Claude Monet Venice Twilight painting

Well, he's rich and has a very large, beautiful house and a surprisingly good cook. He invites a great crowd of literary people to dinner, gives them a perfect meal and afterwards casually picks up the latest volume of his history. He says humbly, 'Gentlemen, there are a few passages here that I am not quite sure about. I have Meanwhile Pollio's voice-and it's a nice voice to listen to, like a priest's at an evening sacrifice in summer-goes smoothly on and every now and then he asks humbly, *Is that all right, do you think?' And everyone says, thinking of the thrushes again, or perhaps of the little simnel worked very hard at them but they still need the final polish which I am counting on you to give them. By your leave…' Then he begins to read. Nobody listens very carefully. Everyone's belly is stuffed. *The cook's a genius they are all thinking. *The mullet with piquant sauce, and those fat stuffed thrushes and the wild-boar with truffles-when did I eat so well last? Not since Pollio's last reading, I believe. Ah, here comes the slave with the wine again. That excellent Cyprian wine. Pollio's right: it's better than any Greek wine on the market.'