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diff --git a/old/55602-0.txt b/old/55602-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 0b187be..0000000 --- a/old/55602-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,19858 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Curiosities of Ale & Beer: An Entertaining History, by John Bickerdyke - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Title: The Curiosities of Ale & Beer: An Entertaining History - -Author: John Bickerdyke - -Release Date: September 22, 2017 [eBook #55602] -[Most recently updated: August 3, 2021] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Turgut Dincer, RichardW, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CURIOSITIES OF ALE & BEER *** - - - - -[Illustration: An Ancient Brewhouſe. 1568.] - - - - - _The Curiosities_ - - OF - - _Ale & Beer_: - - An Entertaining History. - - (_Illustrated with over Fifty Quaint Cuts._) - - - BY - - John Bickerdyke. - - In Part collected by the late J. G. FENNELL; - now largely augmented with manifold matters of singular note and - worthy memory by the Author and his friend J. M. D——. - - [Illustration: “For a quart of Ale is a dish for a King.”—_Shakspere._] - - - LONDON: - SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & Co., - PATERNOSTER SQUARE. - - 1889. - - - - -[Illustration] - - PRINTED BY - CHAS. STRAKER AND SONS, BISHOPSGATE AVENUE, LONDON; - AND REDHILL. - - - - - _Dedicated_ - - TO THE - - _Brewers of the United Kingdom_ - - AND ALL WHO VALUE - - _Honest Malt Liquor_. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - - - - -_PREFACE._ - - -That the history and curiosities of Ale and Beer should fill a bulky -volume, may be a subject for surprise to the unthinking reader; and -that surprise will probably be intensified, on his learning that -great difficulty has been experienced in keeping this book within -reasonable limits, and at the same time doing anything like justice to -the subject. Since the dawn of our history Barley-wine has been the -“naturall drinke” for an “Englysshe man,” and has had no unimportant -influence on English life and manners. It is, therefore, somewhat -curious that up to the present, among the thousands of books published -annually, no comprehensive work on the antiquities of ale and beer has -found place. - -Some years ago this strange neglect of so excellent a theme was -observed by the late John Greville Fennell, best known as a contributor -to _The Field_, and who, like “John of the Dale,” was a “lover of -ale.” With him probably originated the idea of filling this void -in our literature. As occasion offered he made extracts from works -bearing on the subject, and in time amassed a considerable amount -of material, which was, however, devoid of arrangement. Old age -overtaking him before he was able to commence writing his proposed -book, he asked me to undertake that which from failing health he was -unable to accomplish. To this I assented, and at the end of some -months had prepared a complete scheme of the book, with the materials -for each chapter carefully grouped. That arrangement, for which I -am responsible, has, with a few slight modifications, been carefully -adhered to. The work did not then proceed further, as to carry out -my scheme a large amount of additional matter, from sources not then -available, was required. A few months later my friend was taken -seriously ill, and, finding his end approaching, directed that on -his decease all papers connected with the book should be placed at -my disposal. His death seems to render a statement of our respective -shares in the book desirable. - -When able to resume work on the book, with the object of hastening -its publication, I obtained the assistance of my friend, Mr. J. M. -D——. By the collection of fresh matter, in amplification of that -already arranged, and the addition of several new features, we have -considerably increased the scope of the work, and, it is to be hoped, -added to its attractiveness. To my friend’s researches in the City -of London and other Records is due the bringing to light of many -curious facts, so far as I am aware, never before noticed. He has also -rendered me great assistance in those portions of the book in which the -antiquities of the subject are specially treated. - -The illustrations have been in most part taken from rare old works. -As any smoothing away of defects in such relics of the past would be -deemed by many an offence against the antiquarian code of morality, -they have been reproduced in exact fac-simile, and will no doubt appeal -to those interested in the art of the early engraver, and amuse many -with their quaintness. - -As aptly terminating the chapter devoted to an account of the medicinal -qualities of ale and beer, I have ventured to enter upon a short -consideration of the leading teetotal arguments. In extending their -denunciations to ale and beer drinkers, the total abstainers are, in -my opinion, working a very grievous injury on the labouring classes, -who for centuries have found the greatest benefit from the use of malt -liquors. Barley-broth should be looked upon as _the_ temperance drink -of the people or, in other words, the drink of the temperate. - -I have gratefully to acknowledge the kindness and courtesy accorded me -during the preparation of this work by the authorities of the British -Museum, by Dr. Sharpe, Records Clerk of the City of London, by Mr. -Higgins, Clerk of the Brewers’ Company, and by several eminent brewers -and a large number of correspondents. - - JOHN BICKERDYKE. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - - - - -_CONTENTS._ - - -CHAPTER I. - -Suppression of Beer-shops in Egypt 2,000 B.C. — Brewing -in a Teapot. — Ale Songs. — Distinctions between Ale and -Beer. — Ale-Knights’ objection to Sack. — Hogarth and -Temperance. — Importance of Ale to the Agricultural Labourer. — Sir -John Barleycorne introduced to the Reader . . . 1 - -CHAPTER II. - -Origin and Antiquity of Ale and Beer . . . 25 - -CHAPTER III. - -Home-brewed Ales. — Old Receipts. — Historical Facts. — Dean Swift on -Home-brew. — Christopher North’s Brew-house . . . 45 - -CHAPTER IV. - -Use and Importance of Hops in Beer: Their Introduction and -History. — Hop-growers’ Troubles. — Medicinal Qualities. — Economical -Uses. — Hop-pickers . . . 65 - -CHAPTER V. - -Ancient and Curious Laws relating to the manufacture and sale of Ale -and Beer . . . 96 - -CHAPTER VI. - -Brewing and Malting in Early Times. — The Ale-wives. — The Brewers of -Old London and the Brewers’ Company. — Anecdotes. — Quaint Epitaphs -. . . 120 - -CHAPTER VII. - -Various Kinds of Ales and Beers. — Some Foreign -Beers. — Receipts. — Songs. — Anecdotes . . . 151 - -CHAPTER VIII. - -Ale houses: Their Origin. — Hospitality in Mediæval Times. — Old London -Inns and Taverns. — Anecdotes of Inns and Inn-keepers. — Curious -Signs. — Signboard and Ale-house Verses. — Signboard -Artists. — Ale-house Songs and Catches . . . 182 - -CHAPTER IX. - -Ancient Merry-makings, Feasts and Ceremonies peculiar to certain -Seasons, at which Ale was the principal Drink. — Harvest Home, -Sheep-shearing, and other songs . . . 232 - -CHAPTER X. - -The Ales. — Ale at Breakfast. — Bequests of Ale. — Drinking -Customs. — A Sermon on Malt. — Excesses of the Clergy. — Anecdotes -. . . 266 - -CHAPTER XI. - -Old Ballads, Songs and Verses relating to Ale and Beer . . . 294 - -CHAPTER XII. - -Brewing in the Present Day. — Anecdotal and Biographical Account -of some representative London, Dublin, Burton and Country Brewing -Firms. — Edinburgh Ales . . . 331 - -CHAPTER XIII. - -Porter and Stout. — Circumstances which led to their -Introduction. — Value to the Working Classes. — Anecdotes. — “A Pot of -Porter Oh!” . . . 365 - -CHAPTER XIV. - -Beverages compounded of Ale or Beer, with a number of -Receipts. — Ancient Drinking Vessels. — Various Uses of Ale other than -as a Drink . . . 378 - -CHAPTER XV. - -Old Medical Writers on Ale. — Adulteration of Ale. — Advantages -of Malt Liquors to Labouring Classes. — Temperance _versus_ Total -Abstinence. — Anecdotes. — Gay’s Ballad . . . 408 - -APPENDIX. — Pasteur’s Discoveries . . . 441 - -[Illustration] - -{1} - - - - -THE CURIOSITIES OF ALE AND BEER. - -CHAPTER I. - -_INTRODUCTORY._ - - - “For a quart of ale is a dish for a King.” - _Winter’s Tale_, Act iv. Scene 2. - - No doubt it is a very tedious thing - To undertake a folio work on law, - Or metaphysics, or again to ring - The changes on the Flood or Trojan War: - Old subjects these, which Poets only sing - Who think a new idea quite a flaw; - But thirst for novelty can’t fail in liking - The theme of Ale, the aptitude’s so striking. - _Brasenose College Shrovetide Verses._ - -_SUPPRESSION OF BEER SHOPS IN EGYPT 2,000 B.C. — BREWING IN A TEAPOT. -— ALE SONGS. — DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN ALE AND BEER. — ALE-KNIGHTS’ -OBJECTION TO SACK. — HOGARTH AND TEMPERANCE. — IMPORTANCE OF ALE TO THE -AGRICULTURAL LABOURER. — SIR JOHN BARLEYCORNE INTRODUCED TO THE READER._ - -Four thousand years ago, if old inscriptions and papyri lie not, Egypt -was convulsed by the high-handed proceedings of certain persons in -authority who inclined to the opinion that the beer shops were too -many. Think of it, ye modern Suppressionists! ’Tis now forty centuries -since first your theories saw the light, and yet there is not a town in -our happy country without its alehouse. - -While those disturbing members of the Egyptian community were waxing -wrath over the beer shops, our savage ancestors probably contented -themselves with such drinks as mead made from wild honey, {2} or cyder -from the crab tree. But when Ceres sent certain of her votaries into -our then benighted land to initiate our woad-dressed forefathers into -the mysteries of grain-growing, the venerable Druids quickly discovered -the art of brewing that beverage which in all succeeding years has been -the drink of Britons. - - Of true British growth is the Nectar we boast, - The homely companion of plain boiled and roast, - -most truly wrote an Oxford poet, whose name has not been handed down to -posterity. - -Almost every inhabitant of this country has tasted beer of some kind or -another, but on the subject of brewing the great majority have ideas -both vague and curious. About one person out of ten imagines that pale -ale consists solely of hops and water; indeed, more credit is given by -most persons to the hop than to the malt. In order to give a proper -understanding of our subject, and at the risk of ruining the brewing -trade, let us then, in ten lines or so, inform the world at large how, -with no other utensils than a tea-kettle and a saucepan, a quart or two -of ale may be brewed, and the revenue defrauded. - -Into your tea-kettle, amateur brewer, cast a quart of malt, and on it -pour water, hot, but not boiling; let it stand awhile and stir it. Then -pour off the sweet tea into the saucepan, and add to the tea-leaves -boiling water again, and even a third time, until possibly a husband -would rebel at the weak liquid which issues from the spout. The -saucepan is now nearly full, thanks to the frequent additions from the -tea-kettle, so on to the fire with it, and boil up its contents for an -hour or two, not forgetting to add of hops half-an-ounce, or a little -more. This process over, let the seething liquor cool, and, when at a -little below blood-heat, throw into it a small particle of brewer’s -yeast. The liquor now ferments; at the end of an hour skim it, and lo! -beneath the scum is bitter beer—in quantity, a quart or more. After -awhile bottle the results of your brew, place it in a remote corner of -your cellar, and order in a barrel of XXX. from the nearest brewer. - -If the generality of people have ideas of the vaguest on the subject of -brewing, still less do we English know of the history of that excellent -compound yclept ale. - - O ale! aurum potabile! - That gildest life’s dull hours, - When its colour weareth shabbily, - When fade its summer flowers. - -{3} - -Old ballad makers have certainly sung in its praise, but it is a -subject which few prose writers have touched upon, except in the most -superficial manner. Modern song writers rarely take ale as their theme. -The reason is not far to seek. The ale of other days—not the single -beer rightly stigmatised as “whip-belly vengeance,” nor even the doble -beer, but the doble-doble beer brewed against law, and beloved by the -ale-knights of old—was of such mightiness that whoso drank of it, more -often than not dashed off a verse or two in its praise. Now most people -drink small beer which exciteth not the brain to poesy. Could one of -the ancient topers be restored to life, in tasting a glass of our most -excellent bitter, he would, in all likelihood, make a wry face, for -hops were not always held in the estimation they obtain at present. -There is no doubt, however, that we could restore his equanimity and -make him tolerably happy with a gallon or two of old Scotch or Burton -ale, double stout or, better still, a mixture of the three with a -little _aqua vitæ_ added. - -In these pages it will be our task, aided or unaided by strong ale as -the case may be, to remove the reproach under which this country rests; -for surely a reproach it is that the history of the bonny nut-brown -ale, to which we English owe not a little, should have been so long -left unwritten. - -Now ale has a curious history which, as we have indicated, will be -related anon, together with other matters pertaining to the subject. -At present let us only chat awhile concerning the great Sir John -Barleycorn, malt liquors of the past and present, their virtues, and -importance to the labouring classes. Also may we consider the foolish -ideas of certain worthy but misguided folk, halting now and again, -should we find ourselves growing too serious, to chant a jolly old -drinking song, that the way may be more enlivened. If on reaching the -first stage of our journey you, dear reader, and ourselves remain -friends, let us in each other’s company pass lightly and cheerfully -over the path which Sir John Barleycorn has traversed, and fight again -his battles, rejoicing at his victories; grieving over his defeats—if -any there be. If, on the other hand, it so happens that by the time we -arrive at our first halting place you should grow weary of us—which -the Spirit of Malt forbid!—let us at once part company, friends none -the less, and consign us to a place high up on your bookshelf, or with -kindly words present us to the President of the United Kingdom Alliance. - -In accusing modern poets of neglecting to sing the praises of our {4} -national drink, we must not forget that in one place is kept up the -good old custom of brewing strong beer and glorifying it in verse. At -Brasenose College, Oxford, beer of the strongest, made of the best malt -and hops, is brewed once a year, distributed _ad. lib._, and verses are -written in its praise. Mr. Prior, the college butler, to whom is due -the honour of having kept alive the custom for very many years, writes -us[1] that it is proposed to pull down the old college brewery. Should -this happen, Brasenose ale will become a thing of the past. - - A fig for Horace and his juice, - Falernian and Massic, - Far better drink can we produce, - Though ’tis not quite so classic— - -wrote a Brasenose poet. Alas, that both poets and ale should soon -become extinct! - -Among the few prose writers past or present who have taken ale for -their subject, John Taylor, of whom a good deal will be heard in these -pages, stands pre-eminent. His little work, _Drinke and Welcome_, -written some two hundred years ago, and which glorifies ale in a manner -most marvellous, is one of the most curious literary productions -it has ever been our good fortune to read. “Ale is rightly called -nappy,” says the old Thames waterman and innkeeper, “for it will set -a nap upon a man’s threed-bare eyes when he is sleepy. It is called -_Merry-goe-downe_, for it slides downe merrily; It is fragrant to -the _Sent_, it is most pleasing to the _taste_. The flowring and -mantling of it (like chequer worke) with the verdant smiling of it, -is delightefull to the _Sight_, it is _Touching_ or _Feeling_ to the -Braine and Heart; and (to please the senses all) it provokes men to -singeing and mirth, which is contenting to the Hearing. The speedy -taking of it doth comfort a heavy and troubled minde; it will make -a weeping widowe laugh and forget sorrow for her deceas’d husband. -. . . . It will set a Bashfull Suiter a wooing; It heates the chill -blood of the Aged; It will cause a man to speake past his owne or any -other man’s capacity, or understanding; It sets an Edge upon Logick -and Rhetorick; It is a friend to the Muses; It inspires the poore -Poet, that cannot compasse the price of _Canarie_ or _Gascoign_; It -mounts the Musician ’bove Eccla; It makes the Balladmaker Rime beyond -Reason; It is a Repairer of a {5} decaied Colour in the face; It -puts Eloquence into the Oratour; It will make the Philosopher talke -profoundly, the Scholler learnedly, and the Lawyer acute and feelingly. -_Ale_ at Whitsontide, or a _Whitson Church_ Ale, is a repairer of -decayed Countrey Churches; It is a great friend to Truth; so they that -drinke of it (to the purpose) will reveale all they know, be it never -so secret to be kept; It is an Embleme of Justice, for it allowes, and -yeelds measure; It will put Courage into a Coward, and make him swagger -and fight; It is a Seale to many a good Bargaine. The Physittian will -commend it; the Lawyer will defend it; It neither hurts or kils any -but those that abuse it unmeasurably and beyond bearing; It doth good -to as many as take it rightly; It is as good as a Paire of Spectacles -to cleare the Eyesight of an old Parish Clarke; and in Conclusion, it -is such a nourisher of Mankinde, that if my Mouth were as bigge as -Bishopsgate, my Pen as long as a Maypole, and my Inke a flowing spring, -or a standing fishpond, yet I could not with Mouth, Pen or Inke, speake -or write the true worth and worthiness of _Ale_.” Bravo, John Taylor! -He would be a bold man who could lift up his voice against our honest -English nappy, after reading your vigorous lines. - - [1] May, 1886. See also pp. 165; 389. - -It is not uninteresting to compare this sixteenth century work -with a passage taken from _By Lake and River_, the author of which -rarely loses an opportunity of eulogising beer. Anglers and many -more will cordially agree with Mr. Francis Francis in his remarks. -“Ah! my beloved brother of the rod,” he writes, “do you know the -taste of beer—of bitter beer—cooled in the flowing river? Not you; I -warrant, like the ‘Marchioness,’ hitherto you have only had ‘a sip’ -occasionally—and, as Mr. Swiveller judiciously remarks, ‘it can’t be -tasted in a sip.’ Take your bottle of beer, sink it deep, deep in -the shady water, where the cooling springs and fishes are. Then, the -day being very hot and bright, and the sun blazing on your devoted -head, consider it a matter of duty to have to fish that long, wide -stream (call it the Blackstone stream, if you will); and so, having -endued yourself with high wading breeks, walk up to your middle, and -begin hammering away with your twenty-foot flail. Fish are rising, -but not at you. No, they merely come up to see how the weather looks, -and what o’clock it is. So fish away; there is not above a couple of -hundred yards of it, and you don’t want to throw more than about two or -three-and-thirty yards at every cast. It is a mere trifle. An hour or -so of good hard hammering will bring you to the end of it, and then—let -me ask you _avec impressement_—how about that beer? Is it cool? Is it -refreshing? Does it {6} gurgle, gurgle, and ‘go down glug,’ as they -say in Devonshire? Is it heavenly? Is it Paradise and all the Peris -to boot? Ah! if you have never tasted beer under these or similar -circumstances, you have, believe me, never tasted it at all.” - -A word or two now as to the distinctions between the beverages known -as ale and beer. Going back to the time of the Conquest, or earlier, -we find that both words were applied to the same liquor, a fermented -drink made usually from malt and water, without hops. The Danes called -it ale, the Anglo-Saxons beer. Later on the word beer dropped almost -out of use. Meanwhile, in Germany and the Netherlands, the use of hops -in brewing had been discovered; and in the fifteenth and sixteenth -centuries, the Flemings having introduced their _bier_ into England, -the word “beer” came to have in this country a distinct meaning—viz., -hopped ale. The difference was quaintly explained by Andrew Boorde in -his _Dyetary_, written about the year 1542. “Ale,” said Andrew, “is -made of malte and water; and they which do put any other thynge to ale -than is rehersed, except yest, barme, or godesgood, doth sofystical -theyr ale. Ale for an Englysshe man is a naturall drinke. Ale must have -these propertyes: it must be fresshe and cleare, it muste not be ropy -nor smoky, nor it must have no weft nor tayle. Ale shuld not be dronke -vnder v. dayes olde. Newe ale is vnholsome for all men. And sowre ale, -and deade ale the which doth stande a tylt, is good for no man. Barly -malte maketh better ale then oten malte or any other corne doth: it -doth ingendre grose humoures; but yette it maketh a man stronge.” - - -OF BERE. - -“Bere is made of malte, of hoppes, and water; it is the naturall drynke -for a Dutche man, and nowe of late dayes it is moche vsed in Englande -to the detryment of many Englysshe people; specyally it kylleth -them the which be troubled with the colycke, and the stone, and the -strangulion; for the drynke is a colde drynke; yet it doth make a man -fat, and doth inflate the bely, as it doth appere by the Dutche men’s -faces and belyes. If the bere be well serued, and be fyned, and not -new, it doth qualyfy heat of the liquer.” - -The distinction between ale and beer as described by Boorde lasted -for a hundred years or more. As hops came into general use, though -malt liquors generally were now beer, the word ale was still retained, -and was used whether the liquor it was intended to designate was {7} -hopped or not. At the present day beer is the generic word, which -includes all malt liquors; while the word ale includes all but the -black or brown beers—porter and stout. The meanings of the words are, -however, subject to local variations. This subject is further treated -of in Chapter VII. - -The union of hops and malt is amusingly described in one of the -Brasenose College ale poems:— - - A Grand Cross of “Malta,” one night at a ball, - Fell in love with and married “Hoppetta the Tall.” - Hoppetta, the bitterest, best of her sex, - By whom he had issue—the first, “Double X.” - - Three others were born by this marriage—“a girl,” - Transparent as _Amber_ and precious as _Pearl_. - Then a son, twice as strong as a Porter or Scout, - And another as “Spruce” as his brother was “Stout.” - - _Double_ X, like his Sister, is brilliant and clear, - Like his Mother, tho’ bitter, by no means severe: - Like his Father, _not small_, and resembling each brother, - Joins the spirit of one to the strength of the other. - -In John Taylor’s time there seems to have existed among ale drinkers a -wholesome prejudice against wine in general, and more especially sack. -The water poet writes very bitterly on the subject:— - - Thus Bacchus is ador’d and deified, - And we _Hispanialized_ and _Frenchifide_; - Whilst _Noble Native Ale_ and _Beere’s_ hard fate - Are like old Almanacks, quite out of date. - - Thus men consume their credits and their wealths, - And swallow Sicknesses in drinking healths, - Untill the Fury of the spritefull Grape - Mountes to the braine, and makes a man an Ape. - -Another poet wrote in much the same strain:— - - Thy wanton grapes we do detest: - Here’s richer juice from Barley press’d. - - * * * * * {8} - - Oh let them come and taste this beer - And water henceforth they’ll forswear. - -Our ancestors seem, indeed, almost to have revered good malt liquor. -Richard Atkinson gave the following excellent advice to Leonard Lord -Dacre in the year 1570: “See that ye keep a noble house for beef and -beer, that thereof may be praise given to God and to your honour.” - -The same subject—comparison of sack with ale to the disadvantage of the -former—is still better treated in an old ale song by Beaumont; it is -such a good one of its kind that we give it in full:— - -ANSWER OF ALE TO THE CHALLENGE OF SACK. - - Come all you brave wights, - That are dubbed ale-knights, - Now set out yourselves in sight; - And let them that crack - In the presence of Sack - Know Malt is of mickle might. - - Though Sack they define - Is holy divine, - Yet it is but naturall liquor, - Ale hath for its part - An addition of art - To make it drinke thinner or thicker. - - Sack; fiery fume, - Doth waste and consume - Men’s humidum radicale; - It scaldeth their livers, - It breeds burning feavers, - Proves vinum venenum reale. - - But history gathers, - From aged forefathers, - That Ale’s the true liquor of life, - Men lived long in health, - And preserved their wealth, - Whilst Barley broth only was rife. {9} - - Sack, quickly ascends, - And suddenly ends, - What company came for at first, - And that which yet worse is, - It empties men’s purses - Before it half quenches their thirst. - - Ale, is not so costly - Although that the most lye - Too long by the oyle of Barley; - Yet may they part late, - At a reasonable rate, - Though they came in the morning early. - - Sack, makes men from words - Fall to drawing of swords, - And quarrelling endeth their quaffing; - Whilst dagger ale Barrels - Beare off many quarrels - And often turn chiding to laughing. - - Sack’s drink for our masters, - All may be Ale-tasters, - Good things the more common the better, - Sack’s but single broth, - Ale’s meat, drinke, and cloathe, - Say they that know never a letter. - - But not to entangle - Old friends till they wrangle - And quarrell for other men’s pleasure; - Let Ale keep his place, - And let Sack have his grace, - So that neither exceed the due measure. - -“Wine is but single broth, ale is meat, drink and cloth,” was a -proverbial saying in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and -occurs in many writings, both prose and poetical. John Taylor, -for instance, writes that ale is the “warmest lining of a naked -man’s coat.” “Barley broth” and “oyle of barley” were very common -expressions for ale. “Dagger ale” was very strong malt liquor. The word -“ale-tasters” will be fully explained later on. {10} - -The nearest approach in modern times to a denunciation of wine by -an ale-favouring poet occurs in a few lines—by whom written we know -not—cleverly satirising the introduction of cheap French wines into -this country. Cheap clarets command, thanks to an eminent statesman, -a considerable share of popular favour. If unadulterated, they are no -doubt wholesome enough, and suitable for some specially constituted -persons. Let those who like them drink them, by all means. - -MALT LIQUOR, OR CHEAP FRENCH WINES. - - No ale or beer, says Gladstone, we should drink, - Because they stupefy and dull our brains. - But sour French wine, as other people think, - Our English stomachs often sorely pains. - The question then is which we most should dread, - An _aching belly_ or an _aching head_? - -Among famous ale songs of the past, _Jolly Good Ale and Old_, which -has been wrongly attributed to Bishop Still, stands pre-eminent. Of -the eight double stanzas composing the song, four were incorporated -in “a ryght pithy, plesaunt, and merie comedie, intytuled, _Gammer -Gurton’s Nedle_, played on stage not longe ago, in Christe’s Colledge, -in Cambridge. Made by Mr. S——, Master of Art” (1575). According to -Dyer, who possessed a MS., giving the song in its complete form, “it -is certainly of an earlier date,” and could not have been by Mr. Still -(afterwards Bishop of Bath and Wells), the Master of Trinity College, -who was probably the writer of the play. The “merrie comedie” well -illustrates the difference of tone and thought which divides those -days from the present, and it is a little difficult to understand how -it could have been produced by the pen of a High Church dignitary. The -prologue of the play is very quaint, it runs thus:— - -PROLOGUE. - - As Gammer Gurton, with manye a wyde styche, - Sat pesynge and patching of Hodge her man’s briche, - By chance or misfortune, as shee her geare tost, - In Hodge lether bryches her needle shee lost. - When Diccon the bedlam had hard by report, - That good Gammer Gurton was robde in thys sorte, - He quyetlye perswaded with her in that stound, - Dame Chat, her deare gossyp, this needle had found. - Yet knew shee no more of this matter, alas, {11} - Then knoweth Tom our clarke what the Priest saith at masse, - Hereof there ensued so fearfull a fraye, - Mas. Doctor was sent for, these gossyps to staye; - Because he was curate, and esteemed full wyse, - Who found that he sought not, by Diccon’s device. - When all things were tumbled and cleane out of fashion, - Whether it were by fortune, or some other constellation, - Suddenlye the neele Hodge found by the prychynge, - And drew out of his buttocke, where he found it stickynge, - Theyr hartes then at rest with perfect securytie, - With a pot of Good ale they stroake up theyr plauditie. - -The song, _Jolly Good Ale and Old_, four stanzas of which occur in the -second act, is a good record of the spirit of those hard-drinking days, -now passed away, in which a man who could not, or did not, consume -vast quantities of liquor was looked upon as a milksop. It is given as -follows in the Comedy:— - - Back and syde go bare, go bare, - Booth foote and hande go colde; - But belly, God send thee good ale ynoughe, - Whether it bee newe or olde. - - I can not eate but lytle meate, - My stomache is not goode, - But, sure, I thinke, that I can drynk - With him that wears a hood.[2] - Thoughe I go bare, take ye no care, - I am nothynge a colde; - I stuffe my skyn so full within - Of jolly good ale, and olde. - Back and syde go bare, go bare, &c., &c. - - [3]I love no rost, but a nut-brown toste, - And a crab layde in the fyre; - A lytle bread shall do me stead, - Much bread I not desyre. {12} - - No froste nor snow, no winde, I trow, - Can hurte mee if I wolde, - I am so wrapt, and throwly lapt, - Of joly good ale and olde. - Back and syde go bare, go bare, &c., &c. - - And Tyb, my wife, that as her lyfe - Loveth well good ale to seeke, - Full ofte drinkes shee, tyll ye may see, - The teares run down her cheekes; - Then doth she trowle to mee the bowle[4] - Even as a _mault worme_ shuld - And sayth, sweet hart, I tooke my part - Of this joly good ale, and olde. - Back and syde go bare, go bare, &c., &c. - - Now let them drynke, tyll they nod and winke, - Even as good fellowes shoulde doe, - They shall not misse to have the blisse - Good ale doth bringe men to: - And all poor soules, that have scoured boules, - Or have them lustely trolde, - God save the lyves of them and their wyves, - Whether they be yonge or olde. - Back and syde go bare, go bare, &c., &c. - - [2] Alluding to the drunkenness of the clergy. - - [3] _Cf_: - - “And sometimes lurk I in a gossip’s bowl, - In very likeness of a roasted crab.” - _Midsummer Night’s Dream_, Act ii. Scene 1. - - [4] The word “trowle” was used of passing the vessel about, as appears - by the beginning of an old catch: - - _Trole_, _trole_ the _bowl_ to me, - And I will _trole_ the same again to thee. - -Charles Dibdin the younger has, in a couple of verses, told a very -amusing little story of an old fellow who, in addition to finding that -ale was meat, drink and cloth, discovered that it included friends as -well—or, at any rate, when he was without ale he was without friends, -which comes to much the same thing. - -THE BARREL OF HUMMING ALE. - - Old Owen lived on the brow of an hill, - And he had more patience than pelf; - A small plot of ground was his labour to till, {13} - And he toiled through the day by himself. - But at night crowds of visitors called at his cot, - For he told a right marvellous tale; - Yet a stronger attraction by chance he had got, - A barrel of old humming ale. - - Old Owen by all was an oracle thought, - While they drank not a joke failed to hit; - But Owen at last by experience was taught, - That wisdom is better than wit. - One night his cot could scarce hold the gay rout, - The next not a soul heard his tale, - The moral is simply they’d fairly drank out - His barrel of old humming ale. - -For the sake of contrast with the foregoing songs, if for nothing -else, the following poem (save the mark!) by George Arnold, a Boston -rhymster, is worthy of perusal. The “gurgle-gurgle” of the athletic -salmon-fisher, described by Mr. Francis, is replaced by the “idle -sipping” (fancy sipping beer!) of the beer-garden frequenter. - -BEER. - - Here - With my beer - I sit, - While golden moments flit: - Alas! - They pass - Unheeded by: - And, as they fly, - I, - Being dry, - Sit, idly sipping here - My beer. - -The new generation of American poets do not mean, it would appear, to -be confined in the old metrical grooves. Very different in style are -the verses written on ale by Thomas Wharton, in 1748. _A Panegyric on -Oxford Ale_ is the title of the poem, which is prefaced by the lines -from Horace:— - - Mea nec Falernæ - Temperant vites, neque Formiani - Pocula colles. - -{14} - -The poem opens thus:— - - Balm of my cares, sweet solace of my toils, - Hail, Juice benignant! O’er the costly cups - Of riot-stirring wine, unwholesome draught, - Let Pride’s loose sons prolong the wasteful night; - My sober evening let the tankard bless, - With toast embrown’d, and fragrant nutmeg fraught, - While the rich draught with oft repeated whiffs - Tobacco mild improves. Divine repast! - Where no crude surfeit, or intemperate joys - Of lawless Bacchus reigns; but o’er my soul - A calm Lethean creeps; in drowsy trance - Each thought subsides, and sweet oblivion wraps - My peaceful brain, as if the leaden rod - Of magic Morpheus o’er mine eyes had shed - Its opiate influence. What though sore ills - Oppress, dire want of chill-dispelling coals, - Or cheerful candle (save the makeweight’s gleam - Haply remaining), heart-rejoicing Ale - Cheers the sad scene, and every want supplies. - -There exist, sad to relate, persons who, with the notion of promoting -temperance, would rob us of our beer. Many of these individuals may -act with good motives, but they are weak, misguided bodies who, if -they but devoted their energies to promoting ale-drinking as opposed -to spirit-drinking, would be doing useful service to the State, for -malt liquors are the true temperance drinks of the working classes. The -Bill (for the encouragement of private tippling) so long sought to be -introduced by the teetotal party, was cleverly hit off in _Songs of the -Session_, published in _The World_ some years back:— - - * * * * * - - If with truth they assure us that liquors allure us, - I don’t think ’twill cure us the taverns to close; - When in putting drink down, sirs, you’ve shut up the Crown, sirs, - You’ll find Smith and Brown, sirs, drunk under the rose. - - “Men are slaves to this custom,” you cry; “we can’t trust ’em!” - Very good; then why thrust ’em from scenes where they’re known - If the daylight can’t shame ’em, or neighbours reclaim ’em, - Do you think you can tame ’em in haunts of their own? {15} - - And if in Stoke Pogis no publican lodges, - It don’t follow Hodge is cut off from good cheer; - In the very next parish the tap may be fairish, - And the vestry less bearish and stern about beer. - - * * * * * - - Men in time will refrain when that goes with their grain; - Till it does ’tis in vain that their wills you coerce; - For the man whom by force you turn out of his course, - Without fear or remorse will soon take to a worse. - -Of course, in asserting malt liquors to be the temperance drink, or -drink of the temperate, it must be understood that we refer to the -ordinary ales and beers of to-day, in which the amount of alcohol is -small, and which are very different from the potent liquor drank by the -topers of the past, who were rightly designated malt worms. - -It has been said that even pigs drank strong ale in those days, but -the only evidence of the truth of that statement is the tradition that -Herrick, a most charming but little read poet, succeeded in teaching a -favourite pig to drink ale out of a jug. Old ale is now out of fashion, -its chief strongholds being the venerable centres of education. We all -know the tale of the don who, about once a week, reminded the butler -of a certain understanding between them, in these words: “Mind, when I -say ‘beer’—_the old ale_.” Ancient writers are full of allusions to the -potent character of the strong ales of their day. Nor are more modern -authors wanting in that respect. Peter Pindar, who wrote during the -reign of George III., when ale was still of a “mightie” character, thus -sings:— - - Toper, drink, and help the house— - Drink to every honest fellow; - Life was never worth a louse - To the man who ne’er was mellow. - - How it sparkles! here it goes! - Ale can make a blockhead shine; - Toper, torchlike may thy nose - Light thy face up, just like mine. - - See old Sol, I like his notion, - With his whiskers all so red; - Sipping, drinking from the ocean, - Boozing till he goes to bed. {16} - - Yet poor beverage to regale! - _Simple stuff_ to help his race— - Could he turn the sea to Ale, - How ’twould make him mend his pace! - -[Illustration: BEER STREET.] - -Hogarth, who was perhaps the most accurate and certainly the most -powerful delineator of mankind’s virtues and vices that the world -has ever seen, has left us in his pictures of “Beer Street” and “Gin -Lane” striking illustrations of the advantages attending the use of -our national beverage, and the misery and want brought about by dram -drinking. In _Beer Street_ everybody thrives, and everything has an -air of prosperity. There is one exception—the pawnbroker, gainer by -the poverty of others. He, poor man, with barricaded doors and {17} -propped-up walls, awaits in terror the arrival of the Sheriff’s -officer, fearing only that his house may collapse meanwhile. Through -a hole in the door which he is afraid to open, a potboy hands him a -mug of ale, at once the cause and consolation of his woes. The bracket -which supports the pawnbroker’s sign is awry, and threatens every -minute to fall. Apart from this unfortunate all else flourishes. The -burly butcher, seated outside the inn with no fear of the Sheriff in -his heart, quaffs his pewter mug of foaming ale, and casts now and -again an eye on the artist who is repainting the signboard. The sturdy -smith, the drayman, the porter and the fishwife—all are well clad and -prosperous. Houses are being built, others are being repaired, and -health and wealth are visible on every side. - - Beer! happy produce of our isle, - Can sinewy strength impart, - And wearied with fatigue and toil, - Can cheer each manly heart. - - Labour and art upheld by thee, - Successfully advance, - We quaff thy balmy juice with glee; - And water leave to France. - - Genius of Health! thy grateful taste - Rivals the cup of Jove, - And warms each English generous breast - With liberty and love. - -Look now at the noisome slum where the demon Gin reigns triumphant. -Squalor, poverty, hunger, wretchedness and sin are depicted on -all sides. _Here_ flourish the pawnbroker and the keeper of the -gin-palace—but the picture is too speaking a one to need comment. - -GIN. - - Gin! cursed fiend with fury fraught, - Makes human race a prey, - It enters by a deadly draught, - And steals our life away. - - Virtue and truth, driven to despair, - Its rage compels to fly, - But cherishes with hellish care, - Theft, murder, perjury. {18} - - Damn’d cup that on the vitals preys, - That liquid fire contains, - Which madness to the heart conveys, - And rolls it through the veins. - -[Illustration: GIN LANE.] - -A medical writer of some thirty years ago says:— - -“There are well-meaning persons who wish now-a-days to rob, not only -the poor, but the rich man of his beer. I am content to remember -that Mary, Queen of Scots, was solaced in her dreary captivity at -Fotheringay by the brown beer of Burton-on-Trent; that holy Hugh {19} -Latimer drank a goblet of spiced ale with his supper the night before -he was burned alive; that Sir Walter Raleigh took a cool tankard -with his pipe, the last pipe of tobacco, on the very morning of his -execution; and that one of the prettiest ladies with whom I have the -honour to be acquainted, when escorting her on an opera Saturday to the -Crystal Palace I falteringly suggested chocolate, lemonade and vanilla -ices for her refreshment, sternly replied, ‘Nonsense, sir! Get me a -pint of stout immediately.’ If the ladies only knew how much better -they would be for their beer, there would be fewer cases of consumption -for quacks to demonstrate the curability of.” - -The question of beer drinking as opposed to total abstinence, is one -intimately connected with the welfare of the agricultural labourer. -The lives of the majority of these persons are, it is to be feared, -somewhat dull and cheerless. From early morn to dewy eve—work; the only -prospect in old age—the workhouse. Weary in mind and body, the labourer -returns to his cottage at nightfall. At supper he takes his glass of -mild ale. It nourishes him, and the alcohol it contains, of so small -a quantity as to be absolutely harmless, invigorates him and causes -the too often miserable surroundings to appear bright and cheerful. -Contentedly he smokes his pipe, chats sociably with his wife, and -forgets for awhile the many long days of hard work in store for him. -Soon the soporific influence of the hop begins to take effect, and the -toiler retires to rest, to sleep soundly, forgetful of the cares of -life. - -Then there is Saturday night, when the villagers meet at the alehouse, -not perhaps so much to drink as to converse, and, with church-wardens -in mouth and tankard at elbow, to settle the affairs of the State. -The newspaper, a week old, is produced, and one, probably the village -tailor or maybe the barber, reads passages from it. “A party of fuddled -rustics in a beer-shop,” exclaims the teetotaler, with a sneer. Not -so; one or two may have had their pewter tankards filled more often -than is prudent, but the majority will be moderate, drinking no more -than is good for them. Drunkenness and crime are not the outcome of -the village alehouse; for them, go to the gin-palaces of the towns. -Nothing, we feel certain, more tends to keep our agricultural labourers -from intemperance than the easy means of obtaining cheap but pure beer. -What we may term temperance legislation (unless it be of a criminal -character, punishing excess by fines) will always defeat its own -object. Shut up the alehouses, Sundays or week-days, and the poorer -classes at once take to dram drinking. This subject will be found fully -considered in the last chapter. {20} - -One does not hear much now-a-days of that gallant Knight, Sir John -Barleycorn. The song writers of the past were, however, loud in his -praises, and Sir John used to be as favourite a myth with the people of -England as was our patron saint, St. George. Elton’s play of _Paul the -Poacher_ commences with the following charming verses:— - -ODE TO SIR JOHN BARLEYCORN. - - Though the Hawthorn the pride of our hedges may be, - And the rose our gardens adorn, - Yet the flower that’s sweetest and fairest to me, - Is the bearded Barleycorn. - - Then hey for the Barleycorn, - The Bonny Barleycorn, - No grain or flower - Has half the power - Of the Bearded Barleycorn. - - Tho’ the purple juice of the grape ne’er find - Its way to the cup of horn, - ’Tis little I care—for the draught to my mind, - Is the blood of the Barleycorn. - Then hey, &c. - - Tho’ the Justice, the Parson and eke the Squire, - May flout us and hold us in scorn, - Our staunch boon friend, the best Knight in the shire, - Is stout Sir John Barleycorn. - - Then hey for John Barleycorn, - The merry John Barleycorn, - Search round and about, - What Knight’s so stout - As bold Sir John Barleycorn? - -A whimsical old pamphlet, the writer of which must have possessed -keen powers of observation, is “_The Arraigning and Indicting of Sir -John Barleycorn, Knight_, printed for Timothy Tosspot.” Sir John is -described as of noble blood, well-beloved in England, a great support -to the Crown, and a maintainer of both rich and poor. The trial takes -place at the sign of the “Three Loggerheads,” before Oliver {21} and -Old Nick his holy father. Sir John, of course, pleads not guilty -to the charges made against him, which are, in effect, that he has -compassed the death of several of his Majesty’s loving subjects, and -brought others to ruin. Vulcan the blacksmith, Will the weaver, and -Stitch the tailor, are called by the prosecution, and depose that after -being first friendly with Sir John, they quarrel with him, and in the -end get knocked down, bruised, their bones broken, and their pockets -picked. Mr. Wheatley, the baker, complains that, whereas he was the -most esteemed by Lords, Knights and Squires, he is now supplanted by -the prisoner. Sir John, being called on for his defence, asks that -his brother Malt may be summoned, and indicates that the fault, if -any, lies mostly at Malt’s door. Malt is thereupon summoned, and thus -addresses the Court:— - -“My Lords, I thank you for the liberty you now indulge me with, and -think it a great happiness, since I am so strongly accused, that I have -such learned judges to determine these complaints. As for my part, -I will put the matter to the Bench—First, I pray you consider with -yourselves, all tradesmen would live; and although Master Malt does -make sometimes a cup of good liquor, and many men come to taste it, yet -the fault is neither in me nor my brother John, but in such as those -who make this complaint against us, as I shall make it appear to you -all. - -“In the first place, which of you all can say but Master Malt can make -a cup of good liquor, with the help of a good brewer; and when it is -made, it will be sold. I pray you which of you all can live without it? -But when such as these, who complain of us, find it to be good, then -they have such a greedy mind, that they think they never have enough, -and this overcharge brings on the inconveniences complained of, makes -them quarrelsome one with another, and abusive to their very friends, -so that we are forced to lay them down to sleep. From hence it appears -it is from their own greedy desires all these troubles arise, and not -from wicked designs of our own.” - -_Court._—“Truly we cannot see that you are in the fault. Sir John -Barleycorn, we will show you as much favour that, if you can bring any -person of reputation to speak to your character, the court is disposed -to acquit you. Bring in your evidence, and let us hear what they can -say in your behalf.” - -_Thomas the Ploughman._—“May I be allowed to speak my thoughts freely, -since I shall offer nothing but the truth?” - -_Court._—“Yes, thou mayest be bold to speak the truth, and no {22} -more, for that is the cause we sit here for; therefore speak boldly, -that we may understand thee.” - -_Ploughman._—“Gentlemen, Sir John is of an ancient house, and is come -of a noble race; there is neither lord, knight, nor squire, but they -love his company and he theirs: as long as they don’t abuse him he will -abuse no man, but doth a great deal of good. In the first place, few -ploughmen can live without him; for if it were not for him we should -not pay our landlords their rent; and then what could such men as you -do for money and clothes? Nay, your gay ladies would care but little -for you if you had not your rents coming in to maintain them; and we -could never pay but that Sir John Barleycorn feeds us with money; and -you would not seek to take away his life? For shame! let your malice -cease and pardon his life, or else we are all undone.” - -_Bunch the Brewer._—“Gentlemen, I beseech you, hear me. My name is -Bunch, a brewer; and I believe few of you can live without a cup -of good liquor, nor more than I can without the help of Sir John -Barleycorn. As for my own part, I maintain a great charge and keep a -great many men at work; I pay taxes forty pounds a-year to his Majesty, -God bless him, and all this is maintained by the help of Sir John; then -how can any man for shame seek to take away his life?” - -_Mistress Hostess._—“To give evidence on behalf of Sir John Barleycorn -gives me pleasure, since I have an opportunity of doing justice to so -honourable a person. Through him the administration receives large -supplies; he likewise greatly supports the labourer, and enlivens his -conversation. What pleasure could there be at a sheep-clipping without -his company, or what joy at a feast without his assistance? I know -him to be an honest man, and he never abused any man if they abused -not him. If you put him to death all England is undone, for there is -not another in the land can do as he can do, and hath done; for he -can make a cripple go, the coward fight, and a soldier feel neither -hunger nor cold. I beseech you, gentlemen, let him live, or else we -are all undone; the nation likewise will be distressed, the labourer -impoverished, and the husbandman ruined.” - -_Court._—“Gentlemen of the jury, you have now heard what has been -offered against Sir John Barleycorn, and the evidence that has been -produced in his defence. It you are of opinion that he is guilty of -those wicked crimes laid to his charge, and has with malice prepense -conspired and brought about the death of several of his Majesty’s -loving subjects, you are then to find him guilty; but, if, on the -contrary, you are of {23} opinion that he had no real intention of -wickedness, and was not the immediate, but only the accidental cause of -these evils laid to his charge, then, according to the statute law of -this kingdom you ought to acquit him.” - -Verdict—Not Guilty. - -A somewhat lengthy extract has been given from the report of the trial, -because the facetious little narrative contains a moral as applicable -at the present time as on the day on which the worthy Knight was -acquitted. - -And now, dear reader, your introduction to Sir John Barleycorn being -complete, it is for you, should the inclination be present, to become -acquainted with all that pertains to him, from the barley-wine of the -Egyptians and other nations of the far past to those excellent -beverages in which the people of this country do now delight. On the -way you will meet with strange things and strange people, queer customs -and quaint sayings and songs; you will watch malting and brewing as it -was carried on five hundred years ago; you will stand by while the -Flemings, who have just come to London, brew beer with the assistance -of a “wicked weed called hoppes;” meanwhile Parliament will re-enact -strange sumptuary laws and order that you brew only two kinds of ale or -beer; you will be at times in the bad company of dissolute alewives who -will whisper sad scandals in your ear; fleeing from them, you will find -yourself in a solemn place where lines on stone tell how, when he -lived, he brewed good ale; then being perhaps sad at heart, you shall -pass into the village ale-house and join the ploughboys in their merry -chorus, or sit awhile with the roystering blades in some London tavern; -later you shall see the sign and learn its signification and history, -and delay a moment to read the verses over the door and admire the -quaint architecture and curious carving. In the ale-house you will have -tasted and drank wisely, let it be hoped, of London or Dublin black -beer, of Plymouth white ale, of old Nappy and Yorkshire Stingo, and as -many more as your head can stand. - -Then you shall take part in ancient ceremonies—wassailing, Church ales, -bride ales, and the like; the merry sheep-shearers will sing for you, -and for you the villagers shall dance round the ale-stake; then the -old ballad-writers will lay before you their ballads praising ale, and -headed with wood-cuts, humorous, but sometimes fearful to look upon. -Having rested awhile in perusing these relics of the past, the doors of -John Barleycorn’s greatest palaces will fly open before you, and while -exploring these wonders of the present, you will chat pleasantly with -{24} their founders, Dr. Johnson joining in with ponderous remarks on -the brewery of his friend Thrale. The history of porter shall then be -unfolded to you, after which you shall be introduced to the college -butler, who is in the very act of compounding a noble wassail-bowl, -and who, good man, whispers in your willing ear instructions for the -making of a score or more of ale-cups; then the old Saxon leeches and -their successors shall be summoned, and, in a language strange to -modern ears, they shall relate how ale and certain herbs will cure all -diseases; then shall you see a curious but not a wondrous sight—water -passing through holes in teetotal arguments; and lastly the great -French savant shall take you into his laboratory, and shall make you -see in a grain of yeast a world of wonders. Last of all we beg you to -treasure up in your memory these old lines:— - - He that buys land buys many stones, - He that buys flesh buys many bones, - He that buys eggs buys many shells, - _But he that buys good ale buys nothing else_. - -[Illustration] - -{25} - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER II. - - - “What hath been and now is used by the English, as well since the - Conquest, as in the days of the Britons, Saxons and Danes.”—_Drinke - and Welcome.—Taylor._ - - “Not of an age, but for all time.”—_Ben Jonson._ - -_ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF ALE AND BEER_ - -We must go back several thousand years into the past to trace the -origin of our modern ale and beer. The ancient Egyptians, as we learn -from the _Book of the Dead_, a treatise at least 5,000 years old, -understood the manufacture of an intoxicating liquor from grain. This -liquor they called _hek_, and under the slightly modified form _hemki_ -the name has been used in Egypt for beer until comparatively modern -times. An ancient Egyptian medical manual, of about the same date -as the _Book of the Dead_, contains frequent mention of the use of -Egyptian beer in medicine, and at a period about 1,000 years later, the -papyri afford conclusive evidence of the existence even in that early -age, of a burning liquor question in Egypt, for it is recorded that -intoxication had become so common that many of the beer shops had to be -suppressed. - -Herodotus, after stating that the Egyptians used “wine made from -barley” because there were no vines in the country, mentions a -tradition that Osiris, the Egyptian Bacchus, first taught the Egyptians -how to brew, to compensate them for the natural deficiencies of their -native land. Herodotus, however, was frequently imposed upon by the -persons from whom he derived his narrative, and no trace of any such -tradition is to be found elsewhere. Wine was undoubtedly made in Egypt -two or three thousand years before his time. {26} - -It is maintained by some that the Hebrew word _sicera_, which occurs -in the Bible and is in our version translated “strong drink,” was -none other than the barley-wine mentioned in Herodotus, and that the -Israelites brought from Egypt the knowledge of its use. Certain it is -that they understood the manufacture of _sicera_ shortly after the -exodus, for we find in Leviticus that the priests are forbidden to -drink wine or “strong drink” before they go into the tabernacle, and in -the Book of Numbers the Nazarenes are required not only to abstain from -wine and “strong drink,” but even from vinegar made from either; and -in all the passages where the word occurs it is formally distinguished -from wine. It may be mentioned in passing, that this word _sicera_ has -been regarded as being the equivalent of the word cider. The passage in -Numbers is translated in Tyndale’s version, “They shall drink neither -wyn ne sydyr,” and it is this rendering that has earned for Tyndale’s -translation the name of the cider Bible. - -It seems highly probable that the word _sicera_ signified any -intoxicating liquor other than wine, whether made from corn, honey or -fruit. - -In support of the theory that beer was known amongst the Jews, may be -mentioned the Rabbinical tradition that the Jews were free from leprosy -during the captivity in Babylon by reason of their drinking “_siceram -veprium, id est, ex lupulis confectam_,” or _sicera_ made with hops, -which one would think could be no other than bitter beer. - -Speaking of this old Egyptian barley-wine, Aeschylus seems to imply -that it was not held in very high esteem, for he says that only the -women-kind would drink it.[5] Evidently the phrase, “to be learned in -all the learning of the Egyptians,” had no reference to a competent -knowledge of brewing. Before leaving the land of the Pharaoh, it may be -mentioned that in that country the labourers still drink a kind of beer -extracted from unmalted barley. A traveller in Egypt some years ago -recorded in one of the London daily papers that his crew on the Nile -made an intoxicating liquor from the fermentation of bread in water; he -says that it was called _boozer_, but whether by himself or crew is not -clear. {27} - - [5] Aesch. Supp. 953. - -A goodly number of instances may be found in various old Greek writers -of the mention of barley-wine under the various terms of κρίθινον -πεπωκότες οινον,[6] ἐκ κριθῶν μεθυ, βρῦτον ἐκ τῶν κριθῶν, but it does -not appear that beer was ever a popular beverage in Hellas. Further -north, the Thracians, as Archilochus tells, brewed and drank a good -deal of beer. - - [6] Hipp. 395. 1, Athen. 1 & 10, Aesch. Fr. 116, Archil. 28. - -Among the Greek writers, Xenophon gives the most interesting and -complete account of beer in the year 401 B.C. In describing the retreat -of the Ten Thousand, he tells how, on approaching a certain village in -Armenia which had been allotted to him, he selected the most active of -his troops, and making a sudden descent upon the place captured all the -villagers and their headman. One man alone escaped—the bridegroom of -the headman’s daughter, who had been married nine days, and was gone -out to hunt hares. The snow was six feet deep at the time. Xenophon -goes on to describe the dwellings of this singular people. Their houses -were under ground, the entrance like that of a well, but wide below. -There were entrances dug out for the cattle, but the men used to get -down by a ladder. And in the houses were goats, sheep, oxen, fowls and -their young ones, and all the animals were fed inside with fodder. -And there was wheat, and barley, and pulse, and barley-wine (οἶνος -κρίθινος) in bowls. And the malt, too, itself was in the bowl, and -level with the brim. And reeds lay in it, some long, some short, with -no joints, and when anyone was thirsty he had to take a reed in his -hand and suck. The liquor was very strong, says Xenophon, unless one -poured water into it, and the drink was pleasant to one accustomed to -it. And whenever anyone in friendliness wished to drink to his comrade, -he used to drag him to the bowl, where he must stoop down and drink, -gulping it down like an ox. The inhabitants of the Khanns district of -Armenia, through which Xenophon’s world-famed march was made, still -pursue much the same life as they did more than two thousand years ago. -They live in these curious subterranean dwellings with all their live -stock about them, but, alas! modern travellers aver that they have lost -the art of making barley-wine. - -Enough has been said as to the use of beer among Eastern nations to -disprove the theory of the old author of the _Haven of Health_, who -asserts, quoting “Master Eliote” as his authority, that ale was never -used as a common drink in any other country than in “England, Scotland, -Ireland, and Poile.” {28} - -Ale or beer was in common use in Germany in the time of Tacitus, and -Pliny, who may have tasted beer while serving in the army in Germany, -says, “All the nations who inhabit the west of Europe have a liquor -with which they intoxicate themselves, made of corn and water (_fruge -madida_). The manner of making this liquor is somewhat different in -Gaul, Spain, and other countries, and it is called by various names; -but its nature and properties are everywhere the same. The people of -Spain in particular brew this liquor so well that it will keep good for -a long time. So exquisite is the ingenuity of mankind in gratifying -their vicious appetites, that they have thus invented a method of -making water itself intoxicate.” Among the many various kinds of drink -so made were _zythum_, _cœlia_, _ceria_, _Cereris vinum_, _curmi_, and -_cerevisia_. All these names, except _zythum_, are probably merely -local variations of one word, whose British representative may be found -in the Welsh _cwrw_. - -Turning to the earliest records of the use of malt liquors in this -country, we find that, according to Diodorus Siculus, the Britons made -use of a very simple diet which consisted chiefly of milk and venison. -Their usual drink was water; but upon festive occasions they drank a -kind of fermented liquor, made of barley, honey, or apples, and were -very quarrelsome in their cups. Dioscorides wrote in the first century -that the Britons, instead of wine, use “curmi,” a liquor made from -barley. Pytheas (300 B.C.) said a fermented grain liquor was made in -Thule. - -The drinks in use in this island at the time of its conquest by -the Romans seem to have been metheglin, cider, and ale. Metheglin, -or mead, was probably the most ancient and universally used of all -intoxicating drinks among European nations. Cider is in all probability -the next in order of antiquity of the drinks in use amongst our Celtic -predecessors. It was made from wild apples, but its use was probably -not so wide-spread as that of either mead or ale. - -The two drinks, mead and cider, are appropriate to nations who have -made but slight advances on the path of civilisation. Tribes of nomads, -or of hunters, would find the wherewithal for their manufacture—the -honey in the hollow tree, the crabs growing wild in the woods. The -manufacture of ale, however, indicates another step forward; it implies -the settlement in particular districts, and the knowledge and practice -of agriculture. It is, therefore, not surprising to find that the -Celtic inhabitants of the midland and northern parts of this country, -at the time of the first Roman attack, knew no drink but mead and -cider; while, in the southern districts, where contact with {29} the -outer world had brought about a somewhat more advanced civilisation -and a more settled mode of life, agriculture was practised, and -_cerevisia_, or ale, was added to the list of beverages. - -Given below is a metrical version of the origin of ale. It is put in -this place between the account of the use of ale by the Britons and its -use by the Saxons, because our anonymous poet does not seem to have -quite made up his mind whether he is recording a British or a Saxon -myth. The name of the king would seem to point to a British origin, -whilst some of the gods on whom he calls are Teutonic. - -THE ORIGIN OF BEER. - - In a jolly field of barley good King Cambrinus slept, - And dreaming of his thirsty realm the merry monarch wept, - “In all my land of Netherland there grows no mead or wine, - And water I could never coax adown this throat of mine. - - “Now list to me, ye heathen gods, and eke ye Christian too, - Both Zernebock and Jupiter, and Mary clad in blue; - And mighty Thor the Thunderer, and any else that be, - The one who aids me in my need his servant I will be.” - - And as this sinful heathen all in the barley lay, - There came in dreams an angel bright who soft these words did say— - “Arise, thou poor Cambrinus, for even all around, - In the barley where thou sleepest a nectar may be found. - - “In the barley where thou sleepest there hides a nectar clear, - Which men shall know in later times as _porter_, _ale_ or _beer_.” - Then in terms the most explicit he “put the monarch through,” - And gave him ere the dream was out the recipe to brew. - - Uprose good King Cambrinus and shook him in the sun. - “Away, ye wretched heathen gods—with you I’m quit and done! - Ye’ve left me with my subjects in error and in thirst; - Till in our dreadful dryness we scarce know which is worst.” - - It was the good Cambrinus unto his palace went, - And messengers through all the land unto his lords he sent, - “Leave Odin, under pain of death!”—his orders were severe, - Yet touched with mildness—for he sent the recipe for beer. {30} - - Oh, then a merry sound was heard of building through the land, - And the churches and the breweries went up on every hand; - For the masons they were hard at work where’er a spot seemed pat, - And some had bricks within their hods, and some within their hats. - -In the sister Island are to be found very early references to ale. The -_Senchus Mor_, which contains some of the oldest and most important -of the ancient laws of Ireland, has the following passages in which -mention of this drink occurs:— - -“What is a human banquet? The banquet of each one’s feasting-house to -his chief according to his due (_i.e._, the chief’s), to which his -(_i.e._, the tenant’s) deserts entitle him; viz., a supper with ale, a -feast without ale, a feast by day. The feast without ale is divided; it -is distributed according to dignity; the feeding of the assembly of the -forces of a territory, assembled for the purpose of demanding proof and -law, and answering to illegality. Suppers with ale, feasts without ale, -are the fellowship of the Feini.” It is difficult to understand the -ideas contained in these old Erse laws and customs, but the main thing -for the present purpose is the evidence they give that ale was known -and commonly used in Ireland as early as the fifth century.[7] - -From the Brehon law tracts it may be gathered that the privileges -of an Irish king included the right to have his ale supplied him -with food;[8] he was also to have a brave army and _an inebriating -ale-house_. The Irish chief is always to have two casks in his house, -one of ale, another of milk; he should also have three sacks—a sack of -malt, a sack of salt, and a sack of charcoal. - - [7] The _Senchus Mor_ was composed in the time of Lœghaire, son of - Niall, King of Erin, about A.D. 430, a few years after the arrival - of St. Patrick in Ireland. - - [8] Doubtless an allusion to the old _food rents_ once common in - Ireland. - -Wales was also to some extent an ale-producing country, and we find in -Anglo-Saxon times Welsh ale frequently alluded to as a luxury. When -_Offa_ renders the lands at _Westbury_ and _Stanbury_ to the church -of Worcester, he accepts at _Westbury_ these _services_: 2 tunne full -of clear Ale, and a cumbe (16 _quarts_) full of smaller Ale, and a -cumbe of Welsh Ale, besides other services. There was a payment to the -said church also out of the lands at _Breodune_ of 3 cuppes full of -Ale, 111 _dolea Brytannicæ cervissiæ_ (_i.e._, casks of British Ale), -and 3 hogsheads of {31} Welsh Ale, _quorum unum fit melle dulcoratum_ -(_i.e._, of which one was to be sweetened with honey). Henry, in his -_History of England_, in treating of the drinks used in England and -Wales during five centuries before the Norman Conquest, remarks on -the rarity of the use of ale in Wales at that time. “Mead,” he says, -“was still one of their favourite liquors, and bore a high price; for -a cask of mead, by the laws of Wales, was valued at 120 pence, equal -in quantity of silver to thirty shillings of our present money, and in -efficacy to fifteen pounds. The dimensions of a cask of mead must be -nine palms in height, and so capacious as to serve the King _and one -of his counsellors_ for a bathing tub.” By another law its diameter is -fixed at eighteen palms. The Welsh had also two kinds of ale, called -_common ale_ and _spiced ale_, and their value was thus ascertained -by law—“If a farmer hath no mead (to pay part of his rent) he shall -pay two casks of _spiced ale_, or four casks of _common ale_ for one -cask of mead.” By the same law, a cask of _spiced ale_, nine palms in -height and eighteen palms in diameter, was valued at a sum equal in -efficacy to seven pounds ten shillings of our present money; and a cask -of _common ale_, of the same dimensions, at a sum equal to three pounds -fifteen shillings. This is a sufficient proof that even _common ale_ at -this period was an article of luxury among the Welsh which could only -be obtained by the great and opulent. Wine seems to have been quite -unknown even to the Kings of Wales at this period, as it is not so -much as once mentioned in their laws; though Giraldus Cambrensis, who -flourished about a century after the Conquest, acquaints us that there -was a vineyard in his time, at Maenarper, near Pembroke, in South Wales. - -Before leaving the subject of the British use of ale, it will perhaps -amuse some of our readers to find that the very name of Britain has -been derived by some from the word βρῡτον, the Greek for beer. The -following extract from Hearne’s Discourses is a good instance of that -reckless ingenuity in guessing derivations, for which our older school -of philologists was ever so justly famed:—“There is one thing,” he -says, “which upon this occasion the antiquaries should have observed, -and that is our Mault Liquor, called βρῡτον in Athenæus. Which being -so, it is humbly offered to the consideration of more judicious persons -whether our Britannia might not be denominated from βρῡτον, the whole -nation being famous for such sort of drink. ’Tis true, Athenæus does -not mention the Britains among those that drunk mault drink; and -the reason is, because he had not met with any writer that had {32} -celebrated them upon that account, whereas the others that he mentions -to drink it were put down in his Authors. Nor will it seem a wonder, -that even those people he speaks of were not called Britaines from the -said liquor, since it was not their constant and common drink, but was -only used by them upon occasion, whereas it was always made use of in -Britain, and it was looked upon as peculiar to this Island, and other -liquors were esteemed as foreign, and not so agreeable to the nature -of the country. And I have some reason to think that those few other -people that drunk it abroad did it only in imitation of the Britains, -though we have no records remaining upon which to ground this opinion.” - -It is rather unfortunate that, in the cause of science, our author did -not inform us what that “some reason to think” of his in fact was. -However, let us honour his patriotism if we may not his learning. - -It would appear that ale and beer were different words signifying -the same thing, ale being the Saxon _ealu_ and Danish _öl_, probably -connected with our word oil, and beer being the Saxon _beor_. Horne -Tooke, in his _Diversions of Purley_, says that “ale” is derived from a -Saxon verb _ælan_, which signifies to inflame. - -The word “beer” has been the occasion of some ingenuity and not a -little diversity of opinion among the philologists. Goldast derived -it _a pyris_, because (he asserts) beer was first made from pears; -Vossius from the Latin _bibere_, to drink, thus: _Bibere_, _Biber_ and -(_extrito b_) _Bier_; Somner from the Hebrew _Bar_, corn. Probably -the true derivation is that which connects the word with the root -of the verb, to _brew_. However this may be, the connection of the -word barley with the word _beere_—denoting a coarse kind of barley—is -unmistakeable. _Beer_ was originally used to denote the beverage and -also the plant from which it was brewed. _Beere_ or _bigge_ is still to -be found growing in some parts of Scotland and Ireland, but in England -it has given place to the more refined _barley_ (_i.e._, _beer-lec_ or -beer plant). - -The attempt to connect the word “yule” with “ale” is probably fanciful, -and may have originated from the use of the word “ale” as denoting not -only the liquor, but also any festival at which it formed the principal -beverage (_e.g._ the Whitsun Ale). Yule or Jule is probably derived, -along with the festival it represents, from the Celts. It was a feast -in honour of the sun, the Celtic name for which was _heol_ or _houl_ -and was designed to celebrate the time when the Sun-god, after sinking -to his lowest point in the heavens in mid-winter, begins again to -ascend the sky, ushering in a period of warmth and plenty. When the -Saxons {33} were converted to Christianity, their teachers, instead of -entirely doing away with the older forms of religion, allowed them to -remain, adapting them to the new faith. This was very usual in early -days of Christianity, and thus we find the heathen “Yule” merged in the -great Christian festival of Christmas. - -The very ancient Anglo-Saxon poem entitled _Beowulf_, a poem which may -be said to be the earliest considerable fragment of our language now -extant, shows that ale was the chief drink amongst our Anglo-Saxon -ancestors in the far-off days, before they had seized upon this land -of England. It contains a mythological account of the rescue by the -hero Beowulf of his friends from the Grendel, a monster who was -constantly slaughtering and carrying some of them away. The feast is -thus described: “Then was for the sons of the Geats, altogether, a -bench cleared in the beer-hall; there the bold in spirit went to sit; -the thane observed his office, he that in his hand bare the twisted -ale-cup; he poured the bright sweet liquor.” Further on, the Danish -queen comes in to greet the victors. “There was laughter of heroes, -the noise was modulated, words were winsome; Wealtheow, Hrothgar’s -queen, went forth; mindful of their races, she, hung round with gold, -greeted the men in the hall; and the freeborn lady gave the cup first -to the prince of the East Danes; she bade him be blithe at the service -of beer, dear to his people. He, the king, proud of victory, joyfully -received the feast and hall-cup . . .” - -That it was customary among our ancestors for the lady of the house -herself to fill the guests’ cups after dinner, may be gathered from the -poem called the _Geste of Kyng Horn_, which in its present form is of -thirteenth century date, but is probably founded upon a much earlier -work. The poem thus describes Rymenhild, the queen and wife of King -Horn, performing this duty:— - - Rymenhild ros of benche - Wyn for to schenche;[9] - After mete in sale,[10] - Bothe wyn and ale. - On horn he bar in honde. - So laye was in londe,[11] {34} - Knightes and squier - Alle dronken of the ber. - - [9] _Schenche_ = to pour out. - - [10] _Sale_ = hall. - - [11] - A horn she bare in her hand, - So was the custom in the land. - -These lines also show that ale and beer were used at that time as -interchangeable words. - -Our Saxon ancestors seem to have made use of several kinds of beverage; -they had wine and mead, cider, which they called _æppelwin_, and -piment, which was a compound of wine, honey, and spices. Ale and beer, -however, seem, to use the quaint words of old Harrison, to have “borne -the brunt in drincking,” and to have formed the national beverage of -the English people from the earliest times to the present day. Ale, -honest English ale, was the general drink, and wine was a luxury of the -rich, as may be gathered from the old Anglo-Saxon dialogue, entitled -_Alfric’s Colloquy_, in which a lad, on being asked what his drink is, -replies, “Ale, if I have it, water, if I have it not.” To the question -why he does not drink wine his answer is, “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 _Exeter Book_, which contains a collection of Anglo-Saxon songs and -poems, and was presented to the church at Exeter by Bishop Leofric in -the eleventh century, contains one of those curious rhyming riddles so -popular among the Saxons, which were known as _Symposii Ænigmata_. It -is as follows:— - - A part of the earth is - Prepared beautifully, - With the hardest, - And with the sharpest, - And with the grimmest - Of the productions of men, - Cut and . . . . - Turned and dried, - Bound and twisted, - Bleached and awakened, - Ornamented and poured out, - Carried afar - To the doors of the people, - It is joy in the inside - Of living creatures, - It knocks and slights - Those, of whom while alive {35} - A long while - It obeys the will, - And expostulateth not, - And then after death - It takes upon it to judge, - To talk variously. - It is greatly to seek, - By the wisest man, - What this creature is. - -Those who remember the more elaborate legend of _John Barleycorn_ will -not have far to seek for the solution of this somewhat ponderous riddle. - -The Anglo-Saxons, before their conversion to Christianity, believed -that some of the chief blessings to be enjoyed by departed heroes were -the frequent and copious draughts of ale served round to them in the -halls of Odin. Even after the spread of Christianity had dispelled -this heathen notion, all the evidence available seems to point rather -to an enlarged than a diminished consumption of malt liquors. Whether -our forefathers, practically-minded like their descendants, resolved -to make up here upon earth for the loss of the expected joys of which -their new creed had robbed them, it is impossible at this distance -of time to determine; but certain it is that the popularity of our -national beverage has gone on increasing from that day to this. - -In these early days rents were not infrequently paid in ale. In 852 the -Abbot of Medeshampstede (Peterborough) let certain lands at Sempringham -to one Wulfred, on this condition, amongst others, that he should each -year deliver to the minster two tuns of pure ale and ten _mittans_ -(measures) of Welsh ale. The ale-gafol mentioned in the laws of Ine was -a tribute or rent of ale paid by the tenant to the lord of the manor. -By an ancient charter granted in the time of King Alfred, the tenants -of Hysseburne, amongst other services, rendered six church-mittans of -ale. - -Ale was also in olden days frequently liable to the payment of a toll -(_tollester_) to the lord of the manor. In a Gloucestershire manor it -was customary for a tenant holding in villeinage to pay as toll to the -lord gallons of ale, whenever he brewed ale to sell. At Fiskerton, in -Notts, if {36} an ale-wife brews ale to sell she is to satisfy the -lord for _tollester_. In the manor of Tidenham, in Saxon times the -villein is to pay to the lord at the Martinmass six sesters of malt; -and in the same manor, in the reign of Edward I., we find the rent -changed into a toll, the tenant at the later period being bound to -render to the lord 8 gallons of beer at every brewing. - -Similarly, wages were in some manors paid in kind. At Brissingham, -Norfolk, the tenants, amongst other services, might perform 125 -_ale-beeves_ in the year, _i.e._, carting-days, on which attendance -was not compulsory, but on which the tenants, if they did attend, were -entitled to bread and ale in lieu of wages. The word “bever” still -occurs in some places, denoting a harvest-man’s drink between breakfast -and dinner. - -The Saxons and Danes were of a social disposition, and delighted in -forming themselves into fraternities or guilds. An important feature of -these institutions was the meeting for convivial purposes, and their -object was to promote good fellowship among the members. The laws for -the regulation of some of these bodies are still in existence, and -it seems were enforced by fines of honey, or malt, to be used in the -making of mead or ale for the use of the members of the confraternity. -It seems that both clergy and laity were members of certain of the -guilds, at any rate at one period of their history, and allusion is -probably made to these mixed fraternities in the Canons of Archbishop -Walter, A.D. 1200, in which he directs “that clerks go not to taverns -and drinking bouts, for from thence come quarrels, and then laymen beat -clergymen, and fall under the Canon.” - -During the Middle Ages ale was the usual drink of all classes of -Englishmen, and the wines of France were a luxury, in general only -consumed by the upper classes. In France, however, wine was the common -drink, and ale a luxury. William Fitz-Stephen, in his Life of Thomas -à Becket, states that when the latter went on an embassy to France, -he took with him two waggons laden with beer in iron-bound casks, as -a present to the French, “who admire that kind of drink, for it is -wholesome, clear, of the colour of wine, and of a better taste.” - -As an instance of the fame which English ale had attained abroad in -the twelfth century, may be cited the reply of Pope Innocent III. to -those who were arguing before him the case of the Bishop of Worcester’s -claims against the Abbey of Evesham. “Holy father,” said they, “we have -learnt in the schools, and this is the opinion of our masters, that -there is no prescription against the rights of bishops.” His Holiness’s -reply was blunt and somewhat personal: “Certainly, both you and your -masters had drunk too much English ale when you learnt this.” {37} - -A curious extract may here be added as indicative of the fame of -English ale amongst foreigners in the fourteenth and fifteenth -centuries. It is taken from a work entitled “_A Relation; or rather -a true account of the Island of England_, A.D. 1500, translated from -the Italian by C. A. Sneyd.” “The deficiency of wine, however,” says -our author, “is amply supplied by the abundance of ale and beer, to -the use of which these people have become so habituated, that at an -entertainment where there is plenty of wine, they will drink them -in preference to it, and in great quantities. Like discreet people, -however, they do not offer them to Italians, unless they should ask -for them, and they think that no greater honour can be conferred, -or received, than to invite others to eat with them, or be invited -themselves; and they would sooner give five or six ducats to provide an -entertainment for a person, than a groat to assist him in any distress. -They are not without vines; and I have eaten grapes from one, and wine -might be made in Southern parts, but it would probably be harsh. The -natural deficiency of the country is supplied by a great quantity of -excellent wines from Candia, Germany, France, and Spain; besides which, -the common people make two beverages from Wheat, Barley, and Oats, one -of which is called beer, and the other Ale; and these liquors are much -liked by them, nor are they disliked by foreigners, after they have -drank them four or six times; they are most agreeable to the palate, -when a person is by some chance rather heated.” - -The regulations of the religious houses nearly always make reference to -ale; and it may be inferred from the evidence we possess, that the holy -fathers, who were always strong sticklers for the rights and privileges -of their order, would brook no interference either with the quantity -or quality of their liquor. In the Institutes of the Abbey of Evesham, -drawn up by Abbot Randulf about the year 1223, the directions as to -the diet of the inmates of the Abbey, are of great particularity. The -Prior is to have one measure of ale at supper (except when he shall sup -with the Abbot). Each of the fraternity shall every day receive two -measures of ale, each of which shall contain two pittances, of which -pittances six make up a “sextarium regis.” In the same rules it is laid -down that the monks are to have “two semes of beans from Huniburne, -to make _puddings_ throughout all Lent.” Bean-pudding seems indeed a -mortification of the flesh! Further on we find: “On every day every -two brethren shall have one measure of ale from the cellar, but after -being let blood they shall have one for dinner and another for supper. -The servant who shall let the monks’ blood shall have bread and ale -{38} from the cellar, if he have blooded more than one.” A further -account of the monks as brewers will be found in the succeeding chapter. - -The Proverbs of Hendyng (thirteenth century) give good advice as of the -duties of charity and hospitality:— - - Gef thou havest bred and ale - Ne put thou nout al in thy male[12], - Thou del hit sum aboute. - Be thou fre of thy meeles, - Wherso me eny mete deles, - Gest thou nout with-oute.[13] - “_Betere is appel y-geve then y-ete,_” - _Quoth Hendyng_. - -In the fourteenth century taxes seem to have been occasionally levied -on ale for certain specific purposes. In 1363 the inhabitants of -Abbeville were granted a tax on ale for the purpose of repairing their -fortifications. For each _lotus of ale of gramville_ the tax was one -penny _Parisien_; for each _lotus of god-ale_ the tax was ½d. (Rhymer -2. 712.). - -In a curious old poem of the early part of the fourteenth century -entitled _De Baptismo_, by William of Shoreham, it appears to the -poet, necessary to lay down that ale must not be used for purposes of -baptism, but “kende water” (_i.e._, natural water) only. The verse is -as follows:— - - Therefore ine wine me ne may, - Inne sithere ne inne pereye, - Ne inne thing that neuere water nes - Thory cristning man may reneye, - Ne inne ale; - For thei hight were water ferst, - Of water neth hit tale.[14] - - [12] Male = bag or wallet. - - [13] - Whether men give any meat away or no, - Go thou not without (giving). - - [14] See p. 401. - -This old English requires some little explanation, and may be rendered -thus:—Therefore man may not renounce (his sins) through christening in -wine, in cider, nor in perry, nor in anything that never was water, -nor yet in ale, for though this (_i.e._, ale) was water first, it is -acounted water no longer. {39} - -Whilst Christmas, as far as eating was concerned, always had its -specialities, its liquor _carte_ seems even in the thirteenth century -to have been of a very varied character. An old carolist of the period -thus sings (we follow Douce’s translation):— - - Lordlings, Christmas loves good drinking, - Wines of Gascoigne, France, Anjou, - English ale that drives out thinking, - Prince of liquors, old or new, - Every neighbour shares the bowl, - Drinks of the spicy liquor deep; - Drinks his fill without control, - Till he drowns his care in sleep. - -_Piers the Ploughman_, a poem by William Longland, written towards the -close of the fourteenth century, contains a curious confession of the -tricks played by the ale-sellers upon their customers:— - - I boughte hire Barly heo breuh hit to sulle; - Peni-ale and piriwhit heo pourede to-gedere - For laborers and louh folk that liuen be hem-seluen. - The Beste in the Bed-chaumbre lay bi the wowe, - Hose Bummede therof Boughte hit ther-after, - A galoun for a grote, God wot, no lasse, - Whon hit com in Cuppemel; such craftes me usede. - -This, being interpreted, in modern English would read somewhat as -follows:—I bought her barley they brew it to sell; Peny ale (_i.e._, -ale at a penny a gallon) and small perry she poured together for -labourers and poor folk that live by themselves. The best lay in the -bed chamber by the wall, whoso drank thereof bought it (_i.e._, the -penny ale) by the sample (_i.e._, of the best) a gallon for a groat, -God knows, no less, when it came in by cupfulls; such craft I used. - -Piers the Ploughman, in describing the scarcity of labour after the -great plague in the fourteenth century and the independence of the -labouring men that arose from the high wages they were enabled to -demand, says that after harvest they would eat none but the finest -bread, - - Ne non half-penny Ale In none wyse drynke, - Bote of the Beste and the Brouneste that Brewesters sullen. - - * * * * * - - Mai no peny-Ale hem paye ne no pece of Bacun, {40} - Bote hit weore Fresch Flesch or elles Fisch y-Friyet, - Both chaud and plus chaud for chele of heore mawe.[15] - - [15] As we should say, “hot and hot,” for chill of their stomach. - -Chaucer has many references to ale. The Cook, who was no mean -proficient in his proper art, was a judge of ale as well:— - - A coke thei hadde with them for the nones, - To boyle the chickens, and the marrie bones, - And pouder marchaunt tarte, and galengale, - Well coude he know a pot of London ale. - -The Miller prepares himself to tell his tale aright by swallowing -mighty draughts of the same liquor. He knows he is drunk, and is not -ashamed, thinking it quite sufficient excuse to lay the blame upon that -seductive fluid, “the ale of Southwerk”:— - - Now herkeneth, quod the miller, all and some - But first I make a protestatioun, - That I am dronke, I know it by my soun; - And therefore if that I misspeke or say, - Wite it the ale of Southwerk, I you pray. - -The two Cambridge students who lodge a night at the miller of -Trompington’s are feasted by their host in this wise:— - - The miller the toun his daughter sent - For ale and bred, and roasted hem a goos, - * * * * * - They soupen and they speken of solace, - And drinken ever strong ale at the best. - Abouten midnight wente they to rest. - -Before they went, however, they had “dronken all that was in crouke,” -and the miller, who appears to have had the lion’s share, had decidedly -imbibed too much. - - Well hath this miller vernished his hed, - Full pale he was, for-dronken, and nought red. - * * * * * - This miller hath so wisely bibbed ale, - That as an hors he snorteth in his slepe. - -Geoffrey Chaucer, along with other poets and writers of his times, was -unsparing in his denunciations of the vices of the clergy, their sloth, -gluttony, drunkenness and other grievous lapses. - - Thei side of many manir metes, - With song and solas sitting long; {41} - And filleth their wombe, and fast fretes, - And after mete with harp and song, - And hot spices ever among; - And fille their wombe with wine and ale. - -Piers the Ploughman, in his _Crede_, which is a satire upon the clergy, -makes the Franciscan say, in contrasting his own order with other -religious bodies:— - - We haunten not tavernes, ne hobelen abouten - At merketes and miracles we medeley us never. - -The frequent directions to the monks and clergy to abstain from -taverns, from drinking bouts and revels, all point to the necessity -then felt of tightening the bonds of church discipline, and show the -laxity that had prevailed. - -John Taylor, the Water Poet, frequently selected ale as his theme, and, -when once mounted on his favourite hobby, soon travelled into such -realms of marvellous history and miraculous philology, that it almost -takes away one’s breath to follow him. The chief work in which he -glorifies our English Ale has for its full title, - - DRINKE AND WELCOME - OR THE - FAMOUS HISTORIE - OF THE MOST PART OF DRINKS IN USE NOW IN THE KINGDOMES OF - GREAT BRITTAINE AND IRELAND, WITH AN ESPECIALL DECLARATION - OF THE POTENCY, VERTUE AND OPERATION OF - OUR ENGLISH ALE, - WITH A DESCRIPTION OF ALL SORTS OF WATERS, FROM THE - OCEAN SEA, TO THE TEARES OF A WOMAN. - AS ALSO, - THE CAUSES OF ALL SORTES OF WEATHER, FAIRE OR FOULE, SLEET, - RAINE, HAILE, FROST, SNOWE, FOGGES, MISTS, VAPOURS, CLOUDS, - STORMES, WINDES, THUNDER AND LIGHTNING - COMPILED FIRST IN THE HIGH DUTCH TONGUE BY THE PAINEFULL AND - INDUSTRIOUS “HULDRICKE VAN SPEAGLE, A GRAMMATICALL BREWER - OF LUBECK, AND NOW MOST LEARNEDLY ENLARGED, AMPLIFIED, - AND TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH PROSE AND VERSE - By JOHN TAYLOR. - LONDON - PRINTED BY ANNE GRIFFIN 1637. - -{42} - -After speaking of cider, perry, &c., the author goes on to speak of -ale, which “hath been and now is used by the English, as well since the -Conquest as in the times of the Brittains, Saxons, and Danes (for the -former-recited drinks are to this day confined to the Principality) -so as we enjoy them onely by a Statute called the courtesie of Wales. -And to perfect any discourse in this I shall onely induce them into -two heads, viz., the unparalleled liquor called Ale with his abstract -Beere; whose antiquity amongst a sort of Northerne pated fellowes, is, -if not altogether contemptible, of very little esteeme; this humour -served the scurrilous pen of a shamelesse writer[16] in the raigne of -King Henry the third; detractingly to inveigh against this unequal’d -liquor. Thus - - ‘For muddy, foggy, fulsome, puddle, stinking, - For all of these, Ale is the onely drinking.’ - - [16] Henry D’Avranches. - -“Of all the Authors that I have ever yet read, this is the only -one that hath attempted to brand the glorious splendour of that -_Ale-beloved_ decoction; but observe this fellow, by the perpetuall -use of water (which was his accustomed drinke) he fell into such -convulsions and lethargick diseases, that he remained in opinion -a dead man; however, the knowing Physicians of that time, by the -frequent and inward application of _Ale_, not onely recouvered him to -his pristine state of health, but also enabled him in body and braine -for the future, that he became famous in his writings, which for the -most part were afterwards spent with most _Aleoquent_ and _Alaborate_ -commendation of that admired and most superexcellent Imbrewage.” - -“Some there are,” he says, “that affirme that Ale was first invened -by _Alexander the Great_, and that in his conquests this liquor did -infuse such vigour and valour into his souldiers. Others say that -famous Physician of Piemont (named _Don Alexis_) was the founder of it. -But it is knowne that it was of that singular use in the time of the -_Saxons_ that none were allowed to brewe it but such whose places and -qualities were most _Eminent_, insomuch that we finde that one of them -had the credit to give the name of a _Saxon_ Prince, who in honour of -that rare quality, he called _Alle_. Some _ale_adge that it being our -drinke when our land was called _Albion_, that it had the name of the -countrey; _Twiscus_ in his _Euphorbinum_ will have it from _Albanta_ or -_Epirus_, _Wolfgang Plashendorph_ of _Gustenburg_, saies that _Alecto_ -(one of the three furies) gave the receipt of it to _Albumazar_, a -Magician, and he (having _Aliance_ {43} with _Aladine_, the Soldan at -_Aleppo_) first brew’d it there, whereto may be _Aleuded_, the story -how _Alphonsus_ of _Scicily_, sent it from thence to the battell of -_Alcazar_. My Authour is of Anaxagoras’ opinion, that _Ale_ is to -be held in high price for the nutritive substance that it is indued -withall, and how precious a nurse it is in generall to Mankinde. - -“It is true that the overmuch taking of it doth so much exhilerate the -spirits, that a man is not improperly said to be in the _Aletitude_ -(observe the word, I pray you, and all the words before or after for -you shall find their first syllable to be _Ale_), and some writers are -of opinion that the Turkish _Alcoran_ was invented by Mahomet, out -of such furious raptures as _Ale_ inspired him withall; some affirme -Bacchus (_Al’as Liber Pater_) was the first Brewer of it, among the -_Indians_, who being a stranger to them they nam’d it _Ale_, as brought -by an _Alien_: in a word, _Somnus altus_ signifies dead sleepe: _Quies -alta_, Great rest; _Altus_ and _Alta_, noble and excellent: It is (for -the most part) extracted out of the spirit of a Graine called Barley, -which was of that estimation amongest the ancient _Galles_ that their -Prophets (whom they called _Bards_) used it in their most important -prophesies and ceremonies: This Graine, after it had beene watered and -dryed, was at first ground in a Mill in the island of _Malta_, from -whence it is supposed to gaine the name of Malt; but I take it more -proper from the word _Malleolus_, which signifies a Hammer or Maule, -for _Hanniball_ (that great _Carthaginian_ Captaine) in his sixteene -yeeres warres against the Romans, was called the _Maule_ of _Italie_, -for it is conjectured that he victoriously Mauld them by reason that -his army was daily refreshed with the Spiritefull Elixar of _Mault_. - -“It holds very significant to compare a man in the _Aletitude_ to be -in a planetarie height, for in a Planet, the Altitude is his motion -in which he is carried from the lowest place of Heaven or from the -Center of the Earth, into the most highest place, or unto the top of -his circle, and then it is said to be in _Apogee_, that is the most -_Transcendant_ part of all, so the Sublunarie of a Stupified Spirit, -being elevated by the efficacious vigour of this uncontrolleable -vertue, renders him most capable for high actions.” - -After much more in the same vein, sufficient to astonish the most -reckless of modern punsters, our author winds up his account of the -antiquity of ale as follows:— - -“I will therefore _shut up_ with that admirable conclusion insisted -upon in our time by a discreet Gentleman in a Solemne Assembly, who -by a Politick observation, very aptly compares _Ale_ and Cakes with -Wine and {44} Waters, neither doth he hold it fit that it should stand -in competition with the meanest wines, but with that most excellent -composition which the Prince of Physicians _Hippocrases_ had so -ingeniously compounded for the preservation of Mankinde, and which (to -this day) speakes the Author by the name of _Hippocras_. So that you -see for Antiquity—_Ale_ was famous amongst the _Troians_, _Brittaines_, -_Romans_, _Saxons_, _Normans_, _Englishmen_, _Welch_, besides in -_Scotland_, from the highest and Noblest Palace to the poorest and -meanest Cottage.” - -Other curious details with respect to the use of ale in the Middle Ages -and in modern times will be found in their appropriate places, and -having established clearly enough the highly respectable antiquity of -the Prince of liquors, old or new, it is time, in the elegant language -of the Water Poet, to “shut up” this portion of the subject; and so -we pass on, concluding here with an extract from the _Philosopher’s -Banquet_, on the pre-eminence of ale:— - - Ale for antiquity may plead and stand - Before the conquest, conquering in this land; - Beere, that is younger brother of her age, - Was not then borne, nor right to bee her page; - In every pedling village, borough, town, - Ale plaid at football, and tript all lads down; - And tho’ shee’s rivall’d now by beere, her mate, - Most doctors aiwt on herthis shewes her state. - -[Illustration] - -{45} - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER III. - - - Heap high the fire, and, O ye Lares, smile; - And, Innocence, with plenty hither bring - Hilarity; while Friendship brims the cup - With home-brewed Ale, and every welcom’d guest - Forgets the storm . . . - _Booker’s Sequel Poem to the Hop Garden._ - - I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year, - With your pockets full of money, and your cellar full of beer. - _Old Carol._ - -_HOME-BREWED ALES. — OLD RECEIPTS. — HISTORICAL FACTS. — DEAN SWIFT ON -HOME-BREW. — CHRISTOPHER NORTH’S BREW-HOUSE._ - -Hogarth’s _Farmer’s Return_ represents the worthy man just come in from -his morning round or from distant market town. As he rests awhile in -the farmhouse kitchen he draws sweet solace from the pipe brought him -by his daughter, while he eyes with keen expectance the jug of foaming -home-brew which his buxom wife, in her hurry to serve her lord, is -spilling on the tiled floor. These two old friends, firm supporters -of each other, the farmers and home-brewed ale, have almost parted -company. Home-brew, indeed, has become, in some places, an extinct and -almost forgotten beverage. It is a curious fact, however, that between -the years 1884 and 1886 there was a slight increase in the number of -persons brewing their own ale. {46} - -[Illustration: THE FARMERS RETURN.] - -The late Mr. Wm. Cobbett, writing in 1821 on the subject of brewing, -says, “To show Englishmen, forty years ago, that it was good for them -to brew beer in their houses, would have been as impertinent as gravely -to insist that they ought to endeavour not to lose their breath; for in -those times, to have a _house_ and not to brew was a rare thing indeed. -Mr. Ellman, an old man and a large farmer in Sussex, has recently -given, in evidence before a Committee of the House of Commons, this -fact: that forty years ago there was not a labourer in his parish that -did not brew his own beer; and that now there is not one that does it, -except by chance the malt be given him.” - -The decadence of the art of domestic brewing is, for some reasons, -a matter for regret. The causes are not far to seek. The improved -machinery of the modern brewer, which enables him to make an uniformly -excellent beer, and to sell it at a low price; and the railways which -now traverse every part of the country, carrying his single, double, -or treble X, as the case may be, to places where half a century back -no one dreamt of purchasing ale for home consumption—to these great -changes is undoubtedly due the partial downfall of home-brew that has -taken {47} place. Not only has the practice of domestic brewing much -declined, but from the same causes there has been of late years an -extraordinary and lamentable decrease in the numbers of small country -brewers. - -Although the name of home-brew carries with it many old associations -and sentiments which we abandon with regret—memories of bright March -beer and mellow old October, of snug ingle-nooks and raftered ceilings, -and of kind, if homely, welcome—we cannot but admit, as on a hot day -we drain our tankard of Burton bitter, or of world-famed London stout, -that life has still its compensations. - -“To make barley-water was an invention which found out itself with -little more than the joyning the ingredients together,” said old -Fuller, in his _Worthies of England_; “but to make mault for drinke, -was a master-piece indeed.” This old writer would seem to give the -maltster more credit than the brewer. In his day, however, the -distinction between the two was slight, for nearly every country -gentleman or farmer was both his own brewer and his own maltster. - -In 1610, the justices of Rutland, in settling the rate of domestic -servants’ wages, adjudged that a chief woman, who could bake and brew -_and make malt_, should have the sum of 24_s_. 8_d_. by the year; while -a second best, who could brew but not malt, was to have 23_s_. 4_d_. - -The earliest connected account of domestic malting and brewing which -we have been able to find, occurs in a poetical work of the thirteenth -century, called the _Treatise of Walter de Biblesworth_. The treatise -deals with most matters of domestic concern and every-day life, and -the passage in which the malting of barley and the brewing of ale are -described, is so curious that it is given below in full length from the -text to be found in _National Antiquities_, vol. i. (priv. pub. Th. -Wright, Ed.). - - “Seyoms ore entour cerveyse, - Pur fere gens ben à eyse. - Alumet, amy, cele lefrenole,[17] {48} - E kaunt averas manges de brakole, - En une cuwe[18] large e leez, - Cel orge là enfoundrez; - E kaunt sera enfoundré, - E le ewe seyt escouloé, - Mountez cel haut soler, - Si le festes nette baler,[19] - E là cochet votre blée, - Taunke seyt ben germée, - De cele houre appelleras, - Brès, ke blée avant nomas. - Le brès de vostre mayn muez - En mounceus ou en rengeés;[20] - Pus le portez en un corbel, - Pur ensechier au toral.[21] - Le corbel e le corbiloun - Vous serviront au fusoyn. - Kaunt vostre brez est molu, - E de ewe chaude ben enbeu, - Des bertiz[22] ver cervoyse - Par art contrové teise. - Ky fet miracles e merveyles, - De une chaundelie deus chandelis, - De homme lay fet bon clerc, - A homme desconu doune merk, - Homme fort fet chatoner, {49} - E homme à roye haut juper,[23] - Taunt de vertu de la grees - De servoyse fet de brès, - Ke la coyfe[24] de un bricoun - Teyndre seet sanz vermilloun. - Ceste matyre cy repose, - Parlom ore de autre chose.” - - [17] Some old Englishman has written in the MS. over difficult - words his interpretation of them; an interpretation frequently of - great assistance, but occasionally in itself not a little puzzling. - This word _lefrenole_, however, he much elucidates by annotating it - “kex;” in Gloucestershire and in other parts of the country the word - is still used to signify the hemlock, and may be found in many old - writers. Lygones, in _A King and No King_, refers to his legs as - “withered kexes.” The word was probably occasionally used to denote - a candle, and this is the meaning assigned to it here. Langland, in - the _Vision of Piers Ploughman_, says that glowing embers do not - serve the workman’s purpose so well, - - “As dooth a kex or a candle - That caught hath fire and blazeth.” - - Allusion is also made to the use of stalks of hemlock as candles in - _Turn. of Tottenham_, 201. - - [18] Our annotator says “a mikel fat.” The word “kive” is found in - later English for the same utensil. - - [19] Suepet klene. - - [20] “On hepe other on rowe” is the quaint gloss. - - [21] _Toral_ is noted “kulne.” - - [22] _Bertiz_ is probably a form of _bertzissa_, which seems to be a - barbarous rendering of _wort_. - - [23] _Juper_ is annotated _houten_, _i.e._, to hoot or shout. - - [24] The word _coyfe_ here seems to signify not _cap_, but _head_ or - _face_; another such use of the word is to be found in the _Chron. - de Nangis_ (1377), and is mentioned in Sainte-Palaye’s _Hist. Dict. - of the French Language_. - -It is believed that no translation of this curious old poem has been -published, and a rendering is accordingly added in which literal -accuracy rather than poetical elegance has been aimed at. - - Ale shall now engage my pen, - To set at rest the hearts of men. - First, my friend, your candle light,[25] - Next of spiced cake take a bite; - Then steep your barley in a vat, - Large and broad, take care of that; - When you shall have steeped your grain, - And the water let out-drain, - Take it to an upper floor, - If you’ve swept it clean before, - There couch,[26] and let your barley dwell, - Till it germinates full well. - Malt now you shall call the grain, - Corn it ne’er shall be again. - Stir the malt then with your hand, - In heaps or rows now let it stand; - On a tray then you shall take it, - To a kiln to dry and bake it. - The tray and eke a basket light - Will serve to spread the malt aright. {50} - When your malt is ground in mill, - And of hot water has drank its fill, - And skill has changed the wort to ale, - Then to see you shall not fail - Miracles and marvels; Lo! - Two candles out of one do grow; - Ale makes a layman a good clerk, - To one unknown it gives a mark, - Ale makes the strong go on all fours, - And fill the streets with shouts and roars. - The good ale from the malt at length, - So draws the barley’s pride and strength, - That a royster’s figure-head - Needs no dye to make it red. - Here, then, let the matter rest, - To talk of other things were best. - - [25] _i.e._, you must rise betimes. - - [26] The word “couch” has still a technical meaning in malting. - -As everybody knows, the monks of old were famous for their home-brewed -ales, and the brewer and cellarer, whether in mitred abbey or in the -less distinguished religious houses, were officials of considerable -importance. The office of cellarer was one held in especial -estimation. An old glossary describes his position in the monastery as -follows:—“_Pater debet esse totius congregationis_,” and in the priory -of St. Swithin at Winchester special prayers were offered up for this -functionary. Such a person is depicted on this page. The monk whose -anxious eye proclaims the sad fact that in tasting the liquor entrusted -to his charge he is exceeding his duty, is a cellarer who evidently -makes the most of his opportunities. The drawing is taken from a -manuscript in the Arundel collection. - -[Illustration: “Is it in condition?”] - -{51} - -[Illustration: Mediæval Cellarer.] - -Some curious entries relating to home-brew are to be found in the -registry of the priory of Worcester, A.D. 1240. At each brewing “_VIII. -cronn: de greu_ and x _quarteria de meis_” were used; which probably -signifies eight cronns or four quarters of growte (here meaning ground -malt), and ten quarters of mixed barley and oat malt. A long list then -follows of the allowances of beer amongst the different officials of -the house. The beer was of three different kinds, _prima_ or _melior_, -_secunda_, and _tertia_. The cellarer is to have one measure of prime -and one of second. In the brewhouse four measures of the prime are to -be distributed, and two measures on the day on which the ale is to -be moved. The servant of the church is to have the holy-water bucket -full of “mixta,” _i.e._, part prime and part second, or, it may be, -a mixture of all three sorts. This “mixta” seems to have been an -anticipation of the “half-and-half” and “three threads” of more modern -times. Each of those who help to carry the ale are to have two measures -of the first and second mixed, and so the list proceeds through all -the officers and servants of the priory. Ale, indeed, seems to have -been their chief drink, and even the invalid (_potionandus_) about to -undergo a course of physicking was allowed his measure of ale. Our -doubts as to the wisdom of this dieting hardly require the confirmation -they receive from the further direction that he was to have pork, fowl -with stuffing, cheese, and eggs. - -Sometimes the records tell sad tales of the poor monks being robbed of -their beer by reason of the malt failing. - -This misfortune is recorded in the annals of Dunstable as having -happened in 1262. The annalist ruefully mentions that “in this year, -about the Feast of John the Baptist, our ale failed.” Very soon after -this, however, they made provision for the deficiency by purchasing -from H. Chadde £20 worth of malt; the quantity is not mentioned, but -at the rates of the day it would no doubt considerably exceed 100 -quarters, so that for some time the monks could have known no want. In -1274 the same disaster occurred:—“At the Feast of Pentecost our malt -failed.” This time the holy fathers were equal to the occasion. “We -drank,” so run the annals, “five casks of wine, and it did us much -good.” {52} - -The crimes and misdeeds of Roger Noreys, the wicked abbot of Evesham -at the end of the twelfth century, seem to have culminated when he not -only called the monks “puppies, vassals, and ribalds,” but, adding -injury to insult, compelled them to live for many days on hard bread -and “ale little differing from water.” This was too much, and the monks -petitioned the archbishop against such ill-treatment. The abbot, it may -be remarked, appears from the records of the House to have taken very -good care of himself, though he treated the monks so ill, and it might -have been said of him as it was of another ecclesiastic whose name, -unfortunately, has not accompanied the verse:— - - Bonum vinum cum sapore - Bibit abbas cum priore - Sed conventus de pejore - Semper solet bibere. - -John of Brokehampton, who became abbot of Evesham in 1282, had himself -filled the office of cellarer, and amongst many other benefits -conferred by him upon the House during his abbacy, he built a bakehouse -and a brewhouse “not only strongly but sumptuously.” - -On certain special days set apart for “_doing the great O_,”[27] which -was a facetious way of saying that they were holidays when nothing was -done, a more liberal allowance of ale was made, and on the occasion -of the election of a Canon for St. Paul’s, foreign wine and other -delicacies were added to the feast. - - [27] “Facere O” in some places had reference to the introit - beginning “O Sapientia.” - -Some slight idea of a monastic feast in the thirteenth century may be -gathered from the accompanying illustration. The presence of women is -significant, and the quaint spit, and the round-bottomed glass which -one of the monks holds in his hand and which cannot be set down until -empty, are noteworthy. - -What a gentleman’s cellar ought to contain is thus described by -Alexander Neckam, a twelfth-century writer:—“In promptuario sive -in celario,” he writes, “sunt cadi, utres,[28] dolea, ciphi,[29] -cophini, . . . vina, scicera, cerevicia, sive celia, mustum, claretum, -nectar,[30] medo {53} sive ydromellum,[31] piretum, vinum rosetum, -vinum feretum, vinum falernum, vinum girofilatum.” Some old scribe -has noted this work in the same way as the annotator of the _Treatise -of Walter de Biblesworth_, and taking up the hints he has given, the -passage may be translated:—“In the cellar are barrels, leather bottles -or wine skins, tuns, beakers, baskets, . . . wines, cyder, ale, new -wine, claret, piment, meed or ydromellum, perry, Mount Rose wine, -Falernian, garihofilac, &c. . . .” Not a bad assortment of liquors -for an Early Englishman! Our cut, taken from the Roxburghe ballads, -represents a well-stocked cellar of the olden times. - - [28] Utres is noted ‘coutreus.’ - - [29] Ciphi = anaps, cophini = anapers. On this word anaps, or - hanaps, see page 395. - - [30] Nectar or Piment was a luscious kind of drink compounded of - wine, honey and spices; it was called after the pigmentarii, or - apothecaries who prepared it, and was in fact a liqueur. - - [31] Ydromellum is explained in the _Ortus_ as _potus ex aqua et - melle_, _Anglice mede or growte_ (Growte = wort in an early stage - of the brewing). In _Alfric’s Colloquy_, however, it is said to be - _beor_, or _mulsum_. The true explanation of this discrepancy seems - to be that ydromellum, while properly signifying an inferior sort of - mead, was also used by analogy to denote the sweet liquor _wort_. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - -{54} - -The requisites of a brewhouse of the fourteenth or fifteenth century -are described in a Latin-English Vocabulary of the period:— - - Brasiatrix, a brewster (a female brewer). - Cima, a kymnelle (a mash tub). Fornax, a furnasse. - Alveum, a trogh. Brasium, malte. Barzissa, wortte. - Dragium, draf (grains). Calderium, a caldron. - Taratantarum, a temse (sieve). Cuvella, a kunlion (small tub). - Ydromellum, growte. Mola, a quern (handmill). - Pruera, ling (a broom made of ling). - -That graphic old writer, Harrison, in his Preface to _Hollinshed’s -Chronicles_, 1587, gives a capital description of home-brewing as it -was carried on at the end of the sixteenth century; and “once in a -moneth practised by my wife,” as he informs us. - -It may be remarked incidentally, that brewing seems to have usually -fallen to the share of the housewife, whose duties in this respect are -indicated in the old Durham rhyme:— - - I’ll no more be a nun, nun, nun, - I’ll be no more a nun! - But I’ll be a wife, - And lead a merry life, - And brew good ale by the tun, tun, tun. - -To return to old Harrison and his home-brew. “Nevertheless,” he says, -“sith I have taken occasion to speake of bruing, I will exemplifie in -such a proportion as I am best skilled in, bicause it is the usuall -rate for mine owne familie, and once in a moneth practised by my wife -and hir maid servants, who proceed withall after this maner, as she -hath oft informed me. Having therefore groond eight bushels of good -malt upon our querne, where the toll is saved, she addeth unto it half -a bushel of wheat meale, and so much of otes small groond, and so -tempereth or mixeth them with the malt, that you cannot easily discerne -the one from the other, otherwise these later would clunter, fall into -lumps, and thereby become unprofitable. The first liquor which is full -{55} eightie gallons according to the proportion of our furnace, she -maketh boiling hot, and then powreth it softlie into the malt, where -it resteth (but without stirring) untill hir second liquor be almost -ready to boile. This doone she letteth hir mash run till the malt -be left without liquor, or at the leastwise the greater part of the -moisture, which she perceiveth by the staie and softe issue thereof, -and by this time hir second liquor in the furnace is ready to seeth, -which is put also to the malt as the first woort also againe into the -furnace, whereunto she addeth two pounds of the best English hops, and -so letteth them seeth together by the space of two hours in summer, or -an houre and a halfe in winter, whereby it getteth an excellent colour -and continuance without impeachment, or anie superfluous tartnesse. But -before she putteth her first woort into the furnace, or mingleth it -with the hops, she taketh out a vessel full, of eight or nine gallons, -which she shutteth up close, and suffereth no aire to come into it -till it become yellow, and this she reserveth by it selfe unto further -use, as shall appeare hereafter, calling it Brackwoort or Charwoort, -and as she saith it addeth also to the colour of the drinke, whereby -it yeeldeth not unto amber or fine gold in hew unto the eie. By this -time also hir second woort is let runne, and the first being taken out -of the furnace and placed to coole, she returneth the middle woort -into the furnace, where it is striken over, or from whence it is taken -againe. - -“When she hath mashed also the last liquor (and let the second to -coole by the first) she letteth it runne and then seetheth it againe -with a pound and an half of new hops or peradventure two pounds as she -seeth cause by the goodness or basenesse of the hops; and when it hath -sodden in summer two hours, and in winter an houre and an halfe, she -striketh it also and reserveth it unto mixture with the rest when time -dooth serve therefore. Finallie when she setteth hir drinke together, -she addeth to hir brackwoort or charwoort halfe an ounce of arras and -halfe a quarterne of an ounce of baiberries finelie powdered, and then -putteth the same into hir woort with an handful of wheate floure, -she proceedeth in such usuall order as common bruing requireth. Some -in steed of arras and baies add so much long peper onely, but in hir -opinion and my lyking it is not so good as the first, and hereof we -make three hoggesheads of good beere, such (I meane) as is meet for -poore men as I am to live withall whose small maintenance (for what -great thing is fortie pounds a yeare computatis computandis able to -performe) may indure no deeper cut, the charges whereof groweth in this -manner. I value my malt at ten shillings, my wood at foure shillings -which I buie, {56} my hops at twenty pence, the spice at two pence, -servants wages two shillings sixpence, both meat and drinke, and the -wearing of my vessell at twentie pence, so that for my twenty shillings -I have ten score gallons of beer or more, nothwithstanding the loss -in seething. . . . The continuance of the drinke is alwaye determined -after the quantitie of the hops, so that being well hopped it lasteth -longer. For it feedeth upon the hop and holdeth out so long as the -force of the same endureth which being extinguished the drinke must be -spent or else it dieth and becometh of no value.” - -A brewhouse was in the sixteenth century an essential for a gentleman’s -house. Boorde, in his directions for building a country house, mentions -this:—“And also” he says, “the backe-house and brew-house shall be a -dystance from the place and from other buyldyng.” - -Strutt gives an inventory of the contents of a private brewhouse of -the sixteenth century. “_Im primis_ a meshe fatt—_Item_, a great ledde -(leaden vessel)—_Item_, a brasse panne set in the walle (the copper for -boiling the wort)—_Item_, 6 wort leeds, callyd coolars—_Item_, a greate -c’linge fatt with 2 other fattes, and other tubs and kimnelles.” - -The poetic soul of Thomas Tusser, which has condescended to celebrate -in quaint and homely verse most subjects of domestic interest or -savouring of country life, has left us a short effusion on home-brew, -which, though not perhaps so complete as a novice in the art of -brewing might desire for his instruction, yet contains some pithy and, -doubtless, useful rules. The verses are to be found in the _Pointes of -Good Huswiferie_, and run thus:— - - Brew somewhat for thine, - Else bring up no swine. - Where brewing is needful, be brewer thyself, - what filleth the roofe will helpe furnish the shelfe;[32] - In buying of drinke by the firkin or pot - the tallie ariseth, but hog amendes not.