Athenæus, after quoting the testimony of poets, relates a curious anecdote _à propos_ of citrons, which I shall here repeat: it has, probably, some reference to the secret of the Psylli. An opinion, it seems, prevailed in Egypt, that a citron eaten the first thing in the morning was an antidote against all kinds of poison, whether taken into the stomach, or introduced by puncture into the blood, and the notion arose out of the following circumstance. A governor of Egypt, in the time of the Emperors, had condemned two criminals to be executed, in obedience to custom, by the bite of an asp. They were, accordingly, led in the morning towards the place of execution, and on the way the landlady of an inn, who happened to be eating citrons, compassionating their condition, gave them some which they ate. Shortly afterwards they were exposed to the hungry serpents, which immediately bit them, but instead of exhibiting the usual symptoms followed by death, they remained uninjured. At this the governor marvelled much, and at length demanded of the soldier who guarded them, whether they had taken anything previously to their arrival. Learning what had happened he put off the execution to the following day, and ordering a citron to be given to one and not to the other, they were once more exposed to the bite of the asp. The wretch who had eaten nothing died soon after he was bitten, but the other experienced no inconvenience. Similar experiments were several times afterwards made by others, until it was at length ascertained that this exquisite fruit is really an antidote against poisons.[678] ----- Footnote 678: Athen. iii. 28. ----- Another fruit of which great use was made, was the damascene plum, sometimes confounded with the brabylon. The cherry,[679] introduced into Italy by Lucullus, was known to the Greeks[680] at a much earlier period, and is described by Theophrastus. The wild service berry,[681] the dwarf cherry, the arbutus fruit, and the mulberry, formed part of their dessert. Even the blackberry, when perfectly ripe, was not disdained.[682] In fact, both the mulberry and blackberry were esteemed a preventive of gout, and an ancient writer relates, that this kind of fruit having failed during a period of twenty years, that disease prevailed like an epidemic, attacking persons of both sexes and all ages, and extending its ravages even to the sheep and cattle. ----- Footnote 679: Theoph. Hist. Plant. iii. 13, 1. Footnote 680: It was spoken of by Xenophanes in his treatise περὶ φύσεως. Poll. vi. 46. Now this philosopher was born about the 40th Olympiad, 620 B. C.—Clinton, Fast. Hellen. ii. sub an. 477. Footnote 681: The berry of the cedar, about the same size as that of the myrtle, had a pleasant taste, and was commonly eaten.—Theoph. Hist. Plant. iii. 12. 3. Footnote 682: