OPSOPHAGY. 495 



When winds perfumed the balmy gale convey 

 Through heaven, through earth, and all th' ethereal way ; 

 The scent so strong, its piercing fragrance greets 

 The sense of gods with more than mortal sweets.* 



And here, as I am talking of novelties, I may, I be- 

 lieve, add without fear of contradiction, that I turn 

 out as good nuptial, fancy, and funeral banquets as 

 any in Athens, in which I always take care to intro- 

 duce some pleasing variety : in the latter more espe- 

 cially, as the occasions of them are solemn, I do my 

 utmost to convert gloom into hilarity, and to recon- 

 cile heirs to their inheritance by my fresh surprises in 

 soups and sauces ; thus, when I had, by order of his ne- 

 phew, prepared a supper to the memory of that excel- 

 lent magistrate A * *, the assembled guests (for he was 

 a very popular man) wore faces long as their funeral 

 robes, and sat down grave as a party of bears, and red- 

 eyed as weasels : but this unpromising state of things 

 lasted only a few minutes. No sooner were all the 

 couches filled, and the covers at a signal removed, than 

 everybody's face underwent an instant change : the 

 steam from the dishes dried every eye, and set every 

 tongue gaily on the wag j the party, absorbed in ' the 

 dishes,' forgot the motive of its beiag assembled, and I 

 had shortly the pleasure of hearing several say it was the 

 finest and most novel wedding feast (and so truly it was) 

 they had ever sat down to ; it cost me a month's thought 

 and a week's execution, and whilst in preparation, I was 

 in contiuual danger of being prosecuted as a nuisance, or 



* Sicihan cooks were particularly famed for making their 

 dishes fragrant : 



' On the light wing of Zephyr that thitherward blows 

 What a dainty perfume has invaded my nose! 

 And sure in yon copse, if we carefully look. 

 Dwells some dealer in scents, or Sicilian cook !' 



Cratinus. 



