rank wine, every glass was filled, and every body
who filled his glass was expected to drink the health of every guest
separately and by name before he emptied it. The first course was
removed, and the second made its appearance all roasted. Roast beef,
roast veal, roast mutton, roast lamb, roast joints of pork, roasted
turkeys, roasted fowls, roasted sausages, roasted every thing; the
centre dish being a side of a large hog, rolled up like an enormous
fillet of veal. This too was done ample justice to by the Portuguese
part of the company, at least, and all was cleared away for the dessert,
consisting of oranges, melons, pine-apples, guavas, citrons, bananas,
peaches, strawberries, apples, pears, and indeed of almost every fruit
which can be found in the whole world, all of which appear to naturalise
themselves at Madeira. It was now supposed by the uninitiated that the
dinner was over; but not so; the dessert was cleared away, and on came
an _husteron proteron_ medley of pies and puddings, in all their
varieties, smoking hot, boiled and baked, custards and sweetmeats,
cheese and olives, fruits of all kinds preserved, and a hundred other
things, from which the gods preserve us! At last the feast was really
over; the Portuguese picked their teeth with their forks, and the wine
was circulated briskly. On such an occasion as the marriage of her
daughter, the old lady had resolved to take a pipe of Madeira, which
was, at the very least, fifty years old, very fine in flavour, but, from
having been so long in the wood, little inferior in strength to genuine
Cogniac. The consequence was, that many of the gentlemen became noisy
before the dinner was over; and their mirth was increased to positive
uproar upon a message being sent by the bishop, ordering upon pain of
excommunication, that the ceremony should proceed no further. The
ladies retired to the withdrawing room; the gentlemen soon followed; but
the effects of the wine were so apparent upon most of them, that Captain
Drawlock summoned Newton to his assistance, and was in a state of
extreme anxiety until his "responsibilities" were safe at home. Shortly
afterwards, Captain Carrington and those who were the least affected, by
persuasion or force, removed the others from the house; and the bridal
party were left to themselves, to deliberate whether they should or
should not obey the preposterous demands of the reverend bishop.

Captain Carrington was excessively fon