Note 11 — Chapter IV
Reading edition
Massena.
12 A jargon mixture of the Portuguese, Spanish, and French languages was frequently resorted to in our anxiety to make ourselves understood by the natives, and when one word failed another was substituted. An officer who had just entered the country was most anxious to procure an egg, and having failed to make himself understood, as a last resource, he cut a piece of pipe-clay into the shape of an egg, and was instantly supplied.