[33] - Well brewed, worth cost, - Ill used, halfe lost. - One bushell well brewed, outlasteth some twaine, - and saveth both mault, and expenses in vaine, - Too new is no profite, too stale is as bad, - drinke deade, or else sower, makes laborer sad. {57} - Remember, good Gill, - Take paine with thy swill. - Seeth grains in more water, while graines be yet hot, - and stirre them in copper as poredge in pot, - Such heating with straw, to make offall good store,[34] - both pleseth and easeth, what would you have more? - - [32] _i.e._, we presume, brewing which fills the roof with steam is - good economy. - - [33] The score at the ale-house mounts up, but your pig is none the - better for it. The allusion is to feeding pigs on the spent grains. - - [34] The grains are to be used again to make “offall,” or small beer. - -Pain was not always taken by Gill with her swill, as may be seen by -the sad account of the _Distracted Maid, an Ancient Garland_, in which -the evil results of a pre-occupied mind are shown. One verse of this -effusion will doubtless be deemed sufficient:— - - To tell you as I am true, - When ever I bake or brew, - The thoughts of Will come uppermost still, - I hardly know what to do; - Instead of malt I put in salt, - And boils my copper dry; - The perjured Act, and wicket Fact, - My brains are rack’d and I am crack’d, - There’s no body knows but I, - There’s no body knows but I. - -It is interesting to compare the cost of brewing in the sixteenth -century with that at the present day. Harrison’s brewing, as he has -shown us, cost him a fraction over a penny the gallon. The following -account of a brewing in the household of the Duke of Northumberland, in -the eighth year of the reign of Henry VIII., brings out somewhat the -same result, though the “painful scribe” seems to have got a little -confused in his arithmetic towards the end of his account; however, -a good deal must be excused to those who have to work sums in Roman -numerals. - -“A Brewyng at Wresill and carryede to Topclif. Fyrste paide for vj -quarters malt at Wresill after vs. the quarter—xxxs. Item, paide for vj -lb Hopps for the saide Brewyng after j d. ob. the lb—jxd. Item, {58} -paide for v score Faggotts for the saide Brewyng after v faggots j -d—xxd. Item, paide for the Cariage of the saide Brewyng from Wresill -to Borrowbrigg by watir—viz xij Hoggeshedes whiche makith iij Tonns -after iiijs. vd. the Tonne and a penny more at all—xiijs. iiijd. Item -paide for the Hire of iij Wanys for carrying of the said iij Tonne from -Barrow-brigg to Topclyf after viijd for the Hire of every Wayne—ijs. - - “Summa xlvijs. ixd. - -“Whereof is made xij Hoggeshedes of Beyr. Every Hoggeshede contenyng -xlviij gallons whiche is in all cccciiij xvj gallons after a Penny the -Gallon and iijd. les at all which is derer by qu in every gallon save -iijs iiijd. les at all—xlvijs ixd.” - -Not so many years later the prices of ale and beer seem to have risen -unaccountably, for in the charges for the diet of Mary Queen of Scots -at Tutbury, Chartley, and Fotheringaye the item is to be found “for ale -bought at dyerse pryces 1148 gallons at 9d. the gallon, £43 13s. -9d.” - -“Three hundred and fifty-three tons 2 hogs of beare” were also bought -at an average price of 39s. 11d. the ton, £706 13s. 5d. Burton ale -may even at that time have commanded a higher price than ordinary ale, -and the cost of transit would, no doubt, be heavy. In addition to the -ale bought at “dyerse pryces,” some must have been brewed at home; for -in further accounts are the following items:—“Hopps 1s., a brewinge -fatte with the charges for settyng it up £4 5s. 8d. A new pompe for -the brewhouse 28s. 8d.” - -Although brewing, as we have seen, was carried on during every month -in the year for the commoner household uses, March and October were -the favourite months for making strong ale, “the authenticall drinke -of England, the whole barmy tribe of ale-cunners never layd their lips -to the like.” The summer months were especially eschewed by those who -wished to keep their liquor, and hence the old saying:— - - “Bow-wow, dandy-fly, - Brew no beer in July.” - -“Oh! but my grandmother,” says Gluttony, in the _Tragical History of -Doctor Faustus_, “she was a jolly gentlewoman, and well beloved in -every good town and city; her name was Mistress Margery March Beer.” - -“_Ale_ and _beere_,” says Harrison, “beare the greatest brunt in -{59} drincking, which are of so many sortes and ages as it pleases -the brewar to make them. The beer that is used at noblemen’s tables, -is commonly of a yeare olde, (or peradventure of twoo yeres tunning -or more, but this is not general) it is also brued in Marche, and is -therefore called Marche bere, but for the household it is usually not -under a monethes age, eache one coveting to have the same as stale as -he might, so that it was not soure.” - -And a serious “brunt” it was if the following obituary notice, which -appeared in the _Gentleman’s Magazine_ in 1810, may be taken as a -sample of our fathers’ devotion to home-brew:— - -“At the Ewes farm-house, Yorkshire, aged 76, Mr. Paul Parnell, farmer, -grazier, and maltster, who, during his lifetime, drank out of one -silver pint cup upwards of £2,000 sterling worth of Yorkshire Stingo, -being remarkably attached to Stingo tipple of the home-brewed best -quality. The calculation is taken at 2d. per cupful. He was the -bon-vivant whom O’Keefe celebrated in more than one of his Bacchanalian -songs under the appellation of Toby Philpott.” - -The Journal of Timothy Burrell, Esquire, of Ockenden House, Cuckfield, -Sussex, proves him to have been a true devotee of the rites of -Ceres. With what particularity he mentions his purchases of malt and -hops—“May 3, 1683. Quarter of malt, £1. . . . 23 July. For 28lbs. -of hops I gave 7s. . . . October. I paid Jo. Warden for 30 bushels -of malt, just 4 months, £4 3s.” Then with what care he notes the -day on which he brewed, as thus—“3 May, 1702, _Pandoxavi_” and with -what satisfaction the day on which he tapped the barrel,—“12 June -_Relinivi_”—illustrating his manuscript as he goes along with quaint -sketches of barrels, quart pots, pockets of hops and such-like. John -Coachman, who seems to have been worthy Timothy’s servant for many -years, frequently comes in for a remark by reason of his excessive -devotion to the barley bree:—“Oct. 8th, 1698. Payd John Coachman, in -full of his half year’s wages, to be spent in ale, £2 6s. 6d. I paid -him for his breeches (to be drunk,) in part of his wages, 6s.” “Paid -to John Coachman, in part of his wages, to be fooled away in syder or -lottery, 5s.” “March 26th, 1710, I paid the saddler for John Coachman -falling drunk off his box, when he was driving to Glynde, in part of -his wages, £1 7s. 6d.” Rest well, honest Timothy, thy quaint pen is -still, thy brewing days are over! - -In Dean Swift’s _Polite Conversations_ we have the following amusing -dialogue on the subject of home-brew:— - -_Lady Smart._ Pray, my lord, did you order the butler to bring {60} up -a tankard of our October to Sir John? I believe they stay to brew it. - - _The butler brings up the tankard to Sir John._ - -_Sir John Linger._ Won’t your ladyship please to drink first? - -_Lady S._ No, Sir John; ’tis in a very good hand; I’ll pledge you. - -_Col. Atwit_ (to Lord Smart). My lord, I love October as well as Sir -John; and I hope you won’t make fish of one and flesh of another. - -_Smart._ Colonel, you’re heartily welcome. Come, Sir John, take it by -word of mouth, and then give it to the Colonel. - - _Sir John drinks._ - -_Smart._ Well, Sir John, how do you like it? - -_Sir J._ Not as well as my own in Derbyshire; ’tis plaguy small. - -_Lady S._ I never taste malt liquor: but they say it is well hopp’d. - -_Sir J._ Hopp’d? why if it had hopp’d a little further it would have -hopp’d into the river. O, my lord, my ale is meat, drink, and cloth; it -will make a cat speak and a wise man dumb. - -_Lady S._ I was told ours was very strong. - -_Sir J._ Ay, madam, strong of the water; I believe the brewer forgot -the malt, or the river was too near him. Faith, it is mere whip-belly -vengeance; he that drinks most has the worst share. - -_Col._ I believe, Sir John, ale is as plenty as water at your house. - -_Sir J._ Why, faith, at Christmas we have many comers and goers; and -they must not be sent away without a cup of Christmas ale for fear they -should—— - -_Lady S._ I hear Sir John has the nicest garden in England; they say -’tis kept so clean that you can’t find a place where to spit. - -_Sir J._ O, madam; you are pleased to say so. - -_Lady S._ But, Sir John, your ale is terribly strong and heady in -Derbyshire, and will soon make one drunk or sick; what do you then? - -_Sir J._ Why, indeed, it is apt to fox one; but our way is to take a -hair of the same dog next morning. I take a new-laid egg for breakfast; -and faith one should drink as much after an egg as after an ox. - -Thompson, in his _Autumn_, makes reference to the strong October brew. - - Nor wanting is the brown October, drawn - Mature and perfect from his dark retreat - Of thirty years; and now his honest front - Flames in the light refulgent, not afraid - Even with the vineyard’s best produce to vie. - -{61} - -Seldom, it may be imagined, even in the sphere of domestic brewing, has -so small a “browst” been brewed as that described by Hone in his _Table -Book_ as having been made by Widow Wood, of Beckenham Alms House. She -brewed with her ordinary cooking utensils, and the fireplace of her -little room; a tin kettle served her for boiler, she mashed in a common -butter-firkin, ran off the liquor in a “crock,” and tunned it in a -small beer barrel. She thought that poor folk might do a great deal for -themselves if they only knew how; “but,” said she, “where there’s a -will there’s a way.” - -Among modern writers Christopher North has left perhaps the best -description of what a modern private brewhouse should be. “We dare -say,” he says, “that many personages who never in the whole course of -their polished existences dreamed or thought of dreaming of brewing -anything (except mischief), will shrug their shoulders at the idea of -being introduced like his Majesty George the Third, at Whitbread’s, -into an odorous brewhouse, redolent of wash, wort, grains, hops, yeast, -and carbonic acid gas; peeping into pumps—tumbling into vats. Silence, -good exquisite! and let us inform you—(but first take that cigar out -of your mouth, or you will infallibly burn the carpet)—let us inform -you that a _gentleman’s brewhouse_, like his greenhouse, his hothouse, -his dairy, or even his cellar, _is no such unpleasant place_. No place, -indeed, can be so that has anything of the rural about it. There is -our own brewhouse at Buchanan Lodge; it might pass for a summer-house. -We shall describe it to you. It stands, good reader (mark us well), -at the back of the house, just at the edge of the little ravine or -dell, and half hid by the laburnums. It is also separated from the -other offices by a lowish beech hedge. Around, below, and opposite are -growing the wild cherry, the tall chestnut, the sycamore, the fir, the -thorn, and the bramble, which clothe the sides of the deep glen. From -its chimneys, as soon as the soft March gales begin to blow, curls the -white smoke before the hour of dawn. The fire within burns brightly. -Everything is clean and ‘sweet as the newly-tedded hay.’ Precisely as -six o’clock strikes we march forth—ay, even we, Christopher North—with -our old fishing jacket and our apron on; our old velvet study-cap -close about our ears, and our thermometer in our hand. The primroses -are basking in the morning rays; the dewdrops are sparkling the last -upon the leaves; the unseen violets are breathing forth sweets; the -blackbird trills his mellow notes in the thicket; the wren twitters -in the hedge; and the redbreast hops round the door. We enter. All is -right. We try our heat. ‘Donald, a leetle more cold. That will do. -{62} In with the malt. Every grain, you hound.’ ‘Ech! Donald’s no the -man to pench the maut.’ ‘Now stir, for life;’ and the active stirrer -turns over and over the fragrant grain in the smoking liquid. All -is covered up close, and the important mash (twelve bushels to the -hogshead) is completed. - -“But of what sort of malt? ‘Another question for the swordsmen,’ for -of ‘malts’ there are as many flavours, almost, as of vintages. They -who think that if malt be but sweet, mealy, and well crushed—that is -all—know, begging their pardons, little of the matter. We have heard -brewers, who thought themselves no fools, assert that the hops alone -give the ale its flavour; and that the difference between pale and -high dried malt is only in colour. They might as well have argued -that the lemon gives all the flavour to punch! We, Christopher North, -aver, that upon the degree of dryness which has been given to the -malt, the distinguishing flavour of malt liquor mainly depends. The -bitter principle of the hop is only the ground or substratum upon -which the skilful brewer builds his peculiar flavour of beer. As more -or less of hops is put in, no doubt the saccharine principle of the -malt is subdued, or is suffered to predominate. But in malt there is, -besides the mere sugar which it contains in common with so many other -vegetables, a flavour peculiar to itself: and this is brought out and -modified by the application of more or less of the great chemical -agent, heat, to the malted barley. In short, fire makes malt more or -less savoury, much as it makes a brandered fowl, or a mutton steak, or -a toasted oaten cake, more or less savoury.” - -Countless receipts have been preserved for making, flavouring, and -keeping home-brew from the days of the Saxon Leechbooks down to the -present time. Some of the older ones were supposed to depend for their -efficacy on supernatural intervention. “If the ale be spoilt,” says an -old _Saxon Leechdom_, “take lupins, lay them on the four quarters of -the dwelling, and over the door, and under the threshold, and under the -ale-vat, put the wort (the herb) into the ale with holy water.” - -In a Scotch brewer’s instructions for Scotch ale, dated 1793, may be -found a mystical note: “I throw a little dry malt, which is left on -purpose, on the top of the mash, with a handful of salt, _to keep the -witches from it_, and then cover it up.” Perhaps the idea that witches -could spoil the ale by their evil charms gave rise to the phrase “water -bewitched,” signifying very weak beer or other liquor. - -The plant, ale-cost (ground ivy), was, during the sixteenth and -seventeenth centuries, used for “dispatching the maturation” of ale and -beer. {63} Gerard, in his _Herball_ (1579), mentions the same plant -under the name of ale-houve. “The women of our northern parts,” he -says, “do tun the herb ale-houve into their ale, but the reason thereof -I know not.” - -Our ancestors either must have had some means of very rapidly -“maturing” their ale, or they must have been content to drink it -unmatured; for it is recorded in the _Munimenta Academica Oxon._ that -a brewer of Oxford was, in 1444, compelled to solemnly swear before -the Chancellor that he would let his ale stand twelve hours to clear, -before he carried it to hall or college for sale; and in London it -was the custom to drink ale even newer, so much so, that on complaint -being made, in the fourteenth year of Queen Elizabeth, that the brewers -deliver ale and beer but two or three hours after it has been cleansed -and tunned, an ordinance was made that the brewers should not deliver -their liquors until eight hours after it had been tunned in the summer -months, and six hours in the winter. - -Ivory shavings have been recommended for rapidly maturing beer, -and it is related that a woman, who lived at Leighton Buzzard, in -Bedfordshire, and had the best ale in the town, once told a gentleman -she had drink just done working in the barrel, and that she would wager -it was fine enough to drink out of a glass even before it was bunged. -It was as she said, and the ivory shavings, that she boiled in the -wort, were the cause of it. - -Among the many receipts given in old works for “recovering” ale or -beer when it has turned sour, is one directing the housewife to put a -handful or two of ground malt into the beer, stir it well together, -which will make the beer work and become good again. In another receipt -the brewer is directed to put a handful of oatmeal into a barrel of -beer when first laid into the cellar, which will cause it to carry -with it a quick and lively taste. The root of flower-de-luce or iris -suspended in ale is said to be a specific against sourness. - -Another plan is to calcine oyster shells, beat them to powder with a -like quantity of chalk, put them in a thin bag into the liquor, hanging -it almost to the bottom, and in twenty-four hours the work will be -effected. It may be suggested that in these cases prevention is better -than cure—drink your beer while it is good, and do not give it an -opportunity of getting sour. An old receipt for preserving small beer -without the help of hops, is to mix a small quantity of treacle with -a handful of wheat and bean flour and a little ginger, to knead the -mixture to a due consistence, and put it into the barrel. “It has been -a common observation,” said an old writer, “that both beer and ale are -{64} apt to be foul, disturbed, and flat in bean season; the same is -observed of wines in the vintage countries. Thunder is also a spoiler -of good malt liquor, to prevent the effects of which, laying a solid -piece of iron on each cask has hitherto been esteemed an effectual -prevention of the above injuries.” In some places, too, an iron pad -fitting closely over the bunghole is used, and in others an iron tray -answers the same purpose. An old receipt book contains the following -remarkable directions for making forty sorts of ale out of one barrel -of liquor. - -“Have ale of good body, and when it has worked well bottle it off, but -fill not the bottles within three spoonfuls; then being ripe, as you -use it, fill it up with the syrup of any fruit, root, flower, or herb -you have by you for that purpose, or drop in chimical oyls or waters of -them, or of spices, and with a little shaking the whole mass will be -tinctured and taste pleasantly of what you put in; and so you may make -all sorts of physical ales with little trouble, and no incumbrance, -more healthful and proper than if herbs were soaked in it or drugs, -which in the pleasant entertainment will make your friends wonder how -you came by such variety on a sudden.” - -Thus much then, of home-brew; the subject is almost inexhaustible and -pleasant withal, but the laws of space are inexorable, and forbid -further tarrying. As Walter de Biblesworth quaintly remarks:— - - Ceste matyre cy repose, - Parlom ore de autre chose. - -[Illustration] - -{65} - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - - - Then long may here the ale-charged Tankards shine, - Long may the Hop plant triumph o’er the Vine. - _Brasenose College Shrovetide Poem._ - - The Hop for his profit I thus do exalt. - It strengtheneth drink, and it favoureth Malt; - And being well brewed, long kept it will last, - And drawing abide—if ye draw not too fast. - _Thomas Tusser._ - -_USE AND IMPORTANCE OF HOPS IN BEER: THEIR INTRODUCTION AND HISTORY. -— HOP-GROWERS’ TROUBLES. — MEDICINAL QUALITIES. — ECONOMICAL USES. — -HOP-PICKERS._ - -The hops used in beer-brewing are the female flowers of the hop -plant known to botanists as the _Humulus lupulus_ of Linnæus. At -first sight it may seem strange that hops and wolves should have -anything in common, but it has been explained that the word _lupulus_ -comes from the name by which the Romans called the hop plant—_Lupus -Salictarius_—the idea being that the hop was as destructive among the -willows (where it grew) as a wolf among sheep. Though hops are now -staple articles of a large commerce, and largely cultivated in England, -America, Belgium, France, and our colonies, some few hundred years ago -their valuable qualities were little known in this country. - -How, when, and where the flowers of the hop plant were first used to -give to beer its delicious flavour and keeping qualities, is not {66} -accurately known. Pliny, in his _Natural History_, states that the -Germans preserved ale with hops, and there is a Rabbinical tradition, -referring to still earlier times, to the effect that the Jews, during -their captivity in Babylon, found the use of hopped ale a protection -against their old enemy, leprosy. In a letter of donations, the great -King Pepin uses the word “Humuloria,” meaning hop gardens. Mesne, an -Arabian physician, who wrote about the year 845, also mentions hops; -and Basil Valentine, an alchemist of the 14th century, specifically -refers to the use of the hop in beer. Dr. Thudichum, in his pamphlet, -_Alcoholic Drinks_, tells us that in early days of beer production -wild hops only were used, as is the practice at the present day in -Styria, but that in some foreign countries the plant has been largely -cultivated for nearly a thousand years. It is a well-known fact that -in the eighth and ninth centuries, hop gardens, called Humuloria or -Humuleta, existed in France and Germany. - -That the hop was known to the English before the Conquest in some form -or other, is proved by the reference to the hymele, or hop plant, in -the Anglo-Saxon version of the _Herbarium_, of Apuleius. Although no -trace of the word hymele now remains in our every-day language, it is -found in Danish as “humle,” and is only the English form of the Latin -_humulus_. The _Herbarium_ just mentioned contains a remarkable passage -with reference to “hymele.” “This wort,” it says, “is to that degree -laudable that men mix it with their usual drinks.” The usual drinks -of the English were undoubtedly malt liquors, and this passage would -go far to show that even in Saxon times the hop was used in English -brewing. Cockayne, the learned editor of _Saxon Leechdoms_, is inclined -to this opinion, and he instances in confirmation of it that special -mention is made of the hedge-hymele, as though there existed at that -time a cultivated hop from which it had to be distinguished; he also -cites the name Hymel-tun, in Worcestershire (now Himbleton), which he -states is mentioned in Anglo-Saxon deeds, and which could hardly have -signified anything less than hop yard. The word _hopu_ (_i.e._, hops) -also occurs in Saxon documents. _Ewe-hymele_ is mentioned in _Saxon -Leechdoms_, and would probably signify the female hop. In the year 822 -there is a record that the millers of Corbay were freed by the abbot -from all labours relating to hops, and a few years later hops are -mentioned by Ludovicus Germanicus. - -The introduction of hops into England has been generally assigned -to the early part of the sixteenth century. The old but unreliable -distich, {67} - - Hops, Reformation, bays and beer - Came into England all in one year,[35] - -points to a period subsequent to 1520 as the time when the great -improvement of adding hops to malt liquors was first practised in this -country. This rhyme probably refers to the settling of certain Flemings -in Kent, to be mentioned anon, which no doubt gave a great impulse to -the use of hops; it cannot well refer to their first introduction, as -they were known in England for many years previously and were used in -beer-brewing nearly a century before the Reformation. - - [35] Two other versions are to be found: - - “Hops and turkeys, carp and beer - Came into England all in one year;” - - and - - “Turkeys, carps, hops, pickerel, and beer - Came into England all in one year.” - - The couplets also err as to pickerel, which are mentioned in - mediæval glossaries at a date long before the Reformation. - -In that curious old work the _Promptorium Parvulorum_ (1440), which is, -in fact, an old English-Latin dictionary, occur some passages which, -when taken in conjunction with the London Records of a slightly later -date, seem to show that the introduction of hops into English brewing -(excepting their possible use in Saxon times) should be assigned to a -period a little before the middle of the fifteenth century. - -The word “hoppe” is defined as “sede for beyre. Humulus secundum -extraneos.” “Bere” is defined as “a drynke. Humulina, vel humuli -potus, aut cervisia hummulina.” The inference to be drawn from these -passages is that hops and beer, in the sense of hopped ale, were -known in England some time previous to the year 1440. The compiler, -however, shows by his definition of “bere” as a “drynke,” that the -word required some explanation, for when he mentions “ale,” he simply -gives the Latin equivalent, “cervisia.” He certainly regarded beer -as an interloper, as shown by his note on ale, “Et nota bene quod -est _potus Anglorum_.” Four years after the date of the publication -of the Promptorium, William Lounde and Richard Veysey were appointed -inspectors or surveyors of the “bere-bruers” of the City of London, -as distinguished from the ale-brewers who were at this time a company -governed by a master and wardens. Ten years later an {68} ordinance -for the government of the beer-brewers was sanctioned by the Lord -Mayor. From this date the City Records contain frequent mention of the -beer-brewers as distinct from the ale-brewers. However, beer, “the son -of ale,” as an old writer calls it, did not rapidly attain popularity. -Ten years after the date last referred to, the beer-brewers petitioned -the Lord Mayor and “Worshipfull soveraignes the Aldermen” of the City -of London, in these terms:—“To the full honourable Lord the Maire, -etc. Shewen mekely unto youre good Lordshipp and maistershippes, the -goode folke of this famous citee the which usen Bere-bruyng within -the same, that where all mistiers and craftys of the sd citee have -rules and ordenances by youre grete auctoritees for the common wele -of this honourable citee made, and profite of the same craftys,” but -the petitioners have none such rules, and therefore the citizens -are liable to be imposed upon “in measure of barell, kilderkyns and -firkyns, _and in hoppes and other greynes_ the which to the said -mistiere apperteynen. . . . It is surmysed upon them that often tymes -they make their bere of unseasonable malt the which is of little prise -and unholsome for mannes body for their singular availe, forasmuch as -the comon peple _for lacke of experience cannot know the perfitnesse -of bere as wele as of the ale_,” the petitioners pray that certain -regulations of the trade may be established by authority. Passing -over another period of twenty years, during which the City Records -contain nothing to show whether hops and beer advanced or declined in -popularity, we find that in the first year of Richard III. a petition -was presented to Lord Mayor Billesdon, by the Brewers’ Company, showing -“that whereas by the sotill and crafty means of foreyns[36] dwelling -withoute the franchises . . . . . a deceivable and unholsome fete -in bruyng of ale within the said citee nowe of late is founde and -practised, that is to say, in occupying and puttyng of hoppes and other -things in the said ale, contrary to the good and holesome manner of -bruynge of ale of old tyme used, . . . to the great deceite and hurt -of the King’s liege people. . . . Pleas it therefore your saide good -lordshyppe to forbid the putting into ale of any hops, herbs, or any -other like thing, but onely licour, malte and yeste.” The petition is -granted and a penalty of 6s. 8d. is laid on every barrel of ale so -brewed contrary to the ancient use. This early use of the technical -{69} term “licour,” or liquor, instead of water is noteworthy. We -learn by a note in the Letter-book that the fine on putting hops into -ale was shortly afterwards reduced to 3s. 4d. the barrel, while any -other kind of adulteration is still to subject the offender to the -full fine of 6s. 8d. It will have been observed that it is not the -making of _beer_ which is forbidden, but the putting of hops into -_ale_, and selling the drink as ale. There is abundant evidence to -show that beer continued to be made and sold with the sanction of the -authorities, and that the beer-brewers, many of whom at this time were -Dutchmen, practised a separate craft from that of the ale-brewers. Two -years after the date of the last petition a regulation was made that -no beer-brewer is to be “affered” (fined) more than 6s. 8d., nor -an ale-brewer more than two shillings, for breaking the assize. The -oath of the ale-searchers contains the following passage:—“Ye shall -swear . . . to search and assay . . . that the ale be holsom, weell -soden and able for mannes body, and made with none other stuff but -only with holsom and clere ale-yest, watyr and malt, and such as you -find unholsom for mannes body or brewed with any other thing except -with watyr and malt, be it with rosen, _hoppes_, _bere-yest_, or any -other craft, . . .” you shall duly report for punishment. In the -same year it is recorded that the _beer-brewers_ were ordered to use -“gode clene, sweete, holsom greyne and _hoppes_,” and the rulers of -the _beer-brewers_ are to have powers of inspection of hops and other -grains. - - [36] A “foreyn” was one who was not a freeman of the City—no - reference to nationality. - -Prosecutions for the use of hops were frequent, but they were for -putting hops into _ale_, and not for brewing beer. In the twelfth -year of Henry VII., John Barowe was presented by the wardens of the -brewers because he brewed _ale_ with _beer-yeast_, “_quod est corpori -humano insalubre_.” Nine years later Robert Dodworth, brewer’s servant, -confessed that he had brewed “a burthen of _ale_ in the house of his -master in Fleet Street with hops, contrary to the laws and laudable -acts and customs of the city.” In the tenth year of Henry VIII., -William Shepherd, brewer’s servant to Philip Cooper, “occupying the -feat of bruing,” made a deposition that he had “once since Michaelmas -last brewed _ale_ with hops, but that his master knew not of it,” -but that he had heard that other servants had brewed with hops, “and -that was the cause why he brewed with hoppes, and more he would not -say.” Philip Cooper, however, was evidently suspected, for in the -same records we find that he was compelled to bring into the Court “a -standing cup with a cover of gylt with three red hearts in the bottom -of the cup to stand to the order of the Court touching the brewing -with hoppes.” On {70} payment of a fine of five shillings, his gage -is ordered to be returned to him. Many other passages could be quoted -from the City Records in support of the view that beer-brewing was -not forbidden, but only the adulteration, as it was considered, of -the old English ale with an admixture of hops. We have dwelt somewhat -fully upon this part of the subject, as there appears to be an almost -universal misconception as to the date of the introduction of hops -into England, and as to their use having been for some time altogether -prohibited by the law of the land. The only authority for this last -mentioned idea, seems to be the statement of Fuller, in his _Worthies -of England_, that hops were forbidden as the result of a petition -which was presented in the time of Henry VI. against “the wicked weed -called hops.” No statute to this effect is in existence, no record is -to be found in the rolls of Parliament of any such petition, and the -statement is in opposition to the evidence we have been able to collect -on the subject. - -About the year 1524 a large number of Flemish immigrants settled in -Kent, cultivated hops and brewed beer, and soon caused that county -to become famous for its hop gardens and the excellence of their -produce. To these strangers is perhaps due the chief credit of having -enlightened the British mind on the subject of bitter beer, and their -advent is probably the event pointed to in the old couplet already -quoted. - -Among the numerous officials appointed to enforce the regulations of -the City, were persons called hop-searchers, whose duty it was to -search for defective hops, which, when found were burnt. Wriothesley’s -Chronicle mentions that “on the 10th daie of September, 1551, was -burned in Finsburie Field XXXI sacke and pokettes of hopps in the -afternoune, being nought, and not holsome for man’s bodie, and -condemned by an Act made by my Lord Maior and his bretheren the -aldermen the 10th daie of September, at which court six comeners of the -Cittie of London were apoynted to be serchers for a hole yeare for the -said hopps; and they were sworne the fifth daie of this moneth and made -search ymediatlie for the same.” - -The popular taste is not a thing to be changed in a day, and at that -happy period of history when railways, penny posts, newspapers, stump -orators and other nineteenth-century methods of enlightenment were -unknown and undreamt of, it may well be understood that the knowledge -of this great improvement spread but slowly. Not only were the -English slow to appreciate what the Flemings had done for them, but -they believed that they were like to be poisoned by the new-fangled -drink which was not in their eyes to be compared to the sweet and -{71} thick, but honest and unsophisticated English ale. The writers -of the day are loud in their abuse of beer. In the passages from -Andrew Boorde’s _Dyetary_ (1542), quoted in Chapter I. (p. 6), ale is -described as being the natural drink of Englishmen, and made of malt -and water, while beer, which is composed of malt, hops, and water, is -the natural drink of a Dutchman, and of late is much used in England, -to the great detriment of many Englishmen. There is a truly insular -ring about this. We should like to enlighten old Andrew’s darkness by a -draught of sparkling Burton. Boorde undoubtedly expresses the popular -opinion of the period, for from Rastall’s _Book of Entries_ we learn -that an ale-man brought his action against his Brewer for spoiling his -ale, by putting in it a certain _weed_ called a _hopp_, and recovered -damages. Even Harry the Eighth, who of all our kings was the greatest -lover of good things—and a few bad ones—was blind to the merits of the -hop, and enjoined the Royal brewer of Eltham that he put neither hops -nor brimstone into the ale. Possibly sulphuring, of which a word or -two anon, was then in use; we cannot otherwise account for the mention -of brimstone. This was in 1530, only six years after the Flemings had -settled in Kent. - -Abused by medical writers as drink only fit for Dutchmen, objected -to by the king, and disliked by the majority of the people, the -song-writers of the day, of course, had a good deal to say against the -new drink. In the _High and Mightie Commendation of the Virtue of a Pot -of Good Ale_, it is hardly surprising to find the following lines:— - - And in very deed, the hops but a weed - Brought over ’gainst law, and here set to sale, - Would the law were removed, and no more Beer brewed, - But all good men betake them to a pot of good ale. - - * * * * * - - But to speak of killing, that am I not willing, - For that in a manner were but to rail, - But Beer hath its name ’cause it brings to the Bier, - Therefore well fare, say I, to a pot of good ale. - - Too many, I wis, with their deaths proved this, - And therefore (if ancient records do not fail) - He that first brewed the hop, was rewarded with a rope, - And found his Beer far more bitter than Ale. - -{72} - -The ale-wives and brewers, however, were wiser than their customers, -and, induced also by the fact that their hopped ale went not sour as of -yore, stuck to their colours—nailed to a hop pole no doubt—and slowly -but surely educated the taste of the people. It was, however, a long -process. - -Henry, in his _History of England_, vol. 6, referring to the Scottish -diet about the end of the sixteenth century, writes:— - -“_Ale_ and gascony wines were the principal liquors; but mead, cyder, -and perry were not uncommon. Hops were still scarce, and seldom -employed in _Ale_, which was brewed therefore in small quantities, to -be drunk while new. At the King’s table _Ale_ was prohibited as unfit -for use till _five days old_.” - -From a whimsical old book, entitled _Wine, Beer, Ale, and Tobacco, a -dialogue_, in which the two leading malt liquors of the day (1630) -converse, and give their own views on the subject, it appears that even -as late as the seventeenth century beer was little known in country -districts, though popular in London. - -Beer is introduced making a pun on his own name; he says to Wine, -“Beere leave, sir.” The chief points in Ale’s argument, which -is better than that of any of the others, are contained in the -following passage:—“You, Wine and Beer, are fain to take up a corner -anywhere—your ambition goes no farther than a cellar; the whole house -where I am goes by my name, and is called Ale-house. Who ever heard -of a Wine-house, or a Beer-house? My name, too, is, of a stately -etymology—you must bring forth your latin. Ale, so please you, from -alo, which signifieth nourish—I am the choicest and most luscious of -potations.” Wine, Beer, and Ale at last compose their differences, each -having a certain dominion assigned to him, and join in singing these -lines:— - - Wine.—I, generous Wine am for the court. - Beer.—The citie call for Beere. - Ale.—But Ale, bonnie Ale, like a lord of the soile. - In the country shall domineere. - - Chorus.—Then let us be merry, wash sorry away, - Wine, Beer and Ale shall be drunk this day. - -In the end Tobacco appears—He arrogates an equality with Wine—“You and -I both come out of a pipe.” The reply is, “Prithee go smoke elsewhere.” -“Don’t incense me, don’t inflame Tobacco,” he retorts; but is told, “No -one fears your puffing—turn over a new _leaf_, Tobacco, most high and -mighty Trinidado.” {73} - -In an old play printed a few years later (1659) it is indicated that -ale was still generally made without hops:— - - Ale is immortal: - And, be there no stops - In bonny lads quaffing, - Can live without hops. - -If Defoe’s statement on the subject, in his _Tour Through Great -Britain_, is correct, it must, indeed, have been many years before the -use of hops made any headway in the northern portions of the kingdom. -“As to the North of England,” he writes, “they formerly used but few -Hops there, their Drink being chiefly pale smooth ale, which required -no hops; and consequently they planted no hops in all that part of -England North of Trent. . . . But as for some years past, they not only -brew great quantities of Beer in the North, but also use hops in the -brewing of their ale, much more than they did before, so they all come -south of Trent to buy their hops.” - -In the reign of Edward VI., by the Statute 5 and 6 Ed. VI. c. 5 -(repealed 5 Eliz. c. 2), it was enacted that all land formerly in -tillage should again be cultivated, excepting “land set with saffron -or hops.” This is, we believe, the first mention of hops in the -Statute book. The next Act on the subject was one passed in 1603, by -which regulations were made for the curing of hops, which process had -thenceforward to be carried out under the inspection of the officers -of excise. From a petition presented by the Brewers’ Company to Lord -Burleigh, a few years previously (1591), we learn that the price of -hops was then £3 16s. 8d. to £4 10s. 6d. per cwt., instead of -6s. 8d. as formerly, and was, the Brewers said, in quality well worth -three hundredweight of those sold at that time. Hops were evidently -coming into favour. We gather from an old receipt that about the end -of the century, Beer was made with “40 lbs. of hoppeys to 40 qrs. of -grain.” - -[Illustration: A Perfite Platform of a Hoppe Garden. - -Of ramming of Poales. - - “Then with a peece of woode as bigge belowe as the great ende of one - of youre Poales, ramme the earth that lieth at the outsyde of the - Poale.” - -Cutting Hoppe Rootes. - - “When you pull downe your hylles . . . you should undermine them round - about.” - -Of Tying of Hoppes to the Poales. - - “When your hoppes are growne about one or two foote high, bynde up - (with a rushe or grasse) such as decline from the Poales, wynding them - as often about the same Poales as you can, and directing them alwayes - according to the course of the Sunne.” -] - -About the earliest English work on the culture of hops is an old -black-letter pamphlet published in 1574 “at the Signe of the Starre, -in Paternoster Rowe.” It is entitled, “_A Perfite Platforme of a Hoppe -Garden_, and necessarie instructions for the making and mayntenance -thereof, with notes and rules for reformation of all abuses, commonly -practised therein, very necessary and expedient for all men to have, -which in any wise have to doe with hops.” The author was one Reynolde -Scot, and the little volume is adorned with quaint illustrations, and -tastefully designed initial letters. The work is dedicated to {75} -“Willyam Lovelace Esquire, Sergeaunt at the Lawe,” whom the author -desires to accompany him in a consideration of “a matter of profite, -or rather with a poynt of good Husbandrie, (in aparance base and -tedious, but in use necessarie and commodious, and in effect pleasant -and profitable) (that is to saye) to look downe into the bowels of your -grounde, and to seeke about your house at Beddersden (which I see you -desire to garnish with many costly commodities) for a convenient plot -to be applyed to a Hoppe Garden, to the furtherance and accomplishing -whereof, I promyse and assure you, the labour of my handes, the -assistance of my advise, and the effect of myne experience.” - -This little work is recommended to the reader (the recommendation -covers four pages) more particularly “as a recompence to the labourer, -as a commoditie to the house-keeper, as a comfort to the poor, and as -a benefite to the Countrie or Commonwealth, adding thus much hereunto, -that there cannot lightly be employed grounde to more profitable use, -nor labour to more certain gaynes; howbeit, with this note, that no -mysterie is so perfect, no floure so sweete, no scripture so holy, -but by abuse a corrupt body, ascending to his venomous nature, may -draw poyson out of the same, and therefore blame not this poore trade -for that it maketh men riche in yielding double profite.” The author -goes on to say that it grieves him to see how “the Flemings envie our -practise herein” and declare English hops to be bad, so that they may -send the more into England. From this it would seem clear that at all -events foreign hops were extensively used in English beer at that date, -and English hop gardens by no means common. Scot, who must have been -a man of common sense, gives good advice to intending hop growers. -They are to consider three things: “First, whether you have, or can -procure unto yourself, any grounde good for that purpose” (_i.e._, the -cultivation of hops). “Secondly, of the convenient standing thereof. -Thirdly, of the quantitie. And this I saye by the way, if the grounde -you deale withall, be not your own enheritance, procure unto your selfe -some certayne terme therein, least another man reape the fruite of your -traveyle and charge.” - -From the epilogue, which concludes with a tremendous denunciation -of those who allow strangers from beyond the seas to bring into the -country that which we ought to grow ourselves, we cull the following -quaint passage: - -“There will some smell out the profitable savour of this herbe, some -wyll gather the fruit thereof, some will make a sallet therewith (which -is good in one respect for the bellye, and in another for the {76} -Purse), and when the grace and sweetenesse hereof conceived, some will -dippe their fingers therein up to the knuckles, and some will be glad -to licke the Dishe, and they that disdayne to be partakers hereof, -commonly prove to be such as have mountaynes in fantasie, and beggary -in possession.” - -Reynolde Scot’s pamphlet is most complete in the directions it gives -concerning hop-growing, and, strange to say, the system of cultivation -seems little changed since then. The author levels the following -remarks at the heads of those who might, yet will not, grow hops:— -“Methinks I might aptlye compare such men as have grounde fitte -for this purpose, and will not employ it accordingly, to ale-house -knightes, partly for the small devotion which both the one and the -other have unto Hoppes, but especially for that many of these ale -knights havyng good drinke at home of their owne, can be content to -drinke moore abroade at an ale-house, so they may sit close by it. Let -them expounde this comparison that buy their hoppes at Poppering, and -may have them at home with more ease, and lesse charge.” - -Honest old Thomas Tusser, in his “_Five Hundred Points of Good -Husbandry_” (1580), has a good deal to say about hops. He gives a -charmingly quaint but very practical “lesson where and when to plant a -good hop-yard.” - - Whom fancy persuadeth among other cropps - To have for his spending, sufficient of hopps, - Must willingly follow, of choyses to chuse; - Such lessons approved, as skilful do use. - - Ground gravely, sandly, and mixed with clay - Is naughty for hops, any maner of way, - Or if it be mingled with rubbish and stone, - For drienes and barrennes, let it alone. - - Chuse soile for the hop of the rottenest mould - Well donged and wrought as a garden plot should, - Not far from the water (but not overflowne) - This lesson well noted is meete to be knowne. - - The Sunne in the South, or els southly by west, - Is joye to the hop as a welcomed gest, - But wind in the North, or els northely and east, - To hop is as ill as fray in a feast. {77} - - Meete plot for a hopyard, once found as is told, - Make thereof accompt, as of jewell of gold, - Now dig it, and leave it the sunne for to burne, - And afterwards fence it to serve for that turn. - -Among the directions for good husbandry for the various months, Tusser -advises that— - - In March at the furdest, drye season or wet, - Hope rootes so well chosen, let skilful go set, - The goeler[37] and younger, the better I love - Wel gutted[38] and pared, the better they prove. - - Some layeth them crosewise, along in the ground, - As high as the knee, they do come up round. - Some pricke up a sticke, in the midds of the same: - That little round hillocke, the better to frame! - - Some maketh a hollownes, halfe a foote deepe, - With fower sets in it, set slant wise a steepe - One foote from another, in order to lye, - And thereon a hillock, as round as a pye. - - * * * * * - - By willows that groweth, thy hopyard without, - And also by hedges, thy meadowes about, - Good hop hath a pleasure, to climbe and to spread: - If sonne may have passage to comfort her hed. - - [37] goeler = goodlier. - - [38] gutted = taken off from the old roots. - -The process of setting the hop-poles is thus described:— - - Get into thy hopyard with plentie of poles, - Amongst those same hillocks deuide them by doles, - Three poles to a hillock (I pas not how long) - Shall yield thee more profit, set deeplie and strong. - -Care must be taken to weed and to fence the hop garden:— - - Grasse, thistle and mustard seede, hemlock and bur, - Tine, mallow and nettle, that keepe such a stur, - With peacock and turkie, that nibbles off top, - Are verie ill neighbors to seelie poore hop. - - * * * * * {78} - - If hops do looke brownish, then are ye to slow, - If longer ye suffer, those hops for to growe. - Now, sooner ye gather, more profite is found, - If weather be faier, and deaw of ye ground. - - Not break of, but cut of, from hop the hop string, - Leave growing a little, again for to spring. - Whos hil about pared, and therewith new clad, - That nurrish more sets, against March to be had. - - Hop hillock discharged, of every set - See then without breaking, ecche poll ye out get, - Which being betangled, above in the tops: - Go carry to such, as are plucking of hops. - -We have quoted rather largely from Tusser’s poem, thinking that it may -interest hop-growers of the present day. - -Reynolde Scot’s appeal was not in vain, for in 1608 there is no doubt -that hop plantations were fairly abundant, though the plant was not -sufficiently cultivated for home consumption. In that year an Act was -passed against the importation of spoilt hops. Until 1690, however, the -greater part of supply was drawn from abroad, and then, to encourage -home production, a duty of twenty shillings per cwt. over and above -all other charges, was put upon those imported. Walter Blith, writing -in 1643, speaks of hops as a “national commoditie.” In 1710, the duty -of a penny per lb. was imposed upon all hops reared in England, and -threepence on foreign hops. In subsequent years slight variations were -made in the amount of the duty, and finally it was abolished, when -hop-grounds at once began to increase. - -When the duty was high, and hops scarce, substitutes for _Humulus -lupulus_ were experimented with, among others, pine and willow bark, -cascarilla bark, quassia, gentian, colocynth, walnut leaf, wormwood -bitter, extract of aloes, cocculus indicus berries, capsicum, and -others too numerous to mention, picric acid being perhaps the most -modern. None of these have been found to be an equivalent for the hop, -lacking its distinct and independent elements of activity. - -So far we have treated solely of the somewhat chequered history of the -hop. Let us now consider its merits and uses. Thus sang the poet:— - - Lo! on auxiliary Poles, the Hops - Ascending spiral, rang’d in meet array: {80} - Lo! how the arable with Barley-Grain - Stands thick, o’er-shadow’d to the thirsty hind - Transporting prospect!—_These,———_ - _————infus’d an auburn Drink compose_ - _Wholesome of Deathless Fame._ - -[Illustration: A Perfite Platform of a Hoppe Garden. - -Training the Hoppe. - - “It shall not be amisse nowe and then to passe through your Garden, - having in eche Hande a forked wande, directyng aright such Hoppes as - decline from the Poales.” - -Gathering the Hoppe. - - “Cutte them” (the hop stalkes) “a sunder wyth a sharpe hooke, and wyth - a forked staffe take them from the Poales.” -] - -But from poets we do not, as a rule, gather much practical information, -except from such as worthy old Tusser. Harrison, in his description -of England, says: “The continuance of the drinke is alwaie determined -after the quantitie of the hops, so that being well hopped it lasteth -longer.” A modern writer puts it thus: “The principal use of hops in -brewing is for the preservation of malt liquor, and to communicate to -it an agreeably aromatic bitter flavour. The best are used for ale and -the finer kinds of malt liquor, and inferior kinds are used for porter.” - -“Brew in October and hop it for long keeping,” was the excellent advice -given by Mortimer. Dr. Luke Booker, in his sequel poem to the Hop -Garden, of course devotes some lines to this subject:— - - Hop’s potent essence, Ale.——bring hither, Boy! - That smiling goblet, from the cask just brimmed - Where floats a pearly star. By it inspired, - No purple wine—no Muse’s aid I ask, - To nerve my lines and bid them smoothly flow. - -And in another place:— - - Then whencesoever the Hop, - That flavouring zest and spirit to my cask - Imparts, preservative—a needless truth - ’Twere to reveal. There are, whose accurate taste - Will tell the region where it mantling grew. - -In relation to his allusion to a “pearly star,” Dr. Booker tells -us that, “When ale is of sufficient strength and freshness, there -will always float a small cluster of minute pearl-like globules in -the centre of the drinking vessel, till the spirit of the liquor is -evaporated.” - -Hops are an essential to the brewer, not only keeping the beer and -giving it an exquisite flavour, but also assisting, if we may be -pardoned for using a technical term in a work intended to be anything -but technical, to break down the fermentation. - -Hops are valuable according as they contain much or little of a yellow -powder called lupuline, and technically known as “condition,” which -is deposited in minute yellow adhesive globules underneath the {81} -bracts of the flower tops, and amounts to from 20 per cent. to 30 -per cent. of the dry hops. This powder has a powerful aromatic smell, -and is bitter to the taste. It contains hop resin, bitter acid of -hops (flavour familiar to bitter beer drinkers), tannic acid, and -hop oils, the chemical composition of which is not accurately known. -Hops contain most lupuline when the flower is fully matured. Year-old -hops only command about half the price of new. Those two years old -are called “old-olds,” and are still less valuable. After having been -five years in store they are worthless to brewers. Nearly all hops -intended to be kept are more or less (the less the better) subjected -to the fumes of sulphur, which, oxidising the essential oil, converts -it into valerianic acid, and combines with the sulphur to form a solid -body. Thus the oil, which would otherwise be the cause of mould, is -destroyed, and the hops can be kept. We believe it is the practice of -the best brewers to use a mixture of new and old hops, the latter being -slightly sulphured, so slightly, indeed, that the smell of the sulphur -cannot be detected. - -Much has been written on the injurious effects of sulphuring, both to -the fermentation and the health of beer-drinkers, and some people have -very strong views on the subject. In 1855 a commission, which included -Liebig among its members, was appointed by the Bavarian Government to -inquire into the matter. After experiments which lasted over a period -of two years, a report was issued in which it was stated that in the -opinion of the commissioners, sulphuring was beneficial to the hops, -and in no way prejudicial to the fermentation. In 1877, a method was -made known of preserving hops without sulphur. The oil which prevents -the hops from keeping was separated from them by a chemical process, -and bottled. The hops were then pressed and kept in the usual way. When -required for brewing, the hops and oil could again be united by adding -ten or twelve drops of the latter to every twenty-two gallons of beer. -This system does not seem to have found favour with hop merchants. - -Aloes have occasionally been used to restore decayed hops, though -with such poor success that we should hardly think the experiment was -often repeated. Professor Bradly, a Cambridge professor of botany, -wrote as follows:—“I cannot help taking notice here of a method which -has been used to stale and decayed hops, to make them recover their -bitterness, which is to unbag them, and sprinkle them with aloes and -water, which, I have known, has spoiled great quantities of drink about -London; for even where the water, the malt, the brewer, {82} and the -cellars are each good, a bad hop will spoil all: so that every one of -these particulars should be well chosen before brewing, or else we must -expect a bad account of our labour.” - -The age of hops is known by their appearance, odour, and feel. New -unsulphured hops, for instance, when rubbed through the hand feel oily. -In their first year they are of a bright green colour, have an aromatic -smell and the lupuline is a bright yellow. In the second year they get -darker, have a slightly cheesy odour, and the lupuline becomes a golden -yellow. In the third year the lupuline is a dark yellow, the smell -being about the same as in the second year. - -In the hedges about Canton is found a variety of hop growing wild. It -has been named the _Humulus Japonicus_. “Although this species,” says -Seemann, in his _Botany of the Voyage of H.M.S. Herald_, “was published -many years ago by Von Siebold and Zuccarini, we still find nearly -all our systematic works asserting that there is only _one_ species -of Humulus, as there seems to be only one species of Cannabis. This, -however, is a very good species, at once distinguished from the common -Hop by the entire absence of those resinous spherical glands, with -which the scales of the imbricated heads of the latter are scattered, -and to which they owe their value in the preparation of beer, making -the substitution of the one for the other for economical purposes an -impossibility.” - -So much then for the first and principal use of hops—and yet a few -lines more on the same subject; from Christopher Smart’s poem of the -_Hop Garden_:— - - Be it so. - But Ceres, rural Goddess, at the best - Meanly supports her vot’ry, enough for her - If ill-persuading hunger she repell, - And keep the soul from fainting: to enlarge, - To glad the heart, to sublimate the mind - And wing the flagging spirits to the sky, - Require the united influence and aid - Of Bacchus, God of Hops, with Ceres joined, - ’Tis he shall generate the buxom beer. - -But hops have other uses than the generation of “the buxom beer.” The -discovery, which we consider an important one, was made a few years -back that hop-bine makes excellent ensilage. The subject was {83} -first mentioned, so far as we know, in a letter to _The Field_ of -December 6th, 1884, from A. L., probably, agent to H. A. Brassey, Esq., -of Aylesford. The writer gave an account of the opening of a silo, in -one compartment of which had been placed eight tons of hop-bines, in -the beginning of the previous September. An account of the experiment -was also sent by a visitor at the farm, from whose letter the following -extract seems to us well worth perusal:—“The hop-bine is at present an -entirely waste material, except for littering purposes; and not a few -of the local farmers were anxious to see how it would turn out, and -whether stock would eat the hop-bine ensilage or not. No experiment -could be more satisfactory. The apparent condition and smell of a great -deal of it was even superior to that of several of the other varieties; -and when a bag of it was taken to the homestead and offered to some -fattening steers, which had been well fed just before, and were not -in the least hungry, they devoured it with great alacrity, and seemed -heartily to enjoy the new food; consequently this will be good news to -hop-growers.” - -Early in ’85, the following important letter on the subject appeared in -the _Kentish Gazette_, from Mr. T. M. Hopkins, Lower Wick, Worcester:— - -“Having learnt from Mr. Seymour, agent to H. A. Brassey, Esq., that -hop-bine made first-rate ensilage, last Oct. I made two stacks of it -16ft. by 16ft., and 18ft. high. After letting it ferment freely, I -pressed down with Reynolds and Co.’s patent screw press, and next day -filled up again; and, when sufficiently fermented, again pressed down, -and this lasted all through the hop-picking. I have now used nearly the -whole of it, and calculate that it has saved me some 80 tons of hay; no -more hop-bine do I waste in future as I have hitherto done. My horses -have had nothing else for two months, excepting their usual allowance -of corn, and I never had them looking better. I have also had 100 head -of cattle, stores, cows, and calves feeding on it for a fortnight, and -they do well. Dr. Voelcker, chemist to the R.A.S.E., who has analysed -it, says: ‘It has plenty of good material in it, and is decidedly rich -in nitrogen, nor is the amount of acid excessive or likely to harm -cattle.’ Another analyst, Mr. W. E. Porter, F.C.S., says: ‘It contains -more flesh-forming matter and less indigestible fibre than hay dried at -212.’ Planters should leave off growing hops to sell at present average -prices, 40s. to 50s., which is a dead loss. Let the plant run wild, -and they may every season cut two or three immense crops of material -that will make ensilage of unexceptionable quality.” {84} - -To this there is little we can add.[39] The importance of the subject -is evident. We may, however, express a hope that hop-growers will not -act on Mr. Hopkins’ suggestion, and only grow hops for the sake of the -bine—English hops are too good for that. We have spoken of hop-bine -ensilage as a discovery, but French farmers have for years mixed green -hop-leaves with their cows’ food, under the belief, rightly or wrongly -we know not, that it increases the flow of milk. Possibly in the far -past hops were cultivated as fodder, and even used as ensilage. Silos -we know were used anciently, though only recently re-introduced owing -principally to the attention called to them in _The Field_ and the -agricultural journals. - - [39] In a letter with which we have recently been favoured by Mr. - Hopkins, that gentleman says: “I have every reason to believe in the - great value of Hop-Bine Ensilage . . . milking-cows do well with it, - and it does not affect the flavour of the milk.” - -The stem of the hop contains a vegetable wax, and sap from which can -be made a durable reddish brown. Its ash is used in the manufacture -of Bohemian glass; and it also makes excellent pulp for paper. From -its fibres ropes and coarse textile fabrics of considerable strength -have been made. The Van de Schelldon process of cloth-making from the -stem of the hop, invented, we believe, in 1866, is shortly as follows: -The stalks are cut, done up in bundles, and steeped like hemp. After -steeping they are dried in the sun. They are then beaten with mallets -to loosen the fibres, which are afterwards carded and woven in the -usual way. It is from the thicker stems that ropes can be made. - -Several patents have been taken out for manufacturing paper from hops. -One taken out by a Mr. Henry Dyer was for paper made of fresh or spent -hops, or spent malt, alone or combined with other materials. In 1873 a -meeting of paper-makers was held in France, before whom was exhibited -a textile material made from the bark of the hop-stalk, the outer skin -being removed and subjected to chemical treatment. It was in long -pieces, and supple and delicate of texture. - -About ten years ago it was announced, in a journal devoted to -photography, that an infusion of hops, mixed with pyrogallic acid, -albumen of eggs, and filtered in the ordinary way, could be used as -a preservative for the plates then in use by photographers. Plates -preserved with this, dried hard with a fine gloss, and yielded -negatives of very high quality. A mixture of beer and albumen was -formerly used {85} for the same purpose, but owing to the varying -quality and properties of the beer, was very uncertain in its action. - -The root of the hop is not without its uses, containing starchy -substances which can be made into glucose and alcohol. It also contains -a certain amount of tannin, which, it has been suggested, might be used -with advantage in tanneries. - -Until recently trumpeted forth in the advertisements of a certain -patent medicine, it was not generally known outside the medical -profession that hops possessed medicinal qualities of considerable -value. Old medical writers, however, must have changed their views on -the subject within a hundred years after the time of Andrew Boorde, -from whose works we have already quoted a few lines. Wm. Coles, -Herbalist, in his _History of Plants_, published in 1657, states that -certain preparations of hops are cures for about half the ills that -flesh is heir to. Another old writer declares the young shoots of the -hop, eaten like asparagus, to be very wholesome and effectual to loosen -the body (the poorer classes in some parts of Europe still eat the -young hops as a vegetable); the head and tendrils good to purify the -blood in the scurvy and most other cutaneous diseases (which scurvy is -not), and the decoctions of the flower and syrup thereof useful against -pestilential fevers. Juleps and apozems are also prepared with hops for -hypochondriacal and hysterical affections; and a pillow stuffed with -hops is used to induce sleep. This last method, by the way, was taken -advantage of by the medical advisers of George III. That unfortunate -king, when in a demented condition, always slept on a pillow so -prepared. Another writer tells us that the Spaniards were in the habit -of boiling a pound of hop roots in a gallon of water, reducing it to -six pints, and drinking half a pint when in bed of a morning, under -the belief that it possessed the same qualities as sarsaparilla. Dr. -Brooks, in his _Dispensatory_, published in 1753, concurs with the -older writers on the subject. - -_Observations and Experiments on the Humulus Lupulus of Linnæus, with -an account of its use in Gout and other Diseases_, is the title of a -pamphlet by a Mr. Freake, of Tottenham Court Road, published in 1806. -The author states that a patient of his, who was in want of a bitter -tincture, found all the usual remedies disagree with him, and after -numerous unsatisfactory experiments, fell back upon a preparation of -hops, which appeared to answer its purpose. This led Mr. Freake to try -further experiments with the hop, when he came to the conclusion that -it was an excellent remedy for relieving the pains of gout, acting -sometimes when opium failed. {86} - -Hops have also been employed with good effect in poultices. Dr. -Trotter, in one of his medical works, quotes a letter from an assistant -of Dr. Geach, once senior surgeon of the Royal Hospital at Plymouth, in -which the writer says that he had during six months experimented with -hops, and found that a poultice made of a strong decoction of hops, -oatmeal, and water was an excellent remedy for ulcers, which should -first be fomented with the decoction. - -Dr. Paris, writing of the hop about the year 1820, says, “It is now -generally admitted that they constitute the most valuable ingredient in -malt liquors. Independently of the flavour and tonic virtues which they -communicate, they precipitate, by means of their astringent principle, -the vegetable mucilage, and thus remove from the beer the active -principle of its fermentation; without hops, therefore, we must either -drink our malt liquors new and ropy, or old and sour.” - -In the introduction to Murray’s _Handbook of Kent_ it is stated that -invalids are occasionally recommended to pass whole days in hop grounds -as a substitute for the usual exhibition of Bass or Allsopp. In hop -gardens the air is no doubt impregnated with lupuline, so there may be -something in this. - -At the present day lupuline is often used in medicine. Lupuline was -the name given by Ives to the yellow dust covering the female flower -of hops. Later, Ives, Chevallier, and Pellatau gave that name, not -to the dust, but to the bitter principle it contains. The recognized -preparations of hops are an infusion, a tincture, and an extract. They -are stomachic, tonic, and soporific. Dr. John Gardner, in one of his -works on medicine, says that “bitter ale, or the lupuline in pills -which it forms by simply rubbing between the fingers and warming, are -the best forms for using hops in dyspepsia and feeble appetite, which -they will often relieve.” The lupuline powder is easily separated -from the hops by means of a sieve. A hop bath to relieve pain is also -recommended by Dr. Gardner for certain painful internal diseases. It is -made thus: two pounds of hops are boiled in two gallons of water for -half an hour, then strained and pressed, and the fluid added to about -thirty gallons of water. This bath has been much praised. Hop beer -(without alcohol) is another preparation of the plant which has been -recommended. - -In America the hop is highly appreciated for medicinal purposes. There -are three preparations of it in the authorized code: a tincture, a -liquid extract, and an oleo-resin. - -So much, then, for the history and economic and medicinal uses of {87} -the hop. Before we close this chapter it is our intention to give a -short account of the hop-growing countries and districts, of hopfields, -of hop-growers’ multifarious troubles, and some description of what are -perhaps the greatest curiosities of the subject—the hop-pickers. - -The European hop-growing countries stand in the following order: -Germany takes the lead with about 477,000 acres of hop gardens, -England following, and then Belgium, Austria, France, and other -states (Denmark, Greece, Portugal, &c.), in which the acreage is -insignificant. According to Dr. Thudichum, 53,000,000 kilogrammes of -hops are produced annually in Europe, and in good years production may -rise to over 80,000,000. In America hops have been cultivated for more -than two centuries, having been introduced into the New Netherlands in -1629 and into Virginia in 1648. Hop-culture is now common in most of -the northern states. - -We believe we are correct in saying that the best hop years America -has ever known, were 1866 to 1868, when the amount produced was from -2,400 lbs. to 2,500 lbs. per acre. In 1870 the total production was -25,456,669 lbs. In Australia hops are extensively cultivated; they are -also grown in China and India. In the latter place they have not been -introduced many years, but beer of a fair quality is made in some of -the hill stations. The following table shows approximately the acreage -of hops in England at the present time: - - District. Acreage. - Mid Kent 17,150 - Weald of Kent 12,601 - East Kent 11,885 - Sussex 9,501 - Hereford 6,087 - Hampshire 2,938 - Worcester 2,767 - Surrey 2,439 - Other Counties 251 - -From the eastern limits of the hop gardens at Sandwich to the western -boundary in Hereford, hard by the borders of Wales, there are, then, -about 65,619 acres of hop gardens, or hop “yards,” as they are called -in some districts, _e.g._, Worcester and Hereford. North Cray, in -Nottinghamshire, formerly grew a good quantity of hops, but the -plantations are now considerably reduced, and this applies also to the -Stowmarket district, in Suffolk, and to Essex. The number of acres -devoted to the cultivation of hops has always been subject to great -{88} fluctuations; thus in 1807 they numbered 38,218; in 1819, 51,000; -in 1830, 46,727; and in 1875, 70,000. - -Dr. Booker wrote that for quality of hops, Herefordshire stood first -Worcestershire second, Kent third, and North Cray fourth; but he was -probably mistaken, for the hops of East Kent have always been held -to be the best in all England, pre-eminent alike for strength and -flavour; those of Farnham, however, run them very closely. Our English -hops, indeed, are far superior to most of those imported, and the -foreigners are rarely used in beer without an admixture of home-grown -hops. Immense quantities now come from abroad; in 1828 only 4 cwt. were -imported! - -Until quite recently, the whole of the hops in this country were poled -upon much the same system as that described in Reynolde Scot’s old -pamphlet—that is, three or four plants would be grown on a hillock, -each having a pole to climb. Now, the poles are largely supplemented -by wires arranged in various ways, sometimes, when covered with bine, -forming bell-tents of hops; and sometimes running from pole to pole. -Other wires leaving them at right angles are attached to pegs in the -ground. The aspect of the gardens is greatly changed, but they are not -less beautiful than of yore. Train the hop as you will, you cannot -make it unlovely. The vines twist lovingly round the slender wires and -tall poles, the former bending under their weight and swaying to and -fro in the breeze. From pole to pole run the topmost shoots, and the -whole field is one large arbour, roofed, if it be autumn, with verdant -foliage and golden green fruit. Then, may be, the sunlight here and -there touches the glorious clusters, giving them still richer colours. -“The hop for his profit I thus do exalt,” wrote old Tusser, “and for -his grace and beauty,” he might have added, but the worthy Thomas was -nothing if not practical. Howitt, in his _Year Book of the Country_ -thus writes of the hop country in autumn: “But all is not sombre and -meditative in September. The hopfield and the nutwood are often scenes -of much jolly old English humour and enjoyment. In Kent and Sussex the -whole country is odorous with the aroma of hop, as it is breathed from -the drying kilns and huge wagons filled with towering loads of hops, -thronging the road to London. But not only is the atmosphere perfumed -with hops, but the very atmosphere of the drawing-room and dining-room -too. Hops are the grand flavour of conversation as well as of beer. -Gentlemen, ladies, clergymen, noblemen, all are growers of hops, and -deeply interested in the state of the crop and the market.” {89} - -The use of wires is a serious matter for hop-pole growers if the -following calculation, made by some ingenious person, be correct. -Suppose that 45,000 acres of hops are under cultivation, and each acre -annually requires 800 new poles, the total annual requirement will -be 36,000,000 poles. Each acre of underwood from which poles are cut -produces about 3,000. Every year, therefore, 12,000 acres of underwood -must be cut to supply the demand. If each acre produces on an average -2,000 poles, which is nearer the truth than 3,000, then 18,000 acres -must be cut annually to supply the hop-gardens with poles. - -Poets, in their search for similes, have not overlooked hops and hop -poles. In Gay’s _A New Song of New Similes_ occur the following lines:— - - Hard is her heart as flint or stone, - She laughs to see me pale; - And merry as a grig is grown, - And brisk as _bottled ale_. - - * * * * * - - Ah me! as thick as _hops_ or hail - The fine men crowd about her. - -Then Cotton, in his verses to John Bradshaw, Esq., writes:— - - Mustachios looked like heroes’ trophies - Behind their arms in th’ Herald’s office; - The perpendicular beard appeared - Like _hop-poles_ in a _hopyard_ reared. - -Hop-growers’ troubles, furnish a theme of which, were we hop-growers, -we fear our readers would weary, for a volume might very well be -filled with a relation of them. Not being hop-growers, and having much -to write about ere we inscribe the sad word “finis,” we must content -ourselves only with such an account as will give our readers a general -idea of the subject. To begin with, the annual outlay per acre in the -gardens is very great, being about £36. A hop acre, be it observed, -is not an ordinary acre, but contains a thousand hop plants in rows, -six or seven feet apart, and is equal to about two-thirds the statutory -acre. - -No crops are more precarious than the _humulus lupulus_. How said Dr. -Booker?— - - The spiral hop, high mantling, how to train - _No common care_ to Britain’s gen’rous sons, - Lovers of “nut-brown ale”—sing fav’ring Muse! - -{90} - -A glance at statistics will show the truth of our statement. In 1882 -the return per acre did not average more than 1½ cwt. on account of a -perfect plague of aphides; while in 1859, which is about the best hop -year of the century, the return was 13¼ cwt. per acre. The average -yield during the last seventy-six years is about 6¾ cwt. per acre; not -a very large return for the outlay. In 1839 a certain hop plantation -in Kent of about 21½ acres, produced 15 cwt. per acre, and in the -following year only 1 cwt. per acre. - -These extraordinary variations in the production of hop gardens are -caused by insects and the weather. Early in the year, when the vines -appear well grown and sturdy, the hop-grower may with a light heart, -perhaps, prophesy a good crop. In May a few aphides—winged females—are -noticed, and in August the silvery brightness of the delicate bracts -is blackened and spoilt by the filth of the lice—larvæ of the hop -aphis. About September a mighty wind comes; poles are blown down in all -directions, the ground is strewn with the cones blown from the vines, -and branches are bruised, causing the cones on them to wither and -decay before picking-time. Just as the hops are ripening two or three -cold nights perhaps occur, which throw them back and materially reduce -the value of the crop. Then they may be attacked with mildew, or even -when all evils have in most part been avoided, picking-time has all -but arrived, and the hop-grower is congratulating himself on his good -fortune, a shower of hail may happen, stripping the vines and reducing -the value of the crop by three-fourths. - -Miss Ormerod, consulting entomologist to the Royal Agricultural -Society, has given much study to, and thrown considerable light upon, -the hop aphis. The course of the attack upon the hop she has discovered -to be as follows:—The aphis first comes upon the hop in the spring in -the form of wingless females (depositing young), which ascend the bine -from the ground. The great attack, however, which usually occurs in the -form of “fly” about the end of May, comes from damson and sloe bushes -as well as from the hop; the hop aphis and the damson aphis being, in -Miss Ormerod’s opinion, very slight varieties of one species, and so -similar in habits that for all practical purposes of inquiry they may -be considered one. - -From experiments made on hop grounds in Hereford, the use of various -applications round the hills in the late autumn or about the beginning -of April, completely prevented attacks to the vines of those hills -until the summer attack came on the wing. Paraffin in any dry material -spread on the hills, proved serviceable both as a preventive {91} and -a remedy, and petroleum and kerosine were also used with advantage. -Among the methods of washing, the application of steam power opens up -a possibility of carrying out these operations with rapidity and at -less cost. When the fly is very bad, the common practice is, after -the picking is over, to clear the land of bine and weeds and to place -quicklime round the hills or plant centres. - -When the hop is fully formed, shortly before picking, if the weather -be hot and close, almost the whole crop may be destroyed in a few -days. The aphides penetrate the hop and suck from the tender bracts -the juice, some of which exudes; this, the moist weather retarding -evaporation, produces decay at the point of puncture, and a black spot -shows, technically called “mould.” The great enemies to the lice are -the ladybirds, which devour them greedily, and a hop-grower would as -soon destroy a ladybird as a herring fisherman a seagull. - -It has been recently suggested that the suitability or not of soil for -hop-growing, depends upon the presence or absence of sulphur, which -is an essential ingredient of hops. There is more than one instance -on record where hops treated with gypsum (sulphate of lime) were free -from mould, while in adjoining gardens the hops not so treated suffered -severely. The hops least liable to blight and mould contain the largest -amount of sulphur. A curious fact has been proved in Germany by careful -analysis. In plants attacked by the hop bug the proportion of sulphur -is much greater in the healthy and unattacked leaves than in those -infested with the bug. This subject hardly comes within the range -of our work, and we merely mention it to bring it into notice among -hop-growers, whom further experiments with gypsum may possibly benefit. -It is obvious that as the chief attack is made by aphis on the wing, -dressings put on the ground with a view to kill the aphides in the soil -are of little avail, for from a neighbouring or even a distant garden -where the hills have been not so treated, may come a flight of aphides -causing desolation in their track. If, however, sulphur can be imported -into the live plant, and such plants are untouched by the fly, it would -seem that we are near a solution of this very vexed problem. We know -of an instance where the hops on one side of a valley were totally -destroyed by the fly, while on the other side they were untouched. The -wind setting in one direction during the flight, had carried the fly -over the sheltered side, and deposited them on the exposed side of the -valley. - -Not to mention extraordinary tithes in this portion of our subject -would be a serious omission. Formerly our worthy pastors were paid -{92} with a tenth of the actual produce of the land, now they receive -what are in theory equivalent money payments. As orchards, market -gardens, and hop gardens were deemed to yield much greater returns than -other land, the tithe on them was fixed at a much greater rate than -on pasture and arable land. While the tithe on these latter is but -trifling, the tithe on the former is about thirty shillings per acre. -When few foreign hops were imported, these very extraordinary tithes -could be paid, but now they are a most serious, not to say unjust, -tax on the hop-grower who in very bad years may not make thirty or -even twenty shillings per acre. It is common knowledge that a great -agitation is on foot to obtain their abolition, and there appears to -be a very general feeling that no land ought in the future to become -subject to extraordinary tithe by reason of any crop which may be grown -on it. At present the extraordinary tithes are a check on production -and the most advantageous cultivation of land. Being thus prejudicial -to the welfare of the State, they should have been abolished long -ago, and no doubt would have been, but for the circumstance that the -immediate sufferers are comparatively few in number. - -The hop gardens of Kent not only provide the brewer with the best hops, -but, as each autumn comes round, afford to some thirty thousand or so -of the poorer classes living in the densely-populated districts of the -east of London a few weeks of country life. The East-Enders, indeed, -look upon hop-picking in Kent, Surrey, and Sussex as their particular -prerogative, and mix but little with the “home” pickers, who, however, -are almost equal to them in numbers. - - “When the plants are laden with beautiful bloom - And the air breathes around us its rich perfume,” - -the grower sends word to the pickers, most of whom have had their names -down for a bin, or a basket, for weeks or even months previously. In -Mid Kent “bins” are used. These consist of an oblong framework of wood -supported on legs, and to which a piece of sackcloth is fastened. The -bins are divided down the centres, so that two families may pick into -one bin. At certain times in the day the hops in each bin are measured -and the number of bushels credited to the pickers. In East Kent baskets -are used; these contain distinct marks for each bushel, so that the -labour of measuring is dispensed with. From the baskets the hops are -emptied into sacks and carried to the oast house to be dried. This is -a simple operation. The oast house is a square brick building with a -chimney of large size in the centre of the roof. The hops are {93} -laid on cloths stretched between beams. The necessary heat is obtained -from a brick fireplace which is open at the top. After having been -sufficiently baked, the hops are allowed to cool, and are then put into -pockets, _i.e._, long sacks, stamped down as tightly as possible, and -are ready for the market. - -As in Chaucer’s time pilgrims wound their way through the garden of -England, so now do pilgrims, but with different object, tramp along the -dusty highway or shady lane into that beautiful country. In Chaucer’s -time the monasteries provided food and shelter for the pilgrims; but -now they in most part are content with the blue sky or spreading -branch of tree as a roof, and hedge-row for a wall. If the weather -be but reasonably fine, the life of these latter-day pilgrims is not -a hard one, for the balmy country air, the soft turf and beautiful -surroundings must seem to these poor creatures a kind of paradise after -the dens of filth, disease, and darkness from which they have come. - -Not pleasant company are these pilgrims. As a rule they are uncleanly, -their habits coarse, their language foul, and their morality doubtful. -Many persons in Kent prefer to lose several pounds rather than let -their children go into the fields and associate with the mixed -company from the East-End. Poor people! they are after all what their -circumstances have made them; a sweep can hardly be blamed for having -a black face. A few years since men, women, and children all slept -together indiscriminately in barns and outhouses. Now, as regards -sleeping accommodation, there have been changes for the better, - - “And far and near - With accent clear - The hop-picker’s song salutes the glad ear: - The old and the young - Unite in the throng, - And echo re-echoes their jocund song, - The hop-picking time is a time of glee, - So merrily, merrily now sing we: - For the bloom of the hop is the secret spell - Of the bright pale ale that we love so well; - So gather it quickly with tender care, - And off to the wagons the treasure bear.” - -The high road from London to the hopfields of Kent presents a curious -appearance immediately before the hop-picking season. A stranger -might imagine that the poorer classes of a big city were flying {94} -before an invading army. Grey-haired, decrepit old men and women -are to be seen crawling painfully along, their stronger sons and -daughters pressing on impatiently. Children by the dozens, some fresh -and leaping for very joy at the green fields and sunshine, others -crying from fatigue, for the road is long and dusty. Nearly all these -people carry sacks or baskets, or bundles, and some even push hand -carts laden with clothing, rags, and odds and ends. Most of these -folk are careless, merry people, and beguile the way as did Chaucer’s -pilgrims, with many a coarse jest, but here and there will be seen some -hang-dog bloated-faced ruffian tramping doggedly along, a discontented -weary woman dragging slowly a few yards in his rear, as likely as -not carrying a half-starved sickly child in her shawl. Such as these -cause the coming of the hop-pickers to be regarded with anything but -satisfaction in country districts, and at such time householders are -doubly careful to see that their windows and doors are properly barred. -But the majority of the pickers are well-behaved according to their -lights, and guilty at most of a little rough horseplay towards the -solitary traveller or among themselves. - -Towards evening the pickers cease their tramp, and take up their -quarters for the night in woodland copse, or under hedge-row or -sheltering bank. Baskets, sacks, and hand carts are unpacked, and here -and there will be seen a whole family seated round a blazing wood fire, -over which boils the family kettle. Others, less fortunate in having no -family circle to join, betake themselves to more secluded quarters to -munch the lump of bread of which their supper consists. - -About half the pickers are taken into Kent by special trains, a larger -number, as might be expected, returning that way. The secretaries of -the South Eastern and London and Chatham Railway Companies have very -kindly furnished us with a few figures on the subject. In 1882—_the_ -bad year for hops—the S.E.R. Company only carried 173 pickers to the -fields, and 3,094 on the return journeys; but in previous years the -numbers varied from 6,000 to 17,000 on the outgoing journey, and 9,000 -to 19,000 on the return journey. Last year the L.C. & D.R. Company -carried 1,785 pickers to the fields, and brought back 4,035. - -But if the pickers are light-hearted and merry on the way to the -fields, with empty pockets, what are they on their return, after work -is over and wages paid? Everything is then the height of merriment, -and of such an uproarious kind as the people of the East End delight -in. Young men and girls, invigorated by their sojourn in the bracing -country air, alike garland themselves with hops, and decorate -themselves with gay ribbons. Laughing, dancing, and singing, they hurry -{95} to the station, or along the road to London. Practical jokes are -played by the score, the railway officials are distracted, the police -look the other way. As train after train full of shouting people leaves -the station, the crowd gradually becomes less thick. Night comes on, -and many return to their barns, obliged to put off their return home -for another day. In a few days this lively throng of humanity has -disappeared; the hopfields, robbed of their bright crops, are again -quiet; and the more nervous of the dwellers in Kent again breathe -freely. - -[Illustration] - -{96} - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER V. - - - JACK CADE—“There shall be in England seven halfpenny loaves sold for a - penny, the three hooped pot shall have seven hoops, and I will make it - felony to drink small beer.”—_Hen._ VI., Part II. Act iv. Scene 2. - -_ANCIENT AND CURIOUS LAWS RELATING TO THE MANUFACTURE AND SALE OF ALE -AND BEER._ - -Kings, Parliaments and Local Authorities have, from very early times up -to the present, more or less interfered with the production and sale of -alcoholic liquors. As a rule, the laws and regulations made by them had -the benevolent object of preserving the public health and pocket, but -to modern notions they appear for the most part arbitrary and vexatious -enactments which unduly oppressed an important industry. - -Before dealing with the many early references to laws concerning the -brewing and sale of ale, it will be interesting to notice a few of the -curious regulations to be found in the Canons of ancient religious -orders enjoining sobriety on the members of their communities. Almost, -if not quite, the earliest of the kind is attributed to St. Gildas the -Wise, who lived towards the close of the sixth century, and is to the -effect that, if any monk through drinking too freely gets thick of -speech, so that he cannot join in the psalmody, he is to be deprived of -his supper. - -The Canons of St. David’s contain further rules on the same matter. -Priests about to minister in the temple of God, and drinking wine or -strong drink through negligence, and not ignorance, must do penance -three days. If they have been warned, and despise, then forty days. -Those who get drunk from ignorance must do penance fifteen days; -if through negligence, forty days; if through contempt, three {97} -quarantains. He who forces another to get drunk out of hospitality, -must do penance as though he had got drunk himself. But he who out of -hatred or wickedness, in order to disgrace or mock at others, forces -them to get drunk, if he has not already sufficiently done penance, -must do penance as a murderer of souls. - -That these restrictions were not confined to clerics may be seen -from the decree of Theodore, seventh Archbishop of Canterbury (A.D. -668–693), that if a Christian layman drink to excess, he must do a -fifteen-days’ penance. - -King Edgar seems to have gone nearer to the programme of the United -Kingdom Alliance. Strutt says of him that under the guidance of -Dunstan he put down many alehouses, suffering only one to exist in a -village. He also ordered that pegs should be fastened in the drinking -horns at intervals, that whosoever drank beyond these marks at one -draught should be liable to punishment. We find, however, that this -last-mentioned device defeated its own end, and became a provocative -of drinking, so that in 1102, Anselm decreed, “Let no priest go to -drinking bouts, nor drink to pegs (ad pinnas).” The custom was called -pin-drinking or pin-nicking, and is the origin of the phrase, “He is in -a merry pin,” and, doubtless, also of the expression, “Taking him down -a peg.” - -The peg-tankards, as they were called, contained two quarts, and were -divided into eight draughts by means of these pegs; they passed from -hand to hand, and each must drink it down one peg, no more, no less, -under pain of fine. - -In a code of Dunstan, for the regulation of the religious orders, were -further injunctions to the priesthood, in which it was enjoined that no -drinking be allowed _in the Church_, that men should be temperate at -Church-wakes, that a priest should beware of drunkenness, and should in -no wise be an ale-scop (_i.e._, a reciter at an ale-house). If we may -believe the strange story of St. Dunstan, as recorded by the graphic -pen of the author of the _Ingoldsby Legends_, we shall have little -difficulty in accounting for the Saint’s abhorrence of strong drink. -The legend is a good illustration of the maxim, “A little knowledge -is a dangerous thing.” Lay-brother Peter discovers that the Saint’s -miraculous powers are due to his magical control over a broomstick, and -that, on his uttering certain mystic words, the broomstick is compelled -to do his bidding. Lay-brother Peter determines to apply his knowledge -of the broomstick’s powers to his own temporal advantage. Having spoken -the mystic words, {98} - - Peter, full of his fun, - Cries, “Broomstick! you lubberly son of a gun! - Bring ale!—bring a flagon—a hogshead—a tun! - ’Tis the same thing to you; I have nothing to do; - And, ’fore George, I’ll sit here, and I’ll drink till all’s blue.” - -Alas! too literally the broomstick obeys the command; and the poor -lay-brother, not having at command the spell that may compel the -broomstick to desist, “after floating a while like a toast in a -tankard,” is at last overwhelmed, and perishes in the brown flood he -has so incautiously called up. - - In vain did St. Dunstan exclaim, “Vade retro - Strongbeerum! discede a Lay-fratre Petro!” - -However, the impression made upon the good Saint’s mind was indelible, -and has left its traces in the regulations made by him relating to -drunkenness. - -Elfric’s Canons, also, are directed towards putting down the custom of -drinking in churches. They lay down that men ought not to drink and eat -immoderately in churches, for “men often act so absurdly as to sit up -by night, and drink to madness in God’s house.” - -Some of the earliest laws directed against a particular custom in -which ale figured as the principal beverage, were the prohibitions to -be met with in the records of the 13th century with regard to what -were called scot-ales. A scot-ale was a meeting for the purpose of -consuming ale, and its name was derived from the fact that the drinkers -_divided_[40] the expenses of the entertainment amongst them. These -feasts were forbidden in the reign of King John by Fitz-piers and Peter -of Winchester, the regents of the kingdom, on the ground that they -were made occasions for extortion. The forests, which then spread over -great tracts of country, were not subject to the common law, but to the -laws of the forest only, and we are told that the foresters and their -minions not only set up ale-houses, but even compelled people living -near to come in and join in scot-ales, for the sake of the revenue -accruing therefrom. In 1256 Giles of Bridport, Bishop of Salisbury, -{99} interdicted scot-ales, and commanded rectors, vicars, and other -parish priests to exhort their parishioners that they violate not -rashly the prohibition. In certain places the term scot-ale was used to -denote one of the services paid by tenants to the lord or his bailiff -on the periodical tour of inspection, and Bracton mentions that the -Itinerant Justices were directed to inquire whether any viscounts or -bailiffs brew their own ale, “which they call scot-ale or filct-ale,” -for the purpose of extorting money from the tenants. - - [40] _Cf._ The modern expressions _scot free_ and _paying the shot_. - -Somewhat similar in practice, though distinct in origin and in the -purpose of their institution, were the festivals called Bede-ales. -These curious celebrations are described in Prynne’s _Canterburie’s -Doome_ (1646) as public meetings, “when an honest man decayed in his -fortune is set up again by the liberal benevolence and contribution -of friends at a feast; but this is laid aside at almost every place.” -The custom somewhat reminds one of the saying that the British are -wont to drink themselves out of debt, an allusion, of course, to the -enormous revenue collected on malt and other liquors. We must suppose, -however, that the practice of bede-ale was abused; the more generous -and kindly-hearted a man might be, the more tipsy he would have to -make himself in order to help his unfortunate “decayed” friend in the -manner prescribed. Accordingly we find in ancient records prohibitions -of this custom. One such may be cited from the records of the Borough -of Newport, Isle of Wight: “Atte the Lawday holden here in the 8th day -of October, the second yeare of the Reigne of King Edward the iiijth in -the time of William Bokett and Henry Pryer, Bayliffs, Thomas Capford -and William Spring, Constables, it is enacted furthermore that none -hereafter, whether Burgesse or any other dweller or inhabitant, within -this Towne aforesaid, shall make or procure to bee made, any Ale, -commonly called Bede-Ale, within the liberty, nor within this Towne or -without, upon payne of looseing xxd. to be payde to the Keeper of the -Common Box.” - -[Illustration: The Tumbrel.] - -About the time of Henry III., we begin to find mention in the records -of the period, of persistent attempts to fix the prices of bread and -ale. Laws made with this end in view were termed collectively the -_Assisa Panis et Cervisiæ_ (_i.e._, The Assize of Bread and Ale). In -the fifty-first year of that reign, we find it enacted that when a -quarter of wheat is sold for iiis. or iiis. ivd., and a quarter of -barley for xxd. or iis., and a quarter of oats for xvid., then brewers -(_braciatores_) in cities ought, and may well afford, to sell two -gallons of ale for a penny, and out of cities to sell three or four -gallons for the same sum. By a statute {100} passed in the same year -it is enacted that if a baker or a brewster[41] (_braciatrix_) be -convicted, because he or she hath not observed the Assise of Bread -and Ale, the first, second, or third time, he or she shall be amerced -according to the offence, if it be not over grievous; but if the -offence be grievous and often, and will not be corrected, then he or -she shall suffer corporal punishment, to wit, the Baker to the pillory, -the brewster to the tumbrel (a cart for ignominious punishment), or -to flogging. (The illustration represents a woman undergoing the -punishment of the tumbrel, and is taken from the MS. _Cent Nouvelles_ -in the Hunterian Library.) A jury of six lawful men is to be summoned -in every township, who are to be sworn faithfully to collect all -measures of the town, to wit, bushels, half and quarter bushels, -gallons, pottles and quarts, as well from taverns as from other places. -The jurymen are to inquire how the assise of bread has been kept, and -adjudge accordingly; they are then to inquire of the assise of Ale in -the Court of the Town, what it is, and whether it has been observed; -and if {101} not, they are to inquire what brewsters have sold -contrary to the assises and they shall present their names distinctly -and openly, and adjudge them to be fined or to the tumbrel. - - [41] The old word brewster is here used in its proper signification - of a female brewer. The Brewster Sessions, as Licensing Sessions are - called in many parts of the country, preserve the name, though the - original feminine signification has disappeared. For an account of - the early brewsters and ale-wives the reader is referred to Chapter - VI. - -By another statute, of rather uncertain date, but passed about this -period, it is enacted that the standard of bushels, gallons, and ells -(_standardum busselli galonis et ulne_) is to be marked with an Iron -Seale of our Lord the King, and safe kept, under pain of £100, and no -measure is to be used in any town unless it do agree with the King’s -measure, and be marked with the seal of the shire town; and if any do -sell or buy by measures unsealed, and not examined by the Mayor or -Bailiffs, he shall be grievously amerced and all the measures of every -Town, both great and small, shall be viewed and examined twice in the -year; and if any be convict for a double measure, to wit, a greater for -to buy with, and a lesser for to sell with, he shall be imprisoned for -his falsehood (_tanquam falsarius_) and shall be grievously punished. - -The manner in which the various standard measures of capacity were -arrived at is worthy of mention. It is enacted that: “One English -penny, called a stirling, round and without any clipping, shall weigh -twenty-two wheat corns in the midst of the ear, and twenty pence shall -make an ounce, and twelve ounces a pound, and eight pounds shall make a -gallon of wine, and eight gallons of wine shall make one bushel London, -and eight bushels one quarter.” - -We are glad to observe that a subsequent statute was passed which -provided that both the pillory, or stretch-neck (_collistrigium_) as it -was called, and also the tumbrel, must be of suitable strength, so that -offenders might be punished without bodily peril. - -The _collistrigium_ given below is taken from an old drawing in the -City Records, temp. Ed. III. - -[Illustration: The Pillory.] - -In the City of London the comparative severity of the punishments of -the fraudulent baker and brewer seems to have been the reverse of that -ordained by statute; the baker suffered the heavier penalty, being -condemned to what was called the “_judicium claye_,” or condemnation -to the hurdle, which, as described in the Liber Albus, was certainly -a most unpleasant form of punishment. On conviction for selling short -weight the defaulting baker was to be drawn upon a hurdle from the -Guildhall to his own house, “through the great streets where there be -most people {102} assembled, and through the great streets _that are -most dirty_.” The illustration is taken from the _Assissa Panis_ (temp. -Edw. I.), preserved among the City Records. The defaulting brewer or -brewster, in the reign of Edw. III., for the first offence was to -forfeit the ale, for the second to forswear the mistier (the mystery -or art of brewing), and on the third offence to forswear the City for -ever. However, the penalties varied from time to time, for in the reign -of Henry V., when the Liber Albus was compiled, the punishment of a -brewster convicted of selling ale contrary to the assize was, that for -the first offence she was to be fined 10s., for the second 20s., and -for the third that she should suffer the “punishment provided for her -in Westchepe,” which would probably be the tumbrel or the pillory. -Some confusion as to the appropriate punishment occasionally arose. In -1257, Sir Hugh Bygot, as Grafton’s Chronicle tells us, “came to the -Guylde-hall, and kept his Court and Plees there, without all order of -law, and contrary to the libertyes of the citie, and there punished the -bakers for lack of size by the tombrell, where beforetymes they were -punished by the Pillorye.” - -[Illustration: Punishment of the Hurdle.] - -Offending brewers and bakers, in some places, suffered on the Cucking -Stool. In the Borrow Lawes of Scotland, speaking of Browsters (“Wemen -quha brewes aill to be sauld,”) it is said, “Gif she makes gude ail, -that is sufficient. Bot gif she makes euel ail, contrair to the use -and consuetude of the burg, and is convict thereof, she sall pay ane -unlaw of aucht shillinges, or sal suffer the justice of the brugh, -that is, _she sall_ be put upon the Cock- stule, _and the aill sall be -distributed to the pure folke_.” - -In April, 1745, an ale-wife of Kingston-on-Thames was ducked in the -river, for scolding, in the presence of two thousand or more people. - -The following extracts from the old Assembly Books of Great {103} -Yarmouth give some idea of the powers possessed by corporate bodies -for the regulation of trade in olden times:— - -“Friday before Palm Sunday, 7 Edwd. VI. Agreed that no inhabitant shall -buy any beer to sell again but such as was brewed in the town, under -pain of 6s. 8d. a barrel. - -“Feb. 14. 1 Philip and Mary, 1554. M. Swansey, of Hickling, being a -foreigner, bought of a merchant stranger certain hopps—the buyer to -forfeit the Hopps, and he may buy them again of the Chamberlain. - -“March 19. 1 Mary, 1554. No inhabitant shall buy nor no ship shall -receive any beer brewed out of the town, under a penalty of 3s. 4d. -per gallon. - -“July 2. 1 Philip and Mary, 1554. No baker or brewer to bake or brewe -in the town unless appointed by the bailiffs. - -“Apl. 8. 15 Eliz., 1573. That brewers be ordered to brew with coals -instead of wood, from the latter’s exhorbitant price.” - -The Articles of the Free Fair (1658) held at Great Yarmouth, contain -the following regulation:— - -“Also that no brewer selle nor doe to be solde, a gallon of the beste -ale above _two pence_: a gallon of the second ale above one pennye -uppon the payne and perrille above sayde.” - -The records of the old municipal corporations of England that have -survived the destroying hand of time are very few, but it can hardly -be doubted that they contained very similar regulations to those given -above. In the _Domesday Book of Ipswich_ an order of the reign of -Edward I. provides as to Brewsters, that “after Michelmesse moneth, -whan men may have barlych of newe greyn, the ballyves of the forseid -toun doo cryen assize of ale by all the toun, after that the sellyng of -the corn be. And gif ther be founden ony that selle or brewe a geyns -the assise and the crye, be he punysshed be the forseyed ballyves and -by the court for the trespas, after the form conteyned in the Statute -of merchaundise (13 Edw. I., s. 3) of oure lord the kyng, and after law -and usage of the same toun.” - -Ricart’s _Kalendar of the City of Bristol_ contains the following -record: “Item, hit hath be usid, in semblable wyse, the seid maire -anon aftir Mighelmas, to do calle byfore theym in the seide Counseill -hous, all the Brewers of Bristowe; and yf the case require that malt -be scant and dere, then to commen there for the reformacion of the -same, and to bryng malte to a lower price, and that such price as -shall be sette by the maier upon malte, that no brewer breke it, upon -payne of XLs. forfeitable {104} to the Chambre of the Toune. And the -shyftyng[42] daies of the woke, specially the Wensdaies and Satirdaies, -the mair hath be used to walke in the morenynges to the Brewers howses, -to oversee thym in servyng of theire ale to the pouere commens of the -toune, and that they have theire trewe mesures; and his Ale-konner -with hym to taste and undirstand that the ale be gode, able, and -sety keeping their sise, or to be punyshed for the same, aftir the -constitucion of the Toune.” - - [42] The days when the ale was being moved to customers’ houses. - -Sometimes a whole township was fined for the default of some of its -members. In 1275 the township of Dunstable was fined 40s., because the -brewers had not kept the assize. - -Some curious and amusing entries are to be found in the _Munimenta -Academica_ of the University of Oxford, as to the regulations for the -brewing trade in the fifteenth century. In the year 1434 we find it -recorded that, “Seeing how great evils arise both to the clerks and -to the townsmen of the City of Oxford, owing to the negligence and -dishonesty of the brewers of ale,” Christopher Knollys, commissary, -assembles the brewers together in the church of the Blessed Mary the -Virgin, and commands them to provide sufficient malt for brewing; and -that two or three shall twice or thrice in the week carry round their -ale for public sale, under a penalty of 40s.; and John Weskew and -Nicholas Core, two of their number, are appointed supervisors of the -brewers. Each brewer is then made to swear on the Blessed Evangelists -to brew good ale and wholesome, and according to the assize, “so far as -his ability and _human frailty permits_.” - -It would appear that very considerable disorders prevailed in that -ancient seat of learning at this period. The Warden of Canterbury -College, for instance, is accused of having incited his scholars to -make a raid upon the ale of other scholars of the town, which they -accordingly did, and carried off ale to the value of 12d. - -The fair brewsters of the period seem to have held much the same ideas -as to the relative importance of the patronage of Town and Gown as -a fashionable Oxford tailor of the present day may be supposed to -entertain. In 1439 Alice Everarde is suspended “ab arte pandoxandi” -(from practising brewing) for ever, because she refused to brew ale for -sale for the common people of Oxford. - -In 1444 the brewers were made to swear before the Chancellor that they -would brew wholesome ale, and in such manner that the water {105} -should boil until it emitted a froth, that they would skim the froth -away, and that they would give the ale sufficient time to settle before -they sold it in the University; and Richard Benet swore that he would -let his ale stand twelve hours to clear, before he carried it to hall -or college, and that he would not mix the dregs with the ale when he -carried it for sale within the University. - -In 1449 the stewards and manciples of the college swear that nine of -the brewers have broken the assize and have brewed “an ale of little -or no strength, to the grave and no mean damage of the University and -Town, and that they are obstinate and rebels and refuse to serve the -Principals and others of the Halls with ale.” In 1464 John Janyn is -ordered by the Commissary to refund to Anisia Barbour, without the east -gate of Oxford, the sum of 8d., because he had sold her a cask of ale -for 20d., and “in our opinion and that of others who have just tasted -it, it is not worth more than 12d.” - -The sister University exercised a similar jurisdiction over the brewing -trade, and it is mentioned in Rymer’s _Fœdera_ (R. 2. 