Sentence:  For as this is the liquor of modern historians, nay, perhaps their muse, if we may believe the opinion of Butler, who attributes inspiration to ale, it ought likewise to be the <WSD>potation</WSD> of their readers, since every book ought to be read with the same spirit and in the same manner as it is writ. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A drink, especially an alcoholic beverage.