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DESCRIPTION
OF
A
ROMAN
BANQUET.
79
than
our
own,
were
supplied
from
all
parts
of
the
Em-
pire,
and
the
epicures
knew
well
where
the
choicest
were
to
be
found,
and
the
most
delicate
modes
of
pre-
paring
them.
The
mullet
or
sea-barbel,
a
fish
highly
esteemed,
was
often
brought
alive
to
the
table
that
the
guests
might
have
visible
proof
of
its
freshness.
When
the
favorite
Italian
oysters
began
to
pall
on
the ap-
petite,
recourse
was
had
to
the
"
natives
"
of
Britain.
The
villa
furnished
fowls,
which
were
fattened
in
the
dark,
and
ducks
and
geese
fed
with
figs
and
dates;
the
volarium
or
aviary:
fieldfares,
snipes,
quails,
pheasants,
and
smaller
birds.
Storks,
cranes,
flamingos,
and
especially
peacocks,
were
also
often
served
at
Roman
tables.
Vitellius
and
Apicius
that
gourmand
who
devoured
his
whole
large
fortune
and,
when
reduced
to
his
last
million,
killed
himself
because
life
was
no
longer
worth
having
pre-
pared
a
dish
of
the
tongues
of
flamingoes,
and
Elaga-
balus
of
their
brains.
Among
quadrupeds
the pig
was
in
highest
favor,
and
more
than
fifty
ways
were
known
of
dressing
its
flesh.
Wild
boars
were
often
served
whole,
and
epicures
could
tell
by
the
flavor
from
what
region
the
animal
came.
Sausages
of various
kinds
were
a
favorite
dish,
both
hot
and
cold;
and
hucksters
on
the
streets
served
them
to
customers
from
small,
portable
stoves.
The
best
sausages,
as
well
as
the
best
hams,
came
from
Gaul.
There
was
an
abundant
supply
of salads
and
vegetables;
asparagus
was
cultivated
to
a
large
size;
many
kinds
of