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ALE
AND
BEEE.
—
Inspiring
bold
John
Barleycorn,
Wliat
dangers
thou
canst
make
us
scorn
!
Beer
is
a
liquor
of
great
antiquity.
The
origin
of
the
art
of
brewing
is
ascribed
by
Herodotus
to
Isis,
the
excellent
wife
of
Osiris,
King
of
Egypt.
“
It
was
Isis
who
chose
the
ox
as
her
type,
on
account
of
its
usefulness
in
agriculture
;
from
hence
the
Egyptians
fancied
the
soul
after
her
death
animated
the
ox,
and,
impelled
by
this
idea,
they
exalted
that
useful
animal
to
the
rank
of
a
deity/’
The
statues
of
Isis
represent
her
with
the
body
of
a
woman
and
head
of
an
ox.
Putting
aside as
purely
fabulous
this
notion
of
Herodotus,
it
is
certain,
at
all
events,
that
beer
was
the
favourite
beverage
of
the
ancient
Egyptians
—
the
soil
and
climate
not
permitting