The Story of Belfagor in Literature and Folk-Lore (Classic Reprint)

Download or read book The Story of Belfagor in Literature and Folk-Lore (Classic Reprint) written by William Edward Armytage Axon and published by Forgotten Books. This book was released on 2017-12-05 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from The Story of Belfagor in Literature and Folk-Lore The fourth tale of the second night is, however, told by Signor Benedetto of Previse. The Devil, weary of the continual complaints of the husbands who reach his domain against their wives, determines to make trial of the commodities of the married life. He assumes the form of a rich and handsome young man, calls himself Pancrazio Stornello, and marries Silvia Balastro. His best man was Gasparino Bencie. A few days after the wedding Pancrazio tells his wife that she must ask, once and for all, for whatever she desires in clothing, jewellery, etc., but having received her request must never repeat it. With the aid of her mother she draws up a long list of the things that excite feminine cupidity. These he at once gives her, with a warning against further demands. Notwithstanding this, as fashions change, Silvia finds that for a certain festivity she has nothing to wear. The husband a second time supplies all her desires, and again warns her. But a third time she finds herself appealing to him. He gives her what she wishes, and, conceiving a violent dislike, abandons her for ever. Meantime, gasparine, who is a gambler and trickster, has gone to Malfi, where one of his unpaid creditors takes a curious revenge. The Duke has become possessed by an evil spirit, who is no other than our friend Pancrazio celebrating hi release from the cares of matrimony. The creditor tells the Duke that Gasparine is an accomplished exorcist, and the unlucky gamester is commanded, on pain of death, to expel the demon. It is in vain that Gasparine disclaims the powers attributed to him. He tries his hand, and in conversation with the demon finds that it is old crony Pancrazio, who. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.