The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1877-10-19

Food and Drink In Queen Bess's Time.
II is not only In solid food, but also
in sweets and kickshaws, that the En-
glish table Of the 10th century abound
ed Gentlemen and merchants had five
or six dishes followed by jellies, march
paine, tarts, and CONNECTIONS. "Of the
potato and such vcnerous roots as are
brought out Of Spain, Portingale, and
the Indies 10 furnish up our Blankets, =
Harrison. In his description, forbcars 70
speak. OF tea and coffee he is quite ST.
lent, though he has something 70 say Of
tobacco. the use Of which was spread
ing rapidly, 50 that a few years later
llentzner, the German traveller, could
say, I" TLs English are constantly smok-
ing tobacco" We have only To reflect
what life in England would be without
tea, coffee, and potatoes TO be con-
WINGED how entirely different life in
Elizabeth's days was from ours. II il,
however, with something like pang
that we record the fact that $4,000 tuns
Of homegrown wine were made IN Eng
land in Harrison's time but we remem-
Der the Grxnberger still made near Ber-
lin, and pass on holding our dia-
phragms. That the English drank guam
titles Of foreign wines is plain from the
fact that 30 kinds Of strong and 56 Of
light wines were 10 be had in London.
The strongest were best liked, and the
strongest Of all was called, Harrison
tells US, Theoiogicum, answering TO the
" Priest Of Madeira and the Pfaflen-
vein Of the Germans. The merit Of
such wine was that il was both strong
and genuine, for, as Harrison tells us.
" the merchant thought his soule should
have gone straightwaic to the dwell il
he should have served them (tlie priests
with other than the BEST II Is To be
considered whether great part Of the
loss of influence Of the English clergy at
the present day may not be ascribed 10
their abandonment OF orthodox fheo-
logical port. As for the lower classes.
they made good cheer wherever they
could get IL, and though their daily fare
was hard, they had frequent opportuni-
ties OF feasting and carousing at bride
ales, and drinking, and other occasions,
each guest bringing dish, and the good \
man Of the house where the feast was
held only finding drink and house-room.
The workingmen in town always ate
butchers meat, and, though they were
more frugal in the country, they saw
fresh meat far more often than the
modern laborer On such
festive occasions, though their
talk was coarse, they had one
merit in which the modern workman as
4 rule has no share; they were very
much ashamed at being overtaken BY
drink, or cupshotten,'' as Harrison
calls it, As TO bread, the rich ate wheat
en- bread, and the poor bread made of
rye or barley, and in times Of scarcity Of
beans. oats, or even acorns; nay, says
they ate these even in times
of plenty, for though "never has there
been 50 much land cared, that is,
has corn been so dear.
so that without famine the old proverb
has been verified that hunger setteth
his first foot into the horse-manger. y
: II the world lasts awhile AT this rate,
wheat and rye will be no graine for poore
men to feed on, and some catterpillcrs
here are that is to say, the dodgers,
Or two-leggcd catterpillers, the middle
men who bought up corn and regrated
can sale SO much Already
All this food was not digested without
drank. We have seen that the rich
drink wine, but in IIarrison's England
he drink Of the common man
was beer made Of barley, water,
md hops. Those were not the
lays Of great brewers, nor was there
my eNciseman TO stand in the way Of
private brewing. English "home-
Drewed' was then the national bcver-
age, and Harrison not only gives us an
excellent recipe for making beer I" as
yellow as gold,' but tells us how his
hrifty wife brcwed him 200 gallons Of
beer for ~ shillings. In our days il
would seem strange If a country clergy
man on poor preferment not only brew
d but consumed 200 gallons Of beer in
he year; and this glimpse out Of Har-
rison's daily life Is perhaps as great
proof as any to be found in his book Of
he liberal way in which all classes lived
n the days of Elizabeth. But il must
,e remembered that in that are ii was
,eer for breakfasts, when there were any
beer for dinner, and beer
or supper. The tap Of the beer barrel
must have been forever running at
ime when there were no watcr-drinkers
ind temperance societies, and when
here were no substitutes except milk
or malt liquors, such as we possess in
ca and coffee. not 10 mention our acrat-
81 waters EdiHbury Rcrtcm.