Part 5
_The Art of making a room comfortably warm_, does not consist merely in making a very large Fire in it--but depends as much on the keeping of cold air out--this is best done by _Double Windows_, see page 91, and double Doors,--at least take care that your Sashes fit close,--that the beads of the window frames are tight--stop the aperture between the skirting boards and the floor with putty--and list the Doors.
We suppose it almost needless to say that every room in the house should be thoroughly ventilated[47] by a current of fresh Air--at least once every day, when the weather is not very damp--or cold. By making a Fire accordingly--this may be done almost every Day in