'^H<''i:'?$WPir^ Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from I , IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/drinksofworldOOmewjrich Drinks OF THE World JAMES MEW,' Author of "Types from Spanish Story," 6^c., dr'c, AND JOHN ASHTON, Author of ''Social Life in the Reign of Queea Anne," (Sr'c, <^c. ONE HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS. 1892. LONDON: The Leadenhall Press, 50, Leadenhall Street, E.G. Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent 6^ Co., Ltd. NEW YORK: Scribner 6^ Welford. z^J^Z.^ "Ingeniosa Sitis." — Martial^ Epig. xiv. 117. "J'y ai songe comme un autre, et je suis tente de mettre Tappetence des liqueurs fermentees, qui n'est pas connue des animaux, k cot^ de I'inquietude de I'avenir, qui leur est ^trangere, et de les regarder Tune et I'autre comme des attributs distinctifs du chef-d'oeuvre de la derniere revolution sublunaire." — Bi'illat-Sa- vartfi, Physiologic du GoUf, Medit. 9. "Ac si quis diligenter reputet, in nulla parte operosior vita est, ceu non saluberrimum ad potum aquae liquorem natura de- derit, quo caetera oinnia animantia utuntur." — Pliny, Nat. Hist. xiv. 28. "Wine that maketh glad the heart of man." — Ps. civ. 15. ROM the Cradle to the Grave we need Drink, and we have not far to look for the reason, when we consider that at least seventy per cent, of the human body is com- posed of water, to com- pensate the perpetual waste of which, a fresh supply is, of course, abso- lutely necessary. This is taken with our food (all solid nutriment containing some water), and by the drink we consume. But, as the largest constituent part of the body is fluid, so, naturally, its waste is larger than that of the solid ; this fluid waste being enormous. Besides the natural losses, every breath we exhale is heavily laden with moisture, as breathing on a cold polished surface, or a cold day by con- densing the breath, will show; whilst the twenty- eight miles of tubing disposed over the surface of the human body will evaporate, invisibly, two or three pounds of water daily. Of course, in very hot 8 ;.'..::.•:;.•:••.• '-''-'"' ^drinks. weather, or after extreme exertion, this perspiration is much more, and is visible. To remedy this loss we must drink, as a stoppage of the supply would kill sooner than if solid food were withheld, for then the body would, for a time, live upon its own substance, as in the cases of the fasting men of the last two years ; but few people can live longer than three days without drinking, and death by thirst is looked upon as one of the most cruel forms of dissolu- tion. To palliate thirst, however, it is not absolutely necessary to drink, as a moist atmosphere or copious bathing will do much towards allaying it, — the one by introducing moisture into the system by means of the lungs, the other through the medium of the skin. Thirst is the notice given by Nature that liquid aliment is required to repair the waste of the body ; and, as in the case of Hunger, she has kindly provided that supplying the deficiency shall be a pleasant sensa- tion, and one calculated to call up a feeling of grati- tude for the means of allaying the want. Indeed, no man knows the real pleasures of eating and drinking, until he has suffered both hunger and thirst. Water, as a means of slaking man's thirst, has been provided for him in abundance from the time of Father Adam, whose '* Ale " is so vaunted by ab- stainers from alcoholic liquors. But Water, unless charged with Carbonic Acid gas, or containing some mineral in solution, is considered by some, as a con- stant drink, rather vapid ; and Man, as he became civilized, has made himself other beverages, more or less tasty, and provocative of excess, and also more or less deleterious to his internal economy. The juice of luscious fruits was expressed, the vine was made to give up Its life blood ; and, probably through accident, alcoholic fermentation was discovered, and a new zest was given to drinking. A good servant. Alcohol is a bad master ; but that it satisfies a widely felt craving, probably induced by civilization, is certain, for most savage tribes, emerging from their primitive and natural state, manufacture drinks from divers vegetable substances, more or less alcoholic. The present volume is Intended for that class of the public which is known as *' the general reader" ; and its object is to interest rather than to inform. There- fore it deals at no great length with what may be termed the caviare of the subject, as, for Instance, the varied opinions of the medical faculty with respect to the hygienic value of drinks, their supposed uses in health and disease, and their chemical constituents, or analyses. Nor Is the question of price discussed, nor long lists of vineyard proprietors given, nor the names of the brewers, nor the number of casks of beer brewed. In short, as few statistics have been Intro- duced as possible. In deference to a maxim not always remembered in books on beverages, '' De gustibus non est disputandum'' or its English equiva- lent, abhorred of Chesterfield, " What Is one man's meat Is another man's poison," the verdicts of enthu- siasts and vendors have been, except in rare Instances, alike rejected. Nor has very much been said on the Inviting topic of adulteration. It would be almost cruel to disturb the credulity of the good people who drink and pay for gooseberry as Champagne, or Val de penas as curious old Port. It is a pretty comedy to watch the soi-disant connoisseur drinking a wine fully accredited with crust, out of a bottle ornamented with fungus and cobwebs of proper consistency — a wine flavoured with esse7ice at so much a pound, and stained with colour'^ at so much per gallon. There is no need to proclaim upon the housetops the constituents of Hamburg sherry, nor how the best rum is flavoured with *' R.E.," or brandy with '' Caramel " or " Cognacine." We have generally avoided the profane use of trade or professional jargon, too often the outcome of igno- rance, pretence, and affectation, such as **full," "fruity," "smooth on palate," " round in the mouth," "full of body," " wing," " character," etc. ; nor have we touched, or desired to touch, on the influence of alcohol on man's social or other well-being. Peter the Hermit is fully represented already, and we have no mission to call upon our fellow-countrymen to " rise to the dignity of manhood," and never touch another glass of Madeira. The authors have followed the example of the illus- trious Moliere in taking their matter wherever they could find it. The information contained in this work is derived either from other books, oral information, or personal experience. " The sun robs the sea, the ^ These essences and colours are no new thing. Addison spoke of them nearly two hundred years ago in his " Trial of the Wine Brewers " in the Tatkr. Tom Tintoret and Harry Sippet have left a large family behind them. moon robs the sun, the sea robs the moon," says Timon of Athens, repeating Anacreon, who adds that the earth robs them all. So preceding authors are indebted to one another, and the present volume to them all. It has been written, it is hoped, without bias or prejudice of any kind ; but, as the drinks con- taining Alcohol are many more than those in which it is absent, more have been mentioned. That a full record of all drinks should appear, is impossible ; nor could any critic expect it ; but an attempt has been made to give a fairly full list, and to render it as pleasant reading as the subject admits. THE DRINKS OF ANTIQUITY. Egypt : Method of Wine-Making — Early Wines — Names of Wines — Ladies and Wine — Beer, etc. Assyria : List of Assur-ba-ni- pal's Wines — Method of Drinking — Different Sorts of Wine. HiTTiTE : Two Ladies Drinking — Their Appreciation of Wine — The Hittite Bacchus. Judea : Mention of Wines in the Old Testament — Wine as an Article of Commerce — Mixed Wines — Wine Vessels. HAS ^^y "i3.n been bold enough to attempt to fix upon the discoverer of Wine ? Not to our knowledofe. Nor can a date be even hazarded as to its introduction. It was so good a thing, that we may be sure that men very soon came to know its revivifying effects. We do know this : that the oldest records of which we have any cognisance, those of the Egyp- tians (who were in a high state of civilization and culture when the Hebrews were semi-barbarous nomads), show us that they had wine, and used it in a most refined manner, as we see by the headpiece to this chapter. Here a father is nursing his child, who 13 1^4' I'y' \ ■ '' ' /' ,'.\ . ' BRINKS. invites him to smell a lotus flower, another blossom of which his mother is showing him. An attendant proffers wine in bowls wreathed with flowers, and another is at hand with a bowl possibly of water, and a napkin. This wreathing the bowls with flowers shows how highly they esteemed the " good creature," and, also, that they were then at least as civilized as the later Greeks and Romans, who followed the same practice. We have the Egyptian pictures showing the whole process of wine-making. We see their vines very carefully trained in bowers, or in avenues, formed by columns and rafters; their vineyards were walled in, and frequently had a reservoir of water within their precincts, together with a building which contained a winepress ; whilst boys frightened the birds away with slings and stones, and cries. The grapes, when gathered, were put into deep wicker baskets, which men carried either on their heads or shoulders, or slung upon a yoke, to the winepress, where the wine was squeezed out of a bag by means of two poles turned in contrary directions, an earthen pan receiving the juice. But they also had large presses, in which they trod the fruit with their naked feet, supporting themselves by ropes suspended from the roof. The grape juice having fermented, it was put into earthen jars, resembling the Roman amphorce, which were closed with a lid covered with pitch, clay, mortar or gypsum, and sealed, after which they were removed to the storehouse, and there placed upright. The Egyptians had a peculiar habit, which used also to be DRINKS. J 5 general in Italy and Greece, and now obtains in the islands of the Archipelago, of putting a certain quan- tity of resin or bitumen at the bottom of the amphora before pouring in the wine. This was supposed to preserve it, but it was also added to give it a flavour — a taste probably acquired from their having been used to wine skins, instead of jars, and having employed resins to preserve the skins. The Egyptians had several kinds of wine, even as early as the fourth dynasty (above 6000 years ago, according to Mariette), when four kinds of wine, at least, were known. Pliny and Horace say that the wine of Mareotis was most esteemed. The soil, which lay beyond the reach of the alluvial deposits, suited the vine, and extensive remains of vineyards near the Qasr Karoon, still found, show whence the ancient Egyptians obtained their wines. Athenseus says, " the Mareotic grape was remarkable for its sweetness ; " and he thus describes the wine made therefrom : *' Its colour Is white, its quality excellent, and it is sweet and light, with a fragrant bouquet ; it is by no means astringent, nor does it affect the head. . . . Still, however, it is Inferior to the Teniotic, a wine which receives its name from a place called Tenia, where it is produced. Its colour is pale and white, and there Is such a degree of richness in it, that, when mixed with water, it seems gradually to be diluted, much in the same way as Attic honey when a liquid is poui^ Into it ; and besides the agreeable flavour of the wine, its fragrance is so delightful as to render it perfectly aromatic, and it has the property of i6 DRINKS. being slightly astringent. There are many other vineyards in the valley of the Nile, whose wines are in great repute, and these differ both in colour and taste ; but that which is produced about Anthylla is preferred to all the rest." He also commends some of the wines made in the Thebaid, especially about Coptos, and says that they were "so wholesome ►that invalids might take them without inconvenience, even during a fever." Pliny cites the Sebennytic wine as one of the choice Egyptian crus, and says it was made of three different sorts of grapes. He also speaks of a curious wine called Ecbolada, Wine took a large part in the Egyptian ritual, and was freely poured forth as libations to the different deities ; and in private life women were not restricted in its use. In fact, the ungallant Egyptians have left behind them several delineations of ladies in a decided state of '* how came you so ? " It was probably put down to the Egyptian equivalent for Salmon.^ But if they noticed the failings of their womankind, they equally faithfully portrayed their own shortcomings, for we see them being carried home from a feast limp and helpless, or else standing on their heads, and otherwise playing the fool. Still, wine was the drink of the wealthy, or at least of those, as we should call them, " well to do." They had a beer, which Diodorus calls zythum^ and which, ^ See tailpiece, where a servant is coming to the assistance of her mistress. 2 Jablonski is our authority for supposing it primarily an Egyptian DRINKS. 17 he says, was scarcely inferior to the juice of the grape. This beer was made from barley, and, hops being unknown, it was flavoured with lupins and other vegetable substances. This old beer was called kega^ and can be traced back as far as the 4th dynasty. Then they also had Palm wine, and another wine called daga, supposed to be made from dates or figs ; and they also made wines from pomegranates and other fruits, and from herbs, such as rue, hellebore, drink. A zyihum and a dizythum seem to have existed, corre- sponding, let us say, to our Single and Double X. This zythum is nearly allied to the sacera of Palestine, the cesia of Spain, the cervisia of Gaul, the sebaia of Dalmatia, and the curmi or camum of Germany. According to Rabbi Joseph, this beer was made \ barley, \ Crocus Sylvestris, and J salt. He adds, " He that is bound, it looseth ; and he who is loose, it binds ; and it is dangerous for pregnant women." 1 8 DRINKS. absinthe, etc., which probably answered the purpose of our modern ** bitters." The Assyrians, who rank next in antiquity to the Egyptians, were no shunners of wine ; they could drink sociably, and hob-nob together, as we see by the accompanying illustration. Their wine cups were, in keeping with all the dress and furniture of the royal palaces, exceedingly ornate ; and it is curious to note the comparative barbarism of the wine skin,, and the nervous beauty of the wine cups being filled by the effeminate eunuch. The numerous bas-reliefs which, happily, have been rescued, to our great edification, afford many examples of wine cups of very great beauty of form. The inscriptions give us a list of many wines, and among them was the wine of Helbon, which was grown near Damascus, at a village now called Halbun. It is alluded to in Ezekiel xxvii. 18: "Damascus was thy merchant, by reason of the multitude of the wares of thy making, for the multitude of all riches ; in the wine of Helbon, and white wool." Wm. St. Chad Boscawen, Esq., the eminent Assyriologist, has kindly favoured us with the follow- ing illustration and note on the subject of Assyrian wines : — CUi ^ i< tr t^-^ «s^ <^,[H 30-^ 6S- i^ JSI^T T « «K # v^ .^{ff rgc^T^4H^^^! rS* T- ^ ^ »g ^(^m< tt£^T'^7g^'^4'>^ |t$c f< 5)y ^ve should condemn it as intolerable. The wines of antiquity present disagreeable features ; sea water, for instance, and resin already mentioned. Columella advises the addition of one pint of salt water for six gallons of wine. The impregnation with resin has been still preserved, with the result of making some modern Greek wines unpalatable save to the modern Greeks themselves. Columella [Be Re Rustica, xii. 19) says that four ounces of crude pitch mingled with certain aromatic herbs should be mixed with two amphorcE, or about thirteen gallons of wine. Ancient wines were also exposed in smoky garrets until reduced to a thick syrup, when they had to be strained before they were drunk. Habit only it seems could have endeared these pickled and pitched and smoked wines to the Greek and Roman palates, as 32 DRINKS. it has endeared to some of our own caviare and putrescent game. « To drink wine unmixed was, it has been said before, held by the Greeks to be disreputable. Those who did so were said to be like Scythians. The Maronean wine of Homer was mixed with twenty measures of water. The common proportion in the more polished days of Greece was three or four parts of water to one of wine. But probably Greece, like Rome, had many a Menenius who loved a cup of hot wine with not a drop of allaying Tiber in it. If the condition of Alcibiades in the Platonic symposium was the result of wine so diluted, the wine must have been strong indeed. The Grecian and Roman banquet began with the mulsum, of mingled wine and honey. The dessert wines among the Greeks were the Thasian and Lesbian ; among the Romans the Alban, Csecuban, and Falernian, and afterwards the Chian and Lesbian. In the triumphal supper of Caesar in his dictatorship Pliny says Falernian flowed in hogsheads and Chian in gallons. At the well-known Horatlan supper of Nasidienus the Caecuban and indifferent Chian were handed round before the host advised Maecenas that Alban and Falernian were procurable if he preferred them. Juvenal and Martial tell us of the complaint of clients, that while the master and his friends drank the best wine out of costly cups, they themselves had to put up with ropy liquors in coarse, half-broken vessels. Human nature has changed little in this respect since those satirists wTOte. DRINKS. 33 The old fashion of dedicating cups to divinities led perhaps to our modern system of drinking healths. Sometimes as many cups were drunk to a person as there were letters in the name of the person so honoured. It was better then for the bibulous to toast the ancient Sempronia or Messalina than the modern Meg or Kate. Hydromeli, made of honey and five-year- old rain- water ; oxymeliy made of honey, sea-salt, and vinegar ; hydromelon, made of honey and quinces ; hydrorosa- tum^ a similar compound with the addition of roses ; apomeliy water in which honeycomb had been boiled ; omphacomeli, a mixture of honey and verjuice ; myr- tites, a compound of honey and myrtle seed ; rhoiteSy a drink in which the pomegranate took the place of the myrtle ; oenanthinum, made from the fruit of the wild vine ; silatum, taken, according to Festus, in the forenoon, and made of Saxifragia major (Forcellini) or Tor dy Hum officinale (Liddell and Scott) ; sy cites, wine of figs ; phoenicites, wine of palms ; abrotoniteSy wine of wormwood ; and adynamon, a weak wine for the sick — are most of them mentioned as drinks in Pliny.^ This author also mentions drinks made of sorbs, medlars, mulberries, and other fruits, of aspara- gus, origanum, thyme, and other herbs. Hippocrates praises wine as a medical agent. In his third book the father of medicine gives a description of the general qualities and virtues of wines, and shows for what diseases they are in his opinion advantageous. ^ Pliny, Nat. Hist. xiv. 19, etc. C 34 DRINKS. For more information on wines the reader may con- sult Sir Edward Barry, Dr. Alexander Henderson, and Cyrus Redding. Henderson, who was, like Barry, a physician, did not always agree with him. Barry's observations, according to Henderson, are chiefly borrowed from Bacci. Those not so borrowed are for the most part *' flimsy and tedious." The vessels and other drinking cups were com- monly ranged on an abacus of marble, something like our sideboard. It was large, if Philo Judeus is to be believed. Pliny, speaking of Pompey's spoils in the matter of the pirates, says the number of jewel-adorned drinking cups was enough to furnish nine abaci. Cicero charges Verres with having plundered the abaci. When Rome was in the height of her luxury, mur- rhine cups were introduced from the East. What this substance was, the ruins of Pompeii have never re- vealed ; some maintain it was porcelain, others think it was a species of spar. Dr. Henderson adopts the opinion of M. de Roziere that these cups were of fluor-spar ; but this article is not found in Karamania, from which district of Par- thia both Pliny and Propertius agree that they came, though they differ with respect to their nature ; its geographic situation seems confined to Europe. The anecdote told by Lampridius of Heliogabalus (502) proves, not the similarity of material, but only the equal rareness and value of vessels of onyx and murrhine. A writer in the Westminster Review for July, 1825, believes them to have been porcelain cups from China ; DRINKS. 35 the expression of Propertius, '' coda focisy' proves that they were manufactured In the time of Belon (1555) AMPHORA, RHYTONS, ETC. {Brit. Mus.). the Greeks called them the myrrh of Smyrna, from murex, a shell. From this it seems that their name was given to the vases from a resemblance of colours 36 DRINKS. . to those of the murex. Stolberg {Travels^ ix. 280) says he saw in a collection at Catania a little blue vase, believed to be a vas murrhinum. The modern jars in any of the wine districts of Italy, such as Asti Montepulciano or Montefiascone, thin earthen two-handled vessels holding some twenty quarts, are almost identical with the ancient amphorcB, Suetonius speaks of a candidate for the quaestorship who drank the contents of a whole amphora at a dinner given by Tiberius. This amphora was probably of a smaller size. Wooden vessels for wine seem to have been unfamiliar to the Greeks and Romans ; they, however, occasionally em- ployed glass.. Bottles, vases, and cups of that material, which may be seen often enough now in collections of antiquities; show the great taste which in these and in other matters they possessed. A few of these are given to illustrate our text. Skins of animals, ren- dered impervious by oil or resinous gums, were probably the most ancient receptacles for wine after it was taken from the vat. To these there are fre- quent allusions in Homer and Isaiah. Vessels of clay, with a coating of pitch, were introduced subsequently. NORTHERN DRINKING. Beowulf— Ale — Beer— Mead — English Wine — The Mead Hall — Drinking Horns — Tosti and Harold — Pigment, etc. — The Clergy, etc., drinking — Northern Wine drinking — King Hund- ing — Brewing — Strange Drinking Vessels, and their Use — Punishment of Drunkards. SA I LI N G f^o"^ the north, being lured to the south with visions of plunder and luxury, came the Danish and Norwegian Vikings, and, as England was the nearest to them, she received an early visit. With them they brought their habit of deep drinking, which was scarcely needed, as on that score the then inhabitants of England could pretty well hold their own. Their liquors seem to have been ale, ealu, beer, heor, wine, win, and mead, medo. There was a difference between those that drank ale and those that drank beer, as we find in Beowulf^ : — * Line 964, etc. 38 DRINKS. " Full oft have promis'd, with beer drunken, Over t/ie ale cup, sons of conflict, that they in t/ie beer-hall would await Grendel's warfare with terrors of edges : then was this mead-hall, at morning tide, t/izs princely court, stain'd with gore ; when t/ze day dawn'd, all tke bench-floor with blood bestream'd, t/ie hall, with horrid gore ; of faithful followers I own'd the less^ of dear nobles, who then death destroyed. Sit now to the feast, and unbind with mead thy valiant breast with my warriors as thy mind may excite. Then was for the sons of the Goths altogether in the beer hall a bench clear'd ; there the strong of soul went to sit tumultuously rejoicing : the thane observ'd his duty, who in his hand bare the ornamented ale-cup, he pour'd the br^ht, sweet liquor: the gleeman sang at times serene in Heorot : there was joy of warriors, no few nobles of Danes and Weders." DRINKS. 39 In Dugdale's Monasticon (ed. 1682, p. 126), in a Charter of Offa to the Monastery of Westbury, three sorts of ale are mentioned. Two tuns full of hlutres aloth [Clear ale), a cumb full of lithes aloth (mild ale), and a cumb full of Welisces aloth (Welsh ale), which is again mentioned as cervisia WallicB. But though beer and ale were the drinks of the common folk, yet they were not despised by their leaders. ^"At times before the nobles Hrothgar's daughter to the earls in order the ale cup bore." We see the social difference between ale and wine drinkers in one of the Cotton MSS. [Tib. A. 3), where a lad having been asked what he drank replied : " Ale, if I have it ; Water, if I have it not." Asked why he does not drink wine, he says : " I am not so rich that I can buy me wine ; and wine is not the drink of children or the weak-minded, but of the elders and. the wise." The English at that time grew the Vine for wine- making purposes ; indeed, very good wine can now be, and is, made from English grapes. Every monas- tery had its vineyard, and to this day London has six Vine Streets and one Vineyard Walk. The wine- hall seems to have been a different apartment to either the mead, or ale-halls, and of a superior order. ^ " The company all arose ; greeted then ^ Line 4044, etc. 2 Lj^e 1387, etc. 40 DRINKS. one man another Hrothgar Beowulf, and bade him hail, gave him command of the wine-hall." % It * % * ** He strode under the clouds, until he the wine-house, the golden hall of men, most readily perceiv'd, richly variegated." The mead-hall seems to have answered the purpose of a common hall, as v^e see by the following. Speak- ing of Hrothgar, the poet says : — 2 "// ran through his mind that he a hall-house would command, a great mead-house^ men to make, which the sons of men should ever hear of; and there within all distribute to young and old, as to him God had given, except the people's share, and the lives of men. Then I heard that widely the work was proclaim'd to many a tribe through this mid-earth that a public place was building." Mead was considered a glorified liquor fit for Men, and is thus sung of by the bard Taliesin : — 1 Line 1432, etc. 2 Line 135, etc. DRINKS. 41 " That Maelgwn of Mona be inspired with mead and cheer us with it, From the mead-horn's foaming, pure, and shining liquor, Which the bees provide, but do not enjoy ; Mead distilled, I praise ; its eulogy is everywhere Precious to the creature whom the earth maintains. God made it to man for his happiness, The fierce and the mute both enjoy it." Mead was made from honey and water, fermented, and in many languages its name has a striking simi- larity. In Greek, honey is methu, in Sanskrit, madhu, and the drink made therefrom in Danish, is mtody in Anglo-Saxon, medu, in Welsh, medd, whence metheglyn — medd, mead, and llyn^ liquor. In Beowulf we fre- quently find mention of the mead-horns, and we find it vividly portrayed in the heading of this chapter, which is taken from the Bayeux Tapestry. These horns were generally those of oxen, although some were made of ivory, and were probably used because fictile ware was so easily broken in those drinking bouts in which they so frequently indulged. Another reason was doubtless that they promoted conviviality, for, like the classical Rhyton, they could not be set down like a bowl, but must either be nursed, or their contents quaffed. Many examples of drinking horns remain to us, and illustrations of two are here given : one that of Ulph, belonging to, and now kept at, York Minster, and the other the Pusey horn. These are veritable drinking horns; but there are many other tenure horns in existence, which are hunting horns. 42 DRINKS. The Pusey Horn. This horn is an old tenure horn. It was once the custom, when making a gift of land, instead of making out a deed of gift, to present some article of personal use, such as a knife, a drinking or hunting horn, and with it the manor or land, the recipient keeping the present, as a proof that the land was given him. This Pusey horn is said to have been given by King Knut to William Pewse, and on the silver-gilt band, to which are appended dog's legs and feet, is inscribed in Gothic letters — " Kyng Knowde geve Wyllyam Pewse This home to holde by thy lond." It is an ox horn, dark brown, and is 25 J inches long, having a silver-gilt rim, and at the small end a hound's head, also of silver-gilt, which unscrews, thus enabling it to be used either as a drinking or hunting horn. DRINKS. 43 Ulph's horn is considered of somewhat later date, and is of ivory. Ulph's Horn. Of this horn Dugdale ^ says : " About this time also, Ulphe, the son of Thorald, who ruled in the west of Deira,' by reason of the difference which was like to rise between his sons, about the sharing of his lands and lordships after his death, resolved to make them all alike ; and thereupon, coming to York, with that horn wherewith he was used to drink, filled it with wine, and before the altar of God, and Saint Peter, Prince of the Apostles, kneeling devoutly, drank the wine, and by that ceremony enfeoffed this church with all his lands and revenues. The figure of which horn, in memory thereof, is cut in stone upon several parts of the choir, but the horn itself, when the Reformation in King Edward the Vlth's time began, and swept away many costly ornaments belonging to this church, 1 Hist. Account of the Cathedral Church of York, Lond., 17 15, p. 7. ^ That division of the ancient kingdom of Northumberland, which was bounded by the river Humber southwards, and to the north by the Tyne. 44 DRINKS. was sold to a goldsmith, who took away from it those tippings of gold wherewith it was adorned, and the gold chain affixed thereto ; since which, the horn it- self, being cut in ivory in an eight square form, came to the hands of Thomas, late Lord Fairfax." He, dying in 1671, it came into the possession of his next relation, Henry, Lord Fairfax, who restored its ornaments in silver-gilt, and restored it to the cathe- dral authorities. It bears the following inscription : — " CORNV HOC, VlPHVS IN OCCIDENTALI PARTE Deir^ prtnceps, vna cum omnibvs terris et redditibvs suis glim donavit. Amissvm vel abreptvm. Henricvs DOM. Fairfax demvm restitvit. Dec. et capit. de novo ornavit. A.D. MDC. LXXV." Most of us know Longfellow's poem of King Wit- lafs drinking horn, a story which may be found"" in Ingulphus, who says that Witlaf, King of Mercia, who lived in the reign of Egbert, gave to the Abbey of Croyland the horn used at his own table, for the elder monks of the house to drink out of it on festivals and saints' days, and that when they gave thanks, they might remember the soul of Witlaf the donor. That they had some horn of the kind is probable, for the same chronicler says that when the monastery was almost destroyed by fire, this horn was saved. Besides the liquors above mentioned, the Anglo- Saxons had others, as we see in a passage of Henry of Huntingdon (lib. vi.), which is probably an inven- DRINKS. 45 tlon, the same story being told by Florence of Wor- cester, of Caradoc, the son of Griffith, a.d. 1065. However, he says that in 1063, in the kings palace at Winchester, Tosti seized his brother Harold by the hair, in the royal presence, and while he was serving the king with wine ; for it had been a source of envy and hatred that the king showed a higher regard for Harold, though Tosti was the elder brother. Where- fore, in a sudden paroxysm of passion, he could not refrain from this attack on his brother. Tosti departed from the king and his brother in great anger, and went to Hereford, where Harold had purveyed large supplies for the royal use. There he butchered all his brother's servants, and inclosed a head and an arm in each of the vessels containing wine, mead, ale, pigment,^ morat,^ and cider, sending a message to the king that when he came to his farm he would find plenty of salt meat, and that he would bring more with him. For this horrible crime the king commanded him to be banished and outlawed. There is no doubt but that the Anglo-Saxons drank to excess, and thought no shame of it. Many times in Beowulf are we told of their being dragged from the mead-benches by their enemies and slaughtei^ed, and in a fragment of an Anglo-Saxon poem on Judith we read : — " Then was Holofernes Enchanted with the wine of men : In the hall of the guests ^ A liquor made of honey, wine, and spice. ^ Honey, diluted with the juice of mulberries. 46 DRINKS. He laughed and shouted, He roared and dinn'd, That the children of men might hear afar, How the sturdy one Stormed and clamoured, Animated and elate with wine He admonished amply Those sitting on the bench That they should bear it well. So was the wicked one all day, The lord and his men, Drunk with wine ; The stern dispenser of wealth ; Till that they swimming lay Over drunk. All his nobility As they were death slain, Their property poured about. So commanded the lord of men. To fill to those sitting at the feast. Till the dark night Approached the children of men." Even the clergy and monks drank probably more than was good for them, for a priest was forbidden by law to eat or drink at places where ale was sold. But that did not prevent their drinking at home ; their DRINKS. 47 benefactors provided well for that, as one instance will show. Ethelwold allowed the Monastery of Abingdon a great bowl, from which the drinking vessels of the brothers were filled twice a day. At Christmas, Eas- ter, Pentecost, the Nativity and Assumption of the Virgin, on the festivals of Saints Peter and Paul, and all the other saints, they were to have wine, as well as mead, twice a day ; and taking the number of Saints in the Anglo-Saxon Calendar^ it must have gone hard with them, if this was not almost an every-day occur- rence. The Northern nations did not lose their love of drink as time rolled on, as we may find in the pages of Olaus Magnus. They drank wine, but owing to the extreme cold it was not of native production, but imported. In this illustration we see the vessel that has brought it, and the bush outside, denoting that it was to be sold. They got it from Spain, Italy, France, 48 DRINKS. and Germany, but he says that the wine most in repute was a Spanish wine called Bastard, which Shakspeare mentions more than once, as (i Henry IV, act ii. sc. 4) Prince Henry relating his adventures with a drawer, says, ** Anon, anon, sir ! Score a pint of Bastard in the Half Moon." He gives receipts for making Hydromel, or Mead, which was to be made of one part honey, and four of boiling water, to be well stirred, boiled, and skimmed. Hops were then to be added, then casked, and brewers' yeast added. Then to be strained, and it was fit for drinking in eight days. He tells a pathetic story of King Hunding, who being sorely grieved at the loss of his brother-in-law, Gutthorm, called all his nobility around him to a great feast, and had a large tun, filled with hydromel, placed in the middle of the hall. When his guests were sufficiently inebriated, he threw him- self into the liquor, and died sweetly. DRINKS. 49 Beer had they, made of malt and hops, and he gives various methods of brewing, and also a list of divers beers and their medicinal qualities. He also gives an illustration of various drinking vessels then (i6th cent.) in use among the Danes and Swedes, where is here reproduced. Here we see D 50 DRINKS. some plain, others ornamental with runes, and some with very curious handles. He says they were mostly of brass, copper, or iron, because in that cold climate the liquor they held had to be warmed over the fire. An old translation of a portion of his Historia de Gentibus SeptentrionalibMs gives the following account '* Of the manner of drinking amongst the Northern People." *' It will not displease curious Readers to hear how the custom Is of drinking amongst the Northern People. First, they hold it Religion to drink the healths of Kings and Princes, standing, in reverence of them ; and here they will, as it were, sweat in the contention, who shall at one or two, or more draughts, drink off a huge bowl. Wherefore they seem to sit at Table as if they had Crowns on their heads, and to drink in a certain kind of vessel ; which, it may be, may cause men that know it not, to admire it. But DRINKS, 51 'that were more admirable to see the servants go in a long train, in troops, as Pastours of Harts with horns, that they may drink up those Cups full of beer to the Ghests. And, not content with these Ceremonies, they will strive to shew their Sobriety, by setting such a high Cup full of Beer upon their naked heads, and dance and turn round with it ; in like manner they deliver other Cups which they bring in both hands to the Ghests to drink off, at equall draughts, which are full of Wine, Ale, Mede, Metheglin, or new Wine." He winds up with a moral dissertation on the punishment of drinkers, and, after detailing the various effects of alcohol on different races, as rendering the Gaul petulant, the German quarrelsome, the Goth obstreperous, and the Finn lachrymose, he suggests that drunkards should be seated on a sharp wedge, compelled to drink a mighty horn of beer, and then be hauled up and down by a rope. J. A. WINES. Definition — Various Meanings of Wine — Alcohol — Varieties oi Wine — Miller — Professor Mulder— Origin of Wine — Brook of Eshcol — Strabo and Reland — Francatelli's Order of Wines — Classification of M. Batalhai Reis. IN the matter of wine, as in that of beer, it is perhaps as well to commence with a dictionary description or definition. Ogilvie declares it to be the "fermented juice of the grape, or fruit of the vine." It is, however, also the juice of certain fruits, prepared in imitation of wine obtained from grapes, but dis- tinguished by naming the source whence it is derived, as currant wine, gooseberry wine, etc. ; and a third meaning of wine — a meaning with which we have happily little to do^ — is the effect of drinking wine in excess, or intoxication.^ Wines are practically distinguished by their colour, flavour, stillness or effervescence, and what is kaowa as hardness or softness. The differences in quality 1 In this sense it is apparently used in Gen. ix. 24 : ** Noah awoke from his wine" DRINKIS. B depend on the vines, the soils, the exposure of the vineyards, the treatment of the grapes, and the mode of manufacture. Tlie alcohol ^ contained is the leading characteristic! In strong ports and sherries this varies from about i6 to 25 per cent. It is about 7 per cent, in claret, hock, and other so-called light wines. Wine containing about 1 3 per cent, of alcohol may be as- sumed to be fortified, as it is called, with brandy or other spirit. The varieties of wine produced are said to be " almost endless." This great number of wines is in some measure owing to an interesting fact mentioned by Miller in his Organic Chemistry (3rd ed. p. 187), who tells us that a particular variety of grape, when grown upon the Rhine, furnishes a species of hock ; the same grape, when raised in the valley of the Tagus, yields Bucellas, in which the palate of a con- noisseur may possibly detect the flavour of hock ; whilst in the island of Madeira the same grape pro- duces the wine known as Sercial, which, though generally allowed to be a delicious wine, has suggested, it seems, to no skilled palate the flavour either of Bucellas or of hock. It would therefore be more logical to commence an article on wines with an article on the grapes from which they are produced, but we fear it would be far ^ From an Arabic word for antimony, applied to the eyes, the name is said to have been transferred to rectified spirits (Cg Hg O), It is a liquid formed by fermentation of aqueous sugar solutions. Spirit of Wine contains about 90 per cent, of alcohol. 55 parts of alcohol and 45 of water iorm proof spirit. Of alcohol, spirits contain 40-50 per cent. ; wines, 7-25 ; ale and porter^ 6-8 ; small beer, 1-2. 