1892 Drinks of the world

DRINKS.

252

the Tay to correct the bitterness, which, however, does not seem disagreeable to me. " There are three chief virtues in Tay. The first is to cure and prevent headache ; for my part, when I had a headache, by taking Tay, I feh so comforted, that it seemed to draw all my pain away, for the prin- cipal force in Tay is to expel those gross vapours that mount to the head, and inconvenience us. If it is taken after supper, it generally hinders sleep ; yet there are some in whom it causes sleep, because by only expelling the grossest vapours, it leaves those which induce sleep. For myself, I have experienced it often enough, when I have been obliged to sit up all night hearing the confessions of my native Chris- tians, which frequently happened ; I had only to take Tay at the hour when I should have been going to sleep, and I could go all night without wishing for sleep, and next morning I was as fresh as if I had had my usual slumber. I could do this once a week without being incommoded. Once I tried to continue this wakefulness for six consecutive nights, but on the sixth I was quite knocked up. it has a mar- vellous effect in comforting the stomach, and aiding the digestion, so that it is ordinarily drank after dinner, but not generally after supper, if sleep is required. The third thing that Tay does is to purge the reins of gout and gravel, and it is, perhaps, the true reason why these maladies are unknown in these countries, as I have said before." One thing is very certain. Tea would not have *' Tay is not only good for the head ;