So Lady
Mabel made a strong effort to try the rabbits by the latter
test--having had ocular proof that they were not cats in disguise.
But, after persevering through two or three mouthfuls, the garlic, red
pepper, and rancid oil, and the fact of having witnessed the whole
process of cooking and fingering the fricassee, proved too much for
her; and she was fain to be indebted to the commissary for a small
piece of his steak, reeking hot, and dripping with its natural juices.
The woman of the house now placed on a bench before the friar, some
_broa_, or maize bread, and a piece of _bacalhao_, fried in oil. From
the size of the morsel, the stock in the larder seemed to have run
low, even in this article, which is nothing but codfish salted by
British heretics for the benefit of the souls and bodies of the true
sons of the Church. The friar eat alone and in silence, less intent on
his meal than in watching and listening to the party at the table.
"They are, every one of them, eating flesh, and this day is a fast,"
said the elder woman to the friar, in a tone of affected horror.
"And they eat it almost raw," answered the friar, as Shortridge thrust
an ounce of red beef into his mouth.
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