_Phui!_ What a nasty place to have one's horse give out in.

You will give me at least a little company to pass the time ?" Agias affected reluctance; then as the host brought up the birds, savory and hot, on an earthen platter, he gracefully accepted the invitation.

The thrushes and the rest of the bill of fare, bacon, sweet nut-flavoured oil, bread, and the cheap wine of the Campagna were not unwelcome, though Phaon cursed the coarse food roundly.

Then, when hunger had begun to yield, Phaon suggested that Cleombrotus "try to secure revenge for his losses on the Calends"; and Agias, nothing loth, replied that he did not wish to risk a great sum; but if a denarius were worth playing for, there was no objection to venturing a few casts, and "he would ask the host to bring them the gaming implements." So the landlord brought dice and dice boxes, and Phaon--who had come to the conclusion that he had to deal with a light-headed bumpkin, who represented merely so much fair plunder--began to play with a careless heart.

The landlord brought more and more flagons of wine, wine that was mixed with little water and was consequently very heady.