edy to them, he in his turn tasted some of its flavor, which, make what sour mouths he would for a pretence, proved not altogeth- 80 er displeasing to him. In conclusion (for the manuscript here is a little tedious), both father and son fairly sat down to the mess,* and never left off till they had despatched all that remained of the litter.

6. Bo-bo was strictly enjoined not to let the secret escape, for 85 the neighbors would certainly have stoned them for a couple of abominable wretches, who could think of improving upon the good meat which God had sent them. Nevertheless, strange stories got about. It was observed that Ho-ti's cottage was burned down now more frequently than ever. Nothing but fires 90 from this time forward. Some would break out in broad day, others in the night-time. As often as the sow farrowed, so sure was the house of Ho-ti to be in a blaze; and Ho-ti himself, which was the more remarkable, instead of chastising his son, seemed to grow more indulgent to him than ever. At length 95 they were watched, the terrible mystery discovered, and father and son summoned to take their trial at Pekin, then an inconsiderable assize town. Evidence was given, the obnoxious food itself produced in court, and verdict about to be pronounced, when the foreman of the jury begged that some of the burned 100 pig, of which the culprits stood accused, might be handed into the box. He handled it, and they all handled it, and burning their fingers, as Bo-bo and his father had done before them, and nature prompting to each of them the same remedy, against the face of all the facts, and the clearest charge which judge had 105 ever given to the surprise of the whole court, townsfolk, strangers, reporters, and all present—without leaving the box, or any manner of consultation whatever, they brought in a simultaneous verdict of Not Guilty.

7. The judge, who was a shrewd fellow, winked✶ at the mani- 110 fest iniquity of the decision; and when the court was dismissed

LITERARY ANALYSIS.-85-109. Bo-bo... Guilty. Point out the humorous touches in paragraph 6.

What is the effect of the omission of the verb? What kind of clause is this, and what word does it

90, 91. Nothing... forward. 110. who... fellow.

modify?-winked. What is the figure of speech?

went privily and bought up all the pigs that could be had for love or money. In a few days his lordship's town-house was observed to be on fire. The thing took wing, and now there was nothing to be seen but fire in every direction; fuel and pigs 115 grew enormously dear all over the district. The insurance offices one and all shut up shop. People built slighter and slighter every day, until it was feared that the very science of architecture would in no long time be lost to the world. Thus this custom of firing houses continued, till in process of time, says 120 my manuscript, a sage arose, like our Locke, who made a discovery that the flesh of swine, or indeed of any other animal, might be cooked (burnt, as they called it) without the necessity of consuming a whole house to dress it. Then first began the rude form of a gridiron. Roasting by the string or spit came in 125 a century or two later-I forget in whose dynasty. By such slow degrees, concludes the manuscript, do the most useful, and seemingly the most obvious, arts make their way among mankind.

8. Without placing too implicit faith in the account above 130 given, it must be agreed that if a worthy pretext for so dangerous an experiment as setting houses on fire (especially in these days) could be assigned in favor of any culinary object, that pretext and excuse might be found in ROAST PIG.

9. Of all the delicacies in the whole mundus edibilis, I will 135 maintain it to be the most delicate-princeps obsoniorum. I speak not of your grown porkers-things between pig and pork,

NOTES.

Line 135. mundus edib'ilis, 136. princeps obsoniorum, prince of literally the edible world, the viands. (Obsoniorum, genitive whole range of things eatable. plural of obsonium.)

LITERARY ANALYSIS.-114. took wing. Explain the expression. 116. The insurance, etc. Point out the element of humor.

117. shut up shop.

126. By such, etc.

Remark on the expression.

Observe how the drollery of the history is heightened by

the solemnity of this remark.

132, 133. Why "especially in these days?"

135-143. Of all... grunt. In this paragraph by what device does the author add a ludicrous dignity to his subject?

those hobbydehoys - but a young and tender suckling, under a moon old, guiltless as yet of the sty; with no original speck of the amor immunditia, the hereditary failing of the first parent, 148 yet manifest; his voice as yet not broken, but something between a childish treble and a grumble, the mild forerunner, or præludium, of a grunt.

10. He must be roasted. I am not ignorant that our ancestors ate them seethed, or boiled, but what a sacrifice of the exterior 145 tegument!

11. There is no flavor comparable, I will contend, to that of the crisp, tawny, well-watched, not over-roasted, crackling, as it is well called the very teeth are invited to their share of the pleasure at this banquet in overcoming the coy, brittle resistance, 150 with the adhesive oleaginous-O, call it not fat! but an indefinable sweetness growing up to it, the tender blossoming of fat, fat cropped in the bud, taken in the shoot, in the first innocence, the cream and quintessence of the child-pig's yet pure food-the lean, no lean, but a kind of animal manna-or, rather, 155 fat and lean (if it must be so) so blended and running into each other, that both together make but one ambrosian result, or common substance.

