At this moment supper was announced. We all adjourned to another apartment, where to my great surprise I observed the cloth laid, the sideboard loaded, the wines ready, but nothing to eat on the table! A Madame de Savori, who was next me, noted my surprise.
"What astonishes you, Monsieur?"
"/Nothing/, Madame," said I; "that is, the absence of /all/ things."
"What! you expected to see supper?"
"I own my delusion: I did."
"It is not cooked yet!"
"Oh! well, I can wait!"
"And officiate too!" said the lady; "in a word, this is one of the
Regent's cooking nights."
Scarcely had I received this explanation, before there was a general adjournment to an inner apartment, where all the necessary articles of cooking were ready to our hand.
"The Regent led the way,
To light us to our prey,"