Classic Poem

A BOUT the Saepta shops Mamurra strolled
Where opulence may squander wealth untold,
And first he viewed fair slaves with gloating eyes,
Not those an open shop will advertise,
No, but the kind reserved for private view
Unseen by common folk like me and you;
He then stripped table-tops of antique make
And ivories kept aloft for safety's sake.
That couch of tortoise-shell inlay was small
And would not fit his citron board at all;
He tried Corinthian bronzes by their scent,
Thought Polycleitus' work indifferent,
And said the crystal vase was flawed — the two
Of agate he would mark, for they might do;
Some bowls and ancient cups he took and weighed
As perfect gems as Mentor ever made,
Appraised the emeralds in enamel clear
And pearl-drops made to deck some snow-white ear,
Hunted for sardonyx through half the town
And tried to beat the price of jaspers down.
Then tired at nightfall, having ransacked Rome,
He bought two farthing crocks and took them home.