They were served at Rome on a few tables. This was nothing but a depravation of taste.
Heliogabalus, who understood good living better, contented himself with the brains of ostriches. Six hundred of these animals furnished enough for one meal.[XX_80] The devastation was great, but the emperor had made a good supper.
The ostrich’s eggs are very hard, very heavy, and very large; their weight often equals three pounds. The colour is of a dirty white, with light yellow veins; they are good to eat. In Africa they are sought after as a friandise, and cooked in various ways. The commonest and the best is, after breaking, to mix and cook them with a good deal of butter. They are large enough and sufficient for a man’s meal.
When the Arabs have killed an ostrich they open its throat, and make a ligature under the opening; three or four men take the bird, and shake it, the same as rincing a pouch; after which, the ligature being undone, a considerable quantity of a greasy substance comes out, mixed with blood and fat as thick as coagulated oil. One ostrich produces as much as twenty pounds of it, and it is used for the preparation of dishes, for the cure of rheumatism, humeurs froides, and paralysis. The Romans used this grease for the same purposes, and believed it possessed the most precious qualities.
THE STORK.
In spite of the religious respect of the Romans for this bird, the emblem of peace[XX_81] and domestic virtues, Sempronius Rufus, an ancient prætor, caused his cook to dress some young storks; and this brought into fashion[XX_82] a dish which caprice alone could introduce at feasts.[XX_83]
THE SEA-SWALLOW.
Among the ancients, the swallow—joyous herald of spring—possessed little attraction for those men whom their gluttony has rendered so justly celebrated. Alas! they knew not the “Salangan swallow,” hirundo esculenta; they never tasted those birds’ nests which Europe still envies the East.