54 DRINKS. less interesting. Of the chemical composition of wine, and of its uses in health and disease; on which so many- books from the days of old have been already written, we shall, in accordance with our preface, say nothing at all, or very little. Every person who feels himself or herself int-erested in this latter matter may learn as much as he or she will from the pages of the Lancet, while Professor Mulder has probably written enough about the former to satisfy the most anxious student. The origin of most things is obscure. Treatises have been composed about that of wine. We have no intention of reproducing aught of them in the present work. Let us be content to suppose that wine had its origin, again like most things, somewhere at some time in the East. The date of its introduction into Greece is no more known than that of its introduction into Italy. A traditional credit is due to Saturn, to Noah, and to Bacchus as early wine manufacturers. Certainly in Palestine they had the advantage of fine grapes. On the well-known historic occasion of Moses sending men to search the land of Canaan, in the time of the first ripe fruit, we learn that when they came unto the brook of Eshcol, they cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes and " bare it be- tween two upon a staff." It has been perhaps some- what hastily assumed that the fruit was therefore necessarily of a large size. There may have been other reasons for this proceeding than an enormity of weight. But if, as is generally imagined, these grapes were unusually fine and large, wine makers would be clearly benefited thereby. In support of this interpretation of DRINKS. 55 the passage in Numbers, Strabo has declared that some of the grapes in the Holy Land measured two feet in length; and Reland has not hesitated to declare, as if unwilling to be outdone by Strabo, that some bunches are of ten pounds weight. This prefatory matter could make no pretence to completeness if it omitted an instruction for the service of wines, denoting the order in which they should be drank at the dinner table, which has already been given by an adept. Whether the matter is more admirable, or the style, it is difficult to determine. **I would recommend," says Francatelli, "all bonvivants desirous of testing and thoroughly enjoying a variety of delectable wines, without being incommoded by the diversity of those introduced for their learned degusta- tion, to bear in mind that they should be drunk in the following order ; viz., " When it happens that oysters preface the dinner, a glass of Chablis or Sauterne is their most proper accompaniment." After soup of any kind, genuine old Madeira, East India Sherry, or Amontillado are recommended as " welcome stomachics." But you are to avoid, as you value your health, drinking punch after Turtle soup, especially Roman punch. With fish, a large variety of wines, such as Pouilly, Meursault, Montrachet, Barsac, and generally all dry white wines, is allowed. With the entrees you are permitted to drink any variety of Bordeaux or Burgundy. Second course and dessert wines are given at too great a length to admit of reproduction. About these a ^'question of the highest importance" arises as to which 56 DRINKS. should be preferred. But here Francatelli remembers . a fact which might have spared him his vast labour on this service of wines : that ^* it is difficult, not to say impossible, to lay down rules for the guidance of the palate." The sanguine person, we are told, will prefer the genuine Champagne ; the phlegmatic. Sherry or Madeira. The splenetic and melancholy man will be prone to select Roussillon and Burgundy. The bilious will imbibe Bordeaux. In few words, '' Burgundy is aphrodisiac, Champagne is captious, Roussillon restora- tive, and Bordeaux stomachic." By careful attention to the foregoing remarks, the reader will happily be preserved from any serious mistake in the matter of his dinner. But other meals must also be taken into consideration, about which Francatelli preserves a Sibylline and mysterious silence. For instance, luncheon. We learn, however, from another source that there are luncheon sherries and dessert sherries. With lunch the brown, rich, and full-bodied Rarq may be suitably drunk; but the pale Solera and the soft yet nutty Oloroso should make their appearajice at dessert alone^ M. Batalhai Reis, Consul for Portugal at Newcastle- on-Tyne, in a report on the wine trade of England, has troubled himself thus in the interests of posterity to classify the wines of the world. Class I. — Table Wines. Alcohol and sugar imperceptible. Taste acid and astringent. Division A. Red. DRINKS. 57 Group I. Acid, Examples : Inferior Bordeaux and Burgundies, Wines from North of Portugal. Group 2. Astringent. Examples : Superior Bordeaux and Burgundies, Collares from Portugal. Division B. White. Group I* Simple Flavour. Example : Rhine Wines. Group 2. Complex Flavour. Example: Bucellas of Portugal. Class II. — Transition Wines. Alcohol and sugar perceptible. Taste astringent; Flavour complex. Division A. Red. Examples : Many Spanish and Portuguese wines. Division B. White. Examples : Many Spanish and Portuguese wines. Class III. — Generous Wines. I St Family. Madeira type. Wines of the Canaries, Azores, Lisbon ; Carcanellas, Sherry, Marsala, and Cyprian wines. 2nd Family. Port type. 3rd Family. Tokay, Malaga. 4th Family. Chateau Yquem, Johannisberg, Steinberg. Class IV. — Sparkling Wines. Group A. Natural. Group B. Artificial. This division of the wines of the world is presented to the reader as a literary curiosity. It is at once 58 . DRINKS. simple and scientific. In a word, no book on wines can be considered complete without it. In the suc- ceeding pages Wines as Beers are, for convenience of reference, arranged after the alphabetical order of their countries. Africa: Constantias — Rota — Mascara. America: Catawbas — Muscatel — Chacoli — Mosto. Australia : Carbinet — Kaludah — Verdeilho — Conatto. Canaries : Vedueno — Sack. Eng- land : Home-made Wines. Africa. Of this country the most important wines of the present are, perhaps, Pontac. Hanepoot, Frontignac, and Drakenstein. On the wines of the Cape of Good Hope, Dr. Edward Kretschmar is a great authority. Kokwyn, made from Muscat grapes, re- sembles Malaga. The best dry white wines, called Cape Hocks, are produced in the village of Paarl. The Constantias, so called from the wife of the Dutch governor. Van der Stell, are of three kinds. These excellent sweet wines are too frequently falsified and adulterated before reaching the palate of the English consumer. A red wine, called Rota, is made at Stellenbosh. Cape Madeira is a boiled and mixed wine. Stein wine is excellent when old. Red Cape, when drunk in the country, is a " sound, good wine," says Cyrus Redding.^ The wine of Morocco is chiefly made by the Jews ; it Is light, acid, and will not keep. In Tetuan a wine is made nearly equal, according to Cyrus Redding, to the Spanish wine of ^ Who would believe this from the specimens tasted in England ? Yet we are assured the statement is perfectly true. I!)RINKS. 59 Xeres. Palm' wirlfes are, of course, common. The people of Cacongo prepare a wine called Emdetk, and those of Benin Pali and Pardon. The Caffres make a wine called Pombie, from millet or Guinea corn.^ In Congo they drink a wine called Milaffo, which will not keep beyond three days. Of the many wines produced at Algiers, the best is probably the white wine of Mascara, situated on a slope of the plane of Egbris, i,8oo feet above the sea level. The Arabic name of the place is a corruption of Umm-al-asakir, or the Mother of Soldiers. The wine is the principal industry of Algiers. It is eagerly bought up by agents of Bordeaux houses. Wines of inferior quality are made at Boue, Tlemcen, Medeah, and Milianah. The wines of Oran are said to resem- ble the small wines of Languedoc. In ancient times the valley of the Nile produced the wines of Mareotis, Mendes, Koptos, and Arsinoe, and its Delta the liqueur wine of Sebenytus. America. The first attempt to cultivate the vine in North America was made, we are informed by Drs. Thudi- chum and Dupre, in 1564. Some of its best known wines at the present time are the Catawdas^ (still and ^ Patterson's Ti-avels in Caffraria, p. 92. - One of these inspired Longfellow, who thinks (poetically) the richest wine is that of the West, which grows by the beautiful river, whose sweet perfume fills the apartment, with a benison on the giver : — " Very good in its way is the Verzenay, Or the Sillery, soft and creamy ; But Catawba wine has a taste more divine, More dulcet, delicious, and dreamy." A dreamy taste is something startling even in poetical description. 6o ■ DRINKS: Sparkling), red Aliso and Angelico. Wine has been made from the vines on the Ohio, said to resemble Bordeaux in quality. In several parts of Mexico, as at Passo del Norte, at Zalaya, and at St. Louis de la Paz, wines are made of tolerable flavour. The red wine of California is agreeable. In Florida, according to Sir John Hawkins, wine was made from a grape like that of Orleans, as far back as 1564. The island of Cuba possesses a '' light, cool, sharp wine," ac- cording to Redding. In South America wine was made long ago in Paraguay. A sweet wine resembling Malaga is made at Mendoza, at the foot of the Andes, and is found to improve by transportation some thousand miles across the Pampas. The wines made in Chili and Peru are white and red. The Muscatel 6i Chili is considered to be especially good.^ The white wine of Nasca is inferior. The wine of Pisco is highly esteemed. Though the white is held by con- noisseurs to be superior to the red wine of Chili, yet it is little drunk in the cradle of its production. Chacoli is a wine commonly patronised by labourers. The Mosto of Concepcion differs from Mosto asoleado by the grapes of the latter being sun dried for some twenty days. Australia. Australian wines are pretty well known from our tradesmen's circulars. For instance, there is the GouaiSy the Carbinet^ a soft wine like Burgundy, the 1 Chili has lately taken Paris medals for its wines ; it also pro- duces a light and wholesome beer. DRINKS. 6j, MatarOy the Sauvignon. There Is that " elegant dinner wine," Kaludah, the Singleton Red or White Hermitage, *' noted for its refinement" ; the Tintara Ferruginous, of " immense power and generous quality"; the Tokay Imperatrice \ 2ind the A /exandrian Moscat, both poetically described as "abounding in memories of the sun which begot them," and possessing the '* most beautiful bouquet that can be imagined," with a flavour " resembling the first crush in the mouth of three or four fine ripe Muscatel grapes — the large white oval ones — covered with a light bloom, and attached to a clean, thin stalk." Drs. Thudichum and Dupre, who are themselves indebted to a publication by Toovey, have given an. excellent description of these wines. Verdeilho is a wine, like Madeira, of delicate aroma and a full body ; Frontignac is described as a thin white wine with a slight taste of the Muscat grape, being a fictitious elder flower flavour ; Malbee is described as made from " claret " grape ; Tavoora is described as a pure *' port " of 1859 ; Tintara, a red, clear wine ; Adelaide, a pure white wine, mainly from Riessling grapes with a soupgon of Muscatel, "a little too fiery for great- ness." Wattlesville Is an acidulous white wine. The poor and acid Chasselas, the strong-scented Higher- combe, said to resemble good Sauterne, with many varieties of so-called claret, as Emu, St. Hubert, and so-called Hock, as Heron and Royal Reserve, are also imported from Australia. The Conatto is a rich liqueur with a flavour of Cura^oa and Rum Shrub combined. 62 DJRINKS. Canaries. The Canary Islands have long been celebrated for their wines. The favourite Teneriffe wine is Vidueho or Vidonia. Canary sack is supposed to have been made from the Malvasia sweet grape, whereas the modern sack is dry [sec). The best vineyards are at Orotava, S. Ursula, Ycod de los Vinos, Buenavista, and Valle de Guerra. England. British made wines hold no ,very high rank. A cheap foreign manufacture is, according to some ,of their vendors, gradually, ousting them from the market. But at one time they formed a part of the education of the good housewives of Great Britain. Home wines were chiefly made from plums, apples, gooseberries, bilberries, elderberries, blackberries, currants (red and black), raspberries, cherries, cowslips, parsnips, raisins, greengages, damsons, ginger, oranges, and lemons. Less commonly and in former times we had wines from mulberries, quinces, peaches, apricots, and from the sap of the birch, beech, sycamore, and other trees. Years ago '' sweets " or home-made wines were sent from Scotland and Ireland, such as ginger wine and so-called cherry and raspberry whiskies. The flowers of meadow-sweet (Spircsa ulmaria) yield a fragrant distilled water, which is said to be used by wine merchants to improve the flavour of their wines. In a little work by Mr. G. Vine on Home-made Wines, the reader will find numerous receipts how to make and keep these wines, with observations on gathering DRINKS. 63 and preparing the fruit, fining, bottHng, and storing. A correspondent of the Gardeners Chronicle gives a receipt for beer wine, a beverage which has puzzled many connoisseurs. The curious may find it also quoted in Vine's brochure. The manufacture of home-made wines is familiar. An excellent wine is sometimes made from a mixture of the fruits above mentioned, as, for instance, that from gooseberries and currants. All home-made wines are prone to run into acetous fermentation without the addition of a due proportion of pure spirits. Plums or sloes, with other ingredients, can, it is said, be turned into excellent fruity port, the ''very choice" kind, silky, soft, and full bodied. A wine said to be agreeable is also made from the red berries of the mountain ash or service-tree {pyrus aiicuparid). Birch wine is still made in some parts of England. Morewood gives a long receipt for its manufacture. Like most other wines, it improves greatly with age. This is especially true of parsnip Avine. From potatoes which have suffered a sort of malting from frost, a tolerable wine has been obtained. It is said — but there are people who will say anything — that a great portion of the champagne drunk in this country is made from sugar and green gooseberries. Rhubarb wine has been affirmed to be synonymous with British champagne. The reader anxious on this subject may consult Dr. Shannon's elaborate Treatise on Brewing. Cowslip wine is all too like some of the Muscatel wines of Southern France, and the wine of the Sambucus nigra has been more than once, through some unlucky accident, confused with Frontignac. FRENCH WINES. The Great Makers of Champagne — Its Manufacture — Bottling — Treatment — Bordeaux or Claret — Its early Use and Name — Whence it comes — The different Growths — White Wines of the District — Burgundy — Different Growths and Qualities — Other Wines. Champagne. RKIMS ^nd Epernay are the two great centres of the Champagne district ; but Reims, from its size and antiquity, must be considered its capital. Here are the estabHshments of Pommery & Greno, Ernest Moy, Theophile Roederer & Co., Louis Roederer & Co., Henriot & Co., Permet & Fils, De St. Marceaux & Co., Werl6 & Co. (successors to the renowned Veuve CHquot), Heidsleck & Co., De Lossy & Co., G. H. Mumm & Co., Jules Mumm & Co., Piper & Co., and many others of lesser note. The wines of this district have, for centuries, been famous, and especially beloved of kings and potentates. 'B/^IN^S. 65 Our liQmy^Vlll. had a vineyard at Ay, and, in order to know ..that he got the genuine article, he had a superintendent of his own on the spot. Francis I., Leo X., and Charles V. of Spain, all had vineyards in the Champagne district. But the wine they ob- tained thence was not sparkling : that was to come later, and is said to have been the invention of Dom Petrus Perignon, who died in 1715, monk of, and cellarer to, the Royal Monastery of St. Peter's at Hautvilliers. He was especially happy in his blends of wine, and having found out the secret of highly charging the wine, naturally, with carbonic acid, is said to have introduced the cork and string necessary to confine it in its bottles. Champagne Wine owes its goodness, in the first place, to the soil on which it is grown, which is unique in its mixture of chalk, silica, light clay, and oxide of iron ; in the second, to the very great care and delicate manipulation which the wine receives. Every doubtful grape is discarded, and tie carts conveying the grapes from the vineyard go at a most funereal pace, so that none of their precious contents should get bruised ; for if these little grapes) for they are little larger than surrants) get at all crushed, or pardy fermented, in caVdage, the fruit is rendered absolutely worthless for Champagne purposes. Very great care, too, is exercised in the pressing. The grapes are laid in carefully stacked heaps upon the floor of the press, where they are left for a time, and then the first gentle, but firm, sustained squeeze is applied. The juice thus extracted is the cream of E 66 DRINKS. the grape, and is used only for the finest brands. There are six of these squeezes made, each more powerful than the last ; and the result of each is, of course, inferior in quality to its predecessor, till the sixth, called the r^bkhe} is reached, which produces a coarse wine, reckoned only fit to be given to the workmen. The must begins to ferment more or less quickly, according to the temperature, in the casks, at the end of ten or twelve hours, and the process continues for a considerable time, during which the colour changes from pale pink to a light straw tint. About three months are allowed to elapse, when the fermentation stops through repeated rackings and the cold of the season. And now the real trouble of the Champagne manu- facturer begins. First, there is the blend, which varies in the case of each manufacturer. The produce of the different vineyards is mixed in enormous vats, according to the recipe in vogue in the particular establishment, and to this mixture is added, if neces- sary, a proportion of some old wine of a superior vintage. A most subtle, carefully educated, and exquisite taste is required to discern when the win^, in this crude state, has acquired the proper flavour and bouquet. Then comes the important point of effervescence — a source of much anxiety to the manu- ^ The rebeche is principally sold to people manufacturing cheap Champagnes ; by mixing with other wines of very light complexion, they give them body, and make a stuff which can be produced at a very low price. DRINKS. 67 facturer, for the extremest care is required to regulate the quantity of carbonic acid gas, so that there shall be neither too little nor too much. For if there be too little, the wine will be flat ; and if there be too much, the bottles will burst by thousands. An instru- ment, called a glucometer, or saccharometer, is used to measure the amount of saccharine matter in the wine at this point ; and if the necessary standard be not reached, the deficiency is supplied by the purest sugar candy. To the ordinary palate, at this stage it differs in no respect from still white wine, of somewhat tart flavour, and is now drawn off into other casks to undergo the next treatment in the process ; viz., the fining, to make it bright, and remove what is known to connoisseurs of wine as '* ropiness." The wine is now ready for bottling, and the danger to be avoided is the bursting of the bottles, for the pressure of the gas is tremendous ; hence it is that the champagne bottle is the most solid and massive in use. The bottling takes place, as a rule, about eight months after the grapes have been first pressed, and the pre- cautions against breakage are of the most minute description. The instant any symptoms of bursting display themselves, the wine has to be removed to a cooler temperature ; but even with every precaution, the loss sustained by the bursting of bottles is often very serious indeed, sometimes to an almost ruinous extent. The risk of breakage is generally almost past by the end of October, and the bottles are then kept in the cellars for a period ranging from eighteen months to three years, according to the custom of the establishment. 68 DRINKS. But even now all is not over, for during this period a sediment, resulting from the fermentation of the wine, has been deposited, which must be removed before the wine is ready for consumption ; and very troublesome work it is to get rid of this sediment. The^ bottles are placed in a slanting direction with the necks downward, and the angle of inclination is altered from time to time till they stand almost perpendicular, whilst every time the position is changed, the bottle is sharply twisted round, so that the sediment may not cling to the sides. Finally, the deposit collects in a ball in the neck of the bottle, from whence it is "dis- gorged "^ — literally blown out — when the original cork is removed. A temporary stopper is then inserted until the liqueur, which is to give the wine its distinc- tive character, dry or sweet, is introduced. This liquor consists of a preparation of the very finest sugar candy, the best Champagne, and the oldest and purest Cognac. The next process is corking, and, as we all know, champagne corks are not as other corks. They are made larger than the vent of the bottle, and are soaked in water, and very often steamed. They are somewhat expensive, the best corks used costing about threepence each ; but it is a very false economy to use common corks, for the gas would escape. The pliant cork is placed in a machine which pinches it and compresses it to the size of the aperture of the bottle, and holds it there till a twenty-pound weight is let dtop, on the principle of a pile-driving hafnmer, and drives the cork in firmly. The powerful leverage used to bring down the edge of the cork for wiring DRINKS. 69 and stringing, Imparts the rounds shaped top peculiar to champagne corks. The bottles, after being corked and wired, are allowed to rest for two or three months, in order that the wine and the liqueur may properly amalgamate, and are then tinselled and labelled, ready for the consumer ; but some of the best wines are kept for years to mature, and are, of course, of far higher value. A sweet Champagne may be made of any wine, but a dry Champagne must be a good wine, as, if it is not sound, its acidity is detected at once ; but this defect would be hidden by the liqueur necessary to make it sweet. At Epernay, the bulk of the wine is not so good as that coming from Reims, and sells at a lower price ; but there are firms there of world-wide note, such as Moet & Chandon, Perrier, Joiiet & Co., Mennier Freres, Wachter & Co., etc. Bordeaux or Claret. In England we generally call the wines coming from Bordeaux, Clarets, the derivation of which cognomen is somewhat obscure ; but it seems almost universally accepted that it comes from the French word Clairety which is used even at the present time as a generic term for the vins ordinaires of a light and thin quality, grown in the south of France, and was in use from a very early date. The old French poet, Olivier Basselin (who died 14 18 or 14 19), sings : — '^ Beau nez, dont les rubis ont coute mainte pipe De vin blanc et clairet ..." 70 DRINI^S. There was, however, another Claret, a compounded wine, resembling kypocraSy which Giraldus Cambrensis^ who lived in the twelfth century, classes thus : " Clare- turn, mustum, et medonem " (Claret, must, and mead). And the venerable Franciscan, Bartholomew Glan^ ville,^ says : '' Claretum, ex vino et melle et speciebus aromaticis est confectum " (Claret is made from wine, honey, and aromatic spices). It makes a marked feature in a curious tenure.^ " John de Roches holds the Manor of Winterslew, in the county of Wilts, by the Service, that when our Lord the King should abide at Clarendon, he should come to the Palace of the King there, and go into the Butlery, and draw out of any vessel he should find in the said Butlery at his choice, as much Wine as should be needful for making {pro facturd) a Pitcher of Claret {unim Picheri Clarelti), which he should make at the King's charge, and that he should serve the King with a Cup, and should have the vessel from whence he took the Wine, with all the Remainder of the Wine left in the Vessel- together with the Cup from whence the King should drink that Claret." This refers to a roll of 50 Ed. 1 1 1.,* or 1376. But this is not the Claret of our days, which is the wine produced in the countries watered by the rivers Dordogne and Garonne and the Gironde, at least it should be so ; but, in truth, owing to the good railway communication, wine comes to Bordeaux from every * De Proprietatibus Rerum. Argent. 1485, lib. xix., cap. 56. * Blount's Fragmenta \Antiquitatis, Sec. " Grand Serjeantry," No. IV. DRLXKS. 71 ipart of France, large quantities owing their birth to the banks of the Rhone, from the Herault, Roussillon, etc. ; and a judicious blending at Bordeaux, and its FROM THE "COMPOST ET KALENDRIER DES BERGERES," I499. being shipped thence, is a very good title to its being grown in the Medoc ; but the quantity shipped to all parts of the world, compared with the acreage of growth, entirely precludes the supposition that it T^ DRINKS. possibly could have been the production of thsrt district. The nobility of the Medoc wines is small. There are only four premiers crus, but they are magnificent. They are Chateau Lafitte, Chateau Latour, Chiteau Margaux, and Chateau Haut-Brion; and all these, especially the Latour, have a flavour and seductive bouquet all their own, which is believed to arise from an extremely volatile oil contained in the grape skins, which, like' all ethers, requires time to evolve and mature. But the soil, undoubtedly, has most to do with it, amd this must be in a very large degree com- posed of fragments of rock, small and large, while the smooth round pebbles reflect the rays of the sun and throw them upwards, so as almost to surround the grapes with light and heat. Again, these stones absorbing the sun's rays during the day, give out warmth after sunset, whilst they keep the roots of the vines cool, and prevent to a great degree the evapora- tion of the natural and necessary moisture of the earth. But these premiers crus are not always good ; for instance, in 1869, Messrs. Fulcher & Baines, winie brokers, sold by auction a very large parcel of Chateau Margaux for about 30^. per dozen. There was no doubt but that it was genuine wine, bottled at the Chateau, for the cases and corks were all properly branded ; but of such low quality was it, or it deteriorated so rapidly, that when sold again in 18 7 1 the same wine only averaged 18^. per dozen. DRINKS. 73 The 2nd Growths are : — Moufon, coming from PaUillac, Rauzan-Segla, »» Margaux, Rauzan-Gassies, »i M L6oville-Las Cases, »f 5/. Julien, Leoville-Poyfere, fi )> Leoville- Barton, »i »> Durfort-Vivens, )) Margaux. Lascombes, >» >» Gruard-La rose-Sarg, »> 5/. Julien. Gruard-La rose. >> i> Braune-Cantenac, »> Cantenac. Pichon- Longuevllle, )) Pauillac. Pichon- Longueville- Lalande, >> )j Ducru-Beaucaillou, »» 5/?. Julien. Cos-Destournel, »> St. Estephe. Montrose, )) >) ird Growths KIrwan, coming from Cantenac. Chateau-d'Issau, » )> Lagrange, » 5A Julien. Langoa, >» >> Chateau-Giscours, n Labarde. Malescot-St. Exupery, >» Margaux. Cantenac- Brown, i> Cantenac. Palmer, » )) La Lagune, M Ludon, Desmirail, >> Margaux. Calon-Segur, >» St. Estephe. Ferriere, »> Margaux. M. d'Alesmeis Becker, )»' i\ 74 DRINKS. St. Pierre, Branaire-Duluc, Talbot, Duhart-Milon, Poujet, La Tour-Carnet, Rochet, Chateau- Beychevelle, La Prieure, Marquis de Therme, 4//^ Growths. coming from St. Julien. Pontet-Canet, Batailley, Grand- Puy- Lacoste, Ducasse- Grand- Puy, Lynch- Bages, Lynch-Moussas, Dauzac, Moulton d'Armailhacq^, Le Tertre, Haut- Bages, Pedesclaux, Belgrave, Camensac, Cos-Labory^ Clerc-Milon, Croizet- Bages, Cantemerle, ^tJi Growths. cominof from Pauillac. Cantenac. St. Laurent. St. Estephe. St. Jidien, Cantenac. Margaux. Pauillac. Pauillac. Labarde. Pauillac. Arsac. Pauillac. >» St. Laurent. if St. Estephe. Pauillac. Macau. Drinks. ^5 These are only some of the wines of the Medoc, so that I may be excused from recapitulating the names of the different growths of the Graves, the Pays de Sauternes, the Cotes, the Palus, and those of Entredeux Mers — their name is legion, and it would answer no good purpose. Cocks, in his Bordeaux and its Wines, gives a list of 1,900 of the principal growths, so that we can have a good choice of names from which to christen our '' Shilling Gladstone." The wines of Bordeaux used to be greatly drank in England until the great wars with France — in the last century, when, of course, their importation was prohibited — but, even then, large quantities were smuggled* They must, however, have been of better quality than the cheap stuff now imported. In Scot- land, where an affinity with France always existed, it was a common drink, and very cheap ; for in Camp- bell's Life of Lord Loughborough (vi. 29), we find that excellent claret was drawn from the cask at eighteenpence a quart: and its downfall as a beverage in Scotland is thus surtg by John Home, probably in allusion to the Methuen Treaty of 1703. "Firm and erect the Caledonian stood. Prime was his mutton, and his claret good : Let him drink port, an English Statesman cried ; He drank the poison, and his spirit died." The white wines of these districts are delicious, and are not sufficiently appreciated in England, where we know very little of the Sauternes, Bommes, Barsac, Fargues, St. Pierre de Mons, Preignac, and those of Petits Graves and the Cotes. Chief of all is 76 r^RINKS. the wine of Chateau d' Yquem, of which Vizltelly ^ thus writes : — "Among the white wines of the Gironde which obtained the higher class reward, two require to be especially mentioned. One, the renowned Chateau d'Yquem of the Marquis de Lur Saluces, the most luscious and delicately aromatic of wines, which, for its resplendent colour, resembling liquid gold, its exquisite bouquet, and rich, delicious flavour, due, according to the chemists, to the presence of Mannite, is regarded in France as unique, and which, at Vienna, naturally met with the recognition of a medal for progress. " Mannite, the distinguished French chemist Berthe- lot informs us, has the peculiar quality of not becom- ing transformed into alcohol and carbonic acid during the process of fermentation. For a tonneau of this splendid wine twelve years old, bought direct from the Chateau, the Grand Duke Constantine paid, some few years since, 20,000 francs, or ^800. The other wine calling for notice was La Tour Blance, one of those magnificent, liqueur-like Sauternes, ranking immediately after Chateau d'Yquem, and to some fine samples of which, of the vintages of 1864 and 1865, a medal for merit was awarded. '' The characteristic qualities of Chateau d'Yquem, which certain soi-disant connoisseurs pretend to pooh- pooh, as a mere ordinary vin de liqueur, are due, in no degree, to simple accident. On the contrary, the ^ The Wines of the World^ Characterized ajid Classed^ 1875, PP* 16, 17. In this illustration of "the Dilletante Society" we find that Noble- men and Gentlemen such as Lord Mulgrave, Lord Seaforth, Hon. Chas. Greville, Charles Crowle, and the Duke of Leeds, drank their claret out of the black bottle — dispensing whh the decanter alto- gether. DRINKS. n viiitaglag of this wine is an extremely complicated and delicate affair. In order to insure the excessive softness and rich liqueur character which are its dis- tinguishing qualities, the grapes, naturally excessively sweet and juicy, are allowed to dry on their stalks, preserved, as it were, by the rays of the sun, until they become covered with a kind of down, which gives to them an almost mouldy appearance. During this period, the fruit, under the influe.nce of the sun, ferments within its skin, thereby attaining the requisite degree of ripeness, akin to rottenness. " On the occasion of the vintage, as it is absolutely essential that the grapes should be gathered, not only when perfectly dry, but also warm, the cutters never commence work until the sun has attained a certain height, and invariably suspend their labours when rain threatens, or mists begin to rise. At the first gathering they detach simply the graims r Sties, or such grapes as have dried after arriving at proper maturity, rejecting those which have shrivelled with- out thoroughly ripening, and, from the former, a wine of extreme softness and density, termed creme de titCy is produced. "By the time the first gathering has terminated, other grapes will have sufficiently ripened and rotted, or dried, and both sorts are now detached, yielding the wine called vin de tete, distinguished by equc^l softness with the creme de tite, but combined with a larger amount of alcohol, and greater delicacy of flavour. At this point, a delay generally ensues, according to the state of the weather, it being re- 8o DRINKS. quisite, towards the end of October, to wait ,while the rays of the sun, combined with the night dews, bring the remainder of the grapes to maturity, ,when the third gathering takes place, from which the wine, termed centre, frequently very fine and spirituous, is ..produced. Another delay now ensues, a,nd then com- mences the final gathering, when all the grapes re- maining on the stalks are picked, which, when the vintage has been properly conducted, is usually only a very small quantity, yielding what is termed the vin de queued However, although it is not given to all of us to be able to afford Chateau d'Yquem, yet there are many of the other white wines of France, which are within .ordinary limits, and which compare rnore than favour- ably with the red wines. Burgundy and other Wines. Verily there cannot be much amiss with wine that causes a holy man (by profession) to break forth into song as follows : — **Nous les boirons lentement, Nous les boirons tendrement. Ton Clos Vougeot, ton Romance : Par nous la sainte liqueur. Qui nous rechauffe le coeur, Ne sera jamais profanee." More generous than the wines of Bordeaux, it has been the drink of Kings and Popes, and perhaps no vineyard has a similar honour done it as that of Clos- I Vougeot (Napoleon's favourite wine) ; for when a j French regiment marches past that celebrated vine- DRINKS. 81 yard, it halts, and presents arms. On the golden slope — the Cote d'Or — is grown this wine of Bur- gundy, and the vignerons divide the district into two parts, the Cote de Nuits and the Cote de Beaune, the first of which produces the finest wines, from Vosne especially, whence come Romanee-Conti, La Tache, Richebourg, Romanee-St. Vivant, La Grande Rue, Gaudichat, Malconsort, and others ; but of all these Romance Conti is king. Unfortunately the yield of this vineyard is very small, and genuine Romance is seldom to be met with. But there are plenty of good wines to be bought at moderate prices, those of Chambertin, Volnay, Beaune, Macon, and Beaujolais. Chief among the white Burgundies is Chablis ; but there are other sorts, not half enough drank in England — Macon, Pouilly, Meursault, Chevalier- Montrachet, Montrachet-Aine, and many other fine white wines. Sparkling Burgundy is not to be despised. The Cotes du Rhone produce fine wines, too, such as Hermitage, Cote Rotie, Condrieu, and St. Peray ; but of these, perhaps. Hermitage red and white are best known to us. Much wine is made in the South of France, in the departments of the Herault, the Gard, the Aude, and the Pyrenees- Orientales, whilst Languedoc has always been famous for its wines, which are very similar to some Spanish varieties. Roussillon is nearly as good as Burgundy, and, after being manipulated at Cette, is often palmed off as "Vintage Port," and the Muscat •wines of the Herault and the Pyrenees- Orientales are particularly luscious, especially those from Lunel. F 83 DRINKS^ Some wines come from Corsica, but they do not find their way, as such, into the English market ; no doubt, though, but we have them in some shape, for the mystifications of the wine trade are stupendous, and, to an outsider, unfathomable. J. A. DRINKS. 33 Germany : Rhine Wines— Heidelberg Tun— Hock— Stelnwein Asmannhaiiser — Straw Wines — Goethe's Opinion of Wine. Greece : Verdea — Vino Santo — The Wine of Night. Hungary : Maszlacz — Tokay — Carlowitz — Erlauer. Italy : Monte Pulciano — Chianti — Barolo — Barbera — Montefiascone — Lachryma Christi, etc. Madeira : Malvasia — Tinta — Bual, etc. Persia : Shiraz. Germany. The Germans, says Cyrus Redding, like vain men of other nations, have wasted a good deal of idle con- jecture on the antiquity of the culture of the vine in their country; and then, as though to show by example that this waste of idle conjecture is not confined to the Germans, Mr. Redding continues the investiga- tion of this important matter himself. In the opinion of an experienced merchant these wines have a " dis- tinct character and classification of their own." Their alcoholic strength is low, averaging about i8 per cent. To the north of Coblent? the wines are of little comparative value, though a Rhenish wine has been produced at Bodendorf, near Bonn. On the Rhine or its tributary rivers between Coblentz and Mayence, all the most celebrated wines of Germany are grown. The grapes preferred for general cultivation are the Riessling, a small, white, harsh species. The true Hochheimer, daily consumed in Germany, is grown to the eastward of Mentz, between there and Frankfort. The wines mellow best in large vessels, an experience which has produced the celebrated Heidelberg Tun, holding some six hundred hogsheads. The dis- tinguishing characteristics of German wine have been 84 DRINKS. This illustratidn dates 1608 as "A Sciographie or Modell of that stupendous vessel which is at thi^ day shewed in the Pallace of the Count Palatine of Rhene in the citie of Heidelberg." A iiiodel of this Tun was shown at the German Exhibition held in London, 1 89 1, Its capacity was eclipsed by a famous tonneau, elaborately ornamented with allegorical figures, etc., which was shown in the French Exhibition of 1889. It would hold 200,000 bottles af Champagne, and canrse from Epernay. It had to be drawn by a large team, by road, and the French press was full of its imaginary adventures on its journey to Paris. said to be generosity, dryness, fine flavour, and endur- ance of age. The dyspeptic will learn with delight that the strong wines of the Rhine are extremely salutary, and contain less acid than any other. It is also averred that they are never saturated with brandy. Liebfrauejimilch ^ is grown at Worms. It ^ This wine is said to profit much by a quiescent state of the air afforded by the town wall. DRINKS. 85 is full bodied, as is that of Scharlachberg. Nierstein^ Laubenheim, and Oppenheim are good wines, but Dei- deskeimer \s considered superior to them. Hock^ is derived from Hochheim ; but nearly every town on the banks of the Rhine gives its name to some lauded vintage. The flavour of Hock is supposed to be improved by thin green glasses. Perhaps, says the judicious Redding, this is mere fancy. The Pala- tinate wines are cheaper Hocks. Moselles have a more- delicate perfume. The whole eastern bank of the Rhine to Lorich, called the Rheingau, about four- teen miles in extent, has been famous for its wine? for ages. Naturally, therefore, it was once the property of the Church. Here is Schloss- J ohannisberger, once nearly destroyed by General Hoche, where a leading Rhine wine is made. Steinberger takes the next rank to Johannisberger. Gr'dfenberg, also once ecclesiastical property, produces wine equal to Rudesheimery which is a wine of the first Rhine growths. Marcobrunner, Rothy Konigsbach are excellent drinks. Bacharack has lost its former celebrity. The conclusion to which a cele- ^ A wine at Homburg, called Eriacher, at about one mark a bottle, is, says Dr. Charnock, frequently superior to the ordinary Niersteiner, 2 " Hock," says one of those wine circulars, which weary alike the postman and the public, " is the English name for the noble vintages of the Rhine, which afford models of what wine ought to be. Their purity is attested by their durability. They are almost imperishable. They increase appetite, they exhilarate without producing languor, and they purify the blood. The Germans say good Hock keeps off the doctor. Southey says it deserves to be called the Liquor of Life. And so Pindar would have called it, if he had ever tasted it" Nothing surely can be added to this description of its virtues. 