§304. The Dining Couch.--The position of the dining-room (_trīclīnium_) in the Roman house has been described already (§204), and it has been remarked (§300) that in classical times the stool or bench had given place to the couch. This couch (_lectus trīcliniāris_) was constructed much as the common _lectī_ were (§224), except that it was made broader and lower, had an arm at one end only, was without a back, and sloped from the front to the rear. At the end where the arm was, a cushion or bolster was placed, and parallel with it two others were arranged in such a way as to divide the couch into three parts. Each part was for one person, and a single couch would, therefore, accommodate three persons. The dining-room received its name (_trīclīnium_) from the fact that it was planned to hold three of these couches (_κλίναι_ in Greek), set on three sides of a table, the fourth side of which was open. The arrangement varied a little with the size of the room. In a large room the couches were set as in Fig. 119, but if economy of space was necessary they were placed as in Fig. 120, the latter being probably the more common arrangement of the two. Nine may be taken, therefore, as the ordinary number at a Roman dinner party. More would be invited only on unusual occasions, and then a larger room would be used where two or more tables could be arranged in the same way, each accommodating nine guests. In the case of members of the same family, especially if one was a child, or when the guests were very intimate friends, a fourth person might find room on a couch, but this was certainly unusual; probably when a guest unexpectedly presented himself some member of the family would surrender his place to him. Often the host reserved a place or places for friends that his guests might bring without notice. Such uninvited persons were called _umbrae_. When guests were present the wife sat on the edge of the couch (Fig. 121) instead of reclining, and children were usually accommodated on seats at the open side of the table. [Illustration: FIGURE 121. WOMAN SITTING ON DINING COUCH]