Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from The Fates Are Laughing
She-had had, so she said, the bad luck to have for her third husband a man who was fond of her but jealous. She found marital restrictions irksome even when she did not observe them and she welcomed the liberty given by her last husband's death. Childless and rich, she was courted by all ages, from striplings to old men, and by all callings, from senators and knights to actors and gladiators, all of whom hoped to be rewarded for their attentions, if not during her life, in her will when she was dead.
The ladies were eating and drinking while they talked. On a table at one end of the room were bowls of wine, both warm and cold, decorated with scenes from the lives of the gods, together with fruit, pastries, and dishes full of pleasant meats: pieces of chicken breasts, rolls of ham and little sausages. There were lettuce leaves and barley water for those of simpler tastes or frailer health. Young slave girls in saffron tunics car ried the food and drink to the guests. Other slaves bore pitchers of water and bowls and, on being called, poured the water over the guests' hands, which others of them dried.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.