Strona 275 z 788

The Judge opened a locked liquor case, in which there could be

seen rows of white necks of bottles; from among them he took the

largest crystal decanter-this the Judge had received as a gift

from the Monk, Robak. It was Dantzic brandy, a drink dear to a

Pole. "Long live Dantzic!" cried the Judge, raising the flask on

high; "the city once was ours, and it will be ours again!" And he

filled each glass with the silvery liquor, until at last it began

to drip golden and glitter in the sun.87

In the kettles they were cooking bigos.88 In words it is hard to

express the wonderful taste and colour of bigos and its

marvellous odour; in a description of it one hears only the

clinking words and the regular rimes, but no city stomach can

understand their content. In order to appreciate Lithuanian songs

and dishes, one must have health, must live in the country, and

must be returning from a hunting party.