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HINTS AND GENERAL REMARKS.

13

It

must be borne in mind: Drinking is an art, and it

requires practice to know how to drink, what to drink,

and when to drink. Drinking is like eating. Who but

a cannibal would not prefer hi s viands prepared in a

palatable form ? That fancy cooking is not injurious,

we have full proof of; we know of aged people of the

past and of the present who spent a little fortune in

having their di shes made to suit their taste. As good

eating depends on the cook, so good drinking on the

expert barkeeper.

A di stinguished Eng lishman, Mr. T., one day told

me: "V./e do not have much mixed drinks in our coun–

try." Whereupon I asked him: "Why do your coun–

trymen mix ale with porter, or Bass ale with ginger

ale?" "We ll, it makes the drink more pleasant to the

taste." I need ed no more answer.

A man gets tired of good company, of good friends,

or even of his best girl-why should we wonder at see–

ing him getting tired of mixed drinks? I cannot help

stating the fact that our drinking capacity is increas–

ing, compared with former times. Not everybody is

capable of criticising and a ppreciating a good drink,

more so a mixed one. Never smoke when you want to

enjoy a fine drink, nor chew; never drink anything

mixed when you do not feel well. For medical pur–

poses, plain drinks are preferable.

When I began my business as bartender, I was only

a boy and hardly able to keep up with the demands of

my employer; I remembered this often enough after-