86 DRINKS. brated connoisseur has arrived after an exhaustive examination of German wines is this : ** On the whole^ the wines of Bischeim, Asmannskauser, and Laubenheim are very pleasant wines ; those of rather more strength are Marcobrunne7\ Rildesheimer and Niersteiner, while those oi Johannisberg, Geissenheim, and Hochheim give the most perfect delicacy and aroma." The Germans themselves say Rhein-wein, fein-wein ; Necker-weiiti lecker-wein ; Franken-wein, tranken-wein ; Mosel-wein^ unnosel-wein} The red wines of the Rhine are considered inferior to the white. Red Asmannshailser is perhaps the best. Near Lintz Blischert is made. Konigsbach and Altenahr yield ordinary wines. The most cele- brated of Moselle wines is the Brauneberger, of which the varieties are numerous. A variety called Gruenhailser was formerly styled the Nectar of the Moselle. The wines of Ahr, of which some are red, resemble Moselles, but will keep longer. Of the wines of the Neckar the most celebrated is Besig- heim, Baden, Wisbaden, Wangen, and Wlirtzberg, all grow good wines. Of the last Is Stein-wein, produced on a mountain so called, and named by the Hospital ^ Thus unfortunately translated, Rhine wine is good, Neckar plea- sant, Frankfort bad. Moselle innocent. But Moselle, we have been told, is very far from " innocent," Unnosel is without bouquet. Tran- ken means not bad but drinkable, and lecker is rather lickerish than good. A sample of the same carelessness occurs on the next page,- where ein weinfask voti anderhalb ahm ein pipe is intended to express ein Weinfass von anderthalb Ohm^ eine Pipe. It is a pity that an ex- cellent work, to which we, as many writers on wine have like ourselves been deeply indebted, should be marred by these irregularities, , • • » » »» » J » > 87 DRINKS. 89 to which it belongs, Wine of the Holy Ghost. Leisten wines are grown on Mt. Saint Nicolas. 6'/r^z£/ w ines are made in Franconia. Calmus, a liqueur wine, like the sweet wines of Hungary, is made in the territory of Frankfurt. The best vineyards are those of Bischofs- heim. Wines of Saxony are of little worth. Meissen and Guben produce the best. Naumburg makes some small wines, like inferior Burgundy. The excellence of the Rhine wines has seldom perhaps been proved more clearly than by one who loved them well. Goethe, in his Aus einer Reise am Rhein, Main und Neckar^ says : '^ Niemand schdmt sich der Weinlust, sie rUhmen sich einigermaassen des Trinkens. Hilbsche Frauen gestehen dass ihre Kinder mit der Mutterbrust zugleich Wein geniessen, Wir fragten ob denn wahr sey, dass es geistlichen Herren, ja Kilrfursten gegluckt, acht Rheinische Maass das heisst sechzehn unserer Bou- teillen, in vierundzwanzig Stunden zu sich zunehmen ? Ein scheinbar ernsthafter Gast bemerkte^ man dilrfe sich zu Beantwortung dieser Frage nur der Fasten- eeredigt ihres Weihbischofs erinnern, welcher, ncichdem pr das schreckliche Laster der Trunkenheit seiner G- meinde mit den stdrksten Farben dargestellty also gesch- lossen habe — " But for those who understand not the German tongue we will give some of the sermon of this Church dignitary on the Rochusberg in English. '' Those, my pious brethren, commit the greatest sin who misuse God's glorious gifts. But the misuse ex- cludes not the use. Wine, it is written, rejoices man's j heart. Therefore we are clearly intended to enjoy it.j Now perhaps, beloved brethren, there is not one of 90 DRINKS. you who cannot drink two measures of wine without feeHngany ill effects therefrom ; he, however, who with his third or fourth measure has so far forgotten him- self as to abuse, beat and kick his wife and children, and to treat his dearest friend as his worst enemy, let such an one discontinue to drink three or four mea- sures, which thus render him unpleasing to God and despicable to man. But he who with the fourth mea- sure, nay, with his fifth or his sixth, still maintains his sense in such a manner that he can behave properly to his fellow- Christian, attend to his domestic duties, and obey his spiritual superiors as he ought, let him be thankful in modesty for the gift accorded to him. But let him not advance beyond the sixth measure, for here commonly is the term set to human power* and endurance. Rare indeed is the occasion in which the benevolent God has lent a man such especial grace that he may drink eight measures — a grace which He has, however, accorded to me His servant. Let, therefore, every one take only his allotted measure und auf dass ein solches gescheke, alles Ubermaass dage- gen verbannt sey, handelt s'dmmtlich nach der Vorschrift des heiligen A post els w etcher spricht ; Priifet alles und das Beste behaltet I " Greece* The vinification of Greece is commonly imperfect* Most of its wines become vinegar in summer. Avoid, says a well-known guide-book, the wine of this coun- try, which is generally acid and always impure.^ The ^ Colonel Leake described the ordinary country wine as a villainous > '> » V , 91 DRINKS. 93 best Greek wines are those of the islands Ithaca, Zante, Tenos, Samos, Thera (Santorin)/ and Cyprus. The white wine of Zante, called Verdea, resembles Madeira in flavour. The wine of Naxos is of consider- able strength, and is greatly improved by age. A quantity of it, known as Vino Santo, is exported. Andros was sacred to Dion^^sus, and a tradition (Plin. ii. 103; xxxi. 13; Pans. vi. 26) says that for seven days during a festival of this god the waters of a cer- tain fountain were changed to wine. The wine did no credit to the god, if it resembled that which this island at present produces. The *' Nectar" of Morta is bitter and astringent. Dr. Charnock has recom- mended the Monthymet as a good mild wine, and the CEconomos. A white wine, called " tAe wtne of night I' is supplied under the distinctive names of St. Elie and Calliste ; the latter is the better. Hungary. The wines of Hungary, we are told, " possess con- siderable body with a moderate astririgency." The varieties of wine known as Ausbruch and Maszlacz, compound of lime, resin, spirits of wine, and grapes, without body or flavour. Nor were things better in the days of old. Dugald Dal- getty, a German Ensign, writing from Athens in 1687, says, "Would that I could exchange a cask of Athenian wine for a cask of German beer ! " The vin du pays is impregnated with resin or turpentine now as formerly, whence, according to Plutarch, the Thyrsus of Bacchus is adorned with a pine cone. Pliny says it favours the preservation of the drink. ^ The island owes this name to its patron saint Irene, martyred here a.d. 304. 94 DRINKS. including the Tokays, Rust, Menes, and many more, are of the most important character. Without the ad- dition of dry berries the so-called natural wine or Szamorodni is obtained. The Tokay essence, a very sweet wine, should be also very old. When fifty years in bottle it costs some ^3 ^ for a small flask. Ausbruch, also sweet, should be also old, Maszlacz is of four different kinds. The Mezes, Male or Imperial, does not get into trade. Meograd, Krasso, and Villany from the West of Hungary are good strong wines of the second class. Wines of the third class are very numerous. There is no space to mention more than the red wines : Bar any a, Presburg, Somogy, Vagh-r Ujhelyer, Paulitsch, and Erdod, and the white Miszla, Balaton, Fiired, Hont, Pesth, and Weissenburg. Sam- lauer is one of the best white wines made at a place called Samlau, as Erlauer another good wine at Erlau. The most commonly known Hungarian wines of the present are Oedenburg, Samlau, Neszmely, and Carlo- witz, Italy. That Italy produces good wines is, says Cyrus Redding, undeniable. She also produces wines that are very bad. The best Italian wines are said to be produced in Tuscany. As Hafiz is the authority for 1 The value attached to this wine is one example among many of the caprice of fashion. The Muscadine of Syracuse or the Lagrima of Malaga is equal to it in richness, and few people would prefer it to other wines, did they dare to contradict the decision of fashion in its favour, and to have a taste of their own. DRINKS. 95 Skiraz, so Redl's Bacco in Toscana should be con- sulted for the wines of Italy. Monte Pulciano vs, of a purple hue, sweet and slightly astringent. It is to this wine that Redi gives the palm, calling it la manna di Monte Pulciano. The wine of Chianti, near Sienna, is well known. Artiminio, Poncino, Antella, and Carmignano, though of less reputation, are not greatly inferior. The best Verdea ^ comes from Arcetri near Florence. T^^edlnanOy a gold- coloured syrup, is pro- duced, according to Drs. Thudichum and Dupre, from grapes, " passulated on the vine by torsion of the stalk." MontelcinOy Rimaneze, and Santo Stefano are Siennese wines. Of Sardinia the chief wines are the so-called Malvasias^ Gz7^o, A leatico, Vike ihQ Tinto of Alicante, and Bosa, Ogliastra, and Sassari. Of Pied- mont the principal wines are Barolo, Barbara, Nebbiolo, Braccheto. Asti, Chaumont, Alba, and Montferrat have had reputation thrust upon them. Grignolinos are made from a vine closely related to the Kadarka of Hungary, and the Carmenet of the Gironde. The wines of Genoa are of small repute. Central Italy furnishes Montefiascone^ with a delicious * So called from its green colour. It is said to have been a favour- ite wine of Frederick the Great. It is held now in slighter esteem. 2 Called Est Est from the writing under the bust of the valet of the bibulous German bishop Defoucris, who drank himself to death, upon which his valet composed his epitaph. ' Est est ' propter mi?imm * est,^ Dominus metis mortuus est. Reverence for antiquity is our sole excuse for there production of these wretched lines. Monte Pulciano has also the credit of having killed a Churchman. Other wines doubtless have had the same honour. 96 DRINKS. aroma, Albano, resembling Lacryma Christi, and Orvieto. The principal wine of Naples, from the base of Vesuvius, is Lacryma Christi, a rich, red, ex- quisite drink, affirmed by some adventurous fancies to be the Falernian of Horace. "O Christ!" said a Dutchman who drank, *' why didst Thou not weep in my country ? " Gallipoli, Tarento, Baia, Pausillipo, yield good wines. The islands in the Bay of Naples all produce wine ; that of Cap7^ea is of good ordinary quality, both white and red. Calabria furnishes many good wines. Muscadenes and dry wines are made at Reggio. Asprino, a white foamy wine, with a plea- sant sharpness, is a favourite of the Gampagna. Carigliano is a Muscadine, with a flavour of fennel. Dr. Charnock speaks highly of the wine of Capri, and of Orvieto, a delicate white wine of Rome. The dis- agreement of travellers about the merits of wines arises principally, of course, from a diversity of tastes, but also in the matter of Italian wines, from the fact that different wines bear the same names in different countries. There is, for instance, a vino santo and a vino greco in Naples. A Veronese wine, vino debolis" simo e di niuna stinm, is also called vino santo, and an excellently good wine at Brescia. It is the same with half a dozen of the most noted wines of Italy. Modico, a fine white wine from the place of that name near Salerno, was apparently a favourite of the noted School of Salernum. The best known wines out of Italy are the Barola, Barbera, and the rest which may be found on th^ wine-list of every padrone of an Italian restaurant ; the Inferno of the Valtellina ; the Lam- DRINKS. 97 hrmco of Modena ; the Chianti of Tuscan — a wine grown on the estate of Baron Ricasoli, not thought so much of in Italy as in England ; and the Lacryma Christi of Naples. Most Italian wines are bottled in flasks, in the old Roman style, with oil ^ on the top, and wool over the oil. Madeira. Wine is first mentioned as a product of Funchal, the capital of Madeira, in the fifteenth century. In 1662, when Charles II. married the Infanta Catherine of Braganca, English merchants began to settle in Madeira. The principal varieties of Madeira are Malvasia, Bual, Sercial, Tint a, and Verdelho (the Verdea of Tuscany). In England, Madeira is now within the reach of all. At the beginning of this century, it was known only to connoisseurs. The *'fine rich old Boar' is fairly familar, and if we may trust the wine merchants, the '* Very Superior Old," variously described as full, soft, golden, delicate, and mellow% is gradually winning its way into public favour, since that same ''soft fulness," added to a delicious and yet pungent flavour, produces a drink '' altogether superior " to the best Sherry. Persia. The ancient, most famous wines of this country were those of Chorassan, Turan, and Mazanderan. These 1 " Let no man," says the Talmud, " send his neighbour wine with oil upon its surface." — Chulifi, fol. 94, col. i. 98 DRINKS. places still produce wines ; but their characteristics and reputation have, it is affirmed, become blended in the wine of Shiraz, in the province of Ferdistan, on the Persian Gulf. Chardin, the Frenchman, describes this wine as of excellent quality, but of course not so fine as the French wines. The German, Kampfer, puts Shiraz on the same level with the best Burgundy and Champagne. He who wishes to learn the nature of the wine of Shiraz should consult the Diwan of Hafiz. How far this poet speaks of wine literally understood, and how far of spiritual delights, is a matter for commentatorial investigation. Persian wine is frequently mixed with raki and saffron, and the extract of hemp. Sherbet, made of fruit juices and water, is English rather than Oriental. DRINKS. 99 Portugal: Peso da Regoa — Four Methods of Cultivation of Vine- White and Black Ports — The Quintas — Tarragona — Chanieco. Russia : Kahetia— Gumbrinskoe. Sicily : Marsala. Spain : Malaga — Sherry — Amontillado. Switzerland : Chiavenna — St. Gall — The Canton of Vaud. Cider : Derivation — Ainsworth — Gerard — Bacon — Evelyn — Turberville — Macau- lay^Phillips. Perry. Portugal. One hundred and fifty years ago, in the small town of Peso da Regoa, then called Regua only, near the confluence of the Corgo with the Douro, lived a single fisherman, in a hut which he had himself constructed. When the Oporto Wine Company was established, their warehouses were erected here, and an annual fair for the sale of wine was established. Peso da Regoa — the Peso comes from an adjoining village — is now a thriving town, and may be con- sidered the capital of the Alto Douro district [Paiz Vinhateiro do Alto Douro), whence are sent to England and elsewhere those wines which are here known as Port. The wine district is bounded by Villa Real on the north, Lamego on the south, S. Joao da Pesqueira on the east, and Mezaofrio on the west. It is unwhole- some, and but thinly populated. Those who list may draw from this fact a divine prohibition of the bibbing of Port. The vine is cultivated in Portugal in four ways. { I ) By being trained round oaks or poplars de enforcado, as the Romans ulmisque adjungere vites. (2) By the terrace system, the best as (i) is the most picturesque. (3) By bushes in rows, with the intermediate ground ioo DRmKS. ploughed^ (4) By the trellis or de ramad'a. The first liquor drawn from the lagar, or press, the result of the weight of the grapes alone, is called Lacryma Christu After that a gang of men jump into the lagar, and dance to the sound of the fife or bagpipe. The weather is warm, the work is hard ; the result is better conceived than expressed. Of white ports the best are Muscatel de Jesus (the testimony to religious influence in this and the Lacryma Christi is extremely touching), considered the prince of all,, the Dedo de Dama^ the Ferral Branco, Malvazia (our Malmsey)/ Abelhal, Agitdelho, Alvaraga, Donzellinho, Folgozdo, Gonveio, White Mourisco, Rabo da Ovelha, and Promts sdo. Of the black ports the finest Is Touriga, and the sweetest Bastardo, Other dark ports are Souzdo, the darkest of all, Aragonez, Pegitdo, besides Tintas, whose names are legion. Other wines grown here, or in the im- mediate vicinity,, are Alvarilkdo,. a kind of clarety Alicante, Muscatel, Roxo, and Malvazia Vermelha. Great quantities of wine are produced in the quintas outside the line of demarcation, and some of these wines are equal to those made in the wine district of the Alto Doui'o Itself. Red wines transformed into French clarets at Bordeaux, are exported in large quantities. A wine from Tarragona, known as ** Spanish Red/' or superb Catalan, Is sent yearly to 1 Malms-ey wine is also a product of Funchal, in Madeira. The first so-called wine was shipped for Francis I. of France. The word is probably a corruption of Malvasia or Mone^nvasia {fxovr} i/xjSama, or single entrance), a Greek island from which the grape may have been brought by the Florentine Acciajoli in 15 15. DRINKS. 103 England, and sold as very full, rich, fruity, and tawny Port. Port will not keep good in the cask for more than two years without the addition of alcohol. The Oporto merchants use a pure spirit distilled from the wine itself. The old Port which we prize so highly and pay for so dearly is seldom unaffected by brandy or other spirit. THE GOUT. Some of the best wines are produced by Estrema dura, such as Bucellas, Collares, Lavradio, Ckamusca, Carcavellos, Barra a Bar^^a, and many others of which not even the names are known in England. 1 he vines round Torres Vedras might, it has been said, produce the fmest wanes in the world; if properly cul- *o4 b-^INKS. tivated. AHnto and Estremaditra are cbmparatlvely new wines. The white wines of Tojal and the vin- tages of Palmella and Inglezinhos have only to be known to become popular. The province of Traz-os- Montes, in spite of its cUmate of nave ntzzes de inverno, e tres de inferno, produces excellent wines in the Piaz Vinhateiro. Those in the vicinity of the river Tua and the Sabor are considered by connoisseurs to re- semble the celebrated Clos Voicgeot. There is a remarkable red wine called Cornifesto, and the white wines of Areas, Braganga, Moraes, Moncorvo, and Nosedo are excellent. The cup of Charneco (2 Hen. VI. ii. 3), a wine mentioned by Beaumont and Fletcher and Decker, is said to have been made at Charneco, a village near Lisbon (^European Magazine, March, 1794). Port-wine is accredited with producing gout, and the two accompanying illustrations give the " Intro- duction to the Gout," and the real fiend itself Russia. Kahetia is a wine produced in a district of that name, east of Tiflis. It is of two descriptions, red and white, and is much esteemed throughout Trans- caucasia. As it is kept in skins made t[ght with naphtha, it has generally a slight taste of leather and petroleum. Gumbrinskod is a sweet wine grown in the Gumbri district of the Caucasus. Donskod Ckam- panskod, the champagne of the Don, is said by Dr. Charnock to be a very good wine, and better than DRINKS. 105 many sorts drunk in Britain. Russian wines generally, as those of many other countries, are largely diluted, and, like the majority of Greek wines, do not improve by keeping. Sicily. A thousand years before Christ, says Mr. Sim- monds, districts of Sicily were famous for wine. The coins of Naxos (500 B.C.) bear the head of Bacchus on the obverse, on the reverse Pan, or a bunch of grapes. Of Sicilian wines, the light amber or brown wine of Marsala is best known. There is Ingham's L.P., and Woodhouse's ; there is also the Old Brown. The Faro is perhaps the strongest wine of Sicily. The wine of Terre Forte is made near Etna, in some vineyards of Benedictine monks. Marsala, as we know it, is generally adulterated, or fortified, to use a more technical term. Even the '' Virgin " has not escaped this common lot of wines. Much Marsala is indeed sold as Marsala, but much more is sold as Sherry. The wine of Taormina has the classic taste of pitch. Augusta produces a wine with a strong flavour of violets. This to some palates is the most agreeable wine drank in Sicily or elsewhere. The Del Bosco of Catania, and the Borgetto have been both recom- mended by the subtle taste of Dr. Charnock. A dry wine called Vin de Succo is made about terl miles from Palermo. The wine of Syracuse somewhat resembles Chablis, xo6 DRINKS. Spain. As Spain succeeds France geographically, so it follows it in the excellence of its vinous productions. Throughout all ages this country has been distin- guished for its wines. But the Spaniard's chief glory under heaven is in the preparation of white dry forti- fied wines such as sherries, and sweet wines such as Malagas. In the province of Andalusia is situated Xeres de la Frontera, and the convent of Paxarete, which produces a rich sweet sparkling drink. Here, too, are the vines of the vino secco and the abocado^ and Rota, ^ which produces Andalusia's best red wines. Here are. Ranico, Moguro, or Mogtter, a cheap light wine, Negio, and the capital Seville. Catalonia yields a large quantity of red wine shipped to England mostly as a drink for the general. The Malaga of Granada is well known. Sherry ^ wines are, or ought to be, the products of Cadiz, including Xeres de la Frontera, San Lucar de Barrameda, — where Tintilla, an excellent Muscadine red wine, is manu- factured, — Trebujena, and Puerto de Santa Maria. The celebrated wine known as Manzanilla ^ is made in 1 Rota wines are mostly coloured, or Tintos, whence our English sacramental drink. They are all simmered— at their best in youth, and their worst in age. 2 Supposed by some to be the old English Sack. The reader interested may consult Hakluyt, Nicols, Hewell's Dictionary, and Venner's Via Recta. s The etymology is uncertain. • Some derive it from the town near Seville, others from the Spanish word for an apple, and others again from that for a camomile flower. DRINK^S. loj San Lucar de Barrameda. Val de Penas^ wines are commonly red. After the perfection of age, this celebrated product of La Manche ^ is, in the opinion of Redding, equal to any red wine in the world. Much wine of Catalonia is now imported into England as Catalan Port. Borja produces a luscious white wine. The country about Tarragona on the road to Barcelona is almost w^holly occupied with wine making. Bent-Carlos, La Torre, Segorbe, and Murviedro, are all fair wines of Valencia. Alicant produces an excellent red wine, vino tinto, strong and sweet ; when old, this wine is called FondelloL Vinaroz, Santo Domingo, and Perales, offer red wines of moderate excellence. The best wines of Aragon are Carinena and the Hospital, from the vine which the French call Grenache. In Biscay, at Chacoli, a vino brozno, or austere wine, is produced in large quantity. The best is made at Vittoria, and called Pedro Ximenes? Fuencaral, near Madrid, offers a good wine seldom exported. The most famous wine-growing district of Granada is that of Malaga, termed Axarqula. This produces Malagas, Muscatels, Malvasies, and Tintos. The red wines called Tinto de Rota and Sacra are unfermented with only enough spirit for preservation, and are commonly advertised in our wine circulars as " suitable for sacramental purposes." Guindre is flavoured with cherries from which It derives its name. 1 ra//4>'(?/y?^plcs," H2 drink:'S. John Evelyn's French Gardener g{ves much informa- tion on this subject, and his Pomona is, says Stopes, the first monograph on the manufacture of cider in England. Cider is made in many parts of Barbafy, and in Canada. In all the States, apples are abundant, particularly in New York and New England, and cider is a common drink of the inhabitants. And it is as excellent as it is common. That of New Jersey is generally considered the best It is curious that the least juicy apples afford the best liquor. Cider of a superior quality is abundant in Cork, Waterford, and other counties of Ireland, where it was introduced, we are told, in the reign of Elizabeth. It was first made at Affane, in the county of Waterford.^ Worledge's Vtnetum Britannicum, 1676, and his Most Easy Method for Making the Best Cider, 1687, have been considered at full length by Mr. Stopes. Worledge's press is an improvement upon one shown in Evelyn's Pomona, Cider appears in Russia under the name of Kvas. There is Yablochni kvas, made of apples; Grushevoi kvas, of pears, a perry; and Malinovoi kvas, of rasp- berries. George Turberville, secretary to the Eng- lish Embassy to Moscow in the year 1568, mentions kvas in a description of the Russians of his time as : — " Folk fit to be of Bacchus' train, so quaffing is their kind ; Drink is their whole desire, the pot is all their pride. Walker : Hist. Essay on Gardenmg, p. 166. Anf/iologia Hibeniica^ i. 194* DRINKS. ^. The soberest head doth once a day stand needful of a guideio If he to banquet bid his friends, he will not shriiiic On them at dinner to bestow a dozen kinds of driji]^, Such liquor as they have, and as the couptry g^ives;; But chiefly two, one called kwas, whereby the Mousike lives i Small ware and waterlike, but somewhat tart in trtste ; The rest is me^id, of honey made, wherewith their lips they baste," Stopes is of opinion thai the finest cider is made, n6t in the west, as has been commonly asserted, but in the east of England. This authority seems particularly to favour the Ribston pippins of Norfolk. '* Worcester," says Macaulay, in his History of England, ch. iii., '' is the queen of the cider land ; but Oevon and Somerset, Gloucester and Norfolk, might dispute the title. To make good cider the apples should "be quite ripe, as the amount of sugar in ripe apples is iro; in unripe apples, 4*9; in over-ripe apples, 7*95. The fermentation should proceed slowly. Brande says that the strongest cider contains, in 100 volumes, 9*87 of alcohol of 92 per cent ; the weakest, 5*21. By distillation, cider produces a good spirit; but it is seldom converted to that purpose in consequence of its acidity, which, however, is greatly remedied by rectification. Much cider is distilled in Normandy, and sent to this country under the name of arrack^ or some other foreign spirit, according to its fiavour. To the Nor- mans the invention of this liquor has been attributed. They are also said to have received it from the Moors, Whitaker {Hist. Manchester, i. 321) says this drink was introduced into this country by the Romans ; and H 114 DRINKS. Simmonds (p. 25) that it was first used in England about 1284. Cider has been immortaHsed by Phillips in a classical poem, in imitation of Virgil's Georgics, which, accord- ing to Johnson, " need not shun the presence of the original." Milton's nephew thought that cider — " far surmounts Gallic or Latin grapes." Perry. Perry is prepared from pears, as cider from apples It is capable of being used in the adulteration of cham- pagne.^ The harsher, redder, and more tawny pe^s produce the best drink. Perry is less popular than cider, but some consider it superior.^ 1 The extra dry old lauded or pale cremant, or the extra reserve Cuvde, 1884 vintage. ' For further information see Crocker, Marshall, Knight, and especially Stopes. AN OLD CIDER MILL. BRANDY. The Invention of Brandy — Early Alchemists — Aqua Vitse -Distilla- tion— The Still-room — Ladies Drinking — Nantes and Charente —Johnson's Idea of Brandy — The Charente District — Manu- facture of Brandy — The Cognac Firms. WHO invented Brandy ? is a question that can- not be authoritatively answered ofthand ; but the good people of some parts of Germany hold that it was the Devil. And their legend is, at all events, circumstantial. Every one who is at all acquainted with old legends is fully aware that the Father of Evil is extremely simple,^ and has allowed himself, many times, to be outwitted by man. Once, especially, he was so guile- less, as to put trust in a Steinbach man, who cajoled him into entering an old beech tree, and there he was imprisoned until the tree was cut down. His first step, on regaining his freedom, was to revisit his own particular dominion, which, to his horror, he found empty ! This, naturally, would not do, and he set ||bout re- peopling hell without delay. He thought the qtiickest ii6 ,. DRir^KS. % plan would be to start a distillery ; so he hurried off at once to Nordhausen, where his manufacture of Brandy (his own invention) became so famous that people from all parts came to him to learn the new art, and to become distillers. From that time his Satanic Majesty has never had to complain of paucity of subjects. It seems fairly established that the famous chemist Geber, who lived in the 7th or 8th century, was acquainted with distillation, and we know that it was practised by the Arabian and Saracenic alchemists, but have no knowledge whether they made any prac- tical use of the alcohol they produced. They, at all events, gave us the word by which we now know the spirit, or ethereal part, of wine. Alcohol, distilled from wine, is first reliably men- tioned by a celebrated French alchemist and physician, Arnaud de Villeneuve, who died in 131 3, who gave it the name of aqua vitce, or water of life,^ and regarded it as a valuable adjunct in physic, and as a boon to humanity. Raymond LuUy, the famous alchemist, who is said to have been his pupil, declared it to be " an emanation from the Deity," and on its introduc- tion it was supposed to be the elixir of life, capable of rejuvenating those who partook of it, and, as such, was only purchasable at an extremely high price. We may see, by a book ^ written 200 years after the death of Arnaud de Villeneuve, the esteem in which Aqua Vitse was held even after so great a lapse of time. 1 The French name, Eau de Vie, having the same meaning. DRfNKS. 11^ qua File is comonlg calleti tfje mastrrsse of al mz-- tigcunes, for it casctij t|)e Dgsseascs comgnije of coltie. Et rjgibitfj also gonge corage in a person, ant( catoseti) tj^m to Ijabe a gootJ tnnnorge anti xz-- memfarauncc. Tit putofgctfj tfje fgbe toittes of tnelancolge an^ of all unclcncs iiifjan it is tjronke bf reason antJ measure. Cijat is to untjfrstantjc' fgbe or sp liroppes in tfje ntorngnije fastgng toitf) a spon^full of tngne, usgnge ti^e game in tfje maner aforsaotie i\}z ebgl f)umflurs can not ijurte t{)e botjg, for it toitf)tirubetb tl^em outc of tfje bagnes. ^ 3:t ronfortetl} tf)e f)arte, antj crusetfj a botig to be nterg. ^ 3It ijeleti) all oltJe antJ netne sores on tf)e f)etie comgnp of coltj?, to|)an ti)E l}ctie is enogntcti t!)£rtogtf) antJ a Igtell of t!je same inatet floltJeu in tf}e moutlje, antJ tjronke of t{)e same. ^ 3It cafesetij a goot( colour in a parson iB!)an tt is tironke antj tfjc tctje eiiognteli tf)e ttogtljtjje space of xitiages; it Jeletlj ^lopicia, or iufjan ii is tironke fastgntj hjitfj a Igtell trgacle. It causet!} tjje Jett iBell to srotoe, anli kglletf) t{}e Igce antJ flees. If 3:t curetf) t!}e Eeuma of tfje Jjetie, irrjjan t]^e temples antJ tje fore Ijetie tijeriuit]^ be rubbetJ. IF Et curetlj l.itarsiam,2 antr all gll Jumours of tje j^etje. IF Ct fteletfj tl^e coloure in ti^e face, antJ all maner of pgmplcs. Et jeletfj tj^e fgstule listen it is put therein toitfj tfje Suce of Celen* ligne. % Cotton iuet in i^z same anli a Igtell inronge out agagn an^ S0 put in tlje cares at nggl^t gognge to betJtJe, anlj a Igtell bronke tjjereof, is gooti against all tiefnes. 1 Et easetfj tbe pagn in tfje teetfte, fioien it is a longe tgme Soltien in tiie moutl^e, it caustitf) a stoete bretfje, antJ i&elet^ tlje tottgng tetl)e. 1 3:t Jelet]^ tf)e canker in tje mout^e, in tje teethe, in tlje Igppes^ antJ in t!)e tongue, n)l}an it is longe time fjoltien in tl^e moutl)e. % B calosett) tj^e ^ebg togue to become ligjjt anti toel spekgng. ^ " The Vertuose boke of Distyllacyon of the Waters of all maner of Herbes, with the fygures of the styllatoryes, Fyrst made and com- pyled by the thyrte yeres study and labour of the most cohynge and famous master of phisyke, Master Iherom bruynswyke. And now newly Translated out of Duyche into Englysshe." etc. Lond., 1572. ^ Lethargy. liG DRINKS. If It fjclttlj tl^e sjoute brctlje inljan it is tiro'ic toitf) iiiatcr toljcr^ as tju; t!gc3 be sotjcn in, ant) fcianf3j)ct|} al (Icmnics. ^ 3:t causetlj gooti tigtjestnngc antJ appctnte for to cat, antj takrt!) airrag all bolkinge.^ ^ 3It tjraijetf) tlje irrgntics out of tlje botig, auti is pot) agagnst t!)e eijoll stomake. ^I Et easetl; tlje fanntenes of tlje fjarte, tlje paun of tfje mgltr, tlje geloine Santiis, tl)e tiropsg^ tfje "^W Igmmrs, tijf gcute, in ll)£ f}antii0 anti in ti^e fete, tljc pagne in tfje brcstcs Inljan tf}cg be sbiollen, auti IjeUtl) al biseases in tlje l)lat)bcr, anti brcakctl) i\)i stone. ^ 3It iBitljtirgbetJf ijengm tf)at j^atlj been taken in meat or in tjrunke, Inji a Igtell trgaele is put tljerto. IT 3xt I)eletb tl)e flanckes ^ ant! nil tigseases coming of eoltie. IF 3it fjelet]^ t^e brenttgng of tfje botjg, ann of al mcmbres lufjan a is rubbcti ti)erfeiti) bg tf)e fpre biii bages eontgnngnge. *1[ IPt is potJ to be tironke agaunst tf)e sotiegn tjetic. 1[ Et b^'tctfi all seabbes of tfje botig, anti all eoltic stoellgnges, enogntetJ or toasfjeti t^crinit^, ant> also a Igtell tljerof tironke. % 3it fjcletb all sljronke sineines, anb causetf) tljem to become softe antJ rigbt. ^ 3it Ijeletb t{)E febrcs tertiana antJ quartana, toljen it is tironke an \in\u before, m tJje frbres becometfj on a botig. II Kt Ijektb tije bciiumous bgtes, anti also of a mabtie tiogge, iuljan t^cg be inassftcb tbrrinitl). IF Et belctl) all stgnkgng inounties luban tbeg be bassfjeb tjerlniti}.'* From use in medicine, Aqua Vitze soon came into domestic use, and here it given one of Iherom Bruynswyke's *'Styllatoryes," which he says was the ** comon fornays" which was "well beknowen amonge the potters, made of erthe leded or glased, and it may be removed from the one place to the other/' It was in a still of this sort that the old housewives of the sixteenth and succeeding centuries used to concoct their strong and cordial waters — a practice ^ Belching. ^ pleurisy. DRINKS. which has given, and left to, our own times, the name of '' Still-room," as the housekeeper's own particular domain. They experimented on almost every herb T20 DRINKS. that grew, and some of their concoctions must have been exceedingly nasty. Yet some of their recipes read as if they were comforting, and they were not deficient in variety. Hey wood, in his Philacotkonista, or The Drunkard^ Openedy Dissected, and Anatomized^ i^35> P- 4^, mentions some of them. " To add to these chiefe and multiplicitie of wines before named, yet there be Stills and Limbecks going, swetting out Aqica VitcB and strong waters deriving their names from Cynamony LemmonSy Balme, Angelica, Anncfd, Stomach Water^ Hunniy etc. And to fill up the number, we have plenty of Vsque-bdhaT The old housewives'" books of the latter end of the sixteenth century, until much later, are still in existence, and from them we may iearn many drinks of our fore- fathers, how to make Ipocras {very g-ood, especially when taken in a *' Loving Cup "), to clarify Whey, to make Buttered Beer, Surrop oj Roses or Violets, Rasa So lis, a Caudle for an old Man,. ox to distil Spirits of Spice Sy Spirits of Wine tasting &f what Vegetable you please, Balme Water, Rosemary Water, Sinamon Water, Aqua Rubea, Spirits of Hony, Rose Water,, Vinegar, very many scents, and a distillation called Aqua Composita, which er^tered into many receipts. There are many formulae for this, but Bruynswyke gives the following : — ** Cfje game ixiatet is matie some iixaz of iDgne. toitlj spgces oneig,. gometgme ini't!} ingne anti rotes of tfte Series, sometgrne im'tfj ttjc Ijerbes, some tgme toitfjtje rotes anti Series totjgtier, for at aH tgmss lljeretc must ie stronjae iuguc. DRINKS. 121 '"STake a gallon of strong ©ascoignc Ssiiwz, antj Sacfc, fHintg, i^eti 3^ose&, ^Time, pdlitoric, lalosnnarfe, OTiltJ 3rf)ime, Camomil, Eabenticr, of eci^e an ]^antifull STIjese b^tiies sfjal lie stampcli all toggtier i\\ a fEortcr, antj tl)en putte it in a dene bessell anti tJO ijetto a pgnte of IBlose Water, antJ a quart of romneg,^ anti tl)£n stoppe it close anti let it stanli so Hi or iiii tiages. TOjjan 2^ tabe so tJone, put all ti^is toggticr in a stgllatorg anti trgstpll inater of tfje same; tf)an take gour tigstglleti iuater, anti pore it upon tl)e fjerbcs aganne into t|)e stullatoru, anti stretoc upon it tf)esc pointiers foUoijagnge. IF Jgrst dobes anti cnnamon, of cclje an Ijalfe ounce, ©rgous*^ an ounce, anti a fcto iJEaccs, nutmeggs fjalfe an ounce, a Igtell saffran, muscus, spica nartJi, ainbrc, anti some put campfjer in it, bgcatosc tije matcrgals be so ijote, Stere ^ all tjje same iuell ta= goticr antJ tigstglle it dene of, tgll it come fat Igke ogle, t^an set amagc gour toater, anti let it be bd Itepte. ^fter tl^at make a strongc fgre, anti tgstgll ogle of it, anti recegbe it iru a fgole,^ tl)is ogle smdUtl) abobe all ogles, anti ^z tjat lettetl^ one tiroppe fall on l)is ti^ntie, it inill perce tf}roug]^. Et is Irronticrfull gootj, eicellgngt mang otljer soberaggue ogles to tigbets tigsseases." Although the Still-room was serviceable for medi- cinal purposes, yet, as we have seen, there were many comforting drinks made, including Vsquebath, or Irish aqua vitcs (a recipe for which we will give in its proper place), and doubtless this contributed much towards the tippling habit of some ladies in the 17th and L8th centuries. We hear somewhat of this in the reign of good Queen Anne (who, by the bye, was irreverently termed " Brandy-faced Nan "), when they used to make, and drink, Ratifia of ApricockSy Fenouil- lette of RhS, Millefleurs, Orangiat, Burgamot] Pesicoi, and Citron Water, etc., etc., numerous allusions to which are made in the pages of " The Spectator," and other literature of the times. Edward Ward, who had 1 A Spanish Wine. ^ p Qj-nce. » Stir. * Phial. 122 DRINKS. no objection to call a spade, a spade, thus plainly speaks out.^ *' It would make a Man smile to behold her Figure in a front Box, where her twinkling Eyes, by her Afternoon's Drams of Ratifee and cold Tea, sparkle more than her Pendants. . . . Her closet is always as well stor'd with Juleps, Restoratives, and Strong Waters, as an Apothecary's Shop, or a Dis- tiller's Laboratory; and is, herself, so notable a Housewife in the Art of preparing them, that she has a larger Collection of Chemical Receipts than a Dutch Mountebank. ... As soon as she rises, she must have a Salutary Dram to keep her Stomach from the Cholick ; a Whet before she eats, to procure Appetite ; after eating, a plentiful Dose for Concoction ; and to be sure a Bottle of Brandy under her Bed side for fear of fainting in the Night." There is no necessity to multiply instances of the feminine liking for brandy, for everyone finds numerous examples in his reading, from Juliet's nurse,^ who, after Tybalt's death, says, " Give me some aqzca vita:'* to old Lady Clermont, of whom Grantley Berkeley tells the following story ^ : — " Prominent among my earliest Brighton reminis- cences are those of old Lady Clermont, who was a frequent guest at the Pavilion. Her physician had recommended a moderate use of stimulants, to supply that energy which was deficient in her system, and brandy had been suggested in a prescribed quantity, ^ Adam and Eve stript of their furbelows^ 1710 (?) 