She had a narrow, narrow face, with eyes of
terrible slyness, an applausive smile, and a demeanor of slavish
patronage. Our kitchen, after her addition to the household, became the
banqueting-hall of Giovanna's family, who dined there every day upon
dishes of fish and garlic, that gave the house the general savor of a low
cook-shop.
As for Giovanna herself, she had the natural tendency of excellent people
to place others in subjection. Our servitude at first was not hard, and
consisted chiefly in the stimulation of appetite to extraordinary efforts
when G. had attempted to please us with some novelty in cooking. She held
us to a strict account in this respect; but indeed our applause was for
the most part willing enough. Her culinary execution, first revealing
itself in a noble rendering of our ideas of roast potatoes,--a delicacy
foreign to the Venetian kitchen,--culminated at last in the same style of
_polpetti_ [Footnote: I confess a tenderness for this dish, which is
a delicater kind of hash skillfully flavored and baked in rolls of a
mellow complexion and fascinating appearance.
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