The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1894-04-07
RARE vIxrAGEs,
a Celebrated W.T. Produces u Llternr
Curiosity mt tho Dlnncr Table.

a Celebrated Wit Produces "a Literary
Curiosity mt tho Dinner Table.
~ r. Handy IA Chicuao Inttr Otoan.
DR.. Edward Bedloe Is In town. That
announcement made In Washington,
Boston, New York, or San Francisco,
and to soino cxtcnt In Chicago, although
no Ia not rs well known here, always
causes a pleasant ripple in tho circles
Of good fellowship. 4 Democratic nd.
minIstration called him homo from
China little while ngo hnd robbed the
American consular service, temporarily,
lot III hope, Of ono OF Its highest orna.
men,9. The doctor was honored by q
dinner at tho Richelieu In Easter weok
with BemIs as. tho host and no roso TO
tho occasion with speech which Ia so
brilliantly unique In its way that / am
going 10 reproduce 1t. Tho toast was TO
"Thc Church." and this was the re.
spongo:
VI never drink such q toast without
recalling tho vast debt OF gratitude we
owe to tho church OF tho middle ages.
III tho long gonc years tho sybaritcs
aud good fellows OF Greece and ltomo
qucnchod thoir thirst with rich red
vino. To them ale and beor and porter
and stout were unknown words 10 them
John Barleycorn was perfect stranger;
cognnc and othrd wcro sealed books:
and tho thousand and ono liqueurs OF
to-day were unborn. champagne, tho
idenlIzat!on Of all vinous beverages, had
not como into existence. While no for
punches. cocktails, fixes, smashes,
sours. eggnog, Tom and Jerry, hot Scotch
and lrish, the Greek and Latin tongues,
despite the genius OF Homer and Plato,
Virgil and Cicero, were utterly unable
to express or describe. Imagine II you
can dinner OF to-day, in which tho
sole allovi0tos OF thirst were wine and
honey, wine and water, vino and more
water. When tho inspired writer snid,
LOOK not upon tho vino whom II Is
red, perhaps he was looking forward
1000 years to our own time when there
are other and better beverages. Got
such was the condition which con.
teontod Lucullus, Apicus, aud other
groat bon wants OF antiquity A small
boy could give better dinner to-day,
so far IS tho wine card is concerned,
than could all tho Caesars OF the west
and the kings and emperors OF the east.
what made the change? What great
power SO wrought upon nature us to
give us the wealth OF enjoyment to-dnyP
II was tho church, the noble abbots and
humble monks who applied intellect to
tho world around them and brought
forth results which will never die.
They took the culture Of the vines
from pagan Rome, and they converted
1t into new art and science. They dig
nifed their products by giving to them
religious terms and titles. Tho golden
| juice OF the grape in the Vesuvian vint-
| aGe became tho Lachryma Christi, or
tears OF Christ: the amber nectar OF the
Rhine was named Leibfraumilch. or the
milk Of the Virgin; tho tawny dressings
OF the Andalusian clusters became
known in lore Us Sancta Trinidad, or
the Holy Trinity. In Franco two super.
Tor vintages were born under the pa
rentagc OF tue church, and even at the
present day bear testimony OF their
names Of White and Red Hermitage to
their origin. From the wonderful race,
the saraccne, the medieval church
learned the art OF distilIing it to all Eu-
ropc. In the emerald isles OF Ireland
they produced the "potheen;" in the
g:een glensj Of Scotland the usque-
bauGh; in the sunny vineyards OF
France the eau dc vic; in tho sterile
plains OF Russia thevodka, in the frozen
north OF Sweden and Norway tho korn-
brantvin. Nor was this enough. The
christian workers ransacked the far
east for its daintes: perfumes; tho
west Tor its sweetest ilavors. They ex-
tracted the aroma from the peach and
| pear, the incense from the lemon and
orange, the bloom OF the almond and
the SAVIOR OF the cherry. They robbed
the cinnamon tree OF its bark and tho
nutmeg OF its kernel. Then with these
they made delightful liquors which
have gloritied our tables for genera
tons and shall endure until the end OF
all time. Tho modest monks OF La
Trappe produced their masterpiece in
Trapplstine, tho poor Carthnsian friars
flashed upon the world glorious green
and gold chartreuse, aud the princely
order OF St Benedict in tho grand old
abbey OF Fecomp invented benedictino.
the finest drink that ever moistcned
mortal lips.
But why continue? Does it
strengthen tho arguement to all that
creole monk in Louisiana discovered
'Parfait Amour that German pastor
! first dissolved gold in dainty fluid and
/ hristened it Eau do Vie do Dantzig;
that a French friar taught us how to
immortalize the orange in curacoa; how
. provincial priest liqncled the cherry
in maraschino; or how the Spanish
ecclesastic from the sugar cane gave US
Santa Cruz, the rum OF the Holy Cross?
It Ia needless. But it is we'll that in our
joyful libation We so should look back
on on the years and centuries with
gratitude and affection to those humble,
but noble pillars OF the church whose
labors have done so much to tighten,
brighten, and beautify the lives OF all
to-day.
Temperance folk may question
whether tho blessings enumerated by
DR.. Bedloe arc not too thickly disguised,
but the enumeration is none the less
clever ana literary curiosity in its
way.