Pray, dear friend, said Pantagruel, if you find that by some honest means we may bring this war to an end, and reconcile them together, give me notice of it; I will use my endeavours in it with all my heart, and spare nothing on my side to moderate and accommodate the points in dispute between both parties.

That’s impossible at this time, answered Xenomanes.  About four years ago, passing incognito by this country, I endeavoured to make a peace, or at least a long truce among them; and I had certainly brought them to be good friends and neighbours if both one and the other parties would have yielded to one single article.  Shrovetide would not include in the treaty of peace the wild puddings nor the highland sausages, their ancient gossips and confederates.  The Chitterlings demanded that the fort of Cacques might be under their government, as is the Castle of Sullouoir, and that a parcel of I don’t know what stinking villains, murderers, robbers, that held it then, should be expelled.  But they could not agree in this, and the terms that were offered seemed too hard to either party.  So the treaty broke off, and nothing was done.  Nevertheless, they became less severe, and gentler enemies than they were before; but since the denunciation of the national Council of Chesil, whereby they were roughly handled, hampered, and cited; whereby also Shrovetide was declared filthy, beshitten, and berayed, in case he made any league or agreement with them; they are grown wonderfully inveterate, incensed, and obstinate against one another, and there is no way to remedy it.  You might sooner reconcile cats and rats, or hounds and hares together.

Chapter 4.XXXVI.

How the wild Chitterlings laid an ambuscado for Pantagruel.

While Xenomanes was saying this, Friar John spied twenty or thirty young slender-shaped Chitterlings posting as fast as they could towards their town, citadel, castle, and fort of Chimney, and said to Pantagruel, I smell a rat; there will be here the devil upon two sticks, or I am much out.  These worshipful Chitterlings may chance to mistake you for Shrovetide, though you are not a bit like him.  Let us once in our lives leave our junketing for a while, and put ourselves in a posture to give ’em a bellyful of fighting, if they would be at that sport.  There can be no false Latin in this, said Xenomanes; Chitterlings are still Chitterlings, always double-hearted and treacherous.

Pantagruel then arose from table to visit and scour the thicket, and returned presently; having discovered, on the left, an ambuscade of squab Chitterlings; and on the right, about half a league from thence, a large body of huge giant-like armed Chitterlings ranged in battalia along a little hill, and marching furiously towards us at the sound of bagpipes, sheep’s paunches, and bladders, the merry fifes and drums, trumpets, and clarions, hoping to catch us as Moss caught his mare.  By the conjecture of seventy-eight standards which we told, we guessed their number to be two and forty thousand, at a modest computation.