mans; one is made of parsley, pennyroyal, cheese,
pine-tops, honey, brine, eggs, cucumbers, onions, and hen livers; the
other is much the same as the soup-maigre of this country. Then there
is a loin of veal boiled with fennel and caraway-seed, on a pottage
composed of pickle, oil, honey, and flour, and a curious hachis of the
lights, liver, and blood of a hare, together with a dish of roasted
pigeons. Monsieur le baron, shall I help you to a plate of this soup?"
The German, who did not at all disapprove of the ingredients, assented
to the proposal, and seemed to relish the composition; while the marquis
being asked by the painter which of the silly-kickabys he chose, was,
in consequence of his desire, accommodated with a portion of the
soup-maigre; and the count, in lieu of spoon-meat, of which he said he
was no great admirer, supplied himself with a pigeon, therein conforming
to the choice of our young gentleman, whose example he determined to
follow through the whole course of the entertainment.

The Frenchman, having swallowed the first spoonful, made a full pause,
his throat swelled as if an egg had stuck in his gullet, his eyes
rolled, and his mouth underwent a series of involuntary contractions and
dilatations. Pallet, who looked steadfastly at this connoisseur, with a
view of consulting his taste, before he himself would venture upon the
soup, began to be disturbed at these motions, and observed, with some
concern, that the poor gentleman seemed to be going into a fit; when
Peregrine assured him, that these were symptoms of ecstasy, and, for
further confirmation, asked the marquis how he found the soup. It was
with infinite difficulty that his complaisance could so far master
his disgust as to enable him to answer, "Altogether excellent, upon my
honour!" and the painter being certified of his approbation, lifted the
spoon to his mouth without scruple, but far from justifying the eulogium
of his taster, when this precious composition diffused itself upon his
palate, he seemed to be deprived of all sense and motion, and sat like
the leaden statue of some river god, with the liquor flowing out at both
sides of his mouth.

The doctor, alarmed at this indecent phenomenon, earnestly inquired into
the cause of it; and when Pallet recovered his recollection, and swore
that he would rather swallow porridge made of burning brimstone, than
such an infernal mess as that which he had tasted, the physician, in
his own vindic