3 o4 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 



mark of grandeur. The greater the man would feem to 

 be, the larger piece he takes in his mouth ; and the more 

 noife he makes in chewing it, the more polite he is thought 

 to be. They have, indeed, a proverb that fays, " Beggars 

 " and thieves only eat (mall pieces, or without making a 

 " noife." Having difpatched this morfel, which he docs 

 very expeditioufiy, his next female neighbour holds forth 

 another cartridge, which goes the fame way, and fo on till 

 he is fatisficd. He never drinks till he has finifhed eating ; 

 and, before he begins, in gratitude to the fair ones that fed 

 him, he makes up tv/o fmall rolls of the fame kind and 

 form ; each of his neighbours open their mouths at the 

 fame time, while with each hand he puts their portion into 

 their mouths. He then falls to drinking out of a large 

 handfome horn ; the ladies eat till they are fatisfied, and 

 then all drink together, " Vive la Joye et la JeunefTe !" 

 A great deal of mirth and joke goes round, very fcldom with 

 any mixture of acrimony or ill- humour. 



All this time, the unfortunate victim at the door is 

 bleeding indeed, but bleeding little. As long as they can 

 cut off the flefh from his bones, they do not meddle with 

 the thighs, or the parts where the great arteries are. At laft 

 they fall upon the thighs likewife ; and foon after the ani- 

 mal, bleeding to death, becomes fo tough that the canibals, 

 who have the reft of it to eat, find very hard work to fepa- 

 rate the flefh from the bones with their teeth like dogs. 



In the mean time, thofe within are very much elevated ; 

 love lights all its fires, and every thing is permitted with 

 abfolute freedom. There is no coynefs, no delays, no need 

 of appointments or retirement to gratify their willies ; 



i there 



