Note 76 — THE GIAOUR.
Reading edition
[To partake of food—to break bread and taste salt with your host, ensures the safety of the guest: even though an enemy, his person from that moment becomes sacred.—(Note appended to Letter of October 3, 1813.)
"I leave this (vide supra, note 1) to your discretion; if anybody thinks the old line a good one or the cheese a bad one, don't accept either. But in that case the word share is repeated soon after in the line—
'To share the master's bread and salt;'
and must be altered to—
'To break the master's bread and salt.'
This is not so well, though—confound it!
If the old line ['Unmeet for Solitude to share'] stands, let the other run thus—
'Nor there will weary traveller halt, To bless the sacred bread and salt.'"
(P.S. to Murray, October 3, 1813.)
The emendation of line 335 made that of line 343 unnecessary, but both emendations were accepted.
(Moore says (Life; p. 191, note) that the directions are written on a separate slip of paper from the letter to Murray of October 3, 1813).]