"
"That is rather hard on the Colonel," said Van der Roet; "he did
his best, and now, see how hard he is trying to look as if he
didn't know what you are alluding to!"
"I never in all my life--" the Colonel began; but the Marchesa,
fearing a storm, interfered. "I have a lot more to tell you about
my little Neapolitan book," she went on, "and I will begin by
saying that, for the future, we cannot do better than make free use
of it. The author opens with an announcement that he means to give
exact quantities for every dish, and then, like a true Neapolitan,
lets quantities go entirely, and adopts the rule-of-thumb system.
And I must say I always find the question of quantities a difficult
one. Some books give exact measures, each dish being reckoned
enough for four persons, with instructions to increase the measures
in proportion to the additional number of diners but here a rigid
rule is impossible, for a dish which is to serve by itself, as a
supper or a lunch, must necessarily be bigger than one which merely
fills one place in a dinner menu.
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