ans bustling
along the pavement. The goose was attacked furiously by the rested jaws.
Boche remarked that just having to wait and watch the goose being carved
had been enough to make the veal and pork slide down to his ankles.

Then ensued a famous tuck-in; that is to say, not one of the party
recollected ever having before run the risk of such a stomach-ache.
Gervaise, looking enormous, her elbows on the table, ate great pieces
of breast, without uttering a word, for fear of losing a mouthful, and
merely felt slightly ashamed and annoyed at exhibiting herself thus,
as gluttonous as a cat before Goujet. Goujet, however, was too busy
stuffing himself to notice that she was all red with eating. Besides,
in spite of her greediness, she remained so nice and good! She did not
speak, but she troubled herself every minute to look after Pere Bru,
and place some dainty bit on his plate. It was even touching to see this
glutton take a piece of wing almost from her mouth to give it to the
old fellow, who did not appear to be very particular, and who swallowed
everything with bowed head, almost besotted from having gobbled so much
after he had forgotten the taste of bread. The Lorilleuxs expended their
rage on the roast goose; they ate enough to last them three days; they
would have stowed away the dish, the table, the very shop, if they could
have ruined Clump-Clump by doing so. All the ladies had wanted a piece
of the breast, traditionally the ladies' portion. Madame Lerat, Madame
Boche, Madame Putois, were all picking bones; whilst mother Coupeau,
who adored the neck, was tearing off the flesh with her two last teeth.
Virginie liked the skin when it was nicely browned, and the other guests
gallantly passed their skin to her; so much so, that Poisson looked at
his wife severely, and bade her stop, because she had had enough as it
was. Once already, she had been a fortnight in bed, with her stomach
swollen out, through having eaten too much roast goose. But Coupeau got
angry and helped Virginie to the upper part of a leg, saying that, by
Jove's thunder! if she did not pick it, she wasn't a proper woman. Had
roast goose ever done harm to anybody? On the contrary, it cured all
complaints of the spleen. One could eat it without bread, like dessert.
He could go on swallowing it all night without being the least bit
inconvenienced; and, just to show off, he stuffed a whole drum-stick
into his mouth. Meanwhile, Clemence had got to the en