St. Paul daily globe., 1892-06-08
rhe Old Egyptians Carefully
g Gathered Their Grapes
aa in Baskets.
Drinks Of the Jews as Relat-
ed in Portions Of thu
Bible.
Beverages Of the Germans
rr Mixed Drinks Of the
'a Americans.


Every pore is loaded with moisture, and
by the twenty or thirty miles of perspi-
ration tubes which, with their innu-
merable pores, render the human skin
sieve, from two to four pounds of moist
ure pass off in every twenty-four hours.
says the Globe-Democrat. Constant
supplies are necessary to keep the body
in healthfu! condition, and while, of
course, water is the best drink,
the fact that from the earliest
historical times alcohol in some
form or other has been in general
use, indicates that it satisfies craving
as universal as the human race. The
well-known John Ashton, the author of
many curious books on antiquities and
literarary subjects, has. in collaboration
with James New, published book on
.The Drinks of the World" which con-
tainS in a fragmentary form many
odds and ends of historical in
formation and gossip on this unique
topic. 1t can not 0e said that the sub
ject is new. for much has been written
in more or less permanent form regard
ing the various tipples of mankind. but
this is one of the first. if not the first at
tempt, to present an exhaustive account
of the beverages of humanity.
The Worlds Wines.
According to Mr.. Ashton the place of
honor in the list of the worlds drinks
must be accorded to wine. The lnven-
tion of wine is of an antiquity so high
that its original discOvererS are abso-
lutely unknown, but as almost the
earliest records of every country men-
toned wine or its equivalent, as
almost the earliest poems speak of
it as already we'll known, as
the earliest pictorial art repre-
gether probable, if not indeed certain,
that wine had a cotemperaneOus origin
in almost every country that contained
inhabitants and grapes. The Egyp-
tians, who were civilized and possessed
arts, sciences and literature at time
when the Hebrews were wandering
ilomads, knew all about the manufact-
ure of wine, and in their
pictures preserved the fullest
possible representations, both of
grape growing and of wine-mak-
ing. By means of these Illustrations,
found in the catacOmbs and temples of
the ancient inhabitants of the Nile
valley, we know that their vines were
SUIicIiIucS CdlClulIt tlolHOO w otunSO3
while at others they were guided over
the tim bers of bowers, or tied arc Ind
the supports of colonnades. The
vineyards were walled, and in
The inclOsure there was fire.
auently reservoir and invari-
ably small building which contained
wine press, There were watch stations
on the walls, and when the inclOSure
was of suitable extent, towers were
PLACED at regular intervals, and small
boys stationed on them. who with
whistles and rattles frightened away
birds and predatory ANIMALS.
Egyptian Wine-Making.
The grapes, when ripe, were gathered
in baskets, evidently with great care,
for one picture represents the Overseer
chastising a careless hand who had
crushed the grapes in his basket. Being
gathered. they were taken to the wine
house. where they were placed in bag
and the juice expressed by squeez-
ing the bag between two poles
moved in opposite directions. But
GoSe GOS all II the fss wns Wsy p5TsSsseg TSse veas was
large vats into which the grapes were
thrown, and sturdy laborers, with bare
feet and legs naked to the knees, tread
out the juice. meantime steadying
themselves by holding to the pole placed
across the vat at about the height of
mans shoulders. The juice resulting
from this operation was placed in
earthen Jars. the lids being sealed with
pitch. 1t will thus be seen that meth
Ods of wine making, as practiced
5000 years ago, did not materially diff
fer from those employed in many dis
|. tricts of wine growing countries at the
present time. By this primitive process
the Egyptians prepared several kinds
of wine which are famous even yet in
the valley or the Nile. Athen8us, who
seems to have been quite a cOnnoisseur
for his times, describes the wine of Ma
roetis as white, sweet, fragrant, not in
the least astrlngent, and not likely
to affect the head, save in the case of
women and children. He considered it,
however, as inferior to the Teniotic.
which was so rich and thick that rather
than wine it resembled syrup. He men
tions also the wine of the Thebiad as
good for invalids and the Tebennytlc as
compound made from three kinds of
grapes, a circumstance which shows
that the Egyptians probably under
stood some of the secrets of the modern
vintner Many illustrations prove that
the use of wine as libations was uni
versal in the Egyptian worship, and had
the Egyptions confined their use of
what was called ''the drink of the gods"
to libations, they might have Jared
better, for in not a few pict-
ures evidence appears that the ex
hilarating fluid was as eXhilar-
ating in the time of the Pharaohs as it
is today, for the tomb of one lady of
rank she is represented as being in a
condition of advanced intoxication, so
far gone, in fact, that while one attend
ant holds her head another presents a
! basin to her mouth, of which, to judge
from her agonized cOuntenance, she is
about to make immediate use.
Jewish Drinking Habits.
or the mighty empire of the Hittites,
eOntemporaneous with that of the As
syrians and Jews, we know little, for
| scholars are yet undecided as to the sig
niicauce of their Inscriptions, but we
do know that their country, which lies
| directly to the northwest of Palestine.
| was highly favorable to the growth of
the vine, and their bas-reliefs show that
both men and women drank literally,
and often to excess. That the Hebrews
were familiar with wine and its effects,
good and bad, We know from the ref
erences in the Scriptures, and that the
cup which both cheers and inebrlates
was frequently employed for the latter
purpose is indicated by the abun-
dant illusions to strong drink
and the harmful results of its excessive
use. From the Scriptures may be gath
cred all the minutie of winemaking.
The vineyards were fenced with towers,
like those of the Egyptians. the vines
were trained upon poles, fertilizers were
employed, the juice was sometimes eX-
pressed by mechanical means, sometimes
trodden out by foot. There were sew
eral kinds of drink, for the deleterious
effects of "mixed drinks" are often
mentioned. Some wines, like those of
Lebanon, were famous for bouquet"
which may have been the natural
perfume of the wine, but was
more probably the result of added
spices. We learn, also, that
wine was commonly in use
among all classes, and especially at
feasts, where the best wine was first
set forth for the use of the guests; that
it was employed in the temple and at