PARISIAN WINE CYRUS REDDING. 423 



to give a friend, at some future period, a treat : about 

 three weeks after this grand dinner, he invited a 

 friend or two to partake of these superior wines ; but 

 when he drew the corks, he found in the bottles a 

 stinking and ropy composition. He remonstrated 

 with the French wine merchant the Frenchman 

 said, you ordered wine for such a day, was it good ? 

 the answer was, yes ; * well then, said the merchant, 

 that is enough, I did not send you wine for that day 

 three weeks.' The upper classes are also as subject 

 to adulterations and fabrications as the lower." 



While touching on the subject of foreign wines, as 

 an amateur, I feel bound to acknowledge the general 

 public obligations to Mr. Redding's late excellent 

 treatise ; a work which, so far as my experience has 

 hitherto extended, I judge entitled to commendation, 

 as the most comprehensive and replete with solid 

 and curious information, of any hitherto published, 

 British or foreign. He assigns a great superiority, 

 and shows a decided preference to French wines ; but 

 it will doubtless remain a question, whether they be 

 of sufficient substance and corroborative heartening 

 power, so to speak, for winter use, in our moist and 

 chilling climate, and whether any can be found in 

 France, equal, in those material respects, to Port and 

 Madeira? Mr. Redding's chief objection, however, to 

 those, our favourite wines, is the addition of alien 

 alcohol, or spirit, which they contain, whence we con- 

 clude, he does not disapprove them genuine ; and he 

 further recommends a rich and powerful Spanish 

 wine, which hitherto has not been usually, if at 

 all, imported into this country. Surely, if any 



