Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 1.djvu/171

Rh the wife of Goosehead was not on the watch, he poured the contents of his tube, as often as he thought meet, into the good woman’s pot. In due time, Capodoca returned to dinner or supper, as the case might be, but he could not swallow a mouthful of his soup or meat, which was all rendered uneatable by the inordinate quantity of salt. Once and again he endured this with patience, only grumbling a little; but when he found that words did not suffice, he showered a storm of blows on the poor woman, who fell into despair, knowing how cautious she was in the salting of her cookery. One day that her husband was beating her for this cause, and that she was seeking to excuse herself, he fell into a worse rage than before, and so maltreated her, that, crying with all her might, she brought the whole neighbourhood to her aid. Buffalmacco was among the rest; and having heard the accusation brought by Goosehead against his wife, with the excuses she offered, he took up the word. “ Faith, comrade,” said he, “ you should be a little more reasonable: you complain that your dish is too much salted morning and night; but I marvel, for my part, that your good wife can do any thing right. I know not how she keeps on her feet in the day, seeing that she spends the best of her night at the spinning-wheel, and has not half sleep enough. Let her sleep at her ease till a reasonable hour, and you’ll see that she’ll then have her wits about her in the day, and not make blunders of this sort.” He then turned to the other neighbours, and so placed the matter before them, that they all fell into his opinion, and told Capodoca that Buonamico was right, and that his advice ought to be taken. The husband believing that it was so, commanded his wife to abstain from rising in the night; when the cookery was salted as it ought to be; but if the woman recommenced her early rising, Buffalmacco resorted to his remedy, until Goosehead caused her entirely to abandon the practice.

Among the first works of Buffalmacco, was one which he undertook for the convent of the nuns of Faenza, which was situated where the citadel of the Prato now stands; here he painted the whole church with his own hand, representing stories from the life of Christ, all extremely well done;