2 Act III., s. 3. "' My Life and Recollections^ Vol. L, p. 50, DRINKS 123 to be mixed with her tea. I remember well having my curiosity excited by this, to me, novel form of taking medicine, and holding on by the back of a chair to watch the modits operandi. Very much to my astonishment, the patient held a liqueur bottle over a cup of tea, and began to pour out its contents, with a peculiar purblind look, upon the back of a teaspoon. Presently, she seemed suddenly to become aware of what she was about, turned up fhe spoon the right way, and carefully measured, and added the quantity to which she had been restricted. The Tea, so strongly 'laced,' she now drank with great apparent gusto." We derive our name of Brandy from the Dutch bi^and-zmjn, or the German brannt-wein, that is, burnt or distilled z£/^/^^ ; and in the 17th and i8th centuries it was generally spelt, and spoken of as brandy wine. But, also, in those centuries was it known by the name of '' Pslantz," from the town (Nantes, the capital of the Loire Inferieure) whence it came. But this name was changed early last century, when the trade left Nantes, and got into the Charente district, of which Cognac was the centre ; so what used to be " right good Nantz" of the old smuggling days, turned into the delicate, many-starred ** Cognac " of our times. It was an eminently respectable spirit. Whiskey was practically unknown out of Scotland and Ireland. Gin was the drink of the common people, and rum was considered only fit for sailors. Even Dr. Johnson, though so fond of his tea, was also fond of brandy, as Boswell chronicles of him, when in his 70th year: 154 DJ^INI^S. "Oil Wednesday, April 7, I dined with him at Sir Joshua Reynolds''s. Johnson harangued upon the quaUties of different liquors; and spoke with great con- tempt of claret, as so weak, that * a man would be drowned by it, before it made him drunk.' He was persuaded to drink one glass of it, that he might judge* not from recollection, which might be dim, but from immediate sensation. He shook his head, and said, 'Poor stuff! No, sir, claret is the liquor for boys; port for n)en ; but he who aspires to be a hero ' (smiling) • must drink brandy. In the first place the flavour of brandy is the most grateful to the palate, and then brandy will do soonest for a man what drinking can do for him. There are, indeed, few who are able to drink brandy. That is a power rather to be wished for than attained.' " And two years later on he gives another illustration of the doctor's liking for strong potations. "Mr. Eliot mentioned a curious liquor peculiar to his country, which the Cornish fishermen drink. They call it Mahoga7iy ; and it is made of two parts gin and one part treacle, well beaten together. I begged to have some of it made, which was done with proper skill by Mr. Eliot. I thought it very good liquor, and said it was a counterpart of what is called At hoi porridge^ in the Highlands of Scotland, which is a mixture of whiskey and honey. Johnson said ' That must be a better liquor than the Cornish, for both its component parts are better.' He also observed, 'Mahogany must be a modern name; for it is not long since the wood called mahogany was known in this country. I 1 Now called Athol brose. DRINKS. 125 mentioned his scale of liquors : Claret for boys — port for men — brandy for heroes. 'Then,' said Mr. Burke, ' let me have claret ; I love to be a boy ; to have the careless gaiety of boyish days,' Johnson : ' 1 should drink claret too, if it would give me that ; but it does not ; it neither makes boys men, nor men boys. You'll be drowned in it before it has any effect upon you.' " But it was the spirit always drunk by gentlemen until well on in this century, as we see by Mr. Pick- wick, whose constant resource in all cases of difficulty, was a glass of brandy. Pale brandy was not so much drank as brown, which is now only taken, when very old, as a liqueur, although a brown brandy of very dubious quality is to be met with in some country public houses. Brandy, like every other spirit, de- velopes its ethers with age, gets mellower, and of exquisite flavour; and its popularity would undoubtedly be revived if the drinker were only sure he could get such brandy as the many starred brands of Hennessy and Martell, instead of that awful substitute so often given — British brandy, made of raw potato spirit. The soil of the Charente slope is particularly adapted to the growth of the vine, although, as in all vine- growing countries some districts, and even small patches of land, produce finer wine than others. The grapes are white, not much larger than good- sized currants, and the vines seldom bear fruit until four or five years from their planting, and are most vigorous at the age of from ten to thirty. Many bear well up to fifty and seventy, and some are fruitful at one hundred years or more. 126 DRINKS. As a rule, the large firms do not distil the brandy they sell, but leave that operation to the small farmers round about, and then blend their products ; as, to produce the quantity they sell, enormous distilling space would be necessary, wine only producing one- eighth or one-tenth of alcohol to its bulk. The farmer's distillery is very primitive ; merely a simple boiler with a head or receiver, and a worm surrounded with cold water. There are generally two of these stills at work, and when once the farmer commences making his brandy, he keeps on day and night, bivouacking near the stills, until he has converted all his wine into crude spirit, as colourless as water, which he carts off, just as it is, to the brandy factory for vSale. There it is tasted, measured, and put into new casks of oak, hooped round with chestnut wood. These casks are branded with the date, together with the quality and place of growth of the wine from which the brandy was distilled, and they remain some time in stock before their contents are blended in the pro- portions which the firm deem suitable. This new spirit is housed on a floor over large vats, which are filled from selected casks, the spirit being filtered through flannel discs on its way. This mixes the various growths pretty well, but the spirit is run into other vats, being forced through filters of a peculiar kind of paper, almost like paste-board. When it gets to the second series of vats, it is kept well stirred, to prevent the heavier spirit sinking to the bottom. It is then drawn off into casks, which are .bunged up, and stored for several years that the DRINKS. 127 brandy may mature, and that the fusel oil may develope into the ethyls, which give such flavour and fragrance to the brandy. Perhaps the oldest house in the Cognac district is Hennessy's, but it would be invidious to say that their brandy w^as superior either to Martell's, Otard and Dupuy's, the Societe Vignicole, Courvoisier, or many other firms. That must be left to individual taste. But from these firm.s we can rely on having pure un- adulterated brandies, the pure product of the vine, without any admixture of grain or beet spirit. At one time, adulteration was rife among the farmers, but in 1857 and 1858 several of them were prosecuted, and they are now credited with having abjured their evil ways. J. A. GIN. Massiiger's Du'ze of Milan — Pope's Epilogue to Satires — The Bun- dad— WiXi'idim III.— Lord Hervey — Sir R. Walpolc— The Fall of Madame Geneva — Hogarth's Gin Lane — Schiedam Adulter- ation — Gin Sling — Captain Dudley Bradstreet — Tom and Jerry Hawthorn. GIN is an alcoholic drink distilled from malt or from unmalted barley or other grain, and after- wards rectified and flavoured. The word is French, genievre, juniper, corrypted intO' Geneva, and sub- sequently into its present form. It is to the berries of the juniper that the best Hollands owes its flavour. Perhaps one of the earliest allusions to gin is in Massingers Dttke of Milan (1623), Act I., scene i., when Graccho, a creature of Mariana, says to the courtier Julio, of a chance drunkard, *'Bid him sleep ; 'Tis a sign he has ta'en his liquor, and if you meet Ah officer preaching of sobriet}', Unless he read it in Geneva print, Lay him by the heels." DRINKS. 1-291 In this extract the word is played upon, Geneva suggesting both the habit of spirit-drinking and Cal- vinistic doctrine. When Pope wrote, the corrupted word " Gin " had become common. In the Epilogue to the Satires, I. 130. " Vice thus abused, demands a nation's care ; This calls the Church to deprecate our sin, And hurls the thunder of our laws on gin." Pope has added a note to this passage, to the effect that gin had almost destroyed the lowest rank of the people before it was restrained by Parliament in 1736. Another early allusion to Geneva is to be found in Carmina Quadragesimaliuy Oxford, 1723, vol. i., p. 7, in a copy of verses contributed by Salusbury Cade, elected from Westminster to Ch. Ch. in 1714 The thesis of which Salusbury Cade maintained the affirmative, is whether life consists in heat, or in the original An vita consist at in calore ? " Dum tremula hyberno Dipsas superimminet igni Et dextra cyathum sustinet, ore tubum, Alternis vicibus fumos hauritque, bibitque Quam dat arundo sitim grata Geneva levat Languenti hie ingens stomacho est fultura, nee alvus Nunc Hypochondriacis flatibus aegra tumet Liberior fluit in tepido nunc corpore sanguis, Hinc nova vis membris et novus inde calor. Si quando audieris vetulam hanc periisse : Genevae Dicas ampullam non renovasse suam. " Which being Englished, is Dipsas, who shivers by her wintry fire. While her pipe's smoke ascends in spire on spire, I Alternate puffs and drinks — Geneva lays That thirst the weed is wont in her to raise. With this her belly propped, its pain expels ; Intestine wind no more her stomach swells ; A freer blood runs leaping through her frame, New heat, new strength recalls the ancient game. And should you hear she's dead, the cause you'll know Was that Geneva in her jug ran low." In th^ DunciadyVjhich. Pope wrote in 1726 (book iii., I. 143), we read, — * A second see,, by meeker manners known, And modest as the maid that sips alone ; From the strong fate of drams if thou get free, Another D'Urfey, Ward ! shall sing in thee ! Thee shall each ale-house^ thee each gill-house ^ mournj And answering gin-shops sourer sighs return." An early allusion to Geneva is in a poem by Alexander Blunt, Distiller, 8vo, 1729, price 6^., called *' Geneva," addressed to the Right Honourable Sir R — ' — W . It commences, *' Thy virtues, O Geneva ! yet unsung By ancient or by modern bard, the muse In verse sublime shall celebrate. And thou O W — — - statesman most profound ! vouchsafe To lend a gracious ear :: for fame reports That thou with zeal assiduous dost attempt Superior to Canary or Champaigne Geneva salutiferous to enhance ; To rescue it from hand of porter vile, And basket woman,, and to the bouffet * Of the word gill-house a Fecer>t editor of Pope observes that it is doubtful whether it is to be understood as a house where gill, or beer impregnated with ground-ivy, was sold, or whether as an inferiof Uvernj where beer was sold by the measure known as a gilk DRINKS, 131 Of lady delicate and courtier grand Exalt it ; well from thee may it assume The glorious modern name of royal BOB ! " Though '• Brandy cognac, Jamaica Rum, and costly Arrack " are alluded to, there is no mention of Hollands in the poem, which is a defence of Geneva against ale. In this poem a statement is contained that Geneva was introduced by William III., and that he himself drank it. " Great Nassau, Immortal name ! Britain's d-eliverer From slavery, from wooden shoes and chains, Dungeons and fire ; attendants on the sway Of tyrants bigotted and zeal accurst, Of holy butchers, prelates insolent, Despotic and bloodthirsty ! He who did Expiring liberty revive (who wrought Salvation wondrous ! God-like hero ! He It was, who to compleat our happiness With liberty, restored Geneva introduced. O Britons. O my countrymen can you To glorious William now commence ingrates And spurn his ashes ? Can you vilify The sovereign cordial he has pointed out, Which by your own misconduct only can Prove detrimental } Martial William drank Geneva, yet no age could ever boast A braver prince than he. Within his breast Glowed every royal virtue ! Little sign, O Genius oi malt liquor. f that Geneva Debilitates the limbs and health impairs And mind enervates. Men for learning famed And skill in medicine prescribed it then Frequent in recipe, nor did it want 132 DRINKS. Success to recommend its virtues vast To late posterity. " In 1736 Lord Hervey, describing the state of England, says : The drunkenness of the common people was so universal by the retailing a liquor called Gin, wuth which they could get drunk for a groat, that the whole town of London and many towns in the country swarmed with drunken people from morning till night, and were more like a scene of a Bacchanal than the residence of a civil society. Retailers exhibited placards in their windows, in- timating that people might get drunk for the sum of id. and that clean straw would be provided for customers in the most comfortable of cellars. On Feb. 20, 1736, in the ninth year of George II., a petition of the Justices of the Peace for Middlesex against the excessive use of spirituous liquors was presented to the House of Commons, setting forth- That the drinking of Geneva and other distilled spirit : uous liquors had greatly increased, especially among the people of inferior rank, that the constant and excessive use thereof had destroyed thousands of his Majesty's subjects, debauching their morals, etc., that the " pernicious liquor " was then sold not only by the distillers and Geneva shops, but many other persons of inferior trades, *'by which means journeymen, apprentices and servants were drawn in to taste ^ and by degrees to like, approve, and immoderately to drink thereof," and that the petitioners therefore prayed that the House would take the premises into their serious consideration, etc. The House having DRINKS, 133 resolved itself into a committee on Feb. 23, Sir Joseph Jekyll moved the following resolutions : (i) That the low price of spirituous liquors is the principal induce- ment to the excessive and pernicious use thereof. (2) That a discouragement should be given to their use by a duty. (3) That the vending, etc., of such liquors be restrained to persons keeping public brandy- shops, victualling houses, coffee houses, ale houses and inn-holders, and to such apothecaries and surgeons as should make use of the same by way of medicine only ; and, (4) That no person keeping a public brandy-shop, etc., should be permitted to vend, etc., such liquors, but by licence with duty payable thereon. These Resolutions were agreed on without debate. On March 8, Mr. William Pulteney affixed a duty of 205. per gallon on gin, on the grounds of ancient use and sanction, and of its reducing many thousands of families at once to a state of despair. Sir Robert Walpole had no immediate concern in the laying of this tax on spirituous liquors, but suffered therefrom much unmerited obloquy. The bill was presented by Jekyll from a spirit of philanthropy, which led him to contemplate with horror the progress of vice that marked the popular attachment to this inflammatory poison. The populace showed their disapprobation of this Act in their usual fashion of riot and violence. We are told in Coxe's Walpole that numerous desperados continued the clandestine sale of gin in defiance of every restriction. The duty of 205-. per gallon was repealed 16 Geo. II., c. 8. On the 28th of September, 1736, it was deemed 134 DRINKS. necessary to send a detachment of sixty soldiers from Kensington to protect the house of Sir Joseph Jekyll, the Master of the Rolls, in Chancery Lane, from the violence threatened by the populace against this eminent lawyer. Two soldiers with their bayonets fixed were planted as sentinels at the little door next Chancery Lane, and the great doors were shut up, the rest of the soldiers kept garrison in the stables in the yard. This agitation gave rise to many a ballad and broadside, such as the ''Fall of Bob," or the Oracle of Gin," a tragedy; and " Desolation, or the Fall of Gin," a poem. The Lamentable- Fall of Madame Geneva. — 29 Sept.y 1736.^ The Woman holds a song to y^ tune, to y*^ Children in y^ Wood. " Good lack, good lack, and Well-a-day^ That Madame Gin should fall : Superior Powers she must obey. This Act will starve us all." The Man has the second part to y^ same tune. •* Th' Afflicted she has caus'd to sing, The Cripple leap and dance ; All those who die for love of Gin Go to Heaven in a Trance." Underneath are these verses — ^ There are two other prints connected with this event, all pubhshed at the same time. One is " The Funeral Procession of Madame Geneva, Sept. 29, 1736." The other is a Memorial, "To the Mortal Memory of Madame Geneva, who died Sept. 29, 1736. Her weeping Servants and loving Friends, consecrate this Tomb." DRINKS. 137 "The Scene appears, and Madame's Crew . In deep Despair, Exposed to view. See Tinkers, Cobblers, and cold Watchmen, With B s and W s as drunk as Dutchmen. All mingling with the Common Throng, Resort to hear her Passing Song. " Whilst Mirth suppress'd by Parliament, In Sober Sadness all lament, Pursued by Jekyl's indignation, She's brought to utter desolation. With Oaths they storm their Monarch's name. And curse their Hands that form'd the Scheme. "All Billingsgate their Case Bemoan, And Rag-fair Change in Mourning's hung ; Queen Gin, for whom they'd sacrifice Their Shirts and Smocks, nay, both their Eyes. Rather than She want Contribution, They'd trudge the Streets without their shoes on." The following verses on the Gin Act, in 1736, are supposed by John Nichols to be the production of Dr. Johnson. " Pensilibus fusis cyatho comitata Supremo, Terribili fremitu stridula maeret anus. O longum formosa vale mihi vita decusque, Fida comes mensae fida comesque tori ! Eheu quam longo tecum consumerer sevo, Heu quam tristitiae dulce lenimen eras, internum direpta mihi, sed quid moror istis, Stat, fixum est, nequeunt jam revocare preces ; I, quoniam sic fata vocant, liceat mihi tantum, Vivere te viva te moriente mori." A clever cento from the Latin poets, which may be thus represented in English : — 138 DRINKS. ". . . Left with her last glass alone. Thus loud laments her lot, the squeaking crone : Farewell, my life and beauty, thou art sped. Faithful companion of my board and bed. My earthly term fain with thee would I live, Who to my sorrowing heart can'st solace give. Bereft of gin, alas ! am I for aye ! The Act is passed. 'Tis all in vain to pray. Go where the Fates may call, and know that I Living, with thee would live, and dying, die ! " Hogarth's Gin Lane was advertised in 1751, with a note that, as its subject was calculated to reform some reigning vices peculiar to the lower class of people, in hopes to render them of more extensive use, the author had published them in the cheapest manner possible. "The cheapest manner possible" was one shilling which in those days was a fairly good price for a print. The following lame and defamatory verse was com- posed for the occasion by the Rev. James Townley : — " Gin Lane. Gin, cursed fiend, with fury fraught, Makes human race a prey ; It enters by a deadly drought, And steals our life away. Virtue and Truth, driven to despair, Its rage compels to fly ; But cherishesj with hellish care, Theft, murder, perjury. Damned cup, that on the vitals preys, That liquid fire contains ; Which madness to the heart conveys, And rolls it through the veins." Hogarth tells us that in Gin Lane evtry circumstance of the horrid effects of gin drinking is brought to view DRINKS. 139 in terrorem. Idleness, poverty, misery, and distress, which drives even to madness and death, are the only objects that are to be seen ; and not a house in toler- able condition but the pawnbrokers and gin shop. The same moral is taught by Cruikshank, but not before his conversion to teetotalism. Schiedam is the metropolis of gin, and its numerous distilleries are omnivorous, taking with equal relish car- goes of rye and buckwheat from Russia, and damaged rice or any cereal from other countries, and sometimes also potato spirit from Hamburg. The distillery of De Kuypers is probably that of the greatest note, and that firm's black square bottles, packed in cases filled with hemp husks, are known all over the world. In Africa " square face " is king, but he frequently holds some counterfeit liquor, even some- times the vilest of Cape Smoke. Schiedam is the Mecca of the Dutchman, the birth- place of his beloved Schnapps. This drink is always acceptable, and fifty good reasons exist for drinking it. The chief varieties of the aromatised popular spirit called gin are now known as Geneva, Hollands, and Schiedam. It is current in some parts of Africa as a species of coin. Since, however, every distiller varies his materials and their proportions, the species of this beverage are practically unlimited. Generally, however, the distinc- tion is clear between Hollands or Dutch and English gin. The former is commonly purer than the highly flavoured and too frequently adulterated British pro- duct. I40 DRINKS. The matters employed in the adulteration are very many. Corianders, crushed almond cake, angelica root powdered, liquorice, cardamoms, cassia, cinnamon, grains of paradise, and cayenne pepper, and many more substances take the place of the berries of the juniper tree. As these substances frequently produce a cloudy appearance, the liquid is subsequently refined by other adulterants, such as alum, sulphate of zinc, and acetate of lead. The variety of gin dear to ancient beldams, which is known as Cordial, is more highly sweetened and aro- matized than the ordinary quality. The alcoholic strength of gin as commonly sold ranges from 22 to 48 degrees. The amount of sugar varies between 2 and 9 per cent. Gin is a beneficial diuretic, but the compounds sold under that name are too often detrimental in their effects. A popular drink called gin-sling takes its name from John Collins, formerly a celebrated waiter in LImmer's old house. The old lines on this drink ran as follows : — " My name is John Collins, head waiter at Limmer's, Corner of Conduit Street, Hanover Square. My chief occupation is filling of brimmers For all the young gentlemen frequenters there." The poetry Is very far from bad, and so was the liquor. It was a composition of gin, soda water, lemon, and sugar. John was abbreviated to gin and Collins to sling. Gin has had many popular names, but why gin DRINKS. 141 should be called Old Tom by the publicans and lower orders of London has sometimes puzzled those who are inquisitive enough to consider the subject etymo- logically. The answer may, perhaps, be found in a curious book, called "The Life and Uncommon Ad- ventures of Captain Dudley Bradstreet, Dublin, r755." Captain Dudley, a government spy of the Count Fathom species, after declaring that the selling of Geneva in a less quantity than two gallons had been prohibited, says: "Most of the gaols were full, on account of this Act, and it occurred to me to venture upon the trade. I got an acquaintance to rent a house in Blue Anchor Alley, in St, Luke's parish, who privately conveyed his bargain to me : I then got it well secured, and laid out in a bed and other furniture five pounds, in provision and drink that would keep, about two pounds, and purchased in Moorfields the sign of a cat and had it nailed to a street window. I then caused a leaden pipe, the small end out about an inch, to be placed under the paw of the cat, the end that was within had a funnel to it. " When my house was ready for business I inquired what distiller in London was most famous for good gin, and was assured by several that it was Mr. L dale, in Holborn.^ To him I went, and laid out thirteen pounds. . . . The cargo was sent to my house, at the back of which there was a way to go in or out. When the liquor was properly disposed, I got a person ^ Whose premises were burnt down during the Lord George Gordon riots. Dickens immortalized Langdale in Barnaby Rudge, The distillery ^s still in existence at the same place. M2 DRINKS. to inform a few of the mob that gin would be sold by the cat at my window next day, provided they put the money in his mouth, from whence there was a hole which conveyed it to me." This, by the way, is a rare anticipation of our automatic sweetstuff, scent, and other machines. To continue : " At night I took possession of my den, and got up early next morning to be ready for custom. It was over three hours before anybody called, which made me almost despair of the project ; .at last I heard the chink of money and a comfortable voice say, ' Puss, give me two pennyworth of gin ! ' I instantly put my mouth to the tube and bid them receive it from the pipe under her paw " — the cat seems to have changed its sex in this short interval of time — '' and then measured and poured it into the fun- nel, from whence they soon received it. Before night I took six shillings, the next day about thirty shillings, and afterwards three or four pounds a day. From all parts of London people used to resort to me in such numbers that my neighbours could scarcely get in and out of their houses. After this manner I went on for a month, in which time I cleared upwards of two-and- twenty pounds. So far Captain Bradstreet, " but," says the Editor of Notes & Queries y " the ghost of ' old Tom Hodges * will probably enter a protest against Captain Brad- street's cat." Another popular name for gin was used when Cor- inthian Tom and Jerry Hawthorn visited Bob Logic in the Fleet. Bob says, " Let us spend the day comfor- tably, and in the evening I will introduce you both to DRINKS. 143 my friend the haberdasher. He is a good whistler,- and his shop always abounds with some prime articles that you will like to look at. . . ."A glass or two of wine made them as gay as larks, and a hint from Jerry to Logic about the whistler brought them into the shop of the latter in a twinkling. Hawthorne, with great surprise, said, " Where are we? This is no haberdasher's. It's a " "No nosing, Jerry," replied Logic, with a grin; *' you're wrong, the man is a dealer in tape." 1 A whistling shop was a sly grog-shop. No spirits were allowed in the Fleet prison, but of course they were introduced, and could be got at some places. The method of telling who could bJQ trusted, was for the customers to whistle — hence the term. WHISKEY. Uisge-beatha — "My Stint" — Its Manufacture — Good and Bad — Early Mentions of Whiskey — Materials used in its Manufacture — St. Thorwald — Duncan Forbes and Ferrintosh — Duty on Whiskey— Silent Spirit — Artificial Maturing. NO matter in what country, wherever it was known, alcohol has been hailed as the Water of Life, even in the Gaelic. Uisge-beatha, or, as we term it, whiskey, bears literally that interpretation. This is "the wine of the country," both in Ireland and Scotland, and the quantities drank, without any apparently hurtful effect, is astonishing to a southern Englishman. Northwards, on the border land, it is a question whether more whiskey is not drunk, pro rata, than in Scotland. Still, even there, every one is not gifted, as was the Irishman spoken of by John Wilson Croker. He tells the story of a lawsuit, in which a life insurance com- pany disputed a claim, on the ground that the death was caused by excessive drinking. One witness for the plaintiff was called, who deposed that, for the last eighteen years of his life, he had been in the nightly habit of imbibing twenty -fozir tumblers of whiskey punch. The cross-examining counsel wished to know BRINKS. t4S whether he would sWear to that, or whether he ever overstepped that limit. The witness replied that he was upon his oath, and would swear no farther; "for I never kept count beyond the two dozen, though there is no saying how many beyond I might drink to make myself comfortable ; but that's my stint^ Good whiskey should be made solely from the finest barley fnalt, and is so made by the largest and best distillers ; but the smaller ones, and those who are in a hurry to get rich by any means, use all kinds of refuse grain, and produce a spirit which, if drank new, is neither more nor less than rank poison. The fusel oil, which is present in all distillations from grain, re- quires time to resolve itself into those delicate ethers, which, while enhancing the flavour and bouquet of the spirit, are harmless* Good whiskey, properly matured, mixed with a sufficient quantity of water, and used in moderation, is a good and a wholesome drink, acting also in lieu of food. When this life-giving liquor was discovered is un- certain. Edward Campion, in his History of Ireland, 1633, speaking of a famine which happened in 13 16, says that it was caused by the soldiers eating flesh and . drinking aqua vitce in Lent ; and, in another place, he states that a knight, called Savage, who lived in 1350, having prepared an army against the Irish, allowed to every soldier, before he buckled with the enemy, a mighty draught of aqua vitcs, wine, or old ale. Walter Harris, in his Hibernica, 1757, says that in the reign of Henry VHI. it was decreed that there be but one maker of aqua vita in every borough town, K 146 BRINKS, upon pain of 6s. Sd, ; and that no wheaien malt go to any Irishman's country, upon pain of forfeiture of the same in value, except only bread, ale, or aqua vitcB. In a little book, Delightes for Ladies, etc., 1602, is the following recipe for Usquebath, or Irish Aqua VitcE :— " To every gallon of good Aqua Composita, put two ounces of chosen liquerice, bruised and cut into small peeces, but first clensed from all his filth, and two ounces of Annie seeds that are cleane and bruised. Let them macerate five or six daies in a wodden Vessel, stopping the same close, and then draw off as much as will runne cleere, dissolving in that cleare Aqua Vitae five or six spoonfuls of the best Malassoes you can get ; Spanish cute, if you can get it, is thought better than Malassoes ; then put this into another vessell ; and after three or foure daies^ (the more the better), when the liquor hath fined itself, you may use the same ; some , add. Dates and Raisons of the Sun to this receipt : those groundes which remaine, you may redistill, and make more Aqua Composita of them, and of that Aqua Composita you may make more Usque- bath." The distillation of whiskey in Ireland, on a large scale, is of comparatively modern date, the poteen having been manufactured in illicit stills, in inaccessible and unhandy places. Now, Roe's distillery turns out over two million gallons a year, and Jameson's more than a million and a half. The whiskey made by these firms, that of Sir John Power & Sons, and some others, is distilled from pure malt ; but there are many dis- DRINKS. 147 tilleries that send out a spirit made from molasses, beet-root, potatoes, and other things, which cannot possibly be called whiskey, which has brought Irish whiskey somewhat into disrepute, to the great advan- tage of the Scotch distillers. Again, unmalted grain is used, which gives a practically tasteless spirit, which is almost entirely deficient in the grateful ethers, and is only so much raw alcohol and water, a very different article to that which occasioned the following verses : — " Oh, Whiskey Punch, I love you much, for you're the very thing, To level all distinctions 'twixt a beggar and a king. You lift me up so aisy, and so softly let me down, That the devil a hair I care what I wear, a caubeen or a crown. " While you're a-coorsin' through my veins I feel mighty pleasant, That I cannot just exactly tell whether I'm a prince or peasant ; Maybe I'm one, maybe the other, but that gives me small trouble, By the Powers ! I believe. I'm both on 'em, for I think I'm seein' double." Scotch whiskey is the same as Irish, and should be similarly made from pure malted barley. No one knows when it was first made ; but, until the time of the Pretender, it was hardly known in the Lowlands, being a drink strictly of the Highlanders. There is a tradition of a certain St. Thorwald, whose name may be sought for in vain in the pages of Alban Butler, who had a cell in the side of a hill looking upon the Esk. He is said to have possessed a wonderful elixir, famous «48 DRINKS. for curing all diseases, and, consequently, he was re- sorted to by pilgrims both far and near. Could it be that he had a whiskey still ? I know not ; but to this day a spring on the site of his hermitage helps to supply the Langholm distillery. Perhaps the earliest historical account of Scotch whiskey is the grant, in 1690, to Duncan Forbes of Culloden, in consideration of his services to William III., of the privilege of distilling whiskey, dutyfree, in the barony of Ferrintosh. Naturally, a number of distilleries were erected there, and Ferrintosh became the generic term for whiskey. In 1785 this grant was annulled on payment of ;,^ 20,000 to the representatives of Duncan Forbes, a proceeding which Robert Burns thus wrote about,, in his " Scotch Drink " : — " Thee, Ferrintosh ! O sadly lost ! $cotland laments from coast to coast 1 Now colic-grips an* barkin' hoast May kill us a' ; For loyal Forbes' chartered boast Is ta'en awa'." The Highland risings made the Lowlanders more familiar with this spirit ; but it wa^ a long time before the drink became general, and a far longer before it was generally introduced into England. " Bonnie Prince Charlie" got too fond of it, and his affection for strong drinks was life-long. George IV., on his visit to Scotland, thought the best way to popularise himself on his arrival was to call for, and drink, a glass of whiskey ; and even our good Queen has tasted " Athol-brose." DRINKS. I49> The manufacture of whiskey was encouraged for several reasons : first, that it gave employment ; secondly, that it used up large quantities of grain, to the benefit of the farmer ; and thirdly, it was hoped that it would, in many cases, supersede the French brandy, which was most extensively smuggled. But Government imposed so high a duty, that illicit stills sprang up everywhere, and contraband whiskey was universally drank, the smugglers openly bringing their wares down south, and in such force as to defy the Excise, and frequently the military. A wise step was then taken, and in 1823 the excise duty was lowered from 6^. 2d, to 2s. ^%d. per imperial gallon, a proceed- ing which, in a year, doubled the output of exciseable spirits ; but, by degrees, fiscal exigencies have raised it to 10 J. per proof gallon. Now, the quantity of home- made spirits on which duty was paid for the year ending 31st March, 1890, is as follows : — England. Scotland. Ireland. Galls. Galls. Galls. 12,636,060 ... 9,463,012 ... 7,521,998 or in all, 29,621,070 gallons, yielding a revenue of ;^i4,8io,522. It would be invidious to particularize any of the large Scotch distilleries, which mostly owe their fame to the excellence of their malt and the extreme purity of their water, together with the fact that peat is ex- tensively used as fuel, even to the drying of the malt ; but " Glenlivet " has a name as world-wide as *' Fer- rintosh." Do we not read in the Bon Gualtier Ballads that — iSo DRINICS. "Fhairhson had a son Who married Noah's daughter^ And nearly spoiled ta flood, By trinking up ta water ; Which he would have done, I at least pelieve it, Had ta mixture peen Only half Glenlivet " ? It was such a famous place that, according to the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland^ there were as many as 200 illicit stills there, in brisk work, at the begin- ning of the present century. ''Small still" whiskey is undoubtedly the best, for only good materials can be used, as the distillation carries over the flavour of the malt. Hear what Dr. Thudicum says^ : — " The product of the patent still derives its name from the fact that it is mere alcohol and water, having no distinctive qualities, telling no tales to nose or palate of the source from which it was obtained, and hence, in the almost poetic spirit of the trade, it is commonly called 'silent spirit.' The owner of a patent still, instead of being confined, like a whiskey distiller, to the use of the best materials, is able to make his spirit from any, even spoiled and waste, materials, and with little reference to any other quality than cheapness. The worst of the spirit thus produced is fit only for methylation, preparatory for being used for trade purposes, exclusive of consumption as a beverage. When intended for a beverage, it must be rectified and flavoured. It thus serves as a basis 1 Alcoholic Drinks^ 1884, p. 67. DRINI^S. 151 for the implanting of artificial flavours, which may be those of sham whiskey, sham brandy, or sham rum. *' The presence of grain ethers is the condition of the genuineness of whiskey. Silent spirit, on the other hand, undergoes no change by keeping, and must be flavoured to become drinkable. For that purpose it is either made smoky, to become like Scotch, or it is mixed with Irish pot whiskey, to become like Irish whiskey." There is yet another and a newer way of altering whiskey, which was shown in the Brewers' Exhibition at Islington, October, 1890, and described in an advertisement in a morning paper as ** A Transforma- tion Scene ; no Pantomime." This new process of maturing spirits is by subjecting them to the action of compressed air confined in a close chamber. No- thing but atmospheric air is used, which is filtered through pure water before being compressed. The air chamber shown was a cylindrical vessel, which, in practice, would be some twelve feet high or more. It is supplied with a finely perforated floor, at a bonveni= ent distance below the top, and it has, besides, one or two lower floors of metallic gauze. The cylinder is charged with the liquor to be treated, and the com- pressed air is then let into it. The taps having been closed on the completion of this operation, a rotary pump keeps the liquor in continuous circulation as it passes through the floors in the form of a fine shower. As soon as it reaches the gauze floor it breaks up into spra3fj and, in this minute state of sub-division, it is IT2; DRINKS. acted on by the condensed air. This air, rising through a pipe, collects at the top of the cylinder, and in that way it is prevented from interfering with the steady flQ.W of the shower. A slight circulation of the air is at the same time promoted. On the process being completed, the liquor is run into casks, and the air which remains in the vessel is allowed to escape, the quantity of alcohol in combination with it not being worth saving. The object of this process is to bring about the oxidation of the essential oils contained in the whiskey or other spirit, and to promote their conversion into ethers. It is claimed that this transformation does take place, and that, the spirit is changed from a new spirit, and has all the character, mellowness, and flavour of that matured by time. This change is said to be effected in twenty-four hours,, and that the spirit has, in that period, put on a maturity of ten years. I. A. WOODEN CUAGH OR QUAIGH, {Brit. Mus.) RUM. Derivation of Name — Whence Procured — Its Manufacture — Its Price — Trade Rum. THK etymon of the name of this spirit is some- what dubious. Some have it that it was formerly spelt (as it now is in French) Rhum, and that it is derived from rheum, or ^ei/yua, a flowing, on account of its manufacture from the juice of the sugar cane. Others say that, as rum has the strongest odour of any distilled spirit, it is a corruption of the word aroma. Rum is made from the refuse of sugar, and can, of course, be produced wherever sugar is grown. This is notably the case in the West Indies, and the best rum comes thence. The finest, and that commanding the highest price in the market, is from Jamaica ; Martinique and Giiadaloupe perhaps come next ; and Santa Cruz has a very good name. British Guiana, the Brazils, Natal, Queensland, and New South Wales all produce it. It is made from molasses and the skimmings of the boiling sugar. Molasses is the syrup remaining after 153 154 DRINKS. the separation of all the saccharine matter which will crystallize, and is a dense, viscous liquid, varying from light yellow to nearly black, according to the source from which it is obtained; but its distillation will not produce rum. Sugar or molasses, if distilled, will produce, alcohol, but it will have no character of rum. This peculiar odour is imparted to it by the addition, in distillation, of "skimmings," which are the matters separated from the sugar in clarifying and evaporation ; that is to say, the scum of the precipi- tators, clarifiers and evaporators is mixed with the rinsing of the boiling pans, and is thus called. They contain all the necessaries of fermentation, and when mixed with molasses and " dunder," which is the fer- mented wash left from distillation, are distilled into rum. The odour of rum is very volatile ; so much so, that it should be casked immediately after distillation. The raw spirit is extremely injurious ; but it improves so much by age that, at a sale in Carlisle in 1865, rum, known to be 140 years old, sold at three guineas a bottle. Like all alcohol, rum, when distilled, is white, the colour being given to it, as it used to be in brown brandy, by caramel (burnt sugar). Much of the rum sold in England is made from "silent" spirit, flavoured with butyric ether ; and it is this stuff which is sold as '' trade rum " for export to Africa. Some years since an action was brought by an African merchant against the vendor of " trade rum " for damages caused by it to his trade. All went merrily till the neo^roes drank the rum, when it suddenly DklNKS. 