"Yes," added Gorenflot; "it appears that the Romans or the Greeks—I forget which—nourished their lampreys as Eusebius does his eels. He read of it in an old author called Suetonius."
"Yes, monsieur, I mince the intestines and livers of fowls and game with a little pork, and make a kind of sausage meat, which I throw to my eels, and they are kept in soft water, often renewed, in which they become large and fat. The one which I shall offer you to-day weighs nine pounds."
"It must be a serpent!" said Chicot.
"It swallowed a chicken at a meal."
"And how will it be dressed?"
"Skinned and fried in anchovy paste, and done with bread crumbs; and I shall have the honor of serving it up with a sauce flavored with garlic and allspice, lemons and mustard."
"Perfect!" cried Chicot.
Brother Eusebius breathed again.
"Then we shall want sweets," said Gorenflot.
"I will invent something that shall please you."