love with me; but I was obliged to give her up to one of my dearest
friends, called Il Bachiacca, who on his side had been, and still was,
over head and ears in love with her. [2] This exchange excited a certain
amount of lover's anger, because the lady, seeing I had abandoned her at
Bachiacca's first entreaty, imagined that I held in slight esteem the
great affection which she bore me. In course of time a very serious
incident grew out of this misunderstanding, through her desire to take
revenge for the affront I had put upon her; whereof I shall speak
hereafter in the proper place.

Well, then, the hour was drawing nigh when we had to present ourselves
before that company of men of genius, each with his own crow; and I was
still unprovided; and yet I thought it would be stupid to fail of such a
madcap bagatelle; [3] but what particularly weighed upon my mind was
that I did not choose to lend the light of my countenance in that
illustrious sphere to some miserable plume-plucked scarecrow. All these
considerations made me devise a pleasant trick, for the increase of
merriment and the diffusion of mirth in our society.

Having taken this resolve, I sent for a stripling of sixteen years, who
lived in the next house to mine; he was the son of a Spanish
coppersmith. This young man gave his time to Latin studies, and was very
diligent in their pursuit. He bore the name of Diego, had a handsome
figure, and a complexion of marvellous brilliancy; the outlines of his
head and face were far more beautiful than those of the antique
Antinous: I had often copied them, gaining thereby much honour from the
works in which I used them. The youth had no acquaintances, and was
therefore quite unknown; dressed very ill and negligently; all his
affections being set upon those wonderful studies of his. After bringing
him to my house, I begged him to let me array him in the woman's clothes