Page:Satires, Epistles, Art of Poetry of Horace - Coningsby (1874).djvu/102

Should some chance guest surprise you late at night,
For fear the new-killed fowl prove tough to bite,
Plunge it while living in Falernian lees,
And then 'twill be as tender as you please.
Mushrooms that grow in meadows are far best;
You can't be too suspicious of the rest.
He that would pass through summer without hurt
Should eat a plate of mulberries for dessert,
But mind to pluck them in the morning hour,
Before the mid-day sun exerts its power.
Aufidius used Falernian, rich and strong,
To mingle with his honey: he did wrong:
For when the veins are empty, 'tis not well
To pour in fiery drinks to make them swell:
Mild gentle draughts will better do their part
In nourishing the cockles of the heart.
In costive cases, limpets from the shell
Are a cheap way the evil to dispel,
With groundling sorrel: but white Coan neat
You'll want to make the recipe complete.
For catching shell-fish the new moon's the time,
But there's a difference between clime and clime;
Baiæ is good, but to the Lucrine yields;
Circeii ranks as best for oyster-fields;
Misenum's cape with urchins is supplied;
Flat bivalve mussels are Tarentum's pride.
Let no man fancy he knows how to dine
Till he has learnt how taste and taste combine.
'Tis not enough to sweep your fish away