"Who?"
"The great man! he is ringing for us."
"He?"
"Yes, my lord," replied Pablo, removing the dish. "He declares that those who eat should be at the call of those who prepare their food, for only the latter know the hour, the minute, the instant each dish ought to be served and tasted so as not to lose one atom of its worth."
"What he has said is very deep! He is right. Run, then, Pablo. My God! he is ringing again! I hope he has not taken offence. Go quick, quick!"
The majordomo ran, and, let us confess the impropriety, the poor creature, instigated by a consuming curiosity, dared to lick the dish he carried with desperate greediness, although the canon had left it absolutely clean. The ever increasing impatience with which the canon looked for the different dishes, always unknown to him beforehand, can be imagined.
Each service was accompanied with an "order," as Pablo called it, and a new flagon of wine, drawn, no doubt, from the cellar of this wonderful cook.
A collection of these culinary bulletins will give an idea of the varied delights enjoyed by Dom Diégo.
After the note which announced the Guinea fowl eggs, the following menu was served, in the order in which we present it:
"Trout from the lake of Geneva with Montpellier butter, preserved in ice.