934) that in -the year 1336, on a petition of the Chancellor and scholars of the -University of Cambridge, the _ancient_ privilege of the University, -that, on the demand of the Chancellor, the Mayor and bailiffs should -make trial or assize of the bread or ale, was restored. A curious -survival of the municipal jurisdiction over the vendors of Cambridge -ale is recorded in Hone’s _Every-Day Book_, as existing at the annual -fair on Stourbridge Common during the latter half of last century: -“Besides the eight servants called _red coats_, who are employed as -constables attendant upon the Mayor of Cambridge, who held a court of -justice during the fair, there was another person dressed in similar -clothing, with a string over his shoulders, from whence were suspended -spigots and fossets, and also round each arm many more were fastened. -He was called _Lord of the Tap_, and his duty consisted in visiting all -the booths in which ale was sold, to determine whether it was a fit and -proper beverage for the persons attending the fair.” - -In making the ale of Old England, wheat was frequently malted and used -with barley malt. In times of scarcity this practice was now and again -forbidden as tending to unduly enhance the price of bread. In 1316, -ground malt having risen during the preceding fourteen years from 3s. -4d. to 13s. 4d. the quarter, a proclamation was issued prohibiting -the malting of wheat. The regulation, however, was unpopular and -difficult to enforce, and wheat continued to be malted and mixed with -the more appropriate grain. Receipts of more recent times frequently -{106} mention this use of wheat malt. One of these of the sixteenth -century is as follows:— - -“To brewe beer. 10 quarters of malte, 2 quarters of wheete, 2 quarters -of oates, 40 pound weight of hoppys—to make 60 barellys of sengyll -beer; the barel of aell contains 32 galones, and the barell of beer 36 -gallons.” - -The restrictive legislation was not confined to ale, for in 1330 we -find it enacted: “Because there are more taverners in the realm than -were wont to be, selling as well corrupt wines as wholesome, and have -sold the gallon at such price as they themselves would, because there -was no punishment ordained for them, as hath been for them that sell -bread and ale, to the great hurt of the people,” therefore wine must -be sold at a reasonable price. No sum, however, appears to have been -fixed, and we can well imagine that the ideas of the innkeeper and -his customer might not altogether agree on the question of what was a -_reasonable_ price. - -Not only was the price of ale fixed, but its strength and quality -were also subjected to the experienced taste of the ale-conner, an -officer appointed to test the goodness of the brew. The ale-conner’s -appellation appears to be derived from his power of conning, _i.e._, -knowing of or judging the liquor, and reminds one of Chaucer’s line:— - - “Well coude he knowe a draught of London ale.” - -The ale-conners were appointed annually in the courts leet of every -manor; also in boroughs and towns corporate; and in many places, in -compliance with charters and ancient custom, appointments to this -office are still made, though the duties have fallen into disuse. - -The following is the oath of this ale official, taken from the _Liber -Albus_, compiled in the reign of Henry V. by John Carpenter, clerk, -and Richard Whittington, mayor:—“You shall swear, that you shall know -of no brewer, or brewster, cook, or pie-baker, in your ward, who sells -the gallon of best ale for more than one penny halfpenny, or the gallon -of second for more than one penny, or otherwise than by measure sealed -and full of clear ale; or who brews less than he used to do before this -cry, by reason hereof, or withdraws himself from following his trade -the rather by reason of this cry; or if any persons shall do contrary -to any one of these points, you shall certify the Alderman of your ward -and of their names. And that you, so soon as you shall be required to -taste any ale of a brewer or brewster, shall be ready to do the same; -and in case that it be less good than it used to be before this cry, -you, by assent {107} of your Alderman, shall set a reasonable price -thereon, according to your discretion; and if any one shall afterwards -sell the same above the said price, unto your Alderman you shall -certify the same. And that for gift, promise, knowledge, hate or other -cause whatsoever, no brewer, brewster, huckster, cook, or pie-baker, -who acts against any one of the points aforesaid, you shall conceal, -spare or tortuously aggrieve; nor when you are required to taste ale, -shall absent yourself without reasonable cause and true; but all things -which unto your office pertains to do, you shall well and lawfully do. -So God you help, and the saints.” No doubt this oath was regularly -repeated with due solemnity, but we can imagine with what a subtle -irony the official described in _The Cobler of Canterburie_ would have -repeated the part of the oath having reference to absenting himself -when required to taste ale. - - A nose he had that gan show, - What liquor he loved I trow; - For he had before long seven yeare, - Beene of the towne the ale-conner. - -Absent himself—not if he knew it! - -The ale-conners also had the power of presenting, _i.e._, accusing at -the court leet, any brewer who refused to sell ale to his neighbours -though he had some for sale. - -The officials who tested ale bore various appellations. At the Court -Leet of the Manor of New Buckenham, in Norfolk, the name under which -this person was known was the _ale-founder_. In rolls of the same -Manor of earlier date he is called Gustator Cervisiæ. In the records -of the Manor Court of Hale in the 15th century, in a list of persons -fined, occurs the entry, “Thomas Layet, quia pandocavit semel iid., et -quia concelavit le fowndynge pot iiid.;” that is, a fine of 2d. was -inflicted because he brewed in some manner contrary to the custom of -the manor; as by not putting out his sign when he brewed, or by not -summoning the ale-founder to taste the brew as soon as he had finished; -and a fine of 3d. because he concealed the “fowndynge” pot, the -vessel, probably, in which he had brewed. - -In Scrope’s _History of Castle Coombe_ we are told that the rules of -that place in reference to the making and sale of ale were numerous and -perplexing. No one was permitted to brew ale so long as any church-ale -lasted, nor so long as the keeper of the park had any to sell, nor -at {108} any time without licence of the lord or court; nor to sell -without a sign, or, during the fair, without an ale-stake hung out, nor -to ask a higher price for ale than that fixed by the jury of assize, -nor to lower the quality below what the ale-tasters approved, nor to -sell at times of Divine service, nor after nine o’clock at night, nor -to sell at all without entering into a bond for £10, with a surety of -£5, to keep orderly houses. The frequent changes in the price allowed -show the difficulty the authorities had in settling the problem, how -to have good liquor cheap. In the reign of Elizabeth all systematic -attempts to set the price of ale seem to have been discontinued. At -a court held in May in the tenth year of that queen, the tithing-man -reported that “the ale-wyves had broken all the orders of the last -laweday.” The court received the announcement in silence, and made no -order. The ale-wives had conquered; let us hope they used their victory -with discretion. - -The practice seems to have prevailed here as elsewhere of compelling a -brewer to put out his sign or ale-stake when he had brewed, as a signal -to the local ale-conner that his services were required. In 1402 we -find that John Lautroppe was presented to the court “quia brasiavit iij -vicibus sub uno signo,” _i.e._, he had brewed three times but had only -displayed the legal signal once. The only penalties recorded as being -imposed for drunkenness appear to be one in 1618 and one in 1631; but -it would hardly be safe to argue that the inhabitants of the district -were an exceptionally sober race, for though the manor rolls of Castle -Coombe date from 1346, no legislative effort to restrain excess in -drinking was made till the reign of James I., and such laws were always -highly unpopular, and were very sparingly or not at all enforced. - -Tierney, in his _History of Sussex_, gives the following extract from -the rolls of Arundel: “John Barbs, Roger Shadyngden, and others, -brewers, refuse to sell a gallon of ale for one farthing according to -the proclamation of the mayor, and are consequently fined twopence -each.” The passage in the _Taming of the Shrew_, in which the servant, -seeking to convince Christopher Sly that his former life is nothing but -the delusion of a crazy brain, tells him how he would - - . . . rail upon the mistress of the house, - And say you would present her at the leet, - Because she brought stone jugs and no sealed quarts, - -shows that this jurisdiction of the manor courts was still in full -force in Shakspere’s day. {109} - -Kitchen, in his work on _Courts_ (1663), in writing of courts leet, -says:—“Also if tapsters sell by cups and dishes, or measures, sealed or -unsealed, is enquirable.” It is noted in Dr. Langbaine’s collections, -under January 23, 1617, that John Shurle had a patent from Arthur Lake, -Bishop of Bath and Wells and Vice-Chancellor of Oxford, for the office -of ale-taster (to the University). The office required “that he go to -every ale-brewer that day they brew, according to their courses, and -taste their ale; for which his ancient fee is one gallon of strong ale, -and two gallons of less strong worth a penny.” - -In some places the office of ale-conner still survives. The appointment -of four ale-conners for the City of London is said to date as far back -as the first charter of William the Conqueror. Originally they were -elected by the folkesmote, afterwards at the wardmote, and from the -time of Henry V. till the present day by the livery. We have before us -an extract from a daily paper of the 16th September, 1884, in which is -recorded the appointment of an ale-taster for the ancient borough of -Christchurch. - -The following curious application was made in the year 1864 to the -manorial court of the Duke of Buccleuch:—“To the Manorial Court of the -Right Hon. Walter Francis, Duke of Buccleuch and Queensbury, sitting -at Haslingden, this 18th day of October, 1864.—This is to give notice -to your honourable court, that I, Richard Taylor, by appointment for -the last five years Ale-taster for that part of her Majesty’s dominions -called Rossendale, do hereby tender my resignation to hold that office -after this day, as I am wishful, while young and active, and as my -talents are required in another sphere of usefulness, to devote them to -that purpose. For five successive years your honourable court has done -me the honour of electing me to the above office, which I have held, -and performed the duties thereof efficiently, and without disgrace. -Having won your confidence by holding this office, at a late sitting of -your honourable court it pleased you to appoint me bellman for Bacup, -and while I resign the former office, am wishful to hold my connexion -with his Grace the Duke Francis Walter, to continue to cry aloud as -bellman for Bacup, and, as heretofore, to cry for nothing for those -who have nothing to pay with. Given under our hand and seal this 18th -day of October, in the year of our Lord 1864. Signed, Richard Taylor, -Ale-taster for Rossendale. God save the Queen.” - -As early as the days of Edward I. attempts were made to bring about the -early closing of taverns; but the authorities seem to have moved rather -in the interests of peace than of temperance. {110} - -In a preamble to a statute passed in that reign it is stated that -“offenders, going about during the night, do commonly resort and have -their meetings and evil talk in taverns more than elsewhere, lying in -wait and watching their time to do mischief.” It is therefore enacted -that taverns are to be closed at the tolling of the curfew bell. And if -any taverner does otherwise, he shall be put on his surety, the first -time by the hanap (a two-handled tankard, sometimes of silver) of his -tavern, or by some other good pledge therein found, and fined 40d., -with various cumulative punishments for successive offences until on -the fifth conviction he shall forswear such trade in the City for ever. - -In the year 1455 it was enacted “that no person that in the County of -Kent shall commonly brew any ale or beer to sell, shall make nor do to -be made any malt in his house, or in any other place to his own use, at -his costs and expences above an C quarters in the year, under penalty -of x li., and this statute is to be in force for the space of 5 years.” -This act appears to have been passed to protect the maltsters of other -places from the competition of the Kentish men. An act was passed in -1496 “against vacabonds and beggars,” which directs two justices of the -peace to “rejecte and put away comen ale-selling in townes and places -where they shall think convenyent, and to take suertie of the keepers -of ale-houses of their gode behavyng, by the discrecion of the seid -justices, and in the same to be avysed and aggreed at the time of their -sessions.” - -In 1531 brewers were forbidden to take more than such prices and rates -as should be thought sufficient, at the discretion of the justices of -the peace within every shire, or by the mayor and sheriffs in a city. - -By 5 and 6 Edward VI. c. 25, entitled “An Act for Keepers of Ale-houses -to be bounde by Recognizances,” it is enacted that “forasmuch as -intolerable hurts and troubles to the commonwealth do daily grow and -increase through such abuses and disorders as are had and used in -common ale-houses, the Justices of the Peace are authorized to close -such houses at their discretion.” And we find later, in Elizabeth’s -time, that Lord Keeper Egerton, in his charge to the judges when going -on circuit, bade them ascertain, for the Queen’s information, how -many ale-houses the justices of the peace had _pulled down_, so that -the good justices might be rewarded and the evil removed. Surely the -advocates for total suppression of the sale of alcoholic drinks were -born some two or three centuries too late! A quaint jingle, entitled -“Skelton’s Ghost,” which may be attributed to some post-Elizabethan -rhymer, contains an allusion to the legal price of ale. {111} - - To all tapsters and tiplers, - And all ale-house vitlers, - Inne-keepers and cookes, - That for pot-sale lookes, - And will not give measure, - But at your owne pleasure, - Contrary to law, - Scant measure will draw - In pot and in canne, - To cozen a man - Of his full quart a penny, - Of you there’s too many. - For in King Harry’s time, - When I made this rime - Of Elynor Rumming, - With her good ale tunning, - Our pots were full quarted, - We were not thus thwarted - With froth canne and neck pot - And such nimble quick shot, - That a dowzen will score - For twelve pints and no more. - -The views of a cozening hostess of the period are amusingly set forth -in a quaint old ballad taken from the Roxburghe collection, a portion -of which finds place on the following page. - -The varying prices and qualities of ale and beer, as sanctioned by -legal authority, have been so fully treated of in another part of this -work (Chapter VIII.) that it is not necessary to dwell further upon the -subject. - -[Illustration: All is ours and our Huſbands, or the Country Hoſtelles -Vindication. - -To the tune of _The Carman’s Whiſtle, or High Boys up go we_. - - * * * * * - - For if any honeſt company - Of boon good fellows come, - And call for liquor merrily - In any private room, - Then I fill the Jugs with Froth, - Or cheat them of one or two, - If I can ſwear them out of both - The reckoning is my due. - - * * * * * - - _Roxburghe Ballads._ -] - -In the year 1531, brewers were forbidden to make the barrels in which -their ale was sold. The reason for this extraordinary prohibition is -thus given in the quaint words of the preamble of the act:—“Whereas -the ale-brewers and beer-brewers of this realm of England have used, -and daily do use, for their own singular lucre, profit, and gain, to -make in their own houses their barrels, kilderkins, and firkins, of -much less quantity than they ought to be, to the great hurt, prejudice, -and damage of the King’s liege people, and contrary to divers acts, -statutes, ancient laws and customs heretofore made, had, and used, and -to the destruction of the poor craft and mystery of coopers,” therefore -no beer-brewer or {113} ale-brewer is to “occupy . . . the mystery -or craft of coopers.” The coopers are commanded to make every barrel, -which is intended to contain beer for sale, of the capacity of xxxvi. -gallons; ale barrels, however, are to contain but xxxii. gallons, and -so in proportion for smaller vessels. The wardens of the coopers are -empowered to search for illegal vessels, and to mark every correct -vessel with “the sign and token of St. Anthony’s cross.” This cross is -possibly the origin of the X, double X and treble X now in use upon -casks. A correspondent of _Notes and Queries_, however, thinks that the -letter X on brewers’ casks is probably thus derived:—Simplex—single -X or X. Duplex—double X or XX. Triplex—treble X or XXX. This was -suggested by Owen’s epigram, _lib._ xii. 34. - - Laudatur vinum simplex, cerevisia duplex - Est bona duplicitas, optima simplicitas. - -From early times laws concerning our exports and imports were -considered as specially appertaining to the royal prerogative. Corn and -malt, ale and beer, could only be exported by royal licence. This is -instanced by the order of Edward III., in 1366, to the ports of London, -Sandwich, Bristol, Southampton, and eight other places:— - -“The King, to the collectors of customs in the port of London, Greeting. - -“We command you, that all merchants and others, who wish to export -corn, malt, ale, and other victuals, be allowed, after first taking -an oath or some other sufficient security from them, to export such -things to our town of Calais and to other of our possessions, but not -elsewhere.” - -In later times a considerable revenue was raised for the Crown by the -profits of these export licences. In the reign of Edward VI. the export -of beer was regulated by an act (1543) which provides that no larger -vessel than a barrel was to be used for export purposes, under fine of -6s. 8d., and that every exporter should give security for importing -so much “clapboard” as would be an equivalent for the barrels he took -out of the country. Queen Elizabeth jealously guarded the prerogative -in this matter, and in her thrifty way seems to have made a pretty -penny from the licences. English beer had at that time become widely -famed, and could be obtained in foreign parts, as may be learnt by a -letter from Charles Paget to Walsingham (1582), in which he announces -that he is going to Rouen for his health, and intends to drink _English -beer_. {114} - -In 1572, Thomas Cantata, a Venetian, sought permission to export 200 -tuns of beer, on condition of his making known to her Majesty certain -inventions useful for the defence of the realm. In the same year one -Th. Smith had licence to export 4,000 tuns of beer. - -In 1586, Th. Cullen, of Maldon, Essex, applies to the Council by letter -in which he asks, as a recompense for having discovered Mr. Mantell, a -traitor, that he may have a licence as a free victualler for twenty-one -years, or a licence to transport 400 tuns of beer, or else to have -£40 in money. Even noblemen engaged in the export trade, for in 1603, -licence was granted to Lord Aubigny to export 6,000 tuns of double beer. - -The power of granting licences to inns and ale-houses in the days of -Elizabeth and her immediate successors, was frequently given by letters -patent to favourites or to persons prepared to pay for the privilege. -In 1590 Wm. Carr received a licence for seven years, to give leave to -any persons in London and Westminster to brew beer for sale. The abuses -that grew out of this system formed one of the grievances examined into -by Parliament in 1621. - -A statute was passed in the fourth year of James I. enacting that -“whereas the loathsome and odious sin of drunkenness is of late -grown into common use, being the root and foundation of many other -enormous sins, as bloodshed, etc., to the great dishonour of God and -of our nation, the overthrow of many good arts, and manual trades, -the disabling of divers good workmen, and the general impoverishment -of many good subjects, abusively wasting the good creatures of God,” -a fine of five shillings is imposed for drunkenness, together with -six hours in the stocks. Some attempt had been previously made at -legislation in this direction. In Townsend’s _Historical Collections_ -(1680) an account is found under date Tuesday, November 3rd, 1601, of a -debate on a Bill to restrain the Excess and Abuse used in Victualling -Houses. Mr. Johnson moved, that “bodily punishment might be inflicted -on Alehouse keepers that should be offenders, and that provision be -made to restrain Resort to Alehouses.” In the same bill Sir George -Moore spoke against drunkenness, and desired “some special provision -should be made against it;” and, “touching the Authority of Justices -of the Assize and of the Peace, given by this bill, That they shall -assign Inns, and Inn Keepers. I think that inconvenient: for _an -Inn is a man’s inheritance_, and they are set at great rates, _and -therefore, not to be taken away from any particular man_.” The attempt -of James who, to tell the truth, was himself not by any means free -from “the loathsome and hideous sin,” to {115} make his subjects -sober by compulsion, seems to have met with but poor success, for -in 1609 another statute was passed which, while confessing that, -“notwithstanding all former laws and provisions already made, the -inordinate and extreme vice of excessive drinking and drunkenness doth -more and more abound,” enacts that a person convicted under the former -act shall be deprived of his licence for the space of three years. In -1627 a fine of twenty shillings and a whipping is imposed for keeping -an ale-house without a licence. - -Drunkenness seems to have been prosecuted with some severity during -the Commonwealth time, and the entries in the records of convictions -for being “drunk in my view” would seem to point to the fact that the -offenders were haled before the judgment seat ere the effects of their -debauches had passed away. - -As early as the middle of the fifteenth century some attempts were made -to bring about “Sunday closing.” They seem to have taken the form, for -the most part, of bye-laws of corporations, and to have been generally -unsuccessful. In 1428 the corporation of Hull prohibited the vintners -and ale-house keepers from delivering or selling ale upon the Sunday, -under penalty of 6s. 8d. for sellers and 3s. 4d. for buyers. In -1444 an act was made by the Common Council of London “that upon the -Sunday should no manner of thing within the franchise of the City be -bought or sold, neither victual nor other things.” The attempt was -apparently unsuccessful, as we are told that “it held but a while,” -but it was renewed from time to time in some form or other. In 1555 an -order was made by the Privy Council of Queen Mary, and directed to the -Lord Mayor and Aldermen of the City of London, whereby taverns, ale -or beer houses, &c., are directed to be closed on “Sondaye, or other -festeyvall or hollye daye duringe all the severall tymes of mattyns, -highe masse, and evynsonge, or of eny sermon to be songe or sayde -within their severall parishe Churches upon payne of ymprysonmente, -as well of the boddyes of every suche howseholder, as also of the -boddyes of every suche persone as shall so presume to eate or drynke.” -A hundred years later many entries occur in parish and other records of -penalties for Sunday drinking. - - * * * * * - -The books of St. Giles’ parish furnish the following extracts:— - - 1641. Received of the Vintner at the Catt in Queene - Streete, for p’mitting of tipling on the Lord’s - day £1 10 0 {116} - 1644. Received of three poor men, for drinking on the - Sabbath daie at Tottenham Court £0 4 0 - 1646. Received of Mr. Hooker, for brewing on a Fast day 0 2 6 - 1648. Received from Isabel Johnson, at the Cole Yard, for - drinking on the sabbath day 0 4 0 - 1655. Received of a Mayd taken in Mrs. Jackson’s Ale-house - on the sabbath day 0 5 0 - Received of a Scotchman drinking at Robert Owen’s - on the Sabbath 0 2 0 - 1658. Received of Joseph Piers, for refusing to open his - doores to have his house searched on the Lord’s - daie 0 10 0 - -In 1641, an amusing pamphlet was published on the subject of Sunday -closing. Its title, frontispiece, and an extract from its contents are -given on the opposite page. - -About this period was in vogue that curious old form of punishment -which was known as the drunkard’s, or Newcastle, cloak. This garment -was nothing more nor less than a beer barrel, worn in the manner shown -in the accompanying illustration. Possibly the inventor of sandwich men -derived his idea from this source. - -[Illustration] - -Locke, in his second letter on Toleration, informs us that the -intolerance of the age with regard to Dissent was carried to such -length that hardly any walk in life was free from obstacles thrown in -the way of Dissenters pursuing it. Amongst other things he mentions -that those who had licences to sell ale were compelled to receive the -Sacrament according to the rites of the Church of England. We are -unable to find in contemporary records any confirmation of this alleged -regulation. - -[Illustration: The Lamentable Complaints of Nick Froth the Tapſter, and -Ruleroſt the Cooke, concerning the reſtraint lately ſet forth, againſt -drinking, potting, and piping on the Sabbath day and againſt ſelling -meat. - - _Cook._—“There is ſuch news in the world will anger thee to heare of, - it is as bad, as bad may be.” - - _Froth._—“Is there ſo? I pray thee what is it, tell me whatever it be.” - - _Cook._—“Have you not heard of the reſtraint lately come out againſt - us, from the higher powers; whereby we are commanded not to ſell - meat nor draw drink upon Sundays, as will anſwer the contrary at our - perils.” - - * * * * * - - _Froth._—“I much wonder, Maſter Ruleroſt, why my trade ſhould be put - downe, it being ſo neceſſary in a Commonwealth.” -] - -Efforts were made by the brewers from time to time to bring about -an alteration in the law restricting the quality of beer to two -sorts, the strong and the small. _The Brewers’ Plea or a Vindication -of Strong Beer_, London, 1647, thus gives the views of the brewers -on the advantages to be obtained by allowing stronger beer to be -brewed:—“For of hops and malt, our native commodities (and therefore -the more agreeable to the constitutions of our native inhabitants), may -be made such strong beer (being well boiled and hopped, and kept its -full time) as that {118} it may serve instead of Sack, if authority -shall think fit, whereby they may also know experimentally the virtue -of those creatures, at their full height; which beer being well brewed, -of a low, pure amber colour, clear and sparkling, noblemen and the -gentry may be pleased to have English Sack in their wine cellars, -and taverns also to sell to those who are not willing, or cannot -conveniently lay it in their own houses; which may be a means greatly -to increase and improve the tillage of England, and also the profitable -plantations of hop grounds . . . and produce at lesser rates (than -wines imported) such good strong beer as shall be most cherishing to -poor labouring people, without which they cannot well subsist; their -food being for the most part of such things as afford little or bad -nourishment, nay, sometimes dangerous; and would infect them with many -sicknesses and diseases, were they not preserved (as with an antidote) -with good beer, whose virtues and effectual operations, by help of the -hop well boiled in it, are more powerful to expel poisonous infections -than is yet publicly known, or taken notice of.” - -Another ineffectual plea, somewhat later in date, may be here -mentioned. In _The grand concern of England explained in several -proposals to the consideration of the Parliament_, London, 1673, -petition is made to Parliament that legislation of a protective nature -may be granted to the brewers’ trade. The proposal is “That Brandy, -Coffee, Mum, Tea, and Chocolate may be prohibited,” for these greatly -hinder the consumption of Barley, Malt, and Wheat, the product of our -land. - -“But the prohibition of Brandy would be otherwise advantageous to the -Kingdom, and prevent the destruction of his majesty’s subjects; many of -whom have been killed by drinking thereof, it not agreeing with their -constitutions. - -“Before brandy (which is now become common and sold in every little -alehouse) came over into England in such quantities as it now doth, we -drank good strong beer and ale; and all laborious people (which are far -the greatest part of the Kingdom), their bodies requiring, after hard -labour, some strong drink to refresh them, did therefore every morning -and evening use to drink a pot of ale, or a flagon of strong beer; -which greatly promoted the consumption of our own grain, and did them -no great prejudice; it hindered not their work, neither did it take -away their senses, nor cost them much money.” - -This petition, like the last, seems to have been of no effect, for we -find these “destructive” drinks, brandy, coffee, tea, and chocolate, -still in use in this country, and not yet prohibited by law. {119} - -Arriving now at a period where the ancient gives way to the -comparatively modern, this chapter necessarily ends. In the laws of the -present day relating to ale and beer, are curiosities by the score; but -we should hardly earn the thanks of our readers for devoting half this -book to matters which are common knowledge. Suffice it to quote a verse -from the lays of the Brasenose College butler, written, doubtless, at a -time when it was first proposed to repeal the old beer tax, and which -tells in simple words the probable result:— - - Yet beer, they tell us, now will be - Much cheaper than before; - Still, if they take the duty off, - _In duty_ we drink more. - -[Illustration] - -{120} - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - - - Come all that love good company, - And hearken to my ditty, - ’Tis of a lovely Hoastess fine, - That lives in London City, - Which sells good ale, nappy and stale, - And always thus sings she, - “My ale was tunn’d when I was young, - And a little above my knee.” - _The Merry Hoastess._ - - “. . doughty sons of Hops and Malt.” - _A Vade Mecum for Malt Worms._ - -_BREWING AND MALTING IN EARLY TIMES. — THE ALE-WIVES. — THE BREWERS OF -OLD LONDON AND THE BREWERS’ COMPANY. — ANECDOTES. — QUAINT EPITAPHS._ - -It seemeth well that before we record the doings of departed brewers, -brewsters, and ale-wives, a page or so should be devoted to the two -principal ingredients—malt and water—used by those ancient worthies in -compounding their “merrie-goe-downe.” - -Old Fuller thus moralizes on the art of malting:—“Though commonness -causeth contempt, excellent the Art of first inventing thereof. I -confesse it facile to make Barley Water, an invention which found out -itself, with little more than the joyning of the ingredients together. -But to make mault for Drink, was a masterpiece indeed. How much of -Philosophy concurred to the first Kill of Mault, and before it was -turned on the floor, how often was it toss’d in the brain of the first -inventor thereof. First, to give it a new growth more than the earth -had bestowed thereon. Swelling it in water to make it last the longer -by breaking it, and taste the sweeter by corrupting it. Secondly, -by making it to passe the fire, the grain (by Art fermented) {121} -acquiring a lusciousnesse (which by nature it had not) whereby it doth -both strengthen and sweeten the water wherein it is boyled.” - -Those practically engaged in the production of our English national -drink, whether maltsters or brewers, will no doubt be interested to -compare the art of malting as it was carried on three hundred years -ago in this country, with the more familiar processes of to-day. A -description of malting in the sixteenth century is given by Harrison. -“Our drinke,” he says, “whose force and continuance is partlie -touched alreadie, is made of barleie, water and hops, sodden and -mingled together, by the industrie of our bruers, in a certain exact -proportion. But before our barleie doo come unto their hands, it -susteineth great alteration, and is converted into malt, the making -whereof I will here set downe in such order as my skill therein may -extend unto. . . Our malt is made all the yeare long in some great -townes, but in gentlemen’s and yeomen’s houses, who commenlie make -sufficient for their owne expenses onelie, the winter half is thought -most meet for that commoditie, howbeit the malt which is made when -the willow doth bud, is commonlie worst of all, nevertheless each -one indeuereth to make it of the best barleie, which is steeped in a -cesterne, in greater or less quantitie, by the space of three daies and -three nights, untill it be thoroughly soaked. This being doone, the -water is drained from it by little and little, till it be quite gone. -Afterward they take it out and laieng it upon the cleane floore on a -round heape, it resteth so until it be readie to shoote at the roote -end, which maltsters call ‘comming.’ When it beginneth, therefor, to -shoote in this maner, they saie it is ‘come,’ and then foorthwith they -spread it abroad, first thick and afterward thinner and thinner upon -the said floore (as it commeth) and there it lieth (with turning every -day foure or five times) by the space of one and twenty daies at the -least, the workemen not suffering it in any wise to take any heat, -whereby the bud end should spire, that bringeth foorth the blade, and -by which oversight or hurt of the stuffe it selfe the malt would be -spoiled, and turne small commoditie to the bruer. When it has gone or -been turned so long upon the floore, they carie it to a kill covered -with haire cloth, where they give it gentle heats (after they have -spread it there verie thin abroad) till it be dry, in the meane while -they turne it often that it may be uniformelie dried. For the more it -be dried (yet must it be doone with soft fire) the sweeter and better -the malt is, and the longer it will continue, whereas if it be not -dried downe (as they call it) but slackelie handled, it will breed -a kind of worme, called a wivell, which {122} groweth in the floure -of the corne, and in processe of time will so eat out it selfe, that -nothing shall remaine of the graine but even the verie rind or huske. -The best malt is tried by hardnesse and colour for if it looke fresh -with a yellow hew and thereto will write like a peece of chalke, after -you have bitten a kirnell in sunder in the middest, then you may -assure yourselfe that it is dried downe. In some places it is dried -at leisure with wood alone, or strawe alone, in other with wood and -straw together, but of all the straw dried is the most excellent. For -the wood dried malt when it is brued, beside that the drinke is higher -of colour, it dooth hurt and annoie the head of him that is not used -thereto, bicause of the smoake. Such also as use both indifferentlie -doo barke, cleave, and drie their wood in an oven, thereby to remove -all moisture that should procure the fume, and this malt is in the -second place, and with the same likewise, that which is made with dried -firze, broome, &c.: whereas if they also be occupied greene, they are -in a maner so prejudicial to the corne as is the moist wood. And thus -much of our malts, in bruing whereof some grind the same somewhat -groselie, and in seething well the liquor that shall be put unto it, -they adde to everie nine quarters of mault one of headcorne, which -consisteth of sundrie graine as wheate and otes groond . . .” - -Though the reasons which caused one kind of water to be more suitable -than another for brewing, were not so well understood in olden days -as they are at present, our ancestors had learned in the school of -experience that the quality of the water had much to do with the -quality of the ale and beer brewed from it. Speaking of brewing, -Harrison says: “In this trade also our Bruers observe verie diligentlie -the nature of the water, which they dailie occupy, and soile through -which it passeth, for all waters are not of like goodnesse, sith the -fattest standing water is alwaies the best; for although the waters -that run by chalke and cledgie soiles be good, and next unto the -Thames water which is the most excellent, yet the water that standeth -in either of these is the best for us that dwell in the countrie, as -whereon the sunne lyeth longest, and fattest fish are bred. But of all -other the fennie and morish is the worst, and the clerist spring water -next unto it.” - -The silver Thames—very different then from the turbid noisome sewer of -to-day—by reason of the excellence of its water, formed the ordinary -source of supply for the old London Brewers, many of whom erected -their breweries on or near its banks. As early as 1345, however, there -seems to have been a tendency on the part of certain brewers to get -their water elsewhere. In that year a complaint was made to the {123} -authorities on behalf of the Commonalty of the City of London, “that -whereas of old a certain conduit” (probably the Cheapside conduit -constructed in Henry III.’s reign) “was built in the midst of the City -of London, that so the rich and middling persons therein might there -have water for preparing their food, and the poor for their drink; -the water aforesaid was now so wasted by Brewers and persons keeping -brewhouses and making malt, that in these modern times it will no -longer suffice for the rich and middling, nor yet for the poor.” In -consequence of this state of things, the brewers were forbidden to -use the conduit water under penalty, for the first offence to forfeit -the _tankard_ or vessel in which the water was carried, on a second -conviction to suffer fine, and on the third, imprisonment. - -More than four hundred years ago the waters of the Thames were at some -states of the tide too turbid for use, and accordingly in the reign -of Henry VI., the Wardens of the Brewers’ Company were commanded not -to take water for brewing from the Thames when it was disturbed, but -to wait till low water and the turn of the tide. In Queen Elizabeth’s -reign the Thames was beginning to acquire an evil repute, if we may -believe the author of _Pierce Penilesse, his supplication to the -Deuill_ (1592), who refers to the London Brewers in terms of contempt. -“Some” says he, “are raised by corrupt water, as gnats, to which we -may liken brewers, that, by retayling _filthie Thames water_, come -in a few yeres to be worth fortie or fiftie thousand pound.” Stow -remarks of the London Brewers that “for the more part they remain near -the friendly waters of the Thames.” In his time many brewhouses were -gathered together in the parish of St. Catharine, near the Tower, and -are distinguished on the map of London given in the Civitates Orbis by -the name of “Beer Houses.” - -Many years ago a canal led up from the Thames to the Stag Brewery at -Pimlico, and provided that now famous brewhouse with water. - -All through the reign of Elizabeth, and for some time afterwards, -the Thames in the neighbourhood of the City, continued to afford the -greater part of the water used by the London Brewers. Until the New -River water was brought to London, an event which took place in the -time of James I., the Thames would naturally furnish the chief supply. - -The regulations in force touching the Thames water, had regard to the -manner in which it was carried from the river to the Breweries, and -did not in any way seek to restrict the use of the water as unfit for -its purpose. For instance, in the third year of Elizabeth’s reign the -Wardens of the Brewers were called before the Common Council and {124} -charged not to fetch the water of the Thames in a “liquor-cart,”[43] -but to make use of “boge” horses (horses carrying boges, _i.e._ -water-barrels), according to the ancient laws and ordinances. The -command was subsequently relaxed in favour of brewers living close to -the River, and drawing water from “the Water-gate at the Tower Hill -or at the Whitefriars.” The reason for this regulation is not stated, -but the partial removal of the restriction would seem to show that it -was intended to prevent the crowding of the narrow thoroughfares of -the City with brewers’ carts passing and repassing. The horse with his -“boge” would pass another horse with ease, while two “liquor carts” -meeting would certainly block the way. This interpretation is rather -confirmed by a subsequent regulation, made three years before the Great -Fire cleared away many of the narrow lanes of the City, that brewers’ -drays should not go abroad in the streets after 11 a.m. on account of -the obstruction to traffic thereby occasioned. - - [43] “Liquor” had then, and also at a far earlier date, the same - technical sense as it now has, and meant water. - -Turning now from the ingredients used in brewing to the actual brewers, -it will not surprise any one who has read the chapter immediately -preceding the present one, to be informed that in early times a great -part of the brewing trade was in the hands of the gentler sex. Alreck, -King of Hordoland, is said to have chosen Geirhild for his queen, in -consequence of her proficiency in this necessary art, and what was not -derogatory to the dignity of a queen might of course be performed by a -subject. Accordingly, as has been already shown, even as late as the -seventeenth century the brewing of ale and beer for the household was -looked upon as belonging to the special province of the housewife and -her female servants. Anciently the same custom prevailed in regard to -the brewing of ale for sale, and the brewsters or ale-wives had at one -time a great part of the trade, both in the country and the city. Mr. -Riley, in his preface to the _Liber Albus_, goes so far as to say that -even down to the close of the fifteenth century, if not later, the -London brewing trade was almost entirely in the hands of women, and -he states that Fleet Street was at that time nearly wholly tenanted -by ale-wives and felt-cap makers. With all respect for Mr. Riley’s -intimate knowledge of the ancient lore connected with London Town, it -must be said that this view seems to be incorrect, for in a list of the -London Brewers, made in the reign of Henry V., and still existing in -the City Records, out of about three hundred names, only fifteen are -those of women. {125} The ale-wives of Fleet Street were probably not -brewers, but hucksters or retailers. - -The first ale-wife deserving of special mention is the Chester -“tapstere,” whose evil doings and fate are recorded in one of the -Chester Misteries, or Miracle Plays, of the fourteenth century. The -good folk of Chester seem to have had a peculiar dislike to being -subjected to the tricks of dishonest brewers and taverners. Even in -Saxon times it was a regulation of the City that one who brewed bad -ale should be placed on a cucking-stool and plunged in a pool of muddy -water. For the ale-wife of the old play a worse fate was reserved, and -though she was a fictitious person, many of the audience would no doubt -find little difficulty in fitting some of their acquaintances with -the character depicted. With that mixture of the sacred and profane -which to a modern ear is, to say the least, somewhat startling, the -Mystery in question describes the descent of Christ into Hell and the -final redemption of all men out of purgatory—all, save one. A criminal -remains whose sins are of so deep a dye that she may not be forgiven. -She thus confesses her guilt:— - - Some time I was a tavernere, - A gentel gossepp, and a tapstere - Of wine and ale, a trusty brewer, - Which woe hath me bewrought. - Of cannes I kept no true measure, - My cuppes I solde at my pleasure, - Deceavinge many a creature, - Tho’ my ale were nought. - -[Illustration: The Sad Fate of a Mediæval Ale-wife.] - -{126} - -The ale-wife is then carried off into Hell’s mouth by the attendant -demons, and the play closes. - -The illustration is taken from a _miserere_ seat in Ludlow Church. The -scene is a very similar one to that just described. A demon is about -to cast the deceitful ale-wife into Hell’s mouth. She carries her gay -head attire and her false measure. Another demon reads the roll of her -offences, and a third is playing on the pipes by way of accompaniment. - -Elynour Rummynge, the celebrated ale-wife of Leatherhead in the reign -of Henry VIII., has been handed down to fame by the pen of Skelton, the -Poet Laureate of the day. It may be, as Mr. Dalloway, one of Skelton’s -editors, suggests, that the poet made the acquaintance of Elynour while -in attendance upon the Court at Nonsuch Palace, which was only eight -miles from her abode. That the Laureate had a very intimate knowledge -of this lady, may be gathered from his minute description of her -unprepossessing person:― - - Her lothely lere - Is nothynge clere - But ugly of chere, - - * * * * * - - Her face all bowsy, - Comely crynkled - Wondrously wrinkled, - Lyke a rost pigges eare, - Brystled wyth here, - - * * * * * - - Her nose somdele hoked, - And camously croked, - Her skynne lose and slacke, - Grained like a sacke; - With a croked backe. - - * * * * * - - Her kyrtel Brystow red - With clothes upon her hed - That wey a sowe of led. - -{127} - -[Illustration: Eleanor Rummyng, Alewife. - - When Skelton wore the Laurell Crowne, - My Ale put all the Ale-wiues downe. -] - -{128} - -Thus, and with many more unpleasing qualities, does the poet garnish -the subject of his verse, going on to describe how— - - She breweth noppy ale - And maketh thereof fast sale, - To trauellers, to tynkers, - To sweters, to swinkers - And all good ale drynkers. - -So fond are many of her customers of her ale, that they will come to -it, even though they cannot pay in coin of the realm. - - Instede of coyne and monney, - Some brynge her a conny, - And some a pot of honny, - Some a salt, and some a spone, - Some theyr hose, and some theyr shone. - -The writers of the Elizabethan age make frequent reference to -the ale-wives. “Ask Marian Hacket, the ale-wife of Wincot,” says -Christopher Sly, “if she know me not; if she say I am not fourteen -pence on the score for sheer ale, score me up for the lyingest knave -in Christendom.” One would think that the ale-wife mentioned in _The -Knight of the Burning Pestle_ would have a large, if not a very -lucrative, trade:— - - For Jillian of Berry she dwells on a hill, - And she hath good beer and ale to sell, - And of good fellows she thinks no ill, - And thither shall we go now, now, now, - And thither shall we go now. - - And when you have made a little stay, - You need not ask what is to pay, - But kiss your hostess and go your way, - And thither will we go now, now, now, - And thither will we go now. - -All ale-wives, however, had not so good a repute as Jillian of Berry. -Harrison, whose knowledge of ale was indisputable, speaking of the -fraudulent ale-wives of his time, says: “Such sleights have they for -the utterance of this drink (ale) that they will mire it with resin and -salt, but if you heat a knife red-hot, and quench it in the ale, so -near the {129} bottom of the pot as you can put it, you shall see the -rosen come forth hanging on the knife. As for the force of salt, it is -well known by the effect; for the more the drinker tipleth, the more -he may, and so dooth he carry oft a drie drunken noll to bed with him, -except his luck be the better.” - -The lady, whose tall hat and large white frill appear upon the next -page, went by the unpleasant name of Mother Louse. She is mentioned -by Anthony Wood, in 1673, as an ale-wife of Hedington Hill, and was -supposed to be the last woman who wore a ruff in England. The verses -under the engraving indicate that the dun hat and ruff had gone out of -vogue, and were objects of merriment. - -From the _Accounts of the Lord Treasurer of Scotland_ (fifteenth -century) it may be gathered that the customs and regulations respecting -the brewing and sale of ale were much the same in Scotland as in -this country. The price of ale was fixed from time to time “efter -the imposicioune of the worthi men of the toune,” who regulated it -according to the price of malt. “Browster wives” brewed the greater -part of the ale, and kept most of the ale-houses. Their ale was -frequently made from a barley and oat malt, as was the practice in -England at the same date. As in this country, the lack of piquant -flavour, afterwards supplied by the hop, was in those days compensated -by the addition of ginger, pepper, spices, and aromatic herbs. Though -the use of hops spread but slowly into Scotland, a considerable import -trade in beer (hopped ale) was carried on with Germany. In 1455 the -accounts already quoted show a payment for German beer supplied to the -garrison at Dunbar. Some curious entries also appear for the years -1497–8: “Item, to Andrew Bertoune, for ten pipe of cider and beir, -the price of all IX li; item, for _aill that the Kinges horse drank_, -viiijd.; item, for the King’s ships, xij barrellis of ail; for ilk -barrell xiiijs. iiijd.” - -[Illustration: Mother Louſe of Louſe Hall, near Oxford. - -An Alewife at Hedington Hill (1678) mentioned by Anthony Wood. Probably -the laſt woman in England who wore a ruff. - -AN ALEWIFE. - - You laugh now Goodman two ſhoes, but at what? - My Grove, my Manſion Houſe, or my dun Hat; - Is it for that my loving Chin and Snout - Are met, becauſe my Teeth are fallen out; - Is it at me, or at my Ruff you titter; - Your Grandmother, you Rouge, nere wore a fitter. - Is it at Forehead’s Wrinkle, or Cheeks’ Furrow, - Or at my Mouth, ſo like a Coney Borrough, - Or at thoſe Orient Eyes that nere ſhed tear - But when the Exciſemen come, that’s twice a year. - Kiſs me and tell me true, and when they fail, - Thou ſhalt have larger potts and ſtronger Ale. -] - -The following extracts from old Scotch laws show the similarity of -the old English and Scotch usages:—“All women quha brewes aill to be -sould, sall brew conforme to the use and consuetude of the burgh all -the yeare. And ilk Browster sall put forth ane signe of her aill, -without her house, be the window or be the dure, that it may be sene -as common to all men; quhilk gif she does not, she sall pay ane unlaw -(fine) of foure pennies.” “It is statute that na woman sel the gallon -of aill fra Pasch until Michaelmes, dearer nor twa pennies; and fra -Michaelmas untill Pasch, dearer nor ane pennie.” A verse or two of -the “_Ale-wife’s Supplication_; or, the Humble Address of the Scotch -Brewers to his Majesty King George III., for taking away the License -and charging some less {131} duty on Malt and Ale,” must close this -reference to the old Scotch brewing trade:— - - Here’s to thee, neighbour, ere we part, - But your Ale is not worth the mou’ing - You must make it more stout and smart, - Or else give over your brewing. - It’s nineteen Times ’courg’d thro’ the Draff, - So whipt by Willy Water, - That Barm and Hop bears a’ the Scoup; - I swear I’ve made far better. - - Cries Maggy, then, you speak as you ken, - Consider our Taxations; - And brew it stout, you’ll soon run out, - Of both your Purse and Patience: - For these gauging Men, with nimble Pen, - Can count each Pile of Barley; - And he that cheats them of a Gill, - Will get up very early. - -Returning now to London, it is proposed to give some account of the -brewing trade in olden times, and of the Brewers’ Company. - -The first differences that strike one in contrasting the ancient -and modern breweries are that the former were on a very small scale -compared with the huge establishments of to-day, and that originally -nearly every brewer was also a retailer. In Chaucer’s time a brewhouse -was often synonymous with an ale-house:— - - “In al the toun nas brewhouse ne taverne - That he ne visited with his solas.” - -We have no knowledge of any representations of brewhouses at this -early period. The interesting picture of a sixteenth-century brewery -is taken from a rare work by Hartman Schopper, entitled, “Πανοπλια, -omnium illiberalium, mechanicarum, aut sedentariarun artium genera -continens, carminibus expressa, cum venustissimis imaginibus omnium -artificum negociationes ad vivum representantibus,” published at -Frankfort-on-Main, 1568. The illustration would no doubt stand as well -for a brewhouse of a much earlier period, judging from the written -descriptions which we possess. The engraver of _Der Bierbreuwer_ was -Jost Ammon, and the engraving is considered one of the best examples -{133} of the art at this very early period. A plate taken from the -same work, representing a cooperage, will be found on page 334. - -[Illustration: Der Bierbreuwer. - - Auß Gerſten ſied ich gutes Bier, - Feißt und ſüß, auch bitter monier, - In ein Breuwfeſſel weit und groß - Darein ich denn den Hopſſen ſtoß, - Laß den ich denn in Brennten fühlen daß - Damit ſüll ich darnach die Faß, - Wohl gebunden und wohl gebicht, - Denn giert er und iſt zugericht. - - Beschreibung aller Stände (1568). -] - -The old German lines under the engraving of the Beer-brewer may be -thus rendered into English: From barley I boil good beer, rich and -sweet and bitter fashion. In a wide and big copper I then cast the -hops. Then [after boiling the wort] I leave it to cool, and therewith -I straightway fill the well-hooped and well-pitched [fermenting] vat; -then it [the wort] ferments, and [the beer] is ready. - -There is no doubt that the brewers’ trade was originally held in little -esteem, and was considered as mean and sordid (_de vile juggement_). -The ignominious punishments and restrictions (some of which have been -already mentioned) to which the old London brewers were subjected, -prove that their status only slowly improved. In the time of Henry -VIII., however, their position had so far advanced in repute that -in the grant of arms then made to them, they are specified as “the -Worshipful Occupation of the Brewars of the City.” - -The Records of the City of London are particularly full of details -concerning the brewers and the brewing trade, and it will probably -give the best idea of the conditions under which the business was -carried on in former days to mention a few of the principal regulations -gathered from that valuable body of information, and to supplement them -by extracts from the records of the Brewers’ Company. Truth to say, -the brewers and the City authorities were never the best of friends, -and long accounts are to be found from time to time of disputes -between them as to the legal price and quality of the liquor with -which the lieges were to be supplied—struggles in which the action of -the authorities seems, according to our modern notions, to have been -arbitrary in the extreme. An instance of this tyranny over a trade -is given in the _Liber Aldus_, from which it appears that not only -was a brewer compelled to brew ale of a specified price and quality, -but he was not even allowed to leave off brewing in case he found it -did not pay him to continue. The regulation runs thus: “If any shall -refuse to brew, or shall brew a less quantity than he or she used to -brew, in consequence of this ordinance, he or she shall be held to -be a withdrawer of victual from this city and shall be punished by -imprisonment, and shall forswear his trade as a brewer within the -liberties of the City for ever.” - -The same idea, formerly so prevalent, that persons ought to be -compelled by the strong hand to pursue their avocations, and the -arbitrary manner in which the authorities acted in obtaining a supply -of victuals, may be illustrated from the _Annals of Dunstaple_ (1294), -in which it is {134} recorded that the King’s long stay at St. Albans -and Langley “enormously injured the market of Dunstaple and all the -country round. . . The servants of the King seized all victual coming -to the market, even cheese and eggs; they went into the houses of the -citizens and carried away even what was not for sale, and scarce left -a tally with any one. They took bread and ale from the ale-wives, and -if they had none _they made them make bread and ale_.” In 1297 the -Sheriffs of Notts and Derby are ordered by Edward I. (Rymer R. 1. 883) -to proclaim in every town that the bakers and brewers should bake and -brew a sufficient store of bread and ale for certain Welshmen, who were -marching to chastise the Scots, “because the King is unwilling that, by -reason of such victuals failing, the men of those parts should suffer -damage at the hands of the sd Welshmen.” - -The persons employed in the malt liquor trade, whether as manufacturers -or retailers, are specified in an ordinance of the reign of Henry -IV. to be Brewers, Brewsters, Hostillers (_i.e._, Innkeepers), -Kewes (_i.e._, Cooks), Pyebakers, and Hucksters. The hucksters were -undoubtedly at one time accustomed to sell their ale in the streets of -London. In 1320 they were prohibited by the Lord Mayor and Aldermen -from selling ale on London Bridge. In the sixth year of Richard II. -Juliana atte Vane, huckster, was charged with selling her ale in -“hukkesterie;” she is asked from whom she bought the ale, and replies -that she bought the said ale, viz., one barrel of 30 gallons, from -Benedicta (brewster), who lived at “Crepulgate.” It was accordingly -adjudged that Juliana had broken the City regulations, and the ale was -forfeited. The brewers were forbidden at this time to sell to hucksters -under pain of forfeiture and imprisonment _at the will of the Mayor_, -the intention apparently being that only a brewer should be a vendor of -ale. - -By the reign of Henry IV. the brewers, although they had as yet no -royal charter, had joined themselves together for purposes of mutual -protection and social intercourse. They are mentioned in an ordinance -of the seventh year of that reign as the Mystery (_i.e._, trade or -craft) of Free Brewers within the City, and a constitution is ordained -for them by the City Fathers. The freemen of the Mystery are yearly to -elect eight persons, four of the part of the City east of Walbrook, -viz., two masters and two wardens, and four like persons of the part -west of Walbrook. These eight are to make regulations for those using -the mystery of brewing, as to the hiring of servants, the sale of ale, -and such like matters, as they should be charged by the Mayor and -Aldermen; they are also to see “that the good men of the mystery may -{135} have a proper place to go to to transact their own business,” -and are called together upon the proper occasions “by summons of their -beadle in such a manner as other mysteries are;” they are to supervise -those who make and supply ale, and to see that “good, able and seyn -(sound) ale” is brewed according to the legal price, and to report -offenders to the Chamberlain of the City. - -Considerable difficulty was at this time experienced in compelling the -sellers of ale to keep to the lawful measures of barrel, kilderkin, and -lesser vessels. On a complaint being made to the Common Council in the -ninth year of Henry IV., that whereas “each barrel ought to contain -thirty gallons of just measure, but each is deficient by two gallons or -more . . . if the dregs are reckoned as clear ale, and that the brewers -will make no rebate in the price on that account to the great deceit -and damage of the Lords, Gentles and Citizens,” therefore the deputies -of the Chamberlain are ordered to mark every barrel as containing 27 -gallons, and the half barrel as containing 14 gallons by reason of the -aforesaid dregs. Five years later further evil doings are recorded. The -Brewers and brewsters, “to the displeasure of God and contrary to the -profit of the City, sell their ale three quarts for a gallon, one quart -and a half for a potell (_i.e._, a two-quart measure); and one hanap -(_i.e._ a two-handled tankard), for a half quart of which six or seven -hanaps scarcely make a gallon,” and they are therefore ordered for the -future to sell only by sealed measure and not by hanap, tankard, or any -such vessel. - -In the reign of Henry V. the famous Lord Mayor, Richard Whitington, and -the Brewers seem to have been perpetually at daggers drawn. - -The records of the Brewers’ Company contain a quaint account of an -information laid against them for selling dear ale; the complainant -in the case being Sir Richard, whose mayoralty had then expired. The -substance of it, translated from the original Norman French, is as -follows:— - -“On Thursday, July 30th, 1422, Robert Chichele, the Mayor, sent for -the masters and twelve of the most worthy of our company to appear -at the Guildhall; to whom John Fray, the recorder, objected a breach -of government, for which £20 should be forfeited, for selling dear -ale. After much dispute about the price and quality of malt, wherein -Whityngton, the late mayor, declared that the brewers had ridden into -the country and forestalled the malt, to raise its price, they were -convicted in the penalty of £20; which objecting to, the masters were -ordered to be kept in prison in the Chamberlain’s company, until they -{136} should pay it, or find security for payment thereof.” Whereupon, -the Mayor and Court of Aldermen, having “gone homeward to their meat,” -the masters, who remained in durance vile, “asked the Chamberlain and -clerk what they should do; who bade them go home, and promised that no -harm should come to them; for all this proceeding had been done but to -please Richard Whityngton, for he was the cause of all the aforesaid -judgment.” The record proceeds to state that “the offence taken by -Richard Whityngton against them was for their having fat swans at -their feast on the morrow of St. Martin.” Whether this unctuous dish -had offended the famous Mayor’s mind by way of his digestion, does not -appear. - -[Illustration: Whityngton.] - -The same Robert Chichele is recorded to have issued the following -curious regulation in 1423:—“That retailers of ale should sell the same -in their houses in pots of “peutre,” sealed and open; and that whoever -carried ale to the buyer should hold the pot in one hand and a cup in -the other; and that all who had cups unsealed should be fined.” - -Many other complaints of the “oppressive” acts of Whitington towards -the Company are also recorded. {137} - -The Company, as appears from these records, had the power of fining its -members for breach of discipline. In 1421 one William Payne, at the -sign of the Swan, by St. Anthony’s Hospital, Threadneedle Street, was -fined 3s. 4d., to be expended in a swan for the masters’ breakfast, -for having refused to supply a barrel of ale to the King when he was in -France. Simon Potkin, of the Key, Aldgate, was fined for selling short -measure, whereupon he alleged that he had given money to the masters of -the Brewers’ Company, that he might sell ale at his will. This excuse -embroiled him with the Company, who were not to be appeased until he -had paid 3s. 4d. for a swan to be eaten by the masters, but of which, -it is added, “he was allowed his own share.” - -In 1420 Thomas Greene, master, and the wardens of the Company -agreed that they should meet at “Brewershalle” every Monday for the -transaction of their business. It would appear that the first Hall -had then been recently erected, for, as we have seen, the Brewers -had in the preceding reign no fixed place to which “the good men of -the mystery” might resort. Many curious accounts are to be found of -election feasts. The presence of females was allowed. The brothers of -the Company paid 12d., and the sisters 8d., and a brother and his -wife 20d. A _menu_ of one of these feasts, given in the ninth year of -Henry V., is subjoined. It shows the nature of these entertainments at -that period. - -LA ORDINANCE DE NOSTRE FESTE EN CESTE AN. - - _La premier Cours_ _The First Course_ - - Brawne one le mustarde Brawn with mustard - Caboch à le potage Cabbage soup - Swan standard Swan standard - Capons rostez Roast capons - Graundez Costades. Great costard apples. - - _La seconde Cours_ _The Second Course_ - - Venyson en broth one Venison in broth - Blanche mortrewes[44] Mortreux soup {138} - Cony standard Rabbit standard - Pertriches on cokkez rostez Partridges with roasted cocks - Leche Lombard[45] Leche Lombard - Dowsettes one pettiz parneux. Sweetmeats and pastry. - - _La troisme Cours_ _The Third Course_ - - Poires en serope Pears in syrup - Graundezbriddes one Great birds and - Petitz ensemblez Little ones together - Fretours Fritters - Payne puff one Bread puff - Un cold bakemete. A cold baked meat. - - [44] _Mortreux_ was a kind of white soup. Chaucer says of the Cook - that:— - - “He coude roste, and sethe, and broille, and frie, - Maken mortreux, and wel bake a pye.” - - [45] An old receipt for _leche lombard_ describes it as made of pork - pounded with eggs; sugar, salt, raisins, currants, dates, pepper, - and cloves were added; the mixture was put in a bladder and boiled; - raisins, wine and more spices were added, and the whole was served - in a wine gravy. - -It will be gathered from a study of this bill of fare that, though the -Brewers frequently alluded to themselves in petitions as “the poor men -of the Mystery of Brewers,” “your poor neighbours the Berebruers,” and -such like, they nevertheless fared rather sumptuously than otherwise. -Here is their drink bill for a similar entertainment:— - -BOTERYE. - - item for xxii galons of red wine xiiijs. viijd. - item for iij kilderkyns of good ale at ijs. iiijd. viis. - item for ij kilderkyn of iij halfpeny Ale at xxij iijs. viijd. - item for j kilderkyn of peny ale xijd. - -In 1422 Parliament ordered that all the weirs or “kydells” in the -Thames from Staines to Gravesend should be destroyed, and the Lord -Mayor and Aldermen ordained that two men from each of the City -Companies should assist in the work. Thomas Grene and Robert Swannefeld -were accordingly chosen on behalf of the Brewers to go to Kingston. The -expenses were defrayed by a general contribution by the members of the -Company. “These be the names,” says the old {139} writer, “of Brewers -of London, the wheche dede paien diverse somes of monye for to helpe to -destruye the weres yn Tempse for the comynalte of the Cite of London -shulde have the more plente of fissh.” The names of some two hundred -and fifty subscribers are subjoined to the record. - -In 1424 the Brewers had a Lord Mayor to their mind in John Michelle, -who was “a good man, and meek and soft to speak with.” When he was -sworn-in, the Brewers gave him an ox, that cost 21s. 2d., and a boar -valued at 30s. 1d.; “so that he did no harm to the Brewers, and -advised them to make good ale, that he might not have any complaint -against them.” - -Returning to the ordinances of the City, we find that about this time -(7 Hen. V.) there were some three hundred brewers in the City and -liberties. In that year another precaution was taken to ensure a proper -measure of cask. The coopers were ordered by Whitington to mark with -an iron brand all casks made by them. Each cooper was to have his own -brand, and the marks were to be entered of record. This regulation was -carried into effect, and the mark chosen by each cooper appears on the -City Records with his name annexed, as thus:— - -[Illustration] - -In the sixteenth year of the reign of Henry VI. the first charter -was granted to the Brewers’ Company. It empowered the freemen of -the Mystery of Brewers of the City of London thenceforward to be a -corporate body, with a common seal and powers of taking and holding -land. The Company was yearly to elect four of their number as wardens, -who were to have power to regulate the members of the Mystery and their -brewing operations, and also to govern and rule all men employed in, -and all processes connected with, the brewing of _any kind of liquor -from malt_ within the City and suburbs for ever. This last provision -was probably intended to extend the power of the Company to the -Fellowship of the Beer-brewers, then beginning to come into existence. -Some years afterwards a coat-of-arms was granted to the Company by -William Hawkeslowe, Clarencieux King of Arms of the South Marches of -Ingelond. It is thus described in the grant: {140} “They beren asure -thre barly sheues gold, bound of the same, a cheveron, gowles, in the -cheveron thre barels, Sylvir, garnyshed with sable.” - -[Illustration: The Ancient Arms.] - -The Brewers had taken for their patron saints St. Mary and St. Thomas -the Martyr, and bore the arms of Thomas à Becket impaled with their -own, until Henry VIII., discovering that St. Thomas was no saint after -all, desecrated his tomb, scattered his dust to the four winds of -heaven, and compelled the Brewers to adopt another escutcheon. The new -coat, discarding the obnoxious saint’s insignia, was a good deal like -the old one, and is borne by the Company to this day. It is described -in the grant as follows: “Geules on a Cheueron engrailed silver three -kilderkyns sable hoped golde between syx barly sheues in saultre of -the same, upon the Helme on a torse siluer and asur a demy Morien in -her proper couler, vestid asur, fretid siluer, the here golde, holding -in either hande thre barley eres of the same manteled sable, dobled -siluer.” - -[Illustration: The Arms of the Brewers’ Company.] - -With regard to the old Hall of the Brewers’ Company, it occupied the -site of the present Hall, and is described by Stowe as a “faire house;” -it was destroyed in the Great Fire. Of the present edifice, which -sprang Phœnix-like from the ashes of the yet smoking City—it bears date -1666—suffice it to say that it is a fine building, characteristic of -the architectural style of the period, and that for lovers of old oak -carvings its interior is worthy a visit. - -This notice of the Brewers’ Company, its foundation, its feasts, and -{141} its troubles has taken us rather in advance of our tale, and we -must hark back to the middle of the fifteenth century. - -To judge from an entry in the City Records of the sixteenth year of -Edward IV. the Brewers were sometimes openly resisted by force of arms. -The actual occasion on which this was done is not specified, but it is -recorded that Richard Geddeney was committed to prison for having said -that the Brewers had made new ordinances, and that it would be well to -oppose them, as had formerly been done, with swords and daggers, when -they were assembled in their Hall. - -Six years afterwards a petition was presented to the Lord Mayor and -Aldermen by the Brewers, which is so good a specimen of the usual style -of their supplications that some portions of it are given. It begins by -“petieously compleynyng that where in tyme passed thei have honestly -lyved by the meanes of bruyng, and utteryng of their chaffer as well -within the fraunchises of the saide Citee as withoute. And hath ben -able to bere charges of the same citee after their havours and powers -as other freemen of the saide citee. Where now it is so that for lak -of Reules and other directions in the saide Crafte they ben disordered -and none obedience nor goode Rule and Guydyng is hadd within the saide -Crafte to the distruction thereof.” It is therefore prayed—“That eny -persone occupying the Craft or feat of bruying within the franchise or -the saide citee make or do to be made good and hable ale and holesome -for mannys body. . . and that no manner ale after it be clensed and set -on yeyst be put to sale or borne oute to eny custumers hous till that -it have fully spourged (worked).” That no brewer shall occupy a house -or a “seler” _apart from his own dwelling-house_ for the sale of his -ale. That no brewer shall “entice or labour to taak awey eny custumer -from a brother brewer,” or “serve or do to be served any typler -(_i.e._, retailer of ale) or huxster as to hym anewe be comen custumer -of any manner ale for to be retailed till he have verrey knowlage that -the saide typler or huxster be clerely _oute of dett and daunger for -ale to any other person_” . . . . . That every person keeping a house -and being a _brother of Bruers_ do pay to the Wardens of the Company a -sum of 4s. yearly. “That no manner persone of the said crafte . . . -presume to goo to the feeste of the Maior or the Sherriff _unless he -be invited_ . . that members of the crafte shall appear in livery when -so commanded that is to sey gowne and hode . . . That the livery of -the crafte be changed and renewed every third year agenst the day of -the Election of the newe Wardeyns of the crafte . . .” That once a -quarter the ordinances of the Company shall be read to the assembled -brewers in {142} their common hall. That no brewer is to buy malt -except in the market. That malt brought to market must not be “capped -in the sakke, nor raw-dried malte, dank or wete malte or made of mowe -brent barly, belyed malt, Edgrove malte, acre-spired malte, wyvell eten -malte or meddled[46], in the deceite of the goode people of the saide -citee, upon payn of forfaiture of the same.” No one is to buy his own -malt or corn in the market, “to high the price of corn in the Market,” -under pain of the pillory. No one is to sell malt “at the Market of -Gracechurch or Greyfreres before 9 of the clock till market bell -therfor ordeigned be rongen,” and at one o’clock all the unsold malt is -to be cleared away. - - [46] “Capped in the sakke” = probably with some good malt put on the - top and defective malt beneath. Mowe brent barley = barley that has - heated in the stack. Belyed = swollen. Acre-spired = with the shoot - of the plant projecting from the husk. Wyvell-eten = weevil-eaten. - Meddled = mixed. - -All these rules and ordinances the Lord Mayor and Aldermen were -graciously pleased to sanction and confirm. - -The records contain many entries showing the difficulties the -authorities had to contend with in keeping the brewers to the legal -price and qualities of ale, a subject already touched on in Chapter -V. The prices being fixed by law, and no allowance being made for the -natural fluctuations of the market, it is not to be supposed that -the brewers would give their customers any better ale than they were -absolutely compelled by law to give. As old Taylor quaintly says:— - - I find the _Brewer_ honest in his _Beere_, - He sels it for small Beere, and he should cheate, - Instead of _small_ to cosen folks with _Greate_, - But one shall seldome find them with that fault, - Except it should invisibly raine Mault. - -Disputes arising between the officers of the Brewers’ Company and any -members of the guild, were sometimes referred for settlement to the -Lord Mayor and Aldermen. In 1520 there was “variance and debate in the -Court of Aldermen between the Master and Wardens of the ale-brewers -and Thomas Adyson, ale-brewer, concerning the making of a growte” by -the latter. The parties having submitted their case to the Court, -it was adjudged that Adyson should go to the Brewers’ Hall, {143} -and there, before the Master and Wardens, “with due reverence as -to them apperteynyng, standing before them his hed uncovered, shall -say these words: ‘Maysters, I pray you to be good masters to me, and -fromhensforth I promytte you that I shall be good and obedient to you -. . and obey the laws and customs of the house.’” - -Foreign brewers (_i.e._, brewers not members of the Company) were -only allowed to sell ale within the City on paying 40s. annually to -the use of the City, and in default of payment the Chamberlain “shall -distreyne their carts from tyme to tyme.” There was also a duty called -ale-silver, which had been paid from time immemorial to the Lord Mayor -by the sellers of ale within the City. - -Complaints of short measure were still common, and as it is shown that -the barrels were delivered to customers without being properly filled, -so that “thynhabitants of the City paye for more ale and bere than -they doo receive, which is agenst alle good reason and conscience,” -therefore the brewers were ordered to take round “filling ale” to fill -up their customers’ casks. - -In the eighteenth year of Henry VIII. a striking instance of the -insubordination of the Brewers is recorded. The four Wardens of the -Company were ordered to produce their books of fines, “the whiche -to doo they utterly denyed.” Therefore the four Wardens and their -Clerk, Lawrence Anworth, “were comytted to the prisn of Newgate ther -to remayne.” This seems to have awakened the Wardens to a sense of -their duties, for on the same day they brought in “ij. boks inclosed -in a whytte bagge.” A committee was appointed to inspect the same, -“forasmuche as it is thought that mayne unreasonable fynes and other -ordynannces be conteyned in theym.” - -It has been already mentioned (p. 68) that from the time of Henry VI. -beer had begun slowly to displace the old English ale. The Beer-brewers -had gathered themselves together into a “fellowship” for the protection -of their interests, and were quite distinct from the Ale-brewers, -who composed the Brewers’ Company. Whatever may have been the case -earlier, in the reign of Henry VIII. the Beer-brewers numbered in their -fellowship a certain proportion of Dutchmen. In the twenty-first year -of that reign it was ordained that “no maner Berebruer, _Ducheman or -other_, selling any bere shall, etc.” “Also that no maner of berebruer -_Englise_ or _straunger_, shall have and kepe in his house above the -nomber of two Coblers to amende their vessells.” Constant reference -is made to the Beer-brewers as being a fellowship separate from the -Ale-brewers until the reign of Edward VI., by which {144} time they -had united, apparently without obtaining the sanction of any authority -to the change. In the fifth year of that reign a resolution was passed -by the Court of Common Council that, “forasmoche as the beare-bruers -in the last commen counseyll here holden most dysobedyentlye, -stubborenelye, and arrogantlye behaved theymselfes toward this -honourable Courte,” the whole craft of the Beer-brewers are for ever -disqualified from being elected to serve upon the Common Council; if, -however, the Beer-brewers make humble submission, they may be restored -to their old status, “if your lordship and the wysdomes of this Citee -shall then thynke it mete.” And forasmuch as “most evydently yt hathe -apperyd that this notable stobernes of the beare-bruers hath rysen by -the counseyll and provocatioun of the ale-bruers, which have unyted -to theym all the beare-bruers,” it is ordered that for the future the -two crafts shall not unite, nor shall the Ale-brewers compel any one -to come into their Company. This state of things continued till the -third year of Queen Mary’s reign, when a petition was presented by the -Brewers to the Common Council, which recited that the two crafts had -formerly been united, “as mete and verye convenyente it was and yet -is,” and prayed that the restriction might be removed. The petition -ended thus: “and they with all their hartes accordinge to theire -dueties shall daylye praye unto almightye god longe to prosper and -preserve your honours and worshippes in moche helthe and felycytie.” -This affecting appeal, which would have moved a heart of stone, had -the desired effect, and from that day to the present the Beer-brewers -and Ale-brewers have been united, “as mete and very convenyente it -is” that they should be. Different governance, however, was applied -to the former, and for long after this period four Surveyors of the -Beer-brewers, being “substantyall sadd men,” were elected every year to -supervise the trade. - -An instance of the tyranny with which the trades were regulated in -the old days has been already given; a very similar one may be taken -from an order of the Star Chamber in the twenty-fourth year of Henry -VIII., which commands that “in case the Maire and Aldermen of the same -Citie shall hereafter knowe and perceyve or understonde that any of the -saide Brewers of their frowarde and perverse myndes shall at any tyme -hereafter sodenly forbere and absteyne from bruynge, whereby the King’s -subjects shulde bee destitute or onprovided of Drynke,” the brewhouses -of such “wilfull and obstynate” brewers shall be taken possession of -by the City, who are to allow others to brew there, and provide them -materials “in case their lak greynes to brew with.” {145} - -Regrators and forestallers (_i.e._, persons who bought large stocks -of provisions with the object of causing a rise in price) were in -old times severely treated by the authorities, who generally checked -their iniquitous dealings by ordering them to sell their stores at a -_reasonable_ price. The forestaller, indeed, might think himself lucky -if he escaped so easily. In the fourth year of Edward VI. four persons -who had accumulated great quantities of hops in a time of scarcity were -ordered to sell their whole stock at once at a reasonable price. - -All through the reign of Queen Elizabeth the unfortunate brewers were -vexed with frequent and, in some cases, contradictory regulations: This -beer was to be allowed; that beer was prohibited; prices were still -fixed by law, and qualities must correspond to the City regulations. -Even though a man be ruined, he could not leave off brewing, for fear -of being held a “rebel.” - -A curious ordinance, made in the fourteenth year of Elizabeth’s reign, -shows the extreme newness of the ale and beer consumed by the good men -of the City of London in those days. The ordinance is expressed to be -for the reformation of “dyvers greate and foule abuses disorderlye -bigonne by the Brewers,” and, reciting that the Brewers have begun to -deliver their beer and ale but two or three hours after the same be -cleansed and tunned, it provides that no beer or ale is to be delivered -to customers till it has stood in the brewer’s house six hours in -summer and eight in winter. - -There seems to have been a smoke question in London even as early as -this period, for in the twenty-first year of Elizabeth we find that -John Platt was committed to prison, “for that he contrarye to my Lorde -Maior’s comaundement to refraine from burninge of seacoles during -her Majestie’s abode at Westminster, he did continually burn seacole -notwithstanding.” A petition from the Brewers to Her Majesty’s Council -about the same period recites that the Brewers understand that Her -Majesty “findeth hersealfe greately greved and anoyed with the taste -and smoke of the seacooles used in their furnaces.” They therefore -promise to substitute wood in the brewhouses nearest to Westminster -Palace. What would have been Her Majesty’s “grief” if she could have -experienced a modern November in London? - -In Peter Pindar’s poem on the visit of King George III. to Whitbread’s -Brewery, allusion is made to the once popular belief that brewers’ -horses are usually fed on grains. The origin of this idea may possibly -be found in the regulations enforced in London as to the price of and -the dealings in brewers’ grains. In a proclamation of Elizabeth’s {146} -time it is recited that “forasmuche as brewers’ graines be victuall -for horses and cattell as hey and horsebread and other provinder be,” -therefore a price is to be set upon grains by the Lord Mayor, and -the buying of grains to sell again is forbidden. The difficulties of -enforcing the rules as to price and quality of ale and beer are shown -in the frequent complaints of the brewers, and in the numerous trials -that were made from time to time by the City authorities to ascertain -how much drink ought to be brewed from a fixed quantity of malt. In the -thirty-fifth year of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, a large Committee was -appointed to make trial, at the charges of the City, of twenty quarters -of malt, to be brewed into two sorts of beer, viz., strong beer at 6s. -8d. the barrel, and “doble” beer at 3s. 4d. the barrel. As a result -of the trial, the brewers promised to draw only five barrels and a -half of double beer from a quarter of malt until the price of malt had -fallen to 18s. the quarter; a strong proof this of the growing taste -for strong ale and beer. Shortly before this time the strongest ale -allowed by law had been this same “doble.” Now the “doble” had taken -the place of the single, and the strong ale of twice the strength of -the “doble” had stepped into its place. - -A very summary way had the City authorities in the sixteenth century, -of treating any drink or victual which did not come up to the required -standard of excellence. In 1597 we find it ordered that two and fifty -pipes of corrupt beer, “being nether fitt for man’s body, nor to be -converted into sawce (_i.e. vinegar_) . . . shall have the heades -of all the same pipes beaten owte and the beer poured out into the -channells, part in Cheapside, part in Cornhill and part in Bishopsgate.” - -After the reign of Elizabeth the entries concerning the Brewers and -their delinquencies become fewer and farther between. The prices of -ale and beer were still fixed by law, but more common-sense views on -the subject of trade and trade regulation were slowly beginning to -prevail, and we soon lose all traces of the tyrannous and vexatious -regulations of which so many instances occur in earlier times. One -more such instance may be mentioned of an arbitrary attempt to force -trade out of its natural channels, and to lower prices and compel -sobriety at one and the same time. In 1614 the Lord Mayor, “finding -the gaols pestered with prisoners, and their bane to take root and -beginning at ale-houses, and much mischief to be there plotted, with -great waste of corn in brewing heady strong beer, many consuming all -their time and means sucking that sweet poison,” had an exact survey -taken of all victualling houses and ale-houses, which were above a -thousand. As above 300 {147} barrels of beer were in some houses, the -whole quantity of beer in victualling houses amounting to above 40,000 -barrels, he had thought it high time to abridge their number and limit -them by bonds as to the quantity of beer they should use, and as to -what orders they should observe, whereby the price of corn and malt had -greatly fallen. The Brewers, however, seem to have been too many for -his Lordship, for though he limited the number of barrels to twenty -per house, and the quality of the two sorts of beer to 4s. and 8s. a -barrel, so that the price of malt and wheat was in a fortnight reduced -by 5s. or 6s. per quarter, yet the Brewers brewed as before, alleging -that the beer was to be used for export, and, “combining with such as -kept tippling houses,” conveyed the same to the ale-houses by night, so -that in a few weeks’ time the price of malt had risen to much the same -figure as before. - -In 1626 the Brewers’ Company was in evil case, as may be judged from a -petition presented by them in that year to the City Fathers, in which -they allege that they are in a decayed state and not able to govern -their trade, that their Company consists of but six beer-brewers and a -small number of ale-brewers, and that other brewers are free of other -Companies. The petition goes on to pray that no other person than a -freeman of the Company be allowed to set up a brewhouse in the City. -The petition was referred to a Committee, and nothing more was heard -of it. A similar petition, presented to the Common Council in the year -1752, was considered and the prayer granted. - -While, however, the Brewers’ Company had been allowed to fall into -decay, the City regulations of the trade had become less and less -irksome, and the brewers themselves increased in wealth and prosperity. -Many allusions may be found in the writers of the middle of the -seventeenth century, which prove that the status of the brewers had -greatly improved. The old Water Poet thus describes how the brewers -“are growne rich”:— - - Thus Water boyles, parboyles, and mundifies, - Cleares, cleanses, clarifies, and purifies. - But as it purges us from filth and stincke: - We must remember that it makes us drinke, - Metheglin, Bragget, Beere, and headstrong Ale, - (That can put colour in a visage pale) - By which meanes many Brewers are growne rich, - And in estates may soare a lofty pitch. - Men of Goode Ranke and place, and much command, - Who have (by sodden Water) purchast land: {148} - Yet sure I thinke their gaine had not been such - Had not good fellowes usde to drinke too much: - But wisely they made Haye whilst Sunne did shine, - For now our Land is overflowne with Wine: - With such a Deluge, or an Inundation - As hath besotted and halfe drown’d our Nation. - Some there are scarce worth 40 pence a yeere - Will hardly make a meale with Ale or Beere: - And will discourse, that wine doth make good blood, - Concocts his meat, and make digestion good, - And after to drink Beere, nor will, nor can - _He lay a churl upon a Gentleman_. - -A somewhat similar moral may be drawn from the humorous little poem, -written a century and a half later by a namesake of the Water Poet:— - -THE BREWER’S COACHMAN. - - Honest William, an easy and good natur’d fellow, - Would a little too oft get a little too mellow; - Body coachman was he to an eminent brewer, - No better e’er sat on a coach-box to be sure. - - His coach was kept clean, and no mothers or nurses, - Took more care of their babes, than he took of his horses; - He had these, aye, and fifty good qualities more, - But the business of tippling could ne’er be got o’er. - - So his master effectually mended the matter, - By hiring a man who drank nothing but water, - “Now William,” says he, “you see the plain case, - Had you drank as he does you’d have kept a good place.” - - “Drink water!” cried William; “had all men done so, - You’d never have wanted a coachman, I trow. - They are soakers, like me, whom you load with reproaches, - That enable you brewers to ride in your coaches.” - -A short space only may be devoted to a record of a few of the more -remarkable brewers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Jan -Steen, of Delph, seems to have been a brewer famed rather for his -eccentricities than for his beer. He flourished in the days of Charles -II., and Arnold Hinbraken, his biographer, says that a whole book might -{149} be filled with droll episodes of his life. “He was so attached -to boon companions, that his Brewery came to grief. He bought wine with -his money instead of malt. His wife, seeing this, said one day to him, -‘Jan, our living is vanishing, our customers call in vain, there is -no beer in the cellar, nor have we malt for a Brew, what will become -of us? You should bring life into the brewery.’ ‘I’ll keep it alive,’ -said Jan, and walked away. He went to market and bought several live -ducks, having first told his men to fill the largest kettle with water -and heat it. He then threw a little malt in it, and threw in the Ducks, -which, not accustomed to hot water, flew madly through the Brewery -making a horrid noise, so that his wife came running in to see what the -matter was, when Jan, turning to her, said, ‘My love, is it not lively -now in our Brewery?’ However, he gave up brewing, and turned Painter.” - -William Hicks, who died in the year 1740, was one of the most -remarkable Brewers of the last century. He was brewer to the Royal -household, and left behind him a well-earned reputation for honesty and -loyalty. A striking proof of his loyalty may be seen to this day in -the statue of George I., which he set up on the summit of Bloomsbury -steeple, and of which a facetious person wrote:— - - The King of Great Britain was reckon’d before - The head of the Church by all good Christian people, - But his brewer has added still one title more - To the rest, and has made him the head of the steeple. - -Another celebrated brewer of last century was Humphrey Parsons, twice -Lord Mayor of London. This gentleman, when upon a hunting party with -Louis XV., happened to be exceedingly well mounted, and, contrary to -the etiquette observed in the French Court, outstripped the rest of the -company, and was first in at the death. On the King asking the name of -the stranger, he was indignantly informed that he “was un chevalier -de malte.” The King entered into conversation with Mr. Parsons, and -asked the price of his horse. The Chevalier, bowing in the most courtly -style, replied that the horse was beyond any price other than his -Majesty’s acceptance. The horse was delivered, and from thenceforward -the _chevalier_ Parsons had the exclusive privilege of supplying the -French Court and people with his far-famed “black champagne.” - -It has been the sad reflection of many an one, on wandering in a -churchyard and reading the epitaphs of the departed, that certainly -the most virtuous and highly-gifted of mankind have already passed -{150} away—that is, if the epitaphs are absolutely to be relied on. -Mr. Tipper, the Newhaven brewer, who died in 1785, and lies buried in -Newhaven Churchyard, is an instance in point. Surely none but himself -could have been Mr. Tipper’s parallel. His epitaph runs thus:— - - Reader! with kind regards this grave survey, - Nor heedless pass where Tipper’s ashes lay. - Honest he was, ingenuous, blunt and kind, - And dared do, what few dare do—speak his mind. - Philosophy and History well he knew, - Was versed in Physick and in Surgery too. - The best old Stingo he both brewed and sold, - Nor did one knavish trick to get his gold. - He played thro’ life a varied comic part, - And knew immortal Hudibras by heart. - Reader, in real truth, such was the man, - Be better, wiser, laugh more if you can. - -The last resting place of Mr. Pepper, sometime brewer of Stamford, in -Lincolnshire, bears these lines:— - - Though _hot_ my name, yet mild my nature, - I bore good will to every creature; - I brew’d good ale and sold it too, - And unto each I gave his due. - -The following lines were composed on a brewer who, becoming too big a -man for his trade, retired from business—and died:— - - Ne’er quarrel with your craft, - Nor with your shop dis’gree. - He turned his nose up at his Tub - And the bucket kicked he. - -And so the old Brewers are dead and gone, with their virtues and their -faults, their troubles and their successes, and the modern Brewers -reign in their stead. - -[Illustration] - -{151} - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - - - “The Almaynes with their smale Rhenish wine are contented; but we must - have March beere, double beere, dagger ale, and bracket . . .” - _Gascoygne’s Delicate Dyet for Daintie-Mouthed Droonkards._ - - Alum si fit stalum non est malum - Beerum si fit clerum est sincerum. - _Old Rhyme._ - -_VARIOUS KINDS OF ALES AND BEERS.—SOME FOREIGN BEERS. — RECEIPTS. — -SONGS. — ANECDOTES._ - -An attempt to describe, or even to specify, all the ales and beers that -have gained a local or more wide-spread fame, would be a lengthy task. -Nearly every county in England, and nearly every town of any size, has -been at one time or another noted for its malt liquors. The renown of -some localities has been evanescent, having depended probably upon -the special art of some “barmy” brewer or skilful ale-wife, whilst of -others it may be said that years only increase their fame and spread -their reputation. - -From a perusal of those queer old collections of quackery, magic, -herb-lore and star-lore, the Saxon Leechdoms, it may be gathered -that our Saxon ancestors brewed a goodly assortment of malt liquors. -They made beer, and strong beer; ale, and strong ale; clear ale, -lithe (clear) beer; and _twybrowen_, or double-brewed ale, the mighty -ancestor of the “doble-doble” beer of Elizabethan times. Besides all -these, there was foreign ale for those whose tastes were too fastidious -to be satisfied with their native productions. {152} - -On the authority of the _Alvismál_, it may be said that no distinction -was originally drawn between ale and beer, except, perhaps, that the -latter was considered to be a somewhat more honourable designation; “öl -heitir meth mönnum en meth Asum bjoor” (_i.e._, ale it is called among -men, and among the gods beer). - -The _Exeter Book_, a collection of Anglo-Saxon poems, contains the -expressions, “a good beer-drinker,” “angry with ale,” “drunken with -beer,” in close juxtaposition and apparently without any distinction of -meaning. A distinction must, however, have arisen in very early times, -for in the collection of Saxon Leechdoms, mentioned above, a direction -is to be found that a patient is on no account to drink beer, although -he may partake in moderation of ale and wine; and the same work -contains the remarkable and apparently impossible statement that while -a pint of ale weighs six pennies more than a pint of water, a pint of -beer weighs twenty-two pennies less than a pint of water. - -The word beer seems gradually to have given place to the word ale, -and though the former may have lingered in some parts of the country, -and the passage from _King Horn_ already quoted shows that in the -thirteenth century it was not quite forgotten—ale became the usual -word to express malt liquor. It was English _ale_ that strengthened -the arm of English bowmen at Crecy and Poictiers, and on many another -well-fought field; and English _ale_ was the “barley-broth” which -“decocted” the cold blood of the dwellers in this land of fogs and -mist “to such valiant heat” and stubborn endurance in their constant -struggles with the valour and chivalry of France. - -The old English word “beor,” indeed, had become so weakened and -specialised, even as early as the tenth century, that it is to be -found in a Vocabulary of that date as an equivalent for idromellum, a -word properly signifying an inferior sort of mead, but also denoting -the sweet wort, before fermentation had changed it into _ale_. It is -curious to observe that when next the word “beer” came into common use -in our language, it was by introduction of our neighbours the Flemings, -and was specially applied to malt liquor in which the bitter of the hop -was an important ingredient. The word left us in sweetness, it returned -in bitterness, and so the whirligig of time brings in its revenges. -Beer became the name for hopped ale, but that distinction soon began to -be less significant, for as early as 1616 we find Gervase Markham, in -his _Maison Rustique_, recommends the use of a small quantity of hops -in ale-brewing. {153} - -Taylor, in _Drink and Welcome_, dwells upon this distinction between -ale and beer in the seventeenth century as follows:—“Now to write of -Beere I shall not need to wet my pen much with the naming of it, it -being a drinke which Antiquitie was an _Aleien_ or a meere stranger -to, and as it hath scarcely any name, so hath it no habitation, for -the places or houses where it is sold doth still retain the name of -an Alehouse. This comparison needs a _Sir Reverence_ to usher it, but -being Beere is but an Upstart and a Foreigner or Alien, in respect -of _Ale_, it may serve instead of a better; Nor would it differ from -Ale in anything, but onely that an Aspiring _Amaritudinous_ Hop comes -crawling lamely in, and makes a Bitter difference betweene them, but -if the Hop be so crippled, that he cannot be gotton to make the oddes, -the place may poorely bee supply’d with chopp’d Broome (new gathered) -whereby Beere hath never attained the sober Title of _Ale_, for it is -proper to say _A Stand of Ale_, and a _Hoggeshead of Beere_, which in -common sense is but a swinish phrase or appellation.” - -That curious ballad entitled _Skelton’s Ghost_, which was probably -the work of a rhymer of the seventeenth century, points to the same -distinction. The ghost of Skelton the Laureate is supposed to be -addressing some of the jovial characters of the period much in the tone -of one who, having lived in the golden age (of liquor), looks down -with pity and scorn at a later-day’s degenerate topers. These are the -particular lines in point:— - - For in King Harry’s time - When I made this rhyme - * * * * * - Full Winchester gage - We had in that age - The Dutchman’s strong beere - Was not hopt over here, - To us ’twas unknowne; - Bare ale of our owne, - In a bowle we might bring, - To welcome the King. - -At the present day, in the eastern counties, and indeed over the -greater portion of the country, _ale_ means strong, and _beer_ means -small malt liquor; in London _beer_ usually means porter (_i.e._, the -small beer of stout); while in the west country _beer_ is the “mighty” -liquor, and _ale_ the small. In the trade, however, _beer_ is the -comprehensive word for all malt liquors. {154} - -Ale was not the only word employed in late Saxon times to signify the -“oyle of barly,” for _wœt_, from the Saxon _swatan_, was in common use -as a synonym, and now, perhaps, finds its representative in the slang -phrase, “heavy wet.” The same term lingers in Scotland, and lovers of -Burns will remember his line, “It gars the _swats_ gae glibber doun.” -In former times wheat and oats were malted, as well as barley, and -though, as has been previously stated (p. 105), the law from time to -time prohibited this use of wheat, as tending to enhance the price of -bread, the practice was stronger than the precept, and continued to -prevail down to a comparatively recent date. - -Cogan, in _The Haven of Health_ (1586), thus describes the effect of -the different malts on the resultant liquor:—“For beere or ale being -made of wheat inclineth more to heat, for wheat is hot. If it be made -of barley malt, it enclineth more to cold, for barley is cold. And if -it be made of barley and otes together it is yet more temperate and of -less nourishment.” In the reign of Edward VI. even beans were used in -brewing, for the Brewers’ Company, in a petition to the Common Council -asking for a revision of the prices of ale and beer, complain that the -articles they use in brewing, viz., “wheate, malte, oates, beanes, -hoppes . . . . . . at these days are comen unto greate and exceeding -pryces.” - -It has been shown that for several hundred years the prices and -qualities of ale were fixed by law. As a rule, only two kinds were -allowed to be brewed for sale, the better and the second, or, as they -were called in some places, and notably in London, the double and the -single. The prices in Henry III.’s reign for the better kind were fixed -at 1d. for two gallons sold within cities, and 1d. for three or four -gallons sold in country places. In Edward III.’s reign three sorts -of ale might be brewed, the best at 1½d. a gallon, the middling at -1d., and the third at three farthings; and these prices seem to have -been in force in the City of London with slight variations down to the -time of Henry VIII., when the Brewers upon several occasions stirred -themselves to get the prices raised, but met with varying success. -In the early part of the reign the retail price of the best ale was -still 1½d. the gallon, and of the second, called threehalfpenny ale, -1d. per gallon. Double beer was to be 1d. per gallon, and single -½d. and a half-farthing. The wholesale price for beer was also fixed, -and three kinds were allowed, viz., “Dobyll” at 15d. the kilderkin, -“Threehalfpenny” at 12d., and “Syngyll” at 10d. - -In the twenty-fourth year of Henry VIII. the Brewers, after much -agitation, got the prices of beer raised to 2s. the kilderkin for the -“doble,” {155} and 1s. for the “syngyll”; but even with that they -were not satisfied, and expressed their dissatisfaction in protests to -the Common Council, who listened to their complaint, “but after long -consideration it was agreed, that whereas the Serjeaunt Gybson hath -exhibited and rote a boke of the gaynes of the said bere-brewers,” -their case should be remitted to the care of a committee appointed -to look into it. In the result no alteration was then sanctioned, -but five years afterwards the price was raised to 3s. 4d. the kil. -for the best, and 2s. 8d. for the threehalfpenny. The strength of -ale usually brewed about this time may be judged from answers given -by London brewers when interrogated on the subject. John Sheffield, -on being asked (36 Henry VIII.) how many kilderkins of _good ale_ he -draws from a quarter of malt, answers, “Little above five.” Other -brewers say much the same thing, though Richard Pyckering evades the -question by saying that “he commytteth the whole to his wife, and what -she draweth from a quarter he knoweth not.” This would point to an ale -of very considerable strength. In the thirty-seventh year of Henry -VIII., another committee was appointed to consider this all-important -question, “on account of the grete derthe and scarcitye at this present -of all kinds of grayne;” but nothing resulted from their deliberations. -The Brewers, however, seem to have stuck to their text with great -pertinacity, and in the fifth year of Edward VI. obtained a decision -of a committee of the Common Council, that they could no longer supply -the City at the then existing prices. Two kinds of beer only are to be -allowed, our old friends, “doble” and “syngyll,” and the strength and -quality are defined as follows: “Of every quarter of grayne that any -beare-bruer shall brewe of doble beare, he shall drawe fowre barrells -and one fyrkyn of goode holsome drynke for mannes bodye,” and double -that quantity of single beer. The price of the double beer is to be -4s. 8d. the barrel, and of single beer 2s. 4d., until the price of -malt is reduced to 15s. the quarter, and of wheat to 12s., when the -old prices are to be revived. Little variations of price occurred until -the reign of Elizabeth, who seems, from contemporary accounts, to have -been frequently exercised by the behaviour of the London Brewers. In -a Royal proclamation of the second year of her reign, she complains -that the Brewers have left off brewing any single beer, but brew “a -kynde of very strong bere calling the same doble-doble-bere which they -do commenly utter and sell at a very greate and excessyve pryce,” and -orders the old rules and rates to be observed; and in particular that -every Brewer shall once a week brew “as much syngyl as doble beare and -more.” Twenty years later the “doble-doble” seems to have been {156} -sanctioned in practice if not in name, for the Brewers are ordered to -sell two sorts of beer only, the double at 4s. the barrel and “the -other sort of beare of the best kynde at 7s. 6d.” - -Three years later still the Queen declares that the disorders of the -Brewers, through their “ungodly gredyness,” have grown to such lengths -that something must be done; and an Act of Common Council brings back -the beer to double and single, and applies other remedies. - -In 1654 three sorts of beer are allowed—the best at 8s. the barrel, -the second at 6s., and the small at 4s.; and shortly afterwards a -fourth kind was added at 10s. The efforts of the authorities to fix -the prices of ale and beer by arbitrary means were not long afterwards -finally discontinued. - -The limitation and classification of ale and beer according to their -strength, was maintained down to quite recent times because of the -duties laid upon them, but on the repeal of those duties ales of every -strength, kind and description were, and have since been, extensively -manufactured. Every want, whim, and fancy of the ale-drinker may now -be gratified. There is old Scotch or old Burton for the lover of -strong beer, porter for the labouring classes, stout for the weakly, -and last, but far from least, that splendid liquid, pale ale, which, -when bottled, vies with champagne in its excellence and delicacy of -flavour, and beats it altogether out of the field when we take into -consideration its sustaining and restorative powers. - -A tale is told of a man who asserted that tea was stronger than beer. -“A pot of beer,” said he, “will seldom attract more than a couple of -men about it, but a pot of tea will draw half-a-dozen or more old -women.” - -A potent drink, much in vogue with the roystering blades of former -times, was that known as “huff-cap.” The name was a cant expression -for strong ale, which was so called because it induced people to set -their caps in a bold huffing fashion. The term huff-cap was also used -to denote a swaggering fellow, as may be gathered from Clifford’s -_Note on Dryden_ (1687):—“Prethee tell me true, was not this huff-cap -once the Indian Emperour, and at another time did he not call himself -Maximine?” _Fulwel’s Art of Flattery_ thus mentions this variety of the -juice of barley:—“To quench the scorching heat of our parched throtes, -with the best nippitatum in this toun, which is commonly called -_huff-cap_, it will make a man look as though he had seen the devil -and quickly move him to call his own father a ———” (naughty name). -Harrison, writing on the food and diet of the English in 1587, also -{157} mentions huff-cap, and speaks of the mightiness of the ale in -which our ancestors indulged; ale, in fact, as an old Proverb has it, -“that would make a cat speak.” “Howbeit,” he writes, “though they are -so nice in the proportion of their bread, yet in lieu of the same their -is such headie ale and beere in moste of them, as for the mightinesse -thereof among suche as seeke it oute, is commonly called huffe cap, -the mad dog, angel’s food, dragon’s milke, etc. And this is more to be -noted, that when one of late fell by God’s prouvidence into a troubled -conscience, after he had considered well of his reachlesse life, and -dangerous estate; another thinking belike to change his colour and not -his mind, carried him straightwaie to the strongest ale, as to the next -physician. It is incredible to saie how our malte bugs lug at this -liquor, even as pigs should lie in a rowe, lugging at their dame’s -teats, till they lie still againe and be not able to wag. Neither did -Romulus and Remus sucke their shee woolfe or sheepherd’s wife Lupa with -such eger and sharpe devotion as these men hale at hufcap, till they be -red as cockes, and little wiser than their combs.” A strong ale, called -“Huff,” is still brewed at Winchester, and is kept for the use of the -fellows (not the boys) of that ancient institution. - -Some idea of the strength of the ale usually drunk in the country -districts in Elizabeth’s reign, may be gathered from a passage in a -letter from Leicester to Burleigh, written while the Queen was on -one of her famous progresses through the country: “There is not one -drop of good drink here for her. We were fain to send to London, and -Kenilworth, and divers other places where ale was; her own bere was so -strong as there was no man able to drink it.” - -To quote again from old Harrison on the fondness of his contemporaries -for strong ale, speaking of workmen and others attending bride-ales -(_i.e._, marriage feasts) and such like festivities, he says: “If they -happen to stumble upon a peece of venison and a cup of wine or verie -strong beere or ale (which latter they commonlie provide against their -appointed daies) they thinke their cheere so great, and themselves to -have fared so well, as the Lord Maior of London, with whom, when their -bellies be full, they will not stick to make comparison.” - -In the year 1680, during the debate on the Act to restrain the excess -and abuse used in Victualling Houses, one member said that he wished -“there might be a reformation of Ale, which is now made so strong, that -he offered to affirm it upon oath, that it is commonly sold for a Groat -a quart. _It is as strong as wine, and will burn like Sack._” {158} - -The Water Poet thus describes the different qualities of mild and stale -beer as known to the topers of the seventeenth century: “The stronger -_Beere_ is divided into two parts (viz.), mild and stale; the first -may ease a man of a drought, but the latter is like water cast into a -Smith’s forge, and breeds more heart-burnings, and as rust eates into -Iron, so overstale Beere gnawes aulet holes in the entrales, or else my -skill failes, and what I have written of it is to be held as a Jest.” - -Nipitatum or nipitato was another slang name for very strong ale. It is -mentioned in _The Knight of the Burning Pestle_:— - - My father oft will tell me of a drink, - In England found and _Nipitato_ called, - Which driveth all the sorrow from your hearts. - -Another epithet applied to ale, and denoting great strength, was -“humming,” and a reason for the term is shown by the extract from a -letter from John Howell to Lord Ciffe (seventeenth century), who, in -speaking of metheglin, says “that it keeps a humming in the brain, -which made one say that he loved not metheglin because he was used -to speak too much of the house he came from, meaning the hive.” The -humming in the head would be equally applicable to the effects of ale -as of metheglin, though the hive would only apply to the latter. The -same idea is sometimes expressed by the term _hum-cup_, as in the lines -from the old Sussex sheep-shearing song, beginning:— - - ’Tis a barrel then of _hum-cup_, which we call the black ram. - -Besides these strong ales and others too numerous to mention, -there was, at the beginning of last century, a certain strong beer -called Pharaoh, which gave its name to an ale-house at Barley, in -Cambridgeshire. The reason of the name is not certainly known, although -it was said in the county that it was so called because it _would not -let the people go_. This drink is no longer made in England, but a -strong beer of the same name is much appreciated in Belgium. The same -liquor is mentioned in the _Praise of Yorkshire Ale_ (1685): - - . . . Coffee, Twist, Old Pharaoh and old Hoc, - Juniper Brandy and Wine de Langue-Dock. - -As there have been many strong and mighty ales since the days when— - - King Hardicanute, ’midst Danes and Saxons stout, - Carous’d on nut-brown ale and dined on growt, {159} - -so there have been an abundance of small poor drinks, which have been -from time to time known by various terms of contempt, the titles -“whip-belly-vengeance” and “rotgut” being, perhaps, on the whole, the -most expressive. Shakspere sums up the humdrum of retired matronly life -in the well-known line, “To suckle fools and chronicle small beer.” -Beer which had been kept so long that it had turned sour was at one -time known as “broken beer,” much as we speak now of broken victuals. -Ben Jonson, in his _Masque of Gypsies_, makes mention of an infant -“very carefully carried at his mother’s back, rock’d in a cradle of -Welsh cheese like a maggot, and there fed with _broken beer_, and blown -wine of the best daily.” - -In olden times small beer discharged that friendly office assigned -by later and more fastidious days to soda-water, namely, the cooling -of the parched throat after a too earnest devotion to the rites of -_Bacchus_. - - Welcome to my lips, great king of frolic, - Stern foe to headache, devils blue, and cholic— - No dandy soda-water bring to me, - No Lady’s lemonade, no soft bohea; - Thy sterner aid I claim, and ask thy might - To quell the riots of that punch last night; - -wrote one of the Brasenose College poets. Christopher Sly, awakening -from his debauch, cries aloud for “a pot of small ale . . . and once -again a pot of the smallest ale,” and Prince Hal “remembers the poor -creature small beer.” - -A nameless author, writing in the _Gentleman’s Magazine_, 1746, -describes this function of small beer, and in poetic vein tells how -after a “wine,” awaking from a feverish sleep, he sees before him a -venerable man, - - Old, but not bending with the weight of years; - His face was ruddy, and he smiled benign, - As if nor sickness had his form impair’d, - Nor anxious cares his soul: his silver’d head - Was bound with wreaths of salutary flow’rs, - Call’d _Hops_ by men, but _Panace_ by Gods. - “My son,” he said (and at his voice divine - New life beat vig’rous in each throbbing vein) - “Long has my friendly influence mov’d the scorn, - My name the laughter of the sons of men, - The sons of men, regardless of their weal {160} - And health, the greatest sublunary good! - The genius I of liquor, call’d below - Small Beer, and doubtless you have heard me damn’d - Full oft, by Belials rude, outrageous sons; - But yet, were honour due, to Temp’rance given, - Mine were the favours of th’ applauding crowd, - * * * * * - ——Here, taste and live, live soberly and well.” - This said, a vase with steady hand he gave, - Full to the brim, I quaft’d the tender’d draught; - Swift the cool stream refresh’d my burning throat,— - * * * * * - In haste my visionary guest retir’d, - And left me deep in contemplation drown’d - Resolving reason never more to quench - In floods _Lethean_ of deceitful wine; - Deceitful wine! embrew’d with mixtures dire, - By the curs’d vintner’s art for sordid pelf. - O! grant me, Heav’n, to live with health and ease, - My books, a sober friend, _Small Beer_, and sense: - So shall my years the smiling fates prolong, - And each auspicious morn shall see me happy. - -Even in distant times particular localities became noted for the -excellence of their brewers. London early attained, and has maintained -until the present day, a great reputation for its ale. Chaucer alludes -to the taste of the Cook for a “draught of London ale.” Tyrwhitt says -that in 1504 London ale was of such excellence that it fetched 5s. a -barrel more than Kentish ale. This can hardly be, as we have already -seen that at that period the barrel of London double ale only fetched -4s. Probably Tyrwhitt intended to refer to a tun and not to a barrel. -The occasion referred to was the enthronement of William Wareham as -Archbishop of Canterbury, when the provision made for washing down -the vast stores of eatables was something tremendous. Besides great -quantities of wine of many sorts, there were four tuns of London ale, -six of Kentish, and twenty of English beer. - -The malt liquors of London, and especially London porter and stout, -are known from pole to pole, and Burton ales have a no less world-wide -reputation. Indeed, the word Burton has in itself come to be synonymous -with ale, and the expression “a glass of Burton” has become a household -word. {161} - -Burton and its famous brew are treated of elsewhere in these pages, and -it must suffice here to insert an old song in praise of this nineteenth -century nectar:— - -BURTON ALE. - - Ne’er tell me of liquors from Spain or from France, - They may get in your heels and inspire you to dance, - But the Ale of Old Burton if mellow and right - Will get in your head and inspire you to fight. - - Your Claret and Rhenish and fine Calcavella - Were never yet able to make a good fellow, - But of stout Burton Ale, if you drink but enough, - ’Twill make you all jolly and hearty and tough. - - Then let meagre Frenchmen still batten on Wine, - They ne’er will digest a good English Sirloin, - Parbleu they may caper and Vapour along, - But right Burton can make us both valiant and strong. - - Come here then ye Mortals who’re prone to despair - From frowns of Dame Fortune or frowns of the fair, - Whate’er your disorder, three nips will prevail, - And the best Panacea you’ll find, Burton Ale. - - Then Molly approach with your Peacock and Cann— - Not Juno herself brought more blessings to Man— - With nip after nip, all my sorrows beguile, - And my Fortune and Mistress shall presently smile. - -Old strong beer is sometimes known by the name of Stingo, and this -appellation seems, for a couple of hundred years at least, to have been -specially applied to Yorkshire Ale. The estimation in which this liquor -was held at the end of the eighteenth century, and the wonders it was -deemed capable of bringing about, may be learned from a perusal of _The -Praise of Yorkshire Ale_, an old poem, extracts from which may be found -in the chapter devoted to Ballads. We have been given to understand -that the brewers of Yorkshire Stingo have not forgotten their ancient -skill. - -Our old friend Taylor mentions a goodly number of places where -especially good ale was brewed in his day. “I should be voluminous,” he -says, “if I should insist upon all pertinent and impertinent passages -{162} in the Behalfe of _Ale_, as also of the retentive fame that -_Yorke_, _Chester_, _Hull_, _Nottingham_, _Darby_, _Gravesende_, with -a Toaste, and other Countries still enjoy, by making this untainted -liquor in the primitive way, and how _Windsor_ doth more glory in that -composition than all the rest of her speculative pleasures. . . . . -Also there is a Towne neere _Margate in Kent_ (in the Isle of Thanet) -called _Northdowne_, which Towne hath ingrost much Fame, Wealth, and -Reputation from the prevalent potencie of their attractive _Ale_.” - -Derby had as early as the sixteenth century a great reputation for its -ales. Sir Lionel Rash, in _Green’s Tu Quoque_, an Elizabethan comedy, -says: “I have sent my daughter this morning as far as Pimlico to fetch -a draught of Derby Ale, that it may fetch a colour into her cheeks.” -Fuller, in his _Worthies of England_, with an evident conservative -taste for ale, that “authenticall drinke of old England,” mentions -the repute of Derby ale with some circumlocution, but with no stinted -praise. “Ceres being our English Bacchus,” he remarks, “this was our -ancestors’ common drink, many imputing the strength of their Infantry -(in drawing so stiff a bow) to their constant (but moderate) drinking -thereof. Yea, now the English begin to turn to Ale (may they in due -time regain their former vigorousnesse) and whereas in our remembrance, -Ale went out when swallows came in, seldom appearing after Easter; it -now hopeth (having climbed up May Hill) to continue its course all -the year. Yet have we lost the Preservative, what ever it was, which -(before Hops were found out) made it last so long in our land some -two hundred years since, for half a year at least after the brewing -thereof; otherwise of necessity they must brew every day, yea pour it -out of the Kive into the Cup, if the prodigious English Hospitality in -former ages be considered, with the multitude of menial servants and -strangers entertained. Now never was the wine of Sarepta better known -to the Syrians, that of Chios to the Grecians, of Phalernum to the -Latines, than the Canary of Derby is to the English thereabout.” - -Manchester at about the same period seems to have had a great -assortment of Ales and Beers, if we are to believe Taylor, who, in his -_Pennyless Pilgrimage_, tells - - How men of Manchester did use me well, - * * * * * - We went into the house of one John Pinners - (A man that lives among a crew of sinners) - And there eight severall sorts of Ale we had, - All able to make one starke drunke or mad. {163} - But I with courage bravely flinched not, - And gave the Towne leave to discharge the shot, - We had at one time set upon the table, - Good Ale of Hisope, ’twas not Esope fable: - Then had we Ale of Sage, and Ale of Malt, - And Ale of Woorme-wood, that could make one halt, - With Ale of Rosemary, and Bettony, - And two Ales more, or else I needs must lye. - But to conclude this drinking Alye tale, - We had a sort of Ale called scurvy Ale. - -The southern district of Devon, which is locally known as South Hams, -has long been famed for a curious liquor known as “white ale.” The -beverage is of great antiquity, and has been subject to tithe from time -immemorial. Kingsbridge is supposed to have been the place where white -ale was first brewed. It used to be made of malt, a small quantity of -hops, flour, spices, and a mysterious compound known as “grout,” or -“ripening,” the manufacture of which was, and may be still, preserved -as a great secret in a few families. In another receipt for making -this ale it is stated that a number of eggs should be added to the -liquor before it is allowed to ferment, and this seems to have been an -essential of the original brew, or at any rate was so considered in -1741. A writer at that date says:—“The Ale-wives, whose province of -making this Ale it commonly falls under to manage from the beginning -to the end, are most of them as curious in their brewing it, as the -Dairy women in making their butter, for as it is a White Ale it soon -sullies by dirt . . . . ; the wort is brewed by the hostess, but -the fermentation is brought on by the purchase of what they call -‘ripening,’ or a composition, as some say, of flower of malt and white -of eggs . .” - -This luscious liquid has been described as “not the sparkling beverage -brewed from malt and hops, but a milky-looking compound, of which, -judging from the flavour, milk, spice and gin seemed to be among -the ingredients. It does not improve by keeping, and is brewed only -in small quantities for immediate consumption. It is kept in large -bottles, and you will scarcely pass a public-house from Darmouth to -Plymouth without seeing evidence of its consumption by the empty -bottles piled away outside the premises.” - -At the present time a considerable quantity of white ale is made in and -about Tavistock. It is now, however, brewed in a simpler manner than -of yore, and consists simply of common ale with eggs and flour {164} -added. The labourers of that part of the country much affect it, and -as it is highly nutritious it is regarded by many of them as “meat, -drink and cloth” combined. A bloated habit of body is said to arise -from a too faithful adherence to this luscious fluid. A former great -connoisseur of this West-country ale, one Bone Phillips, lies buried -just outside the church door at Kingsbridge; the following lines were -inscribed over his grave at his request:— - - Here lie I at the church door, - Here be I because I’m poor, - The further in the more you pay, - Here lie I as warm as they. - -While on the subject of epitaphs, the following may be quoted as having -some bearing on the subject specially treated of in this chapter:— - - Poor John Scott lies buried here; - Tho’ once he was both _hale_ and _stout_, - Death stretched him on his bitter bier: - In another world he _hops_ about. - -An ale of a similar nature to white ale goes in Cornwall by the rather -uneuphonious title of “Laboragol.” Somewhat similar to the foregoing -was grout[47] ale, which is said by Halliwell, on the authority of -Dean Milles’ MS. glossary, to have been different from white ale, of a -brownish colour, and known only to the people about Newton Bussel, who -kept the method of preparing it a secret. A physician, a native of that -place, informed him that the preparation was made of “malt almost burnt -in an iron pot, mixed with some of the barm which rises on the first -working in the keeve, a small quantity of which invigorates the whole -mass and makes it very heady.” {165} - - [47] The word grout properly signifies ground meal or malt. Kennett - says that in Leicestershire the infusion of malt and water before - it is fully boiled is called grout, and after it is tunned up it - is called wort. Ray explains it as wort of the last running. Pegge - says it is only drank by poor people, who are on that account called - “grouters.” See Halliwell’s Dict. of Arch. and Prov. Words. In the - old play, _Tom Tyler and his Wife_, growt is used to signify a kind - of ale. - - This jolly growt is jolly and stout - I pray you stout it still-a, - -While mentioning some few of the places specially noted for their -ales, our ancient seats of learning must not be forgotten. Who has -not heard of Trinity audit, and of that scarcely less famous liquor, -Brasenose Ale? Many who have tasted the former have had no words to -express their feelings; some have said that it is as superior to all -other mortal brews as Chateau Lafitte is to vin ordinaire. These may -seem words of extravagant praise; but let the reader who has never -tasted this famous drink reserve his judgment on the point until he -has, and above all let him lose no time in putting his judgment to the -test. Trinity audit would justify the eulogy of the host in the _Beaux’ -Stratagem_—“As smooth as oil, sweet as milk, clear as amber, strong as -brandy; fancy it Burgundy, only fancy it, and it is worth ten shillings -a quart.” - - Oh, in truth, it gladdens the heart to see - What may spring from the Ale of Trinitie,— - A scholar—a fellow,—a rector blithe, - (Fit to take any amount of tithe)— - Perhaps a bishop—perhaps, by grace, - One may mount to the Archiepiscopal place, - And wield the crosier, an awful thing, - The envy of all, and—the parsons’ King! - O Jove! who would struggle with learning pale, - That could beat down the world by the strength of Ale! - For _me_,—I avow, could my thoughtless prime - Come back with the wisdom of mournful time, - I’d labour—I’d toil—by night and day, - (Mixing liquors and books away,) - Till I conquer’d that high and proud degree, - M. A. (Master of Ale) of Trinitie.