"And that flagon, Pablo?"
"Its use is marked on the card, sir, which informs you of all the dishes you are going to eat."
"Let me see this card," said the canon, and he read:
"'Guinea fowl eggs fried in the fat of quails, relieved with a gravy of crabs.
"'N. B. Eat burning hot, make only one mouthful of each egg, after having softened it well with the gravy.
"'Masticate pianissimo.
"'Drink after each egg two fingers of Madeira wine of 1807, which has made five voyages from Rio Janeiro to Calcutta. (It is needless to say that certain wines are vastly improved by long voyages.)
"'Drink this wine with meditation.
"'It is impossible for me not to take the liberty to accompany each dish which I have the honour of serving Lord Dom Diégo with a flagon of wine appropriate to the particular character of the aforesaid dish.'"
"What a man!" exclaimed the majordomo, with an expression of profound admiration, "he thinks of everything!"