155 red, ceased, owing to its colouring their excreta probably owing to the colouring matter. In the old days of punch drinking, rum was the great ingredient in that beverage, but its use has gradually died out, except among sailors, it still being served out in the navy, on account of its supposed warming qualities. Rum and milk, taken before breakfast, is also a beverage used very extensively. J. A. LIQUEURS. I. Derivation of Term — Eichhoff— Gregory of Tours — Liqueur Wines — Herb Wines — Scot's Ivanhoe — Hydromel — Murrey — Delille — Montaigne — Monastical Liqueurs — Arnold de Villeneuve — Catherine de Medicis — Elixir Ratafia. THK word liqueur has been traced by Eichhoff to a Sanskrit root, viz., laks or lauc^ to see, appear. It is now commonly understood of a drink obtained by distillation, a beverage of which alcohol is the base. To the ancients liqueurs appear to have been un- known. The art of distillation on which they depend was not apparently discovered till the middle ages. Fermented wines, of which some description will be found in another part of this book, occupied their place at dinner and dessert Old Falernian when mixed with honey probably bore some near resemblance to what is now understood by liqueur. But this drink was found to have such disastrous effects by way of intoxication that it was forbidden to women to drink of it. Our ancestors, perhaps in imitation of the ancients, composed a sort of liqueur with the must of wine, in is6 DRINKS, 15.7 which they had infused berries of the lentiscus, or a portion of its tender wood. The artificial wines made either with this lentiscus, or with other aromatic herbs, called by Gregory of Tours vina odoramentis immixta^ were the only approaches to the modern liqueurs, even some time after the discovery of the process of distil- lation. Among these liqueur wines must be mentioned that species of cooked wine which was the result of a por- tion of must reduced to half or a third of its original bulk by boiling. The capitularies of Charlemagne speak of this drink as vinum coctum, and the southern pro- vinces called it Sabe, from the Latin sapa, which with the Romans had the same signification. Both Galen and Hippocrates refer to a Greek composition called SircEum or Hepsema, which, says Pliny, we call sapa. The fashion in which this wine was cooked is shown in the Picture antiche cV ErcolanOy t. I., tab. 35. Those artificial wines which consisted solely of infu- sions of aromatic or medicinal plants, such as absinthe, aloes, anise, rosemary, hyssop, and so on, were called herb wines, and were frequently employed as remedies and preventives. With a herb wine, the wine of a honied absinthe, it was that Fredegonda poisoned him who reproached her with the murder of the Pretextate. The most famous of these wines were those into which entered, besides honey, the spices and aromatic confec- tions of Asia, to which were given the name of pig- ments. The highly spiced and "most odoriferous" wine sweetened with honey is one of those drinks which Cedric bids Oswald, in Ivanhoe,^ to place upon 158 DRII^KS. the board for the refreshment of the Knight Templar. It is mentioned in company with the oldest wine, the best mead, the mightiest ale, the richest morat^" and the most sparkling cider. The poets of the thirteenth century speak of this decoction with transport. They regarded it in the light of an exquisite delicacy. As no gentleman's library is complete without the presence of some par- ticular ijw)rk of which a bookseller is anxious to dis- pose, so no feast at which pigment was not present was held to be complete by the medieval gourmet. Indeed this drink seems to have been all too sweet' and was, in consequence of its inebriating property, like the honied Falernian, partially prohibited. The Council of Aix-la-Chapelle in 817 decreed that on festival days only might this voluptuous cup be intro- duced into conventual repasts. Hydromel and hippocras were allied to this cate- gory of fermented and almost alcoholic drinks, but they were not liqueurs. Finally certain liqueurs were composed entirely of juices of fruits and held the rank and title of wines. Such were cherry, gooseberry, strawberry wine, and others. Another liqueur wine often cited by the thirteenth-century poets is Murrey^ a thin drink coloured or otherwise affected by mul- berries. The word liqueur appears to have had a con- siderable latitude of signification. We talk now of ^ Scott's Ivanhoe, cap. iii. 2 Morat is a composition of honey and mulberries, from which latter its name is derived. DRINKS. 159 coffee and liqueur, but according to the French poet DeHUe, who hved at a time very near our own, coffee itself was included under the latter category — "Cest tol, divin cafe, dont ralmable liqueur > Sans alterer la tete epanouit le cceur " : which presents us with a view of coffee akin to that held by Cowper of tea, when he talks in his Task (Book IV.) of " the cups That cheer but not inebriate." Liqueurs, indeed, properly so called were not known till long after the distillation of wine had been recog- nised, probably about the fourteenth century. Many years elapsed before these preparations escaped from the domination of the alchemists. Those religious who employed distillation for the confection of balsams and panaceas seem to have been the first to discover them to the world. Montaigne, in the strange account he has written of his travel in Italy, speaks of the Jesuits of Vicenza — the Jesitates as he calls them — who had a liquor shop in their fair monastery, in which were sold phials of scent for a crown. The good fathers appear to have busied themselves in the inter- vals of their religious exercises with distilling waters of different herbs and flowers for the public use, as well for medicine as for sensual delight. Speaking of Verona, Montaigne says he saw also a religious of monks who call themselves Jesuates of St. Jerosme. They are dressed in white under a smoked robe with little white caps. They are not priests, neither do 160 DRINICS. they say mass, nor preach,^ and they are for the most part ignorant. But they make a boast to be excellent distillers of eaic de naffd'^ and other waters, both in Verona and elsewhere. Monastical liqueurs are worthy of a paragraph to themselves. So long as monks have existed, they seem to have manifested a taste for the concoction of these drinks. We can scarcely pass the shop window of a liqueur-seller without having our attention attracted by what the French call a Kyrielle or litany of flasks of diverse forms,- decorated with tickets bearing such titles as the following \-^Liqueur des Chartretix, Liqueur des Benedictins, Liqueur des Cannes, Liqueur des Trappistes, Liqueur des Peres de Garaison, Liqueur du P, Kermanny and so on. A large volume might well be composed on these liqueurs alone. About their supposed virtues, — -aperient, digestive, antiapo- plectic, antispasmodic, anticholeric, tonic, etc., that book might be well supposed likely to stretch out as far as the list of Banquo's issue to the diseased imagi- nation of Macbeth. The search for the philosopher's stone and the powder of projection was by no means wholly fruitless. It strengthened the hands of chemistry* It was also the cradle of liqueurs. In the early part of the middle ages the learned inhabitants of the convents ^ According to their first institution the J-esuits were not priests. This was conceded to them afterwards by Paul V. Their primitive principal occupation was the assistance of the sick and the distil- lation of salutiferous waters, whence they were known as ^^ padri delV acguaviie" or Fathers of brandies. * A liqueur made with the flower of citron. DRINKS. 1.61 devoted their leisure time, of which they appear to have had no lack, to the so-called magnum opus. The magnum opus, the quintessence, the elixir of long life, were three different denominations of one and the same thing. Monkish intellectual toil was chiefly con- nected at that time with the study of essences, spirits, alcohols, and distillations. The plants which they sought with the greatest eagerness were rosemary, arnica, elder, camomile, sweet trefoil, rose, borage, balm mint, snake weed, iris, etc. In the thirteenth century, Arnold de Villeneuve, a celebrated physician, possessed with this devil of a magnum, opus, formulated the question of the quint- essence or elixir of long life in these terms, which became afterwards a dogma for all his monastic successors. " This is the secret, viz., to find sub- stances so homogenous to our nature that they can increase it without inflaming it, continue it without diminishing it ... as our life continually loses somewhat, until at last all Is lost." The outcome of th^e long and patient labours of the monkish alchemists was certain elixirs and liqueurs, of which the secret composition was transmitted from generation to gener- ation in convents and monasteries. Such liqueurs were in their origin simply a pharmaceutic product. It is only within the last few years comparatively that they have been converted Into delicacies after dinner. Our age bears the hall mark of positivism. The monks labour no longer for the sole glory of God and comfort of the sick. Their object at the present day is to effect, it is affirmed, a ready and productive sale. L 162 DRmiCS. It may be so; happily it is not our business to deter- mine. It is certain that a vast development: has taken place in the manufacture of the majority of the monk- ish liqueurs. The Ckarti^eux of L' here now realize annual benefices of considerable value, of which a por- tion is said to be contributed to the continually dimin- ishing Papal exchequer, under the title of Peter's pence. Of this medicinal liqueur the active and benevolent element is gathered from herbs scattered on the Alpine mountains cold, or on the slopes of the Pyrenees, or in the sombre forests of the north (see the Prospectus), or in the shops of the apothecaries. But they all assuredly depend upon cognac for their element of life. Benedictine, with its four cabalistic letters, AMD G,' is made by the monks of Fecamp, at the famous Carthusian monastery of La Grande Chartrey.se, near Grenoble. The elixir of long life, de Sept-Fonds, is made in a convent of the Trappists of I'Allier, and Trappistine is the work of the good fathers of the abbey of La Grace- Dieu (Doubs). It 13, however, affirmed that only Chartreuse, coloured yellow or green, at will, and Trappistine, are the works of religious hands, while all other liqueurs are made by the laics. The methods of fabrication em- ployed in the convents are now well known.^ Bene- dictime is the only liqueur which has escaped analysis. Absinthe I'd not strictly a liqueur. It substitutes bitter for sweet. This strong spirituous liquor, so prejudicial to French health and morality, is, however, 1 Ad majorem Dei gloriam. ^ RoFet's- " Manud du diitillafet^r- liquor iste/* DRINI^S. 163 commonly called a liqueur. Its base is an alcoholate, composed of anise, coriander, and fennel. It is flavoured with wormwood, a species of artemisia, and other plants containing absinthin. It is said to be commonly coloured with indigo and sulphate of coppen It is prepared chiefly in Switzerland, but much of it is made at Bordeaux. Arnold de Villeneuve, in his medical treatise, written in Latin, On the preservation of youth and the retarda- tion of age, has a sermon upon Golden water. " I have not," he says, " read the properties of this water in books of distinguished authority, but it is to be presumed that, if it exists, it is so sublime a work that they have concealed the method of its preparation, and have even refused to mention its name. Of gold, however, they have spoken, and set it among cordial medicines. They have praised it for the comforting of the heart and for the palliation of leprosy. It is possible that since we every day find things diversified by alter* ation of substance, acquiring the operations of those other things into which they have been transformed, so out of wine may be made a water of life very differ- ent from wine both in colour and in substance, in effect and in operation. And the doubt here is, not about the fact, but how it is brought about. That the bodies of all metals may be reduced into water by the in* genuity of mankind, experience allows us not to ques- tion ; but the operation and nature of those things by which this end is obtained it is no easy matter to dis* cover." This golden water was originally nothing else than 1 64 DRINKS. eau de vie In which had been macerated certain herbs and aromatic spices to give It taste and colour ; after- wards minute portions of metalHc gold were added. The ingredients mentioned by Arnold de Villeneuve are rosemary flowers, from which, he says, the water obtains its golden colour, cinnamon, grains of paradise, cloves, cubebs, liquorice, and the like. In the mind of the middle ages, gold was held to be a remedy for every ill. Many people applied themselves to the task of dissolving this metal and rendering it potable. It was put into drinks, baths, •victuals, pills, and the pharmacopeia of the time abounds in elixirs of gold, tinctures of gold, drops of gold, and so on. To please the public eye, those pieces of the precious metal were cast into the com- position which we now know as Eau de vie de Dant^ zig. Catherine de Medicis brought into France all the voluptuous discoveries and superfluities of Italy, and helped to augment considerably the number of new liqueurs and to popularize their usage. Henry II. was especially fond of the anisette of Marie Brizard of Bordeaux. Sully, in 1604, examining the objects of luxury In France, found Populo and Rossolio to have the chief share in the public estimation and expendi- ture. Of them Populo is mentioned in the Letters of Gui-Patin.-^ It was composed of spirits of wine, water, sugar, musk, amber, essence of anise, and es- sence of cinnamon. B-Ossolis, our Rossolio, or Rossoli, said to be derived, 1 Gui-Patin Let Ires ^ ii. 425. DRINKS. 165 in consequence of its extreme excellence, from the dew of the sun, ros solis, was made of burnt brandy, sugar, and the juice of sweet fruits, such as cherries or mul- berries. Louis XIV. was much attached to this par- ticular liqueur. That prepared for him was said to differ a little from the ordinary compound. A receipt is oriven of the kino^'s drink. Equal quantities of eau de vie and Spanish wine, in which were infused anise, coriander, fennel, citron, an- gelica, and sugar-candy dissolved in camomile water, and boiled to a thick syrup, were a distinctive feature in this royal liqueur. Owing to oblivion or ignorance of the anisette of Henri II. this monarchical recop:nition of rossolio has led to the supposition that liqueurs were invented to invigorate the senile decrepitude of Louis XIV., but it has been shown that they existed long before his time. George IV. is said to have been attached to liqueurs in much the same way as Louis XIV., who may have supposed that they in some measure im- proved his health or arrested his decay. The liqueur industry is chiefly continental, and the liqueurs are very numerous. Holland is famous for its Curapa and Russia for its Kummely and almost every large district of France has its own speciality of liqueur. Bordeaux^ is remarkable for its Anisette, ^ One of the most important liqueur manufactories is that of Marie Brizard and Roger of Bordeaux. In 1755 Marie Brizard, in the Quartier S. Pierre, a lady of much devotion and charity, devoted a large portion of her time, in imitation of the monks, to the con- coction of medicinal cordials. Of these, her Anisette, so called from its chief ingredient, soon attained a wide reputation. Roger married i66 DRINKS. Dijon for its Cassis, Marseilles for Its Absinthe, Gre- noble for its Ratafias, and Paris and Lyons are each noted for many different kinds. The English have attained as yet no high rank as liqueur manufacturers. The prosaic nature of the Trade Returns includes all liqueurs of foreign origin under the heading of ''Sweetened or mixed Spirits!' It . makes no distinction between Eaux and Cremes or between Ratafias and Elixirs. We have been told that elixirs are yellow and aromatized, and eaux or cremes white, while ratafias are substantially infusions of fruit. Originally this may have been so. It is not the case at present. Both Elixir and Ratafia are interesting from an etymological standpoint. The latter word has excited considerable discussion. Menage, writing it as it was commonly written in his time, ratafiat, says it is a term derived from the East Indies. Leibnitz, on thei contrary, holds it to be a corruption of rectifi^ applied, to alcohol. Another etymology is rata fiat. Parties were supposed to enter into a contract, and after drinking the liqueur to say, " Let it be ratified." Elixir ^ is an Arabic word derived from the Greek, by which the alchemists denoted their powder of- pro- jection or philosopher's stone. the niece of this lady, and the firm is now known under their joint names. They manufacture many other Hqueurs, but are still chiefly famous for the old medicinal cordial. ^ wj^^iSij cilacsir, from Gr. ^rfpov, dry. LIQUEURS. H. Liqueur Maker*s Guide. German Liqueurs i Eau d'Amour — Eau Divine. DAntzig Liqueurs: Eau Miraculeuse — Eau Aerienne. French Liqueurs : Vespetro — Scubac — Absinthe — Mara- schino, etc. The Verger — Vermath, etc. To a humble and unpretending volume, little known by the world, to the Cordial and Liqueicr Makers Guide, and Publicans Instructor, we are indebted for a large part of the information in the present chapter. This excellent and possibly unique volume of modern date contains some two hundred receipts for the manu- facture of the most favourite drinks in their greatest perfection ; in addition to a variety of miscellaneous matter of much practical utility to the publicans pro- fession, though of no immediate interest probably to the readers of the present book. For instance, we are taught therein the mysteries of Spirit Beading, or, in exoteric language, the putting a head on weak spirits, and the Jinijig of sherry, port, gin, ale, and porter. Most of the receipts, we are assured, have never before appeared in print. They are the result of an experi- ence of some thirty years. A warning is given in the 167 i68 DRINX^S. preface about the common and extensive adulteration of liqueurs with essential oils, turpentine, and spirits of wine. In the first chapter of the Cordial and Liqueur Makers Guide, we find receipts for those familiar beverages which are most common in our respectable public firms — public house is what Bentham would call an emotional term — such as Pepperminty Cloves, Rum Shrub, Aniseed, Caraway, Noyeau, Raspberry, Gin- gerette, Orange Bitters, Woinnwood Bitters, LeTUonade, Capillaire, Cherry Brandy, Cinnamon, Lovage, and Usquebaugh — of these the receipt for Lovage may be taken as a sole representative. This aromatic drink, which is comparatively rare, is perhaps not generally known to be prepared from a plant indigenous to- Liguria, a country of Cisalpine Gaul — from which country its name is through sundry philological decadences derived.^ After reading this, the student of human nature and mercantile morality will be fully prepared to learn that the plant indigenous to Liguria enters in no way into its composition. Mix, says the receipt, five drams of oil of nutmegs, five drams of oil of cassia, and three drams of oil of caraway in a quart of strong spirits of wine. Shake it well, and put it into a ten gallon cask with two gallons more of spirits of wine. Dissolve twenty pounds of lump sugar in hot water, add this to the spirit with a quarter of a pint of colouring, and fill up the cask with water. Fine it down with two ounces of alum dis- solved in boiling water, and put into the goods^ hot ; ^ Here is the etymological process for the linguistic student : DRINKS. • 169- afterwards add one ounce of salts of tartar, and stir the whole well together. The receipts which follow of German, Dantzig, and French liqueurs postulate a preliminary grinding of all dry substances, such as cloves or cinnamon ; the cutting into the smallest pieces of leaves, flowers, peels ; and the reducing to a paste, by means of a marble mortar, of almonds and fruit kernels with a small quantity of spirits to prevent them oiling} These ingredients should be allowed to soak in the spirit for a month with diurnal shakings in a warm place. Then the spirit must be poured off and the water added after the quantity in the receipt. After standing a few days, pour off, press out all the liquid, mix with the spirit, add sugar and colouring matter, and filter through a flannel bag. In the matter of gold and silver leaf, an attempt to break it when dry would reduce one half to dust, and so spoil the appearance of the liqueur. It must be spread on a plate which has a little thin syrup on it. The leaf must also be covered with the syrup, and then torn by means of two forks into small pieces about the size of a canary seed. The leaf should not be added until the liqueur is in the bottle. The reader will observe the common use of capillaire.^ Ligusticum ; Lat., levisticum; Fr., luvgsche^ leveshe, liveche \ O. Eng. livish, lavage. The Italian has the form libistico^ and the Portuguese levistico. ^ A technical term. 2 So called because said to be prepared from the maidenhair fern, Adiantum capillus Veneris; "but," says Pereira {Materia Medico)/^ lYiQ liqueur sold in the shops under this name is nothing but clarified syrup flavoured with orange-flower water." 170 DRLXKS: German Liqueurs. JSau de Sultane Zoraide. Lemon peel, 8 ounces ; orange peel, 8 ounces ; figs, 8 ounces ; dates, 4 ounces ; jessamine flowers, 4 ounces; cinnamon, 3 ounces ; spirits of wine, 60 o.p., 19 quarts; orange-flower water, 2 quarts ; pure water, 1 2 quarts ; capillaire, 8 quarts. Colotir} rose. Eau Nuptiale. Parsley seed, 6 ounces ; carrot seed, 5 ounces ; aniseed, orris root, 2 ounces each; mace, i^ ounces; spirit, 60 o.p., 19 quarts ; rose water, 7 pints ; water, 1 1 quarts ; capillaire, 9 quarts. Colour, yellow. Eau d Amour. i Bitter almonds, lemon peel, 12 ounces each ; cinna- mon, 6 ounces ; mace, i ounce ; cloves, i\ ounces ; lavender flowers, 8 ounces ; spirits of wine, 60 o.p., 19 quarts ; Muscat wine, 8 quarts ; oil of amber, 36 drops ; water 7 quarts ; capillaire, 7 quarts. Colour, rose. Eau de Yalpa. Marjoram, cinnamon, 3 ounces each ; fennel seed, thyme, sweet basil, bitter almonds, figs, balm, 2 ounces each ; carrot seed, sage, i ounce each ; cardamom, ^ These colours by which soi-disant connoisseurs profess to determine the excellence of the liqueur, are in most cases merely adscititious. Rules are given for their manufacture. Rose, for instance, is the outcome of cochineal or sanders wood steeped for a fortnight in spirits of wine. Blue, of indigo and sulphuric acid. Yellow, of saffron. Pink, of cudbear, a corruption of the name of the chemist. Dr. Cuthbert Gordon, who first employed this lichen ; and green, of blue and yellow mixed. DRINKS. ^ 17 J cloves, 1^ ounce each ; spirits of wine, 60 o.p., 19 quarts; essence of vanilla, 50 drops ; essence of amber, 50 drams ; water, 14 quarts ; capillaire 8 quarts. Colour, scarlet. Eaic Divine, Lemon peel, i\ pounds ; coriander, 4 ounces ; mace, cardamom, i ounce each; spirits of wine, 60 o.p., 19 quarts; oil of bergamot, i^ drams; oil of Neroly,^ 2 drams ; water, 14 quarts; capillaire, 8 quarts. Eau de Pucelle. Juniper berries, \\ pounds ; fennel seed, 4 ounces ; ^ angelica seed, cinnamon, 3 ounces each ; cloves, i ounce ; spirits of wine, 60 o.p., 19 quarts ; water, 13, quarts ; capillaire, 10 quarts. Colour, yellow. Other German, liqueurs, according to our authority, are Eau de Zelia, de Rebecca, de Eantaisie, the ruby Eau des Epicuriens, the Elixir Monfron, the Eau Divine, the Eau d Orient de Napoleon, de Didon, du Dauphin, de Sant^, Roy ale, Amdricaine, de Paix, de J. Saint- Aure, de Mille-Fleurs, d' Argent, de Montpellier^ d' Ardelle, de Turin, de Tubing e, du Sorcier-Comte, de Vertu, de Chypre, de Jacques, Romantique, Crime Voizot, Aqua Bianca,^2ind many others. Dantzig Liqueurs. Eau Miraculeuse. Orange peel, lemon peel, i pound each ; cinnamon, ' ^ ginger, 6 ounces each ; rosemary leaves, 2 ounces ; ^ A pharmaceutical term for volatile oil of orange flowers. Said to be derived from an Italian princess, Neroli, who invented it. 172 DRINKS. galanga,^ mace, cloves, i ounce each; orris root, i^ ounces ; spirits of wine, 60 o.p., 19 quarts ; capillaire, 8 quarts ; water, 14 quarts. Colour, red. Eau Aerienne? Figs, 1 2 ounces ; cumin, 5 ounces ; leaves of rose- mary, fennel seed, 4 ounces each ; cinnamon, 5 ounces ; sage, sassafras, 2 ounces each ; lavender flowers, cam- omile flowers, orris root, 4 ounces each ; spirits of wine, 60 o.p., 19 quarts; capillaire, 8 quarts ; water, 14 quarts. Other Dantzig liqueurs mentioned are the Eau de vie de Dantzig, Eau Forcifere, Christophelety Eau Carminative, de Musettier, de Girofle, Persicot, Amer d' Angleterre, and Eau des Favorites, the ruby gold sprinkled Eau de Lisette, the yellow Krafubambuli^ the Eau de Baal, and the Liqueur des Eveques. French Liqueurs. Vespetro.^ i Angelica seed, 3 ounces ; coriander seed, 2 ounces ; fennel seed, aniseed, ^ ounce each ; lemons sliced, ^ From Arabic -S^ Khulajij, " a tree from which wooden bowls are made," Richardson. A dried rhizome brought from China, an aromatic stimulant of the nature of ginger. The drug is mostly pro- duced by Alpinia officinarum. 2 Also called Luft-Wasser. ^ Only an Italian, we are told, can make this liqueur. The composition is a dark secret, but, we are also told, it originated in Austria, and is a mixture of tea, wine and milk in unknown quantities. ^ Said, on account of its carminative properties, to be derived from the three words vesse, pet, and rot, which it is not incumbent upon us to translate. DRINKS. 173 -oranges sliced, 6 ounces each ; spirits of wine, 60 o.p., 12 quarts ; water, 9^ pints ; capillaire, 3 pints. Eau de Sciibac} Lemon peel, 6 ounces; coriander, 4 ounces ; aniseed, juniper berries, cinnamon, 2 ounces each ; angelica root, i^ ounces ; saffron, i ounce ; spirits of wine, 60 o.p., 10 quarts ; orange-flower water, 2 quarts ; capil- laire, 4 quarts ; water, 8 quarts. Elixir de Gar us? Myrrh, aloes, 2 drams each ; cloves, nutmegs, 3 drams each ; saffron, i ounce ; cinnamon, 5 drams^ ; spirits of wine, p., 5 quarts ; sugar, 6 pounds. Amiable^ Vainqueitr. Spirits of wine, p., 25 quarts; essential oil of citron, I ounce ; of neroli, of angelica, \ ounce each ; tincture of vanilla, i dram ; sugar 1 2 pounds ; wat6l DRINKS. value in the time of Queen Anne, In relation to our own it was excessively dear, and its value fluctuated much. Black tea varied in 1704 from 12^. to 16^. per pound; in 1706, 145. to \6s,\ in 1707, which seerns to have been an exceptionally dear year, \6s., 20s,, 22s., 24.S., 305"., and 32^. In 1709 it was from 14^". to 2Ss, ; and in 1710, 12^. to 28:?. Green tea in 1705 was 13^. 6d. ; in 1707, 205-., 22^., 26s. ; in 1709, 105. to 15^. ; and in 17 10, los. to 165. The difference between new and old is given once ; the new tea is 14^"., and the old 125. and los. The margins in price are not only accounted for by difference in age, but it was well known that old leaves were re-dried and used in the cheaper sorts ; indeed, there is a very curious advertisement in the advertis- ing portion of the Tatler, Aug. 26th, 17 10: " Bohea Tea, made of the same Materials that Foreign Bohea is made of, \(>s, a Pound. Sold by R. Fary only, at the Bell in Grace Church Street, Druggist. Note. The Natural Pecko Tea will remain, after Infusion, of a light grey colour. All other Bohea Tea, tho' there be White in it will Change Colour, and is artificial." Tea was now " in Society," and was made the medium of pleasant little reunions. The accompany- ing illustration gives a Tea-party, temp. Queen Anne, by which it appears that the cups had no handles at that time, and were of veritable oriental porcelain, and that it was not considered a breach of good manners to drink tea out of saucers. But even this Eden had its serpent, in the shape of scandal, from which the tea table seemed no freer DRINKS. 263 in the time of Good Queen Anne than our own.^ " Thus they take a sip of Tea, then for a draught or two of Scandal to digest it, next let it be Ratifia, or any other Favourite Liquor, Scandal must be the after draught to make it sit easie on their • Stomach, till the half hour's past, and they have disburthen'd themselves of their Secrets, and take Coach for some other place, to collect new matter for Defamation." An anonymous poet of that time sings thus of the tea table : — " Here we see Scandal, (for our sex too base), Seat in dread Empire in the Female Race, 'Mong Beaus and Women, Fans and Mechlin Lace, * The Works of Thomas Brown, ed. 1708, vol. iii., p. 86. 264 DRINKS. Chief seat of Slander, Ever there we see Thick Scandal circulate with right Bohea. There, source of black'ning Falsehood's Mint of Lies \ Each Dame th' Improvement of her Talent tries, \ And at each Sip a Lady's Honour dies ; ) Truth rare as Silence, or a Negro Swan, Appears among those Daughters of the Fan/' Peter Motteux, in the same reign (171 2), wrote "A Poem in Praise of Tea ; " but his theme may, after all, only have been taken to advertise his East India Ware- house in Leadenhall Street. He says : — '* From boist'rous Wine I fled to gentle Tea ; For, Calms compose us after Storms at Sea. In vain wou'd Coffee boast an equal Good ; The Chrystal Stream transcends the flowing Mud. Tea, ev'n the Ills from Coflee sprung, repairs, Disclaims its Vices, and its Vertue shares. To bless me with the Juice two Foes conspire. The clearest Water with the purest Fire, Wine's Essence in a Lamp to Fewel turns, Exhales its Soul, and for a Rival burns. The Leaf is mov'd, and the diflusive Good, Thus urg'd, resigns its Spirits in the Flood. In curious Cups the liquid Blessing flows. Cups fit alone the Nectar to enclose. Dissembled Groves and Nymphs by Tables plac'd, Adorn the Sides, and tempt the Sight and Taste, Yet more the gay, the lovely Colour courts. The Flavour charms us, but the Taste transports," etc., etc. As years went on, the poets still sung its praises ; and the following portion of " Tea Drinking " brings us down to 1752, by which time it was a necessity in polite society : — DRINKS. 265 " Sparkling with Youth's gay Pride, like mirthful May In the Sedan enclos'd, by Slaves up-born ; See the Love-darting Dame, swing 'long the Way, Or to present the Visit, or return. The sleek-comb'd Valet trimly trips before ; Loud, thro' the gazing Croud, commanding Place ; With well-tim'd Raps he strikes the sounding Door, Thunders in Taste, and rattles with a Grace. Along the Pavement grates the swift-slop'd Chair, Back on its well-oil'd Hinges flies the Gate ; Behind the high held Hoop, up-springs the Fair, Rustling in rich Array, and silken State. The how d'ye ended, the Contest of Place, And all the fashionable flutt'ring Toils, Down, curtsying, sink the Laughter loving Race, And undisturb'd one Moment, Silence smiles. 266 DRINKS. Behold ! the Beau-complexion'd Porcelain, As Bell turn'd Tulips variegated show, In order set among the tittering Train, Replete with Spoils which from Cathaya flow. The leading Fair the Word harmonious gives, Betty around attends with bending Knee ; Each white-arm Fair, the painted Cup receives Pours the rich Cream, or stirs the sweetened Tea," etc., etc. But, although some wrote in praise of it, there was a class of people who were opposed to its use, and one of them was the celebrated Jonas Hanway, of umbrella fame. Possessed of a competence, he had nothing particular to do, so he turned philanthrope. He took up the cause of the Marine Society, he was a Governor of the Foundling Hospital, and he founded a Magdalen Hospital, which is now at Streatham. These things, however, did not fully occupy his time, and he scribbled de omnibus rebus : among other things, about Tea, against which he had a great aversion. In 1757 he wrote ''An Essay on Tea, considered as pernicious to Health, obstructing Industry, and im- poverishing the Nation ; also an Account of its Growth, and great Consumption in these Kingdoms!' Judged from our present standpoint, it was a farrago of rubbish and false arguments, and he recommends *' Herbs of our own growth in lieu of Tea." He gives a list of plants which he thinks useful for the pur- pose : — Ground Ivy, plain, or with a few drops of lemon Balm, or lemon Balm alone, or mixed with Sage, and Lavender flowers; Lavender itself; the fresh tops of Thyme ; Mint ; the flowery tops of DRINKS. 267 Rosemary, by themselves, or mixed with Lavender ; Penny royal and Lavender; Horehound; Trefoil flowers ; Sorrel ; Angelica ; Sage ; Cowslips ; and recommends a drink, which he occasionally used himself, made of Ground Ivy and stick Liquorice. This roused the ire of no less a person than Dr. Samuel Johnson, who, as "a hardened and shameless A TEA GARDEN : George Morland. tea drinker ; who has for many years diluted his meals with only the infusion of this fascinating plant ; whose kettle has scarcely time to cool ; who with tea amuses the evening, with tea solaces the midnights, and with tea welcomes the morning," ^ could not sit still, and have his favourite beverage abused. So he wrote a review 1 His friend Tyers parodied the last phrase as '' te inviente die, te decedente." 268 DRINKS. of Hanway's Essay, and demolished it. Johnson cer- tainly was an immoderate and enthusiastic tea drinker, and somewhat a tyrant over it, as Mrs. Piozzi rather ruefully relates. " By this pathetic manner, which no one ever possessed in so eminent a degree, he used to shock me from quitting his company, till I hurt my own health not a little by sitting up with him, when 1 was myself far from well ; nor was it an easy matter to oblige him even by compliance, for he always main- tained that no one forebore their own gratifications for the sake of pleasing another ; and if one did sit up, it was, probably, to amuse one's self. Some right, how- ever, he certainly had to say so, as he made his com- pany exceedingly entertaining, when he had once forced one, by his vehement lamentations and piercing reproofs, not to leave the room, but to sit quietly, and make tea for him, as I often did in London till four o'clock in the morning." When dining one day with William Scibtt (after- wards Lord Stowell), Johnson told a little story of Garrick and his tea drinking. " I remember drinking tea with him long ago, when Peg Woffington made it, and he grumbled at her for making it too strong." But the names of worthy and eminertt tea drinkers are legion, and its virtues are so patent that even our Legislators have a room set apart in the Houses of Parliament for the discussion of it and other matters. One or two words only, before concluding the sub- ject of tea, and those are to show how to make a good cup of tea. The teapot should be thoroughly warmed, and the afi9 DRINKS. 271 tea put Into it before the addition of the water, which sho.uld Just have come to the boil, and not have been boiHng for any length of time. After standing about three minutes it should be ready for drinking. No second water should be used. A sufficiently large teapot, or teapots, should be provided, and if the quantity required exceeds the supply, then fresh tea should be made. Tea drinking has been stigmatised by some as slow poisoning ; and in one of Hood's works we are treated to a pictorial representation of " Sloe poison." J.. A. MATE. Its Use in South America — Districts where Grown— Its Manufac- ture — Early Notice of — The Mate Cup and Bombilla — Method of Drinking — Its Rapid Deterioration. YKRBA Mat^, or Paraguay Tea, which is made from the leaves of the Ilex Paraguetyensis, or Brazilian Holly, takes the place of Thea Sinensis in nearly the whole of South America, where it has been used by the Indians from time immemorial, and by their conquerors and settlers since the seventeenth century. It grows abundantly in Paraguay, Corrientes, Chaco, and the south of Brazil, forming woods called yerbaks. One of the principal centres of the Mat6 industry is the Villa Real, a small town above Asuncion, on the Paraguay River ; another is the Villa de San Xavier in the district between the rivers Uruguay and Parana. If let alone, it grows into a tree some fifteen or twenty feet high ; but the plants from which the Mat6 is col- lected are moderate-sized shrubs, with numerous stems from one root. The leaves are from four to five inches long, and the finest Mate is made from the smallest shrubs. One bush will furnish three different kinds of tea^ which are called caa-cuys, caa-miri, and caa- Dk'jNKS. 273 guaza — caa meaning leaf. Caa-cuys is made from the half expanded buds ; but, although fine in flavour, it has the misfortune of not keeping, and, consequently, is all consumed in Paraguay. Caa-miriis prepared in the same way as the Jesuit padres made it, the leaves being carefully picked, and the nerves stripped before roasting them ; and the Caa-guaza, which is the commonest, is prepared as follows : — A Mate yerbal, or plantation, having been found, and a sum paid to Government for the collection of its leaves, a party of from twenty-five to thirty Indians settle down there with the intention of passing some five or six months. They make themselves as com- fortable as circumstances will permit, by building wigwams covered with palm or banana leaves. Their next care is to beat, with mallets, a good hard and I smooth earthen floor, about six feet square, which is \ called a tatacua. Over this is built an arch of poles, s 274 DRINKS, on which is spread the boughs of the Ilex, and under which a lively fire is kindled, that the leaves may be thoroughly dried without being scorched. This result being effected, the fire is swept off the hearth, and the dried branches being spread thereon, the leaves are beaten off with sticks, which operation reduces them to a coarse powder. Sometimes they are pounded in mortars, made by digging holes in the ground, well rammed ; but now-a-days the Mate is generally treated in a more scientific and cleanly manner, the leaves being heated, as tea in China, in large iron pans set in brick work. The dried leaves are then taken to the Mat6 mill, which may be worked by water power, or by mules, the wooden stampers being worked by teeth placed spirally round the circumference of a revolving cylinder, A good-sized mill will turn out three tons of Mate in a day. The crushed leaves are then tightly packed in bags of damp bullock's hide, sewn up and left to dry, when they become as hard as stones. These sacks generally weigh from 200 to 220 lbs., and this quantity is considered a good day's work for a peon. The collectors suffer terribly during this six months of forest life, and the severe labour of collecting, in those tropical forests, is especi- ally fatal to the unfortunate peons. Its use is as universal as tea in China. The method of taking it has not varied for centuries ■ and a description of it in 1713^ is as good as if written to-day. 1 Relation du voyage de la M(r du Si^d, aux cotes du Chily, et du Perou^ fait pendant^ les c BRINKS. The eatliest mention I can find of it is in a ' trans- lation (1577) of a book written by Dr. Monades of Seville. " Of the Coca. ^* I was desirous to see that hearbe so celebrated of the Indians, so many yeares past, which they doe call xh^ Coca, which they doe sow and till with muche care and diligence, for because they doe use it for their pleasures, which we will speake of. The Coca is an hearbe of the height of a yerd, little more or lesse, 1 Joyfull Newes out of the newe. founde Worlde^ etc. Englished by Jhon Frampton^ Marchaunt^^ i577i ^ol ^^^ ^- I)J?