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23
CUPS
AND
THEIR
CUSTOMS.
sufficient^
we
will
not
indulge
our
readers
with
the
various
items
or
proportions.
One
of
the
most
amusing
descriptions
of
old
English
cheer
we
ever
met
with
is
that
of
Master
Stephen
Perlin,
a
French
physician,
who
was
in
England
during
the
reign
of
Edward
VI.
and
Mary.
He
says,
writing
for
the
benefit
of
his
coun-^
trymen,
^^The
English,
one
with
the
other,
are
joyous,
and
are
very
fond
of
music
;
likewise
they
are
great
drinkers.
Now
remember,
if
you
please,
that
in
this
country
they
generally
use
vessels
of
silver
when
they
drink
wine
;
and
they
will
say
to
you
usually
at table,
'
Goude
chere
;
^
and
also
they
will
say
to
you
more
than
one
hundred
times,
^Drind
oui,^
and
you
will
reply
to
them
in
their
language,
^Iplaigui.^
They
drink
their
beer
out
of
earthenware
pots,
of
which
the
handles
and
the
covers
are
of
silver,
&c.^^
Worthy
Master
Perlin
seems
hardly
to
have
got
on
with
his
spelling
of
the
English
tongue
while
he
was
studying
our
habits
;
his
account,
however,
of
olden
customs
is
reliable
and
curious.
The
custom
of
pledging
and
drinking
healths
is
generally
stated
to
have
originated
with
the
Anglo-Saxons;
but,
with such
decided
evidence
before
us
of
similar
customs
among
the
Greeks
and
Romans,
we
must,
at
any
rate,
refer
it
to
an
earlier
period
;
and,
indeed,
we
may
rationally
surmise
that,
in
some
form
or
other,
the
custom
has
existed
from
time
immemorial.
In
later
times
the
term
^^
toasting
^^
was
employed
to
designate
customs
of
a
similar
import,
though
the
precise
date
of
the
application
of
this
term
is
uncertain
;
and
although
we
cannot
accept
the
expla-