[48] - - [48] A Panegyric on Ale addressed to W. L. Birkbeck, Esq., by Barry - Cornwall. - -Brasenose College, Oxford, has long been noted for its ale. As each -Shrovetide comes round, the college butler, as a condition of the -tenure of his office, presents a barrel of the strongest nappy, and -celebrates the event in verse, handing on to generations yet unborn the -name and fame of the Brasenose brew. The earlier of these ale poems, -which are in reality the effusions of some poetical undergraduate, -had a fleeting existence, but some years ago Mr. Prior, who was then -and still continues, {166} the butler of the College, published a -collection of them in a small volume, entitled _Brasenose Ale_. In his -little book, which we commend to the perusal of all good ale-knights, -occur the following lines, written by R. J. B., in 1835:— - - Lo! Prior hastens with his motley crew, - To pour the foaming liquor to our view: - Clasps his firm hand in all a Butler’s pride - The cup no Brasenose Fellow e’er denied: - Yet secret triumph o’er his brow has cast - That Ale the sweetest, as that brew the last! - “Away, ye lighter drinks! ye swipes, away, - Where masters bully, and where boys obey,” - The brewer cried; and taught the Ale to live - With all the charms that malt and hops could give. - Warm’d at his touch, behold the vapours rise - In all their genuine fragrance to the skies: - No beer-shops bev’rage, such as Cockneys buy, - Foul to the taste, and loathsome to the eye; - No dingy mixture, vulgarly call’d swipes; - No quassia juice, promoter of the gripes; - But true proportions of good hops and malt, - Mingled with care, then stow’d within the vault: - The hue that tells its potency—the scent - That breathes as if from blest Arabia sent. - Still o’er his Ale fond Prior hangs confest, - And joy and triumph swell his manly breast. - * * * * * - Such, glorious liquor of the olden time, - When to be drunk with Ale was deem’d no crime; - When in the morn and eve and mid-day stood - Upon our fathers’ boards old English food; - Such hast thou been, ’mid war and change the same, - Link’d with the poet’s and the scholar’s name, - Mellow’d by age—but still with flavour higher, - The pride of Brasenose, and the boast of Prior. - -How Brasenose College came by its peculiar name is a much disputed -point. There is a legend that in the far-off time of long ago certain -students of the temporary university at Stamford, the iron ring of -whose door-knocker was fitted in a nose of brass, migrated to Oxford, -{167} and there set up a brazen nose over the entrance of their -college as a souvenir of their former abode. Equally plausible is the -tradition that upon the site of the college brewery once stood King -Alfred’s brasinium (brewhouse), and that the name, clinging to the -place through all the changes and chances of a thousand years, now -appears under the slightly modified form of Brasenose. If the latter -theory be correct, the Shrovetide feast and the yearly ode in praise of -Brasenose Ale may be attributed to the desire to keep green the memory -of the famous brewhouse of the good King, and the mighty liquor therein -brewed for the royal table. - -The merits of a celebrated Oxford butler, John Dawson of Christ Church, -are commemorated in the following elegy:— - - Dawson, the butler’s dead. Although I think - Poets were ne’er infus’d with single drink - I’ll spend a farthing, Muse; a wat’ry verse - Will serve the turn to cast upon his hearse. - If any cannot weep amongst us here, - Take off his cap, and so squeeze out a tear: - Weep, O ye Barrels! make waste more prodigal - Than when our Beer was good, that John may float - To Styx in beer, and lift up Charon’s boat - With wholsome waves; and as the conduits ran, - With claret at the Coronation, - So let your channels flow with single tiff, - For John, I hope is crown’d: take off your whiff, - Ye men of rosemary, and drink up all, - Rememb’ring ’tis a Butler’s funeral; - Had he been master of good double Beer - My Life for his, John Dawson had been here. - -For a hundred years or more the town of Nottingham has been famous for -its ales, and the song “Nottingham Ale” commemorates the many virtues -of this justly celebrated “barley-wine.” Amongst others, it has virtues -ecclesiastical:— - - Ye bishops and deacons, priests, curates and vicars, - Come taste, and you’ll certainly find it is true, - That Nottingham Ale is the best of all liquors, - And who understand the good creature like you? - It dispels every vapour, saves pen, ink, and paper; - For when you’re disposed in the pulpit to rail {168} - It will open your throats, you may preach without notes, - When inspired with full bumpers of Nottingham Ale. - -This song, which was a great favourite at the end of last century, was -composed by one Gunthorpe, a naval officer, by way of payment for a -cask of the “particular,” received as a present from his brother, who -was a Nottingham Brewer. - -To go further north, Newcastle, besides its coals, has long had the -reputation for what, if we are to believe the townsmen of the place, is -the best, the stoutest, the brightest “Stingo” that the heart of man -can desire. As every Jack will have his Jill, so famous ale ever finds -its appropriate verses. The song _Newcastle Beer_, of which a verse is, -given below, extols the wonders wrought by English beer in general, and -by that of Newcastle in particular:— - - ’Twas Stingo like this made Alcides so bold, - It brac’d up his nerves, and enliven’d his powers; - And his mystical club, that did wonders of old, - Was nothing, my lads, but such liquor as ours. - The horrible crew - That Hercules slew, - Were Poverty—Calumny—Trouble—and Fear; - Such a club would you borrow, - To drive away sorrow, - Apply for a jorum of Newcastle Beer. - -_Warrington Ale_, a song of last century, describes in glowing terms -the good ale of that Lancashire town, and the poet, if he is to be -believed, is evidently a man of some experience in various drinks:— - - D’ye mind me, I once was a Sailor, - And in different countries I’ve been; - If I lie, may I go for a tailor, - But a thousand fine sights I have seen. - I’ve been crammed with good things like a wallet, - And I’ve guzzled more drink than a whale; - But the very best stuff to my palate - Is a glass of your Warrington Ale. - -De Foe in his _Tour through Great Britain_ eulogises the Lancashire -ale of the period. In travelling through the northern parts of the -county, “though it was but about the middle of August, and in some -places the harvest hardly got in, we saw the mountains covered with -{169} snow, and felt the cold very acute and piercing, but we found, -as in all these northern countries, the people had a happy way of -mixing the warm and the cold together; for the store of good ale which -flows plentifully in the most mountainous parts of this country, seems -abundantly to make up for all the inclemencies of the season, or -difficulties of travelling.” - -A certain very strong ale called Morocco is, or was, made at Levens -Hall, in the County of Cumberland. Beef, or other meat, is an -ingredient of this mighty brew, but the exact receipt is kept a secret. -There is a tradition that the method of brewing Morocco was brought by -a Crusader named Howard from certain unknown regions beyond the seas, -and it is said that the receipt was buried during the Parliamentary -wars, and was only unearthed many years afterwards. It is always -brought in an immense and curiously wrought glass to everyone who dines -at Levens for the first time, and the visitor is expected on no account -to refuse the glass, but to take it and say, “To the health of the Lady -of Levens.” - -To go a little further north, the ales of Edinburgh are justly -celebrated, old Scotch ale being as favourite a beverage as old Burton. -Scotch brewers are great believers in malt and hops, and at the present -day brew excellent light ales, as well as the mightier brew which has -given them their world-wide reputation. - -A curious ale is mentioned in the _Buik of Chroniclis of Scotland_ -(fifteenth century). Owing to a very severe winter in the reign of -William the Lion, liquids of many kinds were frozen solid, and ale was -sold by _weight_:— - - So furious ouir all part wes that frost - Of bestiall that thair wes mony lost; - The starkest aill of malt that mycht be browin, - Thocht it war keipit neuir so clois and lowin, - It wald congeill _and freis into hard yis_. - The thing of all men thocht wes then most nys - That this be weycht, and nocht mesour, wes sauld - That tyme for drink as that my author told. - -The wanderings of the _Penniless Pilgrim_ took him to Scotland, and he -wonders much at the powers of ale-suction shown by the natives. “The -Scots,” he says, “doe allow almost as large measure of their miles -as they doe of their drinke, for an English gallon either of ale or -wine is but their quart.” After rising from a repast, he tells how -“the {170} servants of the house have enforced me into the seller or -Buttery, where (in the way of kindnesse) they will make a man’s belly -like a sowse-tub, and inforce mee to drinke as if they had a commission -under the devil’s great seale, to murder men with drinking, with such -a deal of complimentary oratory as, ‘off with your lap,’ ‘wind up your -bottome,’ ‘up with your toplash,’ and many other eloquent phrases, -which Tully and Demosthenes never heard of; that in conclusion I am -persuaded three days fasting would have been more healthfull to mee, -then two hours feeding and swilling in that manner.” - -Christopher North, in his _Noctes Ambrosianæ_, mentions some of the -famous Scotch ales of his day. After alluding to the ales of Berwick -and of Giles, he says:— - -“Maitland and Davison—again—has inspired my being with a _new_ feeling, -for which no language I am acquainted with can supply an adequate -name. That feeling impels me to say these simple words on behalf of -the Spirit of Ale in general—speaking through me, its organ—_Ale -loquitur_—“If not suffered by Fate to fix my abode in barrels of -Berwick or Giles, where I have long reigned alternate years, in all my -glory, scarcely should I feel myself priviledged to blame my stars, -were I ordered for a while to sojourn in one of Maitland—and Davison.” - -A notice of Scoth ales, however short, would be incomplete without some -reference to the great Scotch national poet, who sometimes, at any -rate, would seem to have owed his inspiration to the “barley bree.” The -song of Burns, _O, Willie brew’d a peck o’ maut_, is too well known -to need repetition here. Who does not remember the chorus of this -admirable chanson-à-boire:— - - We are na fou, we’re no that fou, - But just a drappie in our e’e, - The cock may craw, the day may daw, - And aye we’ll taste the barley bree! - -The occasion which the song was intended to celebrate is not so -commonly known. The “three merry boys,” Willie, Rob, and Alan were -respectively William Nicol, of the High School, Edinburgh, our poet, -and Alan Masterton, who was a schoolmaster and musical amateur. The -place of meeting was a small farm named Laggan, belonging to Nicol. -The inspiring ale was Nicol’s, the song was Burns’, and the music was -Alan Masterton’s. “We had such a joyous meeting,” says Burns, “that -Mr. Masterton and I agreed, each in our own way, to celebrate the -business.” {171} - -To pass to the Principality, Welsh ales were in Saxon times well known -and highly esteemed. In the laws of Hywel Dda two kinds of ale are -mentioned—Bragawd[49], which was paid as tribute to the King by a free -township, and Cwrwf, which was more common, and was paid by the servile -township in cases where the former kind ran short. It may be hence -gathered that in early times the highly-flavoured Bragawd was held in -greater estimation than the Cwrwf; yet the latter has out-lived the -former, and is still to be had in various parts of Wales, where it is -consumed with great gusto by Cambria’s patriotic sons. - - [49] Bragawd or Bragot. See p. 379. - -The neighbouring county of Hereford, now a great cider-drinking -locality, had in former times at least one town with a reputation for -good ale. “Lemster bread and Weobley ale” had passed into a proverb -before the seventeenth century. The saying seems, however, to have -been affected chiefly by the inhabitants of the county, who, perhaps, -were not quite impartial. Ray, writing in 1737, ventures to question -the pre-eminence ascribed to the places mentioned. For wheat he gives -Hesten, in Middlesex, “and for ale Derby town, and Northdown in the -Isle of Thanet, Hull in Yorkshire, and Sandbich in Cheshire, will -scarcely give place to Weobley.” Herrick mentions this celebrated -Northdown ale in the lines:— - - That while the wassaile bowle here - With North-down ale doth troule here, - No sillable doth fall here, - To marre the mirth at all here. - -Norfolk was once celebrated for a strong ale, bearing the euphonious -name of _Norfolk Nog_. It is mentioned in Vanbrugh’s _Journey to -London_, “Here, John Moody,” says Sir Francis, “get us a tankard of -good hearty stuff presently.” “Sir,” is the reply, “here’s Norfolk -Nog to be had next door.” Swift also knew something of this brew, and -mentions that “Walpole laid a quart of nog on it.” “Clamber-skull” is -probably a variety of this strong Norfolk ale, and earned its name -from the rapidity with which it mounted to the heads of its votaries. -Norfolk still holds a high place as an ale-producing county, and the -ales of Great Yarmouth and Norwich are justly celebrated. - -Banbury produced a mighty ale in the seventeenth century, if we may -judge from the couplet in _Wit Restored_:— - - Banbury ale a half-yard pot - The devil a tinker dares stand to ’t. {172} - -It must have been strong indeed, for according to the old proverb— - - Cobblers and tinkers - Are your true ale drinkers. - -Dorsetshire, amongst the southern counties, has long been noted for a -fine pale ale. This is the liquor mentioned in _English Ale_ (1737) as— - - Bright amber priz’d by the luxurious town, - The pale hu’d Dorchester—— - -Its strength may be judged from the entry in John Byrom’s diary of -about the same period (1725):—“I found the effect of last night’s -drinking that foolish Dorset, which was pleasant enough, but it did not -agree with me at all, for it made me very stupid all day.” These are -the words of a man who has evidently loved not wisely but too well. - -Cox, in his _History of Dorsetshire_ (1700), states that “since by -the French wars the coming of French wine is prohibited, the people -here have learned to brew the finest malt liquors in the kingdom, -so delicately clean and well tasted that the best judges . . . . -prefer it to the ales most in vogue, as Hull, Derby, Burton, &c.” -Great quantities of Dorchester beer were consumed in London during -the seventeenth and the early part of the eighteenth centuries, but -from that time the trade with London, for some reason—probably the -expense of transit—gradually fell away. The excellence of the Dorset -beer depended in a great measure upon the fact that the water of the -neighbourhood possessed peculiarly good qualities for brewing purposes, -and, that advantage being of a permanent character, there seems to be -no reason why the Dorchester ales of the present day should not regain -throughout the country the position they had at the beginning of last -century. In the south and south-western portions of England they are -held in very high esteem. - -Barnstaple was famous for its ales in the middle of the last century; a -writer in the _Gentleman’s Magazine_ of Jan., 1753, says that they are -as good as Derby ales, though not quite so famous. - -Mum, a popular drink early in the last century, was a strong ale brewed -chiefly from wheat-malt with the addition of various aromatic herbs. -Mum-houses were in existence in 1664, for Mr. Samuel Pepys records -that on a certain occasion he went “with Mr. Norbury near hand to the -Fleece, a mum-house in Leadenhall, and there drank _mum_, and by-and-by -broke up.” A receipt of the date 1682, describes the brewing of mum as -follows:— {173} - -“To make a vessel of sixty-three gallons, we are instructed that, the -water must be first boiled to the consumption of a third part, then let -it be brewed according to art with seven bushels of wheat-malt, one -bushel of oat-malt, and one bushel of ground beans. When the mixture -begins to work, the following ingredients are to be added: three -pounds of the inner rind of the fir; one pound each of the tops of -the fir and the birch; three handfuls of _Carduus Benedictus_, dried; -two handfuls of flowers of _Rosa solis_; of burnet, betony, marjoram, -avens, pennyroyal, flowers of elder, and wild thyme, one handful and -a half each; three ounces of bruised seeds of cardamum; and one ounce -of bruised bayberries. Subsequently ten new-laid eggs, not cracked or -broken, are to be put into the hogshead, which is then to be stopped -close, and not tapped for two years, a sea voyage greatly improving the -drink.” - -The origin of the word “mum” is somewhat disputed, but the best -derivation seems to be from the name of Christopher Mummer, who is said -to have been the first to brew it. Others assign to the word an origin -from _mummeln_, to mutter, and this seems to have been Pope’s idea when -he wrote the lines:— - - The clamorous crowd is hushed with mugs of mum, - Till all, turned equal, send a general hum. - -Others, again, find the derivation in the word mum, meaning silence. - -Brunswick is always given as its birthplace, and it was certainly -known as early as the sixteenth century, for in an old work, _De -generibus ebriosorum et ebrietate vitanda_ (1515), “mommom sive mommum -Brunsvigen” is mentioned as one of the drinks of Germany. - -An old book, _England’s Improvement by Sea and Land_ (1677), contains a -remarkable proposition for bringing over the mum trade from Brunswick, -and establishing it at Stratford-on-Avon. - -The old writer, from whom the receipt before-quoted is taken, -lays considerable stress on the fact that “the ingredients in its -composition are very rare and choice simples, there being scarcely any -disease in nature against which some of them is not a sure specific,” -the implication apparently being that the combination of these -ingredients would largely increase their healing power. - -In one of the 400 letters addressed by Sir Richard Steele to his wife -we find him writing under date December 6th, 1717:—“I went to bed -last night after taking only a little broth; and all the day before a -little tea and bread and butter, with two glasses of mum and a piece -of bread. {174} at the House of Commons. Temperance and your company, -as agreeable as you can make it, will make life tolerable if not easy, -even with the gout.” - -A particular variety of this beverage was known as Hamburgh mum, and a -catch in its praise of the early part of last century mentions it as -hailing from that city:— - - There’s an odd sort of liquor - New come from Hamborough, - ’Twill stick a whole wapentake - Thorough and thorough; - ’Tis yellow, and likewise - As bitter as gall, - And as strong as six horses, - Coach and all. - As I told you ’twill make you, - As drunk as a drum; - You’d fain know the name on’t, - But for that my friend, _mum_. - -Readers of Sir Walter Scott will remember that Mr. Oldbuck is described -at breakfast as despising the modern slops of tea and coffee and -substantially regaling himself “more majorum, with cold roast beef and -mum.” - -An Act of Parliament, which was passed annually during the greater part -of the first half of this century, prescribed certain duties on “malt, -mum, cyder and perry,” and a tale is told that when Mr. Perry, editor -of the _Morning Chronicle_, was indicted for libel, he conducted his -own case, and by his able defence secured a verdict of “Not guilty.” -Cobbett, who was shortly afterwards tried on a similar charge, also -conducted his own defence, but was convicted. Erskine remarked that -Cobbett had tried to be Perry, when he should have been mum. - -In the eighteenth century patriotic sentiment was invoked to support -the failing popularity of mum, as may be gathered from the old work -_Political Merriment, or Truths to some Tune_ (1714), in which these -lines occur:— - - Now, now true Protestants rejoice, - Stand by your laws and King, - Now you’ve proclaimed the nation’s choice, - Let traitorous rebels swing; {175} - - Let Royal George, the Papists scourge, - To England quickly come; - His health till then, let honest men, - Drink all in Brunswick Mum. - -But all would not avail, and the liquor is now as dead as Christopher -Mummer, the first inventor of it. - -There is a tradition lingering in the northern parts of this island, -that the Picts possessed the secret of making an ale from heather. Sir -David Smith, in a MS. in the possession of the Duke of Northumberland, -mentions a large trough cut in the solid rock at Kutchester, near the -Roman wall. “The old peasants,” he says, “have a tradition that the -Romans made a beverage somewhat like beer, of the bells of heather, -and that this trough was used in the process of making it.” The -tradition in Caithness runs that three Picts—an old blind man and his -two sons—survived the rest of their race; that these alone of all -mankind possessed the secret of making heather ale; that they guarded -their secret with jealous care, and that they were in consequence much -persecuted by their conquerors. At last the old Pict, in answer to the -frequent importunities of his persecutors, promised to tell the secret, -on condition that his two sons should be put to death. This was done, -but the task was as far from accomplishment as ever, and nothing could -be got from the old man but the truly Delphic words which are handed -down in the couplet:— - - Search Brockwin well out and well in, - And barm for heather crop you’ll find within. - -The secret died with him. - - * * * * * - -True or false, this is the legend as related in the north, and certain -it is that _a_ heather beer was made until quite recently in some parts -of Scotland and Ireland. The heather, however, is used as a flavouring -rather than as an actual basis for making the drink. The blossoms of -the heather are carefully gathered and cleansed, and are then placed in -the bottom of vessels; wort of the ordinary kind is allowed to drain -through the blossoms, and gains in its passage a peculiar and agreeable -flavour, which is well known to all who are familiar with heather honey. - -Pennant, in his _Voyage to the Hebrides_, mentions heather _ale_, -and says that the proportions were two-thirds of the plant to one of -hops (hops being sometimes added); and Mr. Weld, in his _Two Months -in the Highlands_, {176} says that “although the art of brewing the -Pictish heather ale is lost, old grouse shooters have tasted a beverage -prepared by shepherds, on the moors, principally from heather flowers, -though honey or sugar, to produce fermentation, was added.” - -In some parts of Ireland there is a tradition that the Danes possessed -the knowledge of making an intoxicating liquor from heather bells; -this drink the peasants speak of as beoir-lochlonnach (_i.e._, strong -at sea), an epithet by which the savage Northmen were known to the -Celtic races. It is possible that there is some connection between this -heather ale and the ale formerly made by the Swedes and flavoured with -the _Myrica gale_. Reference to this plant is made in a Swedish law of -the fifteenth century, in which it is forbidden to gather the blossoms -before a certain period. The probability of this connection seems to -be increased by the fact that in Yorkshire, a county which contains -many descendants of the old Northmen, a beer is still made called “gale -beer,” and is flavoured with the blossoms of a species of heather found -growing on the moors in that part of the country. - -As late as the commencement of this century an ale flavoured with -heather, and differing little from the heather ale described, was -brewed in many parts of Ireland. The practice, it is believed, is now -almost if not quite extinct. - -Irish moss ale is made in the following manner:—Take one ounce of Irish -moss, one ounce of hops, one ounce of ginger, one ounce of Spanish -juice, and one pound of sugar. Ten gallons of water are added and the -mixture is boiled, fermented, and bottled. The consideration of the -name of this liquor and the actual constituents may possibly remind -readers of the old tale of that very clever person who made soup out of -a stone with the assistance of a few such trifles as beef, vegetables, -and flavourings. - -Beer powders have been made, from which a good and refreshing drink -may be procured by the simple addition of water. Various substances -and juices have been used from time to time to improve the flavour or -strength of ale. In Wales berries of the Mountain Ash were once used, -and were said to greatly improve the flavour of the beverage. The sap -of the sycamore tree is mentioned by Evelyn as being a most useful -adjunct to the brewhouse; he says that one bushel of malt with sycamore -sap makes as good ale as four bushels with water alone. - -The service tree, the name of which is said to be a corruption of -cerevisia, was so called because in former times a kind of ale was -brewed {177} from its berries. Evelyn says that ale and beer, “brewed -with these berries, being ripe, is an incomparable drink.” - -Maize, beet-root, potatoes, parsnips, and other vegetables have -each and all been used in the making of beer, but it seems very -doubtful whether any combination of ingredients will ever equal the -time-honoured partnership of malt and hops. - -A writer in the _Gentleman’s Magazine_ in 1758 says: “In many parts of -the Kingdom, a beer is made of treacle—thus: to eight quarts of boiling -water put a pound of treacle, a quarter of an ounce of ginger, and two -bay leaves. Boil these for a quarter of an hour, then cool and work -with yeast the same as beer.” - -From treacle we naturally come to sugar. This chapter would be very -incomplete without some mention of a kind of beer which is extensively -brewed in England at the present day. It is brewed sometimes wholly -of sugar, or sugar and malt. Occasionally rice is added. Looking at -this sugar-beer from a chemist’s point of view, there is absolutely no -fault to find with it; it is perfectly pure and perfectly wholesome. -Nor is it found to differ, when analysed, from beer made from malt. -There is certainly a popular prejudice against it, which may arise in a -great measure from the love of the people for the historic drink made -from malt. Though analysts cannot distinguish between malt liquors and -beers made from sugar, there is usually a slight difference in flavour -between them. It is a noteworthy fact that most of the largest firms, -having extensive _private_ businesses, brew from malt and hops. Their -success certainly indicates the direction in which the popular taste -runs. If Englishmen prefer malt liquors, it is surely to the interest -of the brewers to give them the genuine barley-bree, and not beer -brewed from sugar, however excellent it may be. - -The use of malt by brewers is of no little importance to English -grain-growers, and is rightly looked upon by many as of national -concern. Considerable misconception, however, may exist on this point, -for the brewing trade generally, say that of late years English -barley, from climatic or other causes, has not been found altogether -suitable for brewing purposes, rendering an admixture of foreign grain -necessary. All we can do is to express a hope that the brewers are -somewhat mistaken in their estimate of English barley; but that if they -are correct, England may in future years be accorded its due share of -sunshine—that blessing of which Dame Nature has been somewhat niggardly -of late, so that malt made from English grain alone, may again fill our -mash-tuns. {178} - -A distinction between beers arises, in name at least, from the vessels -in which they are contained. We have beer in casks and beer in bottles. -Fuller, in his _Worthies of England_, ascribes the invention of -bottled beer to Alexander Newell, Dean of St. Paul’s and a master of -Westminster School in the reign of Queen Mary. The Dean was a devoted -angler. “But,” says old Fuller, “whilst Newell was catching of fishes, -Bishop Bonner was catching of Newell, and would certainly have sent him -to the shambles, had not a good London merchant conveyed him away upon -the seas.” Newell was engaged in his favourite pursuit on the banks of -the Thames, when such pressing notice of his danger reached him, that -he was obliged to take immediate flight. On his return to England, -after Mary’s death, he remembered, when resuming his old amusement, -that on the day of his flight he had left his simple repast, the liquor -of which consisted of a bottle of beer, in a safe place in the river -bank; there he sought it, and, as the quaint language of Fuller informs -us, he “found it no bottle, but a gun, such the sound at the opening -thereof; and this is believed (casualty is the mother of more invention -than industry) the original of bottled ale in England.” If this be the -true origin of bottled ale, the use of it must have spread rapidly, -for we find it mentioned in many Elizabethan writers. In Ben Jonson’s -_Bartholomew fair_, Ursula calls to the drawer to bring “A Bottle of -Ale, to quench me, rascal,” and many other quotations could be given -proving its use in those days. Of course ale must have been carried in -bottles long before Newell’s time, almost as early, indeed, as bottles -came into use, but the bottled ale referred to is that which has been -so long in bottle as to have acquired a peculiar and delicious flavour -combined with a certain briskness not found in draught ale. - -The country which next to our own has for generations stood pre-eminent -in matters of beer and brewing is Germany; there, as here, beer is -the national drink, though the character of the liquors is somewhat -different. The usual German beer is of an exceedingly light character, -and so perishable that it is impossible to preserve it for any length -of time even in the coolest cellar; four-and-twenty hours after a cask -is tapped it must be emptied, or what remains is spoilt. Nearly every -considerable town in Germany gives its name to the beer that is brewed -there and consumed by the inhabitants. The beer of each town has its -own peculiarities, and the worthy burghers are, of course, always -ready to support both in deed and in word the superiority of their -native drink. There is, for instance, the Jena beer, famous in that -university, which is of a very peculiar character, and is only made at -{179} Lichtenhain, a little village adjoining the university town. It -is a species of white beer, and is brewed from wheat malt. The taste -for this liquor must be one not easy of acquisition, for the author -of _German Life in Saxony_ describes it as being much like “cider and -water, with a dash of camomile tea added to it.” The students, however, -assure you that the taste once acquired remains so strong through life -that Lichtenhainer is preferred to any other kind of beer. - -So much has been written about student life and drinking customs that -the subject will hardly bear repetition. Suffice it to say that in -Heidelberg, Jena, and other large German universities there exist -elaborate codes of drinking rules, in which _Persons_ are classified in -accordance with their seniority at the university, and the beer-honours -and labours which their position entail; _Things_ are divided into -Principal things, subordinate things and appurtenances; Principal -things are specified as “Lager-beer,” “black Cöstritzer-beer,” -“Lichtenhainer-beer,” and all other white beers; appurtenances are -“cans, doctors (a kind of measure), popes (another measure)” and other -necessities of the drinking bouts. The actual laws of the code are far -too long and complicated to be more than referred to here. - -Lager beer is not unknown in England, and is sold at restaurants and -hotels in most of our large towns. Much of it is imported; the rest -comes from Lager-beer brewers, who have, within the last few years, -started business in this country. Neither German nor Anglo-German beers -appear to make much headway over here, nor is this very surprising when -we remember how far superior our own ales and beers are to any brewed -in Germany. The chief difference between lager[50] and English beers -is in the time occupied in the fermentation. Lager-beer brewers keep -the wort at an exceedingly low temperature all through the process, the -result being that fermentation is delayed over several days. Lager beer -simply means beer which can be kept in lagers or stores. Germany has -from very early times maintained a large export trade in Beer. It has -already been shown that in the fifteenth century large quantities were -exported into Scotland, and another instance is to be found in Rymer -(H. 5. 1. 22), where there is a record of an appeal made by the consuls -of Hamburgh to Henry VI. The appeal states “that certain of your -Magnificence’s Subjects and Servants to wit Michael Schotte and Molchun -Poerter of Calais, rulers or captains of a certain great ship of war -specially fitted out, did with their Complices in that present year, -about the feast of St. James the Apostle, hostilely seize, detain, and -carry off at their pleasure two vessels laden with {180} Hamburg ale, -to the no small hurt and injury of our fellow townsmen.” They therefore -pray that the ships may be restored to them and compensation made for -the outrage.” - - [50] Readers curious as to the technical details of the brewing - of Lager Beer are referred to Liebig’s Chemistry of Agriculture - (Playfair). - -Roberts, in his _Map of Commerce_ (1638), says of Lubeck: “The place is -famous for the beere made, and hence transported into other regions, -and by some used medicinally for bruises of the body . . . though by -them in use commonly both for their own drinke and food and rayment.” - -One of the characteristics of Bavaria is the inordinate love of its -inhabitants for their Bavarian beer, a love remarkable even amongst -the beer-drinking Germans. In the towns the brewhouses are amongst -the most important buildings, and the traveller remarks the number of -beer cellars, whither the inhabitants resort to drink their favourite -liquor. Brewing is the most flourishing trade, and the produce of -Bavarian brewhouses is the best of continental beers. One of its chief -peculiarities is that, although exposed to the air for lengthened -periods, it will not turn acid as other beers do. This valuable quality -is obtained for it by the peculiar management of the fermentation, and -has been already referred to. Very little space can be afforded even -for a general description of German beers, suffice it to say that their -name is legion; there is black beer, white beer, brown beer, thin beer, -strong beer, double beer, bitter beer, and countless local varieties of -each and all these various liquors. One more _special_ variety may be -noted, and that is the strong ten-years-old ale known by the people of -Dortmund as “Adam.” It is mentioned by Corvin in _An Autobiography_, -who relates that “when King Frederick William IV. of Prussia visited -Dortmund a deputation of the magistrates waited upon him, one of them -bearing a salver with a large tankard filled with Adam. When the King -asked what it was, and heard that it was the celebrated beer, he said -‘Very welcome; for it is extremely warm,’ and drained off the contents -of the tankard at a draught. The members of the deputation, who were -better acquainted with old Adam than the unsuspecting King, smiled at -each other, for they knew what would be the result. His Majesty was -unconscious for more than twenty-four hours.” - -The best beer brewed in Norway is a more or less faithful imitation -of the Bavarian beer, and travellers should be careful to ask for -“Baiersk öl,” {181} as the ordinary “barley-wine” of the country is -not described as being of a very choice character. Much the same may -be said of Swedish beer, one variety of which, however, has obtained a -place in history. The beer of Arboga was of so seductive a character -that on the occasion of the invasion of Hako and his Norwegian and -Danish levies, a large part of the army loitered behind in the various -inns of the place, quaffing the luscious beverage, and their King, in -consequence, lost the day. - -Russia has been behindhand in matters of brewing from the days when -Catherine had to send to Burton for her private supply, even until -now; but during the last few years the gentle Mujik has been taking so -kindly to his “Bavarski Peavah” (Russo-Bavarian beer), that a triumph -apparently awaits John Barleycorn in Russia similar to that old victory -of his over Bacchus commemorated in the song of “Yorkshire Ale,” which -finds place in the chapter devoted to Ballads. - -[Illustration] - -{182} - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - - -“Come on, you mad-cap. I’ll to the Alehouse with you presently, where, -for one shot of fivepence, thou shalt have five thousand welcomes.” - _Two Gentlemen of Verona._ Act ii., sc. 5. - - Whoe’er has travelled life’s dull round, - Where’er his stages may have been, - May sigh to think he still has found - The warmest welcome at an inn. - _Shenstone._ - -_ALE HOUSES: THEIR ORIGIN. — HOSPITALITY IN MEDIÆVAL TIMES. — OLD -LONDON INNS AND TAVERNS. — ANECDOTES OF INNS AND INN KEEPERS. — CURIOUS -SIGNS. — SIGN-BOARD AND ALE-HOUSE VERSES. — SIGN-BOARD ARTISTS. — -ALE-HOUSE SONGS AND CATCHES._ - -“No, Sir;” said Dr. Johnson, “there is nothing which has yet been -contrived by man, by which so much happiness is produced, as by a good -tavern or inn.” The argument by which the great Doctor leads up to this -oracular deliverance is as follows:—“There is no private house in -which people can enjoy themselves so well as in a capital tavern. Let -there be ever so great plenty of good things, ever so much grandeur, -ever so much elegance, and ever so much desire that everybody should -be easy, in the nature of things it cannot be; there must always be -some degree of care and anxiety. The master of the house is anxious to -entertain his guests, the guests are anxious to be agreeable to him, -and no man but a very impudent dog indeed, can as freely command what -is in another {183} man’s house as if it were his own; whereas, at a -tavern there is a general freedom from anxiety. You are sure you are -welcome, and the more noise you make, the more trouble you give, the -more good things you call for, the welcomer you are. No servant will -attend you with the alacrity which waiters do who are incited by the -prospect of an immediate reward in proportion as they please.” The -Doctor seems most conscientiously to have made his practice square -with his preaching. Till the end of his life, although generally an -abstemious man, he was regular in his attendance at the various taverns -he patronised, and his burly figure was as well known amongst the -frequenters of the inns and taverns of Fleet Street, as that of the -most notorious roysterer of the time. - -In his day the tavern—the London tavern especially—attained the highest -point of social importance which it has ever reached; and many of those -convivial and social functions, now for the most part discharged by the -clubs and by private hospitality, were then considered to fell within -its special province. During the last century the tavern gathered -around its hospitable hearth those groups of savants and wits, which -have been the starting points of many a scientific and literary society -of the present day. - -It is, of course, impossible for us in the space we are able to devote -to the history of public hospitality in England, to do more than give a -very slight sketch of the subject. - -Most of the functions of the modern inn were in early days discharged -by the hospitality of the Church. In the laws and constitutions of -the various religious bodies are to be found directions to the clergy -to observe the rites of hospitality, and a law of Ecgbright commands -bishops and priests to have a house for the entertainment of strangers, -not far from the church. The house here referred to would probably be -the Almonry, where strangers and travellers, too poor or lowly to be -entertained within the walls of the monastery, were fed and tended. - -Persons of higher rank were received into the monastery, which -was always furnished with a _hospitium_, or guest hall, for the -entertainment of visitors and travellers. The importance of this -monastic function may be judged from the size of some of the guest -halls belonging to the larger religious bodies: one at Canterbury was a -hundred and fifty feet long, and forty feet wide. - -Visitors on their arrival at a monastery were met by the _hosteler_ in -the _parletory_, and after receiving greeting were conducted to the -guest hall, where they were refreshed with meat and drink according to -their {184} rank and importance. A small present was usually given -at the gate on arrival, but, save for that, the entertainment seems -to have been free. The guests were allowed to stay on these terms for -two days and two nights; but on the third day after dinner, unless -prevented by sickness or other just cause, they were to depart in peace. - -Many constitutions of religious houses enjoin that hospitality should -be shown to all comers, clerical or lay, and we are told that in some -cases this liberality was much abused. The heirs of persons who had -made large donations to religious houses, when they could not injure -the monks by means of law, did their best to ruin them by constant -visits with large retinues, and thus literally eat them out of house -and home; and to such lengths did this custom extend that, in the reign -of Edward I., it was found necessary to pass certain laws restraining -such abuses. - -By the rules of the Benedictine order, an officer was appointed, -called the _terrer_, whose duty it was to see that the guest-chambers -were kept clean. He was always to have on hand two tuns of wine for -the entertainment of strangers, and also provender for their horses; -and four yeomen were appointed to attend upon strangers, that nothing -might be wanting to pilgrims and travellers of whatever rank they might -be. In the middle ages the denial of hospitality was looked upon as -disgraceful, and an ancient anecdote is related of the revenge taken by -a travelling minstrel upon his host, on account of the meagre nature -of the entertainment afforded. The minstrel sought a night’s food and -lodging at an Abbey, when the abbot, a parsimonious man, happened -to be absent. The monk in attendance at the hospitium, acting upon -instructions, gave the poor minstrel nothing but black bread and water -and a bed of straw. Next morning the traveller proceeded on his way, -and meeting the abbot in the course of the journey, took occasion to -thank him in good set phrase for the princely hospitality dispensed at -his house, enlarging upon the choice viands and costly presents he had -received. The abbot hastened home in great rage, and caused the monk, -whom he believed to be guilty of the lavish waste, to be flogged and -dismissed from his office. - -One of the few instances of the public hospitality of the religious -orders surviving down to our own days is to be found at the Hospital of -Saint Cross, Winchester, where whoever knocks at the porter’s lodge is -entitled to a slice of bread and a mug of small beer—_very small_, if -rumour lies not. - -Side by side with this monastic hospitality were the shelter and {185} -entertainment afforded at the houses of the nobility and gentry when -their owners were absent; and when they were at home, the practice of -keeping open house seems to have been by no means rare. The traveller -of gentle blood would be entertained at the lord’s table, while the -servant, the travelling mechanic, the disbanded soldier, and other -wanderers of lowly rank, would find rest and refreshment in the keep. - -In process of time, however, this custom of promiscuous entertainment -seems to have fallen into disuse; the accommodation before provided by -the castle or manor house being now afforded by a separate inn set up -close by, and frequently kept by some worn-out servant of the castle, -who would naturally bear upon his sign the arms of the dominant family, -and would, for the purpose of entertaining travellers, be regarded -as representing the lord. It is possible that to this custom, or the -preceding one, may be attributed the use of the expression landlord, as -signifying the host of an inn. - -In towns, those of the citizens who had large enough houses frequently -made a practice of receiving guests, and taking money for their pains, -thus adding the profession of a host to their other callings. Persons -who practised this letting of lodgings were called _herbergeors_ -(_i.e._, harbourers), to distinguish them from the hostelers or -innkeepers; and a further extension of the use of coats-of-arms for -signs was thus brought about, the herbergeor frequently taking as his -sign the arms of his most frequent or most influential guest. The -_Liber Albus_ mentions both classes of entertainers, and records that -by the regulations of the City of London herbergeours and hostelers -must be freemen of the City, and persons of a strange land desirous of -being herbergeour or hosteler within the City must dwell in the heart -of the City and not upon the waterside of the Thames. - -Although hospitality was so freely exercised by the monks and great -landowners, it must not be imagined that inns were unknown. Even in -Saxon days, to go no further back, inns and village alehouses seem -to have existed. Bracton tells us of a regulation of Edward the -Confessor that if any man lay a third night in an inn he was called a -_third-night-awn-hinde_, that is to say, he was looked upon in the same -light as a servant of the house would be, and the host was answerable -for him if he committed any offence—a curious illustration of that -local and vicarious responsibility for crime which was so prominent a -feature of our ancient polity. In much later times a similar regulation -is to be found applying to “hostelers” in the City of London. The -_Liber Albus_ gives, as {186} one of the City rules, that no hosteler -shall harbour a man beyond a day and a night, if he be not willing to -produce such person to stand his trial, and in case such a person shall -commit an offence, and absent himself, his host shall answer for him. - -Goldsmith’s description of a village inn is probably as applicable -to the old Saxon _eala-hus_ of a thousand years ago as it was to the -alehouse of his own time, and as it is to many in the present day:— - - Low lies that house where nut-brown draughts inspired, - Where grey-beard mirth and smiling toil retired; - Where village statesmen talked with looks profound, - And news, much older than the Ale, went round. - Obscure it sinks, nor shall it more impart - An hour’s importance to a poor man’s heart, - -and the following descriptive verses of Leigh Hunt, entitled _The -Village Alehouse, a Picture in Detail_, with but slight alterations, -would serve equally as well:— - - Dear ramblers all—an Alehouse sign - You’ll own as good a sight as greets ye; - When summer’s long, long mornings shine, - Where leisure reigns, and ‘All hail’ meets ye. - - There rests the waggon in its track,— - A corn bag round each horse’s nose is; - There comes the miller and his sack: - And there at ease the beggar dozes. - - There limps the ostler with his pails, - And there the landlord stalks inspector; - Two farmers there discuss their sales, - And drain by turns one goblet’s nectar. - - Hay ricks are near and orchard fruit; - The cock’s shrill crow and flapping wing; - The low contented neigh of brute; - The pipe’s perfume, and tankard’s ding. - - The fiddle’s scrape,—the milking cows,— - The snapping cork,—the roaring joke:— - The birds by thousands in the boughs:— - The creaking wheel and whip’s loud stroke. {187} - - Sunshine strews all the kitchen floor, - Reposes on the home-field crop— - Blisters the Doctor’s fine new door, - And kisses copse and chimney top. - - Clouds fleecy dot the blue immense— - Farm-houses—cities—vales—and streams— - And seats and parks and forests dense, - Sleep stretch’d afar, in floods of beams. - -An inn or an alehouse, however, was at the time of the Conquest and -for long after, far to seek. In the reign of Edward I. there were -only three taverns in London, one in Chepe, one in Wallbrooke, and -one in Lombard Street, and in country districts the proportion to the -population would doubtless be as small, the want being supplied in the -manner before alluded to. Even in the year 1552 the following list -of the numbers of taverns allowed for the chief towns in England, no -doubt shows a much smaller proportion to population than is seen at -the present day. There were to be allowed forty in London, eight in -York, four in Norwich, three in Westminster, six in Bristol, four in -Hull, three in Shrewsbury, four in Exeter, three in Salisbury, four in -Gloucester, four in Chester, three in Hereford, three in Worcester, -three in Oxford, four in Cambridge, three in Southampton, four in -Canterbury, three in Ipswich, three in Winchester, three in Colchester, -and four in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. - -[Illustration: A Mediæval Innkeeper.] - -Even parsonages seem to have been licensed as alehouses in very -out-of-the-way districts. A survival of this custom, almost to our own -times, is mentioned by Southey, who states that the parsonage house of -Langdale was licensed as an alehouse, because it was so poor a living -that the curate could not have otherwise supported himself. - -The regulation previously mentioned as to the number of taverns, seems -never to have been formally repealed; it could, however, only have been -very slackly enforced, and doubtless soon became a dead letter. It was -not, however, altogether forgotten, for in a letter from {188} the -Lords in Council, in reply to a petition presented in the year 1618 by -the parishioners of St. Mildred, in London, it is stated that “whereas -the number of taverns had been limited to forty, and their places -assigned,” there were then no less than four hundred in the City alone. -The Lord Mayor and Common Council are therefore directed to put some -restraint on this “enormous liberty of setting up taverns.” - -The latter part of the sixteenth and the first half of the seventeenth -centuries seem to have been remarkable for a great excess of alehouses, -having regard to the wants of the population at the time. In 1591 a -report of the Queen’s Council on the state of Lancashire and Cheshire -states that the streets and alehouses are so crowded during service -time that there was none in church but the curate and his clerk; that -alehouses were innumerable, and that great abuses prevailed. In 1639 -the Justices of Middlesex made presentment to the Council that there -were twenty-four alehouses in Covent Garden, and that most of their -keepers were chandlers who had got licensed surreptitiously at general -meetings, and that the said Justices had reduced the number of the -alehouses to _four_. - -Old John Taylor, in _Drinke and Welcome_, gives evidence of the -excessive facilities for drinking afforded at the fairs then so common. -“Concerning the fructifying or fruitfulnesse of ale,” he says in his -quaint way, “it is almost incredible, for twice every yeere there is a -Faire at a small Towne called Kimbolton or Kimolton in Northamptonshire -(as I take it), in which towne there are but thirty-eight Houses, which -at the Faire time are encreased to thirty-nine _Alehouses_, for an -old woman and her daughter doe in those dayes divide there one house -into two, such is the operation and encreasing power of our English -Ale.” Decker, writing in 1632, says that “a whole street is in some -places but a continuous alehouse, not a shop to be seen between red -lattice and red lattice.” This mention of the red lattice recalls the -custom now extinct, but once well nigh universal, for the alehouses -to have open windows to enable the guests to enjoy the fresh air. -Privacy was ensured by a trellis or lattice, which was fixed in front -of the window, and prevented a passer-by from seeing in, though those -within could see out. Whether or not the red colour of the lattices -was intended to harmonise with the noses of the frequenters may be -considered a moot point; the page seems to have intended some such -insinuation when he says of Bardolph, “He called me even now, my Lord, -through a red lattice, and I could see no part of his face from the -window; at last I spied his eyes and methought he had made two holes in -the ale-wife’s new petticoat, and peeped through.” {189} - -[Illustration: - - A merry new Ballad, bothe pleaſant and ſweet, - In praiſe of a Blackſmith, which is very meet. - -An Ale-Houſe Lattice. - - “Of all the trades that ever I ſee - There is none which the Blackſmith compared may be.” - _Roxburghe Ballads._ -] - -{190} - -So usual did the red lattice become that it was regarded as a -distinctive mark, as shown in Marston’s _Antonio and Mellida_, in which -occurs the passage, “As well known by my wit as an alehouse by a red -lattice.” Green lattices were occasionally used, and the memory of them -still survives in the sign of _The Green Lettuce_. - -Another feature peculiar to old country inns was the ale-bench, a seat -in front of the house where the thirsty wayfarer might rest and take -his modest quencher. An ancient institution was the ale-bench. It -is mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon poem _Beowulf_ and in the sixteenth -century seems to have been considered the appropriate resting place of -sententious and argumentative persons. One of the old Homilies (1547) -alludes to those “which upon the ale-benches delight to set forth -certain questions.” - -Another institution of the old alehouse, corresponding in fact to the -modern _bar_, was called the _ale-stond_, an allusion to which is to -be found in _Marprelate’s Epistle_: “Therefore at length Sir Jefferie -bethought him of a feat whereby he might both visit the ale-stond and -also kepe his othe.” - -In the sixteenth century the keeper of an alehouse was fancifully -called an _ale-draper_. Chettle, in his _Kind-Hearts’ Dreame_ (1592), -has the following:—“I came up to London and fell to be some tapster, -hostler, or chamberlaine in an inn. Well, I got me a wife; with her -a little money; when we are married seeke a house we must; no other -occupation have I but an ale-draper.” _The Discoverie of the Knights -of the Poste_ (1597) also contains an allusion to the phrase:—“‘So -that nowe hee hath left brokery, and is become a draper.’ ‘A draper!’ -quoth Freeman, ‘what draper? of woollin or of linnen?’ ‘No,’ qd he, ‘an -ale-draper, wherein he hath more skil then in the other.’” Innkeepers -in Whitby are denominated ale-drapers in the parish registers of last -century. - -In those good old days before the introduction of mail-coaches, to -say nothing of the more modern means of transit, hospitality to the -traveller was the rule in country districts. The Water Poet tells in -his _Pennilesse Pilgrimage_ that he travelled “on foot from London to -Edinburgh in Scotland, not carrying money to or fro, neither begging, -borrowing or asking meat.” However, from what he goes on to relate, -this description of his journey needs to be accepted with some slight -reservation, for he gives a comical recital of how “from Stamford we -_rode_ the next day to Huntingdon, where we lodged at the Post-master’s -house at the signe of the Crowne.” The landlord appears, and “very -{191} bountifully called for three quarts of wine and sugar and some -jugges of beere. He did drink and begin healths like a horse-leach, -and swallowed downe his cuppes without feeling, as if he had had the -dropsie, or nine pound of spunge in his maw. In a word, as he is a -Poste, he dranke poste, striving and calling by all means to make the -reckoning great, or to make us men of great reckoning. But in his -payment he was tyred like a jade, leaving the gentleman that was with -me to discharge the terrible shott, or else one of my horses must have -laine in pawne for his superfluous calling and unmannerly intrusion.” - -The opinion of the great Doctor already quoted was not confined either -to himself or to his times. Bishop Earle, writing in the seventeenth -century of those social functions of the tavern or alehouse, now in -a great measure discharged by the Clubs, sums up his description as -follows:—“To give you the total reckoning of it, it is the busy man’s -recreation, the idle man’s business, the melancholy man’s sanctuary, -the stranger’s welcome, the inns of court man’s entertainment, the -scholar’s kindness, and the citizens’ courtesy. It is the study of -sparkling wits, and a cup of comedy their book; whence we leave them.” - -Old Izaak Walton had a lively appreciation of the comforts of an inn -and the virtues of English ale. Piscator, of _The Complete Angler_, -thus addresses the hostess of an inn: “Come, hostess, dress it (a -trout) presently, and get us what other meat the house will afford, -and give us some of your best barley wine, the good liquor that our -honest forefathers did use to drink of; the drink which preserved their -health, and made them live so long and do so many good deeds.” - -The quaint old author of _The Haven of Health_ (1584) gives his readers -directions how to find out the best alehouse in a strange town, and -also some prudent maxims as to the behaviour there:—“But if you come as -a stranger to any towne, and would faine know where the best ale is, -you neede do no more than marke where the greatest noyse is of good -fellows, as they call them, and the greatest repaire of beggars. But -withall take good heed that malt bee not above wheat before you part. -For it is worse to be drunke of Ale than wine, and the drunkenness -indureth longer: by reason that the fumes and vapours of ale that -ascend to the head, are more grosse, and therefore cannot be so soone -resolved as those that rise up of wine.” - -Malvolio is alluding to the custom of alehouse singing when he says: -“Do you make an alehouse of my lady’s house, that ye squeak out your -cozier’s catches without any mitigation or remorse of voice?” - -The English custom of wives following their husbands to the ale {192} -house is mentioned with reprehension by Gascoigne in _A Delicate Diet -for Daintie-mouthed Droonkards_ (1576). “What woman,” he exclaims, -“(even among the droonken Almaines), is suffered to follow her husband -into the Alehouse or Beerhouse?” However, if we are to believe the -author of the following verses, the practice does not always seem to -have been unfavourable to temperance:— - -BACCHANALIAN JOYS DEFEATED. - - While I’m at the Tavern quaffing, - Well disposed for t’other quart, - Come’s my wife to spoil my laughing, - Telling me ’tis time to part: - Words I knew, were unavailing, - Yet I sternly answered, no! - ’Till from motives more prevailing, - Sitting down she treads my toe: - Such kind tokens to my thinking, - Most emphatically prove - That the joys that flow from drinking, - Are averse to those of love. - Farewell friends and t’other bottle, - Since I can no longer stay, - Love more learn’d than Aristotle, - Has, to move me, found the way. - -Many a tale is told of wordy passages of arms between travellers and -innkeepers. Dame Halders, of Norwich, was a stingy ale-wife. Upon -one occasion a passing pedlar begged of her a mug of water. “You -had better,” said she, “have a jug of my home-brewed.” The pedlar -complied and paid for it, remarking after tasting it that it was a very -satisfying tipple. “Yes,” rejoined the dame, pleased at the supposed -compliment uttered in the hearing of her country customers, “it’s my -own brewing—nothing but malt and hops.” “Indeed,” exclaimed the pedlar; -“what!—no water?” “O yes,” cried the dame, “I forgot the water.” “No,” -quickly added the pedlar, “I’m d—d if you did.” - -“I say,” a wag asked of a publican, “if we were to have a Coroner’s -Inquest on your beer, what verdict should we arrive at?” “Give it up,” -said Boniface. “Found drowned,” was the cruel reply. - -“Have you a pair of steps?” asked a customer of an ale-wife, who was -notorious for giving short measure. “Yes; what do you want it for?” -{193} inquired the woman. “To go down and get at this ale,” was the -reply pointing to the half-filled pewter. - -It is not, however, always the host or the ale-wife who is made the -object of these shafts of wit; as often as not it is Boniface who -assumes the character of the joker. In illustration of his jests, the -following extract is taken from the _Mirror_: “About half a century -ago, when it was more the fashion to drink ale at Oxford than it is at -present, a humorous fellow, of punning memory, established an alehouse -near the pound, and wrote over his door, ‘Ale sold by the pound.’ -As his ale was as good as his jokes, the Oxonians resorted to his -house in great numbers, and sometimes staid there beyond the college -hours. This was made a matter of complaint to the Vice-Chancellor, who -was directed to take away his licence by one of the Proctors of the -University. Boniface was summoned to attend, and when he came into the -Vice-Chancellor’s presence he began hawking and spitting about the -room; this the Chancellor observed, and asked what he meant by it. -‘Please your worship,’ said he, ‘I came here on purpose to _clear_ -myself.’ The Vice-Chancellor imagined that he actually weighed his -ale and sold it by the pound. ‘Is that true?’ ‘No, an’t please your -worship,’ replied the wit. ‘How do you, then?’ said the Chancellor. -‘Very well, I thank you, sir,’ replied he; ‘how do you do?’ The -Chancellor laughed, and said, ‘Get away for a rascal; I’ll say no more -to you.’ The fellow departed, and crossing the quadrangle met the -Proctor who laid the information. ‘Sir,’ said he, ‘the Chancellor wants -to speak to you,’ and returned with him. ‘Here, sir,’ said he when he -came into the Chancellor’s presence, ‘you sent me for a _rascal_, and -I’ve brought you the greatest that I know of.’” - -There is a good tale told of a certain innkeeper, who, had he received -the advantages of an university education, would certainly have taken -high mathematical honours. To him came a traveller, who demanded a -tankard of treble X. Thereupon the innkeeper, having hesitated a -moment, left the tap-room, to reappear shortly afterwards with a -foam-crowned pewter. The traveller tasted, and exclaimed angrily, “This -is not what I ordered!” “It is,” shortly replied Boniface; and retired -to avoid discussion. The traveller was a connoisseur in beer, and knew -he had been given table ale. Calling the potboy, he questioned him “No, -master kept no strong beer,” said the lad; “nothing more than double -X.” The traveller then summoned the landlord, and the meeting was -stormy. The traveller asserted, the host denied, and came off finally -triumphant with, “I know I don’t keep treble X, {194} but I can make -it. I just gave you half double X and t’other half single X, and if two -and one don’t make three, my name’s not Boniface.” - -[Illustration: Cornelius Caton.] - -The very grotesque figure which adorns this page represents Cornelius -Caton, landlord of the “White Lion,” Richmond, about the middle of last -century. Beginning life as a potboy, he rose through various stages -till he became landlord of the house. He was almost a dwarf, and his -whimsical character and unfailing good humour brought him much custom. -The illustration is taken from a very rare print. - -The portrait of an old Cumberland landlord of the hard-drinking days -is drawn in the following ballad, which was written by some wandering -bard, in the album kept at the “Rising Sun,” Pooley Bridge:— {195} - - Will Russell was a landlord bold, - A noble wight was he, - Right fond of quips and merry cranks, - And every kind of glee. - - Full five and twenty years agone, - He came to Pooley Height, - And there he kept the Rising Sun, - And drunk was every night. - - No lord, nor squire, nor serving man, - In all the country round, - But lov’d to call in at the Sun, - Wherever he was bound. - - To hold a crack with noble Will, - And take a cheerful cup - Of brandy, or of Penrith ale, - Or pop, right bouncing up. - - But now poor Will lies sleeping here, - Without his hat or stick, - No longer rules the Rising Sun, - As he did well when quick. - - Will’s honest heart could ne’er refuse - To drink with ev’ry brother: - Then let us not his name abuse— - We’ll ne’er see sic another. - - But let us hope the gods above, - Right minded of his merits, - Have given him a gentle shove - Into the land of spirits. - - ’Tis then his talents will expand, - And make a noble figure, - In tossing off a brimming glass, - To make his belly bigger. - - Adieu, brave landlord, may thy portly ghost - Be ever ready at its heavenly post; - And may thy proud posterity e’er be - Landlords at Pooley to eternity. {196} - -Rather profane the last verse; but, perhaps, not more so than the -epitaph on one Matilda Brown:— - - Here lies the body of Matilda Brown, - Who while alive was hostess of the Crown. - Her son-in-law keeps on the business still, - Patient, resigned to the Eternal Will. - -At King’s Stanley, in Gloucestershire, is the following epitaph to -another hostess, one Ann Collins:— - - ’Twas as she tript from cask to cask, - In at a bung-hole quickly fell, - Suffocation was her task, - She had no time to say farewell. - -[Illustration: The George Inn, Salisbury.] - -The ancient George Inn, Salisbury, depicted in our illustration, was -in the vicinity of the Royal residence at Clarendon, and four hundred -years ago was one of the best and most commodious inns in the west -of England. In the records of the Corporation of the town a lease of -this house is found, dated April 9th, 1473; it is made to one John -Gryme, a saddler, and contains a description of the rooms of the inn, -and an inventory of furniture. The house contained at that date {197} -thirteen guest chambers, viz.:—The Principal Chamber, the Earl’s -Chamber, the Pantry adjoining, the Oxford Chamber, the Abingdon -Chamber, the Squire’s Chamber, the Lombard’s Chamber, the Garret, the -George, the Clarendon, the Understent, the Fitzwaryn, and the London -Chamber. - -[Illustration: The Falcon Inn, Chester.] - -There was also the _taberna_ or wine-cellar, the Buttery, the Tap -House, the Kitchen, the Hostry, and the Parlour. The furniture, of -which a full inventory is appended, seems to have been of a very homely -type. No difference seems to have been made between the living and -the sleeping rooms; each room was supplied with beds, the relative -importance of which was measured by the number of _planks_ they -contained, and the only other articles of furniture were tables on -tressels for dining and forms of oak and beech for the guests to sit -at table. The Principal room was distinguished by the possession of a -cupboard, and each room contained three beds. - -Another fine old inn is the Falcon of Chester. It is notable as a good -example of old half-timbered work. {198} - -Malone, in his _Supplement_ to Shakspere, mentions the fact that many -of our old plays were acted in the yards of Carriers’ Inns, in which, -he says, “in the beginning of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, the comedians, -who then first united themselves in companies, erected an occasional -stage. The form of these temporary play-houses seems to be preserved -in our modern theatre. The galleries are in both ranged over each -other, on three sides of the building. The small rooms under the lowest -of these galleries answer to our present boxes; and it is observable -that these, even in theatres which were built in a subsequent period, -expressly for dramatic exhibitions, still retained their old name, and -are frequently called rooms by our ancient writers. The yard bears a -sufficient resemblance to the pit, as at present in use. We may suppose -the stage to have been raised in this area, on the fourth side, with -its back to the gateway of the inn, at which the money for admission -was taken. Here, in the middle of the Globe, and, I suppose, of the -other public theatres in the time of Shakespeare, there was an open -yard or area, where the common people stood to see the exhibition, from -which circumstances they are called groundlings, and by Ben Jonson, -‘the understanding gentlemen of the ground.’” - -At the beginning of the present century the Angel at Islington was a -typical, old-fashioned country inn, long and low, with deep overhanging -eaves, and a central yard surrounded by double galleries, open to the -air and communicating with the bedrooms. Travellers approaching London -from the north would frequently remain at the Angel the night, rather -than venture into London by dark along a road dangerous alike from its -ruts and its footpads. Persons whose business took them to Islington -after dark usually waited at an avenue, which then existed on the site -of John Street, until a sufficient number of them had assembled to go -on in safety to their destination, whither they were escorted by an -armed patrol appointed for that purpose. What a striking picture of the -insecurity of life and limb in districts close to the metropolis not -one hundred years ago! - -A curious custom, known as the Highgate Oath, held its ground for many -a long year, and has only fallen into disuse within living memory. When -a traveller passed through Highgate towards London for the first time -he was brought before a pair of horns at one of the taverns, and there -a mock oath was administered to him, to the effect that he would never -drink small beer when he could get strong, unless he liked it better; -that, with a similar saving clause, he would never drink gruel when he -could command turtle soup; nor make love to the maid, when {199} he -could court the mistress, unless he preferred the maid; with much more -to the same effect. In the old coaching days scarcely a coach passed -through Highgate without some of its occupants being initiated and we -may well imagine that copious streams of ale would flow to “wet” the -time-honoured custom. It is to this custom that Byron makes allusion in -Childe Harold:— - - . . many to the steep of Highgate hie; - Ask ye, Bœotian shades, the reason why? - ’Tis to the worship of the solemn horn, - Grasped in the holy hand of Mystery, - In whose dread name both men and maids are sworn, - And consecrate the oath with draught and dance till morn. - -The privileges belonging to a freeman of Highgate who had taken the -oath are described as follows:—“If at any time you are going through -Highgate, and want to rest yourself, and you see a pig lying in the -ditch, you have liberty to kick her out and take her place; but if you -see three lying together, you must only kick out the middle one and lie -between the two others.” - -The custom is said to have been originated by a club of graziers who -were wont to tarry at Highgate on their way to London, and who, in -order to keep their company select, would admit none to their society -before he had gone through a process of initiation, which consisted of -kissing between the horns, one of their oxen brought to the door for -the purpose. - -Interesting as are many of our old country inns and village ale-houses, -and numberless the tales that might be told of the doings within their -time-stained walls; “of quips and cranks and wanton wiles”; of the -village feast, the village minstrelsy, the “jocund rebeck’s” sound to -ears long since deaf; the song; the toast pledged by lips long since -cold—interesting as all these are, it is when we come to the history of -our old London taverns, fragmentary though it be, that we really find -ourselves face to face with the clearest pictures of the social life -and customs of the past. It is here that memories gather thickest of the - - Peals of genial clamour sent - From many a tavern door, - With twisted quirks and happy hits, - From misty men of letters; - The tavern hours of mighty wits— - Thine elders and thy betters. - -{200} - -In the history of the old London taverns may be seen the habits, the -customs, and the amusements of by-gone generations of Londoners. -Innumerable pictures of society, and modes of life and thought, might -be gathered from among the records of these houses of entertainment. -For centuries before these days of telegraphs and newspapers, it was to -the tavern that men resorted to hear the latest news, to exchange ideas -and to refresh their minds, as well as bodies, after the labours of the -day. It was here the traveller told his tale of marvels, of “contrees -and the yles that ben beyond Cathay”; it was here the stay-at-home -gathered what information he possessed of lands and nations over the -seas. - -Space forbids us to mention more than a very few of these old London -Inns. That old Tabard—what a picture of fourteenth-century life -does its very name recall! The earliest mention of this typical old -Southwark Inn—an inn which after seeing all the changes and chances of -five centuries, fell a victim but yesterday to that modern Vandal, the -improver (save the mark!)—occurs in a register of the Abbey of Hyde, -near Winchester, where we find that two tenements were conveyed by -William de Ludegarsale to the Abbot in 1306, the site being described -as extending in length from the common ditch of Southwark eastwards, -as far as the royal way towards the west. This royal way was none -other than the old Roman road which connected London with Kent and the -south. Stow, writing three centuries later, thus mentions the inn and -its sign: “From thence towards London Bridge,” he writes, “bee many -faire Innes, for receit of travellers, by these signes, the Spurre, -Christopher, Bull, Queen’s Head, _Tabard_, George, Hart, King’s Head, -etc. Amongst the which the most ancient is the Tabard, so called of -the signe, which as wee do now terme it, is of a Jacket or sleevelesse -coate whole before, open on both sides, with a square collar, winged -at the shoulders; a stately garment, of old time commonly worne of -noblemen and others, both at home and abroad in the warres; but -then, (to wit in the warres) their Armes embroidered, or otherwise -depict upon them that every man by his coate of Armes might be knowne -from others: But now these Tabards are onely worne by the Heralds, -and bee called their coates of Armes in service. Of the Inne of the -Tabard, Geffrey Chaucer Esquire, the most famous poet of England, in -commendation thereof, writeth thus:— - - “Byfel, that in that sesoun, on a day - In Southwark at the Tabard as I lay, - Redy to wenden on my pilgrimage - To Caunterbury with ful devout corage, {201} - - At night was come into that hostelrie - Wel nyne and twenty in a compainye, - Of sondry folk, by aventure i-falle, - In felawship and pilgrims were thei alle, - That toward Caunterbury wolden ryden.” - -Then follows an unrivalled description of typical fourteenth-century -society. - - The Knight, - . . . . a worthy man, - That from the tyme that he first bigan - To ryden out, he lovede chyvalrye, - Trouthe and honour, fredom and curteisie. - * * * * * - He was a very perfight gentil knight.” - - —The Squire, whose gay dress is thus described:— - Embrowded was he, as it were a mede - Al ful of fresshe flouers, white and reede— - - —The Yeoman attending him, “clad in coote and hood of greene.” - - —The “Nonne, a Prioresse,” so “symple and coy,” whose “gretteste - ooth was but by seynt Loy”:— - And Frensch sche spak ful faine and fetysly, - After the scole of Stratford atte Bowe - For Frensch of Parys was to hire unknowe. - - —The Sporting Monk, the prototype of the Hunting Parson of more - recent days:— - An outrydere that lovede venerye; - A manly man, to ben an abbot able. - Ful many a deynte hors hadde he in stable: - * * * * * - Greyhoundes he hadde as swifte as fowel in flight; - Of prikyng and of huntyng for the hare - Was al his lust, for no cost wolde he spare. - - —The easy-going Friar, who “sweetely herde confessioun”:— - And pleasant was his absolucioun - * * * * * - He knew the tavernes well in every toun, - And everych hostiler and tappestere. {202} - -—The Merchant with his forked beard and “Flaundrisch bevere hat”—The -Clerk of Oxenford—The Sergeant of Law, “war and wys”—The Franklin—The -Ploughman—The Cook, and every other of that goodly company—How fresh -their pictures are to-day! Each touch, each tint, as clear, as bright, -as though the great father of English poetry had but yesterday laid -aside his pencil! And then the Host, none other than the Henry Bayley -of the Tabard, who represented the borough of Southwark in Parliament -in 1376, and again in 1378, how interesting it is to observe his -demeanour, as depicted by Chaucer. Quite at his ease, and on an -equality with his guests, he talks with them, jests with them, in -person presides over the table, acts as umpire and judge of the tales -they tell upon the journey, and generally behaves more like a man who -entertains his friends than a landlord serving his guests; and, be it -remembered, these guests were not by any means of the lowest rank of -life: - - A seemly man our hoste was withal, - For to have ben a marshall in an hall, - A large man he was with eyen steep, - A fairer burgess was there none in Chepe: - Bold of his speeche, and wys and well y-taught, - And of manhood him lackede righte noughte. - -The old Tabard was partly burnt down in the great Southwark fire in -1676, and on rebuilding the ruined portion “that ignorant landlord or -tenant,” Aubrey tells us, “instead of the ancient sign of the Tabard -put up the Talbot or doge.” In this condition it remained until a few -years ago, when, despite the protests of the antiquarian world, despite -the pages of remonstrance with which the newspapers and magazines -were filled, it was pulled down, and is now replaced by a tall brick -building. Had we not enough and to spare of these tall brick buildings? - -[Illustration: The Tabard in 1722.] - -At the time when Knight wrote his _History of London_, the original -house was sufficiently complete for him to leave us a description of -the old arched entrance to the inn-yard, the balustraded galleries on -which the bedrooms opened, the gabled roofs, the panelled rooms, and -last, {203} but not least, the Pilgrim’s room, which tradition said -was the veritable scene of the supper on the night before the guests -set out upon their world-famed pilgrimage. - -John Lydgate, a Benedictine monk of Bury St. Edmunds, writing about the -same time as Chaucer, mentions that Cornhill was in his time noted for -its taverns, where was “wine one pint for a pennie, and bread to drink -it was given free at every tavern.” - -In a black-letter sheet entitled _Newes from Bartholomew Fayre_, of -probably the early part of the seventeenth century, some of the most -famous inns of London are thus whimsically enumerated:— - - There has been great sale and utterance of wine, - Besides Beer, Ale, and Hippocrass fine, - In every country, region, and Nation, - Chiefly at Billings-gate, at the Salutation; - And Boreshead near London Stone, - The Swan at Dowgate, a tavern well knowne; - The Mitre in Cheap, and the Bull-head, - And many like places that make noses red; - The Boreshead in Old Fish Street, Three Cranes in the Vintree - And now, of late, Saint Martin’s in the Sentree; - The Windmill in Lothbury, the Ship at the Exchange, - King’s Head in New Fish Street, where Roysters do range; - The Mermaid in Cornhill, Red Lion in the Strand, - Three Tuns in Newgate Market, in Old Fish Street the Swan. - -Most of these hostelries, famous in their day and generation, were -swept away in the Great Fire of London. - -The Boar’s Head in Eastcheap, “near London stone,” was one of the -oldest inns in London. It stood near the site whereon the statue to -William IV. in King William Street has been erected. It was there that -Prince Hal and “honest Jack Falstaff” played their wildest pranks. -Carved oak figures of the two worthies stood at the door of the house -until the Great Fire; and the proud inscription, “This is the chief -tavern in London,” appeared upon the signboard until the house was -finally pulled down in 1831, to make way for the approaches of London -Bridge. In the year 1718 one James Austin, the inventor of “Persian -inkpowder,” whatever that may have been, desiring to entertain his -chief customers, and also, no doubt, to advertise his wonderful powder, -issued invitations for a Brobdingnagian repast to be partaken of at -the Boar’s Head. The feast was to consist of an enormous plum-pudding, -weighing 1,000 lbs., {204} and the best piece of an ox roasted; this -wonderous pudding was put to boil on Monday, May 12th, in a copper at -the Red Lion Inn in Southwark, where it had to boil for fourteen days. -As soon as this mighty feat of cookery was accomplished, a triumphant -procession was formed, and the pudding set out on its journey, escorted -by a band playing _What lumps of pudding my mother gave me_; but, alas, -for the vanity of all things human! the tempting dish had not proceeded -far upon its way, when the mob, goaded to madness by the savoury odour -of the pudding, fell upon the escort, and, having put them to the rout, -tore the pudding in pieces, and devoured it there and then. - -[Illustration: The Boar’s Head.] - -Some years ago a great mound of rubbish in Whitechapel, supposed to be -the carted remains of the City after the Great Fire, was cleared away, -and the relic, of which we give a representation, was discovered. It is -an oak carving, dated at the back 1568, and had a name written upon it -which was found to correspond with that of the landlord of the Boar’s -Head, Eastcheap, in that year. - -A ballad, which assigns to each inn its particular class of customers, -is introduced by Thomas Heywood into his _Rape of Lucrece_:— - - The Gintry to the King’s Head, - The Nobles to the Crown, - The Knights unto the Golden Fleece, - And to the Plough the Clowne. {205} - - The Churchman to the Mitre, - The Shepherd to the Star, - The Gardiner hies him to the Rose, - To the Drum the Man of War. - - The Huntsman to the White Hart, - To the Ship the Merchants goe, - And you that doe the Muses love, - The sign called River Po. - - The Banquer out to the World’s End, - The Fool to the Fortune hie, - Unto the Mouth the Oyster-wife, - The Fiddler to the Pie. - -The taverns of the seventeenth century seem in many cases to have -occupied the upper part of a house, the lower portion being devoted to -some other trade. Izaak Walton’s _Complete Angler_ was to be “sold at -his shopp in Fleet Street, under the King’s Head Tavern.” Bishop Earle, -who wrote in the early part of that century, seems to signify that -there was often a tavern above and an alehouse below. “A tavern,” he -says, “is a degree or (if you will) a pair of stairs above an alehouse -where men are drunk with more credit and apology. . . . Men come here -to be merry, and indeed make a noise, and the music above is answered -with a clinking below.” - -Amongst the inns and taverns frequented by Shakspere may be mentioned -the Falcon Tavern, by the Bankside, which was the place of meeting -of the mighty poets and wits of the Elizabethan age—of Shakspere, -Ben Jonson, Marlowe, Massinger, Ford, Beaumont, Fletcher, Drayton, -Herrick, and a host of lesser names. An assemblage, indeed, unique in -any country or in any age! Here took place those “wit combats,” of -which Fuller speaks, between Shakspere and Ben Jonson, “which two I -behold like a Spanish great galleon, and an English man-of-war; Master -Jonson (like the former) was built far higher in learning; solid, but -slow, in his performances. Shakspere, like the English man-of-war, -lesser in bulk, but lighter in sailing, could turn with all tides, tack -about, and take advantage of all winds by the quickness of his wit and -invention.” - -An example of the kindly passages of wit between these two great -spirits has come down to us, having been preserved from the oblivion -that shrouds the bulk of them by Sir Nicholas Lestrange, in his {206} -_Merry Passages and Jests_. The passage, in the compiler’s own words -is as follows:—“Shakspere was god-father to one of Ben Jonson’s -children; and after the christening, being in a deep study, Jonson came -to cheer him up, and asked him why he was so melancholy. ‘No, faith, -Ben,’ (says he), ‘not I; but I have been considering a great while what -should be the fittest gift for me to bestow upon my god-child; and I -have resolved at last.’ ‘I prythee what?’ says he, ‘I ’faith, Ben, I’ll -e’en give him a dozen good Latin spoons (_i.e._ latten, an inferior -metal), and thou shalt translate them.’” Whether the Spanish great -galleon could bring his guns to bear upon his nimble antagonist in this -encounter is left unrecorded; but we can imagine that the great scholar -would not be without a retort to a jest which was directed against his -classic learning by one who had “little Latin and less Greek.” - -The great poet seems to have had many god-children. Of one, Sir -William Davenant, while yet a boy, the following tradition remains. -The father of Sir William was host of the Crown at Oxford, and at -this house Shakspere would frequently lodge on his journeys between -Stratford-on-Avon and London. Malicious rumour had it that the lad -was of a closer relationship than that of god-son only, and upon one -occasion, on the poet’s arrival at Oxford, the boy, who was sent for to -meet him, was asked by a grave master of one of the colleges whither he -was going. “Home,” said the lad, “to see my god-father.” “Fie, child,” -said the don, “why art thou so superfluous? Hast not thou yet learnt -not to use the name of God in vain?” - -The Mermaid, in Bread Street, was often the place of meeting of these -convivial wits. Beaumont, then a mere lad, addressing Jonson in verse, -writes:— - - —What things have we seen - Done at the Mermaid! heard words that have been - So nimble and so full of subtle flame, - As if that everyone from whence they came - Had meant to put his whole wit in a jest, - And had resolved to live a fool the rest - Of his dull life: . . . . - We left an air behind us, which alone - Was able to make the two next companies - Right witty;—though but downright fools, mere wise. - -Sir Walter Raleigh established a literary club at this house in the -year, 1603. Amongst the members were Shakspere, Jonson, Beaumont -Fletcher, Selden, Donne, and many scarcely less illustrious -names. Herrick, in graceful lyrics, bears witness to similar sparkling -gatherings of a somewhat later date, and to other houses where they -were held:— - - Ah, Ben! - Say how, or when, - Shall we thy guests, - Meet at those lyric feasts - Made at the Sun, - The Dog, the Triple Tun? - Where we such clusters had, - As made us nobly wild, not mad; - And yet each verse of thine - Out-did the meat, out-did the wine. - -Ben Jonson, in inviting a friend to sup with him at the Mermaid, -promises him— - - A cup of pure Canary wine, - Which is the Mermaid’s now, but shall be mine. - -The Swan at Charing Cross, however, was the house where Jonson was -always most sure of getting the best draught of his favourite liquor. - -Aubrey relates that the poet was upon one occasion dining with King -James, and when called upon to say grace produced the following lines:— - - Our King and Queen, the Lord God blesse, - The Palsgrave and the Lady Besse, - And God blesse every living thing - That lives and breathes and loves the King. - God blesse the Councill of Estate, - And Buckingham the fortunate. - God blesse them all, and keep them safe, - And God blesse me, and God blesse Ralph. - -Whereupon “the King was mighty inquisitive to know who this Ralph was. -Ben told him ’twas the drawer at the Swanne Taverne by Charing Crosse, -who drew him good canarie. For this drollerie his Ma^{tie.} gave him an -hundred pounds.” - -The legend of St. Dunstan, who, being tempted of the devil in bodily -form, took the prince of darkness by the nose, and - - With redhot tongs he made him roar - Till he was heard three miles or more, {208} - -was commemorated on the signboard of a celebrated inn in Fleet Street, -which was called “The Devil” for short. The old inn stood on the site -now occupied by Child’s Bank, and it was there that the meetings of -the celebrated Apollo Club were held, and rare Ben Jonson, with other -kindred spirits, passed the sparkling wine and still more sparkling -jest. Here over the entrance of the Apollo Chamber were inscribed the -well-known lines beginning - - Welcome all who lead or follow - To the oracle of Apollo. - -Sim Wadlow, whom Jonson dubbed “the king of skinkers,”[51] was one -of the famous landlords of this house. The following epitaph on this -notorious character is recorded by Camden in his _Remaines_:— - - [51] Skinkers = tapsters; from the old English verb schenchen, to - pour out. - - Apollo et cohors Musarum, - Bacchus vini et uvarum, - Ceres pro pane et cervisia, - Adeste omnes cum tristitia. - - Dii, Deæque, lamentate cuncti, - Simonis Vadloe funera defuncti, - Sub signo malo bene vixit, mirabile! - Si ad cœlum recessit gratias Diaboli. - -These lines may be thus rendered:— - - Apollo and the Muses nine, - Bacchus the god of grapes and wine, - Ceres the friend of “cakes and ale,” - Assembled, list to my sad tale. - - Gods, goddesses, lament ye all, - At Simon Wadlow’s funeral, - He lived right well tho’ his sign was evil, - If heaven he won, ’tis thanks to ‘the Devil.’ - -Our illustration depicts two innkeepers, who were probably Sim Wadlow’s -contemporaries. {209} - -During the last century The Devil Tavern was the resort of the wits and -literary men of the day. Addison and Dr. Garth often dined here; and -Dr. Johnson here once presided at a supper that lasted till dawn peeped -in at the windows. The inn was pulled down in the year 1788. - -[Illustration: Innkeepers, 1641.] - -Nearly opposite to the Devil stood the Cock Tavern, for centuries, and -until a few months ago, when it was closed for alterations, frequented -by the Templars. We hope that it was not for this reason that its -internal arrangements were spoken of by the Laureate as— - - The haunts of _hungry sinners_, - Old boxes, larded with the steam - Of thirty thousand dinners. - -This Tavern, once known as the Cock and Bottle, and subsequently as -the Cock Alehouse, was a noted house in the seventeenth century. The -effigy of the Cock, which until recently used to stand over the door, -was reputed to have been carved by the great Grinling Gibbons. At the -time of the Plague of London the following advertisement appeared in -the _Intelligencer_:—“This is to certify that the Master of the Cock -and Bottle, commonly called the Cock Alehouse, hath dismissed his -servants, and shut up his house for this long vacation, intending (God -willing) to return at Michaelmass next, so that all persons who have -any accounts {210} or farthings belonging to the said house are desired -to repair thither before the 8th of this instant July, and they shall -receive satisfaction.” The Cock, however, seems to have soon resumed -its hospitality, for we read that Pepys shortly afterwards went “by -water to the Temple, and then to the Cock Alehouse, and drank, and ate -a lobster, and sang, and mighty merry. So almost night, I carried Mrs. -Pierce home; and then Knipp and I to the Temple again, and took boat, -it being darkish, and to Foxhall, it being now night, and a bonfire -burning at Lambeth for the King’s coronation day.” - -A waiter at this house is commemorated in the well-known lines of Will -Waterproof’s Monologue:— - - O plump head waiter at the Cock - To which I most resort, - How goes the time? ’tis five o’clock, - Go fetch a pint of port. - -The old Cock alehouse is now no more; but the sign which for two -hundred years has looked down upon the bustling Fleet Street crowds, -together with the “old boxes” and carved oak over-mantel, have found a -resting-place at “The Temple Bar,” on the other side of the way. - -The Mitre was the sign of several celebrated London Taverns, the most -famous of all being that situated in Mitre Court, Fleet Street, where -Dr. Johnson and Goldsmith, Boswell, and other lesser lights used to -meet. It was here that Boswell first made acquaintance with the great -Doctor. “He agreed to meet me in the evening at the Mitre. I called on -him, and we went thither at nine. We had a good supper and port wine, -of which he then sometimes drank a bottle. The orthodox, High Church -sound of the Mitre,—the figure and manner of the celebrated Samuel -Johnson—the extraordinary power and precision of his conversation, and -the pride from finding myself admitted as his companion, produced a -variety of sensations and a pleasing elevation of mind beyond what I -had ever experienced.” The great name of Shakspere is also connected by -tradition with this house. - -The old Globe Tavern in Fleet Street survived down to about the -beginning of the present century. It was the favourite resort of Oliver -Goldsmith, who took great delight in hearing a certain “tun of a man,” -who frequented the house, sing the song entitled _Nottingham Ale_, in -which Bacchus himself is said to have sprung from a barrel of that -famous liquor:— {211} - - Fair Venus, the Goddess of beauty and love, - Arose from the froth that swam on the sea, - Minerva leap’d out of the cranium of Jove, - A coy sullen slut, as most authors agree; - Bold Bacchus they tell us, the prince of good fellows, - Was his natural son, but attend to my tale, - For they that thus chatter mistake quite the matter, - He sprang from a barrel of Nottingham Ale, - Nottingham Ale, boys; Nottingham Ale; no liquor - on earth is like Nottingham Ale. - -This song was a great favourite in the eighteenth century, and was sung -to the tune of “Lilabolero.” - -The Crown and Anchor in the Strand was one of the most famous houses -in London during the first part of the present century. A tragic -story is related of how one Thomas Simpkin, the first landlord after -the rebuilding of the house in 1790, on the occasion of an inaugural -dinner, in leaning over a balcony to look into the street, broke the -balustrade and, falling to the ground, was killed on the spot. Here -were held the famous Westminster political meetings, and here the -birthday of Fox was celebrated in 1794, when two thousand persons sat -down to dinner. Many another tavern in this region so famous for houses -of entertainment, brings back memories of the past, but space forbids -us to linger over the recital. - -John Taylor, the Water Poet (poeta Aquaticus, as he was fond of calling -himself), who was the author of many whimsical works in prose as well -as verse, was a Thames waterman, and the keeper of an alehouse in -Phœnix Alley, Long Acre. It is related of him that on the death of -Charles I. he changed his sign, which had formerly been the Crown, -into the Mourning Bush, as expressing his grief and loyalty. He was, -however, soon compelled to take this sign down, and he then substituted -the Poet’s Head, his own portrait, with this inscription:— - - There is many a head hangs for a sign; - Then, gentle reader, why not mine? - -At the same time he issued the following poetical advertisement:— - - My signe was once a Crowne, but now it is - Changed by a sudden metamorphosis. - The Crowne was taken downe, and in the stead - Is placed John Taylor’s, or the Poet’s Head. {212} - A painter did my picture gratis make, - And (for a signe) I hanged it for his sake. - Now if my picture’s drawing can prevayle, - ’Twill draw my friends to me, and I’ll draw ale. - Two strings are better to a bow than one; - And poeting does me small good alone. - So ale alone yields but small good to me, - Except it have some spice of poesie. - The fruits of ale are unto drunkards such, - To make ’em sweare and lye that drink too much. - But my ale, being drunk with moderation, - Will quench thirst and make merry recreation. - My booke and signe were published for two ends, - T’ invite my honest, civill, sober friends. - From such as are not such I kindly pray, - Till I send for ’em, let ’em keep away. - From Phœnix Alley, the Globe Taverne neare - The Middle of Long Acre, I dwell there. - -An old dodge of some of the London tavern-keepers was to hang up in a -conspicuous place in the taproom, a notice to the effect that no one -could have more than one glass at a sitting. The result of this notable -device was the very opposite to what one might expect; it is thus -quaintly told by old Decker, in his _Seven Deadly Sins, seven times -pressed to death_: “Then you have another brewing called Huff’s ale, at -which, because no man must have but a pot at a sitting, and so be gone, -the restraint makes them more eager to come in, so that by this policie -one may huffe it four or five times a day.” - -Last century was pre-eminently the century for Clubs, some literary -some political, and some purely social, many partaking of all these -characters. The October Club, which was so called on account of the -quantities of October ale which the members drank, used to meet at -the Bell Tavern, King Street, Westminster, and drink confusion to the -Whigs. Swift was a member. “We are plagued here,” he writes to Stella, -“with an October Club; that is a set of above a hundred Parliament men -of the country, who drink October beer at home, and meet every evening -at a tavern near the Parliament, to consult affairs and drive matters -to extremes against the Whigs, to call the old Ministry to account, and -get off five or six heads.” - -The Mug Houses, famous early in the last century, were distinguished -{213} by the rows of pewter mugs placed in the window, or hung up -outside as in the illustration, which is taken from the _Book of -Days_. In _A Journey through England_ (1722) the original Mug-house -is thus described: “But the most diverting and amusing of all is the -Mug-house Club in Long Acre. They have a grave old gentleman, in his -own gray hairs, now within a few months of ninety years old, who is -their President, and sits in an arm’d chair some steps higher than the -rest of the company, to keep the whole room in order. A harp plays all -the time at the lower end of the room; and every now and then one or -other of the company rises and entertains the rest with a song, and -(by-the-by) some are good masters. Here is nothing drunk but ale, and -every gentleman hath his separate Mug, which he chalks on the table -where he sits as it is brought in; and everyone retires when he pleases -as from a Coffee House. The Room is always so diverted with songs, and -drinking from one table to another to one another’s healths, that there -is no room for Politicks, or anything that can sow’r conversation. One -must be there by seven to get Room, and after ten the Company are for -the most part gone. This is a Winter’s amusement, that is agreeable -enough to a Stranger for once or twice, and he is well diverted with -the different Humours, when the Mugs overflow.” - -[Illustration: Mug House.] - -{214} - -A few years earlier, however, “Politicks” had much troubled this House -and others of which it was the parent. “On King George’s accession,” -says the _Mirror_, “the Tories had so much the better of the friends to -the Protestant succession, that they gained the mobs on all public days -to their side. This induced a set of gentlemen to establish Mug-houses -in all the corners of this great city, for well affected tradesmen to -meet and keep up the spirit of loylty to the Protestant succession, -and to be ready, upon all tumults, to join their forces to put down -the Tory mobs.” The frequenters of these houses formed themselves into -Mug-house Clubs after the fashion of their prototype, and discussed -their Whig sentiments— - - “While ale inspires and lends its kindly aid - The thought perplexing labour to pursue.” - -Whenever Tory mobs assembled, these disorderly champions of order would -sally forth and attack them with sticks and staves and divers other -offensive weapons. “So many were the riots,” continues the _Mirror_, -“that the police was obliged, by Act of Parliament, to put an end of -this City strife, which had this good effect, that upon pulling down of -the Mug-house in Salisbury Court, for which some boys were hanged on -this Act, the City has not been troubled with them since.” - -A still earlier Club, more renowned than any for its marvellous -powers of suction, was the Everlasting Club, instituted during the -Parliamentary wars; it was so called because it sat night and day, -one set of members relieving another. It is recorded of them early in -the eighteenth century that “since their first institution they have -smoked fifty tons of tobacco, drank thirty thousand butts of ale, one -thousand hogsheads of red port, two hundred barrels of brandy, and -_one kilderkine of small beer_. They sang old catches at all hours -to encourage one another to moisten their clay, and grow immortal by -drinking.” - -No work on the Curiosities of Ale and Beer would be complete without -some notice of signboards. Their connection with taverns and alehouses -is so ancient and intimate, and many of them are in themselves so -exceedingly curious, that they may be said to constitute some of the -chief curiosities of the subject. The history of signboards has been -so exhaustively written by Mr. Larwood and Mr. Hotten that it would be -superfluous, even if space did not forbid, to present to our readers -anything but a slight sketch of so voluminous a subject. {215} - -Signboards at the present day may be said to inspire their historian -with something of a melancholy feeling. A history of them is a history -of a bygone art, which has long passed its zenith, which has served -its purpose, and which is destined to decay more and more before the -advance of modern education. Truly the glory of signboards is departed! -Though one sees here and there a barber’s pole, a golden fleece, and a -few other signs of divers trades, innkeepers and alehouse-keepers are -the only persons who as a class keep to their old distinctive marks. -Formerly, when persons who could read and write were few, every craft -and occupation had its own peculiar sign, for the huge letters and -notice-boards, now so common, would at that time have been of little -use. - -There seems to be no doubt that we derived the signboard from the -Romans; the old Latin proverb _Vino vendibili suspensa hedera non opus -est_ finds its counterpart in the English _Good wine needs no bush_, -and the common sign of the Bush is the lineal descendant of the old -Roman bunch of ivy. In the excavations at Herculaneum and Pompeii many -examples have been brought to light of signs appropriate to various -trades: thus, a goat is the sign of a dairy; a mule driving a mill is -the sign of a miller or baker; and two men carrying a large amphora -of wine is the sign of the vintner, and brings to mind the well-known -English sign of the _Two Jolly Brewers_ carrying a barrel of ale strung -on a long pole. - -The ale-stake, which was a long pole either attached to the front of -the house or standing in the road before the door, seems to have been -the first sign in use with English ale-sellers. In early times every -person who brewed ale for sale was, as has been already mentioned, -compelled by law to exhibit the ale-stake as a signal to the local -ale-conner that his services were required. Very early mention is to be -found of these signs. In 1393 Florence North, a Chelsea ale-wife, was -presented for neglecting to put up an ale-stake in front of her house. -Similar allusions are to be found in many early writers. Chaucer’s -Pardoner when asked to begin his tale— - - “It shall be donn,” quod he, “and that anoon. - But first,” quod he, “here at this ale-stake, - I will both drynke and byten on a cake.” - -The accompanying cut is taken from a manuscript of the fourteenth -century. The figures are doubtless an ale-wife and a pilgrim. {216} - -“The ale-pole doth but signifie that there is good ale in the house -where the ale-pole standeth,” writes an old author, “and will tell him -that he muste go near the house and there he shall find the drinke, and -not stand sucking the ale-pole in vayne.” And again:— - - For lyke as the jolly ale-house - Is always knowen by the good _ale-stake_, - So are proude jelots sone perceaved, to, - By their proude folly, and wanton gate. - -[Illustration: An Ale-stake.] - -Skelton, writing of the fame of Elynour Rummynge’s “noppy ale,” alludes -to the ale-pole thus:— - - Another brought her bedes - Of jet or of cole, - To offer to the _ale-pole_. - -[Illustration: Signboard and Bush.] - -In process of time it became usual for the publican to affix some -further distinctive mark to his ale-stake. At first a mere bush or -bunch of ivy seems to have been used, and in Scotland a wisp of straw -long served the same purpose. In Chaucer’s time the bush had developed -into an ale-garland of considerable size, as we are informed by the -lines:— - - A garlond hadde he sette uhede - As grete as it wer for an ale-stake. - -The signboard and bush shown above are taken from a print of Cheapside -in 1638. {217} - -Porter’s _Angry Woman_ shows that a mere bush was still frequently used -at that period (1599) by the passage: “I might have had a pumpe set up -with as good Marche beere as this was and nere set up an ale-bush for -the matter,” and the _Country Carbonadoed_ (1632) shows that the bush -had not yet become specialised to the use of the wine-seller. Referring -to alehouses, it is stated that “if these houses have a boxe-bush, or -an old post, it is enough to show their profession, but if they be -graced with a signe compleat, it is a signe of good custome.” Towards -the end of the seventeenth century, the ivy-bush, the sacred emblem of -Bacchus, came to denote that wine as well as ale was sold within. In -_Poor Robin’s Perambulation from Saffron Walden to London_ (1678) the -author mentions that— - - Some ale-houses upon the road I saw, - And some with bushes, showing they wine did draw. - -The following illustrations represent an ancient road-side alehouse and -a hostel by night. The former is taken from a manuscript of the early -part of the fifteenth century. The latter is from an illumination in -the _Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles_ in the Hunterian Library at Glasgow, and -is of about the same date. In one a conventional bush appears above -the door; while in the other there is both bush and sign. The absence -of any night attire other than night-caps—the usual custom of the -period—and the number of persons sleeping in one room, are noticeable. -Night-caps were no doubt very necessary in an age when glass windows -were little used. - -[Illustration: Ancient Alehouse.] - -The next step in the historical development of the signboard was -the addition of a carved and painted effigy of a Swan, a Cock, a -Hen, or some other bird or beast. The effigy was fixed in a hoop and -hung from the end of the ale-pole, and it is suggested that the term -“cock-a-hoop,” signifying a rather offensively jubilant demeanour, -may be traced to the attitude of Chanticleer upon the ale-house hoop. -Hazlitt gives a different origin to the phrase. Quoting from Blount’s -Dictionary (1681), he says: “The Cock was the tap and being taken out -{218} and laid on the hoop of the vessel, they used to drink up the -ale as it ran out without intermission (in Staffordshire now called -stunning a barrel of ale) and then they were _cock-on-hoop_ (_i.e._, -at the height of mirth and jolity).” Old Heywood seems to support the -latter derivation in the lines:— - - He maketh havok and setteth the cock on hoope; - He is so lavies, the stooke beginneth to droope. - -From the painted effigy to the painted signboard was an easy step, and -then began the signboard’s palmy days. If mine host were a man of small -imagination, he might still be content with a bush or with the arms of -some local magnate, but if he were a man of fancy, his imagination, in -quest of a worthy sign, might revel unrestrained through the highways -and byways of history ancient and modern, political and natural. The -sign was and is usually painted on a board and suspended from the front -of the house, or from a sign-post set up in the street in front of the -door. In country places signboard ambition went so far as to erect a -kind of triumphal arch in front of the house, from the centre of which -the signboard swung. - -[Illustration: Night Scene in a Fifteenth-century Inn.] - -A good example of a signboard stretching across a street may be seen in -the illustration of the Black Boy Inn, Chelmsford, which is taken from -a print by Ryland of the date 1770. {219} - -Even as early as the reign of Henry V. the eagerness of the ale-house -keepers to outstrip one another in the size of their signboards had -become obnoxious to the authorities. The _Liber Albus_ contains a -direction to the Wardmotes of the City of London, to make inquiry -whether the ale-stake of any tavern “is longer or extends further -than ordinary,” and the Common Council ordained that “whereas the -ale-stakes projecting in front of taverns in Chepe, and elsewhere in -the said City, extend too far over the King’s highways, to the impeding -of riders and others, and by reason of their excessive weight, to the -great deterioration of the houses to which they are fixed,” therefore -the taverners are ordered that on pain of 40s. fine they shall not -have a stake, bearing a sign or leaves extending over the King’s -highway, of greater length than seven feet at most. - -[Illustration: The BLACK BOY INN] - -The restriction on the length of the projecting signboards seems to -have been little regarded. Charles I., in his Charter to the City of -London, granted on his accession to the throne, permits the use of -suspended signs, and the Charter contains no mention of any restriction -{220} as to size. The nuisance caused by the extravagant size of -signboards at length became very great, and in the reign of Charles -II. it was ordained that “in all the streets no signboard shall hang -across, but that the sign shall be fixed against the balconies or -some convenient part of the side of the house.” Even this specific -regulation seems to have been generally disregarded, as we learn from -an account written in 1719, by Misson, a French traveller. Speaking -of the signs, he says: “At London, they are commonly very large, and -jut out so far, that in some narrow streets they touch one another; -nay, and run across almost quite to the other side. They are generally -adorned with carving and gilding; and there are several that, with the -branches of iron which support them, cost above a hundred guineas. -. . . . Out of London, and particularly in villages, the signs of inns -are suspended in the middle of a great wooden portal, which may be -looked upon as a kind of triumphal arch to the honour of Bacchus.” - -About the middle of last century various Acts of Parliament were -passed, the result of which was that London signboards have from that -time been fixed to the face of the house, and are no longer allowed to -project over the street. - -We must go to the country districts, and best of all to one of our old -cathedral towns, to see really old-fashioned signs. In some cases a -signboard may still be seen hanging beneath beautifully scrolled iron -work, from which in more artistic days the “ale-house painted signs” -depended. Even in such a stronghold of conservative and antiquarian -feeling as a cathedral city, these relics of the past are yearly -becoming more and more scarce, though in those out-of-the-world places, -where a change in the situation of the parochial pump must be preceded -by about a proportionate amount of discussion as would attend the -proposal to make a new underground railway for London, the removal of -an old signboard is usually a matter causing grave public agitation. -The authors of the _History of Signboards_ have given an account of -the demolition of the time-honoured sign of Sir John Falstaff, which -for many a generation had gladdened the hearts of the good citizens -of Canterbury. However, as a matter of fact, the signboard was only -removed to be repainted, and in spite of the orders of Local Boards and -City Authorities, in spite of law suits and various other disagreeable -attempts at persuasion, the owner of the house has persisted in -maintaining in its place this fine old sign with its elaborate -iron-work, and there to this day may the gallant knight be seen, with -sword and buckler, ready to make instant assault on those men in -buckram, or on any other foes. {221} - -The close connection that existed between the profession of host and -the signboard, may be judged from the fact that the publican who was -deprived of his licence also had his sign removed by the minions of the -law. _A New Way to Pay Old Debts_ illustrates this fact in the lines— - - For this gross fault I here do damn thy licence, - Forbidding thee ever to tap or draw; - For instantly I will in mine own person - Command the constables to pull down thy sign. - -In 1629 one Price was forbidden to open a certain house in Leadenhall -Street as a tavern, “whiche house was heretofore never used for a -taverne, and standeth unfitly for that purpose, being neare unto the -Church and two auncient tavernes already neere unto the same in the -same streete.” Price, however, persisted, and accordingly the Common -Council issued orders for the closing of his doors and the taking down -of his bush. - -Probably the most elaborate signboard that ever existed, a marvel even -in the palmy days of signs, was hung before The White Hart at Scole, in -Norfolk. Sir Thomas Brown mentions it in the year 1663. “About three -miles further,” he says, “I came to Scoale, where there is a very -handsome inne, and the noblest signnepost in England, about and upon -which are carved a great many stories as of Charon and Cerberus, Actæon -and Diana, and many others; the signe itself is a White Hart, which -hanges downe carved in a stately wreath.” This king of signboards was -built in the year 1655 by James Peck, a merchant of Norwich, and is -said to have cost over £1,000. It was in existence up till the end of -the last century. - -Goldsmith, in making some comments on the influence of signs, relates -how “an alehouse keeper, near Islington, who had long lived at the -sign of the French King, upon the commencement of the last war, pulled -down his old sign and put up that of the Queen of Hungary. Under the -influence of her red face and golden sceptre, he continued to sell ale, -till she was no longer the favourite of his customers; he changed her, -therefore, some time ago, for the King of Prussia, who may probably be -changed in turn for the next great man that shall be set up for vulgar -admiration.” - -An anecdote is related which illustrates the danger incurred by -altering a sign. It seems that the landlord of the Magpie and Crown in -Aldgate, a house famous for its ale, was minded to discard {222} the -Magpie and to have his house known by the sign of the Crown only. He -did so, and the results were disastrous, for the customers fancied that -the Crown ale did not taste as good as that formerly sent out from the -Magpie and Crown, and the custom fell off. The landlord died, and the -business came into the hands of a waiter of the house, one Renton, who -restored the Magpie to his old place on the signboard, and with such -good effect that on his death the ex-waiter left behind him an estate -worth some £600,000, chiefly the produce of the Magpie and Crown ale. - -Space only permits that we should mention a very few of the more -curious signs in use. The Pig and Whistle is said to be a corruption -of the old sign the Peg and Wassail, alluding to the peg-tankards -introduced in Saxon times. The Goose and Gridiron is a whimsical -variation on the Swan and Harp, which was once common, the inartistic -execution of the latter sign no doubt affording the suggestion. The -Tumbling Down Dick is supposed to be a derisive sign commemorating the -fall of Richard Cromwell. - - Then Dick, being lame, rode holding the pummel, - Not having the wit to get hold of the rein; - But the jade did so snort at the sight of a Cromwell, - That poor Dick and his kindred turn’d footmen again. - -The Crooked Billet is a sign for which it is difficult to suggest an -explanation. It is generally represented by a rough untrimmed stick -hanging before the door. Near Bridlington is one such, to which are -appended the following lines:— - - When this comical stick grew in the wood - Our ale was fresh and very good; - Step in and taste, O do make haste, - For if you don’t ’twill surely waste. - -On the other side is the verse:— - - When you have viewed the other side, - Come read this too before you ride, - And now to end we’ll let it pass; - Step in, kind friends, and take a glass. - -The Bull and Mouth, a favourite London sign in former days, and one -still to be found, is represented by a huge gaping mouth and a small -black bull just within its verge. This sign dates from the time of -{223} Henry VIII., and celebrates his capture of Boulogne Harbour, -or Boulogne Mouth. The Beetle and Wedge at first sight seems a very -strange association, but when we remember Shakspere’s line, - - Filip me with a three-man beetle, - -the matter is clear enough. The “three-man beetle” was a hammer or -mallet wielded by three men and used for pile driving. The three -Lubberheads is a corruption of the three Libbards’ Heads, “libbard” -being a popular form of the word leopard; Falstaff is “invited to -dinner at the Libbard’s Head in Lumbert Street to Master Smooth’s the -silkman.” The Two Pots was the sign under which the far-famed ale-wife, -Eleanor Rumyng, brewed her “noppy ale” at Leatherhead, where, according -to Skelton, she made - - thereof fast sale, - To travellers, to tinkers, - To sweaters, to swinkers, - And all good ale drinkers. - -The Stewponey Inn, between Kinver and Stourbridge, might suggest to -some that the Parisian Hippophagic Society was not much of a novelty -after all. It is therefore rather disappointing to find that the name -is a popular version of the Stourponte Inn, so called from a bridge -over the Stour hard by. - -The Four Alls, though probably once the sign of a house frequented -by the fraternity of Cobblers, now generally presents itself in the -following lines with suitable illustrations:— - - The Ploughman works for All, - The Parson prays for All, - The Soldier fights for All, - And the Farmer pays for All. - -It seems sad to think that in some places a pessimistic Publican has -added a fifth “All,” the picture representing the Prince of Darkness, -rampant, and looking anything but “a gentleman,” with the grim legend -writ beneath that he “takes All.” Old Pick-my-Toe would seem to be a -popular perversion of the Roman fable of the faithful slave who carried -his message before he stooped to remove the thorn which was all the -while in his foot. The Shoe and Slap was an old sign, the “Slap” being -a lady’s shoe with a loose sole. {224} - -A poetical landlord or a poetical customer has frequently produced -verses, more or less appropriate, for a signboard. We give a selection -of these effusions. At an inn at Norwich, known as the Waterman, kept -by a barber, this couplet is written under the sign:— - - Roam not from pole to pole, but step in here, - Where nought excels the shaving but the beer. - -At an Inn at Collins’ End, where the unfortunate King Charles, while -a prisoner at Caversham, is said to have played at bowls, are these -lines:— - - Stop, traveller, stop; in yonder peaceful glade, - His favourite game the royal martyr played; - Here stripped of honours, children, freedom, rank, - Drank from the bowl and bowled for what he drank; - Sought in a cheerful glass his cares to drown, - And changed his guinea ere he lost his crown. - -The Robin Hood and Little John is not an uncommon sign in that part -of the country which was the scene of their exploits, and where their -fame still lingers. The sign is frequently accompanied with a rhyme, of -which the following is a specimen:— - - To Gentlemen and Yeomen good, - Come in and drink with Robin Hood, - If Robin Hood is not at home, - Come in and drink with Little John. - -A tale is told of how a poor author, who was once staying at the -sign of the White Horse on the Old Bath Road, after partaking rather -heartily of the good cheer provided, found that he could not discharge -the _shot_. In recompense to his host for letting him off, he wrote -beneath his signboard the lines:— - - My White Horse shall beat the Bear, - And make the Angel fly; - Shall turn the Ship quite bottom up, - And drink the Three Cups dry. - -In consequence, it is alleged, of this facetious praise of his own -house at the expense of his rivals, mine host got a good deal of their -custom. On one of the windows of the same White Horse was written:— -{225} - - His liquor’s good, his pot is just, - The Landlord’s poor, and cannot trust; - For he has trusted to his sorrow, - So pay to-day, he’ll trust to-morrow. - -These lines occur on the signboard of the Waggon and Horses, Brighton:— - - Long have I travelled far and near, - On purpose to find out good beer, - And at last I’ve found it here. - -The couplet, written on a signboard at Chadderton, near Manchester, -seems, at any rate from the outside of the Inn, to be what a logician -might call a _non sequitur_:— - - Although the engine’s smoke be black, - If you walk in I’ve ale like sack. - -The following doggerel inscription is said in the _Year Book_ to have -been written over the door of an ale house between Sutton and Potton, -in Bedfordshire:— - - Butte Beere, Solde Hear, - by Timothy Dear. - Cum. tak. a. mugg of mye. trinker. cum trink. - Thin. a. ful. Kart. of mye. verry. stron. drink - Harter, that. trye. a. cann. of mye. titter, cum. tatter - And. wynde. hup. withe, mye. sivinty-tymes weaker, thin, water. - -At Creggin, Montgomeryshire, the Rodney Pillar Inn is distinguished by -a double signboard, on one side of which is the following verse:— - - Under these trees, in sunny weather, - Just try a cup of ale, however; - And if in tempest, or in storm, - A couple then to make you warm: - But when the day is very cold. - Then taste a mug a twelvemonth old. - -On the reverse are these lines:— - - Rest and regale yourself, ’tis pleasant, - Enough is all the present need, - That’s the due of the hardy peasant, - Who toils all sorts of men to feed. {226} - Then muzzle not the ox when he treads out the corn, - Nor grudge honest labour its pipe and its horn. - -Another queer old inscription is the following:— - - John Uff - Sells good ale and that’s enough; - A mistake here, - Sells foreign spirits as well as beer. - -At a public-house in Devonshire the landlord has painted outside his -door, “Good beer sold here, but don’t take my word for it;” and at the -Bell Inn, Oxford, kept by John Good, are these lines:— - - My name, likewise my ale, is Good, - Walk in and taste my own home brew’d, - For all that know John Good can tell - That like my sign it bears the Bell. - -One more example of Boniface’s wit must conclude this notice of -Signboard poesy. At a public-house in Sussex, the sign of which is -the White Horse, there is painted under the figure of that animal the -couplet:— - - To the roadsters who enter a welcome he snorts, - While they fill up his quarters and empty his quarts. - -In addition to signboard verses, inscriptions within the alehouse are -by no means uncommon. Burns, who was fond of this style of composition, -inscribed these lines on the window of the Globe Tavern at Dumfries:— - - The grey-beard, old wisdom, may boast of his treasures, - Give me with gay folly to live; - I grant him his calm-blooded, time-settled pleasures, - But Folly has raptures to give. - -Dowie’s Tavern, in Libberton’s Wynd, Edinburgh, was the favourite -resort of Burns, and is said by the able recorder of the _Traditions of -Edinburgh_ “to have been formerly as dark and plain an old-fashioned -house as any drunken lawyer of the last century could have wished to -nestle in.” {227} - -Dowie’s was much resorted to by the Lords of Session for “Meridians,” -as well as in the evening for its Edinburgh ale. The ale was Younger’s. -That brewer, together with his friends, instituted a Club there, -which they sportively called the “College of Doway.” Johnnie Dowie is -described as having been the sleekest and kindest of landlords. Nothing -could equal the benignity of his smile when he brought in a bottle of -“the Ale” to a company of well-known and friendly customers. It was a -perfect treat to see his formality in drawing the cork, his precision -in filling the glasses, his regularity in drinking the healths of -all present in the first glass (which he always did, and at every -successive bottle), and then his douce civility in withdrawing. Johnnie -always wore a cocked hat, and buckles at knees and shoes, as well as a -crutched cane.