Zani-
polo an altar of gold which he had offered to St. Catherine for love of the
beautiful Catherine Manini, wife of the
senator. Alesso Conaro. As he was very
wealthy, be had many friends, to whom
he gave festivals and his purse. But he
suffered severe losses in the war against
the Genoese and in the troubles of Na-
ples. It happened that 80 of his vessels
were captured. So the magnificent Fa-
bio was despoiled in a short time of all
his riches. Having sold his palace and
his plate to pay his debts, he found him-
self destitute of everything. But as he
was skillful, courageous, well learned in
commerce and in the vigor of age, he
thought only of restoring his business.
He made many calculations and figured
that 500 ducats were necessary for him
to attempt new enterprises, from which
he expected happy, prompt and certain
successes. He asked of Alesso Bontura
who was the richest citizen of the re-
public, to lend to him these 500 ducats.
But the good signor esteemed that if
audacity procures great goods prudence
alone preserves them, and he refused
to expose so large a sum to the peril of
sea and fortune. Fabio addressed him
self to Andrea Morosini. whom he had
formerly favored in different ways.
"Beloved Fabio," replied Andrea, "to
others than you I would willingly lend
this sum. I have no attachment for gold
pieces, and I conform, on this point, to
the maxims of Horace. the satirist
But your friendship is dear to me, Fa-
bio Mutinelli, and I would risk its loss
if I loaned you money. Most often com
merce of the heart goes ill between debt-
or and creditor. I have seen too many
examples of this."
With these words Signor Andrea pre
tended to embrace the merchant tender
ly and shut the door in his face.
At night, as he was returning sadly
to his house, the courtesan Zanetta, who
was taking a bath in the canal, grasped
his gondola and said to Fabio:
"I know your misfortunes. They are
the talk of the town. Now listen. I am
not rich, but I have some jewels in a
small casket. If you accept them, gen
tle Fabio, I will believe that God and
the Virgin love me."
And it was true that, in the newness
of her age and in the fine flower of her
beauty, Zanetta was poor. Fabio re-
plied:
"Graceful Zanetta. there is more no
bility in the house where you live than
in all the palaces of Venice."
For three days more Fabio visited the
banks and the shops without finding
anybody who would lend money to him.
Everywhere he received a wicked an-
swer and heard speeches the tone of
which was as follows: "You were
wrong to sell your plate to pay your
debts. One may loan money to a man
in debt: one never loans to a man who
has neither furniture nor plate."
The fifth day he went in his despair
to the Corte Delle Galli. which is also
called the Ghetto, and which is the
Jewish quarter. "Who knows,"he said
to himself, "if I may not obtain from a
Jew the favor that Christians have re-
fused?" He went through streets the
entrance of which, by order of the sen
ate, was barred every night with chains.
He remembered having heard of an
Israelite named Eleazer, son of Eleazer
Maimonides, who was said to be grand-
ly rich and of a mind marvelously sub-
tle. The door of his house was decorated
with an image of the seven branched
golden candlestick, which the Jew had
caused to be made as a sign of hope, in
view of the promised day when the tem
ple would rise from its ashes.
The merchant entered a hall lighted
by a lamp of brass, the 13 wicks of
which were ablaze. The Jew Eleazer
was seated before his scales. The win-
dows of his house were walled, because
he was an infidel. Fabio Mutinelli talk
ed to him in the following manner:
"Eleazer. I have often called you a
dog and a pagan. It happened, when I
was younger, that I threw stones and
mud at people who passed near the ca-
nal wearing a yellow wheel on their
shoulders. I tell you this not to insult
you, but to be loyal at a time when I
come to ask you to do me a great ser-
vice."
The Jew lifted his arm, which was
dry and knotty like a vine.
"Fabio Mutinelli." he said. "the Fa-
ther who is in heaven will judge you
and me. What service do you ask?"
"Lend me 500 ducats for a year."
"One does not lend without security.
What is your security?'
"You must know, Eleazer. that I have
not even a golden cup. not even a silver
goblet. I have nothing, Everybody has
refused to do me the service that I ask
of you. I have nothing in the world,
except my honor as a merchant and my
faith as a Christian. I offer to you as
security the Holy Virgin Mary and her
Divine Son."
At this reply the Jew inclined his
head like one meditating and thinking.
He caressed for an instant his long white
beard and said:
"Fabio Mutinelli, lead me to your se-
curity, for it is necessary that the lend-
er should be placed in presence of the
security that is offered to him."
