Heliogabalus, who was the first Roman that ever clad himself in silk, never ate fish when he resided near the sea; nor any fowls, or meat, but what came from a great distance". His horses he fed with grapes; his lions and tigers with partridges, quails, pheasants, and woodcocks; and his dogs with the livers of ducks, geese, and turkeys; while he ate for his daily food the heads of parrots and peacocks, the combs of cocks, and the brains of thrushes and nightingales. To these banquets, he would frequently invite eight old men, blind of one eye; eight bald; eight deaf; eight lame with the gout; eight blacks; eight exceedingly thin; and eight so fat, that they could scarcely enter the room; and who, when they had eaten as much as they desired, were obliged to be taken out of the apartment on the shoulders of several soldiers.

At the installation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, in the reign of Edward IV., the Right Reverend Primate gave a feast, in which were consumed b 104 oxen, 304 calves, 306 swine, 1,000 sheep, and 2,000 pigs; 104 peacocks, 400 swans, 1,000 capons, 2,000 geese, 5,500 venison pasties, and 5,000 custards. There were also consumed 300 quarters of wheat, 300 tuns of ale, and 100 tuns of wine.

At the dinner, given by Henry of Winchester, at the nuptials of his sister-in-law, Cincia, with Prince Richard, celebrated at Westminster, November 23, 1243, there were no

a In respect to his appetite, Ælius Lampridius says, "Comedit sæpius ad imitationem Apicii calcanea camelorum, et cristas vivis gallinaceis deruptas, linguas pavonum et lusciniarum : quod qui ederet ab Epilepsia tutus diceretur." Antony had once eight boars roasted for his supper. pearl, worth 125,000 Italian ducats, and drank it. solved pearls in vinegar, and served them up to his Aurelian, a centurion, named Phagon, ate, in one day, a pig, a sheep, 100 loaves, and a wild boar; and Albinus is said to have consumed 40 dozen oysters, 100 woodpeckers, 20 lb. of grapes, 10 melons, and 100 peaches.

Cleopatra dissolved a Caligula frequently disguests. In the reign of

Spartian relates, that Geta was accustomed, at his feasts, to have the dishes served up according to the first letters of their names; as peas and pork, veal and venison, &c. &c. b Leland, Collectanea.

less than 30,000 dishes. In the reign of Edward the Fourth, the Earl of Warwick's brother entertained a large portion of the nobility and clergy upon being installed Archbishop of York. At this feast were consumed eighty fat oxen; six wild bulls; 200 kids; 300 hogs; 300 calves; 300 pigs; 1,004 wethers; and 4,000 rabbits: 100 peacocks; 200 cranes; 200 pheasants; 400 plovers; 500 partridges; 2,000 chickens; 2,000 woodcocks; 3,000 geese; 3,000 capons; 4,000 ducks; and 4,000 pigeons: 400 bucks, does, and roebucks; 1,506 hot venison pasties, and 4,000 cold ones; 300 pikes; 300 breams; four porpoises, and eight seals: 400 tarts; 1,000 dishes of jelly parted; 4,000 dishes of plain jelly; and 6,000 custards. There were also consumed 300 quarters of wheat; a pipe of spiced wine; 350 tuns of ale; and 104 pipes of wine.

In the time of William of Rosenberg, the annual revenue of a small state was frequently expended at a marriage. This nobleman, being one of the richest in Bohemia, married Mary, Margravine of Baden. At this marriage were drank 40 tuns of Spanish wine; 1,100 setiers of Austrian, Rhenian, and Tyrolian wine; besides vast quantities of liquors. The festivities began on the 26th January, 1378, and closed on the 1st of May: during which time there were consumed 150 oxen; 450 sheep; 546 calves; and 634 hogs: thirty heathcocks; 240 pheasants; 2,050 partridges; and not less than 2,130 hares. Besides these, there were 120 pieces of other game, and forty stags. Of poultry, there were 3,106 capons and pullets, with 5,135 geese, garnished and attended with 30,997 eggs. The quantity of fish consumed was equally surprising; as most of them were river fish: 675 lampreys ; 6,080 trout; 1,820 carp; and 10,209 pike; besides 350 tails of stock-fish; 2,600 lobsters; and 7,096 dried fish of different descriptions.

As a companion to this we may enumerate the quantity of

provisions, consumed at the festival, given by the Duke of Orleans, at his chateau of Villers-Cotterets, to Louis the Fifteenth, after his coronation.

There were consumed 3,071 lbs. of ham; 10,550 lbs. of bacon and hog's lard; 29,045 head of poultry and game; 100,809 lbs. of butcher's meat; 5807. worth of sea and freshwater fish; 150,096 lbs. of bread; 36,464 eggs, and 6,660 lbs. of butter: 800 bottles of old hock; 200 hogsheads of common wine; 80,000 bottles of Champagne and Burgundy; and 3,000 bottles of liqueurs: 800 pomegranates; 2,000 lbs. of sugar-plums; 15,000 lbs. of sweetmeats; 65,000 oranges and lemons; and 150,000 lbs. of apples and pears: 1,500lbs. of chocolate; 2,000lbs. of coffee, besides tea; and 8,000 lbs. of sugar.

