27 $ 
TRAVELS 
fervant, lodging, break faff, dinner, tea, coffee, and fupper included, 
not quite two guineas a week. 
Our fervant cooked our victuals in the Italian fafhion, and the 
people of the houfe were not a little furprifcd at our manner of 
dining. Our good hoftefs was quite uneafy to fee us dine every 
day on foupe & bomllie, and it was not in our power to perfuade her 
that we did it from choice, and not becaufe fhe had not a greater 
variety of good things to fet before us. She endeavoured to vary 
our meals w r ith different foups every day ; one day with a milk 
foup, another with a foup of fago and raifins, another with a foup 
of wine and milk, another with a foup of barley or rice without 
meat. A difficult and important difpute arofe between her and 
our fervant on the following fubjeff: ffie wmild by no means 
fuffcr the brains and liver of a calf or pig to be dreffed; every" 
creature in the houfe w 7 as ffiocked at the very idea of it. They 
are always ufed to give the liver and brains of all animals what¬ 
ever to the hogs, or throw them on the dunghill. We paffed un¬ 
avoidably for cannibals, or anthropophagi; and fuch is the force of 
prejudice, that having preffed a perfon to tafte the brains or liver, 
he w T ould not fwallow it, but fpit it out after he had tailed 
it. Our attempts to convince them of their error, and to 
fhew them the rationality of our cuftom, proved utterly fruitlefs. 
They w*ere likew'ife fcandalized at our eating fmall birds, fuch as 
larks, fnipes, thrufhes, upon all of which we fet a great value. In 
thofe northern regions thefe birds enjoy a Rate of unmolefted peace 
and fecurity: they not only were to us delicious fare, Tut afforded 
