O2 MEMOIR OF DRURY. 



of gardening ; and amused himself by fishing in the 

 river Lea, and the adjoining ]^ew River. But his 

 favourite amusement for some years consisted of 

 making wines from various kinds of fruits, and 

 attempting experiments in distillation. An entire 

 memorandum book is filled with notices of the 

 qualities of his different wines, and some of them 

 are not a little amusing. His taste seems to have 

 been somewhat fastidious, a quality it probably 

 owed to his being a member of the worshipful cor- 

 poration of Goldsmiths, and not unacquainted with 

 the festivities of Guildhall and the Mansion House. 

 The following entry will suffice as an example. 

 " October 1. Memorandum. Examined the wines. 

 Those made this year are very good, both white 

 and red. The white which is in the nine gallon 

 cask, to which I put four pounds and a half of sugar 

 (see Sept. 15), is very good, but I think is tending 

 to have the flat twang. Time will show whether 

 it will increase. The same wine in the small five 

 gallon rundlet has lost its sweetness considerably. 

 It is therefore evident that two pounds and a half 

 of sugar to the gallon is not enough ; it should be 

 three pounds. The red currant wine is also very 

 good. That in the ten gallon cask will be exceeding 

 good. It wants nothing but age. The same wine 

 in the five gallon rundlet is also very nice and good : 

 therefore all these wines I stopped down very close, 

 and intend to let them remain so till I bottle them 

 off. I fully intended to day to have put some pul- 

 verised clay in order to fine them^ but upon tasting 