12. Behold him while he is "doing "—it seemeth rather a refreshing warmth than a scorching heat, that he is so passive to. 160 How equably he twirleth round the string! Now he is just done. To see the extreme sensibility of that tender age! he hath wept out his pretty eyes-radiant jellies-shooting stars.

140. amor immunditiæ, love of filth. | 142, 143. præludium, prelude.

LITERARY ANALYSIS.—138. hobbydehoys. In what consists the funny felicity of this term?

139. with no original speck, etc. Explain the allusion.

144. not ignorant. What is the figure of speech? (See Def. 31.)

145, 146. exterior tegument. Explain. But would any plainer terms be equally effective for Lamb's purpose?

147-158. There is... substance. The pupil cannot fail to note the exquisite art of this long, broken, but most deftly managed sentence-the piling of epithet on epithet, the delicious exaggeration of terms, the drollery of the mock heroics.

13. See him in the dish, his second cradle, how meek he lieth! -wouldst thou have had this innocent grow up to the grossness 165 and indocility which too often accompany maturer swinehood? Ten to one he would have proved a glutton, a sloven, an obstinate, disagreeable animal, wallowing in all manner of filthy conversation. From these sins he is happily snatched away

"Ere sin could blight, or sorrow fade,

Death came with timely care."

170

His memory is odoriferous; no clown curseth, while his stomach half rejecteth, the rank bacon; no coal-heaver bolteth him in reeking sausages; he hath a fair sepulchre in the grateful stomach of the judicious epicure,* and for such a tomb might be 175 content to die.

14. He is the best of sapors. Pineapple is great. She is, indeed, almost too transcendent—a delight, if not sinful, yet so like to sinning that really a tender-conscienced person would do well to pause; too ravishing for mortal taste, she woundeth and 180 excoriateth the lips that approach her; she is a pleasure border ing on pain from the fierceness and insanity of her relish; but she stoppeth at the palate; she meddleth not with the appetite; and the coarsest hunger might barter her consistently for a mutton-chop.

15. Pig-let me speak his praise-is no less provocative of the appetite than he is satisfactory to the criticalness of the censorious palate. The strong man may batten on him, and the weakling refuseth not his mild juices.

16. Unlike to mankind's mixed characters, a bundle of virtues

185

190

LITERARY ANALYSIS.-164. his second cradle. What is the figure of speech? -lieth. What is the effect of using the ancient form?

169. sins. Remark on the use of this word.

175. such a tomb, etc. The allusion is to a line of Milton in his sonnet on Shakespeare. See page 4 of this book.

177. sapors, delicacies.

177-185. Observe the skilful construction of paragraph 14: first two short pithy sentences, and then-as if the gusto of his thought carried the author away-an expanded, cumulative sentence.-Point out an example of antithesis in this paragraph.

186-188. Pig... palate. What kind of sentence rhetorically?

and vices, inexplicably intertwisted, and not to be unravelled* without hazard, he is-good throughout. No part of him is better or worse than another. He helpeth, as far as his little means extend, all around. He is the least envious of banquets. He is all neighbors' fare.

195

17. I am one of those who freely and ungrudgingly impart a share of the good things of this life which fall to their lot (few as mine are in this kind) to a friend. I protest I take as great an interest in my friend's pleasures, his relishes, and proper satisfactions, as in mine own. "Presents," I often say, "endear 200 absents." Hares, pheasants, partridges, snipes, barn door chickens (those "tame villatic fowl"), capons, plovers, brawn, barrels of oysters, I dispense as freely as I receive them. I love to taste them, as it were, upon the tongue of my friend. But a stop must be put somewhere. One would not, like Lear, "give 205 everything." I make my stand upon pig. Methinks it is an ingratitude to the Giver of all good flavors to extra-domiciliate, or send out of the house, slightingly (under the pretext of friendship, or I know not what), a blessing so particularly adapted, predestined, I may say, to my individual palate. It argues an 210 insensibility.

18. I remember a touch of conscience in this kind at school. My good old aunt, who never parted from me at the end of a holiday without stuffing a sweetmeat, or some nice thing, into my pocket, had dismissed me one evening with a smoking plum-215 cake fresh from the oven. In my way to school (it was over London bridge) a gray-headed old beggar saluted me (I have no doubt, at this time of day, that he was a counterfeit). I had no pence to console him with, and, in the vanity of self-denial, and the very coxcombry of charity, school-boy-like, I made him a 220 present of the whole cake! I walked on a little, buoyed up, as one is on such occasions, with a sweet soothing of self-satis

LITERARY ANALYSIS.-194. He... banquets. Explain.

196-211. In paragraph 17 how does the author contrive to convey a notion of his superlative appreciation of pig?

200, 201. Presents... absents. Point out the play upon words. 202. villatie, pertaining to a village. The quotation is from Milton. 212-238. Make an abstract from memory of paragraph 18. - Point out touches of delicate irony in this paragraph.