SHIRAZ WINE. 
707 
the East, called Shiraz ; the Pierian spring of Hafiz, the dele¬ 
terious draught which maddened so many native princes to the 
most horrible crimes, and probably the very wine which inflamed 
the wild passions of Alexander to set fire to the metropolis of 
the empire he had so lately won. But whatever may have been 
the properties of the juice in those days, and the skill of the 
vintner in succeeding ones, since the accession of the present 
royal family, who are particularly strict in obeying the ordinances 
of their prophet, the whole manufacture has fallen into dis¬ 
repute. The culture of the vine itself is comparatively neglected; 
the sorting of the fruit, a delicacy seldom attended to; and the 
apparatus used in the compression, fermentation, &c. of the 
juice, is on so confined a scale that only small quantities of the 
esteemed flavour are obtained. Indeed no wine, under one 
name, possesses such variety of quality; every gradation, from 
a liquid clear as the most brilliant topaz, to a sour and muddy 
syrup. When good, the taste should be a little sweet, accom¬ 
panied with the flavour of dry Madeira, to which, when old, it is 
not at all inferior. The Armenians of the district are the only 
persons who venture the manufacture ; but it is always done in 
secret, sold in secret, and drank so secretly, that a man can 
hardly retire to any place alone, without being suspected of going 
to taste the forbidden cup. For these violations of the law, no 
dispensing power exists amongst the indulgences of the Koran; 
but with regard to breaches of the fasts, the Prophet has been 
more gracious; and it is curious to observe how some of his 
disciples insinuate themselves within the letter of his grant, 
while in their hearts they are conscious of having no real claim 
on the spirit of its indulgence. 
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