uite fresh; 'twas baked this very morning,
in the Marais Quarter, by a dozen gossips gathered round the bed at a
woman's lying-in."

"Ah! now I know the reason it is so flavourless," returned the Prince of
Darkness. "You have not been to the best cooks for dishes of the sort.
Citizens' wives, they do their best; but they lack delicacy, they lack
the fine touch of genius. Women of the people are clumsier still. For a
real good tongue-pie a Nunnery is the place to go to. There's nobody to
match these old maids of Religion for a pretty skill in compounding all
the needful ingredients,--fine spices of rancour, thyme of backbiting,
fennel of insinuation, bay-leaf of calumny."

This parable is taken from a sermon of the good Father Gillotin
Landoulle, a poor, unworthy Capuchin.

CONCERNING AN HORRIBLE PICTURE

[Illustration: 116]

THE WHICH WAS SHOWED IN A TEMPLE AND OF SUNDRY LIMNINGS OF A
RIGHT PACIFIC AND AMOROUS SORT THE WHICH THE SAGE PHILEMON
HAD HANGED IN HIS LIBRARIE AND OF A NOBLE PORTRAITURE OF THE
POET HOMER THE WHICH THE AFORESAID PHILEMON DID PRIZE ABOVE
ALL OTHER LIMNINGS

PHILEMON was used to confess how, in the fire of his callow youth
and fine flower of his lustie springal days, he had been stung with
murderous frenzie at view of a certaine picture of Apelles, the which
in those times was showed in a temple. And the said picture did present
Alexander the Great laying on right shrewdly at Darius, king of the
Indians, whiles round about these twain, soldiers and captains were
a-slaying one another with a savage furie and in divers strange
fashions. And the said work was right cunningly wrought and in very
close mimicrie of nature. And none, an they were in the hot and lustie
season of their life, could cast a look thereon without being stirred
incontinent to be striking and killing poor harmlesse folk for the sole
sake of donning so rich an harnesse and bestriding such high-stepping
chargers as did these good codpieces in their battle,--for that young
blood doth aye take pleasure in horseflesh and the practise of arms.
This had the aforesaid Philemon proven in his day. And he was used to
say how ever after 'twas his wont to turn aside his eyen of set purpose
from suchlike pictures of wars and bloodshed, and that he did so
heartily loathe these cruelties as that he could not abear to behold
them even set forth in counterfeit presentment.

And he was used to say that any ho