/NJCS. 28i he carrieth his Leaves like to Arraihau^ somewhat greater, and in that Leafe there is marked another Leafe of the Hke forme, with a Hne very thinne, they are softe, and of Coulour a Hght greene, they carrie the seede in clusters, and it commeth to be so redde when it is ripe, as the Seede of Arraihau, vAv^xx it is ripe. And it is of the same greatnesse, when the hearbe is seasoned, that it is to be gathered, it is knowen in the seede, that it is ripe, and of some rednes like to a blackekishe coulour, and the hearbe beyng gathered, they put them into Canes, and other thinges, that they may drie, that it maie be kepte and caried to other partes. For that they carrie them from some high Mountaines, to others, as Marchaundise to be soulde, and they barter and chaunge them for Mantelles, and Cattell, and Salte, and other thinges whiche doe runne like to money amongest us, they doe put the seede into Almaciga} and from that thei do take them up, and set them in another place, into Earth that is wel laboured or tilled, and made as it is convenient for to put them, by their lines and order, as we doe put here a Garden of J^eanes, or of Peason, " The use of it amongest the Indians is a thing generall, for many thinges, for when they doe travail by the waie, for neede and for their content when they are in their houses, thei use it in this forme. Thei take Cokles or Oisters in their shelles, and they doe burne them and grinde them, and after they are burned they remaine like Lyme, very small grounde, 1 Garden beds in which seeds are planted. 282 DRINKS. and they take of the Leves of the Coca, and they chawe them in their Mouthes, and, as they go chavvyng, they goe minghng with it of that ponder made of the shelles in such sorte, that they make it like to a Paste taking lesse of the Ponder then of the Hearbe, and of this Paste they make certaine small Bawles'rounde, and they put them to drie, and when they will use of them, they take a little Ball in their niouthe, and they chawe hym ; passing hym from one pajte to another, procuring to conserue him all that they can, and that beyng doen, they doe retaurne to take another, and so they goe, using of it all the tyme that they have neede, whiche is when they travaill by the waie, and especially if it be by waies where is no meate, or lacke of water. For the use of these little Bawles doe take the hunger and thurste from them, and they say that they dooe receive substaunce, as though that they did eate. At other times thei use of them for their pleasure, although that they labour not by the waie, and thei do use the same Coca alone, chawing it and bringing it in their mouthes, from one side to another, untill there be no vertue remainyng in it, and then they take another." Garcia Lasso de la Vega, who wrote his Com^ mentarios Reales in 1609, gives a fine description of Cuca — which I take from his translator, Sir Paul Rycaut. ^' Of the pretious Leafe called Cuca." ** But above all we must not omit to discourse at large of the Herb which the Indians call Cuca, and DRINKS. 283 the Spaniards, Coca, being that which is, and hath been a considerable part of the Riches of Peru, and such as hath yielded great benefit to the Merchants. And, indeed, the Indians did justly esteem it for the rare Virtues and Qualities of it, which the Spaniards have not onely approved, but have also discovered several other specifick and medicinal Qualities belong- ing to it. Bias Valei^a, who was a very curious Person, and one who had resided many years in Peru, and came from thence thirty years after my departure, hath wrote Very largely of the many Virtues of this Herb, and such as he hath found out by his own experience. His words are these, * The Cuca is a ' small, tender Tree or Bind, about the height and ' biegness of a Vine ; it produceth not many Branches, * but is full of delicate Leaves, of about the breadth and * length of a Man's Thumb ; it is of an excellent smell, * and very fragrant ; the Spaniards and Indians do both * give them the name of Ctcca ; the which is so much * esteemed by the Indians, that they prefer it before * Gold, or Silver, or Pretious Stones. They plant and * manure them with great art and diligence, and gather * them with great care, pulling them leaf by leaf, and 'then lay them to dry in the Sun, and so the Indians * eat them dry. ** ' The Virtue and Benefit of this Cuca is plainly * observable in labouring Men, who, having eaten it are ' much refreshed, and often labour a whole day in the * strength of it, without any other nourishment. The ' Cuca moreover preserves the Body from many in- * firmities ; and our Physicians make use of it, being 284 DRINKS. * dried and beaten to powder, to ease and assuage the * Inflammation, or swelling of any Wound ; it is good ' to strengthen bones which have been broken, and * expell colds from the Body, and to prevent them ; it * is good also to cleanse great Wounds of Worms, and * heal them ; nor is the Virtue of it less, being taken * inwardly, than it is by outward applications. Besides * all which Virtues, it yields a great benefit to the * Bishop and Canons and other Dependents on the * Cathedral Church of Cozco, the Tithes of the Leaves of * Cuca being their greatest Revenue ; it is also a great * commodity amongst the Merchants ; notwithstanding 'all which good Qualities of the Cuca, there are many, * who being ignorant of its Virtues have wrote against * it ; for no other reason, than because the Gentiles, in ' ancient times, did, by their Diviners and Wizards offer * this Cuca to their Gods in Sacrifice ; and, therefore, * having been abused to Idolatry, they conclude that it * ought for ever to be esteemed abominable and pro- phane. This Argument might be available, if it had * been the custome to offer this Herb onely to the Devil, * but, in regard that both ancient and modern Idolaters * have made their Corn, and Fruits, and whatsoever * grows above or beneath the earth, their Drinks and ' Water, their Wool and Clothing, their Flocks and * Herds, and all things else, the matter and subject of * their Sacrifices ; we may argue from the same founda- * tion, that all those things are defiled and rendred as ' abominable and unclean as the Cuca ; but to the clean, * all things being clean, let us teach them to abhor and ' forsake their superstitious and idolatrous Worships, DRINKS. 285 * and let us, using our Christian Liberty, receive those * Blessings with moderation and thanksgiving.' "Thus far are the Words oi Bias Valera, To which we shall add thus much farther, that this little Tree is about the height of a Man, in the planting of which they cast the seed in its green shell, and when it grows up, they then hoa and open the Earth for it, as they do for Vines, supporting the tender twigs with stakes ; and in planting, they take great care that the tender roots be laid streight in the Earth, for with the least doubling they dry and wither ; they take like- wise the Leaf of every sprig by itself, and, holding it between their fingers, they cut it with great care till they come to the Bud, but do not touch it, for then the whole branch will wither ; both the outside and inside of this Leaf in the greenness and shape of it, is like the Arbuteus, onely the Leaves are so thin, that three or four of them, being doubled, are not so thick as that of the Arbuteus. . . . " When they gather the Leaves they dry them in the Sun \ but care is to be taken that they are not over- dried, for then they lose much of their Virtue, and, being very thin, soon turn to powder ; nor will they bear much moisture ; for they soon grow musty and rotten ; but they lay them up in Baskets of slit Canes, of which many fine ones are made in the Antis, With the Leaves of those big Canes, which are about the third of a yard long, they cover the top of the Baskets, to keep Moisture from the Leaves, which is very prejudicial to them; and to consider the great pains and care which is taken to nourish this Cuca^ 286 DRINKS, and the provisions of all things which are made for it, we ought rather to render thanks to God for his abundant blessings in the variety of his Creatures, than to believe or conclude that what we write is fabulous or incredible ; if these fruits were to be planted or nourished in other Countries, the charge and labour of them would be more than the benefit. *' The Herb is gathered every four Months, that is three times a year, and in the manuring of it care is taken to weed it often ; for the Country being hot and moist, the Weeds grow apace, and the Herb sometimes increases So fast, that the season for gathering of it advances fifteen days ; so that sometimes they have four Harvests for it In a year ; the which, a certain covetous Tithe-gatherer observing, In my time, farmed the Tithes of all the principal and rich Ir|,heritances and Possessions about Cozco, and, taking care to keep them clear and clean from Weeds, he so improved his Revenue, that the year following, the Farmer of the Tithes made two thirds more than what had been made in the preceding years ; which caused a Law Suit between the Farmer and the Proprietor, but what the Issue was of it, I that was then but a Boy, did not much remark. " Amongst many other Virtues of this Cuca, they say it corroborates the Gums, and fortifies the Teeth, and that it gives strength and vigour to any person that labours and toils, onely by carrying it in his mouth. I remember a Story which I heard in my own Countrey. That a certain Gentleman, both by Bloud and Vertue, called Rodrigo Pantoia^ journeying once from Cozco to DRINKS. 287 Rimac, 1 met with a poor Spaniard (for there are some poor there, as well as here), travelling on foot, carrying a little Girl of about two years of age in his Armes ; and being an acquaintance of this Pantoia, he asked him how he came to give himself the trouble of carrying that burthen ; to which the person that was on foot, replied, that he was poor, and had not money to hire an Indian to carry it. "In this discourse with him, Pantoia observed that his mouth was full of the Cuca ; and it being, at that time, that the Spaniards abhorred all things which the Indians did eat or drink, because they had been abused to Idolatry, and particularly they hated the Cuca^ as a base and stinking Weed, which gave cause to Pantoia to ask him farther, why he, being a Spaniards, did use those things which the Spaniards hated ; for his necessities could never be so great as to compell him to Meats or Customs unlawfull. To which the Souldler replied, that though he abhorred it as much as the Spaniards, yet necessity forced him to imitate the Indians therein ; for that without it he could never be able to travell and carry his Burthen, for that holding it in his mouth, he found such refresh- ment and strength, that he was able to carry his Load, and perform his Journey with chearfulness. Pantoia wondring at this Report, related to many others, who, afterwards, making the same experiment thereof, found that the Indians made use of it rather for their refreshment and necessity, than for any pleasure in the taste, which in itself is not very pleasant or agreeable." 1 Lima. 288 DRTNKS. A plant having such manifold and beneficent pro- perties must needs have a supernatural origin, and the Indians had a belief that the goddess Varischa first introduced the Cuca plant into Peru, and taught the inhabitants the use thereof. Abraham Cowley sang thereof in his Latin poems, " Sex libri plan- tarum," and I make use of the translation by Nahum Tate, of the fifth book, published in 1 700. The Indian Bacchus challenge the other deities to judge between the fruits of the two worlds. " But Bacchus much more sportive than the rest. Fills up a Bowl with Juice from Grapestones drein'd, And puts it in Omelichilus hand ; Take off this Draught, said he, if thou art wise, 'Twill purge thy Cannibal Stomach's Crudities. He, unaccustomed to the acid Juice Storm'd, and with blows had answer'd the Abuse, But fear'd t'engage the European Guest, Whose Strength and Courage had subdu'd the East. He therefore chooses a less dang'rpus fray, And summons all his Country's Plants away : Forthwith in decent Order they appear, And various Fruits on various Branches wear ; Like Amazons they stand in painted Arms, Coca alone appears with little Charms ; Yet led the Van, our scoffing Venits scorn'd The shrublike Tree, and with no Fruit adorn'd. The Indian Plants, said she, are like to speed In this Dispute of the most sterile Breed, Who choose a Dwarf and Eunuch for their Head, Our Gods laugh'd out aloud at what she said. Pachamama defends her darling Tree, And said the wanton Goddess was too free. DRINKS. 289 You only know the fruitfulness of Lust, And therefore here your Judgement is unjust, Your skill in other offsprings we may trust, With those Chast Tribes that no distinction know Of Sex, your Province nothing has to do. Of all the Plants that any Soil does bear, ^ This Tree in Fruits the Richest does appear, y It bears the best, and bears 'em all the year. ) Ev'n now with Fruits 'tis stor'd — why laugh you yet ? Behold how thick with Leaves it is beset, Each Leaf is Fruit, and such substantial Fare No Fruit beside to Rival it will dare. Mov'd with his Countries Roming Fate (whose Coil Must for her Treasures be expos'd to toil) Our Varicocha first this Coca sent, Endow'd with Leaves of wondrous Nourishment, Whose Juice succ'd in, and to the Stomach ta'en, Long Hunger and long Labour can sustain ; From which our faint and weary Bodies find \ More Succour, more they cheat the drooping Mind, i- Than can your Bacchus and your Ceres join'd. J Three Leaves supply for six days march afford, The Quitoita with this Provision stor'd Can pass the vast and cloudy Andes o'er — The dreadful Andes plac'd 'twixt Winter's store Of Winds, Rain, Snow, and that more humble Earth That gives the small but valiant Coca Birth ; This Champion that makes war-like Venus Mirth. Nor Coca only useful art at home, A famous Merchandize thou art become ; A thousand Pad and Vicugni groan \ Yearly beneath thy Loads, and for thy sake alone [- The spacious World's to us by Commerce known"; Dr. Von Tschudi says that the Coca plant is re- garded by the Peruvian Indian, as something sacred and mysterious, and it sustained an important part in T 290 DRINKS. religion of the Incas. In all ceremonies, whether religious or warlike, it was introduced, for producing smoke at the great offerings, or as the sacrifice itself. iPuring divine worship the priests chewed Coca leaves, and, unless they were supplied with them, it was believed that the favour of the gods could not be propitiated. It was also deemed necessary that the supplicator for divine grace should approach the priests with an Aadltco in his mouth. It was believed that any business undertaken without the benediction of Coca leaves could not prosper ; and to the shrub itself worship was rendered. During an interval of more than 300 years, Chris- tianity has not been able to subdue the deep-rooted idolatry ; for everywhere are found traces of belief in the mysterious power of this plant. The excavators in the mines of Cerro de Pasco throw masticated Coca on hard veins of metal, in the belief that it softens the ore and renders it more easy to work. The origin of this custom is easily explained, when it is recollected that in the time of the Incas it was believed that the Coyas, or deities of metals, rendered the mountains impenetrable, if they were not propitiated by the odour of Coca. The Indians, even at the present time,^ put Coca leaves into the mouths of dead persons, to secure to them a favourable reception on their entrance into another world ; and when a Peruvian Indian, on a journey, falls in with a mummy, he, with timid reverence, presents to it some Coca leaves as his pious offering. ^ Tschudi travelled in Peru, 1&38-184.2, DRlNks. ' 291 Markharn ^ also .'^ys, " The reliance on the extra- ordinary virtues of the Coca leaf, amongst the Peruvian Indians,, is so strong, that, in the Huanaco province, they believe that, if a dying man can taste a leaf placed on , his tongue, it is a sure sign of his future happiness." He also gives an account of the modern cultivation of the plant. Sowing is commenced in December and January, :- when the rains begin, which continue until April. The seeds are spread on the surface of the soil in a small nursery or raising ground called alindcigay over which there is generally a thatch roof {huascichi). At the end of about a fortnight they come up ; the young plants being continually watered, and protected from the sun by the huascichi. The following year they are transplanted to a soil specially prepared by thorough weeding, and breaking up the clods very fine by hand ; often in terraces only afford- mg room for a single row of plants, up the side of the mountains, which are kept up by small stone walls. The plants are generally placed in square holes called aspi, a foot deep, with stones on the sides to prevent the earth from falling in. Three or four are planted in each hole, and grow up together. In Caravaya and Bolivia the soil in which the Coca grows is composed of a blackish clay, formed from the decomposition of the schists, which form the principal geological features of the mountains. On level ground the plants are placed in furrows called nachos, separated by little walls of earth, umachas, at the foot of each of * Travels in Peru^ by C. R. Markham, 1862, p. 237. 2,92 DRINKS. whieh a row of plants is placed ; but this is a modern innovation, the terrace cultivation being the most ancient. At the end of eighteen months the plants yield their first harvest, and continue to yield for up- wards of forty years. The first harvest is called qtiita calzoHy and the leaves are then picked very carefully, one by one, to avoid disturbing the roots of the young tender plants. The following harvests are called mitta (" tiijie " or " season*'), and take place three and even four times in the year. The most abundant harvest takes place in March, immediately after the rains ; the worst, at the end of June, called the Mitta de San Juan The third, called Mitta de Santos, is ia October or November. With plenty of watering, forty days suffice to cover the plants with leaves afresh. It is necessary to weed the ground very carefully, especially while the plants are young, and the harvest is gathered by women and children. The green leaves, called matu, are deposited in a piece of cloth which each picker carries, and are then spread out in the drying yard, called matu-caucka, and carefully dried in the sun. The dried leaf is called Coca. The drying yard is formed of slate flags, called pizarj'a ; and when the leaves are thoroughly dry, they are sewn up in cestos, or sacks, made of banana, leaves, of 20 lbs. each, strengthened by an ex- terior covering of bay eta, or cloth. ^ They are also packed in tambores of 50 lbs. each, pressed tightly down. Dr. Poeppig (writing in 1827-32) reckoned the profits of a Coca farm to be forty- five per cent. 1 In 1 86 1, the cesto of Coca sold at 8 dollars in Sandia. In Huanaco it was 5 dollars the aroba of 25 lbs. DRINKS. 293 The harvest is greatest in a hot moist situation ; but the leaf generally considered the best flavoured by consumers, grows in drier parts, on the sides of hills. The greatest care is required in the drying ; for too much sun causes the leaves to dry up and lose their flavour, while, if packed up moist, they become fetid. They are generally exposed to the sun in thin layers. The approximate annual produce of Coca in Peru is about 15,000,000 lbs., the average yield being about 800 lbs. an acre. More than 10,000,000 lbs. are pro- duced annually in Bolivia, according to Dr. Booth of La Paz ; so that the annual yield of Coca throughout South America, including Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Pas to, may be estimated at more than 30,000,000 lbs. At Tacna, the tambor of 50 lbs. is worth 9 to 12 dollars, the fluctuations in price being caused by the perishable nature of the article, which cannot be kept in stock for any length of time. The average duration of Coca in a sound state, on the coast, is about five months, after which time it is said to lose flavour, and is rejected by the Indians as worthless. Cuca leaves can be bought in London, but up to the present time it has not come into much use as a beverage, yet it is supplied in Roots' Cuca Cocoa, which is a combination of Ciica leaves, and the Cocoa bean. There is no doubt whatever in Cuca possessing the qualities ascribed to it, and its application in medicine for many ** ills that man is heir to," is being diligently pursued by physicians all over the civilized world, with very beneficial results, and it is a valuable 294 DRINKS. addition to our pharmacopoeia. Johnston., in The Chemistry of Common Life} speaking of the general effects of the Coca leaf, says that it "acts differently according to the way in which it is used. When in- fused, and drunk like tea, it produces a gentle excite- ment, followed by wakefulness ; and, if taken strong, retards the approach of hunger, prevents the usual breathlessness in climbing hills, and, in large doses, dilates the pupil, and renders the eye intolerant of light. It is seldom used in this way, however, but is commonly chewed in the form of a ball or quid, which is turned over and over in the mouth, as is done with tobacco. In this way its action is more gradual and prolonged than when the infusion only is taken. It is also very different in its character, because the constant chewing, the continued action of the saliva, and the influence of the lime or ashes chewed along with it, extract from the leaf certain other active constituents which water alone does not dissolve, when it is in- fused after the manner of tea." It contains at least three different constituents ; an odoriferous substance, a bitter principle, and a kind of tannic acid. When Cuca is imported into this country the leaves are coated with a resinous substance, like hops have, slightly soluble in water, but wholly in ether — which, on evaporation, leaves a brownish resin, which is powerfully odorous. This scent vanishes if it is exposed to the air for any length of time, and thus is lost one of the most important ingredients of good Cuca — rendering the leaf useless by keeping. 1 Ed. 1879, p. 363. DRINKS. 29s It contains a crystalline bitter principle which can be separated from it by alcohol. Like Theine^ it is an alkaloid, and is called Cocaine ; but it is not harmless, as, in many particulars, and in its physiological action upon the system, it resembles Atropine^ the alkaloid of the deadly nightshade. It also has a tannic acid, which gives a deep brownish green colour to the per salts of iron. So we see in its constituents it closely resembles the Thea Sinensis^ only it is more powerful in its effects on the human frame, and, consequently, ought not to be taken in the same quantity as we now take tea, but it is invaluable in preventing, or greatly diminishing, the ordinary and natural waste which usually accompanies bodily exer- tion. J. A. KOLA. Whence Kola comes — Early Mention of— Early Trade in — Cure for Drunkenness — The Cattia eduhs — Substitutes for Tea. KOLA can scarcely be called a tea, because, as a drink, it is produced from a nut, instead of a leaf, but it is put here because it contains the alkaloid Theine, Its botanical name is Sterculia acuminata^ and it is a native of tropical West Africa, although now introduced into the West Indies and Brazils, The earliest mention of it that I have found, is in "the Sieur Briie's Journey from Albreda, on the river Gambia, to Kachao, by land, in the year 1700." Shortly after his start from Gambia, he was entertained by a Portuguese lady, and *' after a short Compliment, one of her Slaves, a young, handsome Girl, but very im- modestly dressed, presented the General a Pewter Basin full of Kola, a fruit much valued by the Portugueze. It is bitter, and makes the Teeth and Spittle yellow." Barbot ^ gives a very bad illustration of the nut, and the following description. "The Colais a sort of fruit, somewhat resembling a large chestnut. The tree is 1 A Description of the Coasts of North and South Guinea, etc., by John Barbot, etc. Now first printed frotn his original MS., 1732. 96 DRINKS. 297 very tall and large, on which this fruit grows, in clusters, ten or twelve of them together ; the outside of it is red, with some mixture of blue ; and the inside, when cut, violet colour and brown. It comes once a year, is of a harsh, sharp taste, but quenches the thirst, and makes water relish so well, that most of the Blacks carry it about them, wheresoever they go, frequently chewing, and some eat it all day, but forbear at night, believing it hinders their sleeping. The whole country abounds in this Cola, which yields the natives consider- able profit, selling it to their neighbours up in the in- land ; who, as some Blacks told me, sell it again to a sort of white men, who repair to them at a certain time of the year, and take off great quantities of it. These white men are suppos'd to be of Morocco or Barbary, for the English of Bence island assur'd me, there was a great quantity carry'd yearly by land to Tunis and Tripoli, in Barbary!^ So we see that, although a fair trade was done in Kola over 150 years ago, it is only beginning to be known in Europe. In Congo it is called Makasso, and Guru in Soudan, and the seeds or nuts are used in West and Central Africa to make a refreshing beverage, which is some- what allied to tea, and which has the same active principle as cocoa, without so much fatty matter. It is refreshing, invigorating, and has digestive proper- ties. In the West Indies it is sometimes used by the negroes to counteract the effects of intoxication. It grows in pods, which contains several seeds, about the size of a horse chestnut. At present it is only used as 298 DRINKS. a tonic. Kola is said to be a cure for drunkenness, and to sober an inebriate in an hour s time ; but woe be to him if he returns to his evil courses for three or four days — ^his punishment will be equal to sea-sick- ness. There is a new product, about which, at present, very little is known in Europe, This is the Cattia edulis, which is said to be similar in its properties to Mat6, Cuca, and Kola, in maintaining animal strength for a time, in the absence of food. It has been used by the natives of Arabia and Abyssinia for centuries. The plant is a shrub with lanceolate leaves of an olive- green colour, and it flourishes in Africa between 15** N. and 30° S. latitude, but it is chiefly cultivated in Arabia, especially in the province of Yemen. From Aden it is exported to the north-east of Africa, and the coasts of Somali land. The leaves are either chewed or infused like tea, and their sustaining vir- tues have recently been tested by M. Leloups, a French therapeutist. He employed not only the infusion, but the tincture, and an extract of the leaves, finding them all to produce wakefulness and banish fatigue. No definite alkaloid has yet been obtained from the leaves. In conclusion I may give the following list of substi- tutes for Chinese Tea and Mate. Popular Name. Where collected and used. Name of Plant. Arabian Tea. Arabia. j Cattia edulis. Abyssinia. t Cattia Spinosa. Unnamed. China. Sageretia theezans. New Jersey Tea. N. America. CeanothusAmericanus. trnnamed. Chili. Psoralea glandulosa. DRiNKS. 299 Popular Name. Boer Tea. Where collected and used. Cape of Good Hope. Sloe and Strawberry ^^^^^ j^^^^p^ JL ea. Long-life Tea. Tea Plants. Tasmanian Tea, Unnamed. Colony Tea. Mountain Tea. Labrador Tea. \ James's Tea. ) Toolsie Tea. Oswego Tea. Unnamed. ] Bencoolen. New Holland. Chili. Cape of Good Hope. N. America. N. America. India. N. America. France. Sage Tea. North Europe. Ama tsja: Tea of 7 ^ Heaven "Burr." Santa Fe Tea. Unnamed. Cape Barran Tea. Capitao da matto. Faham or Bourbon Tea. BraziUan Tea. Mexican Tea. Apalachian Tea. New Holland. New Granada. Central America. New Holland. Brazil • Mauritius. Austria. Mexico and Colum- bia. N. America. Name of Plant. Cyclopia Vogelii. r Prunus spinosa J < Fragraria coUina t or F. resca f . f Glaphyria nitida I (flowers). /Leptospermum sco- parium and L. Thea. Melaleuca genisti- folia, and M. sco- paria. Myrtus ugni. SHelichrysum serpyl- lifolium. iGualtheria pro- cumbens. f Ledum palustre and \ Ledum latifolium. Ocymum album. J Monarda didyma and I M. purpurea. SMicromeria thea sin- ensis. Salvia officinalis. Hydrangea thunbergii. Accena sanguisorba. Styrax alstonia. Capraria bifolia. Correa alba. Lautana pseudo thea. Angroecum fragrans. iStachytarpheta jam- aicensis. ( Chenopodium am- ^ brosoides. t Viburnum Cassino- J ides, and Prinos ( glaber. 3oc^ DRINI^S. A tea is also made of coffee leaves, and this infu- sion has been drunk for an unknown time in the Eastern Archipelago, especially in the island of Suma- tra It is said to be an agreeable beverage, and is preferred by the natives to the berry. J. A. COFFEE. Its Growth and Birthplace — Where most Drank — Legends as to its Origin — Its Gradual Spread — Introduction into Europe and England— Pasqua Rosee's Handbill — The English Coflfee Houses — Their Rules — A Poem about Coffee Houses. NEXT to tea, Coffee is, perhaps, the infusion most drank, its use being universal in Turkey, Egypt, Persia, and most Mahometan countries ; and on the continent of Europe, with the exception of Russia^ it is a greater favourite than tea. In Norway and Sweden it is especially drank, whilst tea is compara- tively disused. It is the seed of an evergreen shrub (Caff^ea Arabica) which grows from six to twelve feet high, with a stem of from six to fifteen inches in circumference. When the blossom falls off, there remains, in its room, or rather, springs from each blossom, a small fruit, green 303 304 DRINKS. at first, but which becomes red when it ripens ; it is not unlike a cherry, and is very good to eat. Under the flesh of this cherry, instead of the stone, is found the bean, or berry, which we call coifee, wrapped round in a fine thin skin. The berry is then very soft, and of a disagreeable taste ; but as the cherry ripens, the berry in the inside grows harder, and the dried-up fruit being the flesh or the pulp of it, which was before eatable, becomes a shell or pod, of a deep brown colour. The berry is now solid, and of a clear transparent green. Each shell contains one berry, which splits into two equal parts. In Abyssinia coffee appears to have been used as a drink from time immemorial. Abd-Alkader, a learned native of Medina, writing at the beginning of the seventeenth century, gives us the history of its intro- duction into Arabia. A certain Sheikh, notorious for his piety and knowledge, named Jemal-Eddin, brought it from Persia to Aden. He was wont to take it as a medicine relieving the headache, enlivening the heart, and preventing drowsiness. This last attribute at once recommended it to the various imams, muftis, and dervishes, who wished to remain awake for the per- formance of religious exercises at night. The ex- amples of these holy persons had its usual influence upon the people, and coffee drinking soon became a common custom. Not, however, without considerable opposition did this fashion come into vogue ; there were many long and animated disputes about the legitimacy of drinking coffee. Its defenders alleged its medicinal virtues, its DRINKS. 305 opponents declared it to be like wine, of an inebriating nature — indeed, a sort of wine itself; and went so far, in the heat of argument, as to say that all who drank it would appear at the general resurrection with faces blacker than the bottoms of their coffee-pots. An insult of this sort was surely sufficient to justify a prompt adoption of the severest rejoinder by the other side, and, in replying, they became poetic. Said one : — • '* It is a dear object of desire to the collector of knowledge ; It is the drink of the people of God, and in it is health. It's odour is Musk, it's colour Ink : The wise man and the good will sip it pure as milk in its innocence. And differing from it but in blackness." And another sang — " Courtesy is the coat of the customers in a Coffee-house. The Coffee-house itself is as Paradise in its carpets, its com- pany and its tender delights. When the waiter comes with the Coffee in its cup of porce- lain, sorrow disappears, and all anguish sinks under its dominion. In its water we wash away our impurities, and burn out our solicitudes in its fire. The man who has looked only on its chafing dish will say, * Fie upon the Wine and the Wine Vats.* " Coffee won the day. There is, however, another story of its introduction — how in the far-off past a poor dervish, who lived in the deserts of Arabia, noticed that his goats came home every evening in a state of hilarity. Unable to account for this, he watched them, and found them u 3o6 DRINKS. feeding on the blossoms and berries of a tree which he had never before noticed. He experimented upon himself by eating them, and soon became as jocund as his goats, so much so, that he was accused of having partaken of the accursed juice of the grape. But he soon convinced his maligners that the source of his high spirits was harmless, and they, tasting, became converts, and the berry became of general use. From Abyssinia, the use of coffee spread to Persia and Arabia, thence to Aden, Mecca, Cairo, Damascus, Aleppo and Constantinople, whence it found its way to Venice in 1615. But it is hard to say exactly when its use was introduced into England. Robert Burton mentions it in his Anatomy of Melancholy, but not in the 1621 edition. He says,^ "The Turks have a drink called Coffee (for they use no wine), so named of a berry, as black as soot, and as bitter (like that black drink which was In use among the Lacedaemonians, and perhaps the same), which they sip still of, and sup as warm as they can suffer; they spend much time fn those coffee houses, which are somewhat like our alehouses or taverns, and there they sit, chatting and drinking, to drive away the time, and to be merry together, because they find by experience that kind of drink, so used, helpeth digestion, and procureth alacrity." Anthony a Wood says that the first coffee-house was kept in 1650 in Oxford, by Jacobs, a Jew; and it seems generally recognised that the first coffee-house in London was opened In St. Michael's Alley, Corn- ^ Part 2, Section 5. — Mem. i, Sub. 5. DRINKS, 307 hill, in 1652, by one Pasqua Rosee, a Greek, servant to Mr. Edwards, a Turkey merchant. In " A Broad- side against Coffee, or the Marriage of the Turk " (1672), he is thus mentioned : — " A Coachman was the first (here) Coffee made, And ever since the rest drive on the trade ; Me no good Engalash ! and sure enough, He plaid the Quack to salve his Stygian stuff; Ver boon for de stoinach, de Cough, de Ptisicky And I believe him, for it looks like Physick." Here is Rosee's handbill : — ** The Vertue of the Coffee Drink. ** First publiquely made and sold in England, by Pasqua Rosee. " The grain or berry called Coffee, grov^eth upon little Trees, only in the Deserts of Arabia. " It is brought from thence, and drunk generally throughout all the Grand Seignior's Dominions. " It is a simple innocent thing, composed into a Drink, by being dryed in an Oven, and ground to Pov^der, and boiled up with Spring water, and about half a pint of it to be drunk, fasting an hour before, and not Eating an hour after, and to be taken as hot as possibly can be endured ; the which will never fetch the skin off the mouth, or raise any Blisters, by reason of that Heat. *' The Turks drink at Meals and other times, is usually Water, and their Dyet consists much oi Fruit ; the Crudities whereof are very much corrected by this Drink. 3o8 DRINKS. ** The quality of this Drink Is Cold and Dry ; and though it be a Dryer, yet it neither ^ea^Sj nor inflames- more than hot Posset. " It so closeth the Orifice of the Stomack, and forti- fies the heat within, that it's very good to help digestion ; and therefore of great use to be taken about 3 or 4 o'clock afternoon^ as well as in the morn- ing. "It much quickens the Spirits, and makes the Heart> Lightsome. '' It is good against sore Eys, and the better if you hold your Head over it, and take in the Steem that way. "It suppresseth Fumes exceedingly, and therefore good against the Head-ach, and will very much stop any Dejluxion of Rheums that distil from the Head upon the Stojnack, and so prevent and help Consump- tions, and the Cough of the Lungs. '*It is excellent to prevent and cure the Dropsy, Gout and Scurvy. "It is known by experience to be better than any other Drying Drink for People in years, or Children that have any running humors upon them, as the Kings Evil, etc. ''It is very good to prevent Mis-carryings in Child-bearing Women. "It is a most excellent remedy against the Spleen, Hypocondriack Winds, or the like. "It will prevent Drowsiness, and make one fit for busines, if one have occasion to Watch ; and therefore you are not to drink of it after Supper^ unless you DRINKS. 309 intend to ho.. watchful, for it will hinder sleep for three or four hours. ''It is observed that in Turkey, where this is generally drunk, that they are not trobled with the Stone, Gout, Dropsie, or Scurvey, and that their Skins are exceeding deer and white. " It is neither Laxative nor Restringent., *' Made and Sold in St. Michael's Alley in Cornhill, by Pasqua Rosee, at the Signe of his own Head." That it met with opposition at its introduction, we have already seen in " A Broadside against Coffee ; " but Hatton, in his "New View of London," 1708, gives a case of clear persecution. " I find it Recorded that one James Farr, a barber, who kept the Coffee House which is now the Rainbow, was, in the year 1657, presented by the Inquest of St. Dunstan's in the W. for Making and Selling a sort of Liquor, called Coffee, as a great N usance and Prejudice of the neigh- bourhood, etc. And who would then have thought London would ever have had near 3000 such Nusances, and that Coffee should have been, as now, so much Drank by the best of Quality and Physicians." ^ The coffee houses soon became popular, because they filled a social want. There were no clubs, as we know them, although there were limited social gather- ings, under the name of club, held at stated periods — and the coffee house provided a convenient place for gossip and news. Here were served alcoholic drinks 1 For a list of 500 Coffee Houses, see Appendix to Social Life in the Reign of Queen Anne, by John Ashton. jro DRINKS. as well as coffee ; here the newspapers might be seen ; here, also, men could indulge in a pipe, and its ad- vantages are well summed up by Misson,^ who * Memoirs and Observations in his Travels over England^ etc. DRINKS. 311 travelled In England in the reign of William and Mary. " These Houses, which are very numerous in London, are extreamly convenient. You have all Manner of News there ; You have a good Fire, which you may sit by as long as you please ; You have a dish of Coffee, you meet your Friends for the Transaction of Business, and all for a Penny, if you don't care to spend more." "THE RULES AND ORDERS OF THE COFFEE-HOUSE.! " Enter Sirs, freely, But first, if you please. Peruse our Civil-Orders, which are these, " First, Gentry^ Tradesmen, all are welcome hither, And may, without Affront, sit down Together : Pre-eminence of Place, none here should Mind, But take the next fit Seat that he can find ; Nor need any, if Finer Persons come, Rise up for to assigne to them his Room ; To limit Men's Expence, we think not fair, But let him forfeit Twelve pence that shall Swear ; He that shall any Quarrel here begin. Shall give each Man a Dish t' Atone the Sin ; And so shall he, whose Complements extend So far to drink in Coffee to his Friend ; Let Noise of loud Disputes be quite forborn, No Maudlin Lovers here in Corners Mourn : But all be Brisk, and Talk, but not too much ; On Sacred things, Let none presume to touch. Nor Profane Scripture, or sawcily wrong Affairs of State with an Irreverent Tongue : Let mirth be Innocent, aud each Man see, That all his Jests without Reflection be ; ^ A Brief Description of the excellent Vertues of that Sober and Wholesome Drink called Coffee. 