The Count of Monte Cristo

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of fat and garlic peculiar to provincial kitchens of an inferior order,
added to that of dried fish, and above all, the pungent smell of musk
and cloves. These odors escaped from two deep dishes which were covered
and placed on a stove, and from a copper pan placed in an old iron pot.
In an adjoining room Andrea saw also a tolerably clean table prepared
for two, two bottles of wine sealed, the one with green, the other with
yellow, a supply of brandy in a decanter, and a measure of fruit in a
cabbage-leaf, cleverly arranged on an earthenware plate.

"What do you think of it, my little fellow?" said Caderousse. "Ay, that
smells good! You know I used to be a famous cook; do you recollect how
you used to lick your fingers? You were among the first who tasted any
of my dishes, and I think you relished them tolerably." While speaking,
Caderousse went on peeling a fresh supply of onions.

"But," said Andrea, ill-temperedly, "by my faith, if it was only to
breakfast with you, that you disturbed me, I wish the devil had taken