"It would seem," Lady Mabel remarked, "that these _Vendas_ are
caravansaries, providing only shelter for the traveler, who is
expected to bring his own food."
"This is so true, that it is a blessing there are no game laws in the
peninsula," said L'Isle. "The traveler would often starve at the inn
but for the game purchased on the road. And it is well to travel
prepared to shoot _one's own_ game, as you are perpetually threatened
with famine or robbers. The cookery, too, of this country is peculiar,
and if you ladies watch the process closely, you may carry home some
valuable hints in what some people think the first of the arts."
They accordingly closely watched the cooking, of the rabbits
particularly. Each was spitted on a little spit, which had four legs
at the handle, the other end resting on a piece of the fuel. When one
side was roasted, the other was turned to the fire. To know when they
were done, the woman cracked the joints; laying them by until cool,
she then tore them to pieces with her fingers; and afterward fried the
already over-roasted meat with onions, garlic, red pepper, and oil,
which is always rancid in Portugal, from the custom of never pressing
the olives until they are stale.
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