a chest, upon which he then lies with the wife of him that is locked therein. Fiammetta narrates this tale. Like many of the eighth day it has a theme in common with many tales from the ancient and medieval era and it is not possible to point to one source that served as Boccaccio's inspiration. Ninth tale (VIII, 9) Bruno and Buffalmacco prevail upon Master Simone, a physician, to betake him by night to a certain place, there to be enrolled in a company that go the course. Buffalmacco throws him into a foul ditch, and there they leave him. Lauretta narrates another tale about Bruno and Buffalmacco and their practical jokes. This story is probably just a vehicle for Boccaccio's ability to coin word play, just as tale VI, 10 did. Tenth tale (VIII, 10) A Sicilian woman cunningly conveys from a merchant that which he has brought to Palermo; he, making a show of being come back with far greater store of goods than before, borrows money of her, and leaves her in lieu thereof water and tow. The story that Dioneo tells is found in Alphonsus's Disciplina Clericalis and the Gesta Romanorum, both of which are written in Latin. Ninth day Emilia is queen of the brigata for the ninth day. For the second time there is no prescribed theme for the stories of the day (the only other time was during the first day). First tale (IX, 1) Madonna Francesca, having two lovers, the one Rinuccio, the other Alessandro, by name, and loving neither of them, induces the one to simulate a corpse in a tomb, and the other to enter the tomb to fetch him out: whereby, neither satisfying her demands, she artfully rids herself of both. Filomena narrates. Second tale (IX, 2) An abbess rises in haste and in the dark, with intent to surprise an accused nun in bed with her lover: thinking to put on her veil, she puts on instead the breeches of a priest that she has with her. The nun, after pointing out her abbess's head covering, is acquitted, and thenceforth finds it easier to meet with her lover. Elissa is the narrator of this tale which was either taken from a fabliau by Jean de Condé written between 1313 and 1337, or from a story about Saint Jerome in The Golden Legend, written about 1260. The former