THE TWO SIEGES 
291 
subject of the dog as food. This gentleman, aided 
bv a soldier servant, had made an excellent dish of 
“ larks, ” which turned out to be field-mice, slightly 
flavoured with saffron to disguise their musky taste. 
“ You may disguise anything with saffron except 
deg’s flesh. His meat is oily and flabby; stew him, 
fry him, do what you will, there is always a castor-oil 
flavour remaining, which cannot be got rid of. The 
only way to minimize that flavour, to make him 
palatable, is to salt or rather pepper him ; to cut 
him up into large slices and leave them a fortnight, 
bestrewing them very liberally with peppercorns. 
Then before cooking them, put them into boiling 
water for a time, and throw the water away.” 
All palates do not seem to have disliked dog so 
greatly. At Brebant’s, where M. Renan and other 
leading writers dined regularly during the siege, a 
“ saddle of mutton” was brought in. “We shall 
have the shepherd served up to-morrow,” said M. 
Hebrard. It was explained that it was a “ tres belle 
selle de chien ,” and that this was the third time they 
had eaten dog. 
“ No, no,” exclaimed M. Saint-Victor, horrified. 
“ M. Brebant is a respectable man — he would have 
told us — horse, not dog.” 
“ Dog or mutton,” said Nefftzer, his mouth full, 
“ I have never eaten a better roti. If Brebant would 
give you rat, it is excellent, a mixture of pork and 
partridge.” 
During this dissertation poor M. Renan, who 
