Porthos received the dish of lamb, and put a portion of it on his plate.
"Well ?" said the king.
"Exquisite," said Porthos, calmly.
"Have you as good mutton in your part of the country, Monsieur du Vallon ?" continued the king.
"Sire, I believe that from my own province, as everywhere else, the best of everything is sent to Paris for your majesty's use; but, on the other hand, I do not eat lamb in the same way your majesty does." "Ah, ah! and how do you eat it ?" "Generally, I have a lamb dressed whole." "_Whole ?_" "Yes, sire." "In what manner, Monsieur du Vallon ?" "In this, sire: my cook, who is a German, first stuffs the lamb in question with small sausages he procures from Strasburg, force-meat balls from Troyes, and larks from Pithiviers; by some means or other, which I am not acquainted with, he bones the lamb as he would do a fowl, leaving the skin on, however, which forms a brown crust all over the animal; when it is cut in beautiful slices, in the same way as an enormous sausage, a rose-colored gravy pours forth, which is as agreeable to the eye as it is exquisite to the palate." And Porthos finished by smacking his lips.
The king opened his eyes with delight, and, while cutting some of the _faisan en daube_, which was being handed to him, he said: "That is a dish I should very much like to taste, Monsieur du Vallon.

Is it possible! a whole lamb!" "Absolutely an entire lamb, sire." "Pass those pheasants to M.du Vallon; I perceive he is an amateur." The order was immediately obeyed.

Then, continuing the conversation, he said: "And you do not find the lamb too fat ?" "No, sire, the fat falls down at the same time as the gravy does, and swims on the surface; then the servant who carves removes the fat with a spoon, which I have had expressly made for that purpose." "Where do you reside ?" inquired the king.
"At Pierrefonds, sire." "At Pierrefonds; where is that, M.du Vallon--near Belle-Isle ?" "Oh, no, sire! Pierrefonds is in the Soissonnais." "I thought you alluded to the lamb on account of the salt marshes." "No, sire, I have marshes which are not salt, it is true, but which are not the less valuable on that account." The king had now arrived at the _entrements_, but without losing sight of Porthos, who continued to play his part in the best manner.
"You have an excellent appetite, M.du Vallon," said the king, "and you make an admirable guest at table." "Ah! sire, if your majesty were ever to pay a visit to Pierrefonds, we would both of us eat our lamb together; for your appetite is not an indifferent one by any means." D'Artagnan gave Porthos a kick under the table, which made Porthos color up.
"At your majesty's present happy age," said Porthos, in order to repair the mistake he had made, "I was in the musketeers, and nothing could ever satisfy me then.

Your majesty has an excellent appetite, as I have already had the honor of mentioning, but you select what you eat with quite too much refinement to be called for one moment a great eater." The king seemed charmed at his guest's politeness.
"Will you try some of these creams ?" he said to Porthos.
"Sire, you majesty treats me with far too much kindness to prevent me speaking the whole truth." "Pray do so, M.du Vallon." "Will, sire, with regard to sweet dishes I only recognize pastry, and even that should be rather solid; all these frothy substances swell the stomach, and occupy a space which seems to me to be too precious to be so badly tenanted." "Ah! gentlemen," said the king, indicating Porthos by a gesture, "here is indeed a model of gastronomy.

It was in such a manner that our fathers, who so well knew what good living was, used to _eat_, while we," added his majesty, "do nothing but tantalize with our stomachs." And as he spoke, he took the breast of a chicken with ham, while Porthos attacked a dish of partridges and quails.