"It is your right." answered the mer
chant."Come!"
He led Eleazer to the Church de
l'Orto. near the field which is named aft
er the Moors. There. showing the Ma
don'na, who, standing on the altar, her
forehead ornamented with a crown of
precious stones, her shoulders covered
with a gold embroidered cloak. held in
her arms the infant Jesus, decked like
his mother, the merchant said to the
Jew. "This is my security.
Eleazer looked with a subtle eye at
the Christian merchant, the Madonna
and the child, bent his head and said
that he accepted the security. He
brought Fabio back to his house and
gave to him 500 ducats, saying:
"This is yours for a year. If in a year
from now, day for day, you have not re-
turned to me this sum. with the inter-
est fixed by the law of Venice and the
custom of the Lombards. imagine. Fa.
bio Mutinelli. what I will think of the
Christian merchant and of his security!"
Fabio, without loss of time, bought
vessels and loaded them with salt and
various other merchandise, which he
disposed of in the cities of the Adriatic
at a great profit. Then, with a new
cargo, he sailed for Constantinople,
where he bought carpets, perfumes, pea-
cock feathers. ivory and ebony, which
his clerks exchanged on the coast of
Dalmatia for lumber. which was bought
from him in advance by the Venetians.
By this means he multiplied ten times
in six months the sum which he had re-
ceived.
But one day that he was in a bark on
the Bosporus with Greek women he
was taken by pirates and brought cap-
tive into Egypt. Happily his gold and
his merchandise were safe. The pirates
sold him to a Saracen lord, who, having
put his feet in irons, commanded him
to cultivate the wheat, which is beauti.
ful in that country. He offered ransom,
but the daughter of the Saracen lord,
who loved him, dissuaded her father
from surrendering him at any price. He
filed his irons with the instruments that
he used to cultivate the fields, fled,
reached the Nile and went out to sea.
After eight days of travel in a Span-
ish ship, which had picked him up, a
tempest threw him on the coast of Dal.
mati'a. The entire crew was drowned,
and Fabio, supported by a chicken coop,
reached the coast with great difficulty.
He fell insensible and was brought to
the house of a widow, who was quite
beautiful and whose name was Loretta.
When he regained consciousness, he
was surrounded by perfume of myrtles
and roses, and he saw from his window
a garden which descended gradually to
the sea. Mme. Loretta took her violin
and played tenderly. Fabio, in his
gratitude, kissed her hands a thousand
times. Then he asked what was the day
of the month. When she told him, he
began to groan and to lament at the
thought that in 24 hours the year would
be ended, and the date would come
when he would fail to return the 500
ducats which he had borrowed from
the Jew Eleazer. Mme. Loretta having
asked the cause of his despair. he made
it known to her. As she was a woman of
great piety and very faithful to the Holy
Mother of God, she sympathized with
him. There was no difficulty in obtain-
ing the 500 ducats, but none could
think of going from the coast of Dal-
mati'a to Venice in 24 hours in a bad
sea and with contrary winds. "Let us
have the money in the first place," said
Fabio.
When a servant of his hostess had
brought the money to him, the noble
merchant asked for a bark, which he
filled with bags containing the ducats.
Then he took from Mme. Loretta's ora-
tory an image of the Virgin with the
infant Jesus, which was made of cedar
wood and was very venerable. He plac-
ed it in the bark near the rudder, and
he said to the image:
"Madam, you are my security. The
Jew Eleazer must be paid tomorrow.
My honor and yours are at stake, mad-
am, and also the renown of your Son.
What a mortal sinner like me may not
do you shall surely accomplish, pure
star of the sea, you whose breast nour-
ishes the one who walked on waves.
Take this money to the Jew Eleazer, in
the Ghetto of Venice, so that the Jews
will not say that you are bad security.'
Having pushed the bark in the wave,
he took off his hat and said softly:
"Adieu, madam." For a long time the
merchant and the widow followed the
bark with their eyes. The night fell. A
furrow of light was traced in the peace-
ful sea.
The next morning Eleazer, having
opened his door, saw in the narrow ca-
nal of the Ghetto a bark loaded with
bags and guided by a little figure of
black wood. resplendent with the clear-
ness of dawn. The bark stopped before
the house where was carved the seven
branched golden candlestick. The Jew
recognized the Virgin Mary and the in-
fant Jesus, security of the Christian
merchant.--Echo