This said, they made ready supper, and, of extraordinary
besides his daily fare, were roasted sixteen oxen,
three heifers, two and thirty calves, three score
and three fat kids, four score and fifteen wethers,
three hundred farrow pigs or sheats soused in sweet
wine or must, eleven score partridges, seven hundred
snipes and woodcocks, four hundred Loudun and Cornwall
capons, six thousand pullets, and as many pigeons,
six hundred crammed hens, fourteen hundred leverets,
or young hares and rabbits, three hundred and three
buzzards, and one thousand and seven hundred cockerels.
For venison, they could not so suddenly come by it,
only eleven wild boars, which the Abbot of Turpenay
sent, and eighteen fallow deer which the Lord of Gramount
bestowed; together with seven score pheasants, which
were sent by the Lord of Essars; and some dozens of
queests, coushats, ringdoves, and woodculvers; river-fowl,
teals and awteals, bitterns, courtes, plovers, francolins,
briganders, tyrasons, young lapwings, tame ducks, shovellers,
woodlanders, herons, moorhens, criels, storks, canepetiers,
oranges, flamans, which are phaenicopters, or crimson-winged
sea-fowls, terrigoles, turkeys, arbens, coots, solan-geese,
curlews, termagants, and water-wagtails, with a great
deal of cream, curds, and fresh cheese, and store
of soup, pottages, and brewis with great variety.
Without doubt there was meat enough, and it was handsomely
dressed by Snapsauce, Hotchpot, and Brayverjuice,
Grangousier’s cooks. Jenkin Trudgeapace
and Cleanglass were very careful to fill them drink.
Chapter 1.XXXVIII.
How Gargantua did eat up six pilgrims in a salad.
The story requireth that we relate that which happened
unto six pilgrims who came from Sebastian near to
Nantes, and who for shelter that night, being afraid
of the enemy, had hid themselves in the garden upon
the chichling peas, among the cabbages and lettuces.
Gargantua finding himself somewhat dry, asked whether
they could get any lettuce to make him a salad; and
hearing that there were the greatest and fairest in
the country, for they were as great as plum-trees
or as walnut-trees, he would go thither himself, and
brought thence in his hand what he thought good, and
withal carried away the six pilgrims, who were in
so great fear that they did not dare to speak nor
cough.
Washing them, therefore, first at the fountain, the
pilgrims said one to another softly, What shall we
do? We are almost drowned here amongst these
lettuce, shall we speak? But if we speak, he
will kill us for spies. And, as they were thus
deliberating what to do, Gargantua put them with the
lettuce into a platter of the house, as large as the
huge tun of the White Friars of the Cistercian order;
which done, with oil, vinegar, and salt, he ate them
up, to refresh himself a little before supper, and
had already swallowed up five of the pilgrims, the
sixth being in the platter, totally hid under a lettuce,
