The String of Pearls (1850), p. 532

"Don't mention it, my boy," replied Ben, totally oblivious of the manner in which Mark Ingestrie uttered the words—a manner which betrayed some little
pique upon the occasion. The laughter of Johanna and his friends, however, soon chased away the temporary cloud.
"Where's the t'toher little one?" said Ben.
"I am here," cried Arabella, laughing.
"Oh, you got on without me, did you? Very good: only if you had only waited, I shouldn't have thought it no trouble at all, whatsomedever. Easy does it, you know."
"Thank you, Ben. I'd just as soon walk, and a little rather, perhaps, of the two. It was quite amusing enough to see you carry Johanna."
"Well—well, there ain't much gratitude in this world. Come on, all of you, for you must be famished; and as for me, I haven't had a bit of anything to eat for a whole hour and a half, and then it was only a pound and three quarters of beef, steak, and a half quartern loaf!"
"But we are none of us hungry," said Johanna.
"Never mind that," replied Ben, "you don't know what you may be; so always eat when you can get it. That's my maxim, and I find it answers very well." Plenty to eat and drink, and taking things easy, is how I get through the world, and you'll all on you find it the best in the long run."
"There are worse philosophies than that going," said Sir Richard Blunt to Colonel Jeffery.
"Very much worse," laughed the colonel.
Ben now led the way along a narrow arched passage, and through two rather gloomy corridors to a stone room, with a grand arched roof, in the ancient fortress; and there, sure enough, they found the little snack, as he called it, laid out very nicely for their reception.
A table ran along the centre of the room, and at one end of it there was placed an immense round of corn beef. At the other was a haunch of mutton, weighing at least thirty pounds. Somewhat about the middle of the table was an enormous turkey; and those dishes, with a ham and four tongues, made up a tolerable repast.
Six half-gallon flagons, filled with old Burton Ale, stood at regular distances upon the table.
"It's only," said Ben, "a slight snack, after all; but I hope you will be just able to find enough."
"Enough!" cried Sir Richard. "Why, there's enough for fifty people."
"There's almost enough for a regiment!" said the colonel.
"Oh, you are joking," said Ben; "but come, sit down. You, father Oakley, sit here by this little bit of mutton, and I'll cut up the beef."
After considerable laughing they were all seated; and then Ben, finding that Johanna was on one side of him, and Miss Wdmot on the other, declared that he was quite satisfied.
He cut, first of all, a cold tongue in halves down the middle lengthways, and placed one half upon a plate for Johanna, and the other on a plate for Arabella. Then upon the tongue in each plate, he placed about a pound of ham.
"Take that, my little dears," he said, "to begin with, and don't be sparing now, for there's the turkey and the mutton, you know, to fall back upon. Easy does it."
The room resounded with shrieks of laughter at the looks of utter distressful dismay which Johanna and Arabella cast upon their plates; and Ben looked from one face to another in perfect astonishment, for he could not see any joke for the life of him.
"Dear Ben," said Johanna, "do you really imagine we can eat a tenth part of all this?"
"Do I imagine?—In course I does. Only you begin. Lord bless you, that ain't much. Come—come, you want your ale, I suppose. So here it is."