him, so putting their horses up, they all walked about the garden till dinner was ready, when Joe mounted the stage, without the least regard to either fear or mercy. The first thing that came upon the table was a dish of soup; Joe chose not any of that; he said it was too washy, and had no substance in it, but there being about nine or ten people more, besides the {{reconstruct}five}}, the soup was pretty well ⟨finished⟩, and then comes a buttock of ⟨boiled⟩ beef, with carrots and greens; Joe ⟨fastens⟩ on this, and at the first stroke ⟨he⟩ cuts off a slice all round the whole ⟨piece⟩, full two inches thick, and ⟨because⟩ it was too broad for his plate, ⟨he⟩ divided it in four quarters, and ⟨began⟩ to lay about him with a ⟨vengeance⟩, saying, there was some ⟨meaning⟩ in a good piece of beef, and the ⟨first⟩ piece he put in his mouth, he ⟨swore⟩ it was very good, and he ⟨believed⟩ he should make his dinner on't. ⟨The⟩ company were all amazed when ⟨they⟩ looked upon his plate, and saw ⟨how⟩ he shovelled it into his mouth, ⟨and⟩ began to carve for them (illegible text) as they could, lest they should not
