" "Say you so," quoth Habinas, "nor am I
afraid to make two days of one"; and therewith got up barefoot and
follow'd Trimalchio.
I on the other hand turning to Ascyltos, asked him what he thought of
it, for "if I but see the bath I shall swoon away."
"Let's lagg behind then," said he, "and whilst they are getting in,
we'll slip off in the crowd."
The contrivance pleased us; and so Gito leading the way through the
portico, we came to the last gate, where a chained dog bolted upon us
so furiously, that Ascyltos fell into the fishpond. I, who had been
frighted at the painted dog, and now gotten as drunk as Ascyltos,
while I endeavoured to get hold of him, fell in my self; at last the
porter's coming in saved us, for he quieted the dog and drew us out;
but Gito, like a sharp rascal, delivered himself, for whatever had
been given him at supper to carry home with him, he threw it the dog,
and that mollified him.
But, when shivering with cold, we desired the porter to let us out:
"You're mistaken," said he, "if ye think to go out the same way ye
came in, for no guest ere yet did; they came in at one gate and are
let out by another."
In this sad pickle, what should we do? we found ourselves in a new
kind of labyrinth, and for bathing, we'd enough of it already:
However, necessity enforcing us, we pray'd him to show us the way to
the bath: and Gito having hung out our cloaths a drying in the porch,
we entred the bath, which was somewhat narrow, and sunk in the earth,
not unlike a rainwater cistern; in this stood Trimalchio stark-naked:
Nor could we avoid his filthy tricks; for he said, nothing was better
than to bathe in a crowd; and that every place had in times past been
a grinding-house.
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