1872 Cooling Cups and Dainty Drinks (Mixellany)

ALE AND BEER.

Inspiring bold John Barleycorn, What dangers thou canst make us scorn!

BEER is a liquor of great antiquity. The origin of the art of brewing is ascribed by Herodotus to Isis, the excellent wife of Osiris, King of Egypt. " It was Isis who chose the ox as her type, on account of its usefulness in agriculture; from hence the Egyptians fancied the soul after her death animated the ox, and, impelled by this idea, they exalted that useful animal to the rank of a deity/' The statues of Isis represent her with the body of a woman and head of an ox. Putting aside as pure]y fabulous this notion of Herodotus, it is certain, at all events, that beer was the favourite beverage of the ancient Egyptians—the soil and climate not permitting