[52] Not so polished as Burns’ verses, but perhaps more -suited to the Genius loci, are the lines written up in a certain old -tap-room:— - - He that doath upon the table sit, - A pot of porter shall for-fe-it. - - [52] Hone’s Year Book. - -The following additional specimens of tap-room verse are typical of -their kind, and may be said to contain the be-all and end-all of -the host’s proverbial philosophy. The first is taken from an Inn at -Sittingbourne, where it hangs framed and glazed over the door:— - - Call frequently, - Drink moderately, - Pay honourably, - Be good company, - Part friendly, - Go home quietly. - -The second is longer, but perhaps not quite so comprehensive:— - - All you that bring tobacco here, - Must pay for pipes as well as beer; - And you that stand before the fire, - I pray sit down by good desire; {228} - That other folks as well as you, - May see the fire and feel it too. - Since man to man is so unjust, - I cannot tell what man to trust: - My Liquor’s good, ’tis no man’s sorrow, - Pay to-day. I’ll trust to-morrow. - -It may not be amiss to devote a few lines to the signboard artists. The -following passage in _Whimzies: or a New Cast of Characters_ (1631) -gives an early example of the way in which many a village signboard has -been painted. “He (a painter) bestowes his Pencile on an aged piece of -decayed canvas in a sooty ale-house, when _Mother Redcap_ must be set -out in her Colours. Here hee and his barmy Hostess drew both together, -but not in like nature; she in _Ale_, he in _Oyle_, but her commoditie -goes better downe, which he meanes to have his full share of, when his -worke is done. If she aspire to the Conceite of a Signe, and desire to -have her Birch-pole pulled downe, he will supply her with one.” - -It seems that in the last century, the palmy days of signboards, the -best signs were produced by the coach-painters, who derived their -skill from the custom amongst the wealthy of having their coach panels -decorated with a variety of subjects. - -Artists of renown have lent their genius to this branch of art. Hogarth -painted a sign called the Man loaded with Mischief, and this sign is -still in existence in an alehouse in Oxford Street; it represents a -man bearing on his back and shoulders a woman, a magpie and an ape. A -similar painting may be seen before an inn on the road to Madingley, -about a mile from Cambridge. Richard Wilson, R.A., painted a sign -called The Loggerheads, which has given its name to a village near -Mold, in North Wales. The Royal Oak, by David Cox, which is the sign of -an inn at Bettws-y-Coed, is well known to all lovers of North Wales, -and was a few years ago the subject of a law-suit. At Wargrave, a -pretty Thames-side village near Henley, is an inn called the George and -Dragon. One side of its sign was painted by Mr. G. D. Leslie, R.A., -who has chosen the battle with the dragon for his subject. The other -side was painted by Mr. Hodgson, A.R.A., and is a representation of St. -George refreshing himself with a pot of beer after the mighty encounter. - -Not often, however, has the signboard been so fortunate as to obtain -the attention of such masters of the limner’s art. {229} - -In the vast majority of cases the village sign-painter has been a -person of limited ideas and but small skill, painting and re-painting -the old familiar patterns. The following tale is related illustrative -of this conservative bent of the sign-painter’s mind. - -A pious old couple, who had taken a Public wherein they hoped -peacefully to end their days, determined that they would not have any -of your common wordly signs, such as the Crown, the Blue Boar, and the -like, but something of a quite uncommon and even of a quasi-religious -nature, and after much cogitation their choice fell upon the title of -the Angel and Trumpet. The village sign-painter was summoned to the -conclave, and the case was solemnly opened to him. - -Landlord: “Well, John, me and my missis have been thinking about this -sign, and we hear as you’re up to painting amost anythink.” - -Sign Painter (with proper professional pride): “Yes, mister, I can do -you pretty well what you like; the Red Lion, and so as that.” - -L.: “No, John, that a’n’t quite what we wants. Me and my missis has -been a-thinking as we’d like to have the Angel and Trumpet. Now, can -you do it?” - -S. P. (doubtfully): “Well, mister, I can do un; but you’d better by -half have the Red Lion; it’s a dell a thirstier sign.” - -L. (with decision): “No, John, we must have the Angel and Trumpet, so -if you can’t do un, say so, and we must get some un as can.” - -S. P. (driven to bay): “All right; I’ll paint the Angel and Trumpet, -but (aside) I specs it’ll be a good dell like the Red Lion.” - -Unfortunately the history breaks off at this point, and we are left in -doubt as to the result. The troubles of the unfortunate sign-painter -may be imagined; the unwilling hands striving to depict the benign -features of the angel; the fierce and truculent visage of the lion -making its appearance, whether the artist would or not. - -The unskilfulness of the signboard painter has even been considered -of sufficient importance to form the subject of a Royal Proclamation. -Our good Queen Bess, with that vigour of language which endeared her -to the hearts of her faithful subjects, and proved her to be her -father’s daughter, issued an order, “that portraits of herself, made -by unskilful and common painters, should be knocked in pieces, and -cast into the fire.” The reasons for this summary treatment, and also -a promised remedy for the woes of her faithful subjects, thus deprived -of the counterfeit presentment of her most gracious Majesty, are set -forth in a proclamation shortly afterwards issued. “Forasmuch” said -this weighty {230} document, “as thrugh the natural desire that all -sorts of subjects and people, both noble and mean, have to procure -the portrait and picture of the Queen’s Majestie, great nomber of -Paynters, and some Printers, and Gravers, have already, and doe daily, -attempt to make in divers manners portraictures of hir Majestie, in -paynting, graving and prynting, wherein is evidently shown, that -hytherto none have sufficiently expressed the naturall representation -of hir Majestie’s person, favor, and grace . . . . “Therfor”—after -much more to the same effect—“hir Majestie being as it were overcome -with the contynuall requests of hir Nobility and Lords, whom she can -not well deny, is pleased that for their contentations, some coning -persons, mete therefore, shall shortly make a pourtraict of hir person -or visage,” and, in short, that her loving subjects shall be enabled to -take copies thereof, but in the meantime shall perpetrate no further -libellous “pourtraicts,” under pains and penalties. - -The phrase “to grin like a Cheshire cat” is said to have originated -from the well-meant but inartistic attempts of a sign-painter of that -county to depict a Lion Rampant. - -This chapter may be appropriately concluded with one of the best -examples of the alehouse catch of former days: _Bryng us in good Ale_, -contained in the Ipswich Song Book (Sloane Collection of MSS.). Our -readers will be better able to comprehend the verses, if they bear in -mind that ys as a termination is used where we should now use es, s, se -or ce. - -BRYNG US IN GOOD ALE. - - Bryng us in good ale, and bryng us in good ale, - For our blyssyd lady sak, bryng us in good ale - - Bryng us in no browne bred, for that is mad of brane, - Nor bryng us in no whyt bred, for therein is no game. - But bryng us in good ale, etc. - - Bryng us in no befe, for ther is many bonys, - But bryng us in good ale, for that goth downe at onys. - And bryng us in, etc. - - Bryng us in no bacon, for that is passyng fate, - But bryng us in good ale, and give us i-nough of that. - But bryng us in, etc. {231} - - Bryng us in no mutton, for that is often lene, - Nor bryng us in no trypes, for they be syldom clene. - But bryng us in, etc. - - Bryng us in no eggys, for ther ar many shelles, - But bryng us in good ale, and give us nothing ellys. - But bryng us in, etc. - - Bryng us in no butter, for therin are many herys, - Nor bryng us in no pygge’s flesch, for that will make us borys. - But bryng us in, etc. - - Bryng us in no podynges, for therein is al Gode’s good, - Nor bryng us in no venesen, for that is not for our blod. - But bryng us in, etc. - - Bryng us in no capon’s flesch for that is ofte der, - Nor bryng us in no doke’s flesch for thei slober in mer (mire). - But bryng us in good ale, and bryng us in good ale, - For our blyssyd lady sak, bryng us in good ale. - -[Illustration] - -{232} - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - - -Sir Toby.—“Dost thou think because thou art virtuous there shall be no -more cakes and ale?” - -Clown.—“Yes, by Saint Anne; and ginger shall be hot i’ the mouth too.” - _Twelfth Night._ Act ii. Sc. 3. - - England was Merry England then, - Old Christmas brought his sports again, - ’Twas Christmas broached the mightiest ale, - ’Twas Christmas told the merriest tale; - A Christmas gambol oft would cheer - A poor man’s heart through half the year. - _Marmion._ - -_ANCIENT MERRY-MAKINGS, FEASTS AND CEREMONIES PECULIAR TO CERTAIN -SEASONS, AT WHICH ALE WAS THE PRINCIPAL DRINK. — HARVEST HOME, SHEEP -SHEARING, AND OTHER SONGS._ - -England was merry England then, and whatever may be thought of the -utility of attempting to revive the ancient sports and amusements -of the people, it is undeniable that when the old customs and games -went out of vogue, they left behind them a void which seems without -any immediate prospect of being filled. We have no doubt gained in -many ways by changed habits of life and modes of thought, but it must -not be forgotten that at the same time life has lost much of its old -picturesqueness and variety. These simple, hearty festivals of old, -in which our ancestors so much delighted, served to light up the dull -round of the recurring seasons, and to mark with a red letter the day -in the calendar appropriate to their celebration. It was these that -gained for our country in mediæval times the name of “Merrie England.” -The purpose of this chapter, however, is not to compose a dirge on -the departed {233} glories of our English merry-makings, but rather -to give in short limits some account of the principal feasts and -ceremonies in which the national beverage, personified by the familiar -name of John Barleycorn, figured as a constant and well-tried friend, a -provocative to mirth and good feeling, to jollity and hearty enjoyment. -The principal merry-makings of old England were associated with certain -special days of the year, or with various events, important in the life -of the people, which though not fixed to any particular day in the -calendar, were from their nature connected with certain seasons. May -Day and Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and Twelfth Night, the Harvest -Home, the Sheep-shearing Supper, and many another minor festival, all -served to make the labourer’s lot seem an easier one, and to vary -the monotonous round of toil. Herrick thus alludes to the number and -variety of the sports and pastimes incidental to the country life in -his day:— - - Thy wakes, thy quintals, here thou hast, - Thy maypoles too with garlands graced, - Thy morris dance, thy Whitsun-ale, - Thy shearing feasts which never fail, - Thy harvest home, thy wassail bowl, - That’s tossed up after fox-i’-th’ hole,[53] - Thy mummeries, thy twelfth-tide kings - And queens, thy Xmas revellings, - Thy nut-brown mirth, thy russet wit, - And no man pays too dear for it. - -In many a village at the present day the only representative, if so it -may be called, of all these rustic jollifications, is the annual dinner -of the members of the sick club, if funds will permit, or perhaps tea -and a magic lantern. - - [53] Fox-i’-th’ hole = the tongue. - -Where can we begin better than with New Year’s Day and the ancient -custom of the wassail? New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day were -anciently, and still are to some extent, celebrated with various -observances; presents and good wishes for the coming year were freely -exchanged, and sometimes the lasses and lads would pay their neighbours -the compliment of singing a carol to bury the old and usher in the -glad new year. But more generally the practice was observed of a {234} -crowd of youths and maidens entering their friends’ houses in the -first hours of New Year’s Day, bearing with them the wassail-bowl -of spiced ale, and singing verses appropriate to the occasion. The -origin of the name wassail and of the ceremonies connected with it, is -well known and better authenticated than that of most of our ancient -customs. Rowena, the daughter of Hengist, on being presented to -Vortigern at a feast which her father had prepared for him, kneeled -before him and offered him a bowl with the words “Louerd king wœs -hœil,” that is, “Lord King, your health.” Vortigern is represented in -_Layamon’s Brut_ as not understanding the phrase— - - The King Vortigerne - Haxede his cnihtes - What were the speche - That the mayde speke. - -The answer is— - - Hit is the wone (_wont_) - Ine Saxe-londe, - That freond saith to his freond, - Wan he sal drink - “Leofue (_dear_) freond wassail,” - The other saith “drinc hail.” - -Old Geoffrey of Monmouth, after relating the legend, remarks that from -that time down to his own day it had been the custom in Britain for -one who drinks to another to say, “Wacht heil!” and for that other who -pledges him in return, to answer, “Drink heil!” The word wassail, from -being used to signify a pledge or greeting, in time came to denote -feasting in general, and in the phrase, “wassail-bowl,” to con-note the -particular liquor, spiced ale, with which the bowl was filled. - -Milner, in a dissertation on an ancient cup, supposed to be a -wassail-cup, inserted in the eleventh volume of the _Archæologia_, -states that the introduction of Christianity amongst our ancestors -did not at all interfere with the practice of wassailing. On the -contrary, the custom began to assume a sort of religious aspect; and -the wassail-bowl itself, which in great monasteries was placed on the -Abbot’s table, at the upper end of the refectory, to be circulated -amongst the community at his discretion, received the honourable -appellation of _Poculum Caritatis_. The wassail-bowl is probably the -original of the Grace Cup and Loving Cup. {235} - -It was also customary in some places for the poor of a village at -Christmas time or on New Year’s Eve, to go round to the doors of their -richer neighbours, bearing a wassail-bowl, decked with ribbons and a -golden apple, and singing a carol appropriate to the occasion. This -interesting custom is still carried out to the letter at Chippenham, -in Wiltshire. On Christmas Eve five or six burly labourers, carrying -a bowl gaily decorated with ribbons, go round from house to house and -sing a peculiarly quaint rhyme, of much the same character as that -given below, which was once common in Gloucestershire, particularly in -the neighbourhood of “Stow on the Wold where the wind blows cold.” - - Wassail! wassail! all over the town, - Our toast it is white, and our ale it is brown; - Our bowl is made of a maplin-tree; - We be good fellows all;—I drink to thee. - - Here’s to our horse, and to his right ear, - God send our measter a happy new year; - A happy new year as e’er he did see,— - With my wassailing bowl I drink to thee. - - Here’s to our mare, and to her right eye, - God send our mistress a good Christmas pie; - A good Christmas pie as e’er I did see,— - With my wassailing bowl I drink to thee. - - Here’s to our cow, and to her long tail, - God send our measter us never may fail - Of a cup of good beer: I pray you draw near, - And our jolly wassail it’s then you shall hear. - - Be here my maids? I suppose here be some; - Sure they will not let young men stand on the cold stone! - Sing hey O, maids! come trole back the pin, - And the fairest maid in the house, let us all in. - - Come, butler, come, bring us a bowl of the best, - I hope your soul in heaven will rest; - But if you do bring us a bowl of the small, - Then down fall butler, and bowl, and all. - -{236} - -From this wassail-song it may be gathered that the persons visited -were expected to contribute to the wassail-bowl. Another example of a -wassailing song begins thus:— - - Here we come a-wassailing - Among the leaves so green; - Here we come a wandering, - So fair to be seen. - - Chorus—Love and joy come to you, - And to your wassail too, - And God send you a happy new year—new year; - And God send you a happy new year; - Our wassail cup is made of the rosemary tree, - So is your beer of the best barley. - -A quaint custom, doubtless a survivor from pagan times, was wassailing -the fruit trees with a view to a productive crop in the coming year. In -some places the trees were wassailed on New Year’s Eve, in others on -Christmas Eve. The pretty superstition has been commemorated by Herrick -in the lines:— - - Wassaile the trees, that they may beare - You many a plum and many a peare; - For more or lesse fruits they will bring, - As you do give them wassailing. - -In Devonshire the eve of the Epiphany was devoted to this custom, -and in that apple-bearing country, cider was the wassail used on the -occasion, and the apple tree the chief recipient of the country folks’ -good wishes. The wassailers, with good supply of their favourite -beverage, would proceed to some gnarled and crooked, but productive -apple tree, and there, forming a circle about his ancient trunk, would -drink his health with some such incantation as this:— - - Here’s to thee, old apple tree, - Whence thou mayest bud, and whence thou mayest blow, - And whence thou mayst bear apples enow. - Hats full, caps full, - Bushel, bushel, sacks full, - And my pockets full too; hurrah! - -{237} - -A variety of the New Year’s Wassail-Bowl custom was, until a few years -ago, practised in Scotland. What is called a _hot pint_ (_i.e._, a -great kettle full of hot sweetened ale), was prepared, and when the -clock had sounded out the knell of the old year, each member of the -family drank “A good health and a Happy New Year to all.” A move was -then made by the revellers with what remained of the hot pint, and a -store of short-bread and _bun_ to visit their friends and neighbours, -and to give them seasonable greeting. If the party were the first to -enter a friend’s house since twelve o’clock had struck, they were -called the _first foot_, and must come in with hands full of cakes, -of which all the inmates must partake; and so they went from house to -house until either their endurance or that long, long hot pint, failed. -Even within this century the custom was so religiously observed that -the streets of Edinburgh are described as having been more thronged -at midnight than at mid-day. This old practice is said to have -received its death-blow in 1812, when the descent of gangs of thieves -and pickpockets upon the wassailers caused such scenes of rioting -and violence that, after languishing for a few years, it came to an -untimely end. - -It was customary at the beginning of the present century for the -inhabitants of the parish of Deerness, in Orkney, to assemble on New -Year’s Eve, and pay a round of visits through the district, drinking -their neighbours’ healths, and singing various old songs, of which the -following may be taken as a specimen:— - - This night it is guid New Year’s E’en night - We’re a’ here Queen Mary’s Men; - And we’re come here to crave our right, - And that’s before our lady. - - * * * * * - - Gae fill the three pint cog o’ ale, - The maut maun be aboun the meal. - We houp your ale is stark and stout - For men to drink the old year out. - -The composition of the wassail-bowl has been dealt with elsewhere, and -it only remains to be added that though the drinking of its spiced -contents was very usual on New Year’s Eve, it was not peculiar to that -day, but accompanied most occasions of mediæval festivity, and, indeed, -was so common that in the days of Queen Elizabeth the wassail-bowl was -frequently referred to by the writers of that Golden Age of English -{238} literature as symbolical of feasting and good cheer in general. -It is thus that Herrick mentions it in his beautiful little poem, -entitled _A Thanksgiving for his House_:— - - Lord, I confess too when I dine, - The pulse is thine, - And all those other bits that be - There placed by Thee. - The worts, the purslain, and the mess - Of water-cress, - Which of Thy kindness Thou hast sent: - And my content - Makes those, and my beloved beet, - To be more sweet. - ’Tis Thou that crown’st my glittering hearth - With guiltless mirth; - And giv’st me wassail bowls to drink, - Spiced to the brink. - -Twelfth Night was specially celebrated with wassailing, accompanied -with the consumption of spiced cakes, the combination giving rise to -the phrase “cakes and ale.” - -[Illustration: “Cakes and Ale.” - -From the “Good-Fellow’s Counsel, or the Bad Husband’s Recantation.” - - (_Roxburghe Ballads_). -] - -{239} - -The twelfth day after Christmas was celebrated in the old days in -honour of the three Kings, as the Wise Men were called who came out of -the East to worship the Messiah. One of the chief ceremonies connected -with the day was the election of the King and Queen of the Bean. A -large cake—the Twelfth Cake—had been previously made, in which a bean -and a pea were inserted, the cake was cut up and distributed by lot -among the company, and whoever got the piece which contained the bean -was crowned King of the Bean, while the pea conferred the distinction -of Queen upon its happy recipient. - - Now, now the mirth comes, - With the cake full of plums, - Where beane’s the king of the sport here; - Besides we must know, - The pea also - Must revell as queene in the court here. - - * * * * * - - Give then to the king - And queen wassailing; - And though with ale ye be whet here, - Yet part ye from hence, - As free from offence - As when ye innocent met here.[54] - - [54] Herrick’s _Twelfth Night_. - -Dr. Plot, in his _Natural History of Staffordshire_ (1685), describes -a curious custom called the Hobby-horse dance, which he says had been -practised at Pagets Bromley within memory of persons living when he -wrote. On Twelfth Day a man on a hobby-horse used to dance down the -village street, holding in his hand a bow and arrow, and accompanied by -six men, carrying deers’ heads on their shoulders. “To this Hobby-horse -dance,” says our author, “there also belong’d a _pot_, which was kept -by turnes by 4 or 5 of the _chief_ of the _Tow_, whom they call’d -_Reeves_, who provided _Cakes_ and _Ale_ to put in this _pot_; all -people who had any kindness for the good intent of the Institution of -the _sport_, giving pence a piece for themselves and families; and so -_forraigners_ too, that came to see it: with which mony (the charge -of the _Cakes_ and _Ale_ being defrayed) they not only repaired their -_Church_ but {240} kept their _poore_ too: which _charges_ are not now -perhaps so cheerfully boarn.” - -It would be going too far from the special subject of this work -to detail the more elaborate festivities of the Court and the -Universities, or the masques and revels of those ancient abodes of -legal learning, the Inns of Court, where Twelfth Night formed the -annual excuse for much feasting and pageantry. On these occasions, -no doubt, costly wines and liqueurs formed the staple of the liquids -consumed, - - Both Ippocras and Vernage wine - Mount Rose and wine of Greek, - -and not the honest juice of barley. Suffice it to note in passing -that on the 2nd of February, 1601, John Manningham, a student of the -Middle Temple, records in his Diary: “At our feast we had a play called -_Twelfth Night or What You Will_.” This is the earliest recorded -mention of that grand Twelfth-night revel, and was, perhaps, its first -performance. - -The appearance of Twelfth Cake is the signal for the disappearance of -mince pies, in accordance with the farewell words an old carolist puts -into the mouth of Christmas:— - - Mark well my heavy doleful tale, - For Twelfth-day now is come, - And now I must no longer stay - And say no word but mum. - For I, perforce, must take my leave - Of all my dainty cheer— - Plum porridge, roast beef, and minced-pies, - My strong ale and my beer. - -A minor festival, Plough Monday, used to be celebrated on the first -Monday after Twelfth Night. A plough, dressed up with ribbons by the -villagers, was taken round from house to house. Its escort consisted of -a number of rustics dressed up in various mummers’ guises, and chanting -verses, the text of which was “God speed the Plough.” The principal -performers were Bessy and the Clown, Bessy being, in fact, a man -dressed up in fantastic female weeds. Bread, cheese, and ale were asked -for at the farmhouses and seldom refused, and a variety of curious -dances and uncouth antics completed the entertainment of the day. {241} - -The season of Lent, of course, was marked by no special festivities, -but when Easter Sunday was passed, the reaction from the enforced -restraint of the previous period made the enjoyment of the Easter-week -festivities all the keener. Easter Monday and Tuesday were in some -places noted for the curious custom known as “heaving;” on the Monday -the men “heaved” the women (_i.e._, lifted them off the ground and -kissed them), and on the Tuesday the women’s turn came, and they heaved -the men. “Many a time have I passed along the streets inhabited by the -lower orders of people,” says one who has witnessed the ceremony, “and -seen parties of Jolly matrons assembled round tables on which stood a -foaming tankard of Ale. Woe to the luckless man that dared to invade -their prerogatives! as sure as seen he was pursued, as sure taken, -heaved and kissed, and compelled to pay a fine of sixpence for ‘leave -and license’ to depart.” - -The antiquity of the custom is proved by an entry in one of the Tower -Rolls of payments made to certain maids-of-honour for having taken -Edward I. in his bed and “lifted him.” - -The second Monday and Tuesday after Easter were known in olden days as -Hock-tide. The Tuesday was the principal day, and was designated Hock -Day. Many derivations have been suggested for the name; the best seems -to be that which connects it with the German _hoch_ (high). Hock Day -would thus denote a day of high festivity. Be that as it may, the name -is of great antiquity. In the Annals of Dunstaple we read that in 1242 -“Henry III., King of England, crossed over on _Ochedai_ with a great -army against the King of France.” On Hock Day the women of the village -would go into the streets with cords in their hands, and every one of -the opposite sex whom they could catch, was bound until he purchased -his release by a contribution for the purposes of the common feast. On -this day the feasting seems to have frequently passed into excess, and -sometimes with direful results; the Annalist of Dunstaple tells that on -Hokke-day in the year 1252 the village of Esseburne was “burned down -miserably.” In 1450 a Bishop of Worcester prohibited the celebrations -of Hock-tide, on the ground that they led to dissipation and other -evils. There seems to be no connection between this festival and the -Hock-cart spoken of by Herrick, and to be mentioned anon, save that the -name of each takes its derivation, if our surmise be the correct one, -from the word _hoch_. The Hock Day meaning High Day; and the Hock Cart, -the harvest-home wain piled _high_ with the trophies of autumn. - -We next come to the May Day festivities, which in many respects {242} -may be regarded as the most joyous and picturesque of all the year. -Without staying to inquire whether the origin of the festival is to be -traced to the old Roman Floralia, or games in honour of the goddess -who ushered in the spring and strewed the earth with flowers, let us -pause for a while to contemplate the old ceremony of “bringing home the -May,” as it was performed some few centuries ago. On May Day morning -the inhabitants of every village would go out at an early hour into -the fields to gather garlands of hawthorn blossom and other flowers, -with which they decorated the May-pole and every door and window of the -village. These floral trophies were brought home to the tune of pipe -and drum; the fairest maid in all the hamlet was crowned with flowers -as Queen of the May, and, embowered in hawthorn branches, presided over -the mirth and feasting of the day. Stubbe, in his _Anatomy of Abuses_ -(1585), describes the ceremony of raising the May-pole, in language -which gives some notion of the pretty scene, and which is all the more -likely not to be overdrawn, from the evident abhorrence of the writer -to what he regarded as the impiety of the whole affair. “They have -twenty or fourtie yoke of oxen,” he writes, “every one having a sweet -nosegay of flowers tyed on the tippe of his hornes, and these oxen draw -home this Maie pole (this stinckyng Idoll rather) which is couered all -ouer with flowers and hearbes bounde rounde aboute with stringes, from -the top to the bottome, and sometyme painted with variable colours, -with two or three hundred women and children following it with great -devotion. And thus being reared up with handkerchiefs and flagges -streaming on the toppe they strowe the grounde aboute, binde green -boughes aboute it, sett up sommer houses, Bowers and Arbours hard by -it. And then fall they to banquet and feast, to leape and daunce aboute -it, as the Heathen people did at the dedication of their Idolles, -whereof this is a perfect pattern or rather the thing itself.” - -The May-pole once raised, of course the next thing to be done was to -pour a libation in honour of the day, and in most cases this would, -equally of course, be performed with the ale of Old England. - - The May-pole is up, - Now give me the cup, - I’ll drink to the garlands around it, - But first unto those, - Whose hands did compose, - The glory of flowers that crown’d it. - -{243} - -In olden days even the King and Queen condescended to mingle with -their lieges, and to assist in commemorating the time-honoured custom. -Chaucer, in his _Court of Love_, describes how on May Day, “Forth goeth -all the Court both most and least, to fetch the flowers fresh.” - -Spenser, in his _Shepherd’s Calendar_, thus describes the May Day -festival of Elizabethan times:— - - Siker this morrow, no longer ago, - I saw a shole of shepherds out go - With singing and shouting and jolly cheer; - Before them rode a lusty Tabrere, - That to the many a hornpipe played, - Whereto they dancen each one with his maid. - To see these folks make such jouissance, - Made my heart after the pipe to dance. - Then to the green-wood they speeden them all, - To fetchen home May with their musical; - And home they bring him in a royal throne - Crowned as king; and his queen attone - Was Lady Flora, on whom did attend - A fair flock of fairies, and a fresh bend - Of lovely nymphs—O that I were there - To helpen the ladies their May-bush to bear! - -Probably the most famous May-pole that ever existed was the one which -gave its name to the parish of St. Andrew-Undershaft. It was of such a -height that it towered above all the houses and even above the church -spire. Chaucer alludes to this mighty pole in the lines:— - - Right well aloft and high ye beare your head, - As ye would beare the greate shaft of Cornhill. - -When this May-pole was not required for festive purposes, it lay -suspended on great iron hooks above the doors of the neighbouring -houses. In the reign of Edward VI., after a sermon preached at the -cross of St. Paul’s against the iniquity of May games, the inhabitants -of these houses in a fit of pious enthusiasm, desiring, doubtless, to -replenish their wood-cellars and to destroy an “idoll” at the same -time, cut the pole in pieces, each man retaining that portion of it -which had been before his house. The May-pole in the Strand was another -celebrated {244} shaft. It was erected at the Restoration, when there -was a revival of the popular sports which the sour-faced Puritans had -so unsparingly condemned. It was 134 ft. high, and was raised with -great ceremony and public rejoicings. - -At Helston, in Cornwall, on the 8th of May, called “Furry Day,” may -still be witnessed a survival of the old May Day festivities. Very -early in the morning the young men and maidens of the place go off into -the country to breakfast. About seven o’clock they return bearing green -branches, and decked with flowers, they dance through the streets to -the tune of the “Furry Dance.” At eight o’clock the “Hal-an-Tow” (Heel -and Toe?) song is sung, and dancing and merriment fill the remainder of -the day. - -THE HAL-AN-TOW. - - Robin Hood and little John, - They both are gone to fair O ! - And we will go to the merry green wood, - To see what they to do there O ! - And for to chase O ! - To chase the buck and doe O ! - With Hal-an-tow, - Jolly rumble O ! - - Chorus: And we were up as soon as any day O ! - And for to fetch the summer home, - The Summer and the May O ! - For Summer is a come O ! - And Winter is a gone O ! - - Where are those Spaniards - That makes so great a boast O ! - They shall eat the grey goose feather - And we will eat the roast O ! - In every land O ! - The land where’er we go, - With Hal-an-tow, - Jolly rumble O ! - - Chorus: And we were up, &c. {245} - - As for St. George O ! - St. George he was a knight O ! - Of all the knights in Christendom - St. George he is the right O ! - In every land O ! - The land where’er we go, - With Hal-an-tow, - Jolly rumble O ! - Chorus: And we were up, &c. - - God bless Aunt Mary Moyses, - And all her power and might O ! - And send us peace in merry England, - Both day and night O ! - And send us peace in merry England, - Both now and evermore O ! - With Hal-an-tow, - Jolly rumble O ! - Chorus: And we were up, &c. - -The custom is popularly attributed to the escape of the town from the -threatened attack of a fiery dragon, who, in days when dragons were -more common than they are now, hung in mid-air over the place, driving -the inhabitants to the greenwood tree for shelter. On his disappearance -the people returned with great rejoicings and to this day commemorate -their fortunate escape. The true explanation is probably that the -festival is simply a survival of the old celebration in honour of -_Flora_. - -In some few country villages a May-pole still survives. One such is to -be seen in the little village of Welford, in Gloucestershire, painted -in stripes of red, white, and blue. It was decked with flowers on May -Day not many years ago, owing to the exertions of some of the local -lovers of things ancient; but the genuine spirit of the festival seems -to have entirely disappeared, and the ceremony has not been repeated. - - What’s not destroyed by Time’s relentless hand? - Where’s Troy? and where’s the May-pole in the Strand? - -In the early days of May occur what used to be known as the Gange Days, -on which the ceremony of beating the parish bounds was, and still {246} -is in some places, undertaken, the work of the day being wound up by -a more or less liberal distribution of buns and ale. Sums of money -were occasionally left to provide the refreshments for these parish -perambulations. At Edgcott, in Buckinghamshire, there was an acre of -land called “Gang Monday Land,” the income of which was devoted to the -provision of cakes and ale for those who took part in the business of -the day; and in Clifton Reynes, in the same county, a devise of land -for a like purpose provides that one small loaf, a piece of cheese, and -a pint of ale, should be given to every married person, and half a pint -of ale to every unmarried person, resident in Clifton, when they walked -the parish boundaries in Rogation week. - -When Whitsuntide came round, the time arrived for those quaint -festivals to which Ale gave not only his support, but also his name, -and which were known as Whitsun Ales. The Whitsun Ale was a special -form of the Church Ale, to be mentioned anon. It is thus described by -an old writer:—“Two young men of the Parish are yerely chosen by their -last foregoers to be wardens, who, dividing the task, make collection -among the parishioners of whatsoever provision it pleaseth them -voluntarily to bestow. This they employ in brewing, baking, and other -acates[55] against Whitsuntide; upon which holy days the neighbours -meet at the Church-house, and there merrily feed on their owne victuals -contributing some petty portion to the stock, which by many smalls, -groweth to a meetly greatness: for there is entertayned a kind of -emulation between these wardens, who, by his graciousness in gathering, -and good husbandry in expending, can best advance the churche’s profit. -Besides, the neighbour parishes at those times lovingly visit each -one another, and this way frankly spend their money together. The -afternoones are consumed in such exercises as olde and yong folke -(having leisure) doe accustomably weare out the time withall. When the -feast is ended, the wardens yield in their account to the parishioners: -and such money as exceedeth the disbursement is layd up in store, to -defray any extraordinary charges arising in the parish, or imposed on -them for the good of the country, or the prince’s service: neither of -which commonly so gripe but that somewhat still remayneth to cover the -purse’s bottom.” - - [55] acates = purchases. - -The Morris Dancers regarded Whitsuntide as their chief festival. -Introduced into this country from Spain, the Morisco or Moorish {247} -Dance had, in the reign of Henry VIII., attained a great popularity. -There seems to have been at that time two principal performers, -Robin Hood and Maid Marian; then there was a friar, a piper, a fool, -and the rank and file of the dancers. In the parish accounts of -Kingston-on-Thames for the year 1537 the Morris Dancers’ wardrobe, then -in the charge of the churchwardens, consisted of “A fryers cote of -russet and a kyrtele weltyd with red cloth, a Mowren’s (Moor’s) cote of -buckram, and four morres daunsars cotes of white fustian spangelid and -two gryne saten cotes, and disardde’s (fool’s) cote of cotton, and six -payre of garters with belles.” - -In Elizabethan times the Morris Dance, and indeed every other kind of -picturesque country festivity, may be said to have reached the zenith -of popularity, soon, alas! to be followed by the chilling austerity of -the Puritans, of whom it was so truly said that they “like nothing; no -state, no sex; music, dancing, etc., unlawful even in kings; no kind of -recreation, no kind of entertainment,—no, not so much as hawking; all -are damned.” - - These teach that Dauncing is a Jezabell - And barley-break the ready way to Hell, - The Morrice, Idolls; Whitson-ale can bee - But profane Reliques of a Jubilee.[56] - - [56] Thomas Randal—_Annalia Dubrensia_. - -Whitsuntide, with its lengthening days, was specially set apart for -sports and old-fashioned games, and amongst the many meetings for such -purposes, none attained a wider popularity than the Cotswold or Dover’s -Games. Those who are familiar with the country made classic by its -associations with the great Master of English poetry, know well the -green hill, still called Dover’s Hill, which forms an outpost of the -main body of the Cotswolds, and overlooks the smiling vale of Evesham. -On this spot, time out of mind, rural sports and festivities had been -held under the name of the Cotswold Games. “How does your fallow -greyhound, sir?” says Slender to Page, “I heard say he was outrun at -Cotsale.” This was the site chosen by Robert Dover, an attorney of -Barton-on-the-Heath, for the enlargement and perpetuation of those -national sports in which he took so keen an interest, and which he -{248} hoped would counteract the narrow spirit of bigotry which was -beginning in his day to curtail the innocent amusements of the people. -Armed with a formal authority from King James, Dover was so successful -in his organization of the Games that, with a short interregnum during -the Commonwealth days, their popularity continued until well into -the present century. A curious old volume of poems, called _Annalia -Dubrensia_, published in 1636, contains many quaint descriptions of the -Games and their object. Drayton, Ben Jonson, Thomas Randall and others -of lesser note, contributed each a poem to this collection. One of the -contributors thus eulogises the sports and their patron:— - - . . . . . . Oh most famous Greece! - That for brave Pastimes, wert earth’s Master-piece! - Had not our English DOVER, thus out-done - Thy foure games, with his Cotswoldian one. - -Dover himself composed the poem which closes the volume. Some of his -motives he thus describes:— - - I’ve heard our fine refined clergy teach, - Of the commandments, that it is a breach - To play at any game for gain or coin; - ’Tis theft they say; men’s goods you do purloin; - One silly beast another to pursue - ’Gainst nature is, and fearful to the view, - And man with man their activeness to try - Forbidden is—much harm doth come thereby; - Had we their faith to credit what they say, - We must believe all sports are ta’en away; - Whereby I see, instead of active things, - What harm the same unto our nation brings; - The pipe and pot are made the only prize - Which all our spriteful youth do exercise. - - * * * * * - - Yet I was bold for better recreation - T’invent these sports to countercheck that fashion, - And bless the troope that come our sports to see, - With hearty thankes and friendly courtesie - -{249} - -[Illustration: Cotswold Games.] - -The nature of the sports may be gathered from an inspection of the -curious old cut taken from the frontispiece of the above-named work. -Dancing, tumbling, wrestling, sword-play, quarter-staff, cudgel play, -casting the hammer, dog-racing, horse-racing, coursing—must have made -up a highly varied programme, while the table in the midst of the field -of view shows, both by its conspicuous position and by the size of -the cups and tankards in use, that the good creatures, meat and ale, -were by no means neglected. The wonderful structure at the top of the -picture represents the wooden castle erected every year, and called -Dover Castle in honour of the founder of the sports. The artist does -not appear to have quite done justice to his subject if we may credit -the account of the Castle given by one of the versifiers:— {250} - - What Ingineere, or cunning Architect - A Fabricke of such pompe did ere erect? - I’ve heard men talk, of Castles in the aire, - Inchanted Cells, Towers, Pageants most faire, - Fortifications, Trophies, Theaters, - Laborinths, Puppet-workes, strange Meteores, - Of those that have their substance wholie spent - To shew their Puppets dauncing with content; - Of Egypts Pharoes stately glasen Tower, - Built by King Ptolomies’ art magick power, - Of Cheops, Pyramids; of Rhodes Colosse, - Of Joves Olympick golden Ivorie Bosse. - These to thy famous works compared will be - Of small account; like them in no degree. - -The figure of the founder occupies a prominent place in the foreground. -He used to appear in clothes that had belonged to King James, and it -is said wore them with much greater dignity than did the King. Dover -seems to have been a remarkable person in more ways than one, as may -be gathered from the following quaint note, to be found in one of the -editions of the _Annalia_:—“He was bred an Attorney, who never try’d -but two causes, _always made up the Difference_.” - -The next in order of the country celebrations in which ale formed the -principal drink, were the sheep-shearing feasts, formerly so common, -but now in most places things of the past. Many songs have been -preserved which record these old merry-makings when the day’s work -was done, and the farm labourers were gathered round their master’s -hospitable board. One of these, taken from the Sussex Archæological -Collections, is given below. It is a sample of many. - - Come all my jolly boys, and we’ll together go - Abroad with our masters, to shear the lamb and ewe. - - * * * * * - - And there we must work hard, boys, until our backs do ache, - And our master he will bring us beer whenever we do lack. - - * * * * * - - And then our noble captain doth unto our master say, - “Come, let us have one bucket of your good Ale, I pray” - He turns unto our captain, and makes him this reply {252} - - “You shall have the best of beer, I promise, presently,” - Then out with the bucket pretty Bess she doth come, - And master says “Mind, mind and see that every man has some.” - - This is some of our pastime while the sheep we do shear, - And though we are such merry boys, we work hard, I declare; - And when ’tis night, and we have done, our master is more free, - And stores us well with good strong beer, and pipes and tobaccee - So we do sit and drink, we smoke, and sing and roar, - Till we become more merry far than e’er we were before, - When all our work is done, and all our sheep are shorn, - Then home to our Captain, to drink the Ale that’s strong. - ’Tis a barrel, then, of _hum cup_, which we call the _black ram_, - And we do sit and swagger, and swear that we are men; - But yet before ’tis night, I’ll stand you half a crown, - That if you ha’nt a special care, the _ram_ will knock you down. - -[Illustration: The Merry Bagpipes. - -The Pleaſant Paſtime betwixt a Jolly Shepherd and a Country Damſel on a -Midſummer-Day in the Morning. - -To the tune of _March Boys, &c._ - - A Shepherd ſat him under a Thorn - he pulled out his pipe and began for to play - It was on a Mid-Summer’s-day in the Morn - for honour of that Holy-day: - A Ditty he did chant along - goes to the tune of Cater-Bordee, - And this was the burden of his ſong - if thou wilt pipe lad, I’ll Dance to thee - To thee, to thee, derry, derry, to thee, &c. - - _Roxburghe Ballads._ -] - -The Haymakers’ song given below is, or rather was, a great favourite at -festive gatherings during the hay harvest:— - - In the merry month of June, - In the prime time of the year; - Down in yonder meadows - There runs a river clear; - And many a little fish - Doth in that river play; - And many a lad and many a lass, - Go abroad a-making hay. - - In come the jolly mowers, - To mow the meadows down; - With budget and with bottle - Of ale both stout and brown. - All labouring men of courage bold - Come here their strength to try; - They sweat and blow, and cut and mow, - For the grass cuts very dry. - -Gratitude to the Giver of all good things has been the mainspring of -rejoicings that in nearly all nations have celebrated the safe {253} -ingathering of the fruits of the earth. In England the festival is -known by the expressive title of the Harvest Home. An ancient ballad -expresses _The Farmer’s Delight in the Merry Harvest_:— - - Come all my Lads and Lasses - Let us together go, - To the pleasant Corn-field, - Our courage for to show, - With sickle and with knapsack, - So well we clean our Land, - The Farmer crys work on Boys - Here’s Beer at your command. - In a good old Leather Bottle, - Of ale that is so brown, - We’ll cut and strip together, - Until the Sun goes down; - Every morning Sun, - The small Birds they do sing; - The Echoes of their Harmony, - Do make the Wood to ring. - Young Nanny she came to me, - Some wheat-seed for to lase.[57] - She is a pretty Creature, - I must speak in her Praise: - I wish she was some keeper, - She is my whole delight - In the Groves and Forests, - To range both Day and Night. - Thus the industrious Farmer - By the Sweat of his Brow - He labours and endeavours - To make his Barley Mow. - Sir John produces Liquor, - ’Tis very often said, - Good Beer makes Good Blood - Good Blood makes pretty maid. {254} - When Harvest it is over - And the Corn secure from Harm - And for to go to Market, - We must thrash in the Barn. - The Flail which we do handle - So stoutly we do swing, - And after Harvest Supper, - So merry we will sing: - With good Success to the Farmer, - Or else we are to blame, - I wish them Health and Happiness, - Till Harvest comes again. - -Beer has always been _the_ drink in the harvest field. - - Beneath some shelt’ring heap of yellow corn - Rests the hoop’d keg, and friendly cooling horn, - That mocks alike the goblet’s brittle frame, - It’s costlier potions, and its nobler name. - To Mary first the brimming draught is given, - By toil made welcome as the dews of heaven, - And never lip that press’d its homely edge, - Had kinder blessings or a heartier pledge. - - [57] To lase or lease, provincial term for “to glean.” - -In most parts of England the grain last cut was brought home in the -Hock Cart or Horkey Cart. The name “Horkey,” is probably a corruption -of “Hock,” and is equivalent to the German _hoch_, the allusion being -to the wain piled _high_ with sheaves. The cart decked with ribbons -and surmounted with a sheaf dressed up to represent a woman—perhaps -Ceres, goddess of the harvest; the horses pranked out in gay trappings; -a crowd of labourers and all the youthful inhabitants of the village -hurrahing in the wake presented such a scene as that described by -Herrick in his poem of the _Hock Cart_:— - - Come, sons of summer, by whose toile - We are the Lords of wine and oile; - By whose tough labours and rough hands - We rip up first, then reap our lands, - Crown’d with the ears of corne, now come, - And, to the pipe, sing harvest home. - Come forth, my Lord, and see the cart, - Drest up with all the country art. {255} - See here a maukin, there a sheet - As spotless pure as it is sweet; - The horses, mares, and frisking fillies, - Clad all in linen white as lillies, - The harvest swaines and wenches bound - For joy to see the hock-cart crown’d. - About the cart heare how the rout - Of rural younglings raise the shout, - Pressing before, some coming after, - Those with a shout and these with laughter. - Some blesse the cart; some kisse the sheaves - Some prank them up with oaken leaves; - Some cross the fill-horse; some with great - Devotion stroak the home-borne wheat; - While other rusticks, lesse attent - To prayers than to merryment, - Run after with their breeches rent. - -A verse was sung to start the hock-cart on its way; generally some -thing of this kind:— - - Harvest home, harvest home, - We have ploughed, we have sowed; - We have reaped, we have mowed, - We have brought home every load, - Hip, hip, hip, harvest home! - -In Hampshire it was years ago the custom at the end of harvest to -send to the harvest-field a large bottle containing seven or eight -gallons of strong beer; and the head carter, while the beer was being -discussed, said or sang the lines:— - - Well ploughed—well sowed, - Well reaped—well mowed, - Well carried, and - Never a load overthro’d. - -He then raised his hand, and all cheered. This was called the custom of -the Hollowing Bottle. {256} - -For a description of the harvest-home supper we may again turn to -Herrick:— - - Well, on, brave boyes, to your Lord’s hearth - Glittering with fire, where, for your mirth, - You shall see first the large and cheefe - Foundation of your feast, fat beefe; - With upper stories, mutton, veale, - And bacon, which makes full the meale; - With severall dishes standing by, - As here a custard, there a pie, - And here all-tempting frumentie. - And for to make the merry cheer, - If smirking wine be wanting here, - There’s that which drowns all care, stout beer, - Which freely drink to your lord’s health, - Then to the plough, the commonwealth, - Next to your flails, your fans, your vats; - Then to the maids with wheaten hats; - To the rough sickle and the crooked scythe, - Drink, frolic, boys, till all be blithe. - -Robert Bloomfield alludes to the horkey-beer as to a brew specially -prepared for the occasion:— - - And Farmer Cheerum went, good man, - And broach’d the horkey-beer, - And sich a mort of folks began - To eat up our good cheer. - -When supper was finished the horkey-beer was freely sent about the -board, with the effect noticed by old Lydgate in his _Story of -Thebes_:—“They were in silence for a tyme tyl good ale gan arise.”—Slow -tongues are loosened, and the time is passed in songs and mirth. - -The following extracts are taken from old Suffolk songs which have -descended from father to son for generations. They are typical of many -more that might be given:— - - Here’s a health to our master, - The founder of the feast! - God bless his endeavours - And send him increase. {257} - Now our harvest is ended - And supper is past, - Here’s our mistress’ good health - In a full flowing glass! - She is a good woman,— - She prepared us good cheer; - Come all my brave boys, - And drink off your beer. - - Drink, my boys, drink until you come unto me, - The longer we sit, my boys, the merrier shall we be! - - In yon green wood there lies an old fox, - Close by his den you may catch him, or no; - Ten thousand to one you catch him, or no. - His beard and his brush are all of one colour,— - (_Takes the glass and empties it off._) - I am sorry, kind sir, that your glass is no fuller. - ’Tis down the red lane! ’tis down the red lane! - So merrily hunt the fox down the red lane!” - -There is another version of these concluding lines:— - - Down the red lane there lives an old fox, - There does he sit a-mumping his chops: - Catch him, boys, catch him, catch if you can; - ’Tis twenty to one if you catch him or Nan. - -The red lane is the throat, and the fox is the tongue. - -A favourite old Norfolk harvest-home song was “The Pye upon the Pear -Tree Top,” the following version of which is taken from Mr. Rye’s -admirable _History of Norfolk_:— - - The pye upon the pear-tree top, - (_The singer holds up a glass of beer_) - The pear-tree top—the pear-tree top, - I hold you a crown she is coming down. - (_Brings down the glass slowly_) - She is coming down, she is coming down, - I hold you a crown she is come down. - (_Offers the glass to his right-hand neighbour._) {258} - She _is_ come down, she _is_ come down, - So lift up your elbow, and hold up your chin, - And let your neighbour joggle it in. - -The drinker then tries to drink, and his neighbour tries to prevent him. - -During the evening one of the reapers, who had been chosen as “lord,” -would retire from the table, and, putting on a kind of mummer’s garb, -return, calling “Lar-gess.” He then carried a hat or plate round and -collected money to prolong the jollification at the village alehouse. - -A laughable custom prevalent at Sussex harvest-homes, was the -following: Each person at the table—perhaps twenty or thirty men—had -to drink, without spilling, a glass of ale placed on the top of a tall -hat; when he had finished, he must toss the glass up in the air and -catch it in the hat as it fell. Sometimes a man would fail four or five -times, and at length get too drunk even to try. Meantime the company -kept up the refrain:— - - I’ve been to London, I’ve been to Dover, - I’ve been a rambling, boys, all the world over, - Over, over, over and over, - Drink up the liquor and turn the bowl over. - -These lines were sung over and over again, getting louder at the -critical moments. If the drinker’s effort was crowned with success the -fourth line was changed to— - - The liquor’s drinked up, and the bowl is turned over, - -while ill success was greeted by— - - The liquor’s drinked up, and the bowl _ain’t_ turned over. - -Another Sussex custom practised not many years ago, and perhaps still, -at harvest-home suppers consisted in a harvester sticking a lighted -candle in a glass of beer and drinking the beer while he held the -candle in position with his nose. The company meantime sing a song, of -which the chorus runs— - - Your nose’s alight, your nose’s alight, - Your hair’s alight, your hair’s alight, - Your hair’s alight, afire. {259} - -Frequently the greasy candle would slip from between the nose and the -rim of the glass, really bringing about a conflagration of hair or -eyebrows. - -In Scotland a dish always to be met with at harvest home, or -_Kirn_-suppers, as they are called, is composed of porridge, strong ale -and whisky. Had such dish as this been found at Sabine harvest-homes, -well might Horace have exclaimed, “_O dura messorum ilia!_” Much the -same course of feasting, strong-ale drinking, and singing is observed -as at the English festival— - - —the frothing bickers,[58] soon as filled, - Are drained, and to the gauntrees[59] oft return. - - [58] The beakers. - - [59] The frame supporting the barrel. - -Such were some of the principal ceremonies connected with the -harvest-home. It is to be regretted that such observances are now -comparatively rare. The kindly association of master and man at these -and such-like gatherings, did much to keep alive a mutual spirit of -good will, and to grease the wheels of toil, and it is to be feared -that such feelings when once lost cannot easily be recalled. Bloomfield -well describes this peculiarity of former times, which to that extent, -at any rate, may be called the “good old days”:— - - Here, once a year, distinction lowers its crest, - The master, servant, and the merry guest, - Are equal all; and round the happy ring, - The reaper’s eyes exulting glances fling; - And, warmed with gratitude, he quits his place, - With sun-burnt hands, and ale-enlivened face, - Refills the jug his honored host to tend, - To serve at once the master and the friend; - Proud thus to meet his smiles, to share his tale, - His nuts, his conversation, and his Ale. - -Last of all the great festivals of the year comes Christmas, celebrated -from early ages with feasting and hearty boisterous merriment. In -olden times the closing days of the old year, and the opening days -of the new, were devoted to holiday-making. From Christmas Day to -Twelfth Night was one long Saturnalia of feasting, dancing, and {260} -wassailing. One of the chief ceremonies of the time was the bringing -in of the Yule Log on Christmas Eve. Escorted by troops of shouting -men and boys, and greeted with strains of village minstrelsy, the -yule log was drawn from its resting place, lighted in the great hall -fireplace with some of the charred fragments of the last Christmas log, -and consumed as a token of hospitality and good cheer. Herrick thus -describes the ceremony:— - - Come, bring with a noise, my merry, merry boys, - The Christmas log to the firing, - While my good Dame she—bids ye all be free, - And drink to your heart’s desiring. - - With the last year’s brand—light the new block, and - For good success in his spending, - On your psaltries play—that sweet luck may - Come while the log is teending.[60] - - Drink now the strong beare, cut the white loafe here, - The while the meat is a-shredding, - For the rare mince-pie, and the plums stand by, - To fill the paste that’s a-kneeding. - - [60] Blazing. - -As an accompaniment to the yule log, an immense candle, called the Yule -Candle, shed its light upon the scene of merriment, and neighbours all -began - - To quaff brown Ale foam’d high from tall stone jugs - And pledge deep healths in oft-replenished mugs. - -The custom of wassailing the fruit trees has been already mentioned. -In some counties the practice extends to the field and pastures, and a -song is still sung on Christmas Eve in Hampshire, of which the chorus -is:— - - Apples and pears with right good corn, - Come in plenty to every one, - Eat and drink good cake and hot ale, - Give Earth to drink and she’ll not fail. - -{261} - -The time-honoured amusement appropriate to Christmas Eve was provided -by the Mummers and the Lord of Misrule. - -The Mummers (or Maskers, as the name imports) were to be found in every -village. They dressed themselves to represent various characters, and -the chief pageant exhibited by them was a version of the national -legend of St. George and the Dragon. The principal characters of course -were the gallant Knight, and as close a copy of the Dragon as the wit -and ingenuity of the village could contrive; then there was Old Father -Christmas, the Turk, the Maiden, and a Doctor with a huge box of pills -ready to execute any repairs rendered necessary by the internecine -fury of the Knight, the Turk, and the Dragon. The performance varied a -good deal according to the fancy of the performers, but in all places -there seems to have been a set form of recitation in verse describing -the various antics of the players. The Lord of Misrule, or Master of -Merry Disports, was elected as Master of the Ceremonies, and his term -of office extended from All-hallow Eve to Candlemas Day. He directed -the revels, exercised full power and authority over high and low in -the ordering of the festivities, and played the wit and fool with what -skill nature had endowed him. - -And so in mirth and jollity the evening rolls away, and Christmas Day -appears. Sir Roger de Coverley says, or at any rate the _Spectator_ -reports that he said: “I have often thought it happens very well that -Christmas should fall out in the middle of winter. It is the most dead, -uncomfortable time of the year, when the poor people would suffer very -much from their poverty and cold, if they had not good cheer, warm -fires, and Christmas gambols to support them. I love to rejoice their -poor hearts at this season, and to see the whole village merry in my -great hall. I allow a double quantity of malt to my small beer, and set -it a-running for twelve days for everyone that calls for it.” - -From _Round about our Coal Fire_ it may be gathered that “an English -Gentleman at the opening of the great day (_i.e._, on Christmas day -in the morning) had all his tenants and neighbours enter his hall by -daybreak. The strong beer was broached, and the black jack went merrily -about with toast, nutmeg, and good Cheshire Cheese.” - -It may not be generally known that the _Old English Gentleman_ is but -a version of a very similar song published in 1600, in a book entitled -_Le Prince d’Amour_. The earlier song contains the following verse -relating to our subject:— {262} - - With an old fashion when Christmas was come - To call in all his neighbours with a bagpipe or drum. - And good cheer enough to furnish out every old rome, - And beer and ale would make a cat speak and a wise man dumb - Like an old Courtier of Queens, - And the Queen’s old Courtier. - -On Christmas Day, and indeed during all the Christmas holidays, -the tables were spread from morn till eve; sirloins of beef, mince -pies and foaming ale formed the chief ingredients of the feast. In -many places, in the houses of the great, the ceremonious custom was -observed of bringing in the boar’s head on a dish of costly plate, the -whole company following in procession, chanting the well-known lines -beginning:— - - Caput apri defero, - Reddens laudes Domino. - -The custom still observed at Queen’s College, Oxford, of bringing in -the boar’s head at Christmas is said to have arisen from the adventure -of a student of that house in far-off legendary days, who, according -to the wont of students in those distant times, was walking abroad -studying his Aristotle, when a wild boar, who happened to be in the -neighbourhood, whether annoyed at having his lair disturbed, or out -of mere malice, charged down upon him with open mouth. However, the -student’s presence of mind did not desert him; with a loud cry of -“Græcum est” he thrust the volume down the throat of the monster, who, -choked by the tough morsel, then and there expired. - -Turning from the tables of the great to the cottage of the humble, we -find a description of the effect of Old Father Christmas’s approach -upon the labourer’s home in Bampfylde’s _Sonnet on Christmas_:— - - With footstep slow, in furry pall yclad, - His brows enreathed with holly never sere, - Old Christmas comes, to close the waned year, - And aye the shepherd’s heart to make right glad, - Who, when his teeming flocks are homeward had, - To blazing hearth repairs, and nut-brown beer, - And views well pleased the ruddy prattlers dear - Hug the grey mongrel; meanwhile maid and lad - Squabble for roasted crabs—Thee, Sire, we hail, {263} - Whether thine aged limbs thou dost enshroud, - In vest of snowy white, and hoary veil, - Or wrap’st thy visage in a sable cloud: - Thee we proclaim with mirth and cheer, nor fail - To greet thee well with many a carol loud. - -It is the practice in many parts of Cumberland at Christmas to roast -apples before the fire on a string, and hold under them a bowl of -spiced or mulled ale. The apples roast on until they drop into the ale. - -Many an ancient Christmas carol tells of the joviality which at that -time reigned supreme. The following example is taken from a collection -of rare old songs and carols:— - - Mye boyes come here - Theres capital cheere - ’Tis Christmas tyme, let myrthe goe rounde - With a flaggon of ale, by tyme well brown’d. - - Drink boyes drinke - And never thinke - Of crustie old tyme, his scythe and his glasse, - He cannot, nor dare not, this waye passe. - - Drinke and be wise - Till red Phœbus arise - And banish colde care from the good waning year: - The Old year he shall dye, mid plenty of cheere. - - My boyes, come passe - Your empty glasse, - And fill them with Ale, as the world is of strife - And toaste to the widow, the maide and the wife. - - Come drink success - You cannot do less, - To the new coming yere, may it be loaded with funne - And ne’er bring us worse than the old one has done. - -{264} - -Another verse from a good old song specially celebrates our theme— - - Come, help us to raise - Loud songs to the praise - Of good old England pleasures: - To the Christmas cheer, - And the foaming Beer. - And the buttery’s solid treasures. - -Many pages might be compiled of these old English carols, all in praise -of the same theme, the roast beef and good ale of Old England; but one -more quotation must suffice. It is from _Poor Robin’s Almanack_ (1695):— - - Now, thrice welscome, Christmas! - Which brings us good cheer; - Mince pies and plum-pudding— - Strong Ale and strong Beer; - But as for curmudgeons - Who will not be free, - I wish they may die - On a two-legged tree. - -And so the cycle of the waning year is nearly completed. Midst sounds -of revelry and mirth the old year is dying, and dying hard, and New -Year’s Eve comes round again. The principal customs of New Year’s Eve -have been already described, being inextricably blended with those -appropriate to New Year’s Day. - -One scene more; a custom of very ancient origin and still observed. -An ivy-mantled tower, from which to-night, at all events, the moping -owl has been driven, for within are lights and the sounds of busy -preparation. Those who are about to perform the last offices for the -dying year are here assembled, and a great brown bowl of foaming ale -passes from hand to hand. The old church clock, not bating one jot of -his accustomed space from stroke to stroke, for all the impatience of -listeners in many a house and cottage near, but deliberately, and with -a solemnity befitting the occasion, tolls out the hour of midnight. A -moment’s pause; but ere the last echo of its brazen tongue has died -upon the ear, a merry peal of clashing music bursts from the ancient -pile, carrying over hill and dale, over flood and field, on the rapid -wings of {265} sound, the tidings that the old year is dead and the -new year reigns in his place. - -As we gaze back on these old scenes of fun and frolic, their rougher -outlines perchance softened by distance, their true-heartiness and -geniality shining through the golden mist of time, which of us will be -found to deny that in some respects the old was better? - - Happy the age and harmless were the days, - For then true love and amity were found, - When every village did a May-pole raise, - And Whitsun ales and May-games did abound. - -[Illustration] - -{266} - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER X. - - - “And then satten some and songe at the Ale.” - _The Vision of Piers Ploughman._ - - Be mine each morn with eager appetite - And hunger undissembled to repair - To friendly buttery; there on smoking crust - And foaming Ale to banquet unrestrained; - Material breakfast! Thus in ancient days - Our ancestors robust with liberal cups - Usher’d the morn, unlike the squeamish sons - Of modern times. - _Panegyric on Oxford Ale._ - -_THE ALES. — ALE AT BREAKFAST. — BEQUESTS OF ALE. — DRINKING CUSTOMS. — -A SERMON ON MALT. — EXCESSES OF THE CLERGY. — ANECDOTES._ - -So far we have only considered those merry-makings which were peculiar -to certain seasons of the year. It need hardly be said that there were -also a number of festivals in which ale figured as the chief beverage, -in no way related to any particular day, and these, together with a -variety of curious customs connected with ale and beer, will be now -treated of. - -Prominent among the many convivial meetings indulged in by our -ancestors were the _Ales_, at which, as their name indicates, malt -liquor was largely consumed. Such a feast is referred to in Chaucer: - - “And make him grete feestes atte _nale_.” - -And in _Two Gentlemen of Verona_, Launce says to Speed, “Thou hast not -so much charity in thee as to go to the _Ale_ with a Christian.” - -Ben Jonson also mentions Wakes and Ales in his _Tale of a Tub_:— {267} - - And all the neighbourhood from old records - Of antique proverbs, drawn from Whitson-lords, - And their authorities at Wakes and Ales, - With country precedents and old wives’ tales, - We bring you now to show what different things - The cotes of clowns are from the courts of kings. - -Of Ales there were several kinds—Church-Ales, Bride-Ales, Scot-Ales and -many others. The Church-Ales, of which the Easter-Ales and Whitsun-Ales -and Wakes were varieties, must be considered the most important of -this class of festival. The grotesque carvings on many old churches -have been considered by some to represent the humours of these curious -gatherings. Their origin is no doubt to be traced to the Agapæ, or -Love Feasts of the early Christian Church. Stubbe, in his _Anatomie of -Abuses_ (1585), gives the following account of the manner and intent -of these Ales: “In certain townes where dronken Bacchus beares swaie, -against Christmas and Easter, Whitsondaie, or some other tyme, the -churchwardens of every Parishe provide half a score or twentie quarters -of mault, whereof some they buy of the churche-stocke and some is given -them of the Parishioners themselves, everye one conferring somewhat, -according to his abilitie; whiche maulte being made into very strong -beere or ale, is sette to sale, either in the church or some other -place assigned to that purpose. Then when this is set abroche, well is -he that can gete the soonest to it, and spend the most at it. In this -kinde of practise they continue sixe weekes, a quarter of a yeare, -yea, halfe a year together. That money, they say, is to repaire their -churches and chappels with, to buye bookes for service, cuppes for -the celebration of the Sacrament, surplesses for Sir John, and other -necessaries. And they maintain extraordinarie charges in their Parish -besides.” - -The account contains some obvious exaggerations. Stubbe was one -of those of whom the Earl of Dorset might have said as he said of -Prynne,—“My Lords, when God made all His works, He looked upon -them and saw that they were good; this gentleman, the devil having -put spectacles on his nose, says that all is bad.” It will not do -for Macaulay’s New Zealander in looking through the files of old -newspapers, discovered in the ruins of the British Museum, to accept -every statement of the modern teetotal platform as representing an -actual fact. - -Carew gives an account of the matter which probably represents the -actual state of the case:—“Touching Church-Ales: these be mine {268} -assertions, if not my proofs:—Of things induced by our forefathers, -some were instituted to a good use, and perverted to a bad; again, some -were both naught in the invention and so continued in the practice. Now -that Church Ales ought to be sorted in the better rank of these twaine, -may be gathered from their causes and effects, which I thus raffe up -together:—entertaining of Christian love; conforming of men’s behaviour -to a civil conversation; compounding of controversies; appeasing of -quarrels; raising a store, which might be converted partlie to good -and goodlie uses, as relieving all sorts of poor people; repairing of -bridges, amending of highways, and partlie for the Prince’s service, -by defraying, at an instant, such rates and taxes as the magistrate -imposeth for the countrie’s defence. Briefly, they do tend to an -instructing of the mind by amiable conference, and an enabling of the -bodie by commendable exercise.” - -The curious old Indenture of pre-Reformation times given below, is -an agreement between the inhabitants of the parishes of Elvarton, -Thurlaston, and Ambaston of the one part, and the good folk of Okebrook -of the other part, by John, Abbot of the Dale, Ralph Saucheverell, -Esqre., John Bradshaw, and Henry Tithell. It provides that—“the -inhabitants, as well of the said Parish of Elvarton, as of the town of -Okebrook, shall brew four Ales, and every ale of one quarter of malt, -and at their own costs and charges, betwixt this and the feast of St. -John Baptist next coming. And that every inhabitant of the said town of -Okebrook shall be at the several Ales; and every husband and his wife -shall pay two pence, every cottager one penny; and all the inhabitants -of Elvarton, Thurlaston and Ambaston shall have and receive all the -profits and advantages coming of the said Ales to the use and behoof -of the said Church of Elvarton; and that the inhabitants of the said -towns of Elvarton, Thurlaston, and Ambaston, shall brew eight Ales -betwixt this and the feast of St. John the Baptist; at the which Ales, -and every one of them, the inhabitants of Okebrook shall come and pay -as before rehearsed: and if he be away at one Ale, to pay at t’oder Ale -for both, or else to send his money. And the inhabitants of Okebrook -shall carry all manner of Tymber being in the Dale wood now felled, -that the said Prestchyrch of the said towns of Elvarton, Thurlaston, -and Ambaston shall occupye to the use and profit of the said Church.” -Shakspere mentions these festivals in _Pericles_: - - It hath been sung at festivals, - On ember eves and holy ales; {269} - -and an old writer (1544) speaks of “keapinge of Church-Ales, in the -whiche with leapynge, dansynge and kyssynge they maynteyne the profett -of their Church.” - -The Church-Ale was usually celebrated in a house known as the Church -House, which was either hired for the festival, or was a house to -which the parishioners had a right to resort upon occasions of this -character. By an old lease, mentioned in Worsley’s _History of the Isle -of Wight_, a house, called the Church House held by the inhabitants -of Whitwell, parishioners of Gatcombe, of the Lord of the Manor, was -demised by them to John Brode on condition “that, if the Quarter shall -need at any time to make a _Quarter-Ale_ or _Church-Ale_, for the -maintenance of the Chapel, it shall be lawful for them to have the use -of the s^d house, with all the rooms, both above and beneath, during -their Ale.” - -Considerable sums were raised by these means. The parish books of -Kingston-upon-Thames show that in the year 1526 the proceeds of the -Church-Ale amounted to £7 15s., and an ancient church book of Great -Marlow contains the entry in the year 1592, “Received of the torchmen, -for the profytte of the Whitsun Ale £5.” - -No doubt some amount of abuse and excess occurred upon these occasions. -Many writers of the sixteenth century stigmatise the Church-Ales -and Wakes as the sources of “gluttonie and drunkenness,” and other -evils; and Harrison, writing in 1587, states as of a subject for -congratulation, that “The superfluous numbers of idle wakes, -church-ales, helpe-ales, and soule-ales, called also dirge ales, with -the heathenish rioting at bride-ales, are well diminished.” Some, -however, were found to uphold them. Pierce, Bishop of Bath and Wells, -writes in answer to an inquiry of Archbishop Laud, that “Church-Ales -were when the people went from afternoon prayers on Sundays to their -lawful sports and pastimes in the churchyard, or in the neighbourhood, -or in some public-house, where they drank and made merry. By the -benevolence of the people at these pastimes, many poor parishes have -cast their bells and beautified their churches, and raised stock for -the poor.” - -The Puritan movement was, of course, strongly opposed to all these -festivals, and the influence of these “unco’ righteous” folk in the -year 1631, procured an order from Judge Richardson, putting an end to -all such gatherings in the county of Somerset, whereupon, on report -being made to the King, an order was made annulling the decree of the -Judge, and seventy-two of the most orthodox and able of the clergy of -the county certified that “on these days (which generally fell on a -Sunday) {270} the service of God was more solemnly performed, and the -services better attended than on other days.” - -A previous attempt by the Justices of the Peace to suppress these -gatherings seems to have been equally unsuccessful. In 1596, John -and Alexander Popham, George Sydenham, and seven other Justices of -Bridgewater, ordered that no Church-Ale, Clerk’s-Ale, or tippling -should be suffered; but the decree seems to have been disregarded. A -custom somewhat similar to the Church-Ale was that of “drinking ale at -the Church stile.” Ale and in some cases food as well, were consumed on -certain occasions on the parish account. Pepys, under date April 14, -1661, mentions that “After dinner we all went to the Church stile (at -Walthamstow) and there eat and drank;” and a writer in the _Gentleman’s -Magazine_ (November, 1852) states that in an old book of parish -accounts belonging to Warrington the entry occurs: “Nov. 5, 1688. Paid -for drink at the Church steele, 13s.” - -Clerk-Ales, or lesser Church-Ales, were held for the maintenance of -the parish clerk. Bishop Pierce, from whom we have before quoted, -says of them that “in poor country parishes, where the wages of the -clerk were but small, the people thinking it unfit that the clerk -should duly attend at the church, and not gain by his office, sent -him in provision, and then came on Sundays and feasted with him; by -which means he _sold more Ale_, and tasted more of the liberality of -the people, than their quarterly payments would have amounted to in -many years; and since these have been put down, many ministers have -complained to me (says his Lordship) that they were afraid they should -have no parish clerks.” - -There is a tradition well known in the Vale of the Warwickshire Avon, -which connects the name of Shakspere with the Whitsun-Ale. It is -related that the ale of Bidford was in Shakspere’s day famed for its -potency, and that on the occasion of a Whitsun-Ale held at that place, -young Shakspere and some of his friends attended it, having accepted -a challenge of the Bidford men to try their powers as ale-drinkers. -The Bidfordians proved the better men, and the others endeavoured to -return to Stratford. They had not gone far, however, when, overcome -by the fumes of the ale, they were forced to rest under a crab-tree -about a mile out of Bidford. Here sleep overcame them, and their nap -lasted from Saturday night till Monday morning, when they were aroused -by a labourer who was on his way to his work. Shakspere’s companions -urged him to return and renew the contest, but he refused. “I have had -enough” he said; “I have drunk with {271} - - “Piping Pebworth, dancing Marston, - Haunted Hillbro’, hungry Grafton, - Dudging Exhall, papist Wixford, - Beggarly Broom, and drunken Bidford.” - -These villages are all visible from the spot where the Bard’s long -sleep is related to have taken place, and it is said retained -their characteristics until very recently. The Crab, long known as -“Shakspere’s Crab,” was cut down some time in the early part of -this century by the Lady of the Manor, who is said to have given -the somewhat Irish reason for this act of Vandalism, that the tree -was gradually being demolished by curiosity hunters. A new crab has -recently been planted upon the spot, and will, it is to be hoped, hand -down to future generations the memory of the Poet’s youthful escapade. - -The term Christian-Ale was in all probability used to denote some kind -of Church or Whitsun Ale. The expression is to be found in a curious -old pamphlet entitled “The Virgins’ Complaint for the loss of their -sweethearts in the present wars . . . presented to the House of Commons -in the names and behalfes of all Damsels both of Country and City, -Jan. 29, 1642, by sundry Virgins of the City of London,” in which -occurs this passage: “Since the departure of the lusty young gentlemen, -and courtiers, and cavaliers, and the ablest prentices and handsome -journeymen, with whom we had used to walk to Islington and Pimlico to -eat Cakes and drink Christian-Ale on holy daies.” - -Somewhat akin to Church-Ales were the guild-feasts held by the old -fraternities. The records of the ancient guild at Lynn Regis, in -Norfolk (Rye’s _Hist. of Norfolk_), show that in the time of Richard -II. the annual election of officers of the fraternity was followed by -“a guild-feast,” in which great quantities of ale were consumed. An -alderman’s allowance of ale, “while it lasteth,” was two gallons, a -steward had one gallon, and the dean and clerk a pottle each. The feast -was apparently prolonged night after night, till all the ale brewed -for the occasion was expended, and those brethren who from any urgent -cause were absent, had a gallon of ale reserved for them. Before the -carouse commenced, the guild-light was lit, and the clerk read prayers. -Anybody who “jangled” during prayer-time, or who fell asleep over his -ale afterwards, was liable to a fine. - -A curious old custom of a similar nature to the Whitsun-Ale is recorded -in Curll’s _Miscellanies_. It was observed at Newnton, in Wiltshire, -and was intended to preserve the memory of a donation from {272} King -Athelstan of a common, and a house for the hayward (the hay keeper). -“Upon every Trinity Sunday, the parishioners being come to the door of -the hayward’s house, the door was struck thrice, in honour of the Holy -Trinity; they then entered. The bell was rung; after which, silence -being ordered, they read their prayers aforesaid. Then was a ghirland -of flowers made upon a hoop, brought forth by a maid of the town upon -her neck; and a young man (a bachelor) of another parish, first saluted -her three times in honour of the Trinity, in respect of God the Father. -Then she put the ghirland upon his neck and kissed him three times -in honour of the Trinity, particularly God the Son. Then he put the -ghirland on her neck again, and kissed her three times, in respect -of the Holy Trinity, particularly the Holy Ghost. Then he took the -ghirland from her neck, and, by the custom, gave her a penny at least. -The method of giving this ghirland was from house to house annually, -till it came round. In the evening every commoner sent his supper up -to this house, which was called the Eale-house; and having before laid -in there equally a stock of malt which was brewed in the house, they -supped together; and what was left was given to the poor.” - -Thoroton, in his _Nottinghamshire_, gives an account of a shepherd who -kept ale to sell _in_ the Church of Thorpe. He was the sole inhabitant -of a village depopulated by inclosure. Besides the _Ales_ already -mentioned, there were Bid-Ales, Bride-Ales, Give-Ales, Cuckoo-Ales, -Help-Ales, Tithe-Ales, Leet-Ales, Lamb-Ales, Midsummer-Ales, -Scot-Ales, and Weddyn-Ales. Some of these are sufficiently explained -by their names. Bid-Ales, or Bede-Ales, and Scot-Ales have been -mentioned in Chapter V. Bride-Ale, also called Bride-bush, Bride-wain -and Bride-stake, was the custom of the bride selling ale on the -wedding-day, for which she received by way of contribution any sum or -present which her friends chose to give her. In the _Christen State of -Matrimony_ (1545) we read: “When they come home from the church, then -beginneth excesse of eatyng and drynking, and as much is waisted in one -daye as were sufficient for the two newe-married folkes halfe a yeare -to lyve upon.” Modern wedding breakfasts and the presents given to the -happy pair are, doubtless, descendants of this old custom. In Norway -at the present day, a peasant’s wedding is celebrated with much the -same ceremony as the old English Bride-Ale. Ale is handed round to the -guests, and they are each expected to contribute, according to their -ability, to form a purse to assist the bride in commencing housekeeping. - -Regulations were made in some places to restrain the excesses {273} -attending on the keeping of Bride-Ales. In the Court Rolls of Hales -Owen is an entry:—“A payne ye made that no person or persons that shall -brewe any weddyn ale to sell, shall not brewe aboue twelve stryke of -mault at the most, and that the said persons so marryed shall not keep -nor have above eyght messe of persons at hys dinner within the burrowe, -and before hys brydall daye he shall keep no unlawful games in hys -house, nor out of hys house on payne of 20s.” - -The old custom of Cuckoo-Ale appears to have been only of local -observance. In Shropshire the advent of the first cuckoo was celebrated -by general feasting amongst the working classes; as soon as his first -note was heard, even if early in the day, the men would leave their -work and spend the rest of the day in mirth and jollity. - -The Tithe-Ale was a repast of bread, cheese and ale, provided by the -recipient of the tithe and enjoyed by the tithe-payers. At Cumnor, in -Berkshire, a curious custom of this kind still obtains. On Christmas -Day, after evening service, the parishioners who are liable to pay -tithe, repair in a body to the vicarage and are there entertained on -bread and cheese and ale. This is not by any means considered in the -light of a benefaction on the part of the vicar, but is demanded as a -right by the tithe-payers, and even the quantity of the good things -which the vicar is to give is strictly specified. He must brew four -bushels of malt in ale and small beer, he must provide two bushels -of wheat for bread making, and half a hundred-weight of cheese; and -whatever remains unconsumed is given to the poor. Leet-Ales, in some -parts of England, denoted the dinner given at the Court Leet of a Manor -to the jury and customary tenants. Another somewhat similar custom -was known by the name of Drink-lean, and was a festive day kept by -the tenants and vassals of the Lord of the Manor, or, as some say, a -potation of ale provided by the tenants for the entertainment of the -Lord or his steward. The origin of the term is not known; it probably -has no connection with the effect which a lover of old ale said that -beverage had upon him. “I always find it makes me lean,” said he. -“Lean!” cries his friend, in amazement; “why, I always thought ale made -folks fat.” “That may be,” was the reply, “but it makes me lean, for -all that—against a lamp-post.” - -Another variety of the Ale was called Mary-Ale, and was a feast held -in honour of the Virgin Mary. Foot-Ales seem to have meant not so much -feasts as sums of money paid to purchase ale on a man’s entering a new -situation. We still talk of a man “paying his footing.” - -A short consideration may now be devoted to the use of ale in former -{274} times in the household. It is easy to picture to oneself the -English squire or yeoman of old times, an article of whose creed it was -that - - “Old England’s cheer is beef and beer, - Soup-meagre is Gallia’s boast,” - -as he sat in his hard, uncompromising chair before the fire on a -winter’s evening, with perhaps a few of his cronies gathered round him, -quaffing their bright March beer or mellow old October as they talked -and ruminated in turns on the crops, the market or the hunt. It is not, -however, so easy for the degenerate sons of modern days to realise the -mighty draughts of ale taken at breakfast, soon after daylight. Yet, -before the introduction of tea and coffee, ale was the morning drink -in the palace of the king as in the cottage of the labourer. In 1512 -the breakfast of the Earl and Countess of Northumberland on a fast-day -in Lent was “a loaf of bread, two manchetts (_i.e._, rolls of fine -wheat), a quart of beer, a quart of wine, two pieces of salt fish, six -bawned herrings, four white herrings, or a dish of sprats.” On flesh -days “half a chyne of mutton or a chyne of boiled beef” was substituted -for the fish. In the same household, the boys, “my lord Percy and -Mr. Thomas Percy,” were allowed “half a loaf of household bread, a -manchett, a pottle (2 quarts) of beer and three mutton bones boiled.” -“My lady’s gentlewoman” seems to have been a rather thirsty soul; she -was allowed for breakfast “a loaf of bread, a pottle of beer and three -mutton bones boiled.” Even the two children in the nursery were brought -up on this diet of beer; their breakfast consisted of “a manchett, -a quart of beer, a dish of butter, a piece of salt fish and a dish -of sprats.” The _liveries_, or evening meal, produced even a greater -supply of malt liquor. My Lord and Lady then had “two manchetts, a loaf -of bread, a _gallon_ of beer and a quart of wine.” - -The allowance of food and drink made from the Court to Maids of -Honour and other attendants, was called the _bouche of Court_, a name -corrupted into the _bouge of Court_, and “to have bouge of Court” -signified to have meat and drink free. In the Ordinances, of Eltham, -17 Henry VIII., Maids of Honour of the Queen are each allowed for -breakfast “one chet lofe, one manchet, _two gallons of ale_, dim’ -pitcher of wine.” Lady Lucy, one of the Maids of Honour in the same -reign, was allowed for breakfast—a chine of beef, a loaf, and a gallon -of ale; for dinner—a piece of boiled beef, a slice of roast meat and a -gallon of ale; and for supper—porridge, mutton, a loaf and a gallon of -ale. {275} - -Queen Elizabeth’s breakfast seems frequently to have consisted of -little else but ale and bread. In the household accounts for the year -1576, are to be found certain items of her diet. One morning it is -“Cheate and mancheate 6d., ale and beare 3½d., wine 1 pint. 7d:” -another day it is bread as before, “ale and beare 10½d., wine, 7d;” -and considering the prices of the times, the amount of ale represented -by these figures must have been very considerable. Even well into last -century ale was a common drink for breakfast among those who affected -the manners of the old school. Applebie’s Journal, under date September -11th, 1731, makes mention of “an old gentleman near ninety, who has a -florid and vigorous constitution, and tells us the difference between -the manners of the present age, and that in which he spent his youth. -With regard to _eating_ in his time, _Breakfast_ consisted of good -hams, cold sirloin, and good beer, succeeded with wholesome exercise, -which sent them home hungry and ready for dinner.” - -In an old song, _Advice to Bachelors; or, the Married Man’s -Lamentations_, occurs this verse:— - - If I but for my breakfast ask - then doth she laugh and jeer; - Perhaps give me a hard dry crust - and strong four shilling beer; - She tells me that is good enough - for such a rogue as me; - And if I do but seem to pout - then hey, boys, flap goes she. - -Between breakfast and dinner there was generally a “nunchion”[61] (noon -draught), a word curious from its having been confounded with lunch, -which signifies a large piece or hunch of bread. When uneducated people -speak of their “nunchions,” they are unconsciously using a more correct -form of word than more refined persons when they speak of “luncheon.” -On any occasion when a drink between meals was needed, it was called -a “russin,” as in the lines of the old poem, _The Land of Cockaigne_ -(thirteenth century):— - - In Cockaigne is met and drink, - Without care, how, or swink, - The met is trie (choice), the drink is clere, - To none, _russin_ and sopper. {276} - -An evening draught in the religious houses was called a “potatio.” -When the afternoon reading was finished, the monks proceeded “_ad -potationem_” (_i.e._, to take their evening draught of ale). - - [61] From _noon_, and _schenchen_, to pour out. - -Ale, generous ale, was the beverage with which all meals alike were -washed down; and ale and beer were in old times considered as having -a peculiar suitability to the stomach of an Englishman. A letter from -John Stile to Henry VIII. (1512) on the condition of the army in France -bears witness to this common notion. “And hyt plese your grace,” he -writes, “the greteyst lacke of vytuals, that ys here ys of bere, for -your subjectys had lyver for to drynk bere than wyne or sydere, for the -hote wynys dothe burne theym, and the syder dothe caste theym yn dysese -and sekenysys.” - -The custom of women resorting to ale-houses and taking provisions with -them wherewith to make a common feast, seems to have been an early -form of the modern picnic. In one of the Chester Miracle Plays Noah is -represented as being greatly annoyed at finding his wife eating and -drinking with her gossips in an ale-house when it is time to be getting -into the Ark. Several women meet together, and one of them proposes to -the others an _al fresco_ entertainment of this character. - -The ale is recommended in these lines:— - - I know a draught of merry-go-downe, - The best it is in all thys towne, - But yet wold I not for my gowne, - My husband it wyst, ye may me trust. - -One of the women says, “God might send me a strype or two, if my -husband should see me here.” “Nay,” said Alice, “she that is afraid had -better go home; I fear no man.” - - And ich off them will sumwhat bryng, - Gosse, pygge, or capon’s wing, - Pastes off pigeons, or sum other thyng. - Ech of them brought forth their dysch, - Sum brought flesh and sum fysh. - -Nor was the “mery-go-downe” forgotten. On going home these revellers -represent to their husbands that they have been _to church_. - -It may be gathered from Dean Swift’s satirical advice to servants that -ale and beer in his day formed the principal dinner beverages in polite -society. In his directions to the butler, he tells him, “If any one -{277} desires a glass of bottled ale, first shake the bottle, to see -if anything be in it; then taste it, to see what liquor it is, that you -may not be mistaken; and, lastly, wipe the mouth of the bottle with the -palm of your hand, to show your cleanliness. - -“If any one calls for small beer towards the end of the dinner, do -not give yourself the trouble of going down to the cellar, but gather -the droppings and leavings out of the several cups and glasses and -salvers into one; but turn your back to the company, for fear of being -observed. On the contrary, when any one calls for ale towards the end -of dinner, fill the largest tankard cup topful, by which you will have -the greatest part left to oblige your fellow-servants without the sin -of stealing from your master.” - -In the seventeenth century there lived an interesting person named -John Bigg, better known as the Dinton Hermit, who subsisted chiefly -on bread and ale supplied him by his friends. He only begged one -thing—leather—with which he patched his shoes in innumerable -places. A portrait of him is to be seen in Lipscombe’s _History of -Buckinghamshire_. Two leather bottles hang at his girdle, the one for -ale, the other for small beer. - -Many records are in existence illustrative of the custom of -distributing ale for charitable purposes. The following instances are -selected from a collection of _Old English Customs and various Bequests -and Charities_. - -“At Piddle Hinton, Dorsetshire. An ancient custom is for the Rector -to give away, on Old Christmas Day, annually, a pound of bread, a -pint of ale, and a mince pie to every poor person in the parish. This -distribution is regularly made by the Rector to upwards of 300 persons.” - -“At Swaffham Bulbeck, Cambridgeshire. Before the enclosure, the tenant -of the Abbey Farm in this parish, during those years in which the open -field land was under tillage, used to give a slice of cake and a glass -of ale to all parishioners who applied for it.” - -“At Giggleswick, Yorkshire. By the will of William Clapham (1603) -4s. 4d. was left towards a potation for the poor scholars of the -Freeschool there on St. George’s Day; and the custom was formerly to -give figs, bread, and ale.” - -“At Edgcott, Buckinghamshire. Robert Marcham, Esq., pays the overseers -£3 a year, a rent charge upon an acre of land.” This was formerly -distributed to the tenants in the shape of two cakes each, and as much -beer as they could drink at the time. - -“At St. Giles’, Norwich. By the will of John Ballestin, 1584, the {278} -rent from three tenements was to be distributed to the poor in the -following manner: viz., that in the week before Christmas, the week -before Michaelmas, and the week after Easter, in the Church of St. -Giles, the Minister should request the poor people, all that should -receive or have need of alms, to come to Church, and pray for the -preservation of the Prince, &c.; that the poor should place themselves -four and four together, all that should be above the age of eleven -years, and that every four of them should have set before them a -twopenny wheat loaf, a gallon of best beer, and four pounds of beef and -broth.” - -“At Prince’s Risborough, Buckinghamshire. Up to 1813, a Bull and a -boar, a sack of Wheat, and a sack of Malt were given away to the poor -by the Lord of the Manor, every Christmas morning about six o’clock.” - -In many houses small beer was always kept to dispense in charity, Ben -Jonson, in _The Alchemist_, describes a mean, stingy person as— - - . . one who could keep - The buttery-hatch still locked, and save the chippings, - Sell the _dole_ beer to aqua vitæ men. - -Visitors at Leicester’s Hospital, Warwick, may have noticed a huge -copper beer-tankard reposing on a shelf. This great cup holds six -quarts, and is filled with strong ale thrice a year on _gaudy_ days, -and passed round among the old brethren, pensioners of the house. - -In the fourteenth century there was a custom for one of the fishermen -engaged upon the river Thames to present a salmon to the Abbot of -Westminster once a year. The fisherman who bore the tribute had that -day a right to sit at the prior’s table, and might demand bread and ale -of the cellarer; the cellarer on his part might take from the fish’s -tail as much as he could with “four fingers and his thumb erect.” - -Superstitious observances were rife in former times. The Roman augurs -observed the flight of birds, and scrutinised the palpitating vitals -of fresh slain victims, thinking thereby to steal a march upon the -future. Our ancestors would draw omens from the barking of dogs, the -cries of wild fowl, or from the manner in which beer, accidentally -spilt from the cup, distributed itself upon the floor. Melton, in his -_Astrolagaster_, observes that “if the beere fall next a man it is a -signe of good luck.” - -The customs and ceremonies attending the actual consumption of ale and -other liquors now require some few words. First in order stands the old -custom of pledging, which was in origin distinct from {279} toasting -or health-drinking. William of Malmesbury says that the treacherous -murder of King Edward while drinking a horn of wine presented to him -by his stepmother Elfrida, gave rise to the old custom of pledging. A -person before drinking would ask one who sat next to him whether he -would _pledge_ him. The other thereupon drew his sword and held it over -the drinker as a _pledge_ to him that no secret foe should strike him -in an unguarded moment while he drained the bowl. Others have referred -the origin of the custom to the treachery of the Danes, who would take -advantage of the attitude of a man when drinking a horn of ale or mead, -to stab him unawares. Be the origin what it may, the custom prevailed -for many centuries, and was one of the things noted by that lively and -inquisitive French physician, Stephen Perlin, who visited England about -the middle of the sixteenth century. Amongst many other entertaining -observations made by him is the following:—“The English, one with the -other, are joyous, and are very fond of music; they are also great -drinkers, . . . and they will say to you usually at table, ‘Goude -chere,’ and they will also say to you more than one hundred times, -‘Drind oui,’ and you will reply to them in their language, “I plaigui’ -(‘I pledge you’).” - -[Illustration: Health-Drinking.] - -The custom of health-drinking seems to have been at one time or another -common to all European nations. The Romans had their _commissationes_, -or drinking bouts, and their “_bene te, bene tibi_.” Our own immediate -ancestors the Saxons, as we have already seen, observed the custom of -health-drinking with their “Wacht heil” and “Drinc heil.” {280} The -picture of an Anglo-Saxon dinner-party is taken from a MS., supposed to -be of the tenth century (Tiberius, c. vi., fol. 5, v.). The peculiar -weapons borne by the attendants are, no doubt, spits from which the -guests are carving meat. The preceding illustration occurs in Alfric’s -version of Genesis (MS. Cotton. Claudius, B. IV., fol. 36, v.) and -represents Abraham’s feast at the birth of his child. - -[Illustration: Anglo-Saxons Feasting and Health-Drinking.] - -The Danes, also, were great health-drinkers. It is recorded that -previous to the invasion of England by these ravaging pirates of the -North, in the reign of Sweyne, that monarch gave a great banquet on his -accession to the throne. First, the ale-horns were filled and emptied -in memory of the dead King Harold; the next draught was in honour of -Christ, and the third of St. Michael the Archangel. A writer of the -year 1623 thus describes the ceremonies of health-drinking as practised -at that time:—“He that begins the health first uncovering his head, he -takes a full cup in his hand, and setting his countenance with a grave -aspect, he craves for audience; silence being once obtained, he begins -to breathe out the name, peradventure, of some honourable personage, -whose health, is drunk to, and he that pledges must likewise off with -his cap, kiss his fingers, and bow himself in sign of a reverent -acceptance. When the leader sees his follower thus prepared, he sups -up his broth, turns the bottom of the cup upward, and, in ostentation -of his dexterity, gives the cup a fillip to make it cry _twango_. And -thus the first scene is acted. The cup being newly replenished to the -breadth of a hair, he that is the pledger must now begin his part; and -{281} thus it goes round throughout the whole company.” To prove that -each person had drunk off his measure, he had to turn the glass over -his thumb, and if so much liquor remained as to make more than a drop -which would stand on the nail of his thumb without running off, he had -to drink off another bumper. This latter practice went by the name -of _supernaculm_, and is mentioned in an old ballad, _The Winchester -Wedding_:— - - Then Phillip began her health, - And turn’d a beer-glass o’er his thumb, - But Jenkin was reckoned for drinking, - The best in Christendom. - -The author of _Memoires d’Angleterre_ (1698) mentions the absolute -universality of this practice of health-drinking amongst the English. -“To drink at table,” he writes, “without drinking to the health of some -one in especial, would be considered drinking on the sly, and as an act -of incivility. There are in this proceeding two principal and singular -grimaces, which are universally observed. . . .” The person whose -health is drunk must remain as inactive as a statue while the drinker -drinks, after which the second grimace is “to make him an _inclinabo_, -at the risk of dipping his periwig in the gravy. . . . I confess that -when a foreigner first sees these manners he thinks them laughable.” -And yet one would have thought that a Frenchman’s familiarity with -toasting would have rendered the proceeding not so singular an one -after all, for that custom was carried to an extreme in his own -nation, among the choice spirits of which it was not unusual to give a -toast which necessitated the drinking of a glass to each letter of a -mistress’s name, as illustrated in the lines:— - - Six fois je m’en vas boire au beau nom de Cloris, - Cloris, le seul desire de ma chaste pensée. - -Space forbids that we should go very fully into all these old drinking -customs, though some of them are fantastic and curious enough. One -or two more, however, may be mentioned. In Elizabethan times it was -customary for hard drinkers to put some inflammable substance on the -surface of their liquor, and so to swallow the draught and the blazing -fragment at a gulp. This was called flap-dragoning, and the fiery -morsel was known as a flap-dragon. Shakspere has many allusions to -this practice. Falstaff says of Prince Hal, that he “drinks off {282} -candle-ends for flap-dragons.” And in _Winter’s Tale_ an instance of -the verb occurs in the passage, “But to make an end of the ship; to -see how the sea flap-dragoned it.” The captain in _Rowley’s Match at -Midnight_ asserts that his corporal “was lately choked at Delf by -swallowing a flap-dragon.” - -The term hob-nob as denoting pot-companionship, has been said by some -to be a corruption of “Habbe or nabbe?” _i.e._, Will you have or not -have (a drink)? Others suggest a more whimsical derivation. It is said -that the Maids of Honour of the Tudor Court, who we have seen were -ale-ladies, if they cannot be called ale-knights, frequently liked -their beer warm, and had it placed upon the hob of the grate “to take -the chill off.” It was therefore natural for their attendants to ask -the question, “From the hob or not from the hob?” which in process of -time became “Hob or nob?” - -The above remarks on drinking customs lead to the consideration of the -extravagant drinking and eating of days gone by. Our ancestors, both -Saxon and Dane, were tremendous drinkers, and their sole amusement -after the labours of the day seems to have been drinking down mighty -draughts of ale and mead, and getting themselves under the table as -quickly as possible. An ancient anecdote is told of a Saxon bishop, -who invited a Dane to his house for the purpose of making him drunk. -After dinner “the tables were taken away, and they passed the rest -of the day until evening in drinking.” The cupbearer manages matters -in such a manner that the Dane’s turn comes round much oftener than -that of the others, as, indeed, “the bishop had directed him,” and -the desired end is at last attained. Whether Iago was right when he -gave to the English the palm in drinking over “your Dane, your German, -and your swag-bellied Hollander,” and whether one taught the other -his own particular drinking vices, we cannot stop now to inquire. The -English were always famed for their love of strong ale, and passing -over the intervening centuries and coming down to the Tudor period, -many instances could be quoted from contemporary writers showing the -proneness of our ancestors to drench deep thought in tankards of the -nappy nut-brown ale. Stubbe, in his _Anatomie of Abuses_ (1585), says -that the ale-houses in London were crowded from morning to night with -inveterate drunkards, whose only care was how to get as much heady ale -into their carcases as possible. Ale, strong ale, was all the cry; -one who could not or would not quaff of the strongest was counted a -milksop, {284} while he who could drink longest of it without (or -rather before), getting tipsy, was the king of the company. It must -have been of such an one that Herrick wrote— - - Tap, better known than trusted, as we hear, - Sold his old mother’s spectacles for beer, - And not unlikely, rather too than fail, - He’ll sell her eyes and nose for beer and ale. - -The love for the strong and the contempt for the small is illustrated -in the well-known lines of the old song:— - - He who drinks small beer, goes to bed sober, - Falls as the leaves do fall, that fall in October; - He who drinks strong ale, goes to bed mellow, - Lives as he ought to live, and dies a jolly fellow. - -Such was the love of strong ale in the sixteenth century that a term -was actually invented to describe madness produced by excessive -ale-drinking. A writer in the year 1598 affords us an instance of -the word in question, when he says that “to arrest a man that hath -no likeness to a horse is flat lunasie or _alecie_.” Harrison, whom -we have frequently had occasion to quote, in speaking of the heavy -ale-drinking of his days, though the ale was then “more thick and -fulsome” than the beer, says, “Certes I know some ale-knights so much -addicted thereunto, that they will not cease from morow until even to -visit the same, clensing house after house, till they either fall quite -under the boord, or else, not daring to stirre from their stooles, sit -still pinking with their narrow eies as halfe sleeping, till the fume -of their adversarie be digested that he may go to it afresh.” - -[Illustration: The Ale-Wives’ Invitation to Married Men and Bachelors: - -Shewing - -How a good fellow is ſlighted when he is brought to Poverty. - - Therefore take my Counſel and Ale-wives don’t truſt. - For when you have waſted and ſpent all you have - Then out of doors ſhe will you headlong thruſt, - Calling you raſcal and ſhirking Knave, - But ſo long as you have money, come early or late - You ſhall have her command, or elſe her maid Kate. - To a new tune, or _Digbys Farewell._ - -A Ballad ſuppoſed to be ſung by a young man who, having ſpent his money -in Ale-houſes, offers ſome advice on the ſubject. - - “And thus all young men, you plainly may ſee - This ſong it will learn you good huſbands to be.” - _Collec. Eng. Ballads._ -] - -Herrick has left us an epigram upon a person of the class described by -Harrison:— - - Spunge makes his boast that he’s the onely man, - Can hold of beere and ale an ocean; - Is this his glory? then his triumph’s poore; - I know the Tunne of Hidleberge holds more. - -Profuseness in drinking was accompanied with enormous gluttony in -eating. At one of the feasts of the Court of King James I.