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DRINKS.

35

S

a

kind

of

effervescing

fermented

milk,

much

resembling

Koumiss

(or

rather

Kuinyss\

of

which

the

best

is

probably

to

be

obtained

in

Samara.

Yotwurt

^

is

a

favourite

drink

at

Constantinople,

made

of

milk

curdled

after

a

peculiar

fashion.

Syra,

a

form

allied

with

the

German

Sdure,

a

sour

whey,

was

used

for

drink

like

small

beer

in

Norway

and

Iceland.

Aizen

and

Leban

are

both

sorts

of

Kumyss,

one

of

the

Tartars,

the

other

of

the

Arabs.

The

latter

have

also

an

intoxicating

liquor

Sabzi,

made

of

Bhang,

a

species

of

hemp.

The

green

leaf

from

which

the

drink

derives

its

name

is

pounded

and

diluted

with

sugared

water.

Even

the

warm

blood

of

living

animals

has

been

considered

suitable

for

a

drink.

In

the

book

of

Ser

Marco

Polo

the

Venetian,

concerning

the

marvels

of

the

East,

we

are

told,

the

Tartar

will

sustain

himself

in

an

economical

manner,

by

opening

a vein

in

the

neck

of

the

horse

upon

which

he

rides,

and

having

taken

a

sufficient

drink

will

close

the

aperture,

and

ride

on

as

before.

Carpini

says

much

the

same

of the

Mongols.

This

appears

indeed

to

have

been

a

time-honoured

institution.

Dionysius

Periegetes,

in

the

nineteenth

chapter

of

his

Description

of

the

World,

treating

of

Scythia

and

other

ancient

nations

situated

in

what

is

now

known

as

Great

Tartary,

says

of

the

Massagetse

that

they

have

no

eating

of

bread

nor

any

native

wine,

but

Al/jari

fjLLoyovT€<;

XevKov

yd\a

Batra

riOevTO.

^

The

Hindustani

^,

from

the

Sanskrit

,

Bengali

,

Marathi

,

a

corruption

of

the

Turkish

,

,.

^\^^i

Yughurt,