It was a great success, that Irish stew (оно было большим успехом = имело большой успех, это ирландское рагу). I don't think I ever enjoyed a meal more (не думаю, что я когда-либо больше наслаждался пищей /чем теперь/). There was something so fresh and piquant about it (в нем было что-то такое свежее и острое; piquant — пикантный, острый). One's palate gets so tired of the old hackneyed things (язык так устал от старых банальных ощущений; palate — небо /верхняя стенка ротовой полости/; вкус, склонность): here was a dish with a new flavour, with a taste like nothing else on earth (а тут было блюдо с новым ароматом, со вкусом, как ни у чего другого на земле).

precedent ['presdnt] piquant ['pi:knt] hackneyed ['haeknd]

We had a discussion as to whether the rat should go in or not. Harris said that he thought it would be all right, mixed up with the other things, and that every little helped; but George stood up for precedent. He said he had never heard of water-rats in Irish stew, and he would rather be on the safe side, and not try experiments.

Harris said:

"If you never try a new thing, how can you tell what it's like? It's men such as you that hamper the world's progress. Think of the man who first tried German sausage!"

It was a great success, that Irish stew. I don't think I ever enjoyed a meal more. There was something so fresh and piquant about it. One's palate gets so tired of the old hackneyed things: here was a dish with a new flavour, with a taste like nothing else on earth.

And it was nourishing, too (и оно было сытно к тому же). As George said, there was good stuff in it (как сказал Джордж, в нем хороший наполнитель; stuff — материя; материал, вещество; набивка, наполнитель; продукты). The peas and potatoes might have been a bit softer (горох и картофель могли бы быть немного мягче), but we all had good teeth, so that did not matter much (но у нас у всех были хорошие зубы, так что это не имело большого значения): and as for the gravy, it was a poem (а что касается подливки, то она была /настоящей/ поэмой) — a little too rich, perhaps, for a weak stomach, but nutritious (несколько слишком густой для слабого желудка, но /зато/ питательной).

We finished up with tea and cherry tart (мы закончили чаем с вишневым пирогом). Montmorency had a fight with the kettle during tea-time, and came off a poor second (Монморенси вступил в бой с чайником в это время и вышел побежденным: «бедным вторым»; tea-time — время вечернего чая; to come off second-best — потерпеть поражение, неудачу).