Sentence:  But Richmond...appeared to lose himself in his own reflections. Some pickled crab, which he had not touched, had been removed with a damson pie; and his sister saw...that he had <WSD>eaten</WSD> no more than a spoonful of that either. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To consume (something solid or semi-solid, usually food) by putting it into the mouth and swallowing it.