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26
THE FLOWING BOWL
" which possess a great part of the world, on a
superstitious account forbear the drinking of
much wine ; because that a young and beautiful
woman being accosted by two angels, that had
intoxicated themselves with it"—an intoxicated
angel surely takes the cake?—"taking the
advantage of their ebriety, made her escape, and
was for her beauty and, wit prefer'd in Heaven,
and the angels severely punished for their folly ;
for which reason they are commanded not to
drink wine.
Yet many of them, doubting of
the divinity of that relation, do transgress that
command, and liberally drink of the blood of the
grape, which the Christians prepare out of their
own vineyards j palliating their crime, in that
they did not plant the tree, nor make the wine."
For the philosophy of the Mahomedan is like the
ways of the Heathen Chinee, " peculiar."
"The Chineses," we are further told, "are
the least addicted to ebriety, delighting them
selves in Coffee, Tea, and such like drinks, free
from those stupifying qualities ; yet are they not
without their carouses ; and those of the intoxi
cating drinks prepared of Rice, Coco's, Sugar,
Dates, etc., equalling in strength and spirit any
liquors in the world."
With the " Chineses " must be of course in
cluded the gallant little Japaneses, with which
nation English chroniclers had but a slight ac
quaintance three hundred years ago.
Without enquiring too closely into the nature
of Red Falernian, Coan, Massic, or any of the
Roman vintages at the time of dear old Horatius
Flaccus, let us take a glance over the wine-lists