1674, s. sh. fol. 312 DRINKS, To keep the House more Quiet, and from Blame, We Banish hence Cards, Dice and every Game : Nor can allow of Wagers, that Exceed Five Shillings, which, oft-times, much Trouble Breed ; Let all that's Lost or Forfeited be spent In such Good Liquor as the House doth Vent, And Customers endeavour to their Powers, For to observe still seasonable Howers. Lastly, Let each Man what he calls for Pay^ And so you're welcome to come every Day." To know of coffee-houses in their prime, v^e must turn to the pages of Addison and Steele, to the Guar- dian, the Spectator, the Tatler, etc., but they are well epitomised in the following poem, which bears date 1667 '- — "NEWS FROM THE COFFEE-HOUSE. " In which is shewn their several sorts of Passions, Containing Newes from all our Neighbour Natiom. "A Poem. "You that delight in Wit dnd Mirth, And long to hear such News, As comes from all Parts of the Earthy. Dutch, Danes, and Turks, ^ndi Jews, rie send yee to a Rendezvouz, Where it is smoaking new ; Go, hear it at a Coffee-house, It cannot but be true. There Battles and Sea- Fights are Fought, And bloudy Plots display'd ; They know more things than 'ere was thought Or ever was betray'd : No Money in the Minting House Is halfe so Bright and New"; And, comming from a Coffee-House ft cannot but be true. DRINKS. zn Before the Navyes fall to Work, They know who shall be Winner ; They there can tell ye what the Turk Last Sunday had to Dinner ; Who last did cut Du Ruitter's CornSj Amongst his jovial Crew ; Or Who first gave the Devil Horn§. Which cannot but be true. A Fisherman did boldly tell, And strongly did avouch, He Caught a Shoal of Mackarel, That Parley'd all in Dutch, And cry'd out, Yaw, yaw, yaw y Myne Here ; But as the Draught they Drew, They Struck for fear that Monck was there, . Which cannot but be true. Another Swears by both his Ears, Mounsieur will cut our Throats ; The French King will a Girdle bring. Made of Flat-bottom'd Boats ; Shall compas England round about. Which must not be a i^vf, To give our Englishmen the Rout ; This sounds as if 'twere true. There's nothing done in all the World, From Monarch to the Mouse, But every Day or Night 'tis hurl'd Into the Coffee-house. What Lillie or what Booker. c^j[\ By Art, not bring about At Coffee-house you'l find a Man, Can quickly find it out. They'l tell ye there, what Lady-ware, Of late is grown too light ; jl4 DRINKS. ' What Wise-man shall from Favour Fall, What Fool shall be a Knight ; They'l tell ye when our Fayling Trade Shall Rise again, and Flourish, Or when Jack Adams shall be made Church- Warden of the Parish. They know who shall in Times to come, Be either made or undone, From great St. Peter' s-street in Rome, To Turnhull- street in London. And likewise tell, in Clerkenwell, What w hath greatest Gain, And in that place, what Brazen-face Doth wear a Golden Chain. At Sea their knowledge is so much, They know all Rocks and Shelves, They know all Councils of the Dutch, More than they know Themselves. Who 'tis shall get the best at last. They perfectly can shew At Coffee-house, when they are plac'd Yot^d scarce believe it true. They know all that is Good, or Hurt, To Dam ye, or to Save ye ; There is the Colledge and the Court, The Country, Camp, and Navie ; So great a Vniversitie I think there ne're was any ; In which you may a Schoolar be For spending of a Penny. A Merchant's Prentice there shall show You all and every thing. What hath been done, and is to do, 'Twix Holland and the King ; DRINKS. 31$ What Articles oi Peace will bee He can precisely show, What will be good for Them or Wee^ He perfectly doth know. Here Men do talk of every Thing, With large and liberal Lungs, Like Women at a Gossiping, With double tyre of Tongues ; They'l give a Broad-side presently, Soon as you are in view. With Stories that you'l wonder at. Which they will swear are true. The Drinking there of Chockolat^ Can make a Fool a Sophie ^ 'Tis thought the Turkish Mahomet Was first Inspir'd with Coffee : By which his Powers did Over-flow The Land of Palestine ; Then let us to the Coffee-house go, 'Tis Cheaper farr than Wine. You shall know there, what Fashions are ; How Perrywiggs are Curl'd ; And for a Penny you shall heare All Novells in the World. Both Old and Young, and Great and Small, And Rich and Poore, you'll see ; Therefore let's to the Coffee all, Come All away with Mee. Finis!' J. A. Different Sorts of Coffee — Its Enemies — Its Composition and Treat- ment — Methods of Making — Adulterations — Liberian Coffee — Date Coffee and other Substitutes. THKRK are about twenty-two species of coffee, seven of them belonging to Asia, and fifteen to Africa, where it grows in districts widely apart, as in Angola and on the shores of the Victoria Nyanza ; yet, although it is so widely disseminated, and comes from so many different places, it is getting com- mercially dearer without any present prospect of any reduction. Its value in the market is as follows — the first being the highest, and the last the lowest in price. Mocha, Jamaica, Ceylon, Honduras, Mysore, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Brazil, New Grenada, and divers East Indian growths ; and its consumption per head in Europe, ranks thus : Holland, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, France, Austria, Greece, Great Britain, Italy and Russia. Unfortunately the coffee plant has its enemies, in the shape of two fungi which have devastated the plantations of Ceylon and Mysore, one the Hemileia 316 DRINKS. 317 Vastata, and the other the PelHcularia Kolerota, whilst an insect called the coffee bug i^Lecanium Coffea) causes great destruction, as does also the coffee, or Golunda rat. Indeed, these enemies so prevailed in Ceylon as to render coffee growing not only unprofit- able, but almost impossible, so the planters took to growing tea, with the good results which we have seen. Raw coffee has very little scent, and a bitter taste, and no one would credit it with the delicious aroma which is developed — like the tea leaf — by roasting, an operation which increases the bulk of the berry, whilst diminishing its weight. It commercial value is in pro- portion to its aroma ; and it is found that, by keeping the raw berry, a chemical change takes place, which very much improves inferior qualities. But this aroma is extremely volatile, and ground coffee should be kept in scrupulously air-tight cases. Indeed, so fugitive is it, that coffee to be drank in perfection should be made from berries roasted freshly every day, as is frequently done in France. Raw coffee contains an astringent acid, which does not stain iron black, like that of tea, but green ; and it also embodies Theine, or, as it is called when applied to coffee, Caffeine. This alkaloid does not exist in large quantities as in tea, i,e.y the drinker of an equal number of cups of both beverages would have less of the alkaloid if coffee was drunk. The berries, when roasted, and their flavour de- veloped, are ground — coarse or fine according to taste, and are then ready to be made into a drink. It is 3i8 DRINKS. here, in conjunction with the use of stale, and conse- quently, tasteless coffee, that we, in England, go to -grief. Of coffee-making machines there are numbers ; but if pure coffee is used, they might as well be dis- pensed with, whilst they are almost necessary if the coffee is adulterated. Another thing that our English .housekeepers do not understand is, that coffee, in order to be productive of a good result, should be used large-handedly and generously, and not according to the time-honoured, grandmotherly, but parsimonious method applied to tea, of a teaspoonful for each person and one for the pot. The allowance of freshly ground coffee should be from i^ to 2 oz. per pint of water, and any less does not make coffee, but only " water bewitched." With this quantity excellent coffee can be made without the aid of any machine. Warm the coffee pot, or jug, put in the coffee, and then add the water, which, as with tea, should just have come to the boil, and after standing a little time, the coffee is fit to drink. If the coffee is boiled, the extremely volatile aroma is dissipated, and its exquisite flavour lost. But a good way of making coffee is to make it over night. Put the coffee in a jug, and pour cold water on it. The lighter particles soon get soaked and fall to the bottom. In the morning it has only to be warmed until it just boils, when it should be strained and served at once. This only applies to pure coffee. There are too many adulterants used, and what ** French Coffee " and " Coffee as in France " is made of, the Lord and their manufacturers only knoWc The DRINKS. 319 chief of these offenders \n England Is the root of the succory, chicory, or wild endive {Cichorium Intybus), which, originally wild, is now extensively cultivated in England ; whilst on the Continent it is very largely grown in France, Germany, Belgium, and Holland, and both home-grown and foreign chicory are largely in our market, the latter fetching the higher price. It does not taste like coffee, nor has it any aroma ; but, when roasted, it gives a dark colour to water, and a bitter taste, as if a great deal of coffee had been used ; and for this purpose it must have been first used in the old coffee-houses. But it is a question whether you buy pure roasted and ground chicory. In Germany it is adulterated largely with turnips and carrots, whilst Venetian red is used to give it a colour. Notice has already been made of the different kinds of coffee, but not the West African species — the Li- berian coffee {Coffea Liber ica) — which has not, as yet, come into common use in England. There are many substitutes for coffee, one of which developed a few years since into a large commercial undertaking, but eventually collapsed. It was Date Coffee, made out of date stones roasted and ground. Among other substances used in lieu of coffee, are the roasted seeds of the yellow water-lily i^Iris pseudocorus) ; the seeds of a Goumelia, called in Turkey Kenguel ; roasted acorns and beans, chick peas, rye and other grains, nuts, almonds, and dandelion roots [Leontodon taraxa- cum), whilst in Africa many berries are used in its stead. J. A. COCOA. Where Cocoa is Grown — Its Manufacture — Its Use Abroad and in England — Cocoa as a Drink — Chocolate, Edible and Other- wise — Substitutes for Cocoa. LINNj^US was SO fond of the drink made from the seeds of this plant that he gave it the name of Cacao Theobroma, or ** Food of the Gods." As a drink it cannot be classed among the infusions, like tea, nor is it roasted and ground to powder like coffee ; but the seeds are crushed and mealed in a mill, and from this oily meal is made the thin gruel which we drink as cocoa. It seems to have been originally a native of Mexico, and is now cultivated there, in Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, New Granada, 320 DRINKS. 321 Venezuela, Guiana, and most of the West India Islands. Commercially the different sorts rank In value as follow : Trinidad, Caraccas, Grenada, Guay- aquil, Surinam, Bahia, Ceylon, and British West Indies. It grows, as we see In the Illustration, somewhat like a melon, which contains some fifty or more seeds, in rows embedded In a spongy substance, from which the seeds are cleansed and then dried in the sun, when It becomes britde and of a dark colour inter- nally, eating like an oily nut, but with a decidedly bitter and somewhat astringent taste. To render It fit for food, It Is gently roasted to develop the aroma, allowed to cool, deprived of Its husk, and then crushed into small fragments called cocoa nibs, which is the purest form In which it Is used, but also the one which entails the greatest trouble In making a drink therefrom. The granulated, rock, flake, and soluble cocoas are made by the beans being ground into a paste In a rolling mill ; starch, flour, sugar, and other Ingredients being used, according to the taste of different manufacturers. It was used by the Mexicans and Peruvians before their conquest by the Spaniards, and formed an article of barter among them. Columbus brought a know- ledge of It to Europe ; but those were not the days of non-alcoholic drinks, and It was some time before it came Into vogue. Naturally, first of all In Spain, and to this day Spain Is the greatest European consumer of cocoa In some shape or other. It was Introduced Into England about the same time as tea and coffee, but the chocolate houses, pure and simple, as such, X 322 DRINKS. were very few compared to the coffee houses. It was taxed as a drink by the same Acts as tea, and paid the same duty. In the eighteenth century it became a fashionable morning drink, especially for ladies, and is perpetually alluded to by the essayists ; but it was so expensive as to be only a drink for the upper classes. CHOCOLATE DRINKING. Cocoa as a drink is far more nutritious than either tea or coffee, and like those two substances it has a volatile oil which gives the delicious aroma, and an active principle resembling Theine or Caffeine — but not identical with them— called Theobromine. It has no tannic acid, but it has what the other two do not DRINKS, 323 possess, it has a peculiar fatty matter, known as cocoa butter, which sometimes amounts to half the contents of the seed. It is this excess of fat which renders it liable to disagree with some susceptible stomachs, but the mixture of farinaceous matter and sugar tend in a great measure to obviate this inconvenience. In another method of manufacture it is known as Chocolate, which is simply the cocoa bean ground and flavoured with sugar, vanilla, almonds, cinnamon, or what not, according to taste. It is in a dry form the most popular of sweetmeats, although the adulterations practised by low class firms, in order to sell a cheap article, are many, owing to its high price ; yet the goods of first-rate firms like Menier, Fry, Cadbury, and others, may be taken without suspicion, and are — eood ! ! ! There are pseudo cocoas, as there are pseudo coffees and teas. The Guarana, or Brazilian Cocoa {^Patillina sorbilis) ; a ground nut, the Arachis hypogeia, used in South Carolina, Angola, and elsewhere ; the Cyperus esculentus, or earth chestnut, in Spain, are the chief substitutes ; but it is needless to say that none com- pare with the TiiEOBROMA. Alas ! that it should be adulterated. J. A. AERATED DRINKS. Ginger Beer — Old and New Methods of Manufacture — Lemonade- Chemicals in Non-Alcoholic Drinks — Fruit Syrups — Non- Alcoholic Cordials and Liquors — Natural Mineral Watet-s — Their Constituents — Artificial Aerated Waters — Their Intro- duction into England — Manufacture. POPULAR among non-intoxicant drinks is the homely Ginger Beer, so dearly beloved of thirsty holiday makers and small children ; dear also to the boating man in connection with good ale, as " Shandy- gaff." And the stone bottle, in which it used gene- rally to be encased, is familiar to every reader. We say, advisedly, iisedy because now-a-days it is also put up in glass bottles ; nay, it is sold in casks, like beer, to the publicans and others. The probability is that, in the old days, its somewhat murky colour would not bear inspection through bright glass. The old ginger beer, whose flavour cannot be approached by the modern decoctions, was made of Jamaica ginger ma- cerated in water, with the addition of lemon juice and sugar. It was allowed to ferment, and possessed decided traces of alcohol. It was made after this fashion : — Take i ounce of best Jamaica ginger, and crush 324 DRINKS. 325 thoroughly with a hammer or suitable crushing ma- chine ; boil gently for about an hour in about a quart of water, then add i lb. of best loaf sugar, and make up to a gallon with hot water ; stir until all is dis- solved. Add a small quantity of the soluble essence of lemon, and gum extract, the quantity to be regu- lated to taste of the maker. Then stir in \ ounce of tartaric acid, and, if required for quick fermentation, a very small quantity of yeast. The beer should fine down perfectly clear, and should then be bottled. In from one to three weeks time it is ready for drinking, and should keep good about six months. This was the old fashion — now for the new.^ First incorporate the lemon oil with i quart of the thick syrup. (If the oil contains a large proportion of insoluble matter, it may be well to use rather less than 1 quart of syrup in the first place.) Then add the boiling water, and, after that, the remaining syrup ; taking care to keep the mixture constantly agitated during the process. Lastly, add the acid, and ginger tincture according to taste, or the requirements of the public analyst. ^ The Mineral Water Maker's Manual for 1866, from which many receipts are taken with thanks. Plain Syrup, from 56° to 60° T.^ . 3 quarts Boiling Water i quart Oil of Lemon ..... 24 minims Acetic Acid 4 fluid ounces Ginger Tincture (21, 22, or 23), Q.S.^ Use I to 1 1 ounce of the flavoured spirit to each bottle. 2 Twaddell's Hydrometer. From 11 to 12 lbs. sugar to the gallon should give something near this specific gravity. ^ A sufficient quantity. 326 DRINKS. By adding boiling syrup instead of boiling water to the mixture of plain syrup and oil of lemon, and sub- sequently adding the required quantity of cold water, the whole operation will be brought more thoroughly under control, and a larger proportion of oil may be employed without waste. With some samples of the oil, it may be necessary to heat a larger portion of the syrup ; but the oil should always be mixed with cold, thick syrup in the first place, unless a perfectly close, air-tight vessel is provided for mixing ; in this case, hot, thick syrup may be poured on the oil, cold water being subsequently added to give the requisite density. When it is required to incorporate a maximum quantity of lemon oil with the syrup, it should first be whisked [into the whole of the thick syrup cold ; the flavoured syrup should then be carefully heated by means of a steam jacket, or other convenient arrange- ment, until the suspended oil is reduced to a state of solution. The syrup will then be transparent. Let it be cooled again as quickly as possible, Gingerade. Plain Syrup, 42° T.^ . . . .1 gallon Ginger Tincture (No. 21 or 22). . 4 fluid ounces Acetic Acid 4 » >» Bitter Orange Tincture, Q.S. Use I to i^ ounce of flavoured syrup to each bottle. Ginger Ale is a beverage supposed to beguile the artless teetotaller into an idea that he is doing some- ^ About 8^ lbs. loaf sugar to the gallon of water should produce this S. G. DRINKS. 327 thing naughty, of at all events, placing himself on the very verge of tampering with the accursed thing " Beer." Hence its name, but what a difference in the two drinks ! Here are two receipts for making Ginger Ale. Plain Syrup, 42° T. . . I gallon Corap. Ginger Tincture (No. 23) . 4 fluid ounces Acetic Acid .... 4 >» » Sugar Colouring 2 »» »» Or Plain Syrup, 42° T. . . I gallon Ginger Tincture (No. 21 or 22) . . 4 fluid ounces Capsicum Tincture (No. 24) ^ »» >» Sugar Colouring a >> »» Use I to If ounce of flavoured syrup to each bottle. If desired, the bouquet may be enriched by the use of one or more of the following ingredients : — Essence of Vanilla . 3 drams (t8o minims) per gallon Butyric Ether . . 4 minims „ Otto of RQses . . J ,, f> Half an ounce of Spanish liquorice to the gallon will considerably improve the flavour. Lemonade. Plain Syrup, 42° T. . . . .1 gallon Lemon Tincture (No. 19). . . 4 fluid ounces Acetic Acid . •. . . . 4 to 5 „ Use 1 1 ounce of flavoured syrup to each bottle. When lemonade is required specially for medicinal purposes, and is sold expressly as a genuine fruit pre- paration, citric acid should be employed instead of acetic. In that case dissolve i lb. of citric acid in a 32^ Dltll^KS. pint of boiling* water, and use 4 fluid ounces of the clear solution to each orallon of syrup. Some manufacturers have attained a high reputa- tion for their lemonade by adding a small quantity of Neroli^ to the ordinary syrup. This, if judiciously used, will doubdess be deemed an improvement by connoisseurs generally, provided they are kept in ignorance of the substance employed ; but a still greater improvement is produced by adding about I fluid ounce of good orange flower water to each gallon of syrup. In the next beverage we are perilously tempting the fiend Alcohol, although it ranks as a Temperance drink. Chavipagne Cyder, Plaia^ Syrup, 42° T. . . .1 gallon Butyrate of Eihyl 2 Acetate of AmyP Nitrate of Amyl. Acetic Acid Sugar Colouring 4 minims 4 » 2 4 or 5 fluid ounces Use I to 1 1 fluid ounces of this syrup to each bottle. But here is a direction which plainly shows the cloven hoof. " The Ethyl and Amyl compounds are conveniently used by mixing them separately in the first place with nine times their bulk of Alcohol, or strong rectified spirit, adding these mixtures to the Acetic Acid, and this in turn to the syrup." ^ An extract made from orange flowers. 2 Or Butyric Ether, known as Essence of Pine-apple. 3 Jargonelle Ether. DRINKS. 329 At every turn, in all these drinks, are chemicals used. Do you want the flavour of the luscious Jargonelle pear ? hey, presto ! There it is for you in a spirituous solution of Acetate of Amyl, made by distilling potato* spirit with Oil of Vitrol and Acetate of Potash, at least this gives a fine fruity flavour, but to bring out the true Jargonelle taste it must be mixed with six times its bulk of spirits of wine [Mem. for Teetotallers). The taste of apples can be counter- feited by mixing Amylic Ether (potato ether) and Valerianic Acid, which latter is mad'e by substituting Bichromate of Potash for Acetate of Potash, and largely added Alcohol. The delicious aroma of the Pine-apple is made from Butyric Acid, mixed with ordinary ether, and dissolved in Alcohol. Indeed with compounds of the Ethyls, Methyls, and Amyls, all the bouquets contained in wines or spirits can be obtained.^ Does your chemical compound look flat and dull when poured out ? lo ! you can produce a " head," or froth, made out of isinglass, gum arabic, gelatine, white of ^gg, Irish moss, or soapwort. The latter gives an excellent head ; but as these frothing mixtures detract from the keeping of the chemical drink, yet another chemical has to be used as an anti- septic, and Salicylic Acid, made from Carbolic Acid, is recommended. Do you want to colour your decoc- tions ? There is a wide range of tints for you to choose from, from the harmless burnt sugar to the ^ Beware, however, of one compound ether, which gives the taste of cinnamon, and is. Ethyl Perchlorate. This rnxxinxQ h explosive / 1 / 330 DRINKS. Acetate of Rosaniline, or Aniline Magenta, of which ^^th of a grain will colour a bottleful, a beautiful red. For the fruit syrups, fruits are very often used, but of course not necessarily. Even milk is not sacred from the chemist. Here are two recipes for making Cream Syrup : — No. I. Fresh Cream . • . . . ^ pint Fresh Milk | „ Powdered Sugar . . . . i pound Another formula :— Oil of Sweet Almonds . . . 2 ounces No. 2- ■ Powdered Gum Araoic . .2 ,, , Water 4 » ' Make an emulsion, and add simple syrup to make up 2 pints, and there you are, thoroughly independent of the cow ! In these syrupy mixtures the Americans run riot, and a few years since many shops, notably druggists, sold strange and curious frothing mixtures ; but there was no call for them in the winter, and they died out as suddenly as they were introduced. The following is' a fair list of syrups, some of which, however, are decidedly exciseable. Ambrosia, Apple, Apricot, Banana, Blackberry, Brandy, Capillaire, Cherry, Chocolate, Citron, Clove, Coffee, Cream, Curagoa, Currant (black or red), Ginger, Grape, Groseille, Gum, Lemon, Limes, Mulberry, Nectar, Nectarine, Noyeau, Orange (bitter), Orange (sweet). Orange (Tangerine), Orgeat, Peach, Pear, Peppermint, Pine-apple, Plum, Quince, Raspberry, Roses, Sarsaparilla, Sherbet, Strawberry, Vanilla, Violets. DRLXKS. 331 And here is a list of Non-Alcoholic Cordials and Liquors (non-exciseable), it is said ; but if so, they must be fearfully and wonderfully made. Anisette, Bitters, Caraway, Cherry Brandy, Clove, Curagoa, Elderette, Fettle, Ginger Brandy, Ginger Cordial, Ginger Gin, Ginger Punch, Gingerette, Lemon Punch, Lime Fruit, Nectar Punch, Noyeau, Orange Bitters, Orange Gin, Peppermint, Pepper Punch, Pick-me-up, Raspberry, Raspberry Punch, Rum Punch, Rum Shrub, Sarsaparilla, Shrub, Spiced Ale, Strawberry, Tangerine, Tonic, Winter Punch. But enough of these chemical concoctions of man ; let us go to Nature, and see what she turns out of her laboratory. Most marvellous combinations of Minerals, Acids, Gases, and Water. Among the Minerals may be named Alumina, Arsenic, Barium, Boron, Bromine, Cesium, Calcium, Copper, Fluorine, Iodine, Iron, Lithium, Magnesium, Manganese, Phosphorus, Potassium, Rubidium, Silicon, Sodium, Strontium, Sulphur, Zinc, etc. And of Gases we have Ammonia, Carbonic Acid, Hydrogen, Hydro- Sulphuric, Nitrogen, and Oxygen. These materials are mixed in very varying amounts, and from very valuable medical agencies, from the purgative Friedrichsliall, to the nauseous Harrogate. But all are not nasty: some are just sufficiently alkaline to be tasty, and, having a briskness imparted to them either naturally,' or otherwise, by carbonic acid, make pleasant drinks for table. These simple waters are abundant on the Continent. In Germany we have the well-known Apollinaris, 332 DRINKS. Sellers, Landskro, Briickerlau, Rolsdorf, Gleshiibel, and Heppingen, whilst in France there are those of St. Galmier, Chateldon, and Pougues, besides some in Italy and many in America. These, especially the medical waters, are imported into England ; but mineral waters are largely manu- factured. By mineral waters I do not mean the aerated waters we drink under the names of Soda, and Seltzer, but the medicinal waters. The effervescing, or aerated waters, which are now so much used all over the civilized world, were first made on a large commercial scale by the firm of J. Schweppe, of Geneva (a name very well known in England, in connection with the manufacture), in 1789 ; and ten years afterwards, his partner, Mr. N. Paul (whose name yet survives in the firm Paul & Burrows, St. George's Road, S.E.), established an Aerated Water Factory in England. It is somewhat curious how the names last in this trade, for in 1799 a Mr. Thwaites established a factory in Dublin, and the firm still remains as A. & R. Thwaites & Co. Since its introduction, aerated water has much im- proved, especially the universal soda water, which is simply ordinary water charged with carbonic acid gas. Vastly improved machinery has been introduced, cleanliness and purity of materials are specially looked after, and the bottles and vessels for holding it wonderfully improved. We have not, in England, taken so kindly to the syphon as they have abroad ; but the cork in the bottle has been nearly entirely done away with, and we are no longer compelled to pay for, DRINKS. 333 if we could not drink, the large bottle, which at one time bid fair to be perennial ; but which has almost succumbed to its younger brother the " Small " Soda. Year by year, through competition and vastly increased consumption, aerated waters are getting cheaper, and consequently more used. The ordinary soda water of commerce contains no soda, — it is made by the absorption, under pressure, of carbonic acid gas, which is generally obtained frorn chalk or whitening, and sulphuric acid, which makes as good a gas for commercial purposes as if it were produced from the purest Carrara marble. The number of chemical teetotal drinks is legion. They are all calculated according to their concocter's reports, to make the drinker healthier and wiser ; nay, even to provide him with extra brain power, as did the vaunted Zoedone, which contained phosphates and iron. They have their litde day, and another nostrum takes their place. It has, hitherto, always been so, and probably will continue, only intensified, to the end qf time. J. A. MILK. First Food of all Mammals — Skim and Butter Milk — Chemicals used in its Preservation — Condensed Milk — Syllabubs — Koumiss — Its Early Use — When first utiHzed in Medical Treatment — Koumiss from Cows' Milk — Methods of Manufac- ture — Intoxicating Drinks made from Milk. MILJv is the first liquid food taken by man, in common with all mammals, after his birth and this liquid is so happily ordered, as to contain all the elements of food necessary for him, at this period of his existence. The new-born mammal naturally, and directly after its birth, seeks the fountain of its nourishment, and even that most helpless of all created beings, a baby, is soon taught where to seek its food. But we have to consider milk as a beverage, more than as a food, and, as a drink, it is comparatively a failure, as to most people it is indigestible, if taken in any quantity. It may, however, be taken with com- parative impunity as skim milk, i.e. when deprived to a very large extent of its fat, and of a hot day, for a perfect thirst quencher, let us commend slightly acidu- lated butter milk. Milk has very great disadvantages as a beverage : first, that it will not keep good any time, unless chemicalized .by salicylic acid, borax. DRINKS. 335 liquor potassse, or some other bedevilment, except as condensed milk, which is milk with much of its water evaporated, and sugar added. This, however good it may be as a substitute for fresh cow's milk, where such is not attainable, can hardly be called a drink. Secondly, milk, in common with all fatty animal substances, has a tendency to . absorb any odour which may come in contact with it, and is a ready vehicle for the seeds of disease, especially the microbes of fever or cholera. It is singular that milk has not been made into more drinks. Of modern times we have soda and milk, or aerated milk and water, and in the pastoral times of the last century, the times of Corydon and Phyllis, Chloe and Strephon, it was de rigueur to indulge in ''syllabubs" whenever the nearest approach to rurality, in the shape of a grass field, and a cow, presented itself. Whoever tastes a syllabub now ? Ask fifty people — forty-nine at least, will answer that they have never partaken of the delicacy, and the vast majority will be totally ignorant even of its composition. It was made of milk, milked from the cow into a bowl containing mashed fruit, such as gooseberries, and sugar, or else, wine or beer. The great thing was to make it froth, as we may see in the following recipe for an Ale Syllabub, which our fore- fathers considered as the ne plus ultra of a syllabub. " No Syllabubs made at the milking pail, But what are composed of a pot of good ale." "- Place in a large bowl, a quart of strong ale or beer, grate into this a little nutmeg, and sweeten with sugar : milk the cow rapidly into the bowl, forcing the milk as strongly as possible into the ale, and against 336 DRINKS. the sides of the vessel, to raise a orood froth. Let it it stand an hour, and it will be fit for use. The pro- portion of milk, or of sugar, will depend upon the taste of the drinker, who will, after a trial or two, be able to make a delightful beverage. Cider may be used in- stead of malt liquor for those who object to the alco- holic strength of the ale, or a bottle of wine." The Dutch, who are naturally a pastoral people, make a syllabub of milk, sugar, etc., which they call Slemp ; but this rustic delicacy has died out owing to the universal use of tea and coffee. Curds and whey used to be much drank, and white wine whey is not to be despised when one has a very heavy cold — but, of course, it can only be drank by the wicked and in- temperate ; good people confining themselves to hot milk, or treacle posset, either of which served the pur- pose nearly as well. So, also, the unregenerate have the sol9,ce of rum and milk in the early morning. We have now exhausted all the milk drinks we know of, except " Koumiss," which, although as old as the hills, is of very modern introduction into civilization, and comes to us heralded by a fanfare of medical trumpets as 2i panacea for many evils which the human body has to bear, especially consumption; but Koumiss is decidedly alcoholic. As a drink made from mare's milk, it has been known for centuries to the Tartars, Khurgese, and Cal- mucks of the Russian Steppes, and Central and South Western Asia. Perhaps the first mention of it may be found the Ip ai of Annals y published at St. Peters- burg, 1 87 1. "In 1 182, Prince Igor Seversky was 337 DRINKS. 339 taken prisoner by the Polovtsky, and the captors got so drunk upon Koumiss that they allowed their prisoner to escape." The old monk and traveller Gulielmus de Rubruquis, who travelled in Tartary in the middle of the thirteenth century, says : ** The same evening, the guide who had conducted us, gave us some Cosmos. After I had drunk thereof, I sweat most extremely fi-om the dread and novelty, because I never drank of it before. Notwithstanding I thought it very savoury, as indeed it was." And in another place, he thus re- fers to it : '' Then they taste it, and being pretty sharp, they drink it ; for it biteth a man's tongue like wine of raspes} when it is drunk. After a man has taken a draught thereof, it leaveth behind it a taste like that of almond milk, and maketh one's inside feel very com- fortable ; and it also intoxicateth weak heads." Ser Marco Polo speaks of it. " Their drink is mare's milk, prepared in such a way, you would take it for a white wine ; and a right good drink it is, called by them Kemizy It remained as a traveller's curiosity until 1784, when Dr. John Grieve, a surgeon, one of the many Scotchmen who have from time to time entered the Russian service, wrote to the Royal Society of Edin- burgh (who published his communication in their *' Transactions," Vol. I., 1788). " An account of the Method of making a Wine, called by the Tartars Koumiss, with observations on its use in Medicine," and, especially, he thought that, *'with the super- addition of a fermented spirit, it might be of essential ^ Raspberries. 340 DRINKS, service in all those disorders where the body is defec- tive either in nourishment or strength." And he further proved the benefit of the milk-wine on three patients, two consumptive, and one syphilitic, sending them to the Steppes among the Tartars, whence they returned stout, and in perfect health. From time to time, until the middle of this century, phthisical patients were sent to Tartary to undergo this milk cure ; but life among these nomad tribes, with its filth and priva- tions, was hardly congenial to a sick man, so that although some returned cured, others came back only to die. But In 1858 Dr. Postnlkof started an establish- ment for the cure of diseases by fermented mare's milk, at Samara, in Eastern Russia, and a similar establishment, about forty- five miles distant, was started by the late Dr. Tchembulatof, both of which have been extremely well patronised, as their places were well ordered, and the Koumiss was prepared in a cleanly manner. So successful were they, that the Russian Government,- in 1870, started a place of their own for the cure of sick soldiers belonging to the Kazan district. Here are beds for 100 soldiers and 20 officers. The curative effect of fermented mare's milk set people thinking whether the milk of cows, which is much more easy to procure, would not answer the same purpose. It was tried, and a new drink was given to the civilized world, as also a new name, which was coined expressly for it — Galazyene, from 70X0, milk, and XpM, a ferment. It can be obtained in London from the large dairies. DRINKS. 341 Dr. Polubensky gives the following formula for fermenting cow's milk. ** An oak .churn, such as is used for churning butter, has a bottle of fermented cow's or mare's milk, five days old, poured into it in the morning. A tumbler and a half of ^varm milk (of a temperature of about 90° Fahr.), in which half an ounce of cane, still better milk, sugar has been dissolved, and a bottle of skimmed cow's milk, are then added. " The addition of the sugar is made for the purpose of remedying the small amount of lactine in cow's milk; the water is added to make the milk, which is rich in casein, thinner, and thus to facilitate its agitation and emulsion. Skim milk is used because it contains less fat, an excess of which interferes with fermentation. The mixture is then beaten up during half an hour, to prevent the curdling of the casein, and is then laid aside for three hours. (This is effected at an ordinary room temperature of 60° Fahr.) *' After the lapse of three hours, when the surface of the mixture is covered with a film (of casein and fat in a non-emulsioned condition), it is again agitated for half an hour, and another bottle of skim milk — with or without warm water, according to the thickness of the milk — is added ; the whole mass is again .churned for an hour and a half, or longer, until the casein is well divided, and small bubbles appear on the surface of the fluid. Then the mixture, having stood for half an hour, has a fresh bottle of milk added to it, and the stirring is again renewed, with short intervals, until the Koumiss is ready, wjbich usually happens by 342 DRINKS. lo o'clock p.m., if its preparation was commenced at 8 a.m. *' The approaching- completion of the Koumiss is known by a thick froth, which sometimes rises very high, forming on its surface ; while the full completion of fermentation is recognised by a falling of the froth, and by certain signs detectable by the ear and hand ; the process of churning becomes easier, and the splash of the drops during agitation presents a clearer and more metallic sound. The Koumiss is then poured into Champagne bottles, well corked, and left for the night at a room temperature of from 60° to 70° Fahr. Towards morning, the Koumiss is quite fit for use. Left in bottle till the next day, it becomes stronger, but is still drinkable ; while, if placed in a cold room, it may be used even on the fifth day. " In order that the preparation of Koumiss may be carried on successfully, it will be necessary to put aside two bottles of the Koumiss first prepared, and to keep them for three or four days, so as always to have a bottle of four days old Koumiss in store for fermenting new portions of milk, and of replacing the used bottles by new ones." This seems to be rather a lonof method of makino- Koumiss, compared to that given by Dr. Wolff of Philadelphia, which is excessively simple. ** Take of grape sugar \ oz. ; dissolve in 4 ozs. of water. In about 2 ozs. of milk dissolve 20 grains of compressed yeast, or else well washed and pressed out brewer's yeast. Mix the two in a quart Champagne bottle, which is to be filled with good cow's milk to DRINKS. 