HENRY VIII. hunting in Windsor Forest, struck down about dinner to the
abbey of Reading, where, disguising himself as one of the Royal Guards,
he was invited to the abbot's table. A sirloin was set before him, on
which he laid to as lustily as any _beef-eater_. "Well fare thy heart,"
quoth the abbot, "and here in a cup of sack I remember the health of his
grace your master. I would give a hundred pounds that I could feed on
beef as heartily as you do. Alas! my poor queasy stomach will scarcely
digest the wing of a chicken." The king heartily pledged him, thanked
him for his good cheer, and departed undiscovered. Shortly after, the
abbot was sent to the Tower, kept a close prisoner, and fed on bread and
water, ignorant of the cause, and terrified at his situation. At last, a
sirloin of beef was set before him, on which his empty stomach made him
feed voraciously. "My lord!" exclaimed the king entering from a private
closet, "instantly deposit your hundred pounds, or no going hence. I
have been your physician, and here, as I deserve it, I demand my fee."