ALE 



na^cil, its fermentation h not fo capable of bcin^ rendered 

 fo complete and perfcA aa that of wine. In moil ales there 

 Vi pnibably a Iarg<- portion of iinafTiniilirted faiinnceous mat- 

 ter, which of courfe renders ales more noiirifliing than 

 wines, and they arc, ctteris paribus, more liable to acefctncy 

 in tlie tlomavih than wines. It has been commonly fup- 

 pnfcJ, that the vifcidlty of worts is never entirely coneftcd 

 bv the fermentation ; ■•iid therefore that ales are more apt 

 tlian wines to fill the velTcls of the human body with vifcid 

 fluids ; but Dr. Cullcn thinks that this circumftance de- 

 ferves little attention, as it is probable that the power of 

 the gallric fluid, and of the fermentation which happens m 

 the ftomach and intellines, reduces the whole nearly to an 

 equality in refped of fluidity. Cullen's Mat. Med. vol. i. 

 p. 4i8i Sec. 



Alk, cfrtv'ifta, is alfo a denomination given to divers me- 

 dicated liquors, or diet-drinks, of which ale is the bafis or 

 vehicle. The medicated ales make a large article in our 

 old difpenfatorics. Such are the cere-u'ifia oxydorica, for the 

 eyes ; ccrevifui anlt-artbitica, againil the gout ; cerevifia cc- 

 phalicn, for the head ; crn-'j'ifia epileptka, &c. 



Ale, gill, is prepared by iafufmg the diy leaves of gill 

 or ground-ivy, in malt-liquor ; which hereby becomes 

 impregnated with the virtues of that fimple ; and is there- 

 fore reputed abfterfive and vulnerary, good in diforders of 

 the breaft, and againft obllruttions of the vifcera. 



Ale, J)r. Butler's purging, is prepared of polopody, 

 fena, farfaparilla, anifecds, fcurvy-grafs, agrimony, and 

 maiden-hair, put up in a bag, and hung in a vcffel of ale. 



We alfo meet in fonie difpenfatories with fyrup of ale, 

 made by boiling that liquor to a confidence ; which has been 

 ufed againft obilruftions in the kidneys, and the fluor albus. 

 A.LY.-bcer. See Beer. 



Ale-berry, is ale boiled with bread and mace ; fweet- 

 ened, ilrained, and drunk hot. 



Ale-conner, an officer in the city of London, whofe bii- 

 finefs is to infpecl the meafures of the public houfes. There 

 are four of them : and they are chofen by the com.mou-hall of 

 the city. 



A.Li.-houfes muft be licenfed by jufticcs of the peace, who 

 take recogniKances of the perfcns licenied, viz. lo/. each, 

 and of their fureties, 5 /. each, that they will not fuffer un- 

 lawful gaming, nor other diforderly practices in their houfes. 

 By 35 Geo. III. c. 113. eveiy perfon, excepting thofe 

 who fell ale in fairs, who (hall fell by retail ale or beer with- 

 out licence, is liable to a penalty of 20/. for the firft of- 

 fence, and for the fecond fr.all moreover be incapable of be- 

 ing afterwards licenfed to keep an alehoufe, with all coils. 

 Tiie licence is granted on the firft of September, or within 

 twenty days after, at a generalmeeting of the juftices for the 

 divifion to which he belongs, upon his producing a certificate 

 to his charafter, unlefs, by living in a citv or town-corporate, 

 this laft circumftance is dilpenfed with, and continues in force 

 for one year only. Ale-houfe keepers, felling ale in (hort 

 meafure, are liable to a penalty not exceeding 40X. and not 

 lefs than los. and hkewife to a fine of ioj-. for permitting tip- 

 ling, S:c. 26 Geo. II. c. 41. 29Geo. II. c. 12. 5 Geo. III. 

 c. 46. 30 Geo. III. c. 38. and 32 Geo. III. c. 59. By the 

 laft aft no perfon can fell wine by retail to be drank in his 

 own houfe, who has not an ale-licence. 

 AhU-mcafure. See Measure. 



Ai.r -filvfr, a rent, or tribute, yearly paid to the lord- 

 mayor of London, by thofe who feU ale within the city. 



ALE-/i7/?cr,isan officer appointed and fworn,in every court- 

 leet, to take heed that there be a due fize, and goodnefs of 

 bread, ale, and beer, fold within the jurifdiftion of the leet. 