343 within two inches of the top ; cork well, and secure the cork with string or wire, and place in an ice chest or cellar at a temperature of 50° Fahr. or less, and agitate three times a day. At the expiration of three or four days, at the latest, the Koumiss is ready for use, and ought not then to be kept longer than four or five days. It should be drawn with a Champagne syphon tap, so that the carbonic acid may be retained, and the contents will not entirely escape on opening the bottle." Be wary in opening a bottle of Koumiss, or you may be thoroughly drenched, and have nothing left to drink, for it generates a large quantity of carbonic acid gas, so much so, indeed, that extra thick bottles should be used. There is an interesting speculation abroad, that the milk which Jael gave Sisera was fermented, and highly intoxicating, which rendered him in a condition favour- able for her purpose. The Usbecks, Mongols, Kalmucks, and other Tartars not only made milk into Koumiss, but distil a very strong spirit from it, which they call araka, con- jectured by some, from its high antiquity, to be the true source whence the I nd'idin Arrack derives its name. The distillation is generally effected by means of two earthen pots closely stopped, from which' the liquor slowly runs through a small wooden pipe into a receiver, which is usually covered with a coatings of wet clay. The spirit, at first, is weak, but after two or three times distilling, it becomes exceedingly intoxicat- ing. Dr. Edward Clarke, in his Travels in Russia, 344 DRINKS. Turkey, and Asia, saw this process performed by means of a still constructed of mud, or very coarse clay, having for the neck of the retort a piece of cane. J. A. ADDITIONAL DRINKS. Jewish Prayers respecting various Drinks — Women's Tears — Dew — Oil — Sea Water — Blood — Vegetable Water — Ganges Water — Vinegar — Ptisana — Toast Water — Bragget — Ballston Water—?- Warm Water — Asses' Milk — Ghee — Milk Beer — Kurayss — Syra — Lamb Wine — Rice Wine — Garapa — Fenkal — Brandy and Port— Methylated Spirit. IN the Jewish prayers there Is an especial, exclusive and eX;tensive blessing upon wine, which runs In the following wise : — " Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, universal King, for the vine, and for the fruit of the vine, and for the produce of the field, and for the land of delight and goodness and amplitude which Thou hast been pleased to give as an inheritance to thy people Israel, to eat of its fruit, and to be satisfied with Its goodness." Then follow petitions for the dlvlqe mercy upon those who say the blessing upon Israel, God's people, and upon God's city, Jerusalem, and upon Zion, the dwelling-place of His glory, and upon His altar, and upon His temple. The blessing concludes with a prayer for speedy transportation into the holy city : " Bring us up into 3jJ5 346 DRINKS. the midst thereof eftsoons, even In these present days, that we may bless Thee in purity and hoHness. For Thou art good, and the Giver of good to all. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, for the land and for the fruit of the vine." This beautiful prayer,^ of which only the roughest sketch has been given here, has been said by pious Hebrews at every meal in which wine has been drunk from time immemorial. But upon wine alone has this honour been conferred. Those who drink Shecar, or water, or any other beverage except wine, say before their draught thus . much only : " Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, universal King, by whose word all things were made ; " and after it, '' Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, universal King, the Creator of many souls, and their needs, for all which Thou hast created, to keep alive the soul of every living thing. Blessed art Thou who livest everlastingly." But these two prayers have no especial and neces- sary relation to drinks. They are also used where aught is eaten which has not grown originally and directly out of the earth, as, for example, the flesh of some beasts, and birds,. and fishes, and cheese, milk, butter, and honey. In the present work particular attention has been given, in the.^ase of alcoholic drinks, to wines, spirits, liqueurs, and beers, and in the case of non-alcoholic, to mineral waters, tea, coffee, and other beverages ^ The form of this thanksgiving is very nearly akin to that said on the occasion of eating any of the five kinds of cooked food from which the challah is due. DRINKS. 347 usually considered non-intoxicant ; but under both these widely extended categories a large number of drinks must enter of which no mention whatever has been made in the preceding pages. It remains for us, therefore, to consider in the present chapter the most interesting and important of these drinks which have been hitherto excluded. Of the curious and, in many cases, repulsive liquids which have from time to time been taken, either to assuage the pangs of human thirst, or to gratify the taste of the human palate in health or in disease, the reader who has not devoted some little time and attention to the investigation of this subject will probably have but a very faint conception To go no farther back on the pathway of time than to the age of John Taylor, the water poet, we find so strange a drink as women's tears. But at a date far earlier than that of the water poet, the date of the Babylonian Talmud, in Machshiriuy vl. 64, there are seven liquids comprehended under the generic term drink (Lev. xi. 34, and therefore liable to ceremonial defilement), dew, water, wine, oil, blood, milk, and honey. Upon every one of these seven liquids something curious and interesting might be written. About these drinks a question arises in the Talmud, whether under water are included such beverages as mulberry water, pomegranate water, and other waters of fruits which have a shem livozu, or compound name. Rambam the great Eagle, more commonly known as Maimonides, seems to exclude these drinks from the general category. By honey is to be understood the 348 DRINKS. honey of bees ; the honey of hornets Is not to be numbered in the Hst. In the Tosephoth of Shabbath it is asked, How do we know that blood is a drink? Because it is said (Num. xxiii. 24), And drink the blood of the slain. How do we know that wine is a drink? Because It is said (Deut. xxxii. 14), And thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape. How do we know that honey is a drink ? Because it is said (Deut. xxxll. 13), But He made him to suck honey out of the rock. How do we know that oil is a drink ? Because it is said (Isa. xxv. 6), A feast of fat things. How do we know that milk is a drink ? Because it is said (Judges iv. 19), And she opened a bottle of milk and gave him drink. How do we know that dew is a drink ? Because it is said (Judges vi. 38), And wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. There is a curious addition, reminding us of Taylor, the water poet. How do we know that the tears of the eye are a drink ? Because it is said (Ps. Ixxx. 5), And givest them tears to drink in great measure. How do we know that the water of the nose is a drink ? Because — but the reader has had probably enough of the Rabbinical lucubrations. A chapter of this book might, were not space a con- sideration, be devoted to water, which Thales ^ declared to be the first principle of things, and, according to Seneca,^ valentissimum elementum. Iced, it was in- veighed ^ against by the Stoic philosopher, as injurious * Arist., Metaph., i. 3. 2 Seneca, Nat. Qucest.j iii. 13. ^ Ibid., iv. 13. DRINKS. 349 to the stomach. The desire for It was said to proceed from a pampered appetite. PHny ^ speaks of a wine made from sea water, but considers it, with Celsus, a bad stomachic. In later times sea water has been converted into fresh. Bory de St. Vincent,^ in his Essais sur les Isles For- tundes, an entertaining description of the archipelago of the Canaries, says that in Fer, one of the Canary Islands, a nearly total privation of running water was compensated by an extraordinary tree. Bacon (^Nov, Scient. Org., 412), the father Taillandier {Lettr. Edit, vii. 280), Cornellle [Grand Diet., under Fer) may be consulted about this tree, called the holy one. Gonzalez d'Oviedo (11. 9) says it dist-ils water through its trunk, branches, and leaves^ which resemble so many fountains. The " exaggerator Jakson," says Bory de St. Vincent, being at Fer in 16 18, saw this tree dried up during the day, but at night yielding enough water to supply the thirst of 8,000 inhabitants and 100,000 other animals. According to this authority, it was distributed from time immemorial all over the island by pipes of lead. It is nothing to " Jakson " that lead was not known from time immemorial. Viana {Cant, i.) speaks of the sacred tree as a sort of celestial pump.' Abreu. Galuido says the holy tree was called Garoe, and that its fruit resembled an acorn, that its leaves were evergreen, and like those of a ^ Pliny, Nat. Hist., xxiii. 24. ^ p. 220. ^ Other authorities concerning this remarkable drinking fountain are Nieremberg {Occult. Fhilos., ii. 350), Clavijo, Cairasio, and Dapper. 350 DRINKS. laurel. Durlnof an east wind the water harvest was the most abundant. This celebrated vegetable product was unfortunately destroyed by a hurricane in 1625. But even about this date authors disagree. While Nunez de la Pena is an authority for that given, Nieremberg assures us the catastrophe occurred in 1629. Another date men- tioned is 161 2. The view of Bory de St. Vincent is that this holy tree was nothing more than the Laurus Indica of Linnaeus, which is indigenous to the mountain summits of the Canary Islands. His concluding remark is pregnant w^ith common sense : Si les auteurs que nous out p arid diL Garod ont dit quil dtait seul de son espece dans rtle, cest qitils ndtaient pas botanistes^ et qitils n avaient pas rSfldchi que cet arbre ay ant ten fruit, devait se reproduire, comme tous les autres vdgdtaux. The water of rivers is often clarified in a peculiar manner before drinking. For instance, that of the Ganges is said to be improved by rubbing certain nuts on the edges of the vessel in which it is kept,^ though how this may be it is as difficult to understand, as how the turtle is affected by a touch of his carapace, or the Dean and Chapter — to borrow Sydney Smiths illustration — of St. Paul's by stroking the cupola of that cathedral. The Nile water is also said to be purified by treating the vessel which holds it in a similar manner to that which holds the water of the Ganges, with bitter almonds. The bitter waters of Marah were made sweet in a far different fashion. ^ Harper's New Monthly Magazine^ xi. p. 499. drinks: 351 The Melo-cacti of South America have earned for themselves the name of " springs of the desert," owing to their Hquor-preserving properties. An in- genious drink is that of the natives of Siberia, a drink prepared of an intoxicating mushroom,^ in a pecuHar and economical manner, by natural distillation. Vinegar appears as a beverage in a few countries only, and then for special purposes. The Roman soldiers received it as a refreshing drink on their marches, and even in the time of Constantine their rations included vinegar on one day and wine on the other. After all, this vinegar may have been nothing more than what many of us drink at present under the title of wine. That " excellent claret," for instance, '' fit for any gentleman's table," which may be had at \s. 6d. a bottle, may be very like the vinegar of the Roman soldier. Roman reapers used it mixed with water, we are told by Theocritus (Idyl x.), and before that time Ruth was directed to dip her morsel In the vinegar when she gleaned in the field of Boaz. Ptisana, mentioned by Celsus (lii. 7), appears to have been a mixture of rice or barley water and vinegar. Toast-water is a drink which may be held by * The mushroom used by the Chukchees is described by Lans- dell, Jhrough Siberia^ ii. 269, as "spotted like a leopard, and sur- mounted by a small hood — the fly agaric, which here has the top scarlet, flecked with white points. It sells for three or four reindeer. So powerful is the fungus that the native who eats it remains drunk for several days. Half a dozen persons may be successively intoxi- cated by a single mushroom, but every one in a less degree than his predecessor/ Goldsmith, Chinese Philosopher. 352 DRINKS. some unworthy of mention, but they may change their minds after reading what Mr. James Sedgwick, apothecary at Stratford-le-Bow, had to say on this subject in the year 1725. The burning of a crust and putting it hissing hot into water has, according to this gentleman, several good advantages. By it, the "raw coldness from nitrous particles are (sic) taken off and moderated, and it becomes more palatable, besides which, from the sudden hissing opposition of tempera- ment, an elevation is made of the heterogeal particles, a motion, an Interchanging position Is obtained : These Principles during their intercourses will be imbibed and sucked into the bread in order, according to thel? respective distance and gravities, whereby the liquor will become more pure and almost uncompounded, less foreign than it was under its natural acceptlon." And yet though all these securities are taken to biuret the " frlgorific mischiefs " of the water in general, yet in- many constitutions and at particular seasons it is not to be trusted without some ** substantial warmth to give and maintain a glowing, e'er it dilutes and dis- perses." He goes on to say that it Is better to add wine to the water, *' to prevent the contingent hazards from the limpid element." Braket or Bragget or B ragwort, was a drink made of the wort of ale, honey, and spices.^ Her mouth, says Chaucer, speaking of Alison, the carpenter's pretty wife in the Mothers Talcy " was swete as braket or the meth, Or hord of apples, laid in hay or heth." ^ Another description is, "Ale mixed with pepper and honey." DRINKS, 353 And in Beaumont and Fletcher's Little Thief, or the Night- Walker , Jack Wildbrain speaks with contempt of " One that knows not neck-beef from a pheasant, Nor cannot relish braggat from ambrosia." The opponents of alcoholic drinks are often met by the objection that some of the drinks recommended by themselves are alcoholic, as indeed they often are. Even water appears to possess, in some cases, an in- toxicating property. Pliny i^Nat, Hist., ii. cvi.) speaks of a Lyncestis aqua} of a certain acidity, which makes men drunken. The celebrated Ballston waters in the State of New York, are said to be affected with qualities " highly exhilarating," sometimes producing vertigo, which has been followed by drowsiness ; in other words, they who drink them exhibit the usual symptoms of drunkenness. Timothy Dwight, in his Travels in New England and New Yo7'k, says that these waters are considered by the farmers of the neighbourhood as an excellent beverage, and are sent for from a considerable distance for drink to labourers during haymaking and harvest- ing, a time well known to be full of desire on the part of country people employed in these agricultural pur- suits, for alcoholic refreshment. " They supersede," says Dwight, *' in a great measure the use of any ardent spirits. But since the result of drinking these waters seems precisely the same, as far as regards ^ Quem quicunque parum moderate gutture traxit, Haud aliter turbat quam si mera vina bibisset. — Ovid, Meiam.y xv. 329. 354 DRINKS. inebriation, as that of drinking beer or other alcoholic liquor, it is questionable whether any advantage is gained by this supersession. The properties of the Saratoga water, situated some seven miles from that of Ballston, are also of a very remarkable nature. They abound to such an extent in a species of gas, that we are told a very nice sort of breakfast bread is baked from them instead of yeast. The Romans considered warm water an agreeable drink at the conclusion of the chief repast of the day. This may explain why Julius Caesar was always taken ill after dinner. Many drinks are derived from animals, either wholly as milk and blood, or from animals and vegetables in common, as oil. It is said that there are people here in England who like — so strange is the diversity of tastes — a draught of oil from the liver of a cod as much as an Esquimaux approves of a draught of the oil of a por- poise or a seal. Of milk a large catalogue of drinks can be reckoned. First, there are the different kinds of milk of different animals, as the milk of asses, of women, of goats, of cows, of sheep, of reindeers, of camels, of sows, and of mares. Then it may be swallowed as it is drawn, or in the form of whey, or curdled. Ghee is a common favourite throughout all India. It is a stale butter clarified by boiling and straining, and then set to cool, when it remains in a semi-liquid or oily state, and is used in cooking, or is drunk by the natives. In milk-beer, milk is substituted for water. Kef is DRINKS. 35 S a kind of effervescing fermented milk, much resembling Koumiss (or rather Kuinyss\ of which the best is probably to be obtained in Samara. Yotwurt ^ is a favourite drink at Constantinople, made of milk curdled after a peculiar fashion. Syra, a form allied with the German Sdure, a sour whey, was used for drink like small beer in Norway and Iceland. Aizen and Leban are both sorts of Kumyss, one of the Tartars, the other of the Arabs. The latter have also an intoxicating liquor Sabzi, made of Bhang, a species of hemp. The green leaf from which the drink derives its name is pounded and diluted with sugared water. Even the warm blood of living animals has been considered suitable for a drink. In the book of Ser Marco Polo the Venetian, concerning the marvels of the East, we are told, — the Tartar will sustain himself in an economical manner, by opening a vein in the neck of the horse upon which he rides, and having taken a sufficient drink will close the aperture, and ride on as before. Carpini says much the same of the Mongols. This appears indeed to have been a time-honoured institution. Dionysius Periegetes, in the nineteenth chapter of his Description of the World, treating of Scythia and other ancient nations situated in what is now known as Great Tartary, says of the Massagetse that they have no eating of bread nor any native wine, but Al/jari fjLLoyovT€<; XevKov yd\a Batra riOevTO. ^ The Hindustani ^, from the Sanskrit , Bengali , Marathi , a corruption of the Turkish , ,. ^\^^i Yughurt, 356 DRINKS. " Or with horses blood, And white milk mingled set their banquets forth," Orbis Desc, 578. And Sidonlus, to the same effect, *^ solitosque criietitum Lac potare Getas, et pocula tingere veftas" Parag. ad Avitum. Another strange variety of drink is made by the Peruvians. The ordinary chica is mixed with the bloody garments of a slain warrior. Temple (Travels, ii. 311). According to Lobo, the Abyssinians esteem the gall one of the most delicious parts of a beast, and drink glasses of it, as epicures with us' drink Chateau Lajitte. Pearce {Adventures in Abyssinia, i. 95) says that they also drink blood warm from the animal with an extraordinary relish. The Mantchoos, the conquerors of China, prepare a wine of a peculiar mixture from the flesh of lambs, either by fermenting it reduced to a kind of paste with the milk of their domestic animals, or by bruising it to a pulp with rice. When properly matured, it is put into jars and drawn as occasion requires. It is said to be strong and nutritious, and the most voluptuous orgies of the Tartars are the result of an intoxication from lamb wine. Abb6 Rickard, History of Tonguin. The only wine in Sumatra, according to Marco Polo, was derived from a certain tree, the sacred wine-ire^ as it might be called, in comparison with the sacred water-iv^^, afterwards known as Areng Sac- DRINKS. 357 charifera, from the Javanese name, called by the Malays Gomuti and by the Portuguese Saguer. It has some resemblance to a date palm, to which Polo compares it, but is much coarser and more ragged, incompta et udspectu tristis, dishevelled and of a melancholy aspect, as it is described by Rumphius. A branch of this tree was cut, a large pot attached, and in a day and a night the pot was filled with excellent wine, both white and red, which, says the Venetian, cures dropsy and tisick and spleen. The Chinese Rice Wine and its manufacture is described in Amyot's MeinoireSy v. 468. A yeast is employed, with which is often mixed a flour prepared from fragrant herbs, almonds, pine seeds, dried fruits, etc. Rubruquis says the liquor is not distinguish- able, except by smell, from the best wine of Auxerre, a wine so famous in the middle ages that the historian friar Salimbene went to that town for the express purpose of drinking it. Ysbrand Ides compares it to Rhenish, John Bell to Canary, and a modern traveller, quoted by Davis, *' in colour and a little in taste to Madeira." Marco Polo says, " it is a very hot stuff," making one drunk sooner than any other beverage. From the walnut, which is cultivated to great extent in the Crimea, a sweet clear liquor is extracted in the spring, at the time the sap is rising in the tree. The trunk of the walnut is pierced and a spigot placed m the incision. The fluid obtained soon coagulates into a substance used as sugar. It does not, however, appear that the juice has been converted to any inebriating purpose. Not only, however, from the walnut can a 358 DRINKS. good drink be extracted, but also from the birch, the willow, the poplar and the sycamore. A sort of birch wine is made in Normandy. An excellent drink, resembling brandy, has been distilled, it is said, from water melons in the southern provinces of Russia, where consequently much atten- tion is paid to the culture of this vegetable, producing in some cases water melons of thirty pounds in weight. In the Sandwich Islands a drink is distilled from the root of the Dracoena, something like the beet of this country. The root of the Draccena gives a saccharine juice resembling molasses. From this, with the addi- tion of some ginger, a kind of tea is made, also a spirit called by the natives Ywer-a. Their manu- facture of this drink is remarkable for Its complexity, involving certain mystic operations with an old pot, a leaky canoe, a calabash, and a rusty gun-barrel. It is unnecessary to give a detailed account of the pro- cess. We yearn in vain for that absence of entangle- ment which distinguishes the religion of the Iroquois, who have no other worship than the annual sacrifice of a dog to Taulonghyaawangooay which being inter- preted is the ''supporter of the Heavens." At this sacrifice they eat the dog. Sbitena, or Sbetin, is the name of a delightful drink sold in the streets of St. Petersburg to the populace. In Granville's St, Petersburg (ii. 422) a mention is made of this beverage. It is composed of honey and hot water and pepper and boiling milk. A drink called Onteire is prepared in the South- West of Africa by the aid of some dirty gourds and milk vigorously shaken therein at stated intervals. DRINKS. 359 In Nubia the crumb of strongly leavened bread made from dhurra is mixed with water and set on the fire. It is afterwards allowed to ferment for two days, strained through a cloth, a lady's garment by choice, and drunk. It is called Ombulbul, or the mother of the nightingale, because it makes the drinker sing like that bird. Ptdque is a vinous beverage made in Mexico by fermenting the juice of the agave. Its distinctive peculiarity is its odour, which has been compared by an experimentalist to that of putrid meat. There are four drinks in Madagascar : Toak^ made from honey and water ; Araffer, from a tree called Sate7% resembling a small cocoa-nut ; Totipare, from boiled cane, a liquid so corrosive as in a short time to penetrate an ^g^ shell ; and Vontaca, from the juice of the so-called Bengal quince. The last soon produces intoxication, against which another curious drink is mentioned as a remedy by Ovalle, to wit, the sweat of a horse infused in wine. The aborigines of Australia (Dawson's Present State of Australia, p. 60) are inordinately fond of a beverage known by them under the name of bull. The recipe for this, as given by Mr. Dawson, runs thus : Get an old sugar bag, steal it if you cannot get it by any other means, and cut it into small pieces. Prepare a large kettle of boiling water, throw into it as many of these pieces of bag as it will hold, and let it simmer for half a day. An excellent btill will be the result. This bull, says Dawson, they are extremely fond of, and will drink it till they are blown out like an ox with clover, and can contain no more. 36o DRINKS. Poncet Speaks of booza as the usual liquor of the Abyssinans, "vastly thick and very ill tasted," produced from a day's soaking of a roasted berry. The negroes of Brazil affect a mixture of black sugar and water without fermentation, called Garapa, to which heat is sometimes added by the leaves of the Acajou tree. Snow melted and impregnated with the flavour of smoke from the fire upon which It is placed is the common drink of the Lapp. Occasionally he gets a decoction of the herb angelica in milk. The maritime Lapp drinks with gusto the oil squeezed from the en- trails of fish. Women, it is said, will take a pint and a half of this so-called tran at a meal. But the favourite drink is composed of water and meal flavoured with a quantity of tallow, and, if circumstances will permit, the blood of the reindeer. Taidge or Tedge or Tedj is a kind of honey wine or hydromel, said by Father Poncet ^ to be a delicious liquor, pure, clarified, and of the colour of Spanish white wine. The process of its manufacture is simple. Wild honey is mixed with water, and set in a jar, with a little sprouted barley, some biccalo or taddoo bark, and a few geso or gtUcho leaves. A superior kind is made by adding kuloh berries. This is called barilla. The taste of tedj has been described as that of small beer and musty lemonade. The women commonly strain it through their shifts. Besdon is made like tedj, with honey, and is highly valued in some parts of Africa. Ladakh beer has the ^ Lockman's Travels of the Jesuits^ i. 218. DRINKS. 361 merit of portability. It is made of parched barley, rice, and the root of an aromatic plant, and pressed into a cake. A piece of this is broken off and cast into waten It resembles in taste sour gruel. Pombe is a liquid brewed of fruit, furnishing a common sort of cider known well in Eastern Africa. In Tonquin ^ on the annual renewal of allegiance, they drink chicken's blood mixed with arrack. They make a sort of cider from miengou, a fruit like a pomegranate. An extract of wheat, rye, or millet is mixed with peka, consisting of rice flour, garlic, aniseed, and liquorice. After fermentation it is dis- tilled and becomes the celebrated Samchou. In Sweden, with the smdr-gas, or fore taste^ at a side- table a glass o{ fenkdly sometimes very good, some- times very bad, is given to him who is about to dine. It is made from fennel — a form perhaps of fceniculum — growing wild and abundant, as at Marathon^ the cele- brated deme on the east coast of Attica, the field of the famous battle. In addition to strange compounds known in various parts of this country, such as Gin and Lime Juice, Whiskey or Rum and Milk, Brandy and Port, a drink said to have originated in Lancashire, and very many others, may be mentioned Ethyl or Methylated ^ P. Alex, de Rhodes, Voyages ef Missions. P. de Marini, On the Kvigdom of Tonquin. 2 A word which, according to the GlossariuttfSuiogothicuin^ origin- ally meant simply bread and butter.- It now comprehends anchovies and other antepasts. 3 So called probably from its being overgrown with fennel {fjLapaOpCjv in Strabo, 160). A A 362 DRINKS. Spirits, a beverage which, like ether in Ireland, has of late years advanced considerably in public estimation. It has the two advantages of being cheap and heady. An Act of 1880 imposed penalties on any retail trades- man selling it for the purpose of drink. A better method perhaps to prevent its being poured down the throats of Her Majesty^s liege subjects would be to take steps to ensure its being mixed before sold with a strong emetic. The palate can be trained, but the stomach is far less docile. INDEX. PAGE Absintho ... 162-166 Adulteration of Beer 199 Aerated Drinks 324 „ Waters, Introduction of ... 332 African Beers 200 „ Wines ••• 5^ Aix-la-Chapelle Council Decree ... 158 Aizen... ... 355 Alcohol in Wine 53 „ Effects on different Races .« 5 1 „ Origin of the word ... 1 16 Alcoholic strength of Gin 140 Ale Conners ... 200-220 ,, Syllabub 335 „ and Wine drinkers, social difference in ... ••• 93 „ Early mention of ... .•• 39 „ Origin of the word 196 ,, Various 226 American Beers 20 r „ Drinks 180 „ Terms, explanation of 180-181 „ Wines 59 Aminean Wine 26 Analysis of Tea 246 Anglo-Saxon Liquors 44 Animals' Blood 355 Anisette ... 165 Aqua Vite Composita recipe ... 120 „ Early esteem of ... 117 Arrack 1 1 3, 343 Araffer 359 Artificial Wines 1 57 Assur-ba-ni-pal's List of Wines ... 19 Assyrian Wines ... ... ... 18 Athenaeus on Egyptian Wines ... 15 Athol-brose 148 Auld Man's Milk 185 Augustus' favourite Drink... ... 30 Australian Wines ... ... ... 60 Austrian Beers ... 202 Bacon's value of Cider ... ... in Baga Wine 17 Ballston Waters 353 Barbot's description of Kola ... 296 Barley Wine 198 Bastard Wine 48 Bavarian Beers ... ... ... 202 Beer 49 „ Adulteration of ... ... 199 „ Antiquity of 197 „ Belgian ... ... ... 202 „ English, The Metropolis of... 219 „ English, Popularity of ... 207 „ Egyptian 16 „ Manufacture of ... 195-196 „ Origin of the word 196 „ The Inventor of 197 „ Various ... 226 Beowulf 37, 38, 45 Besdon ... ... ... ... 360 Biliousness, Liqueur Specific for ... 176 Blackjack Jug 213 Bon Gaultier Ballads 149 Bordeaux Wines ... 69 Borneo Beers 203 Bottled Beer, origin of ... ... 219 Bottling, Italian mode of 97 PAGE Brandy IIJ „ German Legend 115 „ Origin of the name ... 123 „ and Port 361 Braket 352 Brewers' Company 220 Brick Tea 243 Bull 359 Burgundy ... ... 80 Burns, Robert 148 Burton (Robert) and Coffee ... 306 Burton-on-Trent 219 Burton Brewery, early mention of... 209 Caecuban Wine ... ... ... 30 Caffeine 317 Capnian Wine 26 Canaries Wines ... 62 Caravan Tea ... ... 243 Cassis 166, 175 Catherine de Medicis 164 Cattia Edulis 298 Ceylon Tea 243 Champagne Country, The... ... 64 Champagne Cyder ... 328 Champagne Manufacture ... ... 65 Chemicals used in non-alcoholic Drinks 329 Chinese Beers ... 204 „ Tea, Substitutes for ... 298 „ Tea Trade 243 „ Natural Beverage 237 Chocolate 323 Cider 45, no „ The finest, where made ... 113 Claret 69 Clergy Drinking ..• 46 Cobbler, The 180, 181 Coca ... 279 „ Cultivation of... 291 „ Early mention of ... ... 280 „ Leaf, Medicinal qualities ... 294 Cocaine ... ... ... ... 295 Cocks' Wines of Bordeaux... ... 75 Cocktail ... ... 181 Cocoa ... ... 320 „ Substitute 323 „ Tax 322 Cocoa, Its Manufacture ... ... 321 „ Where grown 320 Coffee 303 „ Adulteration ... 319 „ Legend about 304, 305 „ Species of 316, 319 „ Prosecution for the Sale of ... 309 „ Value of different Species ... 316 „ Its Growth ... ... 303, 304 „ Its Medicinal qualities ... 308 „ How to make 318 „ Where most drunk 303 Coffee-Leaf Tea ... 300 Coffee and Liqueur... ... ... 159 Coffee Houses, a Poem on^. ... 312 „ Rules and Orders of 311 „ Popularity of ... 309 „ The first 306 Columella's Wine Receipt 31 Continental Liqueurs 165 Cooked Wine 157 Cordial Makers' Guide 167 i^L-\r» rr i^(\ PAOE Cordials (Non-Alcoholic) 331 Cornish Drink ... 124 Corsican Wines 82 Cowley's Poem on Cuca 288 Cow's Milk, Formula for Fermenting 341 Cream Syrup 330 Cr6me de Noyau 175 Croker's Irishman and Whiskey ... 144 Crusta, The 181 Cuca 279 Curagoa ... 165, 177 Curious Records 132 Cuttach 20 Danish Drinking Vessels 49 Dantzig Liqueurs ... 171 Date Coffee 319 Definition of Wine 52 Distilling Brandy, Mode of 126 Drinking Cups 49 „ „ Mode of Keeping ... 34 „ Health, Origin of ... 33 „ Horns 4I „ Vessels 213-214-216 Drinks, Pliny's List of 33 Drunkards, Punishment of 51 Drunkenness, Common Cause of ... 132 „ Cure for 298 Duty on Gin 133 Eau Clairette de Framboises ... 17^ „ „ Chamberri ... I77 „ de Cerises 176 Ecbolada .. 16 Egg-nogg 185 Egyptian Process of Wine Making 14 Egyptians' Early Use of Wine ... 13, 16 Eichhoff 156 Elixir, Derivation of 166 English National Drink 207 „ Wines 62 Falernian Wine 31 Fall of Madame Geneva 134 Fathers of Brandies... 160 Fenkal 361 Fermenting Cow's Milk 341 Ferrintosh 148 Flannel 182 Flip 181 " Food of the Gods " 320 Francatelli's Service of Wine ... 55 „ on Gin Sling ... 188 French Beers 228 „ Liqueurs 172 „ Wines 64 Fruit Syrups 330 Garapa ... ... 360 Garway's Tea Advertisement ... 253 Garoe 349 Gartmore Estate Tea, Sale of ... 244 Galazyene ... 340 Gallebodde Estate Tea, Sale of ... 244 Ganges Water 350 Generous Wines ... 57 Geneva (Gin) 128, i3o Gerard and the Use of Cider ... 1 1 1 German Beers 228 „ Liqueurs 170 „ Wines 83 Ghee 354 Gill-house 130 PAGE Gin 128 „ Lane 138 „ Sling 140, 188 „ Alcoholic Strength of 140 Ginger Ale 327 Gingerade 326 Ginger Beer 324 „ Recipes (old 6* new fashions) 324-325 Glenlivet 149 Goethe's Opinion of Wines ... 89 Gongonha ... ... 277 Gout, Accredited Agent 104 Grecian Wines ... 26, 90 „ Dessert Wines 32 „ Process of Wine Making ... 27 Gregory of Tours .- 157 Greybeard Jug .. 216 Grieve (Dr. J.) and Koumiss ... 339 Guru 297 Hanway's Essay on Tea 266 Harrison's (Gen.) Favourite Beverage 18 5 Haynau (Gen.) & Brewer's Draymen 225 Heather Beer 227 Hebrews and Wines 22 Heidelberg Tun 83 Helbon, The Wine of 18 Herb Wine 157 Hervey (Lord) and Drunkenness... 132 Hippocras ... 158 Hippocrates and the Virtue of Wines 33 Hittites and Wines 20 Hock 85 Hogarth's Gin Lane 138 Holy Tree, The 349-350 Homer's Wine of Thrace, 6*0. ... 25 Hunding, King, Death of 48 Hungarian Wines 93 Hydromel 48, 158 Hypoteques 177 Indian Beers... 231 » Tea 245 Irish Whiskey 146 Italian Mode of Bottling 97 „ Wines 94 Japanese Beers 232 Jekyll, Sir Joseph 133 Jerry Thomas 180 Jewish Prayers respecting Wine ... 345 Johnson (Dr.) on Tea ... ... 267 „ „ The Gin Act ... 137 „ „ Different Liquors 124-267 Julep 181-182 Kef 355 Kirsch 178 Kola 296 Koumiss 336-355 „ Its Curative Properties ... 339 „ Its Manufacture ... 341-342 Kiimmel 165-174 Kvas 112 Ladakh Beer 360 Ladies' Tippling 121 Lamb Wine 356 Lapps, The Common Drink of ... 360 L'Eau Clairette de Groseilles ... 176 „ „ Grenade ... I77 » » Coings 177 Leather Bottel, The 214 Leake's Description of Grecian Wines 93 Leban • Lemonade Liqueurs „ (Non-Alcoholic) Liqueur Makers' Guide Lovage Receipt ■ Madeira Wines Mahogany Drink Maimonides ... ••• Makasso ... ... ••• Malmsey Wine ... Maraschino ... Markham on the Coca Leaf Marryatt, Capt., and Mint Julep .. Mate „ Production of... Maturing Spirits, New Process .. Mead.. Mead-hall Mead-horns Medicinal Quality of Tea Mddoc Wines Melo-cacti Methylated Spirits Metropolis of English Beer Milk » Beer ... ,, As a Beverage, Disadvantages of Mineral Waters Mint Julep Misson on Coffee Houses ... Monastical Liqueurs Montaigne ... Moonshine on American Drinks ... Morat Morewood and Birch Wine Motteux's Poem in praise of Tea Mulder, Professor Mulls Murrey Murrhine Cups Mushroom Drink ... Nantz PAGE 355 327 156 331 167 168 97 124 347 297 100 175 291 182 272 273 151 41-48 40 41 255 72 351 362 219 354 355 334 > 331 . 183 310 160 . 159 • 193 •45-158 • 63 264 54 181-183 . 158 34 • 351 123 334 Negus 181-185 Nile Water 350 Nogg 181-185 Non-Alcoholic Cordials 6* Liqueurs 331 Northern Love of Drinking Noyau Olaus Magnus Old Falernian Old Tom, Origin of. Ombulbul Omeire Oporto Wine Co. . Osiris... Paraguay Tea Parfait Amour Pepys Pereira Perry Persian Wines Perlin's description 'of English society Peter's Pence Pigment _ 45 Pliny's List of Drinks 33-197-349-353 Poem on Tea 261 Polo(Marco) ... 339-355-356-357 rombe ... 361 ■ 47-50 ■ 175 47 . 156 . 141 . 359 . 358 99 . 197 272 • 177 209-260 . 169 . 114 97 209 162 158 PAGE Pomeranzen 178 Pope 129-130 Popularity of Tea 237-238 Populo 164 Port Wines 99-100 Portugese Wines 99 Private Brewing 209 Procope 175 Psithian Wine 26 Ptisana 35^ Pulque 359 Pulteney's Duty on Gin I33 Punch 181-185-187 Punishment of Drunkards ... ... 5^ Pusey Horn, The 4* Raspail ... ... ... ... 17^ Ratafia 166-175-176 Recipes (Drinks) : — A Yard of Flannel 190 Archbishop 192 Black Stripe I93 Blue Blazer 192 Bimbo Punch 191 Bishop 192 Bottled Velvet 191 Champagne Cyder 328 Cardinal - 192 Ginger Ale ... ••• ••• 327 Gingerade 326 Ginger Beer 324-325 Lemonade 327 Locomotive ... 192 Pope 192 Pousse I'Amour ... ... ... 192 Rumfustian 191 Sleeper 191 Stone Fence 191 White Tiger's Milk ... ... 190 Recipes (Liqueurs) : — Amiable Vainqueur ... ... I73 Eau Aerienne 172 „ d' Amour 170 „ de Pucelle 171 „ de Scubac ... ... ... 173 „ de Sultane Zoraide 170 „ de Yalpa 170 „ Divine 17' „ Miraculeuse 171 ,, Nuptiale 170 Elixir de Garus 173 Guignolet d'Angers 173 Huile des Jeunes Marids I73 Vespetro 172 Recipe for Cream Syrup 330 „ Fermenting Cow's Milk 34^ Redding, Cyrus ... 60-83-85-94-107 Redi's Bacco in Toscana ... ... 95 Reis' Classification of Wines ... 56 Reland 55 Rhine Wines ... 83 Rhodes, Father, on Tay ... ... 249 Roman Wines ... ... ... 30-32 Roots' Cuca Cocoa ... 293 Rosee's Handbill on Coffee ... 307 Rossolio 164 Roussillon ... ... 81 Rubruquis and Koumiss 339 „ „ Rice Wine 357 Rice Wine ... 357 Rules 6* Orders of the Coffee House 3 1 1 Rum 153 Russian Beers 233 „ Wines 104 Sabzi 355 Sacred Wine Tree 356 St. Vincent and the Holy Tree 349. 35° Saguer 357 Samchou •.. 361 Sangaree 181,188 Saprian Wine 26 Saratoga Water 354 Saure 355 Sbitena 35^ Scandal and the Tea Table... ... 263 Schiedam ... 139 Scotch Whiskey I47 „ „ Earliest Account of 148 Sea Water Wine 349 Setine Wine 30 Shandy-gaff ... ... 324 Sherries ... ... 106 Shrub 181, 188 Sicilian Wines ... 105 Silent Spirit 151, 154 Sir John Barleycorn 210 Slemp 336 Sling... 181,188 Sloe Poison ... 271 Small Still Whiskey 150 Smash 181, 189 Social difference in Ale 6* Wine drinkers 39 Soda Water ... 332 Spanish Wines <.. 106 Sparkling Wines ... 57 Spirit Beading ... 167 Spruce Beer ... ... ... ... 233 "Still Room" 119 Strabo 55 Substitutes for Chinese Tea ... 298 Surrentine Wine 3I Swedish Beers ... ... ... 233 „ Drinking Vessels 49 Swiss Wines... ... ... ... 108 Syllabub 335 Syra 355 Syrups, List of .... 330 Table Wines 56 Taidge ... 360 Tartary Beers 234 Tatler, The ... " 262 Tay ... ... 250 Tea Advertisement, Garway's ... 253 Tea 237 ,, Duty ' 238 „ Houses ... ... 237 „ Statistics 245 „ Trade, Centre of 238 „ Plant, Growth of 241 „ Value in time of Queen Anne 262 „ Analysis of 246 „ Earliest mention of ... 248, 249 „ Early Duty on 253 „ High Prices for ... 244, 245 „ How to Make 268 „ Introduction to England 253, 260 „ Largest Consumers of 239 „ Legendary Origin of 239 „ Medicinal Qualities of ... 255 Tea Poems on „ The Finest „ When First Used „ Where Grown ... Teas, Various Thales The Brown Jug Theine Theobromine Thudicum, Dr. Toak ... Toast Water Toby Philpot Toddy Tokay Wine Toupare ... ' ... Trade Rum Transition Wines ... Tree Water ... Tschudi on the Cuca Plant Ulph's Horn... Usquebath, Recipe for Varieties of Wines Vega's Description of Cuca Vermuth Village Ale-house, The PAGE 26I-263-264-26S 243 240 ... 23^ 242 348 216 295, 296 322 15a 359 351 216 189 94 359 154 57 ... 349 289 43 146 53 282 17& 225 Villeneuve 161-163-164 Vine, Cultivation of 39*99 Vine's Treatise on Home-made Wines 62 Vinegar > ... 351 Vizitelly and White Wines 76 Vontaca '••. 359 Waller's Poem on Tea 261 Walnut Liquor 357 Walpole, Sir Robert ... ... 133 Ward, Edward, and Ladies' Drinking 122 Ward's Dialogue : Claret 6* Darby Ale 212 Warm Water 354 Wassail Song 206 Water 348 Water Melon Drink 358 Water of Life I44 Whiskey 144 „ Distillation 146 „ Manufacture 145 „ Maturing 151 „ Duty on 149 Whistling Shop I43 White Ratifias 177 White Wines of the M^doc District 75 Wine Making by Greeks 6* Romans 27 „ Vessels 24 „ Alcohol in 53 „ Definition of 52 „ Distinguishing Qualities «•• 52 „ Origin of 54 „ Oldest Records of 13 „ Egyptian Process of 14 „ Varieties of 53 „ and Beer, Merits of I97 Wines, Assyrian 18 „ Francatelli's Service of ... 55 „ Goethe's Opinion of ... 89 „ Reis' Classification of ... 56 Wolff's Description of Kirsch ... 178 Women's Tears 3^ Youourt 355 Ywera 358 Zythum 16 RETURN TO the circulation desk of any University of California Library or to the NORTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY Bldg. 400, Richmond Field Station University of California Richmond, CA 94804-4698 ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS • 2-month loans may be renewed by calling (510)642-6753 • 1-year loans may be recharged by bringing books to NRLF • Renewals and recharges may be made 4 days prior to due date, DUE AS STAMPED BELOW MAY i 2002 UjTV^ZUl/ 12,000(11/95) -^— 1^ A / i U.C. 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