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Alas, all that we know about the fourth course served at Judge Soplica's is that it was there. The poet doesn't tell us anything about what exactly was served. Instead, we have a description of a drunken brawl which broke out during the second supper in the castle. Glasses, bottles, knives, tables, even organ pipes were all used as weapons. When the dust settled, the diners had gone leaving behind a battlefield strewn with remnants of the feast. Perhaps from these food scraps we can read what had been served towards the end of the meal?
[[File:Podniosłszy w górę ławę ramiony silnemi.jpg|thumb|Gervase (Gerwazy) tilting the table with "his strong arms", <ref>Mickiewicz, ''op. cit.'', Book V, verse 727</ref> offering a better view of what was served for the fourth course]]
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| <poem>No loss there of life human, but benches and chairs
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It looks like poultry, including turkeys, returned to the table after the third course. Even though turkeys come originally from America, they became quite popular in Poland not long after Columbus's journeys. On the European tables, they quickly replaced other large birds, like peafowl and swans, which from then on were raised mostly for decorative purposes. By the 19th century, the turkey had already been considered a time-honoured Old Polish delicacy.
At Judge Soplica's farm, turkeys, chickens and other poultry, including ducks, geese and pigeons, were all raised by an eminent expert, the housekeeper,…