— - - They served up venison, salmon, and wild boars, - By hundreds, and by dozens, and by scores. {285} - Hogsheads of honey, kilderkins of mustard, - Muttons and fatted beeves, and bacon swine; - Herons, and bitterns, peacocks, swan, and bustard. - Teal, mallard, pigeons, widgeon, and in fine, - Plum puddings, pancakes, apple pie and custard. - And therewithal they drank good Gascon wine, - With mead, and _Ale_, and cider of our own. - -This, however, was only a mild repetition of some of the prodigious -feasts of former days. On the enthronement of George Nevile as -archbishop of York, in the reign of Edward IV., the following was the -list of eatables which furnished the tables:—104 oxen, 6 wild bulls, -1,000 sheep, 304 calves, 304 swine, 400 swans, 2,000 geese, 1,000 -capons, 2,000 pigs, many thousand of various small birds such as quail, -plovers, &c., 4,000 cold venison pasties, 500 stags, 608 pike and -bream, 12 porpoises and seals, and many other delicacies. These solids -were washed down with 300 tuns of ale and 100 tuns of wine and “one -pynt of hypocrass.” - -Nor were the clergy behind the laity in their devotion to good living. -In Saxon times the frequent directions to the monks and friars to -abstain from excess in eating and drinking, from haunting ale-houses -and from acting the ale-scop or gleeman at such places, all tell their -own tale. The frequency with which from that period the intemperance -of the clergy called forth the rebukes of their superiors and the -satire of the writers of the day, show that matters did not mend much -as mediæval times advanced. Friar Tuck, as depicted in _Ivanhoe_, is -probably a type of many a jolly monk of his day. For his drink is -assigned “a but of sack, a rumlet of malvoisie, and three hogsheads of -ale of the first strike. And if,” continues the King, “that will not -quench thy thirst, thou must come to court, and be acquainted with my -butler.” Chaucer describes his monk as a free liver and a jolly good -fellow, whose sentiments with regard to the duties of his order are -shown in the lines:— - - The reule of seynt Maure or of seint Beneyt, - Bycause that it was old and somdel streyt, - This ilke monk let olde things pace, - And held after the newe world the space. - -The Friar, too, who “knew the taverns well in every town,” may be taken -as a true portrait of a prominent figure of the times. It is recorded -that the Abbey of Aberbrothwick expended annually 9,000 {286} bushels -of malt in ale-brewing, and a popular satire, perpetuated by Sir Walter -Scott on the monks of Melrose, declares that— - - The monks of Melrose made fat kail - On Fridays when they fasted; - And neither wanted beef nor ale, - So long as their neighbours’ lasted. - -The names of some of the drinks in vogue are exceedingly suggestive; we -read of Bishop, Cardinal, Lawn Sleeves, Pope, and others of a similar -character. - -The Glutton-masses of the secular clergy, as described by Henry in his -_History of England_, “were celebrated five times a year, in honour of -the Virgin Mary, in this manner. Early in the morning the people of the -parish assembled in the church, loaded with ample stores of meats and -drinks of all kinds. As soon as mass ended, the feast began, in which -the clergy and laity engaged with equal ardour. The church was turned -into a tavern, and became a scene of excessive riot and intemperance. -The priests and people of different parishes entered into formal -contests, which of them should have the greatest glutton mass, _i.e._, -which of them should devour the greatest quantity of meat and drink in -honour of the Holy Virgin.” - -The Tudor period seems to have produced but little amendment in this -respect. Satirists of the day make constant allusion to the fondness of -ecclesiastics, both exalted and humble, for strong drink and every kind -of sensual indulgence. Skelton, in _Colin Clout_, speaking of the angry -disputes of churchmen when under the influence of drink, says:— - - Such logic men will chop, - And in their fury hop - When the good ale-sop - Doth dance in their foretop. - -In the old Comedy of _Gammer Gurton’s Needle_, already referred to, -the parson is wanted, and the old Gammer gives the boy the following -directions for finding him:— - - Hence swithe to Doctor Rat, hye thee that thou were gone, - And pray him come speke with me, cham not well at ease, - Shall find him at his chamber, or els at Mother Bees, - Els seek him at _Hobfilcher’s_ shop; for as charde it reported - There _is the best Ale in the Town, and now is most resorted_. - -{287} - -The boy goes forth to seek him as he is ordered; and when he returns, -Gammer thus inquires:— - - _Gammer_: - “Where did’st thou finde him, Boy? was he not wher I told thee?” - - _Cock_: - “Yes, yes, even at _Hobfilcher’s_ house, by him that bought and - sold me: - A _cup of ale_ had in his hand, and a _crab_ lay in the fier . .” - -Drunkenness amongst the clergy was probably at this period too -common for much mention of it to be made in the various records of -ecclesiastical offences. An occasional prosecution, however, seems to -have been instituted before the Ordinary. One such may be found in the -Records of the Ecclesiastical Court of Chester, 1575, where the Vicar -of Whalley is charged with being “a common dronker and ale-knight.” - -The time has happily gone by when a Swift could write of - - “Three or four parsons full of October, - Three or four squires between drunk and sober,” - -or a Pope of “a parson much bemused with beer,” or when the following -old Ballad could be supposed to give a true picture of the habits of -village clergymen:— - -THE PARSON. - - A parson who had the remarkable foible - Of minding the bottle much more than the Bible, - Was deemed by his neighbours to be less perplex’d - In handling a tankard than handling a text. - - Perch’d up in his pulpit, one Sunday, he cry’d, - “Make patience, my dearly beloved, your guide, - And in your distresses, your troubles, your crosses, - Remember the patience of Job in his losses.” - - The parson had got a stout cask of beer, - By way of a present—no matter from where— - Suffice it to know, it was toothsome and good, - And he lov’d it as well as he did his own blood. {288} - - While he the church service in haste rambled o’er, - The hogs found a way thro’ his old cellar door, - And by the strong scent to the beer barrel led - Had knock’d out the spiggot or cock from its head. - - Out spurted the liquor abroad on the ground, - The unbidden guests quaffed it merrily round, - Nor from their diversion and merriment ceas’d - Till ev’ry hog there was as drunk as a beast. - - And now the grave lecture and prayers at an end, - He brings along with him a neighbouring friend, - To be a partaker of Sunday’s good cheer, - And taste the delightful October brew’d beer. - - The dinner was ready, the things were laid snug, - “Here, wife,” says the parson, “go fetch us a mug,” - But a mug of what?—he had scarce time to tell her, - When, “yonder,” says she, “are the hogs in the cellar. - - To be sure they got in when we’re at prayers,” - “To be sure you’re a fool,” said he, “get you down stairs, - And bring what I bid you, and see what’s the matter. - For now I myself hear a grunting and clatter.” - - She went, and returned with sorrowful face, - In suitable phrases related the case, - He rav’d like a madman about in the room, - And then beat his wife and the hogs with the broom. - - “Lord, husband,” said she, “what a coil you keep here, - About a poor beggarly barrel of beer. - You should, ‘_in your troubles, mischances, and crosses, - Remember the patience of Job in his losses_.’” - - “A plague upon Job,” cried the priest in his rage, - “That beer, I dare say, was near ten years of age; - But you’re a poor ignorant jade like _his_ wife; - For Job never had such a cask in his life.” - -A curious tale is related of one Mr. Dod, who had a country living near -Cambridge. Being impressed by the intemperance then prevalent in the -University, he on one occasion preached a very vigorous condemnatory -sermon on the vice of drunkenness. Soon after, several of the {289} -undergraduates, who were disporting themselves at some little distance -from the town, perceived Mr. Dod jogging along towards them on his old -horse. Annoyed at the sermon on drinking, which had probably seemed -to them as directed specially against themselves, the undergraduates -rapidly consulted together, and determined in revenge to make the old -man preach a sermon from a text of their own choosing. At first he -declined, but his persecutors were inexorable, and he was forced to -submit with the best grace he could. “Well, gentlemen,” he said, “as -you are thus urgent for my compliance, pray what is the subject I am -to handle?” They answered, “Sir, the word _malt_; and, for want of a -better, here, Sir, is your pulpit,” pointing to the stump of a hollow -tree that stood by. Whereupon the venerable man mounted the rostrum, -and spoke as follows:— - -“Beloved, - -“I am a little man, come at a short warning,—to deliver a brief -discourse,—upon a small subject,—to a thin congregation, and from an -unworthly pulpit. - -“Beloved, my text is— - - “M A L T, - -“Which cannot be divided into words, it being but one; nor into -syllables, it being but one: therefore, of necessity, I must reduce it -into letters, which I find to be these, - - “M—A—L—T. - -“M—my beloved, is Moral. A—is Allegorical. L—is Literal, T—is -Theological. - -“The moral is set forth to teach you drunkards good manners, therefore: -M—my Masters. A—All of you. L—Listen. T—to my Text. - -“The allegorical is when one thing is spoken, and another is intended: -the thing expressed is MALT; the thing signified is the oil of Malt, -which you Bacchanals make: M—your Meat. A—your Apparel. L—your liberty. -T—your Text. - -“The Literal is according to the letter: M—Much. A—Ale. L—Little. -T—Thrift. - -“The Theological is according to the effects it produces, which I find -to consist of two kinds. The first respects this life, the second, that -which is to come. - -“The effects it produces in this world are in some: M—Murder. -A—Adultery. L—Licentious Lives. T—Treason. {290} - -“The effects consequent in the world to come are: M—Misery. A—Anguish. -L—Lamentation. T—Torment. - -“Thus, sirs, having briefly opened and explained my short text, give me -leave to make a little use and improvement of the foregoing. First, by -way of exhortation: M—My Masters. A—All of you. L—Look for. T—Torment. - -“Now to wind up the whole and draw to a close, take with you the -characteristics of a drunkard. A drunkard is the annoyance of modesty, -the spoil of civility, his own shame, his children’s curse, his -neighbour’s scoff, the alehouse man’s benefactor, the devil’s drudge, a -walking swill-bowl, the picture of a beast, and monster of a man.” - -There was a curious custom in vogue at the beginning of the seventeenth -century known as “muggling.” It was thus described by Young, in -_England’s Bane_: “I have seen a company amongst the very woods and -forests drinking for a muggle. Sixe determined to try their strengths -who could drinke most glasses for the muggle. The first drinkes a -glasse of a pint, the second two, the next three, and so every one -multiplieth till the last taketh sixe. Then the first beginneth againe -and taketh seven, and in this manner they drinke thrice a peece round, -every man taking a glasse more than his fellow, so that he that dranke -least, which was the first, dranke one and twenty pints, and the sixth -man thirty-six.” So great was the ale-drinking at this time, that the -headache brought on by it was known by the common expression, “the -ale passion,” and one in liquor was said to have been “kicked by the -brewer’s horse.” - -One or two instances, only, of the drinking songs popular in -olden times can be given here. The _Merry Fellows_, a song of the -Restoration, well illustrates the old idea that merriness must be -accompanied with potations “pottle deep”:— - - Now, since we’re met, let’s merry, merry be, - In spite of all our foes; - And he that will not merry be, - We’ll pull him by the nose. - - _Chorus._ Let him be merry, merry there, - While we’re all merry, merry here; - For who can know where he shall go, - To be merry another year. {291} - - He that will not merry, merry be, - With a generous bowl and a toast, - May he in Bridewell be shut up, - And fast bound to a post. - Let him, &c. - - He that will not merry, merry be, - And take his glass in course, - May he be obliged to drink small beer, - Ne’er a penny in his purse. - Let him, &c. - - He that will not merry, merry be - With a company of jolly boys, - May he be plagued with a scolding wife - To confound him with her noise. - Let him, &c. - - He that will not merry, merry be, - With his sweetheart by his side, - Let him be laid in the cold church-yard - With a head-stone for his bride. - Let him, &c. - -Cobblers have already been mentioned as devotees of strong malt drinks, -and many a cozier’s catch celebrates this propensity. Here is one:— - - Come, sit we here by the fire-side, - And roundly drink we here, - Till that we see our cheeks ale-dyed, - And noses tanned with beer. - -Shoemakers and cobblers used to call a red-herring a pheasant, and in -the same inflated style term half a pint of beer half a gallon, and a -pint of beer a gallon, much after the manner of Caleb Balderstone in -_The Bride of Lammermoor_. - -Tinkers, too, swore by Ceres and not by Bacchus, as Herrick shows in -his _Tinker’s Song_. - - Along, come along, - Let’s meet in a throng - Here of tinkers; {292} - - And quaff up a bowl, - As big as a cowl, - To beer-drinkers. - - The pole of the hop - Place in the ale shop, - To bethwack us, - If ever we think - So much as to drink - Unto Bacchus. - - Who frolic will be - For little cost, he - Must not vary - From beer-broth at all - So much as to call - For canary. - -Last century may be said to have brought the vice of heavy drinking to -its highest pitch. Statesmen, Judges, dignitaries of the Church—all -joined in the riotous living of the time. The usual allowance for a -_moderate_ man at dinner seems to have been two bottles of port. Men -were known as two-bottle men, three and four-bottle men, and even in -some instances _six-bottle men_. Lord Eldon, who was himself inclined -to get a little merry after dinner, relates an amusing story in his -_Anecdote Book_, which is illustrative of the habits of the day. He -tells how Jemmy Boswell, Dr. Johnson’s Biographer, while on assize, so -exceeded the bounds of moderation one evening, that he was found by -his friends lying on the pavement very drunk. His comrades, of whom -Lord Eldon (then Mr. Scott) was one, subscribed a guinea amongst them, -and sent Boswell a bogus brief, instructing him to move the Court -the next day for a writ of _Quare adhæsit pavimento_. Much to the -astonishment of the learned Judge who presided, Mr. Boswell actually -made the application in due course. The whole court was convulsed with -laughter, and the unfortunate counsel, turning this way and that in his -perplexity, knew not what to make of it. At last a learned friend came -to his assistance. “My lord,” he said, “Mr. Boswell _adhæsit pavimento_ -last night; there was no moving him for some time. At length he was -carried to bed, and has been dreaming of what happened to himself.” -Where such manners prevailed in the {293} upper ranks of life, the -lower orders were not likely to be more sober. As a matter of fact, -gin ran riot amongst the working classes in the great centres of -population, spreading corruption of morals and ruin of health on every -side. - -One more instance of a huge drinker may be given: One Jedediah Buxton -was curious enough in his drinking habits to calculate the number of -pints of ale or strong beer that he had drunk free of cost to himself -since he was twelve years of age, and the names of the gentlemen at -whose houses he had consumed them. The list began with the Duke of -Kingston, 2,130 pints; Duke of Norfolk, 266 pints; Duke of Leeds, 232, -and so on through a long list, of which it need only be said the total -amounted to 5,116 pints or _winds_, as he termed them, because, he -said, he never took more than one wind, or breath, to a pint and two -to a quart. Surely this man deserves to rank among the curiosities -of the subject. Happily times have changed and drunkenness, we may -hope, will soon cease to be counted a national vice. Bearing in mind -the excesses to which drinking was carried in the last century, it -cannot be denied that much progress has been made in the direction of -moderation; and that the habits of the whole people—slow and difficult -as such habits are to change—have undergone a very marked improvement. -Ere the next century has had time to grow from youth to old age, it may -be impossible to find in any rank of the population a man who could say -of an evening’s amusement like the old Scotch Shepherd, “It was a grand -treat, for before the end o’t there was na ane of us able to bite his -ain thoomb!” - -[Illustration] - -{294} - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - - - ’Tis Ale, immortal Ale I sing! - Bid all the Muses throng! - Bid them awake each slumbering string, - Till the loud chords responsive ring - To swell the lofty song! - _Brasenose College Shrovetide Poem._ - - These venerable ancient song inditers - Soar’d many a pitch above our modern writers; - Our numbers may be more refin’d than those, - But what we’ve gained in verse we’ve lost in prose; - Their words no shuffling double meaning knew, - Their speech was homely, but their hearts were true. - _Rowe._ - -_OLD BALLADS, SONGS AND VERSES RELATING TO ALE AND BEER._ - -Long ago, in the merry days when the chilling influence of Puritanism -had not yet put an end to the majority of our sports and pastimes, and -when anyone who had ventured to speak of a May-pole as a “Stinckyng -Idoll” would most likely have been ducked in the nearest pond as a -proper reward for his calumny, the lower orders of England were far -more musical than at present; and there existed a great demand for -ballads to be sung at village merry-makings, ale-house gatherings, -and during the long winter evenings which would have been dull indeed -without the cheering influence of song. {295} - -Of the quaint old ballads, written mostly in the sixteenth and -seventeenth centuries, a splendid collection was made by the Earl of -Oxford (born in 1661), to whom we are also indebted for the Harleian -MSS., now in the British Museum. These ballads are known as the -_Roxburghe Collection_, and a selection of them is given in this -chapter, together with facsimile reproductions of the curious woodcuts -with which the originals are adorned.[62] - - [62] Most of the Roxburghe Ballads have been reprinted by the Ballad - Society, and for the very scanty information we have been able to - gather concerning them we are in a great measure indebted to the - Editors of these reprints. Our illustrations have been taken in - every case from the original ballads, and are, we believe, the only - exact facsimile reproductions in existence. - -The most important ballad connected with the subject of ale and beer -is _Sir John Barley-corne_, of which there are many versions. It seems -very probable that the original is not in existence, for at a very -early date songs bearing the same name, and containing in effect the -same words, were known both in the North of England and in the West -Country. In later editions of Sir John Barley-corne old printers seem -to have frequently varied the text, and in recent times Burns has -recast the verses of the old ballad. - -The version given below is the oldest in the _Roxburghe Collection_, -and must have been written at some time previous to the reign of -James I. To anyone who has perused these pages so far, the pretty -allegory contained in the ballad will not require explanation, but it -may be well to point out that Sir John is the grain of barley which -the farmer, the maltster, the miller, and the brewer do their best -to destroy. However, after having forced Sir John to go through the -various processes of agriculture, malting, and brewing, a friend, -Thomas Good-ale, comes to the poor fellow’s assistance with mickle -might, and takes “their tongues away, their legs or else their sight.” -The illustration is taken from a later version. - -SIR JOHN BARLEY-CORNE. - - A pleasant new Ballad to sing both even and morne - Of the bloody Murther of Sir John Barley-corne. - - To the tune of _Shall I lye beyond thee_. {296} - -[Illustration] - - As I went through the North countrey, - I heard a merry greeting, - A pleasant toy and full of joy, - two noblemen were meeting. - - And as they walkèd for to sport, - upon a summer’s day, - Then with another nobleman, - they went to make a fray. - - Whose name was Sir John Barley-corne; - he dwelt down in a dale; - Who had a kinsman dwelt him nigh, - they cal’d him Thomas Good-ale. - - Another namèd Richard Beere - was ready at that time, - Another worthy Knight was there, - call’d Sir William White-wine. - - Some of them fought in a Blacke-Jack, - some of them in a Can; - But the chiefest in a blacke-pot, - like a worthy alderman. {297} - - Sir Barly-corn fought in a Boule, - who wonne the victorie; - And made them all to fume and swear - that Barly-corne should die. - - Some said Kill him some said Drown - others wisht to hang him hie— - For as many as follow Barly-corne, - shall surely beggers die. - - Then with a plough they plow’d him up, - and thus they did devise, - To burie him quicke within the earth, - and swore he should not rise. - - With harrowes strong they combèd him, - and burst clods on his head, - A joyful banquet then was made, - when Barly-corne was dead. - - He rested still within the earth, - till raine from skies did fall, - Then he grew up in branches greene, - which sore amaz’d them all. - - And so grew up till midsommer, - which made them all afeard; - For he was sprouted up on hie - and got a goodly beard. - - Then he grew till S. James’s-tide, - his countenance was wan, - For he was growne unto his strength, - and thus became a man. - - With hookes and sickles keene - into the field they hide, - They cut his legs off by the knees, - and made him wounds full wide. {298} - - Thus bloodily they cut him downe, - from place where he did stand, - And like a thiefe for treachery, - they bound him in a band. - - So then they tooke him up againe, - according to his kind, - And packt him up in severall stackes - to wither with the wind. - - And with a pitchforke that was sharpe, - they rent him to the heart; - And like a thiefe for treason vile, - they bound him in a cart. - - And tending him with weapons strong, - unto the towne they hie, - And straight they mowed him in a mow, - and there they let him lie. - - Then he lay groning by the wals, - till all his wounds were sore, - At length they tooke him up againe, - and cast him on the floore. - - They hyrèd two with holly clubs, - to beat on him at once, - They thwackèd so on Barly-corne - that flesh fell from his bones. - - And then they tooke him up againe, - to fulfill women’s minde, - They dusted and they sifted him, - till he was almost blind. - - And then they knit him in a sacke, - which grievèd him full sore, - They steep’d him in a Fat, God-wot, - for three days space and more. {299} - - Then they took him up againe, - and laid him for to drie, - They cast him on a chamber floore, - and swore that he should die. - - They rubbèd him and stirrèd him, - and still they did him turne - The malt-man swore that he should die, - his body he would burne. - - They spightfully tooke him up againe - and threw him on a Kill; - So dried him there with fire hot, - and thus they wrought their will. - - Then they brought him to the mill - and there they burst his bones, - The miller swore to murther him, - betwixt a paire of stones. - - Then they tooke him up againe - and serv’d him worse then that; - For with hot scalding liquor store, - they washt him in a Fat. - - But not content with this, God-wot, - they did him mickle harme, - With threatening words they promisèd, - to beat him into barme. - - And lying in this danger deep, - for feare that he should quarrell, - They tooke him straight out of the fat - and tunn’d him in a barrell. - - And then they set a tap to him, - even thus his death begun, - They drew out every dram of blood, - whilst any drop would run. {300} - - Some brought jacks, upon their backes, - some brought bill and bow, - And every man his weapon had - Barly-corne to overthrow. - - When Sir John Good-ale heard of this, - he came with mickle might, - And there he tooke their tongues away, - their legs, or else their sight. - - And thus Sir John in each respect, - so paid them all their hire, - That some lay sleeping by the way, - some tumbling in the mire. - - Some lay groning by the wals, - some in the streets downe right, - The best of them did scarcely know - what they had done ore-night. - - All you good wives that brew good Ale, - God turne from you all teene, - But if you put too much water in - the devill put out your eyne! - -“Printed for John Wright and are to be sold at his Shop in Guilt Spurre -Street at the sign of the Bible.” - -Another version commences:— - - There were two brothers liv’d under yon hill, - As it might be you and I; - And one of them did solemnly swear - That Sir John Barley-corn should die. - -Burns’ ballad commences:— - - There went three Kings into the East, - Three Kings both great and high, - And they have sworn a solemn oath - John Barleycorn should die, {301} - -and ends— - - Then let us toast John Barleycorn, - Each man a glass in hand, - And may his great posterity - Ne’er fail in old Scotland. - -Burns, no doubt, founded his ballad on the West Country _Sir John -Barleycorn_, which, according to Robert Bell, in his annotated edition -of ancient ballads, can set up a better claim to antiquity than any -copy in the _Roxburghe Collection_. It commences thus:— - - There came three men out of the West - Their victory to try; - And they have taken solemn oath, - Poor Barleycorn should die. - -This, by the way, reads like the origin of a teetotal movement. - -Printed on the same sheet as the _Sir John Barley-corne_ of the -_Roxburghe Collection_ is another old ballad of probably the same -date, the author of which is unknown. It has no illustration, and is -entitled:— - - A new Ballad for you to looke on, - How mault doth deale with everyone. - - * * * * * - - To the tune of _Triumph and Joy_. - - * * * * * - - Mas Mault he is a genleman, - And hath beene since the world began, - I never knew yet any man, - That could match with Master Mault, Sir, - I never knew any match Mault but once, - The Miller with his grinding stones, - He laid them so close that he crusht his bones; - You never knew the like, Sir. - Mault, Mault, thou art a flowre; - Thou art beloved in every bowre, - Thou canst not be missing one halfe howre; - You never saw the like, Sir. - For laying of his stones so close - Mault gave the Miller a copper nose, - Saying, Thou and I will never be foes, - But unto thee I sticke, Sir. {302} - Mault gave the miller such a blow, - That from his horse he fell full low; - He taught him his master Mault for to know; - You never saw the like, Sir, - Our hostesse maid she was to blame, - She stole Master Mault away from her dame, - And in her belly she hid the same, - You never saw the like, Sir. - So when the Mault did worke in her head, - Twice a day she would be sped, - At night she could not goe to bed, - Nor scarce stand on her feet, Sir. - Then came in the Master Smith, - And said that Mault he was a thief; - But Mault gave him such a dash in the teeth, - You never saw the like, Sir. - For when his iron was hot and red, - He had such an ach all in his head, - The Smith was faine to get him to bed, - For then he was very Sicke, Sir. - The carpender came a peece to square, - He bad Mault come out if he dare, - He would empty his belly and beat his sides bare, - That he knew not where to sit, Sir. - To fire he went, with an arme full of chips, - Mault hit him right betweene his lips, - And made him lame in both his hips; - You never saw the like, Sir. - The shooe-maker sitting upon his seat, - With Master Mault he began to fret, - He said he would the Knave so beat, - You never saw the like, Sir. - -The writer, in a number of verses, then shows how “Mas Mault” deals -with the shoemaker, the weaver, the tailor, the tinker, and the sailor, -including the chapman, a person of interest to us as the retailer of -such ballads as these. - - Then came the Chapman travelling by, - And said, ‘my Masters I will be w’ ye, {303} - Indeed, Master Mault, my mouth is dry, - I will gnaw you with my teeth, Sir. - The chapman he laid on apace, - Till store of blood came in his face, - But Mault brought him in such a case, - You never saw the like, Sir. - -Several other persons are then dealt with, and the ballad ends with the -lines:— - - Thus of my song I will make an end - And pray my hostesse to be my friend, - To give me some drink now my money is spend, - Then Mault and I am quite, Sir. - -The tune to which this ballad is to be sung is probably the same as the -old air _Greene Sleeves_. - -A song near akin to the foregoing, also showing the effects of barley -wine, is _The Little Barley Corn_. It is evidently of the time of -Charles I., from the allusions it contains to the King’s great Porter, -and to Banks, whose performing horse is mentioned. - -THE LITTLE BARLEY-CORN. - - * * * * * - - Whose properties and vertues here - Shall plainly to the world appeare; - To make you merry all the yeere. - - To the tune of _Stingo_. - -[Illustration] - -{304} - - Come, and doe not musing stand, - if thou the truth discerne; - But take a full cup in thy hand - and thus begin to learne, - Not of the earth nor of the ayre, - at evening or at morne,— - But joviall boys your Christmas keep - _with the Little Barley-corn_. - - It is the cunningst alchymist - that e’re was in the land; - ’Twill change your mettle when it list, - in turning of a hand. - Your blushing gold to silver wan, - your silver into brasse,— - ’Twill turn a taylor to a man, - _and a man into an asse_. - - ’Twill make a poore man rich to hang - a sign before his doore; - And those that doe the pitcher bang, - though rich, ’twill make them poor, - ’Twill make the silliest poorest snake - the King’s great Porter scorne; - ’Twill make the stoutest lubber weak, - _this little Barley-Corn_. - - It hath more shifts than Lambe ere had, - or _Hocus-pocus_ too; - It will good fellowes shew more sport - then _Bankes_ his horse could doe; - ’Twill play you faire above the boord, - unlesse you take good heed, - And fell you, though you were a Lord, - _and justify the deed_. - - It lends more yeeres unto old age, - than ere was lent by nature; - It makes the poet’s fancy rage, - more than Castalian water. {305} - ’Twill make a huntsman chase a fox, - and never winde his horne; - ’Twill cheer a tinker in the stockes, - _this little barley-corn_. - - It is the only Will o’ th’ Wisp - which leades men from the way; - ’Twill make the tongue-ti’d lawyer lisp, - and nought but (hic up) say. - ’Twill make the Steward droope and stoop, - his bils he then will scorne, - And at each post cast his reckoning up, - _this little barley-corn_. - - ’Twill make a man grow jealous soone, - whose pretty wife goes trim, - And raile at the deceiving moone - for making hornes at him: - ’Twill make the maidens trimly dance, - and take it in no scorne, - And helpe them to a friend by chance, - _this little barley-corn_. - - It is the neatest serving-man, - to entertaine a friend; - It will doe more than money can - all jarring suits to end: - There’s life in it, and it is here, - ’tis here within this cup; - Then take your liquor, doe not spare, - _but cleare carouse it up_. - -To this ballad there is a second part to much the same effect. We give -the illustration and a few verses. Both parts are in the _Roxburghe -Collection_. - - The Second Part of the Little Barley-corne - That cheereth the heart both evening and morne. - - _To the same tune._ - -{306} - -[Illustration] - - If sicknesse come, this physick take, - it from your heart will set it; - If feare incroach, take more of it, - your head will soone forget it; - Apollo, and the Muses nine, - doe take it in no scorne; - There’s no such stuffe to passe the time - _as the little Barley-corne_. - - ’Twill make a weeping widdow laugh - and soone incline to pleasure; - ’Twill make an old man leave his staffe - and dance a youthful measure: - And though your clothes be nere so bad - all ragged rent and torne, - Against the cold you may be clad - _with the little Barley-corne_. - * * * * * - Thus the Barley-Corne hath power - even for to change our nature, - And make a shrew, within an houre, - prove a kind-hearted creature: - And therefore here, I say againe, - let no man tak’t in scorne, - That I the vertues doe proclaime - _of the little Barley-corne_.” - - Printed at London for E. B. - -The following song in praise of ale is taken from _London -Chanticleers_, a rude sketch of a play printed in 1659, but evidently -much older. The {307} reference to being “without hops” in the verse -vii. is noticeable. It will be remembered that the ale which our -forefathers drank was made without hops, which “pernicious weeds” were -only used in the “Dutchman’s strong beere.” - -I. - - Submit, Bunch of Grapes, - To the strong Barley ear; - The weak wine no longer - The laurel shall wear. - -II. - - Sack, and all drinks else, - Desist from the strife: - Ale’s the only Aqua Vitæ, - And liquor of life. - -III. - - Then come my boon fellows, - Let’s drink it around; - It keeps us from grave, - Though it lays us on ground. - -IIII. - - Ale’s a Physician, - No Mountebank Bragger: - Can cure the chill Ague, - Though it be with the Stagger. - -V. - - Ale’s a strong Wrestler, - Flings all it hath met; - And makes the ground slippery, - Though it be not wet. - -VI. - - Ale is both Ceres - And good Neptune too; - Ale’s froth was the sea, - From which Venus grew. - -VII. - - Ale is immortal: - And be there no stops - In bonny lad’s quaffing, - Can live without hops. - -{308} - -VIII. - - Then come my boon fellows, - Let’s drink it around: - It keeps us from grave, - Though it lays us on ground. - -The ballad entitled the _Merry Hoastess_ is probably of an earlier date -than 1664. It bears the initials T. R., and was, perhaps, composed by -Thomas Randal. The tune to which it was sung is a capital one, and is -to be found in Mr. William Chappell’s _Popular Music_. This ballad is -in the first volume of the _Roxburghe Collection_. - -THE MERRY HOASTESS - -or - -A pretty new Ditty, compos’d by an Hoastess that lives in the City, - - To wrong such an Hoastess it were a great Pitty, - By reason she caused this pretty new Ditty. - - To the tune of _Buffcoat has no fellow_. - -[Illustration] - -{309} - - Come all that loves good company, - and hearken to my ditty, - ’Tis of a lovely Hoastess fine, - that lives in London City; - Which sells good ale, nappy and stale, - and alwayes thus sings she, - My ale was tunn’d, when I was young, - and a little above my knee. - - Her ale is lively, strong and stout, - if you please but to taste; - It is well brew’d you need not fear, - but I pray you make no waste: - It is lovely brown, the best in town, - and alwayes thus sings she, - My ale was tunn’d when I was young, - and a little above my knee. - - The gayest lady with her fan, - doth love such nappy ale, - Both city maids and country girls - that carries the milking pail: - Will take a touch and not think much - to sing so merrily, - My ale was tunn’d when I was young, - and a little above my knee. - - Both lord and esquire hath a desire - unto it night and day, - For a quart or two be it old or new, - and for it they will pay, - With pipe in hand, they may her command - to sing most merrily, - My ale was tunn’d when I was young, - and a little above my knee. - - You’r welcome all brave gentlemen, - if you please to come in, - To take a cup I do intend, - and a health for to begin: - To all the merry joval blades, - that will sing for company, - My ale was tunn’d when I was young, - and a little above my knee. {310} - - Here’s a health to all brave Englishmen, - that loves this cup of ale; - Let every man fill up his can, - and see that none do fail; - ’Tis very good to nourish the blood, - and make you sing with me, - My ale was tunn’d when I was young, - and a little above my knee. - -SECOND PART. - -[Illustration] - - The bonny Scot will lay a plot - to get a handsome tutch - Of this my ale, so good and stale, - so will the cunning Dutch: - They will take a part with all their heart, - to sing this tune with me, - My ale was tunn’d when I was young, - and a little above my knee. - - It will make the Irish cry A-hone! - if they but take their fill, - And put them all quite out of tune - let them use their chiefest skill. {311} - - So strong and stout it will hold out - in any company, - For my ale was tunn’d when I was young, - and a little above my knee. - - The Welchman on St. David’s day - will cry, Cots plutter a nail, - Hur will hur ferry quite away, - from off that nappy ale; - It makes hur foes with hur red nose, - hur seldom can agree, - But my ale was tunn’d when I was young, - and a little above my knee. - - The Spaniard stout will have a bout, - ’cause he hath store of gold, - Till at the last, he is laid fast, - my ale doth him so hold: - His ponyard strong is laid along, - yet he is good company, - For my ale was tunn’d when I was young, - and a little above my knee. - - There’s never a tradesman in England, - that can my ale deny, - The weaver, taylor and glover - delights it for to buy, - Small money they do take away, - if that they drink with me, - For my ale was tunn’d when I was young, - and a little above my knee. - - There is Smug the honest Blacksmith, - he seldom can pass be, - Because a spark lies in his throat - which makes him very dry: - But my old ale tells him his tale, - so finely we agree, - For my ale was tunn’d when I was young, - and a little above my knee. - - The brewer, baker and butcher, - as well as all the rest, {312} - Both night and day will watch where they - may find ale of the best: - And the gentle craft will come full oft, - to drink a cup with me, - For my ale was tunn’d when I was young, - and a little above my knee. - - So to conclude good fellows all, - I bid you all adieu, - If that you love a cup of ale, - take rather old than new, - For if you come where I do dwell, - and chance to drink with me, - My ale was tunn’d when I was young, - and a little above my knee. - -The following poem in praise of Yorkshire Ale was written in the -seventeenth century. The author is given on the title page as “G. M. -Gent.” The little volume, somewhat rare nowadays, was printed at York -in 1697, by F. White, for Francis Hildyard, at the sign of the Bible in -Stone Gate. - -THE PRAISE OF YORKSHIRE ALE - - Wherein is enumerated several sorts of Drink, and a Description of - the Humors of most sorts of Drunkards. To Which is added, a Yorkshire - Dialogue, in its pure natural Dialect, as it is now commonly spoken in - the North parts of Yorkshire. - - Bacchus having called a Parliament of late, - For to consult about some things of state, - Nearly concerning the honour of his Court - To the Sun, behind th’ Exchange, they did resort: - Where being met, and many things that time - Concerning the Adulterating Wine, - And other liquors; selling of Ale in Muggs, - Silver Tankards, Black-Pots, and little Jugs: - Stronge Beer in Rabits, and cheating penny cans, - Three pipes for two pence and such like Trepans: - Vintners’ small bottles, silver-mouthed black Jacks, {313} - * * * * * - And many other things were there debated, - And Bills passed upon the cases stated; - And all things ready for Adjournment, then - Stood up one of the Northern countrymen, - A boon good fellow, and lover of strong Ale, - Whose tongue well steep’d in Sack begun this Tale. - “My bully Rocks, I’ve been experienced long - In most of liquors, which are counted strong; - Of Claret, White-wine and Canary Sack, - Renish and Malago, I’ve had no lack, - Sider, Perry, Metheglin, and Sherbet, - Coffee and Mead, with Punch and Chocolet: - Rum and Tea, Azora wine, Mederry, - Vin-de-Paree, Brag, wine with Rosemary: - Stepony, Usquebath, besides all these, - Aqua Cœlestis Cinnamon, Heart’s ease; - Brave Rosa Solis, and other Liquors fine, - Rasberry Wine, Pur-royal, and Shampine, - Malmsey and Viper-wine, all these I pass; - Frontineack; with excellent Ipocras: - * * * * * - “Tent, Muskatine, Brandy and Alicant - Of all these liquors I’ve had no scant, - And several others; but none do I find, - Like humming Northern Ale to pleas my mind, - It’s pleasant to the taste, strong and mellow, - He that affects it not, is no boon fellow. - * * * * * - “It warms in winter, in summer opes the pores, - ’Twill make a Sovereign Salve ’gainst cuts and sores; - It ripens wit, exhillerates the mind, - Makes friends of foes, and foes of friends full kind; - It’s physical for old men, warms their blood, - Its spirits makes the Coward’s courage good: - The tatter’d Beggar being warmed with Ale, - Nor rain, hail, frost, nor snow can him assail, - He’s a good man with him can then compare, - It makes a Prentise great as the Lord Mayor; - The Labouring man, that toiles all day full sore, - A pot of ale at night, doth him restore, {314} - And makes him all his toil and paines forget, - And for another day’s work, hee’s then fit. - * * * * * - “Oh the rare virtues of this Barly Broth; - To rich and poor it’s Meat Drink and Cloth.” - The Court here stopt him, and the Prince did say, - “Where can we find this Nectar, I thee pray,” - The boon good fellow answered, “I can tell, - North Allerton in Yorkshire doth excell - All England, nay all Europe for strong Ale, - If thither we adjourn we shall not fail - To taste such humming stuff, as, I dare say, - Your Highness never tasted to this day.” - -Bacchus’ Court then adjourns to North Allerton, and imbibes the noble -ale kept at Madame Bradley’s, with this result:— - - For arguments some were and learned discourses, - Som talk’d of greyhounds, som of running horses, - Som talk’d of hounds, and some of Cock o’ th game, - Som nought but hawks, and setting dogs did name, - Som talk’d of Battels, Sieges and great wars, - And what great Wounds and cutts they had and scars, - * * * * * - Some there were all for drinking healths about, - Others did rub the table with their Snout - * * * * * - Some broke the pipes, and round about them threw, - Some smoak’d tobacco till their nose was blew. - Some called for victuals others for a crust, - Some op’d their Buttons and were like to bust, - Som challeng’d all the people that were there - And some with strange invented oaths did sweer, - * * * * * - Some fill’d the room with noise yet could not speak, - One word of English, Latine, French and Greek - * * * * * - Some burnt their Hats, others the Windowes broke, - Some cry’d more liquor we are like to choke, - * * * * * {315} - Lame gouty men did dance about so sprightly, - A boy of fifteen scarce could skip so lightly, - Old crampy Capts. that scarce a sword could draw, - Swore now they’d keep the King of France in awe, - And new commissions get to raise more men, - For now they swore they were grown young again; - Off went their Perriwigs, Coats and Rapers, - Out went the candles, Noses for Tapers - Serv’d to give light, while they did daunce around, - Drinking full healthes with caps upon the ground: - * * * * * - This moved Bacchus presently to call - For a great jug which held about five quarts, - And filling to the Brim; come here my hearts - Said he, wee’l drink about this merry health, - To th’ honour of the Town, their state, their wealth, - * * * * * - And for the sake of this good nappy ale, - Of my great favour it shall never fail, - -Bacchus and his party having once tasted the ale, drink all the casks -out— - - then out they pull’d the Taps - And stuck the Spiddocks finely in their hats, - -The Court then adjourns to Easingwold— - - With Nanny Driffield there to drink a glass - For Bacchus having heard of her strong ale, - He swore by Jupiter, he would not fail - To have a merry bout if he did find - Her nappy ale to please his princely Mind; - -Bacchus is so delighted with the ale that he grants her letters patent. - - Bacchus Prince of good fellows; To all to whom - These our brave letters Pattents shall now come, - Whereas wee’ve been informed now of late, - That Nanny Driffield our great court and state - For many years last past has much advanced - By her strong humming ale. . . . - * * * * * {316} - This land-lady unto the noble state, - And honour of a countess we create; - And by our merry fuddling subjects, she - Countess of Stingo henceforth call’d shall be. - -Some townsmen then come in, and a contest is arranged between the -ale-drinkers and the wine-drinkers, in which the latter are of course -worsted. - -1 - - Colonus and Bacchus did meet - Each one to commend his own liquor; - The Juice of the Grape was sweet; - But Barly Oyle ran down the quicker; - Colonus did challenge the Gods, - To fight in defence of his Barley, - But Bacchus perceiving the odds, - Desir’d a friendly parley. - -2 - - They drunk full Bumpers about, - And Bacchus an health did begin, - The Bacchanalians gave a great shout, - The Colonians then thronged fast in: - They drunk double Tankards around, - Till the Grape Boyes begun for to glore, - The Rusticks neer flinch’d their ground, - Till Bacchus fell down to the Floor. - -3 - - Colonus did heartily laugh, - And about the God they did daunce, - Full pots about they did quaff: - Whilest Bacchus lay still in a Trance; - The grape boyes were beat out of play, - And at length poor Bacchus did rise; - To Colonus he yielded the day, - So the Rusticks obtainèd the Prize. - -Bacchus, on coming to, adjourns his court to York, where they again -taste— - - Both from North Allerton and Easingwold, - From Sutton, Thirke, likewise from Rascal Town, - . . . Ale also that’s called Knocker-down— - * * * * * {317} - They tasted all; And swore they were full glad, - Such Stingoe, Nappy, pure ale they had found, - Let’s loose no time said they but drink around. - -The Yorkshire Ale, however, proves too strong for Bacchus and his -Court, and a final adjournment South is made, though— - - Bacchus swore to come he would not fail - To glut himself with Yorkshire nappy ale. - It is so pleasant, mellow too and fine, - That Bacchus swore hee’d never more drink wine. - -Those who wish to peruse the “Yorkshire Dialogue in its pure natural -Dialect” are referred to the British Museum. - -In the _Roxburghe Collection_ are nineteen ballads by Lawrence Price, -a celebrated writer of the time of Charles I. He wrote chap-books, -riddles, and political squibs in rhyme. The following rollicking -drinking song is from his pen. Only one copy of it is known to be in -existence. - -GOOD ALE FOR MY MONEY. - - The Good-fellowes resolution of strong Ale, - That cures his nose from looking pale. - - To the tune of _The Countrey Lasse_. - -[Illustration] - -{318} - - Be merry my friends, and list a while - unto a merry jest, - It may from you produce a smile - when you hear it exprest, - Of a younge man lately married, - which was a boone good fellow, - This song in ’s head he alwaies carried, - when drinke had made him mellow, - I cannot go home, nor I will not go home - its long of the oyle of Barly; - Ile tarry all night for my delight, - and go home in the morning early. - - No tapster stout, or Vintner fine - quoth he shall euer get - One groat out of this purse of mine - to pay his master’s debt: - Why should I deal with sharking Rookes, - that seeke poore gulls to cozen, - To giue twelue pence for a quart of wine, - of ale ’twill buy a dozen. - ’Twill make me sing, I cannot, &c. - - The old renowned Ipocrist - and Raspie doth excell, - But neuer any wine could yet - my honour please to swell, - The Rhenish wine or Muskadine, - sweet Malmsie is too fulsome - No giue me a cup of Barlie broth, - for that is very wholesome, - ’Twill make me sing, I cannot, &c. - - Hot waters ar to me as death, - and soone the head oreturneth, - And Nectar hath so strong a breath - Canary when it burneth, - It cures no paine but breaks the braine, - and raps out oaths and curses, - And makes men part with heauiy heart, - but light it makes their purses, - I cannot go home, &c. {319} - - Some say Metheglin beares the name, - with Perry and sweet Sider, - ’Twill bring the body out of frame, - and reach the belly wider - Which to preuent I am content - with ale that’s good and nappie, - And when thereof I haue enough - I thinke myself most happy. - I cannot go home, &c. - - All sorts of men when they do meet - both trade and occupation, - With curtesie each other greet, - and kinde humiliation; - A good coale fire is their desire, - whereby to sit and parly - Theyle drink their ale and tell a tale, - and go home in the morning early. - I cannot go home, &c. - - Your domineering swaggering blades, - and caualiers that flashes, - That throw the Jugs against the walls - and break in peeces glasses - When Bacchus round cannot be found - they will in merriment - Drinke ale and beere and cast of care - and sing with one consent - I cannot goe home, &c. - -The title-page of the following poem tells its history:— - - THE HIGH AND MIGHTIE COMMENDATION OF THE - VERTUE OF A POT OF GOOD ALE. - * * * * * - Full of wit without offence, of mirth without - obscenities, of pleasure without scurrelitie - and of good content without distaste - * * * * * {320} - Whereunto is added the valiant battell fought - betweene the Norfolk Cock and - the Wisbich Cock. - * * * * * - -[Illustration - - Written by Thomas Randall. - London: - Printed for F. Cowles; T. Bates; and J. Wright. - MDCXLII -] - -THE HIGH AND MIGHTIE COMMENDATION OF THE VERTUE OF A POT OF GOOD ALE. - - Not drunk nor sober, (but neighbour to both,) - I met with a friend in Alesberry vale; - He saw by my face, that I was in the case, - To speak no great harm of a Pot of Good Ale. - - And as we did meet, and friendly did greet, - He put me in mind of the name of the Dale, - That for _Alesberries_ sake, some paines I would take, - And not burie the praise of a Pot of Good Ale. - - The more to procure me, then did he adjure me, - (If the _ale_ I drank last, were nappie and stale,) - To doe it its right, and stir up my spright, - And fall to commend a Pot of Good Ale. {321} - - Quoth I, to commend it, I dare not begin, - Lest therein my cunning might happen to faile, - For many there be that count it a sin, - But once to look towards a Pot of Good Ale. - - Yet I care not a pin, for I see no such sin, - Nor any else that my courage may quaile, - For this I do find, being taken in kind, - Much vertue there is in a Pot of Good Ale. - - When heavinesse the mind doth oppresse, - And sorrow and griefe the heart doth assaile, - No remedy quicker but take up your liquour, - And wash away care with a Pot of Good Ale. - - The Priest and the Clark, whose sights are dark, - And the print of the letter doth seeme too small, - They will con every letter, and read service better, - If they glaze but their eyes with a Pot of Good Ale. - - The Poet divine, that cannot reach wine, - Because that his money doth oftentimes faile, - Will hit on the veine, and reach the high straine, - If he be but inspired with a Pot of Good Ale. - - All writers of Ballads, for such whose mishap - From Newgate up Holbourne to Tyburne doe saile, - Shall have sudden expression of all their confession, - If the Muse be but dew’d with a Pot of Good Ale. - - The Prisoner that is enclos’d in the grate, - Will shake off remembrance of bondage and jaile, - Of hunger or cold, or fetters or fate, - If he pickle himself with a Pot of Good Ale. - - The Salamander Blacksmith that lives by the fire, - While his Bellowes are puffing a blustring gale, - Will shake off his full Kan, and sweare each true Vulcan, - Will Hazzard his witts for a Pot of Good Ale. {322} - - The woer that feareth his suit to begin, - And blushes, and simpers, and often looks pale, - Thogh he miss in his speech and his heart were at his breech, - If he liquors his tongue: with a Pot of Good Ale. - - The Widdow, that buried her husband of late, - Will soon have forgotten to weep and to waile; - And think every day twaine, till she marry againe, - If she read the contents of a Pot of Good Ale. - - The Plowman and Carter that toyles all the day, - And tires himself quite at the Plough-taile, - Will speak no lesse things, than of Queens and Kings, - If he do but make bold with a Pot of Good Ale. - - And indeed it will make a man suddenly wise, - Ere while was scarce able to tell a right tale, - It will open his Jaw, he will tell you the Law, - And straight be a Bencher with a Pot of Good Ale. - - I doe further alledge, it is fortitudes edge, - For a very Coward that shrinks like a Snaile, - Will sweare and will swagger, and out goes his Dagger, - If he be but well arm’d with a Pot of Good Ale. - - The naked man taketh no care for a coat, - Nor on the cold weather will once turne his taile, - All the way as he goes, cut the wind with his nose, - If he be but well lin’d with a Pot of Good Ale. - - The hungrie man seldome can mind his meat, - (Though his Stomach could brook a Ten Penny Nail,) - He quite forgets hunger, thinks of it no longer, - If his guts be but sows’d with a Pot of Good Ale. - - The Reaper, the Mower, the Thresher, the Sower, - The one with his Sithe, and the other with his flaille, - Pull ’em out by the pole, on the perill of my sole, - They will hold up their caps at a Pot of Good Ale. {323} - - The Beggar, whose portion is alwayes his Prayer, - Not having a tatter, to hang at his taille, - Is as rich in his rags, as a Churle with his bags, - If he be but entic’d with a Pot of Good Ale. - - It puts his povertie out of his mind, - Forgetting his browne bread, his wallet, his maile, - He walks in the house like a six footed Lowse, - If he be but well drench’d with a Pot of Good Ale. - - The Souldier, the Saylor, the true man, the Taylor, - The Lawyer that sels words by weight and by tale, - Take them all as they are, for the War or the Bar, - They all will approve of a Pot of Good Ale. - - The Church and Religion to love it hath cause, - (Or else our Fore-fathers, their wisdomes did faile,) - For at every mile, close at the Church stile, - An house is ordain’d for a Pot of Good Ale. - - And Physick will flavour _Ale_ (as it is bound) - And stand against Beere both tooth and naile, - They send up and downe, all over the towne, - To get for their Patients a Pot of Good Ale. - - Your Ale-berries, Cawdles, and Possets each one, - And sullabubs made at the milking pale, - Although they be many, Beere comes not in any, - But all are compos’d with a Pot of Good Ale. - - And in very deed, the Hop’s but a weed, - Brought o’re ’gainst law, and here set to sale; - He that first brought the Hop, had reward with a rope, - And found that his Beere was bitter than ale. - - The antient tales that my Grannam hath told, - Of the mirth she had in Parlour and Hall, - How in Christmas time, they would dance, sing, and rime, - As if they were mad, with a Pot of Good Ale. {324} - - Beere is a stranger, a Dutch Upstart come, - Whose credit with us, sometimes is but small; - But in the records of the Empire of Rome, - The old Catholic drink is a Pot of Good Ale. - - To the praise of Gambinius, the old British King, - Who devised for his nation (by the Welshmen’s tale), - Seventeene hundred years before Christ did spring, - The happie invention of a Pot of Good Ale. - - But he was a Pagan, and Ale then was rife, - But after Christ came, and bade us, _All haile, - Saint Tavie was neffer trink peere in her life, - Put awle Callywhiblin_, and excellent Ale. - - All religions and nations, their humours and fashions - Rich or poore, knave or whoore, dwarfish or tall - Sheep or shrew, Ile avow, well I know will all bow, - If they be but wel steep’d, with a Pot of Good Ale. - - O Ale, _ab alendo_, thou liquor of life, - I wish that my mouth were as big as a Whale, - But then ’twere to little, to reach thy least title, - That belongs to the Praise of a Pot of Good Ale. - - Thus many a vertue to you I have showed, - And not any vice in all this long tale, - But after the Pot, there commeth a shot, - And that is the Blot of a Pot of Good Ale. - - Well, said my friend, the blot I will beare, - You have done very well, it is time to strike saile, - We’ll have six Pots more, though we dye on the score, - To make all _this good_ of a Pot of Good Ale. - -We may be pardoned for omitting “the valiant battell fought between the -Norfolk Cock and the Wisbich Cock.” - -Returning again to the _Roxburghe Collection_. _A Health to all Good -Fellowes_ is a very quaint old drinking song, having beneath its title -a wood-cut no less quaint than the letterpress. It was printed about -the commencement of the seventeenth century, for Henry Gossen. The -author is unknown; possibly he was Martin Parker or Lawrence Price. -{325} No copy beyond that in the _Roxburghe Collection_ is known to be -in existence. The tune is a good one. - -A HEALTH TO ALL GOOD-FELLOWES: - -or, - -The good Companions Arithmeticke. - -To the tune of _To drive cold Winter away_. - -[Illustration] - - Be merry my hearts, and call for your quarts, - and let no liquor go lacking, - We have gold in store, we purpose to roar - until we set care a packing. - Then Hostis make haste, and let no time waste, - let every man have his due, - To save shooes and trouble, bring in the pots double - for he that made one, made two.[63] - - * * * * * - - Then while we are here, wee’le drinke Ale and Beer, - and freely our money wee’le spend, - Let no man take care for paying his share, - if need be Ile pay for my friend, - Then Hostesse make haste, and let no time waste; - you’re welcome all kind Gentlemen; {326} - Never feare to carowse, while there is beere in the house, - for he that made nine made ten. - - * * * * * - - Now I thinke it is fit, and most requisit, - to drinke a health to our wives, - The which being done, wee’le pay and be gone, - strong drinke all our wits now deprives: - Then Hostesse lets know, the summe that we owe, - twelve pence there is for certaine, - Then fill t’other pot, and here’s money for’t, - for he that made twelve made thirteen.” - -The poet was probably at a loss for a word to rhyme with fourteen, or -the ballad would have been longer. - - [63] The “he that made” is probably the brewer. The numbers increase - by ones in the last line of each verse, the last verse reaching - thirteen. - -Another song of much the same character is _Monday’s Work_, the work -being no work at all, but a day spent at the alehouse. The only known -copy of this ballad is in the _Roxburghe Collection_. The author is -unknown. - -MONDAYS WORK - -or - - The Two honest neighbours both birds of a feather - Who are at the Alehouse both merry together. - - To the tune of _I owe my Hostesse Money_. - -[Illustration] - -{327} - - Good morow neighbour Gamble - Come let you and I goe ramble, - Last night I was shot, - Through the braines with a pot - and now my stomach doth wamble; - Your Possets and your Caudles, - Are fit for babies in Cradles; - A piece of salt Hogge, - And a haire of the old Dogge - is good to cure our drunken Noddles. - Come hither mine host, come hither, - Here’s two birds of a feather, - Come hither my host - With a pot and a tost, - and let us be merry together. - - I rose in the morning early, - To take this juice of barly, - But if my wife Jone, - Knew where I were gone, - shee’d call me to a Parley. - My bones I do not fauour, - But honestly doe labour: - But when I am out - I must make a mad bout - come here’s halfe a pot to thee neighbour. - Come hither, &c. - - Gramarcy, neighbour Jinkin, - I see thou louest no shrinking, - And I for my part - From thee will not start, - come fill us a little more drinke in. - I’th weeke we aske but one day, - And that’s next after Sunday - Our custome wee’le hold - Although our Wiues scold - the Maultman comes a Monday. - Come hither, &c. - - Come let us haue our Liquor about us - Mine host does not misdoubt us, {328} - Yet if we should call, - And pay none at all, - you were better be without us: - But we are no such fellowes, - Though some in clothes excell us - And yet haue no coyne - For Liquor to joyne - yet we haue both whites and yellowes. - Come hither, &c. - * * * * * - -There is a second part to this song, which ends with the words:— - - Now lest our wiues should find us - ’Tis fit we should look behind us - Let’s see what is done - Then pay and begone, - as honesty hath assigned us. - ’Tis strong ale I conceiue it - ’Tis good in time to leaue it - Or else it will make - Our foreheads to ake, - ’tis vanity to outbraue it. - Come hither, &c. - -Coming now to works of a later date, the following comicality seems -worthy of reproduction. It is hardly necessary to point out that the -verses are a smart hit upon female ale-bibbers. They are attributed -to Samuel Bishop, M.A., rector of St. Stephen’s, Walbrook (1783). “A -worthy man and generally beloved,” says Dr. Hughson, LL.D., in his -_London_. - -QUOD PETIS HIC EST. - - No plate had John and Joan to hoard, - Plain folks in humble plight; - One only tankard crown’d the board, - And that was filled each night. - Along whose inner bottom sketched - In pride of chubby grace, - Some rude engravers hand had etch’d - A babys angels face, - John swallowed first a moderate sup; - But Joan was not like John; {329} - For when her lips once touched the cup, - She swill’d till all was gone. - John often urged her to drink fair, - But she ne’er changed a jot; - She loved to see that angel there, - And therefore drain’d the pot. - When John found all remonstrance vain, - Another card he play’d; - And where the angel stood so plain, - He got a devil pourtrayed. - John saw the horns, Joan saw the tail, - Yet Joan as stoutly quaffed; - And ever when she seized her ale - She cleared it at a draught. - John star’d with wonder petrify’d, - His hairs rose on his pate; - “And Why dose guzzle now?” he cryd, - “At this enormous rate?” - “Oh, John,” says she, “am I to blame, - I can’t in conscience stop; - For sure ’twould be a burning shame - To leave the devil a drop.” - -A collection of ale ballads and songs would hardly be complete without -at least one on the “guid yill of Scotland.” Burns’ works are so well -known that we fall back upon a capital Scotch song written at the -close of the last century, and bearing the title _A Coggie O’ Yill_. -The author was Andrew Sheriffs of Shirrefs, at one time Editor of the -_Aberdeen Chronicle_. He also wrote a Scotch pastoral entitled _Jamie -and Bess_, which was published in 1787, and a second time in 1790. -Burns, in his Third _Northern Tour_, speaks of Sheriffs, who was a -bookbinder by trade, as “a little decrepit body with some abilities.” -The words of the song were set to music by a celebrated violin player, -named Robert Macintosh. - -A COGGIE O’ YILL. - - A Coggie o’ Yill, - And a pickle aitmeal, - And a dainty wee drappie o’ whiskey, - Was our forefathers dose, - For to sweel down their brose - And keep them aye cheery and friskey— {330} - Then hey for the wiskey, and hey for the meal, - And hey for the Cogie, and hey for the yill, - Gin ye steer a’ thegither they’ll do unco weel, - To keep a chiel cherry and brisk aye. - - When I see our Scots lads, - Wi’ their kilts and cockauds, - That sae often ha’e loundered our foes, man: - I think to mysel’, - On the meal and the yill, - And the fruits o’ our Scottish Kail brose, man. - Then hey, &c., &c. - - * * * * * - - Then our brave Highland blades, - Wi’ their claymore and plaids, - In the field drive like sheep a’ our foes, man: - Their courage and pow’r— - Spring from this to be sure, - They’re the noble effects o’ the brose, man. - Then hey, &c., &c. - - But your spyndle-shank’d sparks - Wha sae ill fill their sarks, - Your pale-visaged milksops and beaux, man: - I think when I see them, - ’Twere kindness to gie them— - A cogie o’ yill or o’ brose, man. - Then hey, &c., &c. - - What John Bull despises, - Our better sense prizes, - He denies eatin’ blanter ava, man; - But by eatin o’ blanter, - His mare’s grown, I’ll warrant her, - The manliest brute o’ the twa, man. - Then hey, &c., &c. - -It would not be difficult to fill a volume of considerable size with -songs and ballads having ale or beer for their subject, but the -foregoing, together with many others to be found in these pages, are -among the best of their kind, and will doubtless give a fair idea of -the poetry of malt liquor. - -{331} - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - - - “Blessing of your heart, you brew good Ale.” - _Two Gentlemen of Verona._ Act iii., Sc. 1. - - “The bigger the brewing the better the browst.” - _Old Yorkshire Proverb._ - -_BREWING IN THE PRESENT DAY. — ANECDOTAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNT OF -SOME REPRESENTATIVE LONDON, DUBLIN, BURTON, AND COUNTRY BREWING FIRMS. -— EDINBURGH ALES._ - -Passing on to modern times and bidding adieu to the old brewers, -brewsters, ale-wives, and tapsters, it behoves us to devote ourselves -to giving some account of the brewing of the present day, thereby -bringing our history up to date. With this intent, we cannot do better -than commence with a few figures, startling enough, no doubt, to others -than the _cognoscenti_, as to the magnitude of what are commonly called -the Liquor Trades. - -From a report drawn up by Professor Leoni Levi in 1878, at the request -of the late Mr. M. T. Bass, M.P., and from recent Parliamentary -returns, it appears that the total amount of capital invested in the -liquor trades of the United Kingdom amounts to about one hundred and -seventeen million pounds sterling. This sum is equal to more than half -the total value of our exports, and is more than double the annual -receipts of all the railways. About one-third of the whole National -Revenue is drawn from this source. - -Making due allowance for families, the persons employed directly -in {332} the various trades connected with the production and -distribution of alcoholic drinks are not fewer in number than one and a -half million. - -From these startling facts, it follows that teetotallers, before they -can accomplish the total abolition of spirituous liquors, must arrange -for either emigrating or giving employment to over a million persons, -and must be prepared to pay one-third more taxes than they do at -present. - -It may be well, before proceeding further, to give a short and very -simple account of brewing as it is now carried on in nearly every -brewhouse in the country, for without a few general ideas on the -subject many of our readers would no doubt be a little puzzled by the -references to mashing tuns, vats, union rooms and such like, which -occur in this chapter. - -In brewing there are three principal operations: 1.—Mixing the malt -with hot water; 2.—Adding hops to the infusion obtained and boiling -them together; and 3.—Fermenting the liquid by putting yeast in it. - -The malt when brought to the brewery is first screened to remove dirt, -dust and foreign particles; nails and other odds and ends of metal -being caught on a bar magnet over which the malt passes. It is then -crushed between rollers and, by an ingenious mechanical contrivance, -is carried to large bins or hoppers situated above the mash tuns, the -huge tubs in which the malt and hot (not boiling) water are mixed. This -process is called mashing, and was formerly done by merely stirring -water and malt together with a long oar or pole, a practice of course -still followed by home brewers. - - See, the welcome Brewhouse rise, - See, the priest his duty plies! - And, with apron duly bound, - _Stirs the liqour round and round_. - O’er the bubbling cauldron play - Mirth and merriment so gay; - Melancholy hides her head, - The frowns of Envy, all are fled; - Youthful Wit and Attic Salt - Infuse their savour in the Malt. - -Mashing is now carried on in various ways, machinery entirely taking -the place of manual labour. Sometimes the water—always spoken of as -“liquor” in a brewery—rises in the tun, and the malt comes in from -{333} above, but in many breweries the malt and water run in together, -a machine mixing them before they enter. When the malt-tea has stood -long enough—huge revolving rakes mixing the mash meanwhile—the amber -infusion (technically “wort”) is drawn off and more water added, until -all the goodness has been extracted from the malt, the empty husks or -“grains” only being left. With grains pigs and cows are often fed, and -not brewers’ horses, as is popularly imagined. - -“Mashing” over, the next process is to give the malt-tea its bitter -flavour, and this is done by boiling it in a huge copper with a -quantity of hops. When sufficiently boiled, the hops and wort are run -off from the copper into huge square vessels (technically “hop-backs”) -with perforated bottoms, which act as strainers or colanders, the -liquid passing through the holes, leaving the hops behind, which are -subsequently pressed to get all the liquid out of them. The brewer -has now a quantity of unfermented hot beer, which he must first cool -by passing it among pipes containing icy cold water. Refrigerators -and ice-making machines are, it need hardly be said, of the greatest -assistance to the modern brewer, who without them could only brew in -the cold months. Some firms have spent as much as £8,000 on their -ice-making machines. The beer, which at present is a teetotal drink -devoid of alcohol, having been cooled, is turned into large tubs or -square boxes, and yeast is added to it. Fermentation now sets in, and -by various ingenious contrivances the froth as it rises to the top is -skimmed off or carried away. During this process the beer is kept at a -low temperature by means of cold water-pipes which are taken through -the fermenting tuns. When the fermentation has almost ceased, the beer -is put into smaller vessels,[64] where a little fermentation still goes -on, and the froth either works over the side or is skimmed off or, as -in the “union” system at Burton, works up through pipes. Fermentation -being now practically at an end, the beer goes into huge vats, from -which it is drawn into casks as required. This last operation is termed -“racking.” Even then the bung-holes are left open for a day or two to -allow a little froth to work out. - - [64] There are several varieties of these vessels: Pontoons, unions, - &c., the most approved being shallow trays. On these the yeast rises - very quickly. The process is termed “cleansing.” - -The foregoing process seems, and is, of a simple character, but to -{334} obtain the very best results great skill is necessary. The -colour of the malt, the temperature of the water in the mash tun, -the temperature during fermentation, the proper proportion of the -materials, and many other matters are of the greatest importance. Some -brewers, and notably Messrs. Guinness & Sons, keep their beer in vats -for a considerable length of time before racking it into the casks, but -the practice is gradually dying out, and huge vats such as that built -some years ago by Messrs. Meux & Co. are now but little used. - -The racking room of a large brewery is a wonderful sight. All round the -sides are huge vats—twenty or thirty, perhaps—in each of which fifteen -to twenty people could dine comfortably. These giant tubs tower above -thousands of barrels which line the floor, and which look like pigmies -by comparison. - -One of the most interesting portions of a modern brewery is the -cooperage. Coopers are highly-skilled workmen, and it is more or less -of a marvel to see how without any measurement they plane down planks -into staves for casks, and fit them together so closely that the -{335} cask is perfectly sound and incapable of leaking. The length -of the staves is measured, for the rest the Cooper trusts to his eye. -Coopering is a most ancient trade, and appears from the illustration by -Jost Ammon, in Schopper’s rare book, Πανοπλια, to be carried on in much -the same way now as it was in Germany in the year 1568. - -[Illustration: Der Bender. - -A Sixteenth-century Cooperage.] - -Before giving any account of the firm known as Allsopp & Sons,[65] it -is only fitting to devote a few lines to the Pale Ale Metropolis. - - [65] The following Sketches of certain of our great brewing firms - are in alphabetical order. The task of placing the firms according - to their importance or size was of a character too invidious to be - attempted. - -The history of Burton has been so exhaustively treated by Mr. Molyneux -that it is not an easy matter to add anything fresh on the subject. -In the monastic establishments which were inaugurated at a very early -date in the neighbourhood of the town, enormous quantities of ale were -brewed. There is no record, however, of any public breweries at that -date (1295), though there is little doubt that the trade of malting -was largely carried on. By the sixteenth century a small local trade -in brewing had been established. In a series of letters written by -Walsingham, in 1584, to Sir Ralph Sadler, governor of Tutbury Castle, -to the inquiry, “What place neere Tutbury beere may be provided for her -Majestie’s use?” is the answer that “beere” may be had “at Burton three -myles off.” Information of the progress of the Babbington conspiracy -is said to have been conveyed to Mary Queen of Scots, while in Tutbury -Castle, by a Burton brewer; and a load of beer on its way from Burton -to Fotheringay was intercepted, and among the casks were found -correspondence throwing fatal light on the plot. - -In 1630 the fame of the Burton ale had spread to London, and that -excellent liquor was sold at “The Peacock” in Gray’s Inn Lane. In the -_Spectator_ of May 20th, 1712, is recorded how the writer and Sir Roger -de Coverley visit Vauxhall, where, after inspecting the garden, they -concluded their walk “with a glass of Burton ale and a slice of hung -beef.” - -The history of Burton as a great brewing centre cannot be traced back -much beyond 1708, at least so far as export is concerned. When, as -the result of an Act passed in 1698, water communication was opened -up between Burton and the Baltic ports, the brewers were not slow to -take advantage of their opportunities, and in 1748 a considerable -export trade had been established, the Russians being by far the best -customers. {336} Both Peter the Great and the Empress Catherine were -extremely fond of Burton ale. The Empress, indeed, is said to have -loved it not wisely but too well. In 1791 there were nine brewers -in the town, their names being Bass, Clay, Evans, Leeson, Musgrave, -Sherratt, Wilson (two) and Worthington. Previous to the year 1822 -Burton ale was better known on the Continent than in England, but about -that time the brewers turned their attention to increasing their home -trade, and met with marked success. In 1851 the breweries had increased -to sixteen, giving employment to 867 men and 61 boys. - -The special recommendation of the spring water at Burton consists in -the fact that whatever saccharine may be put into it, appears to remain -there for any length of time without being chemically injured by those -mineral combinations which are generally present in spring water. - -Burton of the present day is a city of breweries. Tall chimneys tower -on all sides, the smell of new beer pervades the air, great red brick -buildings block the way in every direction; engines glide noiselessly -about dragging trucks loaded with casks; burly brewers’ men meet you -at every corner; it is, in fact, the very home of John Barleycorn. The -Breweries of Burton in this present year of grace are thirty in number, -and give employment to about eight thousand men and boys. - -In a view of Burton-on-Trent, engraved in 1720, is a small brewery, -which was then the property of one Benjamin Wilson, the founder of the -great firm of S. Allsopp and Sons. Though not the creator of the Burton -Beer trade, he was the first to carry on an extensive business as a -common brewer, and was, it is believed, the originator of the extensive -export trade which Burton carried on during the eighteenth century. -Letters of his are still extant, from which it may be gathered that he -had established a flourishing trade in Burton ales so early as 1748. -His account books show that in 1770 the business done with Russia was -an extensive one, and partly carried on by barter. - -In 1774, in a letter to Mr. Charles Best, Mr. Wilson writes: “We have -already two large Brewhouses Employ’d, and are about to use a third, -the whole of which will take all the money I can raise with convenience -to myself, beyond which I do not choose to go.” In a letter dated -Oct. 23, 1775, from Messrs. B. Wilson & Co. to Messrs. J. D. Newman & -Co., St. Petersburg, occur the following interesting passages:—“To -people who have the Credit of their own Manufacture and y inseparable -Interest of their Friends at Heart, we cannot but feel an accumulated -Satisfaction at every additional instance of our Ale proving fine and -distinguishing itself, wch, in Justice to its Character, we have y^e -{337} happiness to say our Friends have universally confirmed. To y^e -several Queries of y^r Letter, we beg leave to acquaint you that tho’ -many Merchants from St. Petersburg are supplied with Burton Ale from -our House, yet there are many we are not intimately connected with, -their orders being transmitted through y^e Houses of Hull and London -. . . . . The Price of Ale last year at Burton from y^e extravagant -Price of Grain sold for 17^d per Gallon.” - -In the order book for 1770 are many entries which appear curious enough -to modern readers. Some of the customers order their casks to be cased, -_i.e._, enclosed in a larger cask—a process necessary to prevent the -“Gainsboro’ Captains,” as the bargees were called, from “sucking the -monkey.” One customer writes: “Send me 24-gallon casks strong ale and -let y^e casks be iron-hooped at the head.” Another wants “two 14-gallon -casks of strong ale by _sea_” to London, and another “a hogshead by -_land_” also to London, the carriage of which must have been very -extensive. - -There may possibly be persons still living who recollect an old fellow -named Dyche, who was full of information regarding the early history -of the Burton Ale trade. He remembered John Wilson well, and described -him as a kind, hearty, portly, well-favoured old gentleman, somewhat -peppery withal, but never angry without a cause. Dyche’s father worked -for Mr. Wilson during forty years as a sawyer, his business being to -cut up into staves for the coopers, the timber brought from the Baltic -in exchange for ale. At fourteen years of age the younger Dyche was -apprenticed to the cooper at the brewery. The commonest ale was then, -according to Dyche, as strong as the strongest ale now brewed. - -Dyche used to tell how old Benjamin Wilson had two sons, and a daughter -renowned far and wide for her beauty. This Miss Wilson became the wife -of Mr. James Allsopp, and her son Samuel was father of the Mr. Henry -Allsopp, now Lord Hindlip of Hindlip, who for many years was head of -the firm. - -Benjamin Wilson the younger, having no children, took his nephew Samuel -into the business, much against the wish of Mr. James Allsopp, who had -intended his son for the church. John Walker Wilson, another son of old -Benjamin, also joined the firm, but soon left it and started a brewery -(now Worthington’s) on his own account. On the death of Benjamin Wilson -the younger, who never married, the business came altogether into the -hands of his nephew, Mr. Samuel Allsopp, and was carried on under the -style of “Wilson & Allsopp” until 1822, when the name was changed to -“Samuel Allsopp & Son.” {338} - -The Allsopps come of an ancient family. One Hugh de Allsopp (or -Elleshope) went with Richard I. to the Holy Land, and was knighted for -good service during the siege of Acre. He married a niece of Sir Ralph -de Farington, who presented Sir Hugh with certain lands in Derbyshire, -which, for seventeen generations, the Allsopps-of-the-Dale enjoyed as -their patrimony. Anthony Allsopp, who married a daughter of Sir John -Gell of Hopton, sold the family seat in 1691 to Sir Philip Gell, his -brother-in-law. Mr. James Allsopp, whom we have mentioned as being the -first of the name who joined the firm, was a grandson of Anthony. He -married a member of the old Staffordshire family of Fowlers. - -Several ancient deeds, some of the early part of the thirteenth -century, in the possession of Lord Hindlip, contain conveyances of -land to and from various members of the Alsop family, the chief names -mentioned being Henry de Alsop, Ranulf de Alsop, and Thomas de Alsop. - -In Pepys’ _Diary_ mention is made of a Mr. Alsop, brewer to Charles II. -Whether any connection existed between him and the Allsopp family is -not known. - -Returning now to the history of the firm—in 1822 high import duties -were imposed by the Russian Government upon English ales, and this -fact led for a time to the almost total suspension of the trade which -Messrs. Allsopp & Son had for so long carried on with Russia. The -results were not, however, altogether disastrous, for the Burton firm -now saw the necessity of pushing their home trade, and the ales which -had hitherto been better known in St. Petersburg than in London came -into considerable demand in the southern portions of this country. - -An eye-witness of a banquet given by Peter the Great has left the -following description:—“As soon as you sit down you are expected to -drink a cup of brandy, after which they ply you with great glasses of -adulterated Tokay and other vitiated wines, and between whiles with a -bumper of the strongest English beer.” Burton ales then were of a very -different character to the excellent bitter of to-day; Dyche spoke as -to their strength, and they were so rich and luscious that if a little -was spilled on a table the glass would stick to it. - -At this time a brewer named Hodgson had the whole of the Indian -export trade, but Messrs. Allsopp & Son, at the suggestion of a Mr. -Majoribanks, brewed and exported ale similar to Hodgson’s. Their -venture met with marked success, and for many years the firm held the -{339} chief place among the exporters of Indian Pale Ale. The first -Burton specimen of that beverage, many thousand hogsheads of which are -now brewed annually, was compounded by Job Goodhead, Mr. Allsopp’s -veteran maltster, in a _tea-pot_. - -Space forbids a long account of Mr. S. Allsopp’s life. To his -endeavours was chiefly due the bringing of the Derby and Birmingham -railway system close to Burton. In both public and private life Mr. -Allsopp was charitable to a fault, and greatly beloved. He died in -1838, and was succeeded by his two sons, Charles James and Henry. The -latter, so long the head of the firm, is too well known to need mention -here. He it was who took a leading part in refuting certain mischievous -charges, which were to the effect that the Burton brewers used noxious -materials in the manufacture of their bitter beer. He represented -Worcestershire from 1874 to 1880, and in 1880 was created a Baronet. In -the early part of 1886 he had the honour of being raised to the peerage -under the title of Lord Hindlip of Hindlip and Alsop-en-le-Dale, having -retired from the firm for some years in favour of his three sons, the -Hon. Charles, George and Percy Allsopp. - -A word now as to the breweries, which rank among the best and most -perfect of their kind. They are three in number, and are connected -together, and with the makings, cooperages, &c., by about ten miles of -railway. - -The New Brewery is an immense structure, no single building being in -existence which has a greater brewing capacity. The union room is of -very fine proportions, being 375 feet in length and 105 in breadth. It -contains 1,424 unions, which can cleanse 230,688 gallons at one time. -The union rooms, taken altogether, contain about 4,500 unions, each -with a capacity of 695 gallons. - -Next to the New Brewery comes the Old Brewery, and lastly the Model -Brewery, which seems a mere toy compared with the others. It is used -chiefly for experiments, and for occasional brews of stout and porter. -The firm also possesses extensive maltings, and, it is almost needless -to say, large cooperages, stables, &c. - -A feature in the conduct of Messrs. Allsopp & Sons’ business is the -consideration shown to the employés, who, without counting clerks and -the office staff, number 1,600. For their benefit the firm maintains a -cricket ground, bowling green, a sick and funeral club, and a library -managed by a scripture reader, who also visits the men and their -families. Here and there about the breweries and maltings may be seen -tottering old men, who seem out of place among so much life and {340} -bustle. These are the pensioners, who work as much or as little as -they like. We believe that Messrs. Allsopp and Sons rank third among -the brewing firms of the United Kingdom, and the extent of their -business may be inferred from the simple fact that they have an annual -expenditure of £1,400 to £1,500 in postage stamps alone. In the busy -periods of the year upwards of 20,000 casks pass weekly through their -racking rooms. It would be presumption to attempt to criticise the malt -liquor produced by this firm or, indeed, that of any of our leading -brewers. - -Early in the eighteenth century, as early indeed as the year 1710, if -the Commercial List is correct, a building called the Anchor Brewery -existed on the Surrey side of the Thames, in Southwark, owned by a Mr. -Halsey, whose beer is mentioned in State papers of Queen Anne’s reign -as being exported to Flanders for the use of the army. This gentleman -having amassed a large fortune, and married his daughter to Lord -Cobham, severed his connection with trade, and sold the business to Mr. -Thrale, the member for the Borough of Southwark, and Sheriff for the -County of Surrey. Mr. Thrale died in 1781, and was succeeded by his -son, whose wife Hester was the intimate friend of the great Dr. Johnson. - -Even at that time a great business was done by the firm, about 30,000 -barrels of beer being produced annually. According to the _Annual -Register_ for 1759, Thrale’s was the fourth largest London brewery, -Calvert’s, Whitbread’s and Truman’s coming before it. It is said that -Thrale lost £130,000 by unfortunate speculations, but so profitable -was the brewery that at the end of nine years he had saved a sum which -enabled him to pay all the debts contracted by reason of his losses. - -Dr. Johnson’s friendship with the Thrales commenced in 1765, and -continued until the brewer’s death. The Doctor lived sometimes in a -house near the brewery, and sometimes in the villa at Streatham. Up to -1832, when the brewery was destroyed by fire, a room near the entrance -gate used to be shown, which was said to have been the Doctor’s study. -In Boswell’s _Life of Johnson_ are numerous letters and reports of -conversations relating more or less to the Brewery. One of the last -letters written by the Doctor was to Sir Joshua Reynolds, and contained -proposals for the establishment of a convivial club, as _The_ Club -was getting overweighted with Bishops. The Doctor scoffed at the idea -that persons, however learned, could meet habitually merely for the -purpose of discussing philosophy or the sciences without material -refreshment, and he gravely warned Mrs. Thrale that if she forbade -{341} card-tables in her drawing room, she must at least give her -guests plenty of sweatmeats, else nobody would come to see her. But -the Doctor, and not the bonbons or card-tables, must have been the -loadstone which filled Mrs. Thrale’s reception rooms. At Thrale’s death -Dr. Johnson, Mrs. Thrale, and three gentlemen, named Cator, Smith -and Crutchley, found themselves appointed Executors, and determined -to carry on the business; but Dr. Johnson, who by nature could not -help taking the lead in whatever he was concerned, was not born to -be a brewer, and the undertaking was not a success. Mrs. Thrale, in -_Anecdotes of Dr. Johnson_, has left a very lively account of these -amateur brewers’ proceedings. In June, 1781, when the Executors had -made the resolve to sell the business, she wrote: “Dear Dr. Johnson was -somewhat unwilling—but not much at last—to give up a trade by which -in some years £15,000 or £16,000 had undoubtedly been got, but by -which in some years its possessor had suffered agonies of terror and -tottered twice upon the verge of bankruptcy . . . adieu to brewing and -borough wintering; adieu to trade and tradesmen’s frigid approbation. -May virtue and wisdom sanctify our contract, and make buyer and seller -happy in the bargain!” - -When the brewery was offered for sale, Dr. Johnson appeared bustling -about with his ink-horn and pen in his buttonhole, like any excise -man. On being asked what he really considered to be the value of the -property, he spoke the celebrated words: “We are not here to sell a -parcel of boilers and vats, but the potentiality of growing rich beyond -the dream of avarice.” The brewery was finally sold by private contract -for £135,000 to Messrs. Robert Barclay and John Perkins, who were -associated in the transaction with Mr. David Barclay, junr., and Mr. -Sylvanus Bevan, of the banking firm of Barclay, Bevan & Co. Mr. Robert -Barclay was succeeded by his son Charles, who represented Southwark in -Parliament, and his sons and grandsons. In 1827, the last year of the -old Beer-tax, Barclays’ headed the list of London firms, having brewed -341,331 barrels of beer. - -The present brewery and its belongings adjoin Bankside, extend from -the land arches of Southwark Bridge nearly half the distance to London -Bridge, and cover about twelve acres. Within the brewery is said to be -the site of the old Globe Theatre. In an account of the neighbourhood, -dated 1795, it is stated that “the passage which led to the Globe -Tavern, of which the playhouse formed a part, was till within these few -years known by the name of Globe Alley, and upon its site now stands a -large storehouse for porter.” {342} - -In the Globe Theatre, which was built by Henslowe and his son-in-law -Alleyn, the founder of Dulwich College, Shakspere produced and acted -in several of his plays. It is curious that with Barclay and Perkins’ -brewery should be associated the names of our greatest poet and perhaps -our most brilliant conversationalist—Dr. Johnson—who did so much to -revive the popularity of his predecessor. - -A rather amusing anecdote used to be told of Madame Malibran, who, like -many singers, knew the beneficial effects of stout on the voice, and -whose favourite evening’s repast after the Opera consisted of oysters -and bottled stout. Once hearing the name of the Honourable Craven -Berkeley announced in company, she tripped up to him, and, with great -animation, said, “Ah, Mr. Barclay and Perkins, I do owe you so much!” -This reminds us of another anecdote, told of Madame Pasta. When in -England she was asked by a literary lady of high distinction whether -she drank as much stout as usual. “No, mia cara,” was the reply “prendo -half and half adessa.” - -Messrs. Barclay, Perkins and Co.’s brewery ranks among the sights of -London, and is visited by thousands of foreigners during the year. -The present brewhouse is nearly as large as Westminster Hall, and -each of the three malt bins could, if required, contain an ordinary -three-storied house. The vats number a hundred and fifty, with -capacities varying from one hundred to three thousand five hundred -barrels; the largest of these weigh when full no less than 500 tons. -The full capacity of the mash tuns is 690 quarters. The water used in -brewing is drawn from an artesian well 623 feet deep, and the firm give -employment to over six hundred men. - -Among the collection of Hearne’s Letters, in the Bodleian Library, is -one from Saml. Catherall, dated “Luscom, near Bath, Nov. 2, 1729.” It -contains a few semi-humorous verses on the death of two mutual friends, -named Whiteside and Craster, and ends thus:— - - “Ev’en you alas! with grief o’ercome, shall lend - Some tears, and lose y^e stoick in y^e Friend: - So stern Achilles wept—But you, and I - Observant of Decorum, will not cry - Like children (for we all were born to Die); - Basse’s Immortal Ale shall make us gay, - He Holds out longest y^t dilutes his clay. - - “Your faithful Friend, - “SAM CATHERALL. - “To Mr. Thomas Hearne - “At Edmund Hall, in Oxford. - “By the cross post.” - -{343} - -Though there are records extant of persons bearing the name of Bass -who did various notable things, such as undertaking a pilgrimage to -Canterbury in 1506 (not forgetting a certain Mrs. Laura Bassi, who was -promoted to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Bologna, in Italy -“having first passed a strict examination and answered all points with -surprising capacity and learning), this is nevertheless the first -mention of Basse’s ale. Who was this Basse”? Frankly, we cannot say, -but from the date of the letter it is certain that he was not the -founder of the present firm. - -The year 1877 was the centenary of that great commercial enterprise -now known as Bass, Ratcliff & Gretton, Limited. It was when George the -Third was King, and Pitt, the youngest Prime Minister this country has -ever known, was in power, that Mr. William Bass, the proprietor of a -considerable carrying business, commenced to brew ale at Burton. His -brewhouse was situated in the High Street, and the building on that -site, still in the hands of the firm, is always spoken of as the “Old -Brewery.” The land occupied was about equal in extent to a moderately -large garden, and the power in the brewery was probably altogether -manual, for Watt had not at that time fully developed the greatest -invention the world has ever known. Bass and Co.’s Brewery and its -belongings now cover forty-five acres of freehold and over a hundred of -leasehold land, on which are thirty-two steam engines of altogether 610 -horse power! - -Mr. William Bass, finding that his new undertaking was proving a -success, sold his carrying business to the well-known house of Pickford -& Co. The brewery did not, however, begin to take any important place -in the trade until the beginning of the present century, some few years -after Mr. Michael Thomas Bass, grandson of the founder, had been taken -into the business, which then soon began to increase with marvellous -rapidity, owing, there can be no doubt, to the fact that Mr. Michael -Bass’s principal aim was to brew the very best beer that could possibly -be brewed. In 1834 Mr. Ratcliff was taken into partnership, and a few -years later Mr. Gretton joined the firm. In 1853 was built the middle -brewery, between Guild Street and Station Street. In 1864 a third -brewhouse was opened in Station Street, only thirty-six weeks after the -foundations were commenced. Both the Middle Brewery and the New Brewery -have been greatly enlarged within the last few years, and the Old -Brewery has been entirely rebuilt. In 1884 Mr. M. T. Bass died, and was -probably more deeply lamented than any other inhabitant of Burton since -that place became a town. In 1880 the {344} business was turned into a -private Limited Company, of which the eldest son of Mr. M. T. Bass is -the chairman.[66] - - [66] Created (1886) Baron Burton of Rangemore and of - Burton-on-Trent, in the county of Stafford. - -Before attempting to give any idea of the enormous business transacted -by Messrs. Bass & Co., a few words respecting the man by whose strict -integrity, business qualifications, and persistent and successful -efforts to produce the best possible article, and none other, the -name of Bass has been rendered a familiar word throughout the whole -civilised world. He was born in 1799, and entered the business -immediately after leaving school. The trade then done was so limited -that he had for a time to act as a traveller; but year by year -the demand for Bass’s Ale became greater and greater, and for a -considerable period before his death Mr. Bass was at the head of the -greatest pale ale brewery in the world. He was a genial, kindly man, -and had a genuine pride in the success of his great undertaking. Those -who had the pleasure of being his guests will no doubt remember his -translation of two lines from _Martial_, Book vi. Epigram 69:— - - Non Miror quod potat aquam tua Bassa, Catulle! - Miror quod _Bassi filia_ potat aquam. - -“I am not the least surprised, O Catullus, that your nymph Bassa drinks -water; what I _am_ surprised at is that Bass’s daughter drinks water.” -The epigram has also been rendered into English verse:— - - Not strange, my friend, I’m thinking, - Thy Bassa water drinking, - Most strange that Bass’s daughter - Should think of drinking water. - -Mr. M. T. Bass represented Derby in Parliament for thirty-five years, -being eight times elected in succession, only resigning in 1883, having -lived to be the oldest member in the House. He gave Derby a Free -Library, a Museum, an Art Gallery, a Public Bath, and a Recreation -Ground, at a cost of £50,000. Railway Companies’ servants have -reason to be grateful to him, for through his endeavours their hours -of labour, though still in some case left far too long, have on many -lines been considerably shortened. For some years many of them worked -sixteen, eighteen, and even twenty hours out of the twenty-four. -He also strenuously exerted himself to obtain the abolition of -imprisonment for debt. His benefactions to Burton are too numerous -to mention. The chief of them were the gifts of St. Paul’s and St. -Margaret’s {345} Churches, with a Parsonage House, Schools, and an -endowment of £500 a year, and a Workman’s Club and Institute at -a total cost of over £100,000. Mr. Bass was repeatedly offered a -Peerage, and as often refused it. We cannot better conclude this short -and very inadequate description than by quoting the words used by Sir -William Harcourt when opening St. Paul’s Institute at Burton-on-Trent: -“We are met here to-day to commemorate the munificent benefaction of -Mr. Bass. He is a man advanced in years, in honour, and in wealth, -which is the fruit of a life of intelligent industry. He was a Liberal -in his youth; he is a Liberal in his age. Years and wealth have not -brought to him selfish timidity. In his grey hairs he cherishes the -generous sentiments which inspired his earlier days. He has received -freely, and freely has he bestowed.” - -The liberality of the firm was not confined to Mr. Michael Bass. The -Messrs. Gretton have erected and endowed a Church in the suburbs of -Burton at a cost of nearly £20,000, and Public Baths and Wash-houses, -costing nearly £10,000, have been presented to the town by Messrs. -Ratcliff. - -The firm of Bass & Co. alone contribute to the National Revenue -upwards of £780 per day, and its breweries at Burton-upon-Trent -are the largest of their kind in the world, the business premises -extending, as we have said, over 145 acres of land. Locomotives have to -a large extent superseded brewers’ drays at Burton, and this firm has -connection with the outer railway systems by twelve miles of rails on -the premises, and use as many as 60,000 railway trucks in the course of -six months. The casks required to carry on the business number 600,000, -of which 46,901 are butts, and 159,608 are hogsheads. Some ingenious -calculations have been made with regard to these casks. Piled one above -another they would make 3,300 pillars, each reaching to the top of -St. Paul’s. The great Egyptian Pyramid is 763 ft. square at the base; -the butts, standing on end and placed bulge to bulge, would furnish -bases for _five_ such pyramids, and the other casks would be more than -sufficient for the superstructure 460 ft. high. - -Though labour-saving machinery is used as much as possible, Bass & Co. -employ at Burton alone 2,250 men and boys. In 1821 only 867 men and -61 boys were engaged in all the Burton breweries. In the course of a -season the firm now sends out over 800,000 barrels, and manufacture -raw material weighing 85,000 tons. In the year ending June 30th, 1883, -250,000 quarters of malt were used and 31,000 cwt. of hops. The amount -of business now done by the firm in one year cannot be less than -£2,400,000, figures which will give some idea of the capital employed. -{346} - -A detailed description of the three brewhouses would fill the whole of -the space devoted to this chapter; suffice it, therefore, to say that -the racking rooms on the ground floor of the new brewery cover more -than one and a half acre, the tunning rooms of the same area contain -2,548 tunning casks of 160 gallons each; and the copper house contains -three water coppers that will boil 12,000 gallons each; and eleven wort -coppers that will each boil 2,200 gallons of wort. - -On the cooperage great demands are made, for about 40,000 casks, which -are made in part by machinery, are annually exported. The firm has -thirty-two maltings at Burton, and others elsewhere, which, during the -malting season, make 7,600 qrs. per week. - -The annual issue of Bass and Co.’s labels amounts to over one hundred -millions. Some idea of this quantity may be gathered from the fact that -if they were put end to end in one long line they would reach to New -York and back again, a distance of five thousand miles. - -Both the late Mr. Bass’s sons are members of the firm. The eldest, -Lord Burton of Rangemore, late member for the Burton division of -Staffordshire, represented Stafford from 1865 to 1868, and East -Staffordshire from 1868 to 1886. Mr. Hamar Bass, the second son, -represented Tamworth for some years, and in the general elections of -1885–6 was returned for West Staffordshire. - -Between the firms of Bass and Allsopp there is a friendly rivalry as to -which shall brew the best ale. A few years since Sir M. Arthur Bass and -Mr. Charles Allsopp while fishing on Loch Quvich, in Inverness-shire, -were nearly drowned. Sir Arthur had hooked a large fish, and Mr. -Allsopp, eager to see it, stepped on one side of the boat, which at -once capsized. The anglers and their attendants clung to the bottom -of the boat, and were ultimately thrown on an island in an exhausted -condition! The following paragraph shortly afterwards appeared in the -_World_:—“The exciting accident which nearly proved the death of the -rival brewers of Burton-on-Trent, at once so touching in its record -of disinterested friendship, and so highly satisfactory in its sequel -to the world at large, has suddenly inundated me with facetious rhyme -and caustic epigram. This is how one of my correspondents treats the -subject:— - - Let friends who go fishing for salmon or wrasse, - Take a hint from the story of Allsop and Bass; - When you hook a fine fish, of your brother keep clear, - Or your salmon, when caught, may _embitter your beer_ (bier). - -{347} - -One of the most ancient and important brewing centres in the kingdom -is the city of Dublin. With one exception, all its breweries are -exclusively devoted to the manufacture of stout, that sturdy beverage -the fame of which has gone forth into all lands; and just as Burton -has acquired the right to be termed the Pale Ale Metropolis, so does -Ireland’s chief town contend with London for the honour of being called -the Capital of Black Beer. - -It is remarkable that so early as the commencement of the seventeenth -century, Dublin was already a notable brewing centre, producing a -description of brown ale. Barnaby Ryche, writing about that time, gives -a quaint account of the manners and customs of the people, and calls -attention to the great number of alehouses in Dublin during the reign -of James I. - -“I am now,” he says, “to speake of a certaine kind of commodity, that -outstretcheth all that I have hitherto spoken of, and that is the -selling of ale in Dublin, a quotidian commodity that hath vent in every -house in the towne, every day in the weeke, at every houre in the day, -and in every minute in the houre: There is no merchandise so vendible, -it is the very marrow of the commonwealth in Dublin: the whole profit -of the towne stands upon ale-houses, and selling of ale, but yet the -cittizens, a little to dignifie the title, as they use to call every -pedlar a merchant, so they use to call every ale-house a taverne, -whereof there are such plentie, that there are streates of tavernes. - -“. . . . This free mart of ale selling in Dublyne is prohibited to -none, but that it is lawfull for every woman (be she better or be she -worse) either to brewe or else to sell ale.” - -About the time of the Restoration there were ninety-one public -brewhouses in Dublin, and in the early part of the eighteenth century -the trade, though on the decrease, was evidently thriving, the -brewhouses being seventy in number. It seems, however, that, as the -century wore on, the trade died away, for in 1773 there were only -thirty-five Breweries surviving. The decay of so important an industry -was chiefly due to three causes: In the first place, the Irish brewers -were saddled with a heavy tax, and, secondly, English Porter was taking -the place of old Irish brown ale in the popular fancy. An old song on -the Tavern of the Cross Keys, in Dublin, composed about the middle of -the century, opens with the lines— - - When London Porter was not known in town - And Irish ale or beer went glibly down. - -{348} - -It does not seem that the Dublin brewers, who were frequently -petitioning Parliament for assistance, faced the difficulty by brewing -Porter themselves until the year 1778. The third adverse influence -was the taste for ardent spirits, especially rum and brandy, which -had sprung up; and the Irish records of the day are full of allusions -to the injury which this was working, not only to the trade of the -Brewers, but to the morals and health of the people. - -A remarkable letter is still preserved, written by Henry Grattan on -this subject at the close of the century. It appears to be addressed -to the Brewers of Dublin, probably in answer to one of their numerous -petitions for protection. It is as follows:— - -“Gentlemen, - -“The Health of Ireland and the prosperity of her breweries I consider -as intimately connected. I have looked to your trade as to a source -of life and a necessary means of subsistence. I have considered it as -the natural nurse of the people and entitled to every encouragement, -favour, and exemption. It is at your source the Parliament will find -in its own country the means of Health with all her flourishing -consequences, and the cure of intoxication with all her misery. - -“My wishes are with you always. My exertions, such as they are, you may -ever command. - -“I have the honour to be your sincere and your humble servant, - - “HENRY GRATTAN.” - -At present (1886) there are only seven firms of any note in Dublin; -and of those existing a hundred years ago but two survive—Messrs. -Sweetman’s and the well-known house of Messrs. Guinness, which has long -been at the head of the trade in Ireland. To some English readers it -may come as a revelation that at the present time this Irish firm is -the greatest producer of malt liquors in the whole world. - -Some account of the rise and progress of so vast a business cannot but -be of interest to the student of industrial enterprise, but in the -compass of the present work it will of course only be possible to give -the merest outline of its growth. - -Arthur Guinness, the great-grandfather of Sir Edward Guinness, the -present owner, purchased the original premises from a Mr. Ransford -in the year 1759. The business appears to have been of very modest -dimensions, for the plant, as acquired by Arthur Guinness, included -only one mash tun and one seventy-barrel copper. The brewery had, even -at that time, been worked for a considerable period, certainly from the -earliest years of the eighteenth century, and probably before that. -{349} - -The property, about one acre in extent, thus acquired in 1759, forms -the nucleus of the present gigantic establishment. The principal -brewhouse stands to-day precisely on the site once occupied by -Ransford’s mash tun and copper; but since the commencement of the -nineteenth century many additional properties have from time to -time been acquired, until at present the total area occupied by the -brewhouses and their belongings amounts to between forty and fifty -statute acres. - -For many years the dimensions of the business were but moderate. -Wakefield, writing in 1809, states that Guinness was then only the -second brewer in Ireland, Beamish and Crawford of Cork, who brewed -upwards of 100,000 barrels a year, standing first. - -Without attempting to account for or to describe the advance, since -Wakefield’s day, of the great Dublin firm (made a limited liability -company in October, 1886), we may briefly notice one or two points of -special interest connected with the manufacture. - -The materials used are absolutely confined to malt, pale and roasted, -and hops. Of the latter a preference has always been shown for those of -Kent, no other English varieties being used. But of late years American -Hops have been largely consumed as well. The water for brewing is drawn -from the City Watercourses, and not from the Liffey, as some people -unacquainted with Dublin have supposed. - -It would be impossible here to describe in detail the process or -the plant of the St. James’ Gate Brewery, and owing to the position -held by the firm it seems almost unnecessary to say that every -modern improvement of the Engineer and the Scientist, whether for -facilitating the operations of Brewing or for ensuring the safety -and welfare of those employed, has been carefully investigated and -judiciously applied. The minute attention which is paid to every detail -of the process, from the manufacture and selection of the malt, to -the treatment and storage of the beer in every stage, is matched by -the liberal provision made for the men engaged in the work and their -families. - -To the visitor nothing is more astonishing than the size and number -of the vats. Some of these huge erections of Oak and Iron contain no -less than 90,000 gallons apiece; and to a lengthened storage in these -is due in great measure the peculiar character of the Stout devoted to -the foreign export trade. The tendency in most modern breweries has -been to dispense with lengthened storage in vat. Not so here, and the -erection of vats of great capacity has kept pace with the extension of -the export trade. - -Another remarkable feature is the large provision of ice machines, -{350} or rather of engines for the cooling, by the evaporation of -ether and ammonia, of fluid brine, which circulates by a complicated -system of copper pipes through every part of the vast storehouses, -and ensures a winter temperature on the hottest summer day. It is the -extent to which this system is applied that is so striking in this -establishment, where all is on so vast a scale that the ordinary units -of measurement seem inadequate to convey a notion of the truth. The -same may be said of the multitude of mains by which the finished beer -is conveyed from the storage vats, a distance of half a mile beneath -one of the principal streets of the city, to the lower portion of the -works where the beer is “racked” into cask. - -It is related that the Empress of Brazil, who a few years since visited -the Brewery, went away under the impression—a not unnatural one—what -beer was laid on like gas and water to all the houses in Dublin. - -A small railway of 22-inch gauge, and which is altogether about two -miles in length, penetrates every part of the Brewery. The rolling -stock includes six locomotives and upwards of one hundred and sixty -trucks and bogies. - -The descent from the Brewery to the lower level of the river side has -been engineered with remarkable skill. In order to avoid crossing the -street which bisects the works a spiral tunnel has been constructed, -by means of which the line descends thirty feet in three circuits, the -diameter of which is only forty yards, while the gradient is 1 in 39. -Much of the internal traffic of the Brewery is thus carried on with -ease and rapidity by means of this unique underground railway. - -So far as is possible in a Brewery which has been added to from time to -time, advantage has been taken of the physical features of the locality -in the general arrangement of the plant. Thus the finished beer runs by -gravitation from the Brewery to the Racking Stores, which are situated -upon the Quays. Full advantage has been taken of this excellent -position, and the firm possesses a fleet of steamers and barges which -convey the filled casks to the docks, a distance of a mile and a half. -The Export trade is entirely carried on by river, while a branch line -from the Great Southern and Western Railway terminus bears away many a -train-load of porter every day, to be distributed over the whole length -and breadth of Ireland. - -We have already borne witness to the increasing popularity of porte -in Ireland, and feel sure that no better thing could happen to the -“distressful country” than that the drinking of whisky and the bad -substitutes that are sold under that name should be brought within -{351} reasonable limits, and that malt liquor should become the daily -drink of every Irish farmer, who from that source will find, to again -quote Grattan’s words, “the means of Health with all her flourishing -consequences, and the cure of intoxication with all her misery.” - -Romford, in Essex, is known to the few as the birthplace of Sir Anthony -Cooke and Francis Quarles, the poet; but to the many it is the source -whence come certain excellent and deservedly popular ales. Through the -town wanders a little stream now called the Rom, but described in old -country Maps as the Bourne Brooke, and which in the fifteenth century -was called the Mercke-dyche.