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of
his
familiar
letters,
on
presenting
a
friend
with
a
bottle
of
Metheglin,
thus
speaks
of
it;
"
Neither
Sir
John
Barleycorn
or
Bacchus
had
"
any
thing
to
do
with
it,
hut
it
is
the
pure
"
juice
of
the
bee,
the
laborious
bee,
and
the
"
king
of
insects
;
the
Druids
and
old
British
"
Bards
were
wont
to
take
a
carouse
hereof
"
before
they
entered
into
their
speculations.
"
But
this
drink
always
carries
a
kind
of
state
"
with
it,
for
it
must
be
attended
with
a
brown
"
toast
;
nor
will
it
admit
but
of
one
good
"
draught,
and
that
in
the
morning
;
if
more,
"
it
will
keep
a
humming
in
the
head,
and
so
"
speak
too
much
of
the
house
it
comes
from,
"
I
mean,
the
hive."
Indeed
almost
every
other
author
who
has
written
on
the
subject
affirms,
that
before
the
introduction
of
Agriculture
into
this
island,
honey
diluted
with
water
(i.
e.
Metheglin)
was
the
only
strong
drink
known
to,
and
was
a
grpat
favourite
among,
the
Ancient
Britons.
Metheglin
is
usually
divided
into
the
Simple
and
the
Vinous.
Simple
Metheglin
is
that