The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1881-09-27
a Roman Banquet.

The following is Il description of Ro-
man banquet which took place about rs B.
G., on the ninth Calcnds of September.
This supper, which correspondent more
nearly with the dinner of modern times,
was given by Lentulus, to celebrate his
inauguration rs Flamcn Martialls, an oili-
Ger who ranked among the flam:nes second
only to the Flamen Dialis. The company
comprised seven of the pontiflccs, q. Catu
lus, M. HEmilius Lcpidus, d. Syllanus, u.
Sc@vola Sextus, O. Cornelius, p. Volum-
MUS, L. Alblnovanus, the rec S0crOrttNt
9. CWsar, and l.. Julius Caesar the augur.
The party, however, was not limited to
men. There were present four of the YES
tals-POpika, Pcrpcnla, Iirimia. ami Arun-
cla Qhc remaining two of their colleagues
were probably obliged to remain at the
temple to attend the sacred f!res), the wife
OF Lcntilus, Publicia, the ilaminica, and
lis molhcr-ln-law Sempronia. The pres
encc OF tue vcstals may occasion some sur
prise, but their position Was in many re-
spccts anomalous. The honors paid to
them were very remarkable. They were
attended by llctor when they went out,
and even consuls and governors made way
for them. Like the peers of England,
they gave their evidence without taking an
oath. The duties of their office were re-
quircd to be very strictly performed and
the most tcrribc.punishment awaited any
violation Of their VOWS. They enjoyed a
far amount Of liberty, and were allowed
TO walk about the city, to attend theatres
and gladiatoral exhibitions, where the best
places we're reserved for them, and they
were, as we see, sometimes present at So
cial entertainments. They were even
,tbc, after thirty years service rs vestals,
TO unC0nsccratc themselves and to marry.
The company at Lcntulus' banquet was az
ranged in three triclinia. with ivory couch
cs. The pontiliccs occupied two OF the
triclnia and the third was given to the
ladies. From the rcCumbcnt positions Of
the guests, who were said TO lie in the
bosoms of each other (atic,Jus IN si,.u
cH6arc), ii would not have been dccorous
for the ladies and gentlemen TO occupy the
same c0Ich, and il was, indeed, only in the
later days Of Rome that the ladies adopted
the custom of reclining AZ table. The re-
pnst generally commenced with the uh,tG-
cHHd, for which it was usual to serve hOfS
dGucres for the purpose of stimulating the
appetite. bnt on this occasion the n,Cnu of
the dntcctGna or yuSt0tiO contained some
dishes which were tolcrably solid. Raw
oysters u GiScrcti0n (OStrc0 crUdu
Yuantum retienO, several kinds of shell
fish "cchinl, pelcrides, spondyl, glyco-
marbles, mlriccs, purpurn, balani abb ct
nigri nrlicmD thrushcs, asparagus. fattcd
fowls, oyster patties, orlolans, launches of
goat and wild boar, and rich meat male
into paslics. For the ctH,,u there were
pork, wild boar, fish patlies, pork pics,
ducks, tecl soup, lares, rich meat roasted,
wheaton cakes and rolls. The conversa-
tion 10 not recorded, but it is to be hoped
that the company following the advice
given in the "Altlc1 Noctcs'' Of Aul,ls Gel
lius) avoited painful and involved subjects,
aud limited their discourse to the common
topics Of everyday life.