The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1897-03-25
DRINKING IN MANY AGES.
An Interesting Lecture on the His
tory of Alcohol.

At the Natural History museum
sity, delivered the first of an interesting
series of popular lectures upon alco-
hol in New York recently. His sub
iect was The History of Alcohol" and
he began by explaining the universal
prevalence of stimulants or narcotic
drugs as showing the universal crav-
ing of mankind for something to hide
the trials and troubles of life. He spoke
briefly about the early beverages of the
ancient Hindoos and Chinese, and then
illustrated the drinking habit of the
ancient Egyptians with curious col
lection of lantern slides. The habits
and customs of ancient Greece came
next, and the worship of the great god
Dionysos, or Bacchus, was illustrated
by some splendid photographs of vases,
statues and bas-reliefs. Their wine
was drunk diluted, never stronger than
half water, and frequently with two,
four and even fifteen parts of the mild
er fluid. Mention was made of the Gu
rious nature of their wines, the admiX
ture of honey and spices, of resin and
turpentine, even of salt water, and the
question of fermented and unferment-
cd wines among them and the ancient
Hebrews. The use of wine among the
more hardy and less civilized Mace
domains was less refined, and the eX
ploits of Philip and his son Alexander
rivaled the tales told by the most ar
dent prohibitionists. At the feast given
by Alexander at the tomb of Cyrus, al
prize was offered for the boldest drink
or, and the victor, Promachus, credited
with IA quarts of wine, died in three
days time from the effects of his de-
bauch, along with some so CT his com
petitors.
Early Rome was described as pain
fully temperate, especially for the fair
sex, who We're sentenced to death for
touching Wine. 1t was sad TO hear that
kissing on the mouth was invented by
the Roman husband to test his wife's
abstinence from the wine casll. Later,
however. after Greece and the east were
conquered, wine flowed freely, and the
early republicans We'd with the subjects
of the early emperors in gross and I'M
bridled drunkenness.
The capacity of the Roman must
have been considera BILE, for a citizen
was hnighted by the emperor Claudius
under tine title of Tricongius, or three
gallon man." such having been a single
Graught of his.
New England came in for touch
from the lecturer. 1t was somewhat
surprising to hear that, in the first call
for supplies sent home by the Ply
mouth bay colonists, the famous APP
peal headed by ministers there were,
along with requests for barley, rye and
wheat for seed, and stores of fruit trees,
petition for "vyne planters and for
"hop-rootes.' The minister, Mr. Hig-
@inson, was duly sent in 1928 and his
ship was furnished with "45 tuns Deere,
tuns canarie, 90 gallons aqua vitae"
and only tuns of water.
The lecture closed with short de-
scription of the last century, char
acterized by the growth and develop
ment of the temperance movement.
Some fine illustrations We're given
from Cruikshank's powerful plates of
"Hhe Bottle" and a comparison OF the
drinking habits of both the educated
and uneducated classes of the present
day as compared with those of + or
even so years ago, showing the great
advance of the present civilization.