Ale is ufed by fome of our ancient Engliffi writers, and 

 partieularly in compofition with other words, for feftival. 



ALE 



Thus, bridal or bride -ale is the feaft in honour of the bride 

 or marriiige ; lect-ale in fome parts of England denotes 

 the dinner at a court-leet of a manor for the jury and 

 cuftomary tenants ; lamb-ale is ufed for an annual feaft at 

 lamb-diearing ; Whitfun-ale is the name by which in the 

 midland counties the rural fports and feaftingat Whitfuntide 

 are denominated ; and church-ale was a feaft eftabliflied for 

 the repair of the church, or in honour of the church-faint, &c. 

 See Warton's Hill, of Englilli Poetry, vol. iii. p. 128. 



Chunh-nles, as they are defcribed by Pierce, bilhop of 

 Bath and Wells, in his anfwcr to the inquiries of archbilhop 

 Laud, are when the people go from afternoon-prayers on 

 Sundays to their lawful fpoits and paftinies in the church- 

 yard, or in the neighbourhood, or in fome public-houfe, where 

 they drink and make merry. By the benevolence of the peo- 

 ple at thefe paftimes many poor paridies have caft their bells, 

 and beautified their churches, and railed ftock for the 



Clerl-alcs, or lefler church-ales, were fo called becaufe they 

 were for the better maintenance of the parifa clerk ; and 

 there is great reafon for them, fays his lordihip, for in poor 

 countiy pariflies, where the wages of the clerk are but fmall, 

 the people thinking it unfit that the clerk fhould duly attend 

 at church, and not gain by his office, fend him in provifion, 

 and then come on Sundays and feaft with him, by which 

 means he fells more ale, and taftes more of the liberality of 

 the people, than their quarterly payment would amount to 

 in many years ; and fince thefe have been put down, many 

 minifters have complained to me, fays his lordfhip, that they 

 are afraid they ftiall have no parifh clerks. A b'nl-ale is when 

 a poor man, decayed in his lubftance, is let up again by the 

 liberal benevolence and contribution of his friends at ■". Sun- 

 day's feall. The people were fond of thefe recreations, and 

 the biftiop recommends them, as bringing the people more 

 wiUingly to church, as tending to civilize them, and to com- 

 pofe diff'erenccs am^ong them, and as ferving to increafe love 

 and unity. But the juftices of the peace were of a diff"erent 

 opinion, and figned a petition to the king, in which they de- 

 clare that thefe revels had not only introduced a great profa- 

 nation of the Lord's day, but riotous tipling, contempt of 

 authority, quarrels, murders, &c. and were very prejudicial 

 to the peace, plenty, and good government of the country, 

 and therefore they pray that they might be fuppreffed. 

 Two judges in the weilern circuit, in 1653, made an order 

 for fuppreffing them ; but Laud complained to king Charles I. 

 of their invading the epifcopal juriidiftion, and they were 

 fummoned before the council, reprimanded, and injoined to 

 revoke this order at the next affizes, Ncal's Hift. Puritans, 

 vol. i. p. 567, 4to. 



ALEA, m Roman Antiquity, fignifies, in general, games of ^i 

 chance. They svere forbidden by the Cornelian, Publician, J' 

 and Titian laws, except in the month of December. Hor. 

 Od. iii. 24. 58. Martial, iv. 14. v. 85. xiv. i. Thefe 

 laws, however, were not ftridlly obferved. The character n 

 of gamefters, ahatores or ahones, was held infamous. Ciccr. " 

 Cat. ii. 10. Pliny, ii. 27. 



Ale A, in a more limited fenfe, is applied by Roman writers 

 to a particular game played with dice, in a pair of tables, 

 fomewhat alter the manner of our back-gammon, or trictrac. 

 Inftead of our men, they played with white and black ftones, 

 which were moved this way or that, ar, the dice direfted. 



Alea in this fenfe appears to have been the fame game with 

 what the Greeks called /)frti« and chivia ; the Romans I'ome- 

 times tabula, tejfara, and YAl. fcripla. 



Alea, the fumamc of Minerva, given to her by Aleus king 

 of Arcadia. 



Alea, in Ancient Geography, a town of Arcadia, fouth- 

 eaft of Stymphalus. It was founded by Aleus, and had 



three 



