th what he described as a liquor surpassing all of
Italy, and which might serve for Hebe to pour out for the gods, and
requiring us to drink it off in honor of Bacchus, Pan, or Ceres, we
found, upon lifting our cups to drain them, that they had been charged
with some colored and perfumed medicament more sour or bitter than the
worst compound of the apothecary, or than massican overheated in the
vats. These sallies, coming from the master of the world, were sure to
be well received; his satellites, of whom not a few, even on this
occasion, were near him, being ready to die with excess of
laughter,--the attendant slaves catching the jest, and enjoying it with
noisy vociferation. I laughed with the rest, for it seems wise to
propitiate, by any act not absolutely base, one, whose ambitious and
cruel nature, unless soothed and appeased by such offerings, is so prone
to reveal itself in deeds of darkness.

When the feast was nearly ended, and the attending slaves were employed
in loading it for the last time with fruits, olives, and confections, a
troop of eunuchs, richly habited, entered the apartment to the sound of
flutes and horns, bearing upon a platter of gold an immense bowl or vase
of the same material, filled to the brim with wine, which they placed in
the centre of the table, and then, at the command of the Emperor, with a
ladle of the same precious material and ornamented with gems, served out
the wine to the company. At first, as the glittering pageant advanced,
astonishment kept us mute, and caused us involuntarily to rise from our
couches to watch the ceremony of introducing it, and fixing it in its
appointed place. For never before, in Rome, had there been seen, I am
sure, a golden vessel of such size, or wrought with art so marvellous.
The language of wonder and pleasure was heard, on every side, from every
mouth. Even Livia and Julia, who in Palmyra had been used to the goblets
and wine-cups of the Eastern Demetrius, showed amazement, not less than
the others, at a magnificence and a beauty that surpassed all
experience, and all conception. Just above where the bowl was placed,
hung the principal light, by which the table and the apartment were
illuminated, which, falling in floods upon the wrought or polished metal
and the thickly strewed diamonds, caused it to blaze with a splendor
which the eyes could hardly bear, and, till accustomed to it, prevented
us from minutely examining the sculpture, that, with lav