A letter which a messenger brought to Pantagruel from a lady of Paris, together with the exposition of a posy written in a gold ring.

When Pantagruel had read the superscription he was much amazed, and therefore demanded of the said messenger the name of her that had sent it.  Then opened he the letter, and found nothing written in it, nor otherwise enclosed, but only a gold ring, with a square table diamond.  Wondering at this, he called Panurge to him, and showed him the case.  Whereupon Panurge told him that the leaf of paper was written upon, but with such cunning and artifice that no man could see the writing at the first sight.  Therefore, to find it out, he set it by the fire to see if it was made with sal ammoniac soaked in water.  Then put he it into the water, to see if the letter was written with the juice of tithymalle.  After that he held it up against the candle, to see if it was written with the juice of white onions.

Then he rubbed one part of it with oil of nuts, to see if it were not written with the lee of a fig-tree, and another part of it with the milk of a woman giving suck to her eldest daughter, to see if it was written with the blood of red toads or green earth-frogs.  Afterwards he rubbed one corner with the ashes of a swallow’s nest, to see if it were not written with the dew that is found within the herb alcakengy, called the winter-cherry.  He rubbed, after that, one end with ear-wax, to see if it were not written with the gall of a raven.  Then did he dip it into vinegar, to try if it was not written with the juice of the garden spurge.  After that he greased it with the fat of a bat or flittermouse, to see if it was not written with the sperm of a whale, which some call ambergris.  Then put it very fairly into a basinful of fresh water, and forthwith took it out, to see whether it were written with stone-alum.  But after all experiments, when he perceived that he could find out nothing, he called the messenger and asked him, Good fellow, the lady that sent thee hither, did she not give thee a staff to bring with thee? thinking that it had been according to the conceit whereof Aulus Gellius maketh mention.  And the messenger answered him, No, sir.  Then Panurge would have caused his head to be shaven, to see whether the lady had written upon his bald pate, with the hard lye whereof soap is made, that which she meant; but, perceiving that his hair was very long, he forbore, considering that it could not have grown to so great a length in so short a time.

Then he said to Pantagruel, Master, by the virtue of G—­, I cannot tell what to do nor say in it.  For, to know whether there be anything written upon this or no, I have made use of a good part of that which Master Francisco di Nianto, the Tuscan, sets down, who hath written the manner of reading letters that do not appear; that which Zoroastes published, Peri grammaton acriton; and Calphurnius Bassus, De literis illegibilibus.  But I can