And now on wall and tower and market-square a great silence had fallen, yet a silence broken now and then by sound of stifled laughter, while the Prior, staring in wonder and amaze, suddenly clenched white fist, and, albeit very red and fiery of visage, strove whole-heartedly to curse on: "Ha--now upon the lewd populace of this most accursed and rebellious city do I call down the--"
"Upon thy round and barrel-like paunch," cried Giles, "do I pronounce this dire and dreadful ban, videlicet, Sir Fatness, nota bene and to wit: may the fiend rend it with gruesome gripings--aye, rend it with claws and beak, unguibus et rostro, most mountainous monk!"
Here, once again came sounds of stifled merriment, what time the Prior, puffing out his fat cheeks, fell to his curses full-tongued: "Upon this evil city be the malison of Holy Church, her maledictions bitter, her imprecation and anathema. I do pronounce all within this city ex--"
"Abate thee, friar, abate!" roared Giles, "cease thy rumbling, thou empty wine-butt. An thou must deal in curses, leave them to one more apt and better schooled--to Giles, in faith, who shall forthwith curse thee sweet and trippingly as thus--now mark me, monk! Aroint, aroint thee to Acheron dark and dismal, there may the foul fiend seize and plague thee with seven and seventy plaguey sorrows! May Saint Anthony's fire frizzle and fry thee--woe, woe betide thee everlastingly--(bate thy babble, Prior, I am not ended yet!) In life may thou be accursed from heel to head, within thee and without--(save thy wind, Prior, no man doth hear or heed thee!) Be thou accursed in father and in mother, in sister and in brother, in oxen and in asses--especially in asses! Be thou accursed in sleeping and in waking, eating and drinking, standing, sitting, lying--O be thou accursed completely and consumedly! Here now, methinks, Sir Monkish Tunbelly, is cursing as it should be cursed. But now--(hush thy vain babbling, heed and mark me well!)--now will I to dictums contumacious, from cursing thee I will to song of thee, of thy plump and pertinacious person--a song wherein shall pleasant mention be o' thy round and goodly paunch, a song that shall be sung, mayhap, when thee and it are dusty dust, O shaveling--to wit: "O frater fat and flatulent, full foolish, fatuous Friar A prime plump priest in passion seen, such pleasure doth inspire, That sober souls, 'spite sorrows sad, shall sudden, shout and sing Because thy belly big belittleth baleful ban ye bring. Wherefore with wondrous wit withal, with waggish wanton wiles, I joyful chant to glorify the just and gentle Giles."