Random Sequence

"The poultry promised by Miss Jemima in her written bill of fare was very slow in coming. For three mortal weeks a crew of chattering hens, lordly roosters, and saucily piping chickens strutted and strolled unmolested in the barnyard, before the covetous eyes of the visitors, while upon the side table ox relieved sheep, and the porcine species contributed an occasional rasher or an unctuous chunk from the barrel of pickle in the cellar."
--from "The Departed Wife", in Godey's Lady's Book and Magazine, October 1864

(I found a bound copy of Godey's in my basement and have been flipping through the dusty pages.)

"porcine" = of a pig or pig-like
"unctuous" = affected piousness or moralistic fervor; smooth, suave, or smug to an excessive degree
"rasher" = a thin slice of bacon or ham

I'm not sure how a "chunk" (of pickled pigs' feet?) from a barrel can be unctuous. Nice word, though, and one that should be used more often -- just not about pickles or pigs' feet.