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The Pirate: Andrew Lang Edition

by Walter Scott

THE PIRATE: ANDREW LANG EDWALTER SCOTT
Our binding, not the publisher's

“They had been previously employed in arranging the provisions which they had brought along with them, so as to present a comfortable cold meal, as soon as the appetite of the Udaller, which was as regular as the return of tide, should induce him to desire some refreshment; and now they stood staring in fear and surprise, while Norna, seizing upon one article after another, and well supported by the zealous activity of Pacolet, flung their whole preparations out of the rude aperture which served for a window, and over the cliff, from which the ancient Burgh arose, into the ocean, which raged and foamed beneath. _Vifda_, (dried beef,) hams, and pickled pork, flew after each other into empty space, smoked geese were restored to the air, and cured fish to the sea, their native elements indeed, but which they were no longer capable of traversing; and the devastation proceeded so rapidly, that the Udaller could scarce secure from the wreck his silver drinking cup; while the large leathern flask of brandy, which was destined to supply his favourite beverage, was sent to follow the rest of the supper, by the hands of Pacolet, who regarded, at the same time, the disappointed Udaller with a malicious grin, as if, notwithstanding his own natural taste for the liquor, he enjoyed the disappointment and surprise of Magnus Troil still more than he would have relished sharing his enjoyment.”

From a cookbook of 1806

A cook of roughly the same moment, setting down the same dish.

1806  ·  Rundell
Beef or Pork, to be salted for eating immediately

The piece should not weigh more than five or six pounds. Salt it very thoroughly just before you put it in the pot. Take a coarse cloth, flour it well, put the meat in and fold it up close. Put it into a pot of boiling water, and boil it as long as you would any salt beef of the same size, and it will be as salt as if done four or five days.

Sources: The passage is from Walter Scott, The Pirate: Andrew Lang Edition, free to read in full at Project Gutenberg. The recipe is from Rundell, New system of domestic cookery, formed upon principles of of 1806, also free in full. Both are in the public domain in the United States. The binding above is ours — burgundy cloth, boar stamp.

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