[67] Towards the close of the eighteenth -century there stood by the bridge which carries the High Street over -this rivulet, a small Inn called the Star. The innkeeper, according -to the fashion of the times, brewed his own beer, and at the rear of -his hostel was a small brewhouse. His mash tub was no doubt of modest -dimensions, and his “liquor” was possibly drawn from the Mercke-dyche, -for in that day pure water could be got from most streams and rivers. -Now, sad to say, an unpolluted stream is almost unknown, and nine wells -supply the water which, with a due admixture of malt and hops, forms -that admirable compound known as Romford Ale. - - [67] It is curious that the river now takes its name from the - town, and not _vice versa_, as is generally the case. “Romford” is - mentioned in the Red Book of the Exchequer in 1166, when the stream - was called the Mercke-dyche. Some antiquarians derive the word from - Roman-ford, but it probably simply means broad-ford, the first - syllable being the Saxon word for broad and akin to roomy. - -In the year 1799 two important events happened in the town. That which -probably created the most profound sensation among the inhabitants -was the death of a most eccentric person, James Wilson, the corpulent -butcher of Romford. This worthy was in the habit of going to church -on Sunday sometime before the hour of service, and loudly singing -psalms by himself, until the minister came to the desk. On the last -fast-day before his death he remained in church between morning and -evening services, repeating the Lord’s Prayer and singing psalms in -each of the pews, only leaving the church when there remained no pew -in which he had not performed his devotions. Another peculiarity was -the peripatetic manner in which he sometimes took his meals. Armed -with a shoulder of mutton in one hand, some salt in the bend of his -arm, a small loaf, and a large knife, he would wander up and down the -street until all was consumed. He was, moreover, an {352} excellent -penman, as the vestry books to this day witness, and his meat bills -were well worthy of framing. One line would be in German text, another -in Roman characters; no two meats being written in the same coloured -ink. The death of such a man naturally attracted more attention than -the second event alluded to, a small commercial transaction, which we -venture to think was of more importance to the community at large than -the decease of the butcher. This was the purchase of the Star Inn and -Brewery by Mr. Ind, who, in conjunction with a Mr. Grosvenor, carried -on the business of a brewer. Seventeen years later the partnership was -dissolved, Mr. John Smith took the place of Mr. Grosvenor, and until -1845 the firm traded as Ind and Smith. In that year Mr. Smith sold -his share in the Brewery, and Mr. O. E. Coope and his brother, George -Coope, joined the firm, which then, for the first time, adopted its -present title of Ind, Coope & Co. - -A few years back the following epigram appeared in one of the London -comic papers in connection with the name of the firm and _Drink_, the -English version of the play _L’Assomoir_:— - - The drunkards in the play of _Drink_ - All reeling in a group, O, - Close on intoxication’s brink, - Swill stronger stuff than soup, O, - What is their liquor do you think?— - It should be Ind and Coope, O (Coupeau). - -Mr. Ind, the founder of the Romford Brewery, died in 1848, his place -being taken by his son, the present Mr. Ind. Mr. E. V. Ind, another -son of the founder, was also made a partner, as was Mr. Charles Peter -Matthews, to whose skill as a brewer Romford Ales owe much of their -reputation. In 1858, Mr. Thomas Helme (who has recently assumed the -name of Mashiter) joined the firm, which consisted in 1886 of Messrs. -O. E. Coope; Edward Ind; C. P. Matthews (the general managing partner); -T. Mashiter; together with their four sons, and Major F. J. N. Ind, son -of the late Mr. E. V. Ind. - -In 1853 Messrs. Ind, Coope & Co. purchased a brewery at Burton, which, -having been enlarged from time to time, now rivals in size the old -brewhouse at Romford. It is under the direction of Mr. E. J. Bird, the -Burton managing partner. - -The mash tuns, vats, coppers, &c., of the Romford brewery differ -but little from those used by other firms of the first rank. In the -brewhouse are thirty-two malt bins, the eight largest of which hold -900 quarters, and are each about as large as a small dwelling-house. -{353} Altogether 10,000 quarters of malt can be stored. Extensive hop -rooms, one of which is 110 feet long by 80 feet wide, afford storage -for 5,000 pockets of hops. There are six coppers, the largest of which -holds 32,400 gallons. In the fermenting room are twenty-four squares -with capacities ranging up to 500 barrels. The stores are in seventeen -buildings connected by tramways, and the tram lines on which the casks -are rolled are about eight miles in length. About 600,000 full casks of -various sizes are sent out from the store every year. In the stores are -twenty-three huge vats used for storing old ale. - -The cooperage is one of the largest departments in the brewery, giving -employment to thirty-two coopers and fifty-six assistants. In the -stables are some forty or fifty horses, and the more thoroughly to -dispel the popular delusion that brewers’ horses are fed on grains, it -may be worth while stating that these have each an allowance of 42 lbs. -per day of oats, beans, clover, meadow-hay, oat-straw and bran, all -either cut or bruised and mixed together. - -On the brewery are kept three fire-engines (a steamer and two manuals) -and a well organised fire-brigade of ten men, which is ever ready to -render its services at fires in the neighbourhood. A laudable feature -in connection with the brewery is a Friendly Society, to which all -the employés belong, and which ensures their receiving, among other -benefits, a substantial allowance during sickness. - -At Romford the firm give employment to three hundred men and boys, -exclusive of officials, collectors, &c., and are large employers of -labour at their London stores (where eighty horses are in use); at -their Burton brewery, and at their twenty-five country depôts. The -firm is a great supporter of the Volunteer movement. For many years -Mr. Coope was Major of the Essex Volunteers, and one company of the -battalion to which he was attached is entirely made up of brewery -employés, “doughty sons of malt and hops.” - -Messrs. Ind, Coope & Co. stick to the old-fashioned materials for their -beer, and the large extent of what may be termed their private family -trade is an indication not to be lightly disregarded that we English -still adhere to our ancient friendship for Sir John Barleycorn. - -One other Burton Brewery yet remains to be mentioned, that of Messrs. -Thomas Salt & Company, at the head of which firm is Mr. Henry Wardle, -the present (1886) member for South Derbyshire, the other partners -being Messrs. Edward Dawson Salt, William Cecil Salt, and Henry George -Tomlinson. - -To trace the origin of the firm, it is necessary to go back as far as -{354} the year 1774, when Messrs. Salt & Co.’s maltings were worked -in conjunction with the brewery of Messrs. Clay & Sons. It was about -this time that the great-grandfather of two present members of the -firm added a brewery to the malting business, and thus, in the list -of brewers, then few in number, given in the records of the town for -1789, we find the name of Thomas Salt. In 1822 the only Burton Brewers -mentioned in Pigott’s _Commercial Directory_ were S. Allsopp & Co.; -Bass and Ratcliffe; Thomas Salt & Co.; John Sherrard; and William -Worthington. - -When in 1823 the Burton brewers determined to brew an ale which could -compete with Hodgson’s then well-known India pale ale, Salt & Co. -were among the first to bring the idea to a practical issue. There -must indeed have been no lack of energy on the part of the firm, for -in 1884 they came off with flying colours at the International Health -Exhibition, gaining a gold medal for the excellence of their ale. - -Salt & Co.’s brewery is bounded on the front by the High Street, while -at the back flows the silvery Trent, the waters of which are not used -in brewing, as many people suppose. Even in Burton, famous as it is -for its waters, every well sunk does not produce the right sort of -“liquor,” and Messrs. Salt & Co., after many fruitless borings on their -own premises, were obliged to sink an artesian well a quarter of a mile -distant before they could obtain the water most suitable for their -purpose. - -The firm have several maltings in Burton, the most important of which -is that situated on the Wallsitch. It consists of three huge blocks of -buildings, each of which is seventy yards long, thirty wide, and four -storeys high. As a malting has not yet been described in this book, -some account of the interior of John Barleycorn’s Crematory, taking -that last erected by Messrs. Salt & Co. as a sample, may be read with -interest. - -On the ground floor is the cistern, into which the barley, after being -cleansed (technically “screened”), is placed for the purpose of being -steeped. At the end of about fifty hours the clear water is drained -off, and the soaked barley is thrown into the couch frame, where -it remains about twenty-five hours. The grain has now commenced to -germinate. The next process is to distribute it over various floors (by -means of baskets lowered and raised by steam windlasses), where it is -spread on clean red tiles, in layers varying from two to four inches -in thickness, according to the temperature of the weather. For four -or five days the barley is left to grow. At the end of that time its -vitality begins to flag {355} for lack of moisture, and more water is -added, the skill of the maltster being taxed to the utmost in assigning -such a proportion of water as will develop the grain into perfect malt. -At the end of about ten days germination is complete. A great and -wonderful transformation has now taken place, the hard stubborn corn -having been reduced to tender friable malt. The next process is to dry -the malt, and for this purpose it is placed in a kiln and subjected -to a high temperature until the vital principle of germination is -extinguished, and the desired colour has been acquired. Any dry -rootlets which adhere to the grain are then separated by trampling, -a second screening takes place, and the malt is measured into sacks, -every precaution being taken to prevent exposure to the atmosphere, -until it is finally placed in the big bins above the mash tub. - -In the process of malting the most ingenious apparatus used is the -screen, which may be described as a _multum in parvo_ piece of -mechanism. Of these machines there are three, each being worked by an -endless leathern rope, and by an ingenious system of graduated riddles, -performing four distinct operations. In one compartment the dust is -blown away by revolving fans, in another the broken half-corns are -removed; the third action clears all stones, rubbish, &c., away, and -finally the thin inferior corns are separated. - -To avoid repetition, we are obliged to omit a description of the -brewery, those of the first class at Burton being very similar to one -another. In order to give some idea of the extent of Messrs. Salt -and Co.’s operations, it may be mentioned that in the new house are -five mash tubs, each with a capacity of fifty-five qrs. of malt. The -cooperage belonging to this firm is noteworthy, the casks being made -by elaborate machinery worked by steam, a system followed in very few -English breweries, but which is not uncommon in America. - -In the archives of the firm of Truman, Hanbury, Buxton & Co., is a -document bearing the date 1719, which purports to be “An Inventory of -the Goods, Chattels, and Credits of Joseph Truman, which since his -death have come into the hands, possession and knowledge of Benjamin -Truman, Daniel Cooper, and the Executors named in the will of Joseph -Truman.” No earlier written record of the firm is in existence, but -there is a tradition that at some remote period of history there -existed one John Oliver Truman, who carried on the business in Brick -Lane, and to this day all casks leaving the brewery are branded I.O.T. -Even in 1741 the business transacted was considerable. There were then -four partners—Benjamin Truman, John Denne, Francis Cooper and the {356} -executors of Alud Denne. Among the customers were two hundred and -ninety-six publicans, one of whom was John Denne, who retailed the beer -made by this firm. - -To the Benjamin Truman above-mentioned must be given the credit of -having made the brewery one of the most important in London. In 1737, -when the Duchess of Brunswick (grand-daughter of George II.) was born, -the Prince of Wales ordered bonfires to be made before Carlton House, -and four barrels of beer to be given to the populace. But the brewer to -the royal household provided beer of the smallest, and the mob threw -it in each other’s faces and into the fire. The Prince good-naturedly -ordered a second bonfire the succeeding night, and Benjamin Truman -supplied the beer. He had the wisdom to send a sturdy brew, the best -his cellars could produce, and the people were greatly pleased. With -such a shrewd trader at its head, it is not surprising that by 1760 -Truman’s had taken its place as third among the great London Breweries. -Calvert and Seward came first with 74,704 barrels, Whitbread’s next -with 60,508 barrels, Truman’s following with 60,140 barrels. - -Benjamin Truman was knighted by George III., and portraits of him -and his daughter, by Gainsborough, still hang in the drawing room -of the house in Brick Lane. In the same room is a portrait of Mr. -Sampson Hanbury (the first of the name who joined the firm), a famous -sportsman, who for thirty-five years was Master of the Puckeridge -Hounds. He entered the firm in 1780, and was subsequently joined by his -brother. Sampson Hanbury’s sister, Anna, married Thomas Fowell Buxton, -of Earle’s Colne. This gentleman was High Sheriff of his county, and -served the office with special credit. He died in 1792, leaving a -widow, three sons, and two daughters. The eldest son, Thomas Fowell -Buxton, was only six years old at his father’s death. This little -fellow was destined to be, perhaps, the most distinguished partner in -the firm. He was educated at Greenwich, and Trinity College, Dublin, -at which latter place he carried off the highest honours, and when -only twenty-one years of age received an influential requisition to -represent the University in Parliament. This honour he declined. He -had originally been intended for the Bar, but in 1808, when on a visit -to the brewery, his uncles, Osgood and Sampson Hanbury, being struck -with his undoubted abilities, offered him a situation in the business, -and in 1811 made him a partner. The other members of the firm at that -time were Mr. Sampson Hanbury, Mr. John Truman Villebois, and Mr. Henry -Villebois. {357} - -To the young partner was soon given the work of re-modelling the -Establishment, a task in which he succeeded admirably. A few years -later he began to take an interest in public affairs, devoting himself -more particularly to a consideration of subjects connected with prison -discipline and the criminal code, into which his early training for -the Bar gave him some insight. In 1818 he was elected for Weymouth, -and, owing in a great measure to his exertions and co-operation, Sir -Robert Peel carried his Bill for the abolition of capital punishment -for trivial offences. Mr. Buxton’s great work was in connection with -the Slavery question. Into the cause of Liberty he threw himself heart -and soul, and to his unceasing endeavours were in great measure due -the glorious results ultimately achieved. The Beer Act, passed in -1830, had Mr. Buxton’s approval. “I have always voted for free trade -when the interests of others are concerned,” he said, “and it would be -awkward to change when my own are in jeopardy. I am pleased to have -an opportunity of proving that our real monoply is one of skill and -capital.” - -In June, 1831, occurred a noteworthy event in the history of the -firm. This was a visit by a number of Cabinet Ministers to inspect -the brewery. Mr. Buxton had provided an elaborate banquet, but Lord -Brougham said that beef-steaks and porter were more appropriate to the -occasion, so of those excellent comestibles the dinner in great part -consisted. Of this visit Mr. Buxton has left a very lively account, -too long, unfortunately, to be given here. Among the guests, who -numbered twenty-three, were the Lord Chancellor, Lord Grey, the Duke of -Richmond, the Marquis of Cleveland, Lords Shaftesbury, Sefton, Howick, -Durham, and Duncannon, General Alava, Dr. Lushington, Spring Rice and -W. Brougham. Mr. Buxton first took them to see the steam engine. Lord -Brougham immediately delivered a little lecture upon steam power, and, -as the party went through the brewery, had so much to say about the -machinery that Joseph Gurney said he understood brewing better than any -person on the premises. At dinner “the Chancellor lost not a moment, -he was always eating, drinking, talking or laughing.” Later on the -Ministers inspected the stables, and the Lord Chancellor surprised -everyone by his knowledge of horseflesh. Some one proposed that he -should mount one of the horses and ride round the yard, which he seemed -very willing to do—such is the power of brown stout! - -On the 9th November, 1841, a large new structure was opened, and to -celebrate the event a supper was given to the men. In the midst of it -the good news came that the Queen had given birth to a son. In honour -of Her Majesty’s first-born, a huge vat was christened. “The {358} -Prince of Wales.” The inscription can still be seen. Twenty-five years -later, when on a visit to the brewery, his Royal Highness had the -satisfaction of drinking a glass of stout drawn from his namesake. - -In 1837, after twenty years’ faithful service, Mr. Buxton was defeated -at Weymouth. Finding his health demanded repose, though invited by -twenty-seven constituencies to represent them, he determined to leave -Parliamentary life, and in 1841 a baronetcy was conferred on him by -Lord John Russell. Even when out of Parliament he gave himself no rest, -his mind being full of philanthropic schemes. He died in 1845, at the -age of fifty-nine, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. - -In 1820 Mr. Robert Hanbury, nephew of Mr. Sampson Hanbury, became a -partner in the firm, of which he was the head for many years. He was -born in 1796, and during the few years previous to his death was the -oldest member of the London brewing trade. He is remembered for his -philanthropy and benevolence. During the period when Mr. Thomas F. -Buxton was engaged with public affairs nearly the whole management and -control of the brewery fell on Mr. Hanbury. - -In 1814 the first steam-engine was erected in the brewery. Previously -the mashing was accomplished with long oars worked by sturdy Irishmen, -and each brewing occupied twenty-four hours. - -At the present time (1886) the members of the firm are Messrs. Arthur -Pryor; C. A. Hanbury; T. F. Buxton; Sir T. Fowell Buxton, Bart.; -Messrs. E. N. Buxton; J. H. Buxton; E. S. Hanbury; A. V. Pryor; -R. Pryor; J. M. Hanbury; and Gerald Buxton. Of these perhaps the -best known to the public is Mr. Edward North Buxton, whose name has -long been before them in connection with many measures of national -importance. - -Messrs. Truman, Hanbury, Buxton & Co. have always been a little -ahead of the times, and it is not surprising to find in the brewery -appliances of the most improved description. As an instance of this, -when Lord Palmerston was at the Home Office he ordered that all London -manufacturers should erect smoke-consuming furnaces. Mr. Buxton had, -however, already adopted the principle, so that when the Home Secretary -was abused by the manufacturers for ordering them to do the impossible, -he was able to point out that what he desired had been already done. -Palmerston publicly thanked the firm for this in the House of Commons. - -The brewery, cooperage, and stables in Brick Lane cover about five -acres, and near at hand are the Coverley Fields, where are the {359} -signboard and wheelwright shops, cellars, &c., covering about three -and a half acres. As may be imagined, a small army of men is employed -in the brewery, numbering in all about four hundred and fifty. - -Worthy of special notice in the brewhouse are the cleansing vessels, -which, being very shallow, do their work with great rapidity. On -the ground-floor is a novelty, one room being completely filled -with shallow slate vessels for holding the yeast in summer. Each of -these vessels has a false bottom, under which cold liquor (in vulgar -parlance, water) constantly circulates, rendering the yeast so cool -that is may be kept for some time in the hottest summer weather. - -In the brewery are ninety-five vats, which have a total capacity of -3,463,992 gallons, an amount which it has been calculated is about five -times the capacity of all the swimming-baths in London put together. -These huge vats are, however, but rarely used. Nearly 80,000 casks are -always in use. - -When the light ales came into fashion Messrs. Truman & Co. wisely -determined to start a pale-ale brewery at Burton. They carried out -their resolve in 1874. Of this it can only be said that everything -Science could do to make the brewery perfect was done, and that the -pale ales are brewed on the most approved Burton principles. - -The founder of the firm of Whitbread & Co. was the son of a yeoman who -lived on a small estate at Cardington, in Bedfordshire. On his father’s -death he improved the property by building, and from one propitious -circumstance to another gradually amassed an immense fortune. It was -in the year 1742 that Mr. Whitbread commenced business as a brewer, at -the Brew House, Old Street, St. Luke’s, the premises now occupied by -the firm of More & Co. In 1750 he removed to Chiswell Street, where -for fifty years previously had been a brewery. Here the business was -developed with great vigour, and from the returns made necessary in -1760 by the imposition of a Beer-tax, we learn that in that year -Whitbread’s brewed no less than 63,408 barrels of beer, only one other -London firm—Calvert & Seward—brewing a greater quantity. In 1785 steam -power was introduced into the brewery. In connection with this event -are two very celebrated names, for the Sun and Planet engine, still -in use, was manufactured by the firm of which Watt was a partner; and -John Rennie adapted the other machinery to the new motive power. About -the same period six huge underground cisterns were made, after designs -by Smeaton, varying in capacity from 700 to 3,600 barrels each. Two -years later Mr. Whitbread had the honour of a visit from King George -and Queen Charlotte, the particulars {360} of which are recorded in -a humorous poem of considerable length, by Peter Pindar (Dr. Walcot), -a few verses from which will suffice to give some idea of what took -place on that auspicious occasion. A more prosaic, and no doubt more -credible, account will be found in the _Daily Chronicle_ of that period. - - * * * * * - Full of the art of brewing beer, - The monarch heard of Whitbread’s fame; - Quoth he unto the queen, “My dear, my dear, - Whitbread hath got a marvellous great name; - Charly, we must, must, must see Whitbread brew— - Rich as us, Charly, richer than a Jew; - Shame, shame, we have not yet his brewhouse seen!” - Thus sweetly said the king unto the queen. - Red-hot with novelty’s delightful rage, - To Mister Whitbread forth he sent a page, - To say that Majesty proposed to view, - With thirst of knowledge deep inflam’d, - His vats, and tubs, and hops, and hogsheads fam’d, - And learn the noble secret how to _brew_. - * * * * * - -The preparations at the brewery are then described, followed by the -arrival of King, Queen, Princesses and Courtiers. The conversation of -the King, who “asked a thousand questions with a laugh, before poor -Whitbread comprehended half,” was, according to the poet, as “five -hundred parrots, gabbling just like Jews.” - - Thus was the brewhouse fill’d with gabbling noise, - Whilst drayman, and the brewer’s boys, - Devour’d the questions that the King did ask: - In diff’rent parties were they staring seen, - Wond’ring to think they saw a _King_ and _Queen_! - Behind a tub were some, and some behind a cask. - - Some draymen forc’d themselves (a pretty luncheon) - Into the mouth of many a gaping puncheon; - And through the bunghole wink’d with curious eye, - To view and be assur’d what sort of things - Were princesses, and queens, and kings; - For whose most lofty stations thousands sigh! - And, lo! of all the gaping clan, - Few were the mouths that had not got a man! - -{361} - -George III. was no doubt of opinion that a thing worth doing was -worth doing well, and no detail of the manufacture of beer seemed too -insignificant to interest him. “Thus microscopic geniuses explore,” -says Peter Pindar. - - And now his curious majesty did stoop - To count the nails on ev’ry hoop; - And, lo! no single thing came in his way, - That, full of deep research, he did not say, - “What’s this? he, he? What’s that? What’s this? - What’s that?” - So quick the words too when he deign’d to speak, - As if each syllable would break its neck. - -The extent of the business at that time may be gathered from the -following verse:— - - Now boasting Whitbread, serious did declare, - To make the majesty of England stare, - That he had buts enough, he knew, - Plac’d side by side, to reach along to Kew: - On which the king with wonder swiftly cry’d, - “What if they reach to Kew then, side by side, - What would they do, what, what, plac’d end to end?” - -To this Mr. Whitbread replies that they would probably reach to Windsor. - -After awhile the King began to take notes. - - Now, majesty, alive to knowledge, took - A very pretty memorandum-book, - With gilded leaves of asses’ skins so white, - And in it legibly did write— - - Memorandum, - - A charming place beneath the grates, - For roasting chesnuts or potates, - - Mem. - - ’Tis hops that gives a bitterness to beer— - Hops grow in Kent, says Whitbread, and elsewhere. - - Quaere. - - Is there no cheaper stuff? where doth it dwell? - Would not horse-aloes bitter it as well? {362} - - Mem. - - To try it soon on our small beer— - ’Twill save us sev’ral pounds a year. - * * * * * - Mem. - - Not to forget to take of beer the cask - The brewers offer’d me, away. - * * * * * - To Whitbread now deign’d majesty, to say, - “Whitbread are all your horses fond of hay?” - “Yes, please your Majesty!” in humble notes, - The brewer answered—“also fond of oats: - Another thing my horses too maintains— - And that, an’t please your Majesty are grains.” - - “Grains—grains,” said majesty, “to fill their crops? - Grains, grains, that comes from hops—yes, hops, hops, hops.” - Later on the brewery pigs were reviewed by the King, - On which the observant man who fills a throne - Declar’d the pigs were vastly like his own. - -After the brewery had been inspected Mr. Whitbread entertained the King -and Queen at a banquet. - -For several sessions Mr. Whitbread sat in Parliament as the member -for Bedford. He was a man of much benevolence, and it is said of him -that his charity, which was as judicious as it was extensive, was -felt in every parish where he had property. His private distributions -annually exceeded 3,000. Among the records of the Brewers’ Company we -came upon a conveyance from him to the Company of three freehold farms -in Bedfordshire, the income arising from which was to be devoted to -supporting “one or two Master brewers of the age of fifty years or -upwards, who had carried on the trade of a brewer within the bills of -mortality or two miles thereof for many years in a considerable and -respectable manner with good characters but by losses in the brewing -trade only shall have come to decay or been reduced in circumstances -and want relief.” By another indenture of the same date three dwelling -houses in Whitecross Street, London, are conveyed to the Company, -the income to be devoted towards the “support and relief of poor -freemen of the Co^y. of Brewers being proper objects and their widows -(particularly preferring such objects as shall be blind, lame {363} -afflicted with palsy or very aged).” The date of the gift is 1794. Only -two years later the donor died. His portrait, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, -is still to be seen in the Hall of the Brewers’ Company. - -Mr. Samuel Whitbread, son of the founder, and remembered as Mr. -Whitbread the politician, now became the head of the firm, and, having -associated with himself partners, carried on the business as Whitbread -& Co. He sat in Parliament for several years, and was a firm supporter -of the Liberal party. It is related of him that being one evening at -Brooks’s he talked loudly and largely against the Ministers for laying -what was called the _war-tax_ upon malt; every one present of course -concurred with him in opinion; but Sheridan could not resist the -gratification of displaying his ever ready wit. Taking out his pencil, -he wrote upon the back of a letter the following lines, which he handed -to Mr. Whitbread across the table:— - - They’ve raised the price of table drink; - What is the reason, do you think? - The tax on malt’s the cause, I hear: - But what has malt to do with beer? - -Mr. Whitbread the politician is mentioned in _Rejected Addresses_, and -it is worthy of note that he took a considerable part in the rebuilding -of Drury Lane Theatre after it had been destroyed by fire. - -Since 1760 the business had wonderfully increased. In 1806 we find -Whitbread & Co. stand fourth among the London brewers, brewing 101,311 -barrels. In the succeeding ten years the business more than doubled -itself, the beer brewed in 1815 amounting to 261,018 barrels. - -Mr. Whitbread, the son of the founder, died in 1820. A writer in the -_London Magazine_ of that date gives a careful study of his character -as a politician. “He was an honest man, and a true Parliamentary -speaker. He had no artifices, no tricks, no reserve about him. He spoke -point-blank what he thought, and his heart was in his broad, honest, -English face. . . . . If a falsehood was stated, he contradicted -it instantly in a few brief words: if an act of injustice was -palliated, it excited his contempt; if it was justified, it roused his -indignation; he retorted a mean insinuation with manly spirit, and -never shrank from a frank avowal of his sentiments.” - -Mr. Whitbread the politician left two sons, the younger of whom -represented Middlesex for several years, and died in 1879. Of the -present member for Bedford, grandson of the politician, we need say -but little. {364} He was born in 1830, was educated at Rugby and -Cambridge, has sat for Bedford since 1852, and is one of the most -respected members of the House of Commons. - -There are, it need hardly be said, many other brewing firms of the -first rank in the United Kingdom. The length to which this chapter has -grown absolutely prohibits us from giving, as we had intended, a sketch -of a large Edinburgh firm. There is, however, scattered through these -pages continual reference to the good ale—“jolly good ale and old”—of -Scotland. The old ales of Edinburgh are now giving way somewhat to the -pale ales affected by the temperate drinkers of the period, but old -Scotch ale is by no means a thing of the past, and has a world-wide -reputation. Most of the Edinburgh breweries have been established a -very long time, in some cases over a hundred years. - -In the earlier portions of this book punning allusions to ale by -old writers have been freely quoted; with them may be compared -the following extract from a modern play, _Little Jack Sheppard_, -written by Messrs. Stephens and Yardley, and which contains facetious -references to some of the firms whose histories have just been related. - - THAMES DARRELL. - When out at sea the crew set me, Thames Darrell, - Afloat upon the waves within a barrel. - - WINIFRED WOOD. - In hopes the _barrel_ would turn out your _bier_. - - THAMES. - But I’m _stout_-hearted and I didn’t fear. - I nearly died of thirst. - - WIN. - Poor boy! Alas! - - THAMES. - Until I caught a fish— - - WIN. - What sort? - - THAMES. - _A bass._ - Then came the worst, which nearly proved my ruin, - A storm, a thing I can’t _abear, a brewin’_. - - WIN. - It makes me pale. - - THAMES. - It made _me pale_ and _ail_. - When nearly _coopered_ I descried a sail; - They didn’t hear me, though I loudly whooped. - Within the barrel I was _inned_ and _cooped_. - _All’s up_, I thought, when round they quickly brought her, - That ship to me of safety was the _porter_; - Half dead and half alive. Ha! ha! - - WIN. - Don’t laugh. - ’Twas very bitter. - - THAMES. - No, ’twas _half and half_. - -{365} - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - - - And what this flood of deeper brown, - Which a white foam does also crown, - Less white than snow, more white than mortar? - Oh, my soul! can this be Porter? - _The Déjeunè._ - - P raised and caress’d, the tuneful Philips sung - O f Cyder fam’d, whence first his laurel sprung; - R ise then, my muse, and to the world proclaim - T he mighty charms of Porter’s potent name: - E ach buck from thee shall sweetest pleasure taste, - R evel secure, nor think to part in haste. - _An Acrostick._ - -_PORTER AND STOUT. — CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH LED TO THEIR INTRODUCTION. — -VALUE TO THE WORKING CLASSES. — ANECDOTES. — “A POT OF PORTER OH!”_ - -Before the Blue Last, an old public-house situate in Curtain Road, -Shoreditch, there formerly hung a board which bore this legend:—“The -house where porter was first sold.” - -Whether this was true or false we cannot say; certain it is, however, -that the drink which has made London and Dublin brewers famed far and -wide had its birthplace not far from this spot. - -It appears that in the early years of last century the lovers of malt -liquors in London were accustomed to regale themselves upon three -classes of these beverages; they had ale, beer, and twopenny. Many who -preferred a more subtle combination of flavours than either of these -liquors {366} alone could impart, would ask for _half-and-half_, that -is, half of ale and half of beer, half of ale and half of twopenny, or -half of beer and half of twopenny. Others again—and these were the real -connoisseurs of malt liquors—would call for a pot of three threads, -or three thirds, _i.e._, one-third of ale, one-third of beer, and -one-third of twopenny. The drawer would therefore have to go to three -different casks, and through three distinct operations, before he could -draw a pint of liquor. But the hour had come—and the man. One Ralph -Harwood, whose name is too little known to an ungrateful posterity of -beer-drinking Britons, some time about the year 1730, kept a brewhouse -on the east side of High Street, Shoreditch. In that year, or perhaps -a little earlier, as this great man brooded over the inconvenience and -waste occasioned by the calls for the “three threads,” which became -more and more frequent, he conceived the idea of making a liquor which -would combine in itself the several virtues of ale, beer, and twopenny. -He carried the idea into action, and brewed a drink which he called -“Entire,” or “Entire Butts.” It was tasted; it was approved; it became -the fruitful parent of a mighty offspring; and from that day to this -has gone on increasing in name and fame. - -Visitors to the great brewery in Brick Lane are shown a hole from which -steam issues to the accompaniment of awful rumbling noises. “In there -once fell a man,” they are told—“a negro. Nothing but his bones were -found when the copper was emptied, and it is said that the beer drawn -off was of an extraordinary dark colour. Some say this was the first -brew of porter. Oh yes” (this in answer to a question), “we soon learnt -how to make it without the negro.” We must confess that we have some -doubts as to this account of the origin of porter. We do not believe -that brew could have been much darker on account of the accident, -though no doubt, under the circumstances, it contained plenty of -“body.” A similar tale is told of nearly every London porter brewery, -and later on it will be found in verse. - -It seems to be to some extent a moot point among the learned how porter -obtained its present name, for no record seems to have been kept of -its christening. Harwood, no doubt, stood godfather to his interesting -infant, but, as we have seen above, he called it “Entire;” and how -or when it came to be known as porter is not quite clear. There are -several theories on the subject, each more or less plausible. One -is that being a hearty, appetizing, and nourishing liquor, it was -specially recommended to the notice of the porters, who then, as now, -formed a {367} considerable proportion of the Shoreditch population. -Pennant, in his _London_ seems, to have held this view; he calls it “a -wholesome liquor, which enables the London porter-drinkers to undergo -tasks that ten gin-drinkers would sink under.” Another explanation -of the origin of the name is that Harwood sent round his men to his -customers with the liquor, and that the men would announce their -arrival and their business by the cry of “Porter”—meaning, not the -beer, but the bearer. Be this how it may, the embodiment of Harwood’s -great idea had not attained its majority before it was known far and -wide by its present name. - - * * * * * - -In _The Student_ (1750) is thus related the first appearance of porter -at Oxford—. . . “Let us not derogate from the merits of porter—a liquor -entirely British—a liquor that pleases equally the mechanic and the -peer—a liquor which is the strength of our nation, the scourge of our -enemies, and which has given _immortality_ to aldermen. ’Tis with the -highest satisfaction that we can inform our Oxford students that _Isis_ -herself has taken this divine liquor into her protection, and that the -_Muses_ recommend it to their votaries, as being far preferable to -Hippocrene, Aganippe, the Castalian spring, or any _poetical water_ -whatever. Know, then, that in the middle of the High Street, at the -sign of the King’s Arms, opposite to its opposite, Juggins’s Coffee -House, lives Captain Jolly; who _maugrè_ the selfish opposition of his -brother publicans, out of a pure affection to this University, and -regardless of private profit, reduc’d porter from its original price of -Sixpence, and in large golden characters generously informs us that he -sells - - “London Porter - At Fourpence a Quart. - -“As the Captain is a genius and a choice spirit he meets with the -greatest encouragement from the gown, and sends porter to all the -common-rooms. He therefore intends shortly (in imitation of the great -Ashley, of the Punch House, Ludgate Hill) to have the front of his -house new vamp’d up, and decorated with the following inscription:— - - “Pro bono academico. - Here lives Captain Jolly - who first - reduced Porter to its’ present price - and - Brought that liquor into University esteem.” - -{368} - -Though we fear the great Harwood does not fill the niche in the Temple -of Fame to which he is entitled, yet his praises are not entirely -unsung. Gutteridge, himself a native of Shoreditch, has commemorated -the discovery of porter in these lines:— - - Harwood, my townsman, he invented first - Porter to rival wine, and quench the thirst: - Porter, which spreads its fame half the world o’er, - Whose reputation rises more and more; - As long as Porter shall preserve its fame, - Let all with gratitude our Parish name. - -“It is not in my power,” says Pennant in the work we have before -quoted, “to trace the progress of this important article of trade. -Let me only say that it is now a national concern; for the duty on -malt from July 5th, 1785, to the same day 1786, produced a million -and a half of money to the support of the State, from a liquor which -invigorates the bodies of its willing subjects, to defend the blessings -they enjoy. One of these Chevaliers de Malte (as an impertinent -Frenchman styled a most respectable gentleman of the trade) has, within -one year, contributed not less than fifty thousand pounds to his own -share.” - -The person to whom the Frenchman applied the title of Chevalier de -Malte was Humphrey Parsons, a brewer of last century, and the incident -which gave rise to the name has already been referred to. - -Pennant gives a list of the chief porter brewers of London at the end -of last century, with the number of barrels of strong beer they brewed -from Midsummer, 1786, to Midsummer, 1787. Samuel Whitbread heads the -list with 150,280 barrels, and among the others may be noted Calvert, -now the City of London Brewery; Hester Thrale, now Barclay and Perkins; -W. Read; and Richard Meux. Most of the other names, though famous in -their day and generation, are not familiar to the modern reader. The -total amount produced by some twenty-four of the chief London brewers -was considerably over one million barrels. - -It is interesting to contrast the state of the Brewing trade a hundred -years ago with the proportions to which it has attained to-day. -According to a Parliamentary return made in 1884, there are now six -brewers of the United Kingdom who produce annually over three and a -half million barrels of malt liquor, and who pay to the revenue in -Licence and Beer duty nearly one million and a half sterling per annum. -{369} - -A fine flavour has occasionally been given to stout by extraordinary -means, as witness the following legend, entitled - -PATENT BROWN STOUT. - - A Brewer in a country town - Had got a monstrous reputation; - No other beer but his went down. - The hosts of the surrounding station, - Carving his name upon their mugs, - And painting it on every shutter; - And though some envious folks would utter, - Hints that its flavour came from drugs, - Others maintained ’twas no such matter, - But owing to his monstrous vat, - At least as corpulent as that - At Heidelberg—and some said fatter. - - His foreman was a lusty Black, - An honest fellow; - But one who had a ugly knack - Of tasting samples as he brewed, - Till he was stupefied and mellow. - One day in this top-heavy mood, - Having to cross the vat aforesaid, - (Just then with boiling beer supplied), - O’ercome with giddiness and qualms he - Reel’d—fell in—and nothing more was said, - But in his favourite liquor died, - Like Clarence in his butt of Malmsey. - - In all directions round about - The negro absentee was sought, - But as no human noddle thought - That our fat _Black_ was now _Brown Stout_, - They settled that the rogue had left - The place for debt, or crime, or theft. - Meanwhile the beer was day by day - Drawn into casks and sent away, - Until the lees flowèd thick and thicker, - When, lo! outstretched upon the ground, - Once more their missing friend they found, - As they had often done before—in liquor. {370} - - “See,” cried his moralising master, - “I always knew the fellow drank hard, - And prophesied some sad disaster: - His fate should other tipplers strike, - Poor Mungo! there he welters like - A toast at bottom of a tankard!” - - Next morn a publican, whose tap, - Had help’d to drain the vat so dry, - Not having heard of the mishap, - Came to demand a fresh supply, - Protesting loudly that the last - All previous specimens surpass’d, - Possessing a much richer _gusto_ - Than formerly it ever us’d to, - And begging, as a special favour, - Some more of the exact same flavour. - - “Zounds!” cried the brewer, “that’s a task - More difficult to grant than ask; - Most gladly would I give the smack - Of the last beer to the ensuing, - But where am I to find a Black - And boil him down at every brewing?” - -Professor Wilson, writing on brewing,[68] thus relates his conversion -to the porter-drinker’s creed. - - [68] _Blackwood’s Magazine_, vol. xxi. - - * * * * * - -“From ale we naturally get to porter—porter—drink ‘fit for the gods,’ -being, in fact, likely to be, now and then, _too potent_ for mere -mortals. With porter we are less imbued than with ale (not but that -for some years we have imported our annual butt of Barclay); and this -we hold to be one of the great misfortunes of our life. We were early -nurtured in love and affection for ‘good ale’ by our great aunt, -with whom we were a young and frequent visitant. Excellent old Aunt -Patty! She was a Yorkshire woman, and cousin (three times removed) -to Mr. Wilberforce (the father). She too hated _rum_ as the devil’s -own brewage, but then she loved sound ale in the same ratio. Thus it -happened, as we derived our faith in malt liquor from her, that we -{371} penetrated not the mysteries of porter until our elder days. -Our heresy was first effectually shaken by Charles Lamb, who, in his -admirable way, proved to us that, in a hot forenoon, a draught of Meux -or Barclay is beyond all cordial restoratives, and after a broiling -peregrination (the stages were all full) from Coleridge’s lodgings at -Highgate to town, gave us a specimen of the inspiring powers of porter -in a perspiration, which we shall remember until the day of our death.” -Lamb was known by all his friends to have an amiable weakness for -porter, and the poet, in _An Ode to Grog_, thus commemorates the fact:— - - The spruce Mr. Lamb (’pon my word it’s no flam) - With Whitbread’s Entire makes his Pegasus jog; - I’ll grant he’s a poet, but then he don’t show wit, - In thinking that Porter is better than grog. - -Burns was fond of porter, as of all other extracts of malt. He -addressed the following lines to his friend Mr. Syme, along with a -present of a dozen of bottled porter:— - - O, had the malt thy strength of mind, - Or hops the flavour of thy wit, - ’Twere drink for first of human kind, - A gift that e’en for Syme were fit. - -We have given what we believe to be a correct historical account of -the origin of porter. Peter Pindar, in the _Lamentations of the Porter -Vat_, a poem in which he celebrates the bursting of a mighty porter vat -at Meux’s Brewery, gives a somewhat less prosaic account:— - - Here—as ’tis said—in days of yore, - (Such days, alas! will come no more), - Resided Sir John Barleycorn, - An ancient Briton, nobly born, - With Mrs. Hop—a well-met pair, - For he was rich, and she was fair. - - Yet they—like other married Folke, - When their past vows they can’t revoke— - Were opposite in disposition, - And quarrell’d without intermission; - For He alone produc’d the _Sweets_, - Which She, with _Bitters_ only, meets! {372} - - Howe’er by dint of perseverance, - By gentle conjugal endearance, - The _Sweets_ predominating most, - In strength excelling, _rul’d the roast_; - Whilst she, obedient, did her duty— - That greatest ornament of beauty. - - Her _Bitters_, thus by him controll’d, - Their wholesome properties unfold, - And give to him superior pow’rs— - Superior charms for social hours; - As _Beauty_, with persuasive tongue, - Tempers the mind, by _passion_ wrung. - - At length, from this domestic Pair, - Was born a well-known Son and Heir; - Whose deeds o’er half the world are fam’d, - By Britons, Master Porter, nam’d. - -Meux’s great vat then contained about 3,555 barrels, and was 22 ft. -high. In October, 1814, owing to the defective state of its hoops, -it burst, and the results were most disastrous. The brewery in the -Tottenham Court Road was at that time hemmed in by miserable tenements, -which were crowded by people of the poorer classes. Some of these -houses were simply flooded with porter, two or three collapsed, and -no less than eight persons met their death, either in the ruins or -from drowning, the fumes of the porter, or by drunkenness. At the -inquest the jury returned the verdict: “Death by Casualty.” Seven huge -vats—the largest holding 15,000 barrels—now take the place of the one -that burst. The _Times_ of April 1, 1785, says, “There is a cask now -building at Messrs. Meux & Co.’s brewery in Liquorpond Street, Gray’s -Inn Lane, the size of which exceeds all credibility, being designed to -hold 20,000 barrels of porter; the whole expense attending the same -will be upwards of £10,000.” About this time the London porter brewers -vied with each other in building large vats, a practice they have now -discontinued. - - * * * * * - -It would be difficult to imagine a liquor more suitable for the working -classes than good porter—taken in moderation, of course. Not only -does it afford the slight stimulant which, in another place, we have -shown to be beneficial to the human body, but it also contains much -{373} nutritive matter, both organic and inorganic, together with -saccharine. The old writer who spoke of ale as being meat, drink, and -clothing probably had no highly scientific knowledge of the chemical -properties of the liquor he was extolling, but the statement—based, no -doubt, on experience—can be called an exaggerated one. - -Very satisfactory is it to know that in Ireland porter is steadily -displacing whisky. Even in the western portions of the island, the -younger generation—excepting, perhaps, on holidays, at fairs, and on -other festive occasions—are taking most kindly to their “porther.” -It will be a happy thing for that country when “porther” shall have -altogether displaced poteen. The whisky sold at threepence for each -small wine-glassful in most of the country spirit shops in Ireland, and -always taken neat by the natives, is of a most injurious character, -being new, and consequently containing much fusel oil. Far be it from -us to say a word against good, well-matured whisky, which, taken in -moderation, is a most wholesome drink; but, good or bad, it is not the -drink for working men who require a more sustaining and less expensive -liquor. What have the total abstainers to suggest? _Water_, the -diffuser of epidemics, and hardly ever obtained pure by the labouring -classes; _tea_, which is almost as injurious as spirits to the nervous -system, which lacks nutritive properties, and which is by no means an -inexpensive liquor; _coffee_ and _cocoa_, both hot drinks and most -unsuitable to slake the thirst of a labouring man; various effervescing -drinks, all more or less injurious to the digestive organs, when taken -habitually, and of whose composition no man hath knowledge, save the -makers, and _temperance wines_, certain vendors of which were not -long back prosecuted for attempting to defraud the revenue, when this -abstainer’s tipple was found to contain some twenty per cent. of -alcohol. One liquor, alone, have the teetotal party invented, which -is nourishing, inexpensive, and wholesome. This we may term _oatmeal -mash_, or cold comfort. It consists of scalded oatmeal, water, and -some flavouring matter. For harvesters working in the almost tropical -heat of an August sun, this is, no doubt, a wholesome drink, but it -can hardly be called palatable. As a matter of fact, no non-alcoholic -substitute has been put forward by the teetotal party which is in the -least likely to take the place of porter; and until such beverage is -invented—an event which we feel perfectly certain will never come to -pass—the porter and stout brewers of the United Kingdom will have every -opportunity of continuing to confer on the working classes the benefits -of cheap and wholesome liquor. {374} - -One temperance drink we had almost overlooked—herb-beer. In the House -of Commons, on May 6, 1886, Mr. Fletcher asked the Chancellor of the -Exchequer why the Excise officers had interfered with the sale of -herb-beer, a non-intoxicating beverage. To this the Chancellor of the -Exchequer replied, that the Inland Revenue did not interfere with any -liquors which contained less than three degrees of proof spirit, though -legally no beer could be brewed under the name of herb-beer which -had more than two degrees of alcohol. Some of these non-intoxicating -liquors, sold as temperance drinks, had been found to be of -considerably greater strength than London porter. For the protection of -the revenue it was necessary—and so on. Comment is needless. - -As illustrative of the sustaining powers of brown beer, we may mention -an instance which recently came under our notice. A valuable horse -belonging to a member of the firm of Truman, Hanbury, Buxton, & Co. had -a serious attack of influenza, with slight congestion of the lungs, and -was so ill that it could take no food, and was evidently dying. As a -last resource it was offered stout, which it drank greedily. For two -weeks it entirely subsisted on this novel diet, and at the end of that -time the bad symptoms had almost disappeared. The horse subsequently -recovered. - -The name Stout was used originally to signify strong or stout beer. -This excellent brown beer only differs from Porter in being brewed of -greater strength and with a greater proportion of hops. Swift thus -mentions the liquor:— - - “Should but the Muse descending drop - A slice of bread and mutton chop, - Or kindly when his credit’s out, - Surprise him with a pint of stout; - Exalted in his mighty mind - He flies and leaves his stars[69] behind.” - - [69] Cf. Horace’s “_Sublimi feriam sidera vertice_,” which was once - construed by an ingenuous school-boy, “I will whip the stars with my - sublime _top_ ! !” - -Many actors, actresses and singers imbibe largely of porter, both -for its excellent effects upon the voice and for its restorative and -sustaining powers. Fanny Kemble used frequently to apply herself to -a vulgar pewter pot of stout in the green room both during and after -her {375} performances. Peg Woffington was president of the Beefsteak -Club, then held in the Covent Garden Theatre; and after she had been -pourtraying on the stage “The fair resemblance of a martyr Queen,” she -might have been seen in the green room holding up a pot of porter, and -exclaiming in a tragic voice, “Confusion to all order, let liberty -thrive.” - -Macklin, the actor, who lived to be a centenarian, was accustomed to -drink considerable quantities of stout sweetened with sugar, at the -Antelope, in White Hart Yard, Covent Garden. Porson used to breakfast -on bread and cheese and a pot of porter. - -A favourite mixture of modern Londoners is known by the name of -“Cooper,” and consists of porter and stout in equal proportions. -The best account of the origin of this name is one which attributes -it to a publican by the name of Cooper, who kept a house in Broad -Street, City, opposite to where the Excise Office stood. Cooper -was a jolly, talkative host, and associated a good deal with his -customers—principally officers of the Excise, bankers’ and merchants’ -clerks, and men of that stamp. His guests found on bits of broken -plates, pieces of beef steak and mutton chops already priced with paper -labels. These they had but to choose, mark their name on the ticket, -and carry to the cook at the gridiron, which was in the room in which -they dined. Cooper drank and recommended a mixture of porter and stout, -the fame of which spread very rapidly. The combination became the -fashion in the City, and finally it was brewed entire. - -An equally plausible but more invidious derivation of the name is given -by Andrew Halliday in his _Every-Day Papers_. His account is that “Some -brewers who are jealous for the reputation of their beer employ a -traveller, who visits the houses periodically, and tastes the various -beers, to see that they are not reduced too much. This functionary is -called the ‘Broad Cooper.’ When the Broad Cooper looks in upon Mr. -Noggins, and wants to taste the porter, and the porter is below the -mark, Mr. Noggins slyly draws a dash of stout into it; and this trick -is so common, and so well known, that a mixture of stout and porter has -come to be known to the public and asked for by the name of ‘Cooper.’” - -It has been well observed that “Porter-drinking needs but a beginning: -whenever the habit has once been acquired, it is sure to be kept up. -London is a name pretty widely known in the world; some nations know it -for one thing, and some for another. But all nations know that London -is the place where porter was invented: and Jews, Turks, Germans, -Negroes, Persians, Chinese, New Zealanders, {376} Esquimaux, copper -Indians, Yankees and Spanish Americans, are united in one feeling of -respect for the native city of the most universally favourite liquor -the world has ever known.” When the Persian ambassador left England -some years ago, many of his suite shed tears. One of them, struck with -the security and peace of an Englishman’s life, when compared to a -Persian’s, declared that his highest ideal of Paradise was to live at -Chelsea Hospital, where for the rest of his life he would willingly sit -under the trees and drink as much porter as he could get. - -Much as porter’s praises have been sung, one depreciatory remark is -recorded to have been made by the late Judge Maule. “Why do you, -brother Maule, drink so much stout?” he was asked by one of the judges. -“To bring my intellect down to the level of the rest of the bench,” was -the not very flattering reply. It may be mentioned that Judge Maule’s -joke was not a new one, for L’Estrange has it thus: “One ask’t Sir John -Millesent how he did so conforme himself to the grave justices his -brothers when they mette. ‘Why, in faith,’ sayes he, ‘I have no way but -to drink myselfe downe to the capacitie of the Bench.’” - -A song well known in the early part of the century is much heartier, -and redounds with patriotic sentiment:— - -A POT OF PORTER OH! - - When to Old England I came home, - Fal lal, fal lal la ! - What joy to see the tankard foam - Fal lal, fal lal la ! - When treading London’s well-known ground, - If e’er I feel my spirits tire, - I haul my sail and look up around - In search of Whitbread’s best entire. - I spy the name of Calvert, - Of Curtis, Cox, and Co.; - I give a cheer and bawl for’t, - “A pot of Porter, ho !” - When to Old England I come home, - What joy to see the tankard foam ! - With heart so light and frolic high, - I drink it off to liberty ! {377} - - Where wine or water can be found - Fal lal, fal lal la ! - I’ve travell’d far the world around, - Fal lal, fal lal la ! - Again I hope before I die, - Of England’s can the taste to try; - For many a league I’d go about - To take a draught of Gifford’s stout; - I spy the name of Truman, - Of Maddox, Meux, and Co.; - The sight makes me a new man,— - “A pot of porter, ho !” - When to Old England I come home, - What joy to see the tankard foam ! - With heart so light and frolic high, - I drink it off to liberty. - -[Illustration] - -{378} - -[Illustration] - - - - -_Chapter XIV._ - - - Then hail, thou big and foaming bowl, - Hail, constant idol of my soul; - How laughingly the bubbles ride - Upon thy rich and sparkling tide. - _Brasenose College Shrovetide Verses._ - - This, I tell you, is our jolly _wassel_, - And for twelfth-night more meet too. - _Christmas Masque (Jonson)._ - -_BEVERAGES COMPOUNDED OF ALE OR BEER WITH A NUMBER OF RECEIPTS.—ANCIENT -DRINKING VESSELS.—VARIOUS USES OF ALE OTHER THAN AS A DRINK._ - -Very few people, when warming themselves in the winter months with -Mulled Ale, know that they are quaffing a direct descendant of that -famous liquor known to our forefathers as the Wassail-Bowl, and near -akin to Lambs-Wool, of which Herrick wrote in his _Twelfth Night_:— - - Next crowne the bowle full - With gentle Lambs wooll, - Adde sugare nutmeg and ginger, - With store of ale too - And thus ye must doe, - To make the Wassaile a swinger. - -A beverage of still greater antiquity, but certainly a family -connection, is Bragget or Bragot, which is, or was, until quite -recently, drunk in Lancashire. The word, according to the writer of -_Cups and their {379} Customs_, is of Northland origin, and derived -from “Braga,” the name of a hero, one of the mythological Gods of the -Edda. In its Welsh form of Bragawd, the drink is mentioned in a very -ancient poem, _The Hirlas or Drinking Horn of Owen_, which has been -thus rendered into English:— - - Cup-bearer, when I want thee most, - With duteous patience mind thy post, - Reach me the horn, I know its power - Acknowledged in the social hour; - _Hirlas_, thy contents to drain, - I feel a longing, e’en to pain; - Pride of feasts, profound and blue, - Of the ninths wave’s azure hue, - The drink of heroes formed to hold, - With art enrich’d and lid of gold ! - Fill it with _bragawd_ to the brink, - Confidence inspiring drink;— - -We have been at no little trouble to discover the nature of the drink -called bragot, bragawd, &c., and have come to the conclusion that the -composition of the beverages bearing those names varied considerably. -To define Bragot with any degree of preciseness would be as difficult -as to give an accurate definition of “soup.” In the fourteenth century, -according to a MS. quoted in Wright’s _Provincial Dialects_, “Bragotte” -was made from this receipt:— - -“Take to x galons of ale iij potell of fyne worte, and iij quartis of -hony, and put thereto canell (cinnamon) oz: iiij, peper schort or long -oz: iiij, galingale (a sort of rush) oz: i, and clowys (cloves) oz i, -and gingiver oz ij.” - -Halliwell tells us that Bragot was a kind of beverage formerly esteemed -in Wales and the West of England, composed of wort, sugar and spices. -It was customary to drink it in some parts of the country on Mothering -Sunday. - -Bracket must at one time have been a liquor in common use in London, -for in Mary’s reign the constables were ordered to make weekly search -at the houses of the Brewers and “typlers,” to see whether they sold -any ale or beer or _bracket_ above ½d. a quart without their houses, -and above ½d. the “thyrdendeale”[70] within. {380} - - [70] The thyrdendale was a measure containing a pint and a half. - -In the _Haven of Health_ (1584) are directions for making bragot, which -are similar to those in the fourteenth-century receipt. “Take three -or four galons of good ale or more as you please, two dayes or three -after it is cleansed, and put it into a pot by itselfe, then draw forth -a pottle thereof and put to it a quart of good English hony, and sett -them over the fire in a vessell, and let them boyle faire and softly, -and alwayes as any froth ariseth skumme it away, and so clarifie it, -and when it is well clarified, take it off the fire and let it coole, -and put thereto of peper a pennyworth, cloves, mace, ginger, nutmegs, -cinnamon, of each two pennyworth, stir them well together and sett them -over the fire to boyle againe awhile, then being milke-warme put it to -the rest and stirre all together, and let it stand two or three daies, -and put barme upon it and drinke it at your pleasure.” - -Harrison (1578), in his Preface to _Holinshed’s Chronicles_, relates -that his wife made a composition called Brakwoort, which seems to have -been rather used for flavouring ale than as a distinct beverage. It -contained no honey. - -In _Oxford Nightcaps_ metheglin, mead, and Bragon, or Bragget, are all -mentioned as being compounded of honey. Idromellum, which by-the-by did -not always contain honey,[71] was sometimes spoken of as Bragget. In -Chaucer’s _Miller’s Tale_ is mention of Braket:— - - “Hire mouth was sweete as braket or the meth.” - - [71] See p. 53. - -The Wassail Bowl, according to Warton, was the “Bowl” referred to in -the _Midsummer Night’s Dream_:— - - Sometimes lurk I in a _gossip’s bowl_, - In very likeness of a roasted crab, - And when she drinks, against her lips I bob, - And on her wither’d dewlap pour the _ale_. - -In _Hamlet_ our great dramatist uses the word “wassail”:— - - The King doth wake to-night, and takes his rouse, - Keeps _wassail_, and the swaggering upspring reels. - -The chief ingredients of the ancient Wassail Bowl were, without doubt, -strong ale, sugar, spices, and roasted apples. The following {381} -receipt—the best of some half-dozen before us—is the one adopted at -Jesus College, Oxford, where, on the festival of St. David, an immense -silver-gilt bowl, which was presented to the college by Sir Watkin W. -Wynne in 1732, is partly filled with this admirable composition, and -passed round the festive board. Into the bowl is first placed half a -pound of Lisbon sugar, on which is poured one pint of warm beer; a -little nutmeg and ginger are then grated over the mixture, and four -glasses of sherry and five pints of beer are added to it. It is then -stirred, sweetened to taste, and allowed to stand covered up for two or -three hours. Three or four slices of thin toast are then floated on the -creaming mixture, and the wassail bowl is ready. Sometimes a couple or -three slices of lemon and a few lumps of sugar rubbed on the peeling -of a lemon are introduced. The slang term at Oxford for this beverage -is “Swig.” In another receipt it is said that the liquor, when mixed, -should be made hot (but not boiled), and the liquid poured over roasted -apples laid in the bowl. - -In some parts of the kingdom there are, it is to be hoped, some few -persons who still adhere to the ancient custom of keeping Wassail on -Twelfth Night and Christmas Eve; and these, if they are orthodox, -should ignore the toast of the Oxford receipt in favour of the roasted -crab. Not that there is much virtue in either apple or toast, the -excellence of the drink being due to the spices, sack, and quality of -the ale. It can easily be understood that when ale was for the most -part brewed without hops, and consequently rather insipid in taste, -many people would have a craving for something more highly flavoured, -and would put nutmeg, ginger and other spices into their liquor. It -is not unlikely that the introduction of hops was the cause which -ultimately led to beer cups going out of fashion. At the present -day they are but rarely compounded, even at the Universities. From -experience we can say that, if skilfully made, they are excellent, and -some of the receipts given in this chapter are well worthy a trial. - -Lambs-wool is a variety of the Wassail Bowl. Formerly the first day of -November was dedicated to the angel presiding over fruits, seeds, &c., -and was called _La Mas ubal_ (The Day of the Apple-fruit), pronounced -lamasool. According to Vallancey these words soon became corrupted by -the country people into Lambswool, the liquor appropriate to the day -bearing the same name. - -To make this beverage, mix the pulp of half a dozen roasted apples -with some raw sugar, a grated nutmeg, and a small quantity of ginger; -add one quart of strong ale made moderately warm. Stir the whole {382} -together, and, if sweet enough, it is fit for use. This mixture is -sometimes served up in a bowl, with sweet cakes floating in it. - -In Ireland Lambswool used to be a constant ingredient at the -merry-makings on Holy Eve, or the evening before All Saints’ Day, -and milk was sometimes substituted for the ale. It is now rarely or -never heard of in that country, having been superseded by more ardent -potations. - -_The Miller of Mansfield_ contains a reference to Lambswool:— - - Doubt not, then sayd the King, my promist secresye: - The King shall never know more on’t for mee. - A cupp of _lambswool_ they dranke unto him then, - And to their bedds they past presentlie. - -Old writers frequently made allusion to the spicing of ale. In -Chaucer’s _Rime of Sir Thopas_ occur these lines:— - - And _Notemuge_ to put in ale - Whether it be moist or stale— - -and again, in _The Knight of the Burning Pestle_, by Beaumont and -Fletcher:— - - Nutmegs and ginger, cinnamon and cloves, - And they gave me this jolly red nose. - -The ale, apparently, had nothing to do with the colouration. - -Even the sublime Milton condescended to make allusion to spiced ale in -his _L’Allegro_:— - - Till the livelong daylight fail - Then to the _spicy nut-brown ale_. - -Wither, in _Abuses Stript and Whipt_ (1613), says:— - - Will he will drinke, yet but a draught at most, - That must be spiced with a nut-browne tost. - -The last quotation is only one out of the many to be found in our -literature having reference to the toast with which the spiced ale was -so often crowned. Perhaps the most curious is one from Greene’s _Friar -{383} Bacon_ (sixteenth century). The Devil and Miles are conversing -on the pleasures of Hell, whence they soon afterwards proceed. “Faith -’tis a place,” says Miles, “I have desired long to see; have you not -good tippling houses there?—May not a man have a lusty fire there, a -pot of good ale, a pair of cards, a swinging piece of chalk, and a -_brown toast_ that will clap a white waistcoat on a cup of good drink?” - -Even in the last century toast and spices were not uncommonly put into -ale. Warton, in his _Panegyric on Oxford Ale_, wrote:— - - My sober evening let the tankard bless - With _toast_ embrown’d, and fragrant _nutmeg_ fraught, - While the rich draught, with oft-repeated whiffs, - Tobacco mild improves. - -The Anglo-Saxon custom of drinking healths and pledging has been, at -any rate, since the eighteenth century, termed _toasting_. In the -twenty-fourth number of _The Tatler_ the word is connected with the -toast put in ale cups. This is probably correct, though Wedgewood -considers it a corruption of _stoss an!_ knock (glasses), a German -drinker’s cry. The explanation given in _The Tatler_ of the connection -between the two meanings of the word “toast” is, however, open to -question. It runs thus: “It is said that while a celebrated beauty was -indulging in her bath, one of the crowd of admirers who surrounded -her took a glass of the water in which the fair one was dabbling and -drank her health to the company, when a gay fellow offered to jump in, -saying, ‘Though he liked not the liquor, he would have the _toast_.’” - -In the reign of Charles II. Earl Rochester writes:— - - Make it so large that, filled with Sack - Up to the swelling brim, - Vast _toasts_ on the delicious lake, - Like ships at sea, may swim. - -A very ancient composition was ale-brue, called later ale-berry. It was -composed of ale boiled with spice, sugar, and sops of bread. An old -receipt (1420) for it is:— - - Alebrue thus make thou schalle - With grotes, safroune and good ale. - -{384} - -Ale-brue was perhaps originally merely a brew of ale, but the word soon -came to mean a peculiar beverage. It is mentioned in _The Becon against -Swearing_ (1543): “They would taste nothing, no not so much as a poor -_ale-berry_ until they had slain Paul,” and in Boorde’s _Dyetary_, “Ale -brues, caudelles and collesses” are recommended for “weke men and feble -stomackes.” The word also occurs in _The High and Mightie Commendation -of the Vertue of a Pot of Good Ale_:— - - Their ale-berries, cawdles and possets each one, - And sullabubs made at the milking pail, - Although they be many, Beer comes not in any - But all are composed with a Pot of Good Ale. - -Taylor, in _Drinke and Welscome_, says: “Alesbury (or Aylesbury), in -Buckinghamshire, where the making of _Aleberries_, so excellent against -Hecticks, was first invented.” This is probably only a punning allusion. - -All who have been at City festivities have tasted the Loving Cup, -which, so it is stated in _Cups and their Customs_, is identical with -the Grace Cup, a beverage the drinking of which has been from time -immemorial a great feature at Corporation dinners both in London and -elsewhere. Mr. Timbs, in _Walks and Talks about London_, says the -Loving Cups are filled with “a delicious composition immemorially -termed sack, consisting of sweetened and exquisitely flavoured white -wine,” and Will of Malmsbury, describing the customs of Glastonbury -soon after the Conquest, says that on certain occasions the monks had -“mead in their cans, and _wine_ in their _Grace Cup_.” The Oxford Grace -Cup, however, according to _Oxford Nightcaps_ (1835), contains ale. -The receipt runs thus: “Extract the juice from the peeling of a lemon -and cut the remainder into thin slices; put it into a jug or bowl, and -pour on it three half pints of strong home-brewed beer and a bottle of -mountain wine: grate a nutmeg into it; sweeten it to your taste; stir -it till the sugar is dissolved, and then add three or four slices of -bread toasted brown. Let it stand two hours, and then strain it off -into the Grace Cup.” - -Many of the cups drunk by our forefathers had medicinal qualities -attributed to them, and did in fact, often contain drugs of various -descriptions. The famous Hypocras, for instance, was flavoured with -an infusion of brandy, pepper, ginger, cloves, grains of paradise, -ambergris, and musk. A Duchess of St. Albans has left us a receipt for -making “The Ale of health and strength,” which, it sufficeth to say, -was a {385} decoction of nearly all the herbs in the garden (agreeable -and otherwise) boiled up in small beer. Old worthies, when induced to -give up their receipts for the public good, described these drinks -under the head of “Kitchen physic.” “I allowed him medicated broths, -_Posset Ale_ and pearl julep,” writes Wiseman in his book on surgery. - -The name of the unfortunate Sir Walter Raleigh is dear to Britons in -connection with tobacco and potatoes. He has yet another claim on our -sympathy as the inventor of an excellent receipt for Sack Posset, which -a high authority has declared to show full well the propriety of taste -in its compounder. It runs thus:—“Boil a quart of cream with _quantum -sufficit_ of sugar, mace and nutmeg; take half a pint of sack[72]” -(sherry), “and the same quantity of ale, and boil them well together, -adding sugar; these being boiled separately are now to be added. Heat a -pewter dish very hot, and cover your basin with it, and let it stand by -the fire for two or three hours.” - - [72] There were several kinds of Sack—Sherris, Malmsey, &c. The - word is derived from _saco_, the skin in which Spanish wines were - imported. - -“We’ll have a posset at the latter end of a sea-coal fire,” wrote -Shakspere. - -A favourite drink of the seventeenth century was Buttered Ale. It was -composed of ale (brewed without hops), butter, sugar and cinnamon. In -_Pepys’ Diary_ for December 5th, 1662, “a morning draught of _buttered -ale_,” is mentioned. There is also reference to it in _The Convivial -Songster_:— - - And now the merry spic’d bowls went round, - The gossips were void of shame too; - In _Butter’d Ale_ the priest half drown’d, - Demands the infant’s name too. - -At the beginning of the eighteenth century Beer Cups were much in -vogue. Cuthbert Bede specifies, but does not describe, cups bearing the -following names: Humpty-dumpty, Clamber-clown, Hugmatee, Stick-back, -Cock Ale and Knock-me-down, and there were others called Foxcomb, -Stiffle, Blind Pinneaux, Stephony and Northdown. Cock Ale was supposed -to be, and no doubt was, a very strengthening and restorative compound. -The receipt runs thus:—“Take a cock of half a year old, kill him and -truss him well, and put into a cask twelve gallons of Ale to which -add four pounds of raisins of the sun well picked, stoned, washed and -dryed; sliced Dates, half a pound; nutmegs and mace two {386} ounces: -Infuse the dates and spices in a quart of canary twenty-four hours, -then boil the cock in a manner to a jelly, till a gallon of water is -reduced to two quarts; then press the body of him extremely well, and -put the liquor into the cask where the Ale is, with the spices and -fruit, adding a few blades of mace; then put to it a pint of new Ale -yeast, and let it work well for a day, and, in two days, you may broach -it for use or, in hot weather, the second day; and if it proves too -strong, you may add more plain Ale to palliate this restorative drink, -which contributes much to the invigorating of nature.” - -Among the various beverages which good house-wives deemed it their duty -to brew were Elderberry Beer, or Ebulon, Cowslip Ale, Blackberry Ale, -China Ale and Apricot Ale. Their names indicate to a great extent their -composition. China Ale, however, was not a term applied by wits to tea, -as has been suggested, but was composed of ale flavoured with China -root and bruised coriander seed, which were tied up in a linen bag, -and left in the liquor until it had done working. The ale then stood -fourteen days, and was afterwards bottled. This was the proper China -Ale, but, according to an old cookery book, “the common sort vended -about Town is nothing more (at best) than ten-shilling beer, put up in -small stone bottles, with a little spice, lemon peel, and raisins or -sugar.” - -Ebulon, which is said to have been preferred by some people to port, -was made thus: In a hogshead of the first and strongest wort was boiled -one bushel of ripe elderberries. The wort was then strained and, when -cold, worked (_i.e._ fermented) in a hogshead (not an open tun or tub). -Having lain in cask for about a year it was bottled. Some persons -added an infusion of hops by way of preservative and relish, and some -likewise hung a small bag of bruised spices in the vessel. White Ebulon -was made with pale malt and white elderberries. - -Blackberry Ale was composed of a strong wort made from two bushels -of malt and ¼lb. hops. To this was added the juice of a peck of ripe -blackberries and a little yeast. After fermentation the cask was -stopped up close for six weeks, the ale was then bottled, and was fit -to drink at the end of another fortnight. - -In the _London and County Brewer_ (1744), is this receipt for Cowslip -Ale: Take, to a barrel of ale a bushel of the flowers of cowslip pick’d -out of the husks, and when your ale hath done working put them loose in -the barrel without bruising. Let it stand a fortnight before you bottle -it, and, when you bottle it, put a lump of sugar in each bottle. {387} - -The same book enlightens us as to the composition of “an ale that will -taste like Apricot Ale”:—“Take to every gallon of ale one ounce and a -half of wild carrot seed bruised a little, and hang them in a leathern -bag in your barrel until it is ready to drink, which will be in three -weeks; then bottle it with a little sugar in every bottle.” - -Egg Ale was a somewhat remarkable composition, and was doubtless -highly nutritious. To twelve gallons of ale was added the gravy of -eight pounds of beef. Twelve eggs, the gravy beef, a pound of raisins, -oranges and spice, were then placed in a linen bag and left in the -barrel until the ale had ceased fermenting. Even then an addition was -made in the shape of two quarts of Malaga sack. After three weeks in -cask the ale was bottled, a little sugar being added. A monstrously -potent liquor truly! Can this have been one of the cups with which “our -ancestors robust with liberal cups usher’d the morn”? - -Coming now to beverages more familiar, a word or two as to Purl, once, -and not so long ago either, the common morning draught of Londoners. -Tom Hood, in _The Epping Hunt_, thus puns upon the word:— - - Good lord, to see the riders now, - Thrown off with sudden whirl, - A score within the purling brook, - Enjoy’d their “early purl.” - -According to one receipt, common Purl contained the following -ingredients:—Roman wormwood, gentian root, calamus aromaticus snake -root, horse radish, dried orange peel, juniper berries, seeds or -kernels of Seville oranges, all placed in beer, and allowed to stand -for some months. The writer who gives this receipt says a pound or two -of galingale improves it—as if anything could improve such a perfect -combination! According to an anecdote told of George III., a somewhat -simpler beverage in his day went by the name of Purl. One morning -the King, when visiting his stables, heard one of his grooms say to -another: “I don’t care what you say, Robert, but the man at the Three -Tuns makes the best _purl_ in Windsor.” - -“Purl, purl,” said the King; “Robert, what’s Purl?” - -The groom explaining that purl was hot beer with a dash of gin in it, -in fact, the compound now known to ’bus conductors as “dogsnose,” the -King remarked:— - -“Yes, yes; I daresay very good drink; but too strong for the morning; -never drink in the morning.” {388} - -A mixture of warmed ale and spirits is called Hot-Pot in Norfolk -and Suffolk, and a similar compound, to which is added sugar and -lemon-peel, used to be called Ruddle. - -A somewhat remote ancestor of Purl, Dogsnose, Ruddle and other mixtures -of ale or beer and spirits, was Hum, to which Ben Jonson refers in _The -Devil is an Ass_:— - - —Carmen - Are got into the yellow starch and chimney sweepers - To their tobacco, and strong waters, _hum_, - Meath and Obarni. - -And it is also mentioned in Beaumont and Fletcher’s _Wildgoose Chase_: -“What a cold I have over my stomack; would I’d some _hum_.” In -Shirley’s _Wedding_ is a reference to hum glasses, the small size being -indicative of the potency of the liquor:— - - They say that Canary sack must dance again - To the apothecarys, and be sold - For physic in hum glasses and thimbles. - -Flip, once a popular drink, and not altogether without its patrons in -the present day, is made in a variety of ways. The following receipt is -a good one. Place in a saucepan one quart of strong ale together with -lumps of sugar which have been well rubbed over the rind of a lemon, -and a small piece of cinnamon. Take the mixture off the fire when -boiling and add one glass of cold ale. Have ready in a jug the yolks of -six or eight eggs well beaten up with powdered sugar and grated nutmeg. -Pour the hot ale from the saucepan on to the eggs, stirring them while -so doing. Have another jug at hand and pour the mixture as swiftly as -possible from one vessel to the other until a white froth appears, when -the flip is ready. One or two wine glasses of gin or rum are often -added. This beverage made without spirits is sometimes called Egg-hot, -and Sailor’s Flip contains no ale. A quart of Flip is styled in the -_Cook’s Oracle_ a “Yard of Flannel.” - -There is a tale told of a Frenchman, who, stopping at an inn, asked for -Jacob. - -“There’s no such person here,” said the landlord. - -“’Tis not a person I want, sare, but de beer warmed with de poker.” - -“Well,” said mine host, “that is flip.” {389} - -“Ah! yes,” exclaimed the Frenchman, “you have right; I mean Philip.” - -Purl, Flip, and Dog’s Nose have been immortalised by Dickens in his -description of the Six Jolly Fellowship Porters. The tap and parlour -of this hostel were provided with “comfortable fireside tin utensils, -like models of sugar-loaf hats, made in that shape that they might, -with their pointed ends, seek out for themselves glowing nooks in the -depths of the red coals when they mulled your ale, or heated for you -those delectable drinks, Purl, Flip, and Dog’s Nose. The first of these -humming compounds was a speciality of the Porters, which, through an -inscription on its door-posts, gently appealed to your feelings as ‘The -Early Purl House.’ For it would seem that Purl must always be taken -early; though whether for any more distinctly stomachic reason than -that, as the early bird catches the worm, so the early purl catches the -customer, cannot here be resolved.” - -Of other receipts for beer cups there are many—too many, indeed, to -be given here; most of them differ from one another more in name than -anything else. Brown Betty, an Oxford cup, deriving its name from -its inventor, a bedmaker, is similar to the Oxford Wassail Bowl. The -famous Brasenose Ale, which is by no means a modern institution and is -introduced at Brasenose College on Shrove Tuesday, immediately after -dinner, consists merely of ale sweetened with pounded sugar, and served -with roasted apples floating on it. - - Not all the liquors Rome e’er had - Can beat our matchless Beer; - Apicius self had gone stark mad, - To taste such noble cheer. - -Thus wrote an undergraduate of Brasenose Ale. - -A cup bearing the euphonious name of Tewahdiddle had the reputation -of being most excellent tipple. It consists of a pint of beer, a -tablespoonful of brandy, a teaspoonful of brown sugar, a little grated -nutmeg or ginger, and a roll or very thinly-cut lemon-peel. - -Among beverages which hold a high place as cool summer drinks is The -Parting Cup, which is made thus: Place in a bowl two slices of very -brown toast, a little nutmeg, a quart of mild ale, and two-thirds of a -bottle of sherry; sweeten the liquor with syrup, and immediately before -drinking add a bottle of soda-water. Another good cup is made with -two quarts of light draught beer, the juice of five lemons, and about -three-quarters of a pound of sugar. The mixture should then be {390} -strained and allowed to stand for a short time. If flat, a little -carbonate of soda should be added. - -A very favourite summer drink at Oxford was Cold Tankard; and a certain -fair damsel, who was skilful in the preparation of this pleasant -beverage, was so honoured by the undergraduates that songs were written -in her praise by the boating men and other frequenters of the riverside -inn where she presided. She was, according to one poet, cheerful, -blithe, merry, neat, comely, gay and obliging, and above all she -excelled in making Cold Tankard. - - She looks up the oars, and the old tavern scores, - And now and then cleans out a wherry; - The sails she can mend, - And the parlour attend, - For obliging’s the Maid of the Ferry. - She serves in the bar, and excels all by far - In making Cold Tankard of Perry; - How sweet then at eve, - With her leave to receive - A kiss from the Maid of the Ferry. - -Though “perry” is mentioned in the verse, Cold Tankard is also made -with Ale or Cider. The ingredients are the juice from the peeling of -one lemon, extracted by rubbing loaf sugar on it; two lemons cut into -thin slices; the rind of one lemon cut thin, a quarter of a pound -of loaf sugar, and a half pint of brandy. To make the cup, put the -foregoing into a large jug, mix them well together, and add one quart -of cold spring water. Grate a nutmeg into the jug, add one pint of -white wine, and a quart of strong beer, ale, perry or cider, sweeten -the mixture to taste with capillaire or sugar, put a handful of balm -and the same quantity of borage in flower (_borago officinalis_) into -it, stalk downwards. Then put the jug containing this liquor into a tub -of ice, and when it has remained there one hour it is fit for use. The -balm and borage should be fresh gathered. - -The use of Borage in cups is very ancient, and old writers have -ascribed to the flower many virtues. In Evelyn’s _Acetaria_ it is said -“to revive the hypochondriac, and cheer the hard student.” In Salmon’s -_Household Companion_ (1710) Borage is mentioned as one of the four -cordial flowers; “it comforts the heart, cheers melancholy, and revives -the fainting spirits.” It may be doubted whether the comforting effects -{391} of this inward application were rightly attributed to the borage -alone. A modern writer has gone so far as to say that he never found -any benefit apparent from the presence of Borage at Lord Mayor’s feasts -and other such festive gatherings, beyond that of so stinging the -noses of those other persons who have desired to drink deeply that the -cup undrained has been. Though granting this undeniable advantage, we -cannot concur that Borage possesses no other qualities, for it gives to -cups a peculiarly refreshing flavour which cannot be imitated. - -In _Cups and their Customs_ are three Beer Cups which have not yet been -mentioned. The first of these is Copus Cup. It consists of two quarts -of hot ale, to which are added four wine glasses of brandy, three wine -glasses of noyau, a pound of lump sugar, the juice of one lemon, a -piece of toast, a dozen cloves, and a little nutmeg. Was it of such a -cup as this that the lines were written?— - - Three cups of this a prudent man may take; - The first of these for constitution’s sake, - The second to the girl he loves the best, - The third and last to lull him to his rest. - -Donaldson’s Beer Cup is of a more simple and lighter character. To a -pint of ale is added the peel of half a lemon, half a liquor-glass of -noyau, a bottle of seltzer-water, a little nutmeg and sugar, and some -ice. - -“Hungerford Park” is an excellent beverage, and is especially suitable -for shooting parties in hot weather. To make it—cut into slices three -good-flavoured apples, which put into a jug; add the peel and juice of -one lemon, a very little grated nutmeg, three bottles of ginger-beer, -half a pint of sherry, two and a quarter pints of good draught ale, -sweeten to taste with sifted loaf sugar, stir a little to melt the -sugar, and let the jug stand in ice. “The addition of half a bottle of -champagne makes it _awfully_ good,” wrote a certain Colonel B., in _the -Field_, a few years ago. - -Freemasons’ Cup, which may be drank either hot or cold, is of a very -potent character, and consists of a pint of Scotch ale, a similar -quantity of mild beer, half a pint of brandy, a pint of sherry, half a -pound of loaf sugar, and plenty of grated nutmeg. Freemasons must have -strong heads. - -It will, no doubt, have been noted ere this that between mulled ale -and the majority of hot beer-cups the distinction is rather in name -than composition, and the various receipts for mulling ale so closely -resemble the Wassail Bowl, Flip, &c., that it is quite unnecessary to -quote any of {392} them. A word or two on cup making. Cups are easily -made and easily marred. All the ingredients must be of good quality, -and the vessels used sweet and clean. Everything required should be at -hand before the mixing commences, and that important process should -proceed as quickly as possible. Few servants can be trusted to brew -cups, but if the matter is placed in their hands you cannot do better -than caution them in terms similar to those addressed by Dr. King to -his maid Margaret:— - - O Peggy, Peggy, when thou go’st to brew, - Consider well what you’re about to do; - Be very wise—very sedately think - That what you’re going to make is—drink; - Consider who must drink that drink, and then - What ’tis to have the praise of honest men; - Then future ages shall of Peggy tell, - The nymph who spiced the brewages so well. - -Yet two more beverages compounded of ale or beer, and then this -portion of the subject is completed. First, Shandy Gaff, the very -writing of which word brings to us visions of a shining river, of -shady backwaters, of sunny days, of two-handled tankards, and of deep -cool draughts well earned. For the sake of the unfortunate few who -are unacquainted with the beverage, the receipt is given: One pint -of bitter beer, one bottle of the old-fashioned ginger-beer mixed -together, and imbibed only on the hottest summer days, after rowing. -Why, we cannot say; but Shandy Gaff always seems to us out of place -anywhere but on the river. - -Secondly and lastly—Mother-in-law, which, also, to some of us may bring -visions—but of another kind. The drink of this name is composed of -equal proportions of “old and bitter.” - -If there is one season of the year more appropriate than another to hot -beer-cups, be they Wassail Bowls, Lambswool, Flip or Mulled Ale, it is -Christmas. Edward Moxon, a poet who flourished about the commencement -of this century, presents in his _Christmas_ a charming picture of the -merry circle gathered round the crackling yule log, regaling themselves -with mulled ale:— - - Right merry now the hours they pass, - Fleeting thro’ jocund pleasure’s glass, - The yule-log too burns bright and clear, - Auspicious of a happy year: {393} - While some with joke and some with tale, - But all with sweeter _mullèd ale_, - Pass gaily life’s sweet stream along, - With interlude of ancient song— - And as each rosy cup they drain, - Bounty replenishes again. - -From the excellent beverages compounded of ale or beer, concerning -which so much has been said in this chapter, let us turn to the cups, -flagons, horns, bowls and other vessels used by ale drinkers, and in -some of which these beverages were compounded. - - “Come troll the jovial flagon, - Come fill the bonny bowl, - Come, join in laughing sympathy - Of soul with kindred soul.” - -A few pages must suffice for a very short notice of this interesting -part of our subject. - -[Illustration: Anglo-Saxon Tumblers.] - -Mr. Sharon Turner, in his _History of the Anglo-Saxons_, gives many -instances of the high estimation in which cups and drinking vessels -were held by our Teutonic forefathers. Even in very early times the -precious metals were largely used in their construction, and gold and -silver cups are frequently the subjects of Anglo-Saxon bequests. In the -old poem _Beowulf_ evidence may be found bearing upon this point. One -of the treasures in the ancient barrow guarded by the dragon Grendel -is “The solid cup, the costly drinking vessel (_drync fœt deore_).” -Drinking vessels are frequently found in Anglo-Saxon tombs. The cups -represented in the cut are made of glass, and were found chiefly in -barrows in Kent. They are of the “tumbler” species, _i.e._, on being -filled they must be emptied at a draught, and cannot be set down with -any liquor in them. Mr. Wright suggests that the example to the left -represents the “twisted” pattern mentioned in _Beowulf_. - -The savage custom, observed both by the Celts and Saxons, of drinking -ale or mead from {394} a cup made out of the skull of a fallen foe, -has left a trace in mediæval times in the word “scole,” signifying a -cup or bowl, and may probably still be recognised in the provincial -word “skillet,” which has the same meaning. - -Henry, in his _History of England_, relates that the Celtic inhabitants -of the Western Islands of Scotland spoke in their poetical way of -intoxicating liquors as “the strength of the shell,” from the fact that -they used shells as drinking vessels. - -Returning to the Anglo-Saxons—besides metal and glass cups, they used -drinking horns, and cups or bowls of wood, and in some respects the -horn was the most important of their drinking vessels. Investiture of -lands was frequently made by the horn both among the Saxons and Danes. -The celebrated Horn of Ulphus, kept in the Sacristy of York Minster, -was, according to Camden, given to the Cathedral by a noble Dane named -Ulphus, who, when his sons quarrelled as to the succession to his -estate, cut short the dispute by repairing to the Minster, and there -enfeoffed the Cathedral with all his lands and revenues, draining the -horn before the high altar as a pledge and evidence of the gift. The -Mercian King Witlaf gave a drinking horn to the Abbey of Croyland “that -the elder monks may drink from it on feast days, and remember the soul -of the donor.” - -[Illustration: Cup found in the Ruins of Glastonbury Abbey.] - -The peg-tankards of the Anglo-Saxons have been already referred to in -Chapter V. The Glastonbury Peg Tankard, illustrated in the cut, is made -of oak. On the lid is a representation of the Crucifixion, and round -the sides are the figures of the Apostles. It contains two quarts, and -is divided with eight pegs. {395} - -While engaged on this subject of measured drinks, it may also be -mentioned that hoops were used as well as pegs by the old topers, and -hence the promise of Jack Cade that “the three-hooped pot shall have -ten hoops.” From the same fact is derived the old phrase, “carousing -the hunter’s hoop,” signifying a prolonged drinking bout. In certain -parts of Essex it has been customary, until quite recently, for topers -to drink out a pot of ale in three equal draughts, and with some -ceremony; the first draught was called _neckum_, the second _sinkum_, -and the third _swankum_. - -Passing on to mediæval times, We find, as might have been expected, a -great increase of variety in the drinking vessels in common use. The -tankard, which was one of the chief vessels used for ordinary drinking -purposes, was originally a vessel containing three gallons, and used, -not to drink out of, but to carry water in. Before Sir Hugh Middleton -brought the New River water into London, the inhabitants were supplied -by the tankard bearers. The tankard was usually made of metal and the -common use of pewter in the fifteenth century is shown by an extract -from a letter of that period, in which the recipient is reminded, that -“If ye be at home this Christmas, it were well done ye should do purvey -a garnish or twain of pewter vessel.” The _hanap_ was a kind of first -cousin to the tankard, it came down from Saxon times, and the name -is found in old Vocabularies under the form _hnæp_. The minds of the -learned have been greatly exercised as to the connection of this word -hanap with our word hamper, and with the older form still found in the -term, the Hanaper Office. We would humbly suggest that the old work of -Alexander Neckam, to which we have already had occasion to refer, makes -the matter tolerably clear. The writer, in describing the contents of -a cellar, mentions _ciphi_ and _cophini_, which of course mean _cups_ -and _baskets_. An ancient annotator, however, gives us just the hint -we want by writing in the MS. over the word _ciphi_ “anaps,” and over -_cophini_ “anapers.” The hanap therefore was the cup, the hanaper or -hamper was the basket in which the cups were carried. - -As an example of the number and value of the various drinking vessels -in use, the following extracts are given from an inventory of the goods -of Sir John Fastolfe, who died in 1459: - - Item j payre galon Bottels of one sorte. - - — j payre of potell Bottellys one sorte. - - — j nother potell Bottell—Item 1 payre Quartletts of one sorte. - - Item iiij galon pottis of lether—Item iij Pottelers of lether. - - Item j grete tankard. {396} - - Item ij grete and hoge botellis. - - — ij Pottis of silver, percell gilte and enameled with violetts and - dayseys. - - — ij Pottes of sylver, of the facion of goods enamelyd on the toppys - withe hys armys. - -Leather was a very usual material for drinking vessels in former times, -and black-jacks were to be seen in every village alehouse. Many such -are still to be found in various parts of the country, though they are -not now used. - -The venerable song the _Leather Bottel_ is too well known to bear -repetition, but a verse or two of _Time’s Alterations or the Old Man’s -Rehersal_, an ancient black-letter ballad, may be given to show the -common use of the leather drinking vessel:— - - Black jacks to every man - Were filled with wine and beer; - No pewter pot nor can - In those days did appear: - Good cheer in a nobleman’s house - Was counted a seemly shew; - We wanted no brawn nor souse, - When this old cap was new. - - We took not such delight - In cups of silver wine; - None under the degree of a Knight - In plate drunk beer or wine: - Now each mechanical man - Hath a cupboard of plate for a shew; - Which was a rare thing then, - When this old cap was new. - -Taylor, the water poet, in his _Jack a Lent_, makes mention of these -vessels (A.D. 1630):— - - ——— nor of Jacke Dogge, Jack Date, - Jacke foole, or Jack a Dandy, I relate: - Nor of Black Jacks at gentle Buttry bars, - Whose liquor often breeds household wars: - -A variety of Black Jack was the Bombard, to which Ben Jonson refers -in the lines from the _Masque of Love Restored_. “With that {397} -they knocked hypocrisy on the pate and made room for a bombard-man, -that brought bouge[73] for a country lady or two, that fainted, he -said, with fasting.” Shakspere calls Falstaff “that swollen parcel or -dropsies, that huge bombard of sack.” “Baiting of bombard” was a slang -term for heavy drinking. Small Jacks were also in use. Decker, in -his _English Villaines Seven Times Pressed to Death_, says: “In some -places they have little leather Jacks, tip’d with silver, and hung with -small silver bells (these are called Gyngle-Boyes), to ring peales of -drunkennesse.” - - [73] bouge = an allowance of meat and drink. - -The Black Jack was frequently taken for a sign. The house with that -sign-board in Clare Market, London, was once the haunt of Joe Miller, -of comic fame, and from the window of this tavern Jack Sheppard is -said to have made a desperate leap, in escaping from the clutches of -Jonathan Wild and his myrmidons. - -Heywood, in his _Philocothonista or Drunkard Opened, Dissected and -Anatomized_ (1635), gives a very full list of the various drinking -vessels in use in his day. “Of drinking cups,” he says, “divers and -sundry sorts we have; some of elme, some of box, some of maple, some of -holly, etc. Mazers, broad-mouthed dishes, naggins, whiskins, piggins, -creuzes, ale-bowles, wassel-bowles, court dishes, tankards, kannes, -from a pottle to a pint, from a pint to a gill. Other bottles we -have of leather, but they are mostly used amongst the shepherds and -harvest people of the countrey; small jacks we have in many ale houses -of the citie and suburbs tipt with silver: black-jacks and bombards -at the court; which when the Frenchmen first saw, they reported at -their return unto their country that the Englishmen used to drink out -of their bootes. We have besides cups made of horns of beastes, of -cockernuts, of goords, of eggs of estriches; others made of the shells -of divers fishes brought from the Indies and other places, and shining -like mother of pearle. Come to plate, every tavern can afford you flat -bowles, french bowles, prounet cups, beare bowles, beakers; and private -householders in the citie, when they make a feast to entertain their -friends, can furnish their cupboards with flagons, tankards, beere -cups, wine bowles, some white, some percell guilt, some guilt all over, -some with covers, others without, of sundry shapes and qualities.” - -During the religious feuds that raged so fearfully in Holland, the -Protestant party gave the name of _Bellarmines_ to the bearded jugs -{398} they used. This was done in ridicule of their opponent, Cardinal -Bellarmine. The Cardinal’s figure was stout and squat, and well suited -the form of the stone beer-jug in use. To make the resemblance more -complete, the Cardinal’s face with his great square-cut beard was -placed in front of the jug, which became known in England as the -_Bellarmine_ or _Greybeard_ Jug. Many fragments of these jugs, of the -reign of Elizabeth and James the First, have been exhumed, and the jug -entire is not uncommon. Ben Jonson, alluding to the Greybeard, says -of a drunkard that “the man with the beard has almost struck up his -heels,” and an excellent description of this quaint old jug is to be -found in Cartwright’s play _The Ordinary_ (1651):— - - ——thou thing - Thy very looks like to some strutting hill, - O’ershadow’d with thy rough beard like a wood; - Or like a larger jug that some men call - A Bellarmine, but we a conscience, - Wheron the tender hand of Pagan workman - Over the proud ambitious head hath carved - An idol large, with beard episcopal. - -The Greybeard Jug is still to be found in some parts of Scotland, -and the following tale, in which it figures, was taken down some -years ago from the conversation of a Scotch Church dignitary. About -1770 there flourished a Mrs. Balfour, of Denbog, in the County of -Fife. The nearest neighbour of Denbog was a Mr. David Paterson, who -had the character of being a good deal of a humorist. One day, when -Paterson came to the house, he found Mrs. Balfour engaged in one of her -half-yearly brewings, it being the custom in those days, each March and -October, to make as much ale as would serve for the ensuing six months. -She was in a great pother about bottles, her stock of which fell far -short of the number required, and she asked Mr. Paterson if he could -lend her any? “No,” said Paterson, “but I think I could bring you a -few greybeards that would hold a good deal, perhaps that would do.” -The lady assented, and appointed a day when he should come again and -bring his greybeards with him. On the proper day Mr. Paterson made his -appearance, in Mrs. Balfour’s parlour. - -“Well, Mr. Paterson, have you brought your greybeards?” - -“O, yes, they are down stairs waiting for you.” - -“How many?” - -“Nae less than ten.” {399} - -“Well I, hope they are pretty large, for really I find I have a great -deal more Ale than I have bottles for.” - -“I’se warrant ye, Mem, ilka ane o’ them will hold twelve gallons.” - -“O, that will do extremely well.” - -Down goes the lady. - -“I left them in the dining-room,” said Paterson. When the lady went in -she found ten of the most bibulous old lairds of the North of Fife. She -at once perceived the joke, and entered into it. After a hearty laugh -had gone round, she said she thought it would be as well to have dinner -before filling the greybeards, and it was accordingly arranged that the -gentlemen should take a ramble and come in to dinner at two o’clock. - -The extra ale is understood to have been duly disposed of. - -Closely allied to the Greybeard was the Toby Philpot beer jug; it was, -however, a more elaborate article, and represented the whole figure of -a portly toper. Its origin is thus described in the humorous verses -entitled _Toby Philpot_, by Francis Fawkes:— - - Dear Tom, this brown jug, which now foams with mild ale, - Out of which I now drink to sweet Nan of the Vale, - Was once Toby Philpot, a thirsty old soul, - As e’er crack’d a bottle, or fathom’d a bowl: - In bousing about, ’twas his pride to excel, - And amongst jolly topers he bore off the bell. - - It chanc’d as in dog days he sat at his ease, - In his flower-woven arbour, as gay as you please, - With his friend and a pipe, puffing sorrow away, - And with honest Old Stingo sat soaking his clay, - His breath-doors of life on a sudden were shut, - And he died full as big as a Dorchester Butt. - - His body when long in the ground it had lain, - And time into clay had dissolv’d it again, - A potter found out, in its covert so snug, - And with part of Fat Toby he form’d this brown jug: - Now sacred to friendship, to mirth, and mild Ale— - So here’s to my lovely sweet Nan of the Vale. - -The wooden ale bowls used by the Saxons continued common in England for -many a century, and constant reference to them is to be {400} found. -In the _Miller of Mansfield_ King Henry II. is represented drinking out -of a brown bowl: - - This caus’d the King, suddenlye, to laugh most heartilye, - Till the teares trickled fast downe from his eyes. - Then to their supper were they set orderlye, - With hot bag puddings, and good apply pyes; - Nappy ale, good and stale, in a browne bowle, - Which did about the board merrilye trowle. - -At the time when the _Liber Albus_ was composed (1419), the gallons, -pottles and quarts used in the City of London were made of wood, as may -be judged from the fact that they are mentioned as shrinking if they -were stamped when _green_. - -Dryden mentions the brown bowl as characteristic of the country life:— - - The rich, tir’d with continual feasts, - For change become their next poor tenant’s guests; - Drink heavy draughts of Ale from plain brown bowls, - And snatch the homely Rasher from the coals. - -Mr. Pepys records that on the 4th of January, 1667, he had company -to dinner; and “at night to sup, and then to cards, and last of all -to have a flagon of ale and apples, drank out of a wood cup, as a -Christmas draught, which made all merry.” Brown bowls were also the -drinking vessels used in singing the old song, _The Barley Mow_ “which -cannot,” says Bell “be given in words, it should be heard to be -appreciated properly, particularly with the West Country dialect.” - - Here’s a health to the barley-mow, my brave boys, - Here’s a health to the barley-mow! - We’ll drink it out of the jolly brown bowl, - Here’s a health to the barley-mow! - Chorus:—Here’s a health to the barley-mow, my brave boys, - Here’s a health to the barley-mow! - We’ll drink it out of the nipperkin, boys. - Here’s, &c. - -and so it proceeds, “quarter-pint,” “half-pint,” “pint,” “quart,” -“pottle,” “gallon,” “half-anker,” “anker,” “half-hogshead,” “hogshead,” -“pipe,” “well,” “river,” “ocean,” always in the third line repeating -the whole of the previously-named “measures” backwards. {401} - -Among curious drinking vessels must be classed the Wager or Puzzle -Jugs, which, in the seventeenth century, were great favourites at -village inns. Some are to be seen in the South Kensington Museum. These -jugs had usually many spouts, from most of which it was difficult to -drink owing to perforations in the neck. But a secret passage for the -liquor up the hollow handle or through one spout or nozzle afforded a -means of sucking out the contents, the fingers of the drinker stopping -up the other spouts and holes during the operation. On many of these -jugs were inscriptions, such as— - - From Mother Earth I claim my birth, - I’m made a joke to man, - But now I’m here, fill’d with good beer - Come, taste me if you can. - -One more curious drinking vessel must be mentioned, and then this short -account of a subject upon which a large volume might well be written, -must close. - -The “Ale-yard” has been described by a writer in _Notes and Queries_ as -“a trumpet-shaped glass vessel, exactly a yard in length, the narrow -end being closed, and expanded into a large ball. Its internal capacity -is little more than a pint, and when filled with ale many a thirsty -tyro has been challenged to empty it without taking away his mouth. -This is no easy task. So long as the tube contains fluid it flows out -smoothly, but when air reaches the bulb it displaces the liquor with -a splash, startling the toper, and compelling him involuntarily to -withdraw his mouth by the rush of the cold liquid over his face and -dress.” - -The Ale-yard is known at Eton under the name of the “Long Glass.” Those -boys who attain to a certain standing either as Dry Bobs or Wet Bobs -(_i.e._, in the boats or at cricket) are invited to attend “Cellar,” -which is held at “Tap” once a week during the summer term. On attending -the first time the novice has to “floor the Long Glass” (_i.e._, to -finish it without drawing breath). Many have to make several attempts, -and some never succeed. - -It is, no doubt, generally supposed that the uses of ale other than as -a drink are but few in number, yet malt liquors have been applied to a -variety of queer purposes. From a letter of Pope Gregory to Archbishop -Nidrosiensi, of Iceland, it would seem that in the thirteenth century -children were sometimes baptized in ale instead of water. - -“Forasmuch as we learn from your letter that it has sometimes {402} -happened that infants in your country have been baptized in ale owing -to the lack of water in that region, we return in answer that since the -heart ought to be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, those ought -not to be considered as duly baptized who have been baptized in ale. - -“Given at the Lateran VIII. Idus Julii, anno XV.” - -In another letter of an earlier date (1237) the use of ale in the -administration of the Eucharist was forbidden, though Nashe, speaking -of the Icelanders in his _Terrors of the Night_ (1594), says: “It is -reported that the Pope long since gave them a dispensation to receive -the Sacrament in ale, since owing to their incessant frosts there, no -wine but was turned to red emagle” (_i.e._, enamel) “as soone as euer -it came amongst them.” - -To leave Theology for the Stable, it is worth recording that it is -alleged that during the King’s progress through the country, in Norman -times, such was the extravagance and waste of the royal household that -the servants even washed the horses’ feet in ale. Grooms at the present -day often mix ale with lampblack and oil for rubbing on the hoofs -of horses. Possibly this was all that was done by the royal grooms. -Ancient chroniclers are notoriously inaccurate. - -None appreciate good ale more than anglers, and this is clearly -evidenced in the following receipt, written by Christopher North, for -staining gut or hair lines a pale watery green:—“To a pint of strong -ale add (as soon as possible, as it is so apt to evaporate when good) -half-a-pound of soot, a small quantity of walnut leaves, and a little -powdered alum (then drink the remaining pint of ale, if you happen to -have drawn a quart); boil these materials for half or three-quarters of -an hour, and when the mixture is cold, steep the gut or hair in it for -ten or twelve hours.” Yes, good ale is apt to evaporate very quickly; -the moral is obvious. - -Dame Juliana Berners, in _The Treatyse of Fysshynge wyth an Angle_, -gives two receipts “to coloure your lynes of here,” in which ale is -used. One consists of ale and alum, the other of ale and soot. - -When every county had its monasteries, and every monastery its fish -stew well stocked with fine carp for Fridays’ dinners, the fattening of -fish was a matter of no little importance. In an old angling book it is -stated that “Raspins and Chippins of Bread, or almost any scraps from -the Table, placed under a cask of strong Beer or Ale, in such a manner -that the Droppings of the Liquor may fall among them, is excellent Food -for Carp. Two quarts of this is sufficient for thirty, and if they -are fed Morning and Evening it will be better than once a Day only.” -Stilton {403} cheeses, by the way, treated in a similar manner to -that directed for the “Raspins,” are immensely improved in flavour and -general excellence. Brewers’ grains are greedily eaten by most kinds -of freshwater fish, and are used by anglers as groundbait for bream, -roach, and carp in the Eastern counties. - -In a work entitled _Practical Economy_, published in 1821, persons -desirous of fattening their fowls quickly are recommended to feed them -on ground-rice, milk and sugar, made into a paste, and to let them -drink beer. - -The ladies who preside over the culinary department of our households -do not, so far as we know, make any use of ale other than as a drink, -excepting the occasional use of beer in the preparation of Welsh -rare-bits. From old cookery books, however, we gather that this has -not always been the case. Beer mixed with brown sugar was a favourite -sauce for pancakes; red herrings were steeped in small beer before -being broiled; and catsup for sea stores was made principally of beer -and vinegar, a few mushrooms being added for conscience’ sake. Then, -from the same source, we find that beer has other domestic uses. An -admirable method of cleaning crape is to steep it in beer, wring it -gently, and hang it out to dry; stale beer formed, and still forms, the -liquid part of the best blacking; ale or beer plus elbow grease makes -capital furniture polish; and, leaving the interior of the house, beer -grounds have been used for washing the outside of walls and houses -covered with cement to harden the latter, a change which they are said -likewise to effect on bricks and mortar. - -Beer mixed with brown sugar or honey is usually rubbed over the -interiors of hives in which swarms of bees are intended to be taken. -A bunch of mint and other sweet herbs forms the brush to spread the -mixture. Not only is the sweet dressing agreeable to the taste and -smell, but the beer has doubtless a lulling and soporific effect on the -bees, and renders them less anxious to leave their new abode. - -In the medicine books of the Saxon Leeches are references to the use of -ale in the composition of various lotions. Ale and beer are, indeed, -often prescribed by medical practitioners of the present day, as will -be seen by a perusal of Chapter XV. The valuable properties of bitter -beer as an incentive to appetite and a promoter of digestion, and the -nourishing qualities of the brown beers, are too well known to need -comment. - -In many breweries large quantities of vinegar are manufactured from -malt liquor. This is an ancient practice, for in the City of London -{404} Records of the time of Good Queen Bess it is stated that -officials were appointed to search the premises of the brewers for -“vyneagre, bear-eagre and ale-eagre,” and to report to the Common -Council touching the same. The words “beare-eagre” and “ale-eagre” -have now gone out of use, and the acid liquid made from malt liquor is -improperly called Vinegar though in no way connected with the Vine. - -A use of ale, which is additional rather than alternative to the common -one, is commemorated by the old proverb, “Fair chieve good ale, it -makes folk speak what they think.” Another such supplementary use, but -of a character less commendable, is expressed in the ancient couplet:— - - The Good Noppy Ale of Southwerk - Keeps many a goodwife from the Kirk. - -Moore, in his _Odes of Anacreon_, sings the praise of ale as an -incentive to literary labours:— - - If with water you fill up your glasses, - You’ll never write anything wise, - For Ale is the horse of Parnassus - Which hurries a bard to the skies. - -The following curious lines, copied from a MS. in the Cottonian -Library, indicate some other supplementary uses, or to speak more -correctly, the unwished-for effects of the strong ale in which our -forefathers indulged:— - - Doll thi, doll, doll, doll this ale, dole, - Ale mak many a man to have a doly poll. - Ale mak many a mane to styk at a brere; - Ale mak many a mane to ly in the myere; - And ale mak many a mane to stombyl at a stone; - Ale mak many a mane to dronken home; - And ale mak many a mane to brek his tone; - With doll. - - Ale mak many a mane to draw hys knyfe; - Ale mak many a mane to bet hys wyf. - With doll. - - Ale mak many a mane to wet hys chekes, - * * * * * {405} - - Ale mak many a mane to stomble in the blokkis; - Ale mak many a mane to mak hys hed have knokkes, - And ale mak many a mane to syt in the stokkes. - With doll. - - Ale mak many a mane to ryne over the falows; - Ale mak a mane to swere by God and alhalows - And ale mak many a mane to hang upon the galows. - With doll. - -A strange use of good liquor was that which anciently prevailed of -partly intoxicating criminals before execution. The ladies of Jerusalem -used to provide such a potion, consisting of frankincense and wine. -There is a curious similarity between this custom and the old practice -of giving to condemned men on their way to Tyburn Tree, a great bowl -of ale as their last earthly refreshment. It is stated in Hone’s _Year -Book_ that a court on the south side of the High Street, St. Giles’, -derives its name of Bowl Yard from the circumstance of criminals on -their way to execution being presented with a bowl of ale at the -Hospital of St. Giles. Different maxims came ultimately to prevail -in reference to this matter, and we are told that Lord Ferrers, when -on his way to execution in 1760, for the murder of his land steward, -was denied his request for some wine and water, the Sheriff stating -that he was sorry to be obliged to refuse his lordship, but by recent -regulations they were enjoined not to let prisoners drink when going to -execution, as great indecencies had been frequently committed in these -cases, through the criminals becoming intoxicated. The old saying that -the “Saddler of Bawtry was hanged for leaving his liquor,” arose from -the following circumstances: Being sick at heart from his impending -death, the Saddler refused the bowl of ale offered him on his way to -the gallows. One minute after the poor fellow’s last struggle his -reprieve arrived, so that had he but tarried to drink the ale he had -been saved. - -Very different was the fortune of the Tinkler who had the good luck to -meet - - ——King Jamie, the first of our throne - A pleasanter monarch sure never was known. - -The little incident is best told in the words of the old ballad:— - - As he (the King) was a hunting the swift fallow deer, - He dropped all his nobles; and when he got clear, {406} - In hope of some pastime away he did ride - Till he came to an ale-house, hard by a wood side. - - And there with a Tinkler he happened to meet, - And him in kind sort he so freely did greet: - “Pray thee, good fellow, what hast in thy jug, - Which under thy arm thou dost lovingly hug?” - - “By the mass!” quoth the Tinkler, “it’s nappy brown ale, - And for to drink to thee, friend, I will not fail; - For although thy jacket looks gallant and fine, - I think my twopence as good as is thine.” - - “By my soul! honest fellow, the truth thou has spoke,” - And straight he sat down with the Tinkler to joke; - They drank to the King and they pledged to each other; - Who’d seen ’em had thought they were brother and brother. - -In their merry conversation the Tinkler remarks that the King is on the -border chasing deer, and that he would much like to see a King. James -immediately says he will show him one, if he will but mount behind him. -This the Tinkler does, “with his sack, his budget of leather and tools -at his back.” Doubts arising in his mind as to how he shall recognise -the King, James tells him, - - “Thou’lt easily ken him when once thou art there; - The King will be covered, his nobles all bare.” - -Together the two ride through the merry greenwood, and come upon the -nobles, when the Tinkler again asks to be shown the King. - - The King did with hearty good laughter reply, - “By my soul! my good fellow, its thou or its I! - The rest are bare-headed, uncovered all round.” - With his bag and his budget he fell to the ground, - -and beseeches mercy. Then says James— - - “Come tell me thy name?” “I am John of the Dale, - A mender of kettles, a lover of ale.” - “Rise up! Sir John, I will honour thee here, - I make thee a Knight of three thousand a year.” - -{407} - -“This was a good thing for the Tinkler indeed,” writes the poet, who -concludes with the verse:— - - Sir John of the Dale he has land, he has fee, - At the Court of the King who so happy as he? - Yet still in his hall hangs the Tinkler’s old sack, - And the budget of tools which he bore at his back. - -There are two instances on record of ale being used to extinguish fire. -One January in the seventeenth century occurred a devastating fire -which burnt down the greater portion of the Temple in the neighbourhood -of Pump Court. “The night was bitterly cold,” writes Mr. Jeafferson, -in _Law and Lawyers_, “and the Templars, aroused from their beds to -preserve life and property, could not get an adequate supply of water -from the Thames, which the unusual severity of the season had frozen. -In this difficulty _they actually brought barrels of ale from the -Temple butteries, and fed the engines with the malt liquor_.” If the -ale was old and potent the flare up thereof must have been great indeed. - -In the year 1613 the Globe Theatre was burnt down in consequence of -the wadding from a cannon fired off during the performance of _Henry -VIII._, setting fire to the thatched roof. Sir Henry Wotton, in a -letter to his nephew giving an account of the occurrence, wrote: “One -man had his breeches set on fire that perhaps had broiled him if he had -not by the benefit of a provident wit put it out with bottle ale.” To -what base uses may we return! - -[Illustration] - -{408} - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - - - CONSTABLE OF FRANCE. - “Dieu de batailes! Where have they this mettle? - . . . can sodden water, - A drench for sur-rein’d jades, their barley broth, - Decoct their cold blood to such valiant heat?” - _King Henry V._, Act iii., Scene 5. - - “If every man is to forego his freedom of action because many make a - licentious use of it, I know not what is the value of any freedom.” - _J. Risdon Bennett, M.D._ - -_OLD MEDICAL WRITERS ON ALE. — ADULTERATION OF ALE. — ADVANTAGES -OF MALT LIQUORS TO LABOURING CLASSES. — TEMPERANCE_ versus _TOTAL -ABSTINENCE. — ANECDOTES. — GAY’S BALLAD._ - -Champions of the so-called temperance cause, have gone so far towards -_in_temperance as to say that a moderate drinker is worse than a -drunkard. This absurd declaration stands self-condemned, and without -labouring thrice to slay the slain by disproving an assertion which -carries upon its face the unmistakable marks of a suicide’s death, we -propose in this chapter to prove beyond question, from the works of -ancient, mediæval, and modern writers, that sound malt liquors possess -valuable medicinal and restorative qualities, and that their proper use -is in nowise injurious to health. - -In Anglo-Saxon times ale was considered to be possessed of the highest -medicinal virtues. It is mentioned in the _Saxon Leechdoms_ as an -ingredient in many of the remedies therein prescribed, and for the -most serious as well as for the most trifling complaints. In lung -{409} disease a man is to “withhold himself earnestly from sweetened -ale,” to drink clear ale, and in the wort of the clear ale “boil young -oak-rind and drink.” Fever patients are recommended to drink during a -period of thirty days an infusion of clear ale and wormwood, githrife, -betony, bishop-wort, marrubium, fen mint, rosemary and other herbs. For -one “fiend-sick” the receipt runs thus:—A number of herbs having been -worked up in clear ale, “sing seven masses over the worts, add garlic -and holy water and let him drink out of a church bell”; finally the -lunatic is to give alms and pray for God’s mercies. Another remedy for -lunacy is much simpler: “Take skin of a mere-swine (porpoise), work it -into a whip, swinge the man therewith, soon he will be well, Amen.” -Another remarkable receipt runs thus: “Take a mickle handfull of sedge -and gladden, put them into a pan, pour a muckle bowlfull of ale upon -them, boil, and then rub into the mixture twenty-five libcorns. This is -a good drink against the devil.” - -For less serious evils the receipts in these Anglo-Saxon pharmacopœias -are numerous. Hiccup is cured thus: Take the root of jarrow, pound it, -and put it into good beer, and give it to the patient to sup lukewarm.