they stewed it all the morning , temeraire bending over the pot , sniffing at the bouquet as critically as any drinker of wine and making further suggestions : until at last he licked up a taste from the rim of the cauldron and pronounced it a success , `` or at least , it seems to me familiar ; and it is very good , '' he added , to an audience of none : they had all been driven away to the edge of the clearing , choking , and barely heard him .