among us, for the protection of our youth, that eating[2] must never
be spoken of in any of our writing."

[Footnote 2: Such at least is the generally received rendering.
Ackermann, following Bülg's probably spurious text, disputes that this
is the exact meaning of the noun.]

Horvendile considered this a curious enactment, but it seemed only one
among the innumerable mad customs of Philistia. So he shrugged, and he
made the book of his journeying, and of the things which he had seen
and heard and loved and hated and had put by in the course of his
passage among ageless and unfathomed mysteries.

And in the book there was nowhere any word of eating.




2--How the Garbage Man Came with Forks


Now to the book which Horvendile had made comes presently a
garbage-man, newly returned from foreign travel for his health's sake,
whose name was John. And this scavenger cried, "Oh, horrible! for here
is very shameless mention of a sword and a spear and a staff."

"That now is true enough," says Horvendile, "but wherein lies the
harm?"

"Why, one has but to write 'a fork' here, in the place of each of