“ -Then I ween that it may be of good benefit to him either for hiccup or -for any internal difficulty.” - -In Anglo-Saxon veterinary surgery beer was also used. “Take a little -new ale and pour it into the mouth of each of the sheep; and make them -swallow it quickly; that will do them good,” says the old _Lœce-boc_. -(_i.e._, Medicine book.) - -At the present day, in some country places, cows which have lost their -milk soon after calving, are given warm ale in which aniseed has been -boiled, and ale has often been given to horses with advantage. - -Not only as an inward, but also as an outward application, was ale -recommended: For pains in the knees, woodwax and hedge-rife pounded -and put into ale, and used both inwardly and outwardly, was the Saxon -remedy. - -The foregoing receipts are sufficient to show the character of the -medicine prescribed in Saxon times. At a later period ale still held -its high position as a cure for most of the evils to which unfortunate -humanity is subject. In the eighth _Book of Notable Things_, a rare -work, supposed to have been written in the sixteenth century, the -following curious remedies are mentioned:— - -No. 45. An excellent medicine and a noble restorative for man or woman -that is brought very low with sickness. Take two pounds of dates and -wash them clean in Ale, then cut them and take out the {410} stones -and white skins, then cut them small, and beat them in a mortar, till -they begin to work like wax, and then take a quart of Clarified Honey -or Sugar, and half an ounce of the Podder of Long Pepper, as much of -Mace of Cloves, Nutmegs, and Cinnamon, of each one Drachm, as much of -the Powder of Lignum Aloes; beat all the Spices together and Seeth the -Dates with the Sugar or Honey with an easie fire, and let it seeth; -cast in thereto a little Powder, by little and little, and stir it with -a spatula of wood, and so do until it come to an Electuary, and then -eat every morning and evening thereof, one ounce at a time, and it will -renew and restore again his Complexion, be he never so low brought. -This hath been proved, and it hath done good to many a Man and Woman. - -No. 46. A notable Receipt for the black Jaundice. Take a Gallon of -Ale, a Pint of Honey, and two Handfuls of Red Nettles, and take a -penny-worth or two of Saffron, and boil it in the Ale, the Ale being -first skimmed and then boil the Hony and Nettles therein all together -and strain it well, and every Morning take a good Draught thereof, for -the space of a fortnight. For in that space (God willing) it will clean -and perfectly cure the black Jaundice. - -In the Twelfth Book is a receipt which was probably far more effective -than most of the ancient remedies:— - -No. 49. For a cough; Take a quart of Ale and put a Handful of Red Sage -into it, and boyl it half away; strain it, and put to the Liquor a -Quarter of a pound of Treacle, drink it warm going to Bed. - -In Ben Jonson’s _Alchemist_, of about the same date, is a mention of -ale used as medicine:— - - Yes, faith, she dwells in Sea-coal lane, did cure me - With sodden ale, and pellitory of the wall, - Cost me but twopence. - -We have before us an old pamphlet bearing the title “_Warme Beere_, -or a Treatise wherein is declared by many reasons, that Beere so -qualified is farre more wholesome than that which is drunk cold. With -a confutation of such objections that are made against it; published -for the preservation of Health. Cambridge. Printed by R. D. for Henry -Overton, and are to be sold at his shop entering into Pope’s-Head Alley -out of Lumbard Street in London, 1641.” {411} - -The following verses form an apt commencement to this whimsical old -treatise:— - -IN COMMENDATION OF WARME BEERE. - - We care not what stern grandsires now can say, - Since reason doth and ought to bear the sway. - Vain grandames saysaws ne’er shall make me think, - That rotten teeth come most by warmed drink. - No, grandsire, no; if you had us’d to warm - Your mornings draughts, as I do, farre less harme - Your raggie lungs had felt; not half so soon, - For want of teeth to chew, you’d us’d the spoon. - Grandame, be silent now, if you be wise, - Lest I betray your skinking niggardize: - I wot well you no physick ken, nor yet - The name and nature of the vitall heat. - ’Twas more to save your fire, and fear that I - Your pewter cups should melt or smokifie, - Then skill or care of me, which made you swear, - God wot, and stamp to see me warm my beer. - Though grandsire growl, though grandame swear, I hold - That man unwise that drinks his liquor cold. - W. B. - -After giving instances of the value of warm beer as opposed to cold, -the author gives the following sage account of the reasons he hath -for the faith that is in him:—“When a man is thirstie, there are two -master-qualities which do predominate in the stomach, namely heat -and drinesse, over their contraries, cold and moisture. When a man -drinketh cold beer to quench his thirst, he setteth all four qualities -together by the ears in the stomach, which do with all violence oppose -one another and cause a great combustion in the stomach, breeding -many distempers therein. For if heat get the mastery, it causeth -inflamation through the whole body, and bringeth a man into fluxes and -other diseases. But hot beer prevents all these dangers, and maketh -friendship between all these enemies, viz., hot and cold, wet and -drie, in the stomach; because when the coldnesse of the beer is taken -away by actuall heat, and made as hot as the stomach, then heat hath -no opposite, his enemie cold being taken away, and there only remains -these two enemies, dry and wet in the stomach: which heat laboureth to -make friends. When one is exceeding thirstie, the beer being made hot -and then drunk into the dry stomach, it immediately quencheth {412} -the thirst, moistening and refreshing nature abundantly. Cold beer is -very pleasant when extreme thirst is in the stomach; but what more -dangerous to the health. Many by drinking a cup of cold beer in extreme -thirst, have taken a surfet and killed themselves. Therefore we must -not drink cold beer, because it is pleasant, but hot beer, because it -is profitable, especially in the Citie for such as have cold stomachs, -and inclining to a consumption. I have known some that have been so -farre gone in a consumption, that none would think in reason they could -live a week to an end: their breath was short, their stomach was gone, -and their strength failed, so that they were not able to walk about -the room without resting, panting and blowing: they drank many hot -drinks and wines to heat their cold stomachs, and cure their diseases, -especially sweet wines, but all in vain: for the more wine they drank -to warm their stomachs, the more they inflamed their livers, by which -means they grew worse and worse increasing their disease: But when they -did leave drinking all wine and betook themselves onely to the drinking -of hot beer so hot as blood, within a moneth, their breath, stomach and -strength was so increased, that they could walk about their garden with -ease, and within two moneths could walk four miles, and within three -moneths were perfectly made well as ever they were in their lives.” - -Another curious old pamphlet of about the same period, entitled _Panala -Alacatholica_ (1623) follows the text “That ale is a wholesome drinke -contrary to many men’s conceits,” and after a description of the way in -which ale is spoilt in the brewing and rendered injurious we are told: -“But let a neat huswife, or canny Alewright have the handling of good -Ingredients (sweet Maulte and wholesome water) and you shall see and -will say, there is Art in brewing, (as in most actions) and that many -more, even of those that ayme at brewing the Best Ale, doe yet for all -their supposed dexteritie, misse the marke, than hit upon the mysterie. -For you shall then have a neat cup of Nappie Ale (right _Darbie_, not -Dagger Ale, though effectually animating) well boyled, desecated and -cleared, that it shall equall the best Brewed Beere in transparence, -please the most curious Pallate with milde quicknesse of relish, quench -the thirst, humect the inward parts, helpe concoction and distribution -of meate, and by its moderate penetration, much further the attractive -power of the parts (especially being rectified with that Additament -and _Vehiculum_ which the best Alistra boyles with it; to wit, such a -proportion of Hop as gives not any the least tact of bitternesse to -the Pallate after it growes Drinkable) and being free from all those -former foule {413} imputations, doth by its succulencie much nourish -and corroborate the Corporall, and comfort the Animall powers.” - -A long description here follows of the manner in which Panala, a -medicated ale, is to be manufactured. Of its virtues our quaint author -gives the following account:—“This Ale neither offends the Eye with the -loathed object of a muddie substance, nor the smell with any ill vapour -or favour, nor the tast nor stomacke with disgust or ingrate relish, -but ’tis a pure, cleere, delicate, and singular Extract impregnated -with the sincere spirits and vertuosities of excellent Ingredients, of -a moderate temperature, indifferently accommodated to every Age, Sex, -and Constitution, and so familiar and pleasing to Nature.” - -Medicated ales of this nature were held in high estimation by our -ancestors. Such was the celebrated Dr. Butler’s ale, which held its -sway for many generations; the following receipt for this ale is given -in the _Book of Notable Things_: “Take Senna and Polypedium each four -ounces, Sarseperilla two ounces, Agrimony and Maidenhair of each a -small handful, scurvy grass a quarter of a peck, bruise them grossly -in a stone mortar, put them into a thin canvass bag, and hang the bag -in nine or ten gallons of ale; when it is well worked and when it is -three or four days old, it is ripe enough to be drawn off and bottled, -or as you see fit.” This ale was sold at houses that had Butler’s head -for a sign, and we meet with further mention of it in a news-sheet -of 1664:—“At Tobias’ Coffee House, in Pye Corner, is sold the right -drink, called Dr. Butler’s Ale, it being the same that was sold by -Mr. Lansdale in Newgate Market. It is an excellent stomach drink, -it helps digestion, and dissolves congealed phlegm upon the lungs, -and is therefore good gainst colds, coughs, ptisical and consumptive -distempers; and being drunk in the evening, it moderately fortifies -nature, causeth good rest and hugely corroborates the brain and memory.” - -A few years earlier than this Thomas Cogan was advocating in _The Haven -of Health_ (1584), beer for persons inclined to “rewmes and gout.” Such -persons must avoid “idleness, surfet, much wine and strong, especially -fasting, and not condemn Beere as hurtful in this respect which was so -profitably invented by that worthy Prince _Gambrinius_, anno 1786 years -before the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, as Lanquette writeth -in his chronicle.” - -The same writer gives a curious receipt for “_Buttered Beere_,” which -is good for a cough or shortness of wind:—Take a quart or more of -Double Beere and put to it a good piece of fresh butter, sugar candie -an ounce, of liquerise in powder, of ginger grated, of each a dramme, -and {414} if you would have it strong, put in as much long pepper and -Greynes, let it boyle in the quart in the manner as you burne wine and -who so will drink it, let him drinke it as hot as hee may suffer. Some -put in the yolke of an egge or two towards the latter end, and so they -make it more strengthfull.“ - -The following year John Taylor published in _Drinke and Welcome_ many -modes of application of ale in the various ills to which the flesh is -heir. He thus concludes his somewhat remarkable statements:—”_Ale_ is -universale, and for Vertue it stands allowable with the best recipes of -the most antientest Physisians; and for its singular force in expulsion -of poison is equall, if not exceeding that rare antidote so seriously -invented by the Pontique King, which from him (till this time) carries -his name of _Mithridate_. And lastly, not onely approved by a Nationall -Assembly, but more exemplarily remonstrated by the frequent use of -the most knowing Physisians, who for the wonderfull force that it -hath against all diseases of the Lungs, justly allow the name of a -_Pulmonist_ to every _Alebrewer_. - -“The further I seeke to goe the more unable I finde myselfe to expresse -the wonders (for so I may very well call them) operated by _Ale_ -for that I shall abruptly conclude, in consideratione of mine owne -insufficiency, with the fagge-end of an old man’s old will, who gave a -good somme of mony to a Red-fac’d _Ale-drinker_, who plaid upon a Pipe -and Tabor, which was this:— - - “To make your Pipe and Tabor keepe their sound, - And dye your Crimson tincture more profound, - There growes no better medicine on the ground - Than _Aleano_ (if it may be found) - To buy which drug I give a hundred pound.” - -Prynne, the author of the famous _Histrio-Mastix_, seldom dined; every -three or four hours he munched a manchet, and refreshed his exhausted -spirits with _ale_ brought to him by his servant; and when “he was -put into this road of writing,” as Anthony Wood telleth, he fixed on -“a long quilted cap, which came an inch over his eyes,” serving as a -shade, “and then hunger nor thirst did he experience, save that of -his voluminous pages.” Evidence of the high regard in which English -ale was held among foreign doctors in the seventeenth century may be -gathered from an account given in _Hone’s Table Book_ of how, about -1620 some doctors and surgeons during their attendance on an English -gentleman, who was diseased at Paris, discoursed on wines and other -{415} beverages; and one physician, who had been in England, said -the English had a drink which they call Ale, and which he thought the -wholesomest liquor that could be drunk; for whereas the body of man -is supported by natural heat and radical moisture, there is no drink -conduceth more to the preservation of the one, and the increase of the -other, than _Ale_, for, while the Englishmen drank _only ale_, they -were strong, brawny, able men, and could draw an arrow an ell long; -but, when they fell to wine and _Beer_, they are found to be much -impaired in their strength and age. - -English doctors would always, it may be supposed, give their -approbation to the nut-brown ale. There must have been some who even in -the good old days leaned to the doctrines of the abstainers; but such -was the faith of our ancestors in the virtues of the national beverage, -that we may imagine the doctor’s advice was disregarded and, indeed, -was even set down to anything but an amiable motive. This we may see -from a verse of the old ballad, _Nottingham Ale_:— - - Ye doctors, who more execution have done - With bolus and potion, and powder and pill, - Than hangman with halter, and soldier with gun, - Or miser with famine, or lawyer with quill, - To dispatch us the quicker, you forbid us malt liquor, - Till our bodies grow thin, and our faces look pale; - Observe them who pleases, what cures all diseases, - Is a comforting dose of good Nottingham Ale. - -The following receipt is quite gravely given by Dr. Solas Dodd, in -whose _Natural History of the Herring_ (1753) it may be found: “Take -the oil pressed out of fresh Herrings, a pint, a boar’s gall, juices -of henbane, hemlock, arsel, lettuce, and wild catmint, each six -ounces, mix, boil well, and put into a glass vessel, stoppered. Take -three spoonfuls and put into a quart of warm ale, and let the person -to undergo any operation drink of this by an ounce at a time, till -he falls asleep, which sleep he will continue the space of three or -four hours, and all that time he will be unsensible to anything done -to him.” Whether or no we have here an account of a genuine early -anæsthetic we are not prepared to say. - -Instances might be recorded without number of the restorative effects -of ale in sickness, and more particularly in fever cases where the -patient has been brought very low, and the loss of tissue has been -great. Of these space only allows us to include a very few. {416} - -When Pulteney, afterwards Earl of Bath, lay prostrate with pleuritic -fever, the greatest physicians in the land found their skill avail -nothing; and all the statesman’s alarmed friends got for expending -seven hundred guineas in fees was the cold comfort that everything that -could be done had been done, and the case was hopeless. Whilst those -gathered round the bedside of the supposed dying man listened for his -last sigh, he faintly murmured, “Small beer, small beer.” The doctors -did not think it worth while to say nay, and a half-gallon cup of small -beer was put to the lips of the sick man, who drained it to the dregs, -and then demanded another draught, which he served in the same way: -then turning on his side, he went off into a deep slumber, attended -with profuse perspiration, and awoke a new man.[74] The beneficial -effects of mild ale in fever is commemorated in an old poem, _Small -Beer_:— - - Oft known the deadly fever’s flame, - By the scorch’d patient crav’d, to tame. - - [74] _Chambers’s Journal_, Jan. 2nd, 1875. - -In Sir J. Sinclair’s _Statistical Account_, an extraordinary case -is related of a collier, named Hunter, who suffered from chronic -rheumatism or gout. He had been confined to his bed for a year and a -half, having almost entirely lost the use of his limbs. On Handsel -Monday (the first Monday after New Year’s Day) some of his neighbours -came to make merry with him. Though he could not rise, yet he always -took his share of the new ale, as it passed round the company; and, in -the end, became much intoxicated. The consequence was that he had the -use of his limbs the next morning, and was able to walk about. He lived -more than twenty years after this, and never had the smallest return of -his complaint. This took place in 1758. - -An account of a cure, in which, no doubt, faith helped the ale, occurs -in the _Merrie Conceited Jests of George Peele_, gentleman, sometime -student at Oxford (London, 1607). “Riding on his way to Oxford, he -stopped all night at Mekham—At supper, he began to talk with the -hostess, who was a simple professor of Chirurgerie, and conceited -therewith.—Peele observing her humour and conceit, upheld all the -strange cures she talked of and praised her, with much flattery, and -promised on his return to teach her something that would do her no -hurt—and added he was on his way to cure a gentleman in Warwickshire, -who was in a consumption. The hostess immediately {417} said there was -a gentleman close by so ill with that complaint, and proposed that -Peele should see him. Peele, knowing as much of doctoring as of music, -declined; but after much pressure, and resisting as long as he could, -was fain to comply. Putting on a bold face he went to the gentleman, -his hostess praising him as a wonderful doctor. After feeling the -pulse, &c., &c., he asked if they had a garden. Yes, they had. He -then went there and cut from every plant, flower, herb and blossom; -boiling the results in _Ale_, straining and boiling again. He told the -patient to take some of this warm, morning, noon, and night. Whether -anything effective was in this _Herbal Mixture_, or from the patient’s -fancy—in eight days after the patient was able to walk about apparently -recovered—and so delighted that he put many pounds in Peele’s pocket.” - -A Brown ale called Stitch is mentioned in _The London and County -Brewer_ of 1744 as having being of the greatest benefit in incipient -consumption. It was of the first running of the malt, but of a greater -length than is drawn out of the stout butt beer. It had few hops in it. -Instances of the advantage of good malt liquors in certain cases of -consumption are very numerous. Mons. Frémy, of the Beaujon Hospital, in -Paris, made a series of experiments with malt powder given in the form -of a decoction, and externally by means of baths. The substance was -tried on sixty-four subjects of well-marked phthisis; but the results -were trifling, beyond a certain degree of temporary amelioration. -It was, however, of greater service in cases of chronic bronchitis, -early phthisis, and chronic pulmonary catarrh; its utility being -very marked in this last affection. In some parts of England it is a -common practice for persons in consumption to procure wort (that is an -infusion of malt before the hops are boiled with it for making beer) -from the brewers, and to drink half-a-pint of it daily; and many have -received great benefit from it. The experiments of Dr. Frémy verify the -utility of the English practice. - -Of late years various preparations of malt have come to hold a very -high place in popular estimation. A first-rate remedy for a cough is -made thus: Over half a bushel of pale ground malt pour as much hot, but -not boiling, water as will just cover it. In forty-eight hours drain -off the liquor entirely, but without squeezing the grains: put the -former into a large sweetmeat pan, or saucepan, that there may be room -to boil as quick as possible, without boiling over; when it begins to -thicken, stir constantly. It must be as thick as treacle. The dose is -a dessert-spoonful thrice a day. This preparation has a very agreeable -{418} flavour. One of the most easily digested and most nourishing -of foods for those minute but assertive, atoms of humanity called -babies,[75] is malt finely powdered; and chemists keep many kinds of -foods, syrups, lozenges, &c., too numerous to mention, all claiming -their origin from Sir John Barleycorn. - - [75] The author knows a malt-fed baby who never cries.—_Verb. Sap._ - -Among the many virtues of good ale, that of promoting generosity should -take a high place. This peculiar effect is capitally illustrated in an -anecdote of the Rev. Michael Hutchinson, D.D., of Derby. “The people,” -writes Hutton, “to whom he applied for subscriptions (the church was -in need of repair) were not able to keep their money; it passed from -their pockets to his own as if by magic. Whenever he could recollect a -person likely to contribute to this desirable work he made no scruple -to visit him at his own expense. If a stranger passed through Derby, -the Doctor’s bow and his rhetoric were employed in the service of the -church. His anxiety was urgent, and his power so prevailing, that he -seldom failed of success. _When the waites fiddled at his door for a -Christmas box, instead of sending them away with a solitary shilling, -he invited them in, treated them with a tankard of ale, and persuaded -them out of a guinea._” - -Malt liquor has long been regarded by eminent medical men as almost -a specific against the scurvy, that dread disease which in former -times wrought such havoc amongst our brave tars. Sir Gilbert Blane, -M.D., records the following instance of the virtues of porter in this -connection:— - -“I was furnished,” he writes, in his _Observations on the Diseases of -Seamen_, “by Dr. Clephane, physician to the fleet at New York, with -the following fact as a strong proof of the excellence of this liquor: -In the beginning of the war two store ships, called the Tortoise and -Grampus, sailed for America under the convoy of the Dædalus frigate. -The Grampus happened to be supplied with a sufficient quantity of -porter to serve the whole passage, which proved very long. The other -two ships were furnished with the common allowance of spirits. The -weather being unfavourable, the passage drew out to fourteen weeks -and, upon their arrival at New York, the Dædalus sent to the hospital -a hundred and twelve men; the Tortoise sixty-two; the greater part -of whom were in the last stage of the scurvy. The Grampus sent only -thirteen, none of whom had the scurvy.” {419} - -In the Geographical Society’s Journal (vol. ii. p. 286) it is recorded -that during a severe winter on the west coast of Africa the crew of the -Etna suffered so much from scurvy that the least scratch had a tendency -to become a dangerous wound. Capt. Belcher states that “the only thing -which appeared materially to check the disease was beer made of the -essence of malt and hops; and I feel satisfied that a general issue of -this on the coast of Africa would be very salutary, and have the effect -especially of keeping up the constitutions of men subjected to heavy -labour in boats.” - -Thomas Trotter, M.D., in his _Medicina Nautica_, “an Essay on the -Diseases of Seamen, comprehending the history of the health in His -Majesty’s Fleet under the command of Richard Earl Howe, Admiral, 1797,” -states that in typhus cases he found porter, where preferred by the -patient, more beneficial than wine. During a low fever, he (the doctor) -was entirely supported by bottled beer, of which he speaks very highly. -In his practice at Haslar Hospital he found bottled porter to be one of -the best ingredients in the diet of a convalescent, and never fail to -strengthen them quickly for duty. - -Dr. Hodgkin, writing on Health, says, “I can assert, from well-proved -experience that the invalid who has been reduced almost to extremity -by severe or lingering illness, finds in well-apportioned draughts -of sound beer, one of the most important helps for the recovery of -his health, his strength, and his spirits.” Dr. Paris, who is not a -recent authority, but whose remarks on this subject are most cogent -and bear the stamp of common sense, asserts that “the extractive -matter furnished by the malt is highly nutritive; and we accordingly -find that those persons addicted to such potations are, in general, -fat. This fact is so generally admitted by all those who are skilled -in the art of training, that a quantity of ale is taken at every -meal by the pugilist, who is endeavouring to screw himself up to his -fullest strength. Jackson, the celebrated trainer, affirms, if any -person accustomed to drink wine would but try malt liquor for a month, -he would find himself so much the better for it, that he would soon -take to the one, and abandon the other . . . The addition of the hop -increases the value of the liquor, by the grateful stimulus which it -imparts, and in some measure redeems it from the vices with which it -might otherwise be charged where a corresponding degree of exercise -is not taken. . . I regard its dismissal (table or light beer) from -the tables of the great as a matter of regret, for its slight but -invigorating {420} bitter is much better adapted to promote digestion -than its more costly substitutes.” - -Dr. Thomas Inman, in a paper read before the British Medical -Association in 1862, advances the proposition that nature has provided -in the salivary glands, the liver, and the lungs of every mammal, -an apparatus “for converting all food, especially farinaceous, into -alcohol, and he gives chemical reasons for believing that some such -process actually does take place. Alcohol, he says, after being taken -is incorporated with the blood, and passing in some form not yet -explained into the circulation, ultimately disappears; a small portion -alone passing from the body, and that in the breath. He further says -that when alcohol is mingled with other food, a less amount of the -latter suffices for the wants of the system than if water had been -used as the drink. Dr. Inman cites his own experience of an attempt to -do without his ordinary allowance of ale at dinner; a large increase -of food was necessited, but the demand for this diminished at once on -resuming the ale. Similar facts were noted in the experience of various -members of his family. No loss of health or strength was experienced, -except when the ordinary amount of solids was taken without the beer. - -A celebrated French medical man (Dr. Coulier) published an excellent -article on beer (“Article Bière” in Vol. IX. of the _Dictionnaire -Encyclopédique de Sciences Médicales_) considered from a medical point -of view. He says, in effect, that beer being less rich in alcohol -than even the poorest wines, holds an intermediate place between the -latter and purely watery drinks. It presents, according to its mode -of preparation and composition, a continuous scale of more or less -alcoholic drinks, from porter and ale down to small beer containing -little more than one per cent. of alcohol. Its bitter principles -render it tonic and aperient; while the somnolence and heaviness that -follow an over-allowance of this fluid are due to the action of the -essential oil of the hop. He holds that of all fermented drinks, beer -is the one whose taste _se marie le plus agréablement_ with the use -of the pipe. Beer must be considered in the light of an alimentary -drink. In every hundred parts of beer are five of extract containing -a little nitrogenous assimilable matter and salts favourable to -nutrition, but consisting mainly of respiratory food. “If,” he says, -“fermented drinks have become one of the necessities of civilisation, a -prudent regard for health should make us as far as possible reduce the -excitement which the alcohol occasions. In this respect beer presents a -great advantage over wine. Thus a half-bottle of wine {421} containing -12 per cent. of alcohol, which is the common allowance for an adult, -contains 375 grammes of wine, and consequently 45 grammes of anhydrous -alcohol. A bottle of beer containing 4 per cent, of alcohol is equally -satisfying, and contains only 30 grammes of alcohol. Hence, supposing -two meals are taken daily, the beer-drinker daily imbibes 30 grammes -less of alcohol than the wine-drinker; and this difference amounts -in the course of the year to nearly 11 kilogrammes, or 14 litres -(equivalent to 24 lbs. or 3 gallons), of anhydrous alcohol.” - -Examples without number might be collected of men who habitually used -alcoholic drinks sometimes in moderation, sometimes, in what we, in -these latter days, should certainly consider excess, and who yet lived -in health and usefulness to the extreme boundary of human life. Old -Parr, if we are to believe Taylor, who sings his praises, was a drinker -of the moderate kind. - - Sometimes metheglin and by fortune happy, - He sometimes sipped a cup of ale most nappy, - Cyder, or perry, when he did repair - To Whitsun ale, wake, wedding, or fair, - Else he had little leisure time to waste, - Or at the ale-house huff-cup ale to taste. - -Henry Jenkins, who died in 1670 at the wonderful age of 165 years, took -his ale whenever he could get it. He lived very much in the open air -and spent his time in thatching and salmon-fishing. At one time he was -butler to Lord Conyers, of Hornby Castle, and he has left it on record -that when, as often happened, his master sent him over with messages to -Marmaduke Brodelay, Lord Abbot of Fountains, the abbot “always sent for -him to his lodgings, and, after prayers, ordered him, besides wassel, a -quarter of a yard of roast beef (for that the monasteries did deliver -their meat by measure), and a great black Jack of strong ale.” Have -we not, too, the evidence of epitaphs graven in stone, which are well -known never to lie, all bearing out the truth of the longevity of ale -drinkers? Here are two, the first being in Great Walford churchyard:— - - Here John Randal lies - Who counting of his tale - Lived threescore years and ten, - Such vertue was in ale. - Ale was his meat, - Ale was his drink. {422} - Ale did his heart revive, - And if he could have drunk his ale - He still had been alive. - He died January 5, - 1699. - -The second is in Edwalton, Notts: - - Ob. 1741. - Rebecca Freeland, - She drank good ale, good punch and wine, - And lived to the age of 99. - -Macklin, the comedian, who died in 1797, for upwards of thirty years -was a daily visitor at the Antelope, in White Hart Yard, Covent Garden. -His usual beverage was a pint of hot stout; he said it balmed his -stomach and kept him from having any inward pains. Whether from the -effects of this inward “balming” or not, Macklin undoubtedly lived to -the age of 97 years. - -In Daniell’s _British Sports_ there is an account of Joe Mann, -gamekeeper to Lord Torrington. “He was in constant morning exercise, -he went to bed always betimes, _but never till his skin was filled -with ale_. This he said, ‘would do no harm to an early riser, and to a -man who pursued field sports.’ At seventy-eight years of age he began -to decline, and then lingered for three years. His gun was ever upon -his arm, and he still crept about, not destitute of the hope of fresh -diversion.” - -The next instance, to be found in HONE’S YEAR BOOK, illustrates, not so -much the tendency of beer and ale, when taken in large quantities, to -make men healthy, wealthy, and wise, as to make them fat. On November -30, 1793, died at Beaumaris, William Lewis, Esq., of Llandismaw, in the -act of drinking a _cup_ of Welsh ale, containing about a wine _quart_, -called a “tumbler maur.” He made it a rule, every morning of his life, -to read so many chapters in the Bible, and in the evening to drink -eight gallons of ale. It is calculated that in his lifetime he must -have drunk a sufficient quantity to float a seventy-four gun ship. His -size was astonishing, and he weighed forty stone. Although he died in -his parlour, it was found necessary to construct a machine in form of -a crane, to lift his body in a carriage, and afterwards to have the -machine to let him down into the grave. He went by the name of the King -of Spain, and his family by the different titles of prince, infantas, -&c. {423} - -One of the great teetotal arguments against the use of malt liquors, -one which the advocates of total abstinence generally fall back upon -when beaten on every other point, is that beer is adulterated. This -assertion, if it could be substantiated, would undoubtedly cut away -the very foundation of our argument as to the wholesomeness of ale and -beer. We must, then, shortly consider the point. Time out of mind the -brewers have been accused of adulterating their ale and beer, with -what truth, at any rate at the present day, we shall see anon. Opium, -henbane, cocculus indicus, and we know not what noxious drugs besides, -it has commonly, and we think somewhat recklessly, been asserted, find -their way into the brewing vessels. Some time ago M. Payen, a French -chemist of distinction, created quite a panic amongst the drinkers of -pale ale by asserting, in a lecture at the Conservatoire des Arts et -Métiers, that strychnine was prepared in large quantities in Paris -for exportation to England, where it was employed to give, or to aid -in giving, the esteemed bitter flavour to pale ale. This statement -appearing in _Le Constitutional_, and other French papers, soon found -its way into the English journals, to the consternation of the drinkers -and purveyors of this beverage. - -The leading firms of Burton ale brewers at once threw open their -breweries and stores in the most unreserved manner, and “The _Lancet’s_ -Analytical Sanitary Commission” undertook an inquiry on the subject. -Forty samples of beer, all brewed before the promulgation of the -statement, were analyzed by the commission, as well as samples taken -by other analysts at the request of Messrs. Allsopp and Sons. Needless -to say, not a particle of strychnine was discovered. Half a grain of -strychnine will destroy life, and a grain would be required to impart -to one gallon of beer its ordinary degree of bitterness. The flavour of -hops and strychnine differs. To bitter the amount then brewed at Burton -16,448 ounces of strychnine would be required. Not so much as 1,000 -ounces of strychnine were manufactured in the whole world yearly. - -In a quaint pamphlet entitled _Old London Rogueries_, the following -statement is made seriously:—“There ought also to be compiled a -delectable and pleasant treatise by such as sell bottle-ale, who, to -make it fly up to the top of the house at the first opening, do put -gunpowder into the bottles while the ale is new, then by stopping it -close make people believe it is the strength of the ale, when, being -truly sifted, it is nothing indeed but the strength of the gunpowder -that worketh the effect, to the great heart-burning of the parties who -drink the same. This is a truly strange and marvellous artifice, and -must be reckoned {424} among the lost inventions.” We wonder if these -cunning retailers of the olden time ever used shot as well as powder -with their bottled ale, which doubtless would have greatly increased -the effect. - -In October, 1883, a statement was loudly trumpeted forth from teetotal -platforms that 245,000 cwt. of chemicals were used every year in -England in brewing. After a good deal of discussion on the subject, -it leaked out that the figures had been arrived at by a firm of hop -dealers, anxious to run up the price of hops. By a blunder in their -calculations they had come to the conclusion that there was a deficit -of 245,000 cwt. of hops in this country. From this it was argued that -245,000 cwt. of chemicals were used. This house of cards fell when it -was conclusively proved that there were at the time actually more hops -in England than were required by the brewers. - -With regard to the question of adulteration at the present day, it -could be wished that those who are induced by a fanatical hatred of -alcohol in any shape or form to make this alleged adulteration a reason -for further restrictive legislation on the brewing trade, would take -the trouble to look at the reports annually published by the Inland -Revenue Commissioners in which this point is dealt with. Here are a few -extracts from their report for the year 1881, soon after the repeal -of the Malt-tax. “Brewers have no doubt been experimenting with other -descriptions of grain, as might have been expected, but we believe that -barley, from its peculiar fitness for malting, will in the end maintain -its superiority; and we are informed that a new method of preparing -inferior barley for brewing purposes promises to be highly successful.” -“So far as we are aware, no attempts have been made to use materials -in brewing at all detrimental to the public health; and the presence -of the Revenue officers in breweries affords fresh security to the -public—if indeed any such were needed—against all such practices.” - -In the same report Professor Bell, the Principal of the Inland Revenue -Laboratory, goes into detail and gives very valuable statistics, -showing the way in which the opinion given by the Commissioners was -arrived at. In 1881, 8,626 samples of beer were tested, of which 4,666 -were analyzed to see if any foreign body had been added, as well as -to check the original gravity. Of this large number the whole were -nearly correct, but actually 17 per cent, were found not alone to -be up to the standard test, but above it; and out of nearly 20,000 -brewers, which, in round numbers, was then the extent of the trade in -the United Kingdom, only some 300 were even suspected of having used -illegal materials. Of the ninety samples of beer submitted for analysis -as being suspected {425} to have been tampered with, sixty-three were -found to have been “sugared,” but in every instance this occurred at -the public-house or beerhouse, a matter which was beyond the control of -the brewer, and was as much a fraud on him as on the Revenue and the -public. Mr. Bell goes on to state that whatever adulteration prevails -is wholly confined to the publican and the beer retailer, and even -where it does prevail, at the most the practice means nothing worse -than diluting the beer with water and afterwards adding sugar; still, -as Mr. Bell remarks, “Reprehensible as the practice is, as being a -fraud on the public as well as the Revenue, yet it is satisfactory to -know that no adulterant of a poisonous or hurtful character has been -detected.” - -Dr. Thudichum, in a work _Alcoholic Drinks_, published by the Executive -Council of the late Health Exhibition, speaking of the supposition -that hops are sometimes supplanted, entirely or in part, in the -manufacture of beer by absynth, menyanthes, quassia, gentian, and other -matters, regards such adulteration as rare and such as “if practised -persistently would no doubt be discovered, and the liquids produced by -their aid would be declined by the public.” - -An Irish brewer told us of a rather comic incident connected with hop -substitutes. A traveller in these commodities was in the habit of -pestering our friend, who informed the man that he believed his wares -were poisonous, and that he ought to eat some to prove the contrary. -With a wry face the traveller swallowed a portion of his sample and -shortly afterwards left. Coming again in a week’s time the same -performance was gone through. The traveller made yet another visit, -when the brewer said the experiment had not satisfied him, as so small -a quantity of the hop had been eaten. This time the traveller outdid -himself, and when and before leaving the brewery promised to write and -inform the brewer if the bitter meal had any evil effects. Whether the -traveller died, or whether he discovered that he had been befooled, we -do not know, but nothing more was heard of him. - -We believe that the importance of a supply of good, pure beer to -the labouring classes of this country can hardly be over-estimated, -particularly having regard to the fact—as we shall show with greater -particularity, when we come to discuss the question of total abstinence -as opposed to temperance, that malt liquors undoubtedly assist in the -support of the body, and are in practical effect equivalent to so much -easily digested food. - - “Thou clears the head o’ doited lear, - Thou cheers the heart o’ drooping care; {426} - And strings the nerves o’ labour fair, - At’s weary toil. - Thou even brightens dark despair, - Wi’ gloomy smile.” - -Dr. Paris, from whose works we have already quoted, explains that it is -the stimulus of the beer that proves so serviceable to the poor man, -enabling his stomach to extract more aliment from his innutritive diet. -“Happy is that country,” he writes, “whose labouring classes prefer -such a beverage to the mischievous potations of ardent spirit.” - -Barley wine is without doubt the wine of this country, and where shall -we find, all the world over, a more stalwart, muscular, able-bodied -race of labouring men than we find at home? The mighty thews of the -English navigator are renowned, and not at home only, for it is well -known that while the French railways were making, the contractors -actually imported English “navvies” to do the heavy work, paying them -higher wages than their French competitors. - -We would commend to the attention of those who, as the phrase goes, -would rob a poor man of his beer, the certainty that, though the evils -of intoxication can hardly be exaggerated, yet in counselling the -labouring classes everywhere, and under all circumstances, to abstain -from all kinds of liquor, they are taking upon themselves a very grave -responsibility. - -The following old Somersetshire song has, we believe, at any rate in -this form, never before appeared in print. It was taken down verbatim -from the lips of the singer at a harvest-home. The verses no doubt -lack the elegance of the productions of our greater English poets, -but the composer, whoever he may have been, treated his subject with -commendable vigour of expression, and “Robin Rough, the Plowboy,” -illustrates in a remarkable manner the love of the agricultural -labourer for his beer, and his belief in its health-giving qualities; a -belief, by-the-bye, founded on many centuries of experience:— - - I’ze Robin Rough, the plowboy, - A plowman’s son am I, - And like my thirsty feyther, - My trottle is always a-dry, - The world goes round, to me it’s reet, - Why need I interfere? - For I whistles and sings from morn till neet, - And I smokes and I drinks my beer. {427} - For I likes a drop of good beer, I does; - I’ze fond of a drop of good beer, I is. - Let gentlemen fine - Sit down to their wine, - But I will stick to my beer. - - There’s Sally—that’s my wife, zurs— - Likes beer as well as me, - She’s the happiest woman in life, zurs, - As happy as woman can be. - She minds her work, - Takes care of bairns, - No gossiping neighbours near; - When every Saturday neet returns, - Like me she drinks her beer. - For Sally likes her beer, she does, - She’s fond of a drop of good beer, she is, - Let gentlemen fine - Sit down to their wine, - But my Sally will stick to her beer. - - Now there’s my dad, God bless him, - He’s now turned eighty-five, - Hard work does ne’er distress him, - He’s the happiest man alive. - Though old in age - He’s young in health, - His head and his heart both clear, - Possessing these and blest with peace, - He smokes and he drinks his beer— - For he’s fond of a drop of good beer, he is, - He very much likes his beer, he does, - Let gentlemen fine - Sit down to their wine, - But my feyther will stick to his beer. - - Now, lads, need no persuasion, - But send your glasses round, - There’s no fear of an invasion - While barley grows in ground; {428} - May trade increase - And discord cease - In every coming year. - Possessed of these and blest with peace, - Why, we’ll smoke and we’ll drink our beer. - For I likes a drop of good beer, I does, - I’ze fond of a drop of good beer, I is. - Let gentlemen fine - Sit down to their wine - But we’ll all of us stick to our beer. - -The poet Bloomfield, in the _Farmer’s Boy_, may possibly better please -our more critical readers. In describing the harvest-homing, he says:— - - Now noon gone by, and four declining hours, - The weary limbs relax their boasted pow’rs; - Thirst rages strong, the fainting spirits fail, - And ask the sov’reign cordial, home-brew’d ale: - - * * * * * - - A wider circle spreads, and smiles abound, - As quick the frothing horn performs its round, - Care’s mortal foe, that sprightly joys imparts - To cheer the frame and elevate their hearts. - -Shakespere has been called by the teetotallers as a witness in favour -of abstinence from intoxicating liquors. Does he not make Adam, in _As -You Like It_, say— - - Though I look old, yet I am strong and lusty; - For in my youth I never did apply - Hot and rebellious liquors in my blood, - Nor did not with unbashful forehead woo - The means of weakness and debility; - Therefore my age is as a lusty winter, - Frosty, but kindly? - -Hot and rebellious liquors! yes; but would Shakespere have classed ale -amongst them? It seems far more probable that the reference is to the -strong wines of which the topers of his time drank deeply, the “malmsey -and malvoisie,” the “neat wine of Orleance, the Gascony, the Bordeaux, -the sherry sack, the liquorish Ipocras, brown beloved Bastard, or fat -{429} Aligant,” or to the “aqua vitæ,” the manufacture of which in the -reign of Mary was the subject of restrictive legislation. - -Our consideration of the arguments put forward by the teetotal -theorists has so far been slightly delayed by the few pages we have -thought it well to devote to the accusations made against brewers of -adulteration, and of the evident advantages of malt liquor to the -labouring classes—proved beyond doubt without any necessity for learned -disquisitions on chemistry or physiology. In turning now to a more -particular consideration of the much-vexed question of temperance -_v._ total abstinence, we do not propose to attempt the advancement -of any novel or startling theories, but merely to give publicity to -the arguments in favour of the temperate use of alcoholic drinks, as -opposed to the total abstinence therefrom, supporting our arguments, as -it will be found we shall be able to do, by the opinions of some of the -best-known medical and scientific writers of the present day. - -One of the first things that strikes an observer who considers, as -impartially as he can, the case put forward by the extreme advocates -of abstinence, is that the controversy itself is a very modern one, -and that, with the tendency to run into opposite extremes which is a -characteristic of human opinion, we pass suddenly from the centuries -in which it was held no shame for a man to be drunk, into these -present years, when there exists a considerable, and in some sense, -an influential body of persons, who not only will not touch alcoholic -drink themselves upon any terms, but who think it their duty to press -for such legislation as would deprive all men, be they temperate or -otherwise, of the power of buying, selling, or drinking any liquor -of which alcohol is a constituent. “Poison!” “Touch not the accursed -thing!” “Away with it!” and so on—very voluble, occasionally eloquent, -sometimes plausible. But will the fierce denunciations of these -apostles of a new religion—a religion not of temperance, but, as it has -been well called, of “intemperate abstinence,” bear the searching light -of calm and quiet argument? We had once a friend who, while fond of his -pipe, was always interested in reading about the terrible evils which -the weed would, according to the infallible dicta of the anti-tobacco -lecturers, be sure in time to bring upon his unfortunate constitution. -Before sitting down to read one of these lectures, he used always to -light a large and favourite briar; he said it enabled him to follow -the lecturer’s points so much better. Now we do not ask our readers -to follow the example of our friend _mutatis mutandis_. We do not say -that such a proceeding would of necessity assist him in following our -arguments. All we claim {430} is a patient hearing, for there never -has been a time in which an unprejudiced discussion of the subject -would be of greater advantage than at present. - -Human habit of centuries, of thousands of years, of such time that the -memory and record of the human race, to use a legal phrase, runneth -not to the contrary, is evidence in our favour. Whenever he has had -the requisite skill, man has produced, enjoyed, and, we maintain, has -been improved by drinks in which alcohol formed a constituent part. -The practice of civilised nations for thousands of years is, then, -so far as it goes, an argument in favour of temperance as opposed to -abstinence. We do not wish to put this part of our case too high, and -our meaning cannot be better expressed than by the words of Sir James -Paget, who, in an essay on this subject in the _Contemporary Review_, -writes: “The beliefs of reasonable people are, doubtless, by a large -majority favourable to moderation rather than abstinence, and this -should not be regarded as of no weight in the discussion. For, although -the subject be one in which few, even among reasonable people, have -made any careful observations, and fewer still have thought with any -care, yet this very indifference to the subject, this readiness to fall -in with custom, a custom maintained in the midst of a constant love of -change, and outliving all that mere fashion has sustained—all this is -enough to prove that the evidence of the custom being a bad one is not -clear.” - -It is an indisputable fact that nations who have used alcohol have -attained to a greater perfection in power and will to do good work, -and a longer duration of life in which such work can be performed, -than those who have used no alcohol; and, confining our attention to -Europe, may we not say that these powers of work, these activities of -body and mind in enterprise, in invention, and in production, are more -remarkably developed in the inhabitants of the northern than of the -southern parts of the Continent, that is to say, among those who have -habitually drank more than those who have drank less? And may we not -ask how it is that, if the use of alcohol in moderation be pernicious, -the inherited effects of it have not during these vast periods of time -during which it has been used, made themselves apparent in a marked -degeneracy of the race, since we know that these results will make -themselves very conspicuous indeed in two generations of persons who -are habitually intemperate? - -We are told that it is unnatural to make use of alcoholic drinks, and -we are lectured about what man in his natural state would do, or {431} -not do. This is a misuse of terms; the state in which mankind is at -any particular period, the point in his path of development which -he has then reached, and his then environment, these constitute his -natural state, and not some more or less hypothetical state of being -which has been now left far behind. - -In order to enable them to thrust their theories upon a certainly -unwilling audience, it would be very convenient for the abstainers -to show, if they could, that alcohol, in any form and no matter how -diluted, is in itself a bad thing. First, then, let us consider whether -alcohol, as such, is food. On this point Dr. Lander Brunton says: “The -argument in favour of alcohol being food is that it is retained in -the body and supplies the place of other foods, so that the quantity -of food which would without it be insufficient, with its aid becomes -sufficient.” He also quotes Dr. Hammond, who observed in his own case -that when his diet was insufficient, the addition of a little alcohol -to it not only prevented him from losing weight, as he had previously -done, but converted this loss into a positive gain. - -The late G. H. Lewes, in his _Principles of Physiology_, also speaks -conclusively on this subject, pointing out that alcohol is one of the -alimentary principles. “In compliance with the custom of physiologists -we are forced to call alcohol food, and very efficient food too. If it -be not food, then neither is sugar food.” Mr. Lewes also states that -alcohol taken in large quantities is harmful, depriving the mucous -membrane of the stomach of all its water, but that taken in small -quantities and diluted it has just the opposite effect, increasing the -secretion by the stimulus it gives to the circulation. - -The general opinion of the medical world appears to be that alcohol -as such, is a food in a special sense, viz., that it checks the waste -of tissue and enables a person to attain to a high standard of health -and strength mentally and bodily while taking less food than would be -necessary without the alcohol. Moleschott says that “although forming -none of the constituents of blood, alcohol limits the combustion of -those constituents, and in this way is equivalent to so much blood. -Alcohol is the savings bank of the tissues. He who eats little and -drinks alcohol in moderation, retains as much in his blood and tissues -as he who eats more and drinks no alcohol.” - -The argument to the effect that alcohol must be useless, because -chemists have as yet been unable to trace the exact form and manner in -which it acts upon the human economy, would seem to be fallacious in -the face of the experience, which shows that it does act, and act {432} -beneficially, when taken in a suitable form and in suitable quantity. -Experience shows, and instances by the hundred could be given, from the -works of medical men, that life can be sustained for long periods of -time solely upon alcoholic drinks. Dr. Brudenell Carter mentions a case -in his own experience of an old gentleman who lived for many months in -moderate strength and comfort and without any remarkable emaciation -upon alcoholic drinks alone. Dr. Thomas Inman, in a paper read before -the British Medical Association, gives an instance of a lady who twice -in succession nursed a child, subsisting upon each occasion during the -greater part of twelve months upon brandy and bitter ale alone; the -children, he adds, grew up strong and healthy. - -Dr. Francis E. Anstie, in an article published in the _Cornhill -Magazine_ in 1862, draws attention to the fact that many substances -have an action on the body in small doses, _totally different in -kind_ to that which they exercise in large doses _e.g._, common salt, -arsenic, and many others which are either food or poisons, according -to the dose. “We are compelled, therefore,” he writes, “to believe -that in _doses proportioned to the needs of the system at the time_, -alcohol acts as a food;” and he instances several cases of longevity -in which alcohol was the only aliment, excepting in some cases a -little water, and in others a spare allowance of bread. Decisively -vanquished on this ground, our opponents return to the attack: “You -must abstain,” say they, “because your practice, which is now moderate, -will insensibly become excessive.” Here we again turn to Mr. Lewes’s -work on Physiology, and quote the pithy argument by which he refutes -this fallacy. A portion is italicised for the benefit of tea drinkers: -“To suppose there is any necessary connection between moderation and -excess, is to ignore Physiology, and fly in the face of evidence . . . -Men take their pint of beer or pint of wine daily, for a series of -years. This dose daily produces its effect; and if at any time thirst -or social seduction makes them drink a quart in lieu of a pint, they -are at once made aware of the excess. Men drink one or two cups of tea -or coffee at breakfast with unvarying regularity for a whole lifetime; -but whoever felt the necessity of gradually increasing the amount to -three, four, or five cups? Yet we know what a stimulant tea is; we know -_that treble the amount of our daily consumption would soon produce -paralysis_—why are we not irresistibly led to this fatal excess?” - -Let us now return to our authorities, and from the wealth of material -which exists in the published opinions of medical men of distinction, -choose a few more extracts in favour of temperance as opposed to total -{433} abstinence. Professor Liebig, for instance, says that wine, -spirits, and beer are _necessary_ principles for the important process -of respiration, and it would seem that the stomachs of all mankind, -_teetotallers included_, will secrete alcohol from the food which is -eaten. If any man, therefore, is resolved to carry out total abstinence -strictly, he must refuse every sort of vegetable food, even bread -itself; for all such diet contains more or less of alcohol. - -Sir James Paget, in the article already referred to, asserts that the -habitual moderate use of alcoholic drinks is generally beneficial, and -that, in the question raised between temperance and abstinence, the -verdict should be in favour of temperance. - -Dr. A. J. Bernays, in an essay on _The Moderate Use of Alcohols_, -alluding to water as a proposed substitute, remarks on the wretched -character of the water which is supplied in towns, and the difficulty -of getting it pure. “Water which has gone through some form of -preparation, especially through some form of cooking, as in beer, is -generally better suited for meals than water itself.” - -Dr. Carpenter has also drawn attention to the wholesomeness of bitter -beer at meals. “There is a class of cases,” he writes, “in which we -believe that malt liquors constitute a better medicine than could be -administered under any other form; those, namely, in which the stomach -labours under a permanent deficiency of digestive powers.” Bitter beer, -he asserts, assists digestion in cases in which no medicine would be of -use. - -This question of the water reminds us of the following tale: A cobbler -was listening to the persuasive eloquence of a teetotaller, and getting -somewhat dry over the prosy argument. “Well,” said the knight of St. -Crispin, “all you say amounts to this—that water is the best thing any -man can drink. Now I am not proud, and am easily satisfied, and don’t -want the best—stout, or ale, or even bitter-beer is quite good enough -for the likes of me.” - -It is very often pointed out that the agricultural labourer and -the working classes generally would be better off if they spent the -money devoted to beer in food. This is, however, open to question, -keeping in mind the fact that alcohol enables the human frame to exist -with a smaller amount of food than would be otherwise necessary. Dr. -C. D. Redcliffe, in giving his views on alcohol, in the form of a -conversation between himself and a patient, speaks very positively on -this point. “The glass of malt liquor,” he writes, “or cyder or perry -or common wine, if the man have the luck to live in a wine-growing -country, will {434} cost less than the amount of ordinary food which -must otherwise be eaten in order to preserve health. I have no doubt -of the saving in pocket which will result from the adoption of the -practice recommended . . . . and I am equally certain that the -result will be as beneficial to health as it will be satisfactory -financially.” Liebig also testifies to the same effect, stating that in -families where beer was withheld, and money given in compensation, it -was soon found that the monthly consumption of bread was so strikingly -increased that the beer was twice paid for, once in money and a second -time in bread. - -Mr. Brudenell Carter, while he was practising his profession in a -mining district, and daily brought into contact with the results of -drunken habits, determined that he “should be a better advocate of -abstinence if he practised it,” and he accordingly gave up his liquor. -The results we give in his own words:—“After about two months of total -abstinence, the conviction was reluctantly forced upon me that the -experiment was a failure, and that I must give it up.” His symptoms -pointed, he says, “in a perfectly plain way to an excess of waste over -repair. I returned to my bitter beer, and in the course of a week was -well again.” - -A volume could be filled with similar experiences, but in summing up -the result of modern medical opinion, we are contented to rest our -case on what has been said on this point by the two great authorities -we have before quoted, viz., Sir James Paget and Dr. Bernays; the -former writes: “As for the opinions of the medical profession, they -are, by a vast majority, in favour of moderation. It may be admitted -that, of late years, the number of cases has increased in which -habitual abstinence from alcoholic drinks has been deemed better -than habitual moderation. But, excluding those of children and young -persons, the number of these cases is still very small, and few of -them have been observed through a long course of years, so as to test -the probable influence of a life-long habitual abstinence. Whatever -weight, then, may be assigned to the balance of opinions among medical -men, it certainly must be given in favour of moderation, not of -abstinence.” Dr. Bernays is still stronger. “The experience of mankind -is better than individual experience, and so, for every medical man of -distinction who is in favour of total abstinence, I would find twenty -men who are against it.” Hardly anyone who has lived among teetotallers -will deny that they are large eaters. Now the greater the amount of -solid food that is required to keep a human being up to the normal -level of health and strength, the greater amount of nervous energy -will be consumed {435} in the process of digestion, and the less -superfluity of energy will that person have in reserve to meet the -other exigencies and activities of life. It therefore seems to follow -with the certainty of a mathematical demonstration, that if, as those -who are best qualified to judge assure us is the case, the moderate -consumption of alcoholic liquors enables a person to keep himself in -health and strength upon a less amount of solid food than would be -necessary without the aid of alcohol, the life of that man, other -things being equal, must be fuller of capacities for all kinds of work, -both mental and bodily, than that of a man who takes no alcohol, and -who is in consequence forced to use up a greater amount of nerve force -in the consumption of a sufficiency of solids to support himself. It -is an uncontrovertible fact that the best work has always been done by -the moderate drinkers. The physical condition of rigid abstainers has -frequently been commented upon; and without wishing to say anything -unkind, or uncharitable, about men who are doubtless honest and -conscientious, though, in our view, misguided, we cannot but suggest -the question—Is the appearance of the average abstainer, who now, -happily for the cause of truth, is known to all the world by the blue -ribbon he wears, such as may be considered a good advertisement for the -opinions he advocates? Does his appearance seem to indicate a physical -or intellectual superiority to the average member of the _genus homo_? -We think there can be but one opinion on this point, and it is that -each and every of these questions must be answered with an emphatic -negative. - -On the action of the Temperance Societies, Dr. Moxon, in a very able -article, _Alcohol and Individuality_, after relating how a poor cooper, -having a fever caused by a wound, died rather than take the alcohol -which was absolutely necessary to sustain him, says: “I believe that -to a large extent teetotalism lays firmest hold on those who are -least likely ever to become drunkards, and are most likely to want at -times the medicinal use of alcohol—sensitive, good-natured people, of -weak constitution, to whom the Sacred Ecclesiast directed his strange -sounding but needful advice, ‘Be not righteous over much, neither make -thyself over wise: why shouldst thou destroy thyself?’” - -In August, 1884, _The Times_ devoted several columns to an exhaustive -consideration of teetotal theories and the use of alcohol, and it -may be said, without fear of contradiction, that neither before nor -since has a more valuable treatise appeared on the subject. The writer -divides total abstainers into three classes. Of the first class -he says: “There are some persons who seem not to require alcohol -because they easily {436} digest a large quantity of solid food, and -especially of saccharine and starchy matters, . . . . but it is fairly -questionable whether their work in life would not be better in quantity -or in quality, or both, if they were to consume less solid food, and -to make up for the deficiency by a little beer or wine. There are -others who have a distinctly morbid tendency towards excess, . . . . -which leaves them no safety except in total abstinence. The difficulty -with these persons is to keep them from drink, however hurtful they -may know it to be, for their condition is one of disease, and they -have seldom sufficient resolution to abstain. When they do abstain -they furnish striking examples of the success of teetotalism by being -changed from a state closely bordering on insanity into responsible -members of society; but the ordinary experience with regard to them -is that they have a succession of relapses into intemperance, and -that they ultimately die, directly or indirectly, from the effects of -drink. . . . The third class of abstainers is formed by those who are -actuated in the main by benevolent and conscientious motives, which, -unfortunately, are seldom controlled by the possession of adequate -knowledge. Many clergymen abstain ‘for the sake of example,’ without -pausing to consider whether the example may not, in some cases, be a -bad one, and whether they would not discharge their manifest duties -more efficiently by help of the added force which alcohol would give. -Many persons get on fairly well without alcohol because their powers -are never subjected to any considerable strain, and these persons too -often break down when any strain comes upon them, unless they will -consent to modify their mode of living. This, as is too well known, -they will not always do; and every medical man has seen instances of -fanatical teetotalism leading to complete destruction of the health of -those who were governed by it.” - -With regard to teetotal societies, the writer considers that they do -very little good and a great deal of harm. “They fail,” he says, “to -touch the evils of drunkenness, except in a very limited fashion, and -they take away alcohol from vast numbers who would be better for the -moderate use of it. We think the time has come when philanthropists -should cease to listen to mere declamation, and should try to look -calmly and fearlessly at the results of observation and experience. -Many a good man is injuring his health and diminishing his usefulness -in order to adhere, ‘for the sake of example,’ to a fantastic -deprivation.” - -To check the evils of drunkenness, we rely not on prohibitory -legislation, which has been tried elsewhere and found wanting, but -on the gradual spread of education and enlightenment; the effects -of public {437} opinion, the improvement of the well-being of the -humbler classes more particularly with reference to their habitations -both in town and country. Perhaps also, but here we speak with greater -diffidence on account of the practical difficulties in which such a -proposal is involved a remedy is to be found in the confinement of -those persons who have shown by their conduct that their inability to -refrain from vile excesses arises from actual mental disease. - -Lord Bramwell, in a pamphlet called _Drink_, has written to very -much the same effect. He also calls in question the right of society -to interfere with individual liberty to the extent proposed by the -teetotallers. Is it reasonable, he asks, that because some people drink -to excess, alcoholic liquors are to be denied to millions to whom it -is a daily pleasure and enjoyment with no attendant harm? If a man is -drunk in public, punish him; but it does seem hard that the sober man -should be punished—for withholding a pleasure and inflicting a pain are -equally punishment. “Then see the mischief of such laws,” he continues. -“The public conscience does not go with them. It is certain they will -be broken. Every one knows that stealing is wrong; disgrace follows -conviction. But every one knows that drinking a glass of beer is not -wrong; no discredit attaches to it. It is done, and when done against -the law you have the usual mischiefs of law-breaking, smuggling, -informations, oaths, perjury, shuffling, and lies. Besides, as a matter -of fact, it fails. Nothing can show this more strongly than the failure -in Wales of the Sunday Closing Act.” Lord Bramwell in the end comes to -the conclusion that drunkenness cannot be prevented by legislation. -“Whether it is desirable to limit the number of drink shops,” he -writes, “is a matter as to which I have great doubt and difficulty. But -grant that there is the right to forbid it, wholly or partially, in -place or time, I say it is a right which should not be exercised. To do -so is to interfere with the innocent enjoyment of millions in order to -lessen the mischief arising from the folly or evil propensities, not -of themselves, but of others. And, further, that such legislation is -attended with the mischiefs which always follow from the creation of -offences in law which are not so in conscience. Punish the mischievous -drunkard, indeed, perhaps, even punish him for being drunk in public, -and so a likely source of mischief. Punish, on the same principle, the -man who sells drink to the drunken. But go no further. Trust to the -good sense and improvement of mankind, and let charity be shown to -those who would trust to them rather than to law.” - -Other arguments in opposition to those who would introduce what {438} -is known as local option may be briefly summed up as follows:—Such a -system would establish the principle that a majority of ratepayers in -one district may put a stop to any trade or calling to which they may -happen to object, although the same trade remains perfectly legitimate -in other places; it would concentrate the evil, shifting the area of -the sale of drink, and thus intensifying the mischiefs complained of; -it would introduce invidious class distinctions, since its effects -would principally be felt by the poor and the labouring classes, and in -place of a trade which is now subject to inspection and regulation, it -would substitute a secret and irresponsible one. - -In this discussion, the balance of experience, of reason, and of -authority is vastly in favour of the temperate man rather than the -abstainer, and it may be said without fear of contradiction from any -reasonable or unbiassed person that, for the great majority of the -people of this country, the most wholesome, the most nutritious, and -the most pleasing alcoholic liquor, is the “wine of the country,” good, -sound ale and beer. - -To the reader who has been patient enough to follow us thus far, we -give our best thanks, hoping that he may have found something to amuse, -something, perhaps, to instruct in these pages—our best thanks, we say, -and, as a parting word, a few verses by old John Gay, entitled - -A BALLAD ON ALE. - - Whilst some in epic strains delight, - Whilst others pastorals invite, - As taste or whim prevail; - Assist me all ye tuneful Nine, - Support me in the great design, - To sing of nappy Ale. - - Some folks of cider make a rout, - And cider’s well enough no doubt - When better liquors fail; - But wine that’s richer, better still, - Ev’n wine itself (deny ’t who will) - Must yield to nappy Ale. - - Rum, brandy, gin with choicest smack, - From Holland brought, Batavia rack, - All these will nought avail {439} - To cheer a truly British heart, - And lively spirits to impart, - Like humming nappy Ale. - - Oh ! whether thee I closely hug - In honest can, or nut-brown jug, - Or in the tankard hail, - In barrel or in bottle pent, - I give the generous spirit vent, - Still may I feast on Ale. - - But chief when to the cheerful glass, - From vessel pure, thy streamlets pass, - Then most thy charms prevail; - Then, then, I’ll bet and take the odds - That nectar, drink of Heathen Gods, - Was poor compared to Ale. - - Give me a bumper: fill it up: - See how it sparkles in the cup; - O how shall I regale ! - Can any taste this drink divine, - And then compare rum, brandy, wine, - Or aught with nappy Ale? - - Inspired by thee, the warrior fights, - The lover wooes, the poet writes - And pens the pleasing tale; - And still in Britain’s isle confest, - Nought animates the patriot’s breast - Like generous nappy Ale. - - High church and low oft raise a strife - And oft endanger limb and life, - Each studious to prevail: - Yet Whig and Tory, opposite - In all things else, do both unite - In praise of nappy Ale. - - Inspired by thee, shall Crispin sing - Or talk of freedom, church and king, - And balance Europe’s scale: {440} - While his rich landlord lays out schemes - Of wealth in golden South-Sea dreams, - The effects of nappy Ale. - - Ev’n while these stanzas I indite, - The bar-bells’ grateful sounds invite - Where joy can never fail. - Adieu, my Muse ! adieu, I haste - To gratify my longing taste - With copious draughts of Ale. - -+ The + End + - -[Illustration] - -{441} - -[Illustration] - - - - -APPENDIX. - -PASTEUR’S DISCOVERIES. - - -One talks glibly enough of fermentation, but the majority of us would -be puzzled if asked to say what it is. For many years it has been known -that minute particles of life are ever present in substances undergoing -fermentation, but until recently proved beyond question by M. Pasteur, -it was not known that the peculiar changes are wholly caused by these -living atoms, which are so small that they can only be seen through the -most powerful microscope. This discovery was the key to many problems. -Pasteur soon traced the diseases of wine to the presence of various -organisms which, fortunately, could be easily destroyed by heat. From -this it followed that wine once heated to a certain temperature could -be kept an indefinite length of time, provided, of course, no exposure -to the air took place, for from the air germs of organisms similar to -those killed by the application of heat might again enter the wine and -multiply themselves. - -The method of preserving the wine discovered by Pasteur is simple: In -a suitable metal vessel the bottles of wine are placed, their corks -firmly tied down. The vessel is then filled to such a depth that the -water is level with the wires of the corks. One of the bottles, in -which is placed the bulb of a thermometer, should be filled with water. -The water in the vessel is then gradually heated until the thermometer -shows that the water in the bottle has attained a temperature of 212 -Fahr. - -Pasteur proved by repeated experiments that the flavour of the wine -is not in any way damaged by this operation. The discovery solved an -important economic question, for wines heated in this manner can now be -exported into all countries, or kept for an almost indefinite period -without losing their flavour or perfume. - -We have mentioned Pasteur’s labours for the wine-growers, for on them -were based his studies on beer. {442} - -At the close of the Franco-Prussian war, Pasteur, who was then -recovering from an illness which lasted over two years, became eager -to commence an investigation which would bring him again to the study -of fermentation. Influenced, no doubt, by the patriotic wish of making -for French beer a reputation equal to that of Germany, he attacked the -diseases of malt liquors. - -Beer is far more difficult to keep than wine, and it is said to be -diseased when it has turned sharp, sour, ropy or putrid. To trace the -causes of these undesirable conditions was Pasteur’s aim, and, as -usual with any investigation undertaken by him, he met with success. -In studying the fermentation of wine, he had discovered a new world -peopled with minute beings of many different species, and in the -fermentation of beer his discoveries were of much the same nature. - -In wine the fermentation may be said to take place by itself, the -organisms which cause it, finding their way into the liquid without -the assistance of man; but in beer-brewing a small quantity of certain -organisms (yeast) is put into the sweet wort by the brewer. These -organisms multiply themselves, and, if of the right species, turn the -sugar principally into alcohol and carbonic acid gas. The one remains -in the beer, the other partly escapes and hangs about the surface of -the liquid, as anyone who has put his nose into a fermenting tun has -no doubt discovered. It is absolutely necessary for the production of -drinkable beer that the right species of organism be set to work in -the wort. If the wort was left to itself to ferment, as is wine, the -results would be very unsatisfactory. Various kinds of organisms (from -which wine is protected by its acidity) would enter into it from the -air, divers ferments would take place, and more often than not an acid -or putrid beer would be the result. - -Every beer-disease Pasteur found to be caused by its own peculiar -organisms, which enter into the liquid sometimes from the air and -often in the yeast, and the causes of many mysterious occurrences -in breweries at once become clear. Professor Tyndall said of this -discovery: “Without knowing the cause, the brewer not unfrequently -incurred heavy losses through the use of bad yeast. Five minutes’ -examination with the microscope would have revealed to him the cause of -the badness, and prevented him from using the yeast. He would have seen -the true torula overpowered by foreign intruders. The microscope is, -I believe now everywhere in use. At Burton-on-Trent its aid was very -soon, invoked.” - -The brewer has, therefore, to keep his wort free from foreign organisms -{443} other than the yeast plant. When the wort is boiled, any harmful -organisms it may contain are killed, and it can be indefinitely -preserved even in a high temperature, provided the air with which -it comes in contact is free from the germs of the lower microscopic -organisms. Pasteur’s son-in-law, in the account he has written of -the great _savant’s_ life and labours, says that some brewers have -constructed an apparatus which enables them to protect the wort while -it cools from the organisms of the air and to ferment it with a leaven -as pure as possible. At the Exhibition of Amsterdam were shown bottles -only half full, containing a perfectly clear beer which had been tapped -from the opening of the Exhibition. - -As the causes of disease in beer are much the same as in wine, the -same preservative—heating—may be applied. But beer differs from still -wines in containing carbonic acid gas which heat displaces, and as beer -which has lost its briskness is not pleasant drinking, it can only be -advantageously so treated when contained in bottles. Both in Europe and -America, says M. Pasteur’s son-in-law, the heating of beer is practised -on a large scale. The process is called _Pasteuration_ and the beer -_Pasteurised_ beer. - -A very high temperature, as we have shown, kills the germs of disease -in wine and beer. Extreme cold has the effect of indefinitely -suspending the action of the ferment. A moderate temperature seems -most favourable to the action of the organisms which work the wondrous -changes in the wort. In England beer is usually fermented at a -temperature of between 60° and 70° Fahr., and the process only lasts -a day or two. In Germany the general practice is to ferment at about -40°, a temperature maintained by means of vessels containing ice, which -are thrown into the fermenting tuns. This lower temperature checks the -action of the ferment and the process lasts for fifteen or even twenty -days. - -The only other point to be noticed here in connection with fermentation -is the peculiar fact discovered by Pasteur, that the organisms -causing the ferment can live without air. When the wort is in the -fermenting tun, the sides of the tun, together with the heavy carbonic -acid gas hanging over the surface of the wort, exclude all air from -the organisms, which can only obtain a small amount of oxygen from -the liquid. There is, in fact, life without air. Pasteur made some -interesting experiments which showed that there was a great difference -in the action of the organisms according as they were placed in -deep vats, cut off from the air by the carbonic acid gas, or in -flat-bottomed {444} wooden troughs with sides a few inches high. In -this latter situation the life of the ferment seemed enhanced, but -the amount of sugar decomposed by the organisms was proportionately -different from that decomposed in the vats. In the vats one ounce of -ferment decomposed from seventy to a hundred and fifty ounces of sugar, -while in the troughs the same quantity of ferment decomposed only five -or six ounces of sugar. The experiment showed that the more the yeast -was exposed to the air, the less was its power as a ferment, and that -there is a remarkable relation between fermentation and life without -air. - -Dumas once said to Pasteur before the Academy of Sciences: “You have -discovered a third kingdom—the kingdom to which those organisms belong -which, with all the prerogatives of animal life, do not require air for -their existence, and which find the heat that is necessary for them in -the chemical decompositions which they set up around them.” - -[Illustration] - -{445} - -[Illustration] - - - - -INDEX. - - - A. - - Adulteration of Beer … 423–4 - - Ale Drinkers, Great … 421 - - Ale, English, on the Continent … 414 - - Ale-bench, The … 190 - - Ale-berry, or Ale-brue … 383 - - Ale-bush, The … 216 - - Ale-conners … 106, 109 - - Ale-draper … 190 - - Ale-founder … 107 - - Ale-gafol … 35 - - Ale-garland, The … 216 - - Ale-house Lattices … 188 - - Ale-house Poetry … 226 - - Ale-houses in Mediæval Times … 187 - - Ale-houses in sixteenth and seventeenth centuries … 188, 191 - - Ale-houses, Suppression of … 110 - - Ale-pole, The … 216 - - Ale-sellers in fourteenth century, Tricks by … 39 - - Ale-stake … 108, 215, 219 - - Ale-taster … 109 - - Ale-wives … 104, 124–6, 128–9, 134, 192, 215, 314 - - _Ale-wife’s Supplication_ … 129 - - Ale-yard, The … 401 - - Alice Everade, a Brewster … 104 - - _All is ours and our Husbands_ … 112 - - Allsopp and Sons, Messrs. … 336 - - Ancient Britons, Use of Beer by the … 1, 28 - - Angel at Islington, The … 198 - - _Answer of Ale to the Challenge of Sack_ … 8 - - Apricot Ale … 386 - - Arboga, Beer of … 181 - - Armenia, Xenophon’s account of Beer in 401 B.C. … 27 - - _Arraigning and Indicting of Sir John Barleycorn, Knight_ … 20 - - Assize of Ale … 99, 102–3, 129 - - Atkinson, Richard, Advice to Lord Dacre … 8 - - B. - - _Bacchanalian Joys Defeated_ … 192 - - “Baiersk öl” … 180 - - _Ballad on Ale_, Gay’s … 438 - - Banbury Ale … 171 - - Baptism in Ale … 38, 401 - - Barclay, Perkins & Co. … 341, 368 - - _Barrel of Humming Ale, The_ … 12 - - Barnstable Ale … 172 - - Bass, Ratcliffe and Gretton, Messrs. … 343 - - Bavarian Beer … 180 - - Bede-ales … 99 - - _Beer_, an American Poem … 13 - - Beer Brewers, The … 143, 147 - - Beer Powders … 176 - - Beer Street, Hogarth’s … 16 - - Beer, the Temperance Drink … 16, 18 - - Bees, Beer used in taking Swarms of … 403 - - Ben Jonson … 205 - - _Beowulf_, Mention of Ale in … 33 - - Bid-ales … 272 - - _Birthday Ode, A_, by Peter Pindar … 357 - - Bitter Beer, ancient cure for Leprosy among the Jews … 26 - - Black Boy Inn, Chelmsford, The … 220 - - Black Jacks … 396 - - Blackberry Ale … 386 - - Blind Pinneaux … 385 - - Boar’s Head in Eastcheap, The … 203 - - Boorde, Andrew, on Ale and Beer … 6 - - Boozer … 26 - - Borage … 390 - - Boswell, Anecdote of … 292 - - Bottled Beer, Origin of, etc. … 178 - - Bragget: Bragawd … 171, 378 - - Brasenose College Poems, and Ale … 7, 165, 389 - - Breakfast, Ale at … 274, 275 - - _Brewer’s Coachman, The_ … 148 - - Brewers’ Company, Historical Notes on the, etc. … 134, 137, 143, 147 - - Brewers of old London, The … 123, 146 - - _Brewers’ Plea; or, a Vindication of Strong Beer_ (1647) … 116 - - Brewhouse (German) of the sixteenth century … 131 - - Brewhouse in sixteenth century, Contents of … 56 - - Brewing at the present day … 331 - - Brewing in a Teapot … 2, 339 - - Brewing Trade in 1297, Legislation concerning the … 134 - - Brewing Trade, Regulations for, in the fifteenth century … 104 - - Brewsters … 100 - - Bride-Ales … 269, 272 - - Brown Betty … 389 - - βρυτον, “Britain” derived from … 31 - - _Bryng us in Good Ale_ … 230 - - Burton Ales … 160 - - _Burton Ale_; a Song … 161 - - Burton-on-Trent, Historical Account of, etc. … 335 - - Butler’s Ale, Dr. … 413 - - Buttered Beere … 385, 413 - - Buxton, Jedediah, a Great Beer Drinker … 293 - - C. - - Cakes and Ale … 43, 239 - - Cambridge Ale at Stourbridge Fair … 105 - - Castle Coombe, Ancient Regulations concerning Brewing at … 107 - - Caton, Cornelius, of the White Lion, Richmond … 194 - - Cereris Vinum … 28 - - Cerevisia … 28 - - Charity, Ale Distributed in … 184, 278 - - Chaucer’s Reference to Ale … 40 - - Chavelier de Malte, The … 149 - - Chester Ale … 162 - - China Ale … 386 - - Christian Ale … 271 - - Christmas Carol, An Ancient … 263 - - Christmas Customs … 239, 264 - - Christopher North’s Brewhouse … 61 - - Church Ales … 239, 266–70 - - Churches, Ale Sold in … 272 - - Clamber-clown … 385 - - Clerk Ales … 270 - - Cobbett on Homebrew, in 1821, 46 - - Cock Ale … 385 - - Cock Tavern, The … 209 - - Cœlia … 28 - - _Coggie o’ Yill_, a Song … 329 - - Cold Tankard … 390 - - Collistrigium … 101 - - _Complete Angler, The_, Sold under the King’s Head Tavern … 205 - - Consumption cured by Ale … 414 - - Cookery, Beer used in … 403 - - Cooperage, sixteenth century, A … 334 - - Cooper, Origin of the Drink … 375 - - Coopers, Brewers forbidden to act as … 113 - - Coopers of Old London … 139 - - Copus-Cup … 391 - - Cornhill, The Taverns of … 203 - - Cost of Brewing in the sixteenth century … 57 - - Cotswold Games, The … 247 - - Country Sports and Pastimes, Herrick upon … 233 - - Cowslip Ale … 386 - - Crown and Anchor, Strand, The … 211 - - Cucking Stool, A Punishment for Ale-wives … 102 - - Cuckoo Ales … 272 - - Curmi … 28 - - Cwrw … 28 - - D. - - Darby Ale … 162 - - Dawson, John, Butler of Christchurch, Oxford … 167 - - Derivations of “Ale” and “Beer” … 32 - - Devil Inn, Fleet Street, The … 208 - - Dietetic uses of Ale … 273 - - Dinton Hermit, The … 277 - - Distinctions between Ale and Beer … 6, 32, 152 - - Dogsnose … 388 - - “_Doll thi, doll, doll this Ale, dole_” … 404 - - Domestic uses of Ale … 403 - - Donaldson’s Beer-cup … 391 - - Dorchester Ales … 172 - - Dover’s Games … 247 - - _Drinke and Welcome_ … 4, 41, 147, 153, 158, 161, 188, 414 - - Drinking Customs … 279, 280, 290, 383 - - Drinking Vessels … 393 - - Drink-Lean … 247 - - Drunkenness in Olden Times … 108, 114, 116, 282, 292 - - E. - - Early Closing, temp. Edward I. … 109 - - Edinburgh Ales … 169 - - Egg-Ale … 387 - - Egg-hot … 388 - - Egypt, Ancient use of Beer in … 25 - - Egypt, Suppression of Beer Shops in … 1, 25 - - Elderberry Beer … 386 - - English Ale, famous among foreigners in fourteenth century … 37 - - Epitaphs on Ale-drinkers, Brewers, and Innkeepers … 150, 164, 196, 208 - - Eucharist, use of Ale in the Administration of the … 402 - - Everlasting Club, The … 214 - - Export of Ale in Ancient Times … 113 - - Extraordinary Tithes … 91 - - F. - - Falcon Inn, Chester, The … 197 - - Falcon Tavern, Bankside, The … 205 - - _Farmer’s Delight in the Merry Harvest, The_ … 253 - - Farmer’s Return, Hogarth’s … 45 - - Fever Cases cured by Ale … 415 - - Fire, Ale used to Extinguish … 407 - - Fish, Ale used as Food for … 402 - - Fishing Lines, Ale used to Stain … 402 - - Flip … 388, 389 - - Foot Ales … 273 - - Fowls, Beer as a Drink for … 403 - - Foxcomb … 385 - - Francis Francis on Bitter Beer … 5 - - Freemason’s Cup … 391 - - Frozen Ale … 169 - - Furry Day at Helston, The … 244 - - G. - - Gentleman’s Cellar of the twelfth century … 52 - - George Inn, Salisbury, The … 196 - - German Beer … 178, 180 - - _Geste of Kyng Horn_, Extract from … 32 - - Gin Lane, Hogarth’s … 17 - - Give Ales … 272 - - Glutton-Masses … 286 - - _Good Ale for my Money_, a Ballad … 317 - - Grace-cup, The … 384 - - Grains … 145, 403 - - _Grand Concern of England, etc., The_ (1673) … 118 - - Greyheards, Anecdote of the … 398 - - Grout Ale … 164 - - Guild Feasts … 271 - - Guinness, Messrs … 348 - - Gustator Cervisiæ … 107 - - H. - - Hacket, Marian, Ale-wife … 128 - - _Hal-an-low_, The; a Song … 244 - - Halders, Dame, of Norwich, Ale-wife, Anecdote of … 192 - - Hanaps … 395 - - Harrison on Homebrew and Malting in 1587, 54 - - Harvest Home Customs and Songs … 256–9 - - Harwood, Ralph, supposed Inventor of Porter … 366 - - Haymaker’s Song, The … 252 - - _Health to all Good Fellowes_, a Ballad … 325 - - Heather Ale … 175 - - Heaving … 241 - - Help Ales … 272 - - Herodotus on Egyptian Brewing … 25 - - Herrick … 15 - - Hicks, William, Brewer to the King … 149 - - _High and Mightie Commendation of a Pot of Good Ale_ … 71, 320 - - Highgate Oath, The … 198 - - Hobby Horse Dance … 239 - - Hock-Cart, The … 254 - - Hock-tide … 241 - - Hollowing Bottle, The … 255 - - Homebrew and Malting, Earliest Account of … 47 - - Hop-bine Ensilage … 82 - - Hop-Gardens of England … 87 - - Hop-Growers’ Troubles … 89 - - Hop-growing countries of Europe … 87 - - Hop-Pickers … 92 - - Hop-poles and wires … 88 - - Hop-Searchers … 70 - - Hop-Substitutes … 78 - - Hop-Substitutes, Anecdote … 425 - - Hops, Early Introduction into England of … 67 - - Hops, Early Mention of … 66 - - Hops in America and Australia … 87 - - Hops in Saxon times … 66 - - Hops, Legislation concerning … 73, 78 - - Hops, Medicinal uses of … 85 - - Hops, Mention of, in the City Records … 68 - - Hops, Prosecutions for using … 69 - - Hops, Various uses of … 82, 84 - - Horkey Beer, The … 256 - - Horses’ Feet Washed with Ale … 402 - - Hospitality in England in Early Times … 183, 190 - - Hot Pint … 237 - - Hot Pot … 388 - - _How Mault doth deale with Everyone_, a Ballad … 301 - - Huff-cap … 156 - - Huff-cup … 421 - - Hugmatee … 385 - - Hum-cup … 158, 388 - - Humming Ale … 158 - - Humpty-Dumpty … 385 - - Humulus Japonicus … 82 - - Hungerford Park, A Beer Cup … 391 - - Hymele … 66 - - Hypocras … 384 - - I. - - Ind, Coope & Co., Messrs. … 351 - - Inn-keepers, Anecdotes of … 192 - - Ireland, Malt Liquors in … 30 - - Isaak Walton on Barley Wine … 191 - - J. - - Jillian of Berry, Ale-wife … 128 - - Johnson, Dr. … 182, 209 - - _Jolly Good Ale and Old_ … 11 - - K. - - Kentish Hop Gardens, Origin of … 70 - - Kent, Restrictive Enactment on Malting and Brewing in … 110 - - _King James and the Tinkler_, a Ballad … 405 - - Knock-me-down … 385 - - L. - - Laboragol … 164 - - Labouring Classes, Advantage of Ale to … 425, 433 - - Lager Beer … 179 - - Lamb-Ales … 272 - - Lambswool … 381 - - _Lamentable Complaints of Nick Froth, The_ … 117 - - _Lamentations of the Porter Vat, etc._ … 371 - - Leet Ales … 272 - - Licensing Laws in Ancient Times … 113 - - _Little Barley-Corn, The_, a Ballad … 303 - - London Ale … 160 - - _London Chanticleers, The_, Song from … 306 - - London Taverns … 183 - - Lord of the Tap … 105 - - Loving-Cup, The … 384 - - Lupuline … 80, 86 - - _Lupus Salictarius_ … 65 - - M. - - Magpie and Crown, The … 221 - - Malt Liquor _v._ Cheap French Wines … 10 - - Malt, Medicinal Preparations of … 417 - - Malt, Sermon on … 289 - - Malting and Brewing by Women Servants in 1610, 47 - - Malting in Early Times … 120 - - Manchester Ale … 162 - - Mary-Ales … 273 - - Maule, Mr. Justice, Anecdote of … 376 - - May-Day Customs … 241–5 - - Measures, Legislation concerning … 101 - - Medical Opinions, Ancient and Modern, on Ale and Beer - … 403, 408, 419, 433 - - Mermaid in Bread Street, The … 206 - - _Merry Bagpipes_, The … 251 - - _Merry Fellows, The_, a Song … 290 - - _Merry Hoastess, The_, a Ballad … 308 - - Meux’s, Bursting of the Great Vat, etc. … 368, 371 - - Midsummer-Ales … 272 - - Mitre, Fleet Street, The … 210 - - Monasteries, Entertainment at … 183 - - _Monday’s Work_, a Ballad … 326 - - Monks as Brewers and Beer-drinkers … 37, 41, 50, 96, 285 - - Morocco, A Strong Ale … 169 - - Moss Ale, Irish … 176 - - Mother-in-Law … 392 - - Mother Louse, Ale-wife … 129 - - Muggling … 290 - - Mug House Club, The … 213 - - Mulled Ale … 378 - - Mum … 172 - - N. - - _Newcastle Beer_ … 168 - - Newcastle Cloak … 116 - - _Newe from Bartholomew Fayre_ … 203 - - Newnton, Curious Custom at … 271 - - Nippitatum: Strong Ale … 157 - - Norfolk Ales—Norfolk Nog … 171 - - Northdown Ale … 162, 171, 385 - - North, Florence, Ale-wife … 215 - - Norwegian Beer … 180 - - _Nottingham Ale_ … 162, 167, 210 - - O. - - October Club, The … 212 - - _Ode to Sir John Barleycorn_ … 20 - - Old Ale, The: an Anecdote … 15 - - Old Parr … 421 - - Origin of Ale … 25, 42 - - _Origin of Beer, The_ … 29 - - Origin of Inns, The … 185 - - P. - - _Panala Alacatholica_ … 412 - - _Panegyric on Ale_ … 165 - - _Panegyric on Oxford Ale_ … 13 - - Parnell, Paul, A Great Beer Drinker … 59 - - Parsons, Humphrey, Brewer and Lord Mayor … 149 - - _Parson, The_, a Ballad … 287 - - Parsonage Alehouses … 187 - - Parting Cup, The … 389 - - Pasteur’s Discoveries … 441 - - _Patent Brown Stout_ … 369 - - Peg-tankards … 97, 394 - - Pennilesse Pilgrimage, Taylor’s … 162, 169, 190 - - _Perfite Platforme of a Hoppe Garden_ … 73 - - Pharaoh … 158 - - _Philosopher’s Banquet_, Extract from … 44 - - Pig Drinking Ale out of a Jug … 15 - - Pledging … 383 - - Pliny on German Beer … 28 - - Plough Monday … 240 - - Plum-pudding Weighing 1,000 lbs., The … 203 - - _Pointes of Good Huswiferie_, Extract from … 56 - - Pope Innocent III., Anecdote of … 36 - - Porter at Oxford … 367 - - Porter Drinkers, Actors and Actresses as … 374 - - Porter in Ireland … 373 - - Porter, Origin of … 365 - - Porter, Professor Wilson on … 370 - - Posset Ale … 385 - - _Pot of Porter oh ! A_ … 376 - - Proverbs of Hendyng (thirteenth century) … 38 - - Purl … 387, 389 - - _Pye upon the Pear Tree Top, The_ … 256 - - Q. - - Queen Elizabeth’s Breakfast … 275 - - _Quod Petis Hic Est_ … 328 - - R. - - _Rape of Lucrece, The_ … 204 - - Receipts for Keeping and Flavouring Homebrew … 62 - - Rents Paid in Ale … 35 - - Rheumatism cured by New Ale … 416 - - _Robin Rough, the Plowboy_ … 426 - - Rouen, English Beer at, in 1582, 113 - - _Roxburghe Ballads_, The … 295 - - Ruddle … 388 - - Rumyng, Eleanor … 126, 216, 223 - - Russia, Burton Ale Exported to … 338 - - Russia, Burton Beer in … 181 - - S. - - Salt & Co., Messrs. … 353 - - Saxon Leechdoms … 151 - - Scarcity of labour in fourteenth century … 39 - - Scot-Ales … 98, 267, 272 - - Scotch Ales … 169, 170, 171 - - Scotland, Ale Brewing and Selling in Early Times … 129 - - Scotland, Assize of Ale, etc., in … 129 - - Scurvy cured by Ale … 418 - - _Senchus Mor_, References to Ale in the … 30 - - Shakspere and Ale … 203, 270, 428 - - Shandy Gaff … 392 - - Sheep-shearing Customs and Songs … 250 - - Sicera … 26 - - Sign of the Red Lion, The, an Anecdote … 229 - - Signboard and Alehouse Poetry … 211, 223–7 - - Signboard Artists … 228 - - Signboards … 214–20 - - _Sir John Barley-corne_, The Ballad … 295 - - _Skelton’s Ghost_ … 110, 153 - - Small Beer … 159, 160, 277, 284 - - Smoke Question in London, Early Mention of the … 146 - - _Songs of the Session_, Extract from … 14 - - _Sonnet on Christmas_ … 262 - - Spiced Ale … 382 - - St. Dunstan, Legend of … 97 - - Steen, Jan, Brewer, temp. Chas. II. … 148 - - Stephony … 385 - - Stickback … 385 - - Stiffle … 385 - - Stout … 374 - - Strength of Malt Liquors Compared … 154 - - Sugar Beer … 177 - - Sulphuring of Hops … 81 - - Sunday Closing in Early Times … 115 - - Superstitions relating to Beer and Ale … 278 - - Swanne Taverne, The, by Charing Cross … 207 - - Swift’s _Polite Conversation_ on Homebrew … 59 - - _Symposii Ænigmata_, A Saxon Riddle … 34 - - T. - - Tabard, The … 200 - - Tapstere, The Chester … 125 - - Taverns of Old London … 188, 203 - - Taxes on Ale … 38 - - Taylor’s, John, Signboard … 211 - - Temperance Drinks … 373 - - Temperance _v._ Total Abstinence … 14, 19, 423, 429 - - Tewahdiddle … 389 - - Thames Water used in Brewing … 122 - - Thrale’s Brewery … 340, 368 - - _Time’s Alterations, or the Old Man’s Rehersal_ … 396 - - Timothy Burrell, Extracts from the Journal of … 59 - - _Tinker’s Song_, Herrick’s … 291 - - Tithe Ale … 172, 273 - - Toasting … 383 - - _Toby Philpot_ … 399 - - Toll on Ale … 35 - - _Toper, drink, and help the house_ … 15 - - Treacle Beer … 177 - - _Treatise of Walter de Biblesworth_ … 47 - - Trinity Audit … 165 - - Truman, Hanbury, Buxton & Co., Messrs. … 355, 366 - - Tumbrel, Punishment of the … 100 - - Tusser on Hops … 76 - - Twelfth-day Customs … 238 - - Typhus-fever, Malt Liquor beneficial in … 419 - - V. - - _Village Alehouse, The_ … 186 - - Vinegar made from Malt Liquor … 403 - - W. - - Wadlow, Sim … 208 - - Wages Paid Anciently in Ale … 36 - - _Warme Beere_, Verses in Commendation of … 410 - - _Warrington Ale_ … 168 - - Wassail Bowl, The … 380 - - Wassailing … 234 - - Wassailing the Fruit Trees … 236 - - Weddyn Ales … 272 - - Welsh Ales … 30, 171 - - Weobley Ale … 127, 171 - - Wheat Malt, Ancient Use of … 105 - - Whitbread & Co., Messrs. … 359, 368 - - White Ale, Devonshire … 163 - - Whitington and the London Brewers … 135 - - Whitsuntide Ales and Customs … 246, 267 - - _Will Russell_, a Ballad … 195 - - _Wine, Beer, Ale and Tobacco; a Dialogue_ … 72 - - “Wine is but Single Broth” … 9 - - Women Brewers … 124 - - X. - - X, Origin of the Symbol … 113 - - Y. - - Yorkshire Ale … 161 - - _Yorkshire Ale, The Praise of_: A Poem … 312 - - Z. - - Zythum … 28 - -[Illustration] - - - - -Transcriber’s Note. - - -Original spelling and grammar have been generally retained, with some -exceptions noted below. Original printed page numbers are shown like -this: {52}. Original small caps are now uppercase. Italics look _like -this_. Footnotes have been relabeled 1–75, and moved from within -paragraphs to nearby locations between paragraphs. The transcriber -produced the cover image and hereby assigns it to the public domain. -Superscripted letters are shown as for examples: “y^e”, or “Ma^{tie.}”. -Original page images are available from archive.org—search for -“cu31924029894759”. - -The poetry indents are approximately correct in limited circumstances. -The indents were measured and adjusted using a monospace font: “Adobe -Source Code Pro”. Variable-width fonts will look less accurate. - -Page ii. The third word of the caption seems to read “Bremhouſe” -(printed in what appears to the transcriber to be a variety of bastard -script), but has been rendered herein in the more likely “Brewhouſe”. - -Page 25. Changed “What ha h been” to “What hath been”. - -Page 27. Changed “οινος”—wherein the omicron was accented with psili -and perispomeni—to “οἶνος”. - -Page 35. In the phrase “pay as toll to the lord gallons of ale”, a -number was missing. - -Page 35n. The footnote read “1 The translation is taken from _Nineteen -Centuries of Drink in England_.”, but there was no anchor on the page. -Possibly this note refers to the _Symposium Ænigmata_ that ends at the -top of the page. - -Page 38. The first footnote on the page had no anchor. A new anchor was -installed after the word “male,”, on the second line of the poem. - -Page 49. Closing quotation mark was added after the line “Parlom ore de -autre chose.” - -Page 74, 79. These full-page illustrations have been moved out of -their original locations inside poems to nearby locations below or -above, and the corresponding page numbers have been removed. Full-page -illustrations likewise situated in other places in the book have been -likewise treated. - -Page 85. Full stop was added after “sometimes when opium failed”. - -Page 100n. There was no anchor for the footnote; a new one has been -inserted after the word “brewster” at the top of the page. - -Page 180n. The footnote had no anchor. A new anchor has been inserted -for this note, on page 179. - -Page 184. Changed “religous” to “religious”. - -Page 208n. The last word, partially illegible, is herein rendered -“out.”. - -Page 235. The phrase “bring us a bowl of the bes” was changed to “bring -us a bowl of the best,”. - -Page 264. Changed “carry ing over hilland dale” to “carrying over hill -and dale”. - -Page 284. Changed “trusted, as we bear” to “trusted, as we hear”, and -“strirre” to “stirre”. - -Page 325n. A new footnote anchor was inserted after “he that made, made -two.”. - -Page 342. Full stop added after “dilutes his clay”. - -Page 433. Changed “to live in a wine-growing, country will” to “to live -in a wine-growing country, will”. - -Page 435. Changed “alcholic” to “alcoholic”. - -Page 449. Changed “Weobly Ale” to “Weobley Ale”. - - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CURIOSITIES OF ALE & BEER *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. 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