It is said, that where Nature furnishes a guest, she seldom fails to furnish a banquet: but profusion like this must have caused many a father to pine for the misery of his unfortunate infants.

The wealth of the entertainer, and the magnificence of the fête, may be still further illustrated by an allusion to the linen; the number of china dishes and plates; and the gold and silver utensils. These were 900 dozens of napkins; 2,000 dozens of aprons for the various cooks, and other persons employed; with 3,300 table-cloths. There were, also, 20,000 pieces of crystal dishes, on which to serve sweetmeats, &c.; 30,000 china plates and dishes for the dessert; 115,000 glasses and decanters; with 50,000 plates, dishes, tureens, and other pieces of silver and gilt silver.

Such were the feasts of princes!-The comforts of a social family-what are they to the vile raptures of a military people? The Romans of the empire delighted in the shows of animals. In the days of the republic, Pompey was drawn in triumph by elephants; and Antony by lions. Aurelian was drawn by deer; Firmus by ostriches: Heliogabalus,

sometimes by four lions; then by four tigers; now by four elephants; then by four mastiffs; not unfrequently by four. camels; and once-by four naked women! At one time, he caused to be collected a thousand rats; at another time a thousand weasels; and at another ten thousand mice;-all of which he exhibited to the Roman people: and, for the purpose of estimating the magnitude of the city, he commanded a collection of spiders a!

PASTORAL WRITERS.

MANY are the descriptions of pastoral life in the Scriptures; particularly in the histories of Abraham, of Jacob, of Joseph, of Ruth, and of David: and many are the allusions in Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah. David was a shepherd, Amos a herdsman, and several of the apostles fishermen.

The first Greek pastoral poet was Daphnis", who invented the Idyllion; but as none of his works remain, Theocritus is generally esteemed the father of pastoral poetry. Blest with a lively genius, and born in a country enjoying serene skies, this poet is as much superior to Virgil in beauty, simplicity, and originality, as Virgil is superior to Ausonius, and the whole host of his literal imitators ".

The Aminta of Tasso is, with the exception of Milton's Comus, the most elegant pastoral drama in any language : and, with Guarini's Pastor Fido, and Bonarelli's Filli-di-Sciroa,

• Gibbon has passed over these and many other curious circumstances; fearful, we may suppose, that they might encumber and degrade the dignity of history.

b Vid. Ælian. Var. Hist. x. c. 18.

c Virgil's chief loss, in point of interest, arises out of his not having introduced some females, in the rural dramatis personæ.

This pastoral was translated, in 1655, by J. T. Gent, under the title of "Filli-di-Sciro," or Phillis of Scyros. Du Bos calls Fontenelle's "Plurality of Worlds" an eclogue. "The descriptions," says he, "and images, drawn by the personages, are very suitable to the character of pastoral poetry; and

was frequently represented by the Italian nobility in gardens and groves, having no other scenery, than what the places, in which they were represented, naturally affordeda.

Among the British, pastoral attained little of excellence from the days of Spenser, Drayton, and Browne, to the time, in which Bloomfield wrote his Richard and Kate, the Poor Blacksmith, and the Miller's Maid. Affectation had long been substituted for passion; and delicacy and elegance for that exquisite simplicity of language and sentiment, which constitutes the charm of this delightful species of poetry. Phillips is but an awkward appropriator of Virgil's imagery; and an unsuccessful imitator of Spenser's phraseology. As a pastoral, Milton's Lycidas, too, notwithstanding the applause, that has been heaped upon it, is frigid and pedantic; while his Epitaphium Damonis, boasting many agreeable passages, merely denotes the elegance of an accomplished scholar. Pope is too refined; his versification too measured; and his ideas little more than derivations from the more polished and courtly passages of his Sicilian and Mantuan masters. He addresses the genius of the Thames, rather than of the Avon: and adapts his sentiments, more to the meridians of Hagley and Stowe, than to the meadows of Gloucestershire, or the vales of Devon.

The "Gentle Shepherd" of Fletcher, however, may be placed in competition with its prototype by Guarini: the pastoral songs of Burns, and other Scottish poets, are equal to those of any other age or nation: and the four pastorals of Shenstone are even superior to any in Pope, Virgil, or among those images there are several which Virgil himself would willingly have adopted." Vid. Crit. Reflex. i. c. 22. That, astronomy is a subject well adapted to pastoral is certain, since the first astronomers were shepherds.

a We are assured by Rosinus, that plays were acted under the shades of trees, long before they were performed in theatres. It is certain that shepherds used to sing and recite their pastorals in those situations; and hence Cassiodorus derives the word Scena. In Greece, they were frequently performed in the open air, and in the day-time.