Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1832-11-10
A PORTUGUESE DINNER.

! On the las, day Of tie Inirudo. !. e. Shroye
Tuesday, the Gay preceding 'hat'oDs tish season
which certain mol, nersnus are accustomed 10
designate as Que Of fasting, the Sarien'n Nor
made grand dinner. 10 which | was invited;
heinz the only occasion upon which was ever
in, ed to the table OF Il genUiue Laei'anian. l
am far from saving. or wishing To IHslHpate. that
the oeople OF Portugal do uut dhe; or that they
are dls,uclurd to hu,pl'a .iiy: bu cornwall occa-
Sims are rare among and ever larr.hs tc-tken.
Ia the FIRST place, thes da uoiiT'' fiaAs such en-
terpriz,s, without greatly ierang'ng the "rdina'
~ cou,se of ;h"ir economy. Inc dinner, Tor
instance, of a good ami respectable Portuguese
family is mete'y mcStcr Tor the purpuse oi
satisfying hunges; and The mustei I, made more
for the sake If convenience than o' s"t'al enJnv'
| ment The animal wants 5ins provided 'or
by eating the palate Is COO 'd 6p lhar'-nlaught
of lair water; af er which ali he.d' 90 10 sleep
F., This is their idea Il enjoying dinner: and OF
course. It Will al once appear, that me haD't o'
somnoIent after repetition n habit Nhich people
east, fal into, The more easily "nen heretil'ry'
and adopted from the earliest period Of liie, Is
utterly f,ta to the hilarty which an English
dinner is designed and adapted L. promote 10
meals Of this Kind, therefore. strangers are sell
dom invited & would Iee butsight indncement
! "a 20 The table may be plentItu!ly spread;
,,ut rho cookery is coarse, and worse tan coarse
while the parniture is an thing but elegant
! We beean the solemn business ut the occasion
with an ocean Of cabbage, beans, oil, bacaihac.
fstock fish, beef, bacon, pumpkins. tunaa'' aHu
water. boiled. together and presented III tureeh.
| This, I understand, was SOUP.
| What order the sequences came tnFth ~. 10
not recoi,ect; but ha,ea coulused remembrance
Of humps of something swimming IN "''' ana
strengthened in fluid salt butter. TANK there
was leash of colhOs, (rabbits.I and there was
hopeful kid. like the negro's pig, "'a,n' tt'e,
mnt tam ole;'0 baked entire All this would
MT he worth relating out for the circumstances,
which astonished me not lit'e, Ut every dish
being cleared a, it was produced. Three people
for, I declare, I could not perform my pert OF
the play, de,oured The ola podr'dD. the 'n'nP',
the rabbits. aud the kid, alih amazing o'sP"'".
In the meantime, there was M want oi "ihe u"'h
the worthy sarjenta's cunts. "' 'a'", IA ZOE
pciphbarbood; which. havme brrn or'oSe' - V'e
skins of the pigs, whose " Bones. anu 'N's "''p
flesh, and features had been eeq'lfed J." -n' u
the IS Dot au-eu, tasted like dec"t.'a' at G.. :
barb. Well, we are not done yet: after al '"'s
came wa,ermeions. as biz as Chinese lant'rn>'
and almost as void, excepting OF the saccharine
Io,nr. for which they are remarkable. ADD ofan-
0y the OuSnets WIN .she'P'" "''''
Nv the crop Everything was entombed; and
TO my infinite confusion, twho had. by This time
bv dint and force of example. began % feel sur
felt though good manners forbade me to mention lent;
it.) there came huge. coarse. brown aIsn 81
some luscious composition. resembling. in ITS ex'
ternal aspect. our peas pudding OF which one
snoonfu, was all I could discuss; and which was
Jesn,tched with as much avidity as u the c0mpa'
ny had c a,en nothing since that day twe!Vemonth
70 close and crown all, the cooling drausht OF
the element, wa. not omitted. and, being present
ed IN tall clear glass; it was not difficult to as
certain that it contained no foil grown horse
leeches; the never failing inhabitants Of tnose
classical stone fountains which decorate inc oo'
aers Of the highways. The only resource IN
such serious case was 10y natural propens't'e'
and established habits, denied to me, VIZ, sleep.
/ suffered while they snored. Sketehes!os so
ciety and Manners in the Interior Of Portugal :.