ABSTRACT
A sketch of the art of drinking might seem to announce a subject unworthy of a man whose energies have been devoted to earnest purposes and serious aims in life. Among the Germans, too, it has long been customary to settle all business with a drink, and there was no betrothal, no bargain, and no compact that was not accompanied by the purchase of wine. All German history is filled with the love of wine. When the German border-line was first drawn, the Germans insisted on keeping the left bank of the Rhine, on account of its richness in grapes. Only in Germany could be conceived the idea of a history of the art of drinking. The careful law is extended to the very preparation and serving of the viands, and everywhere clips the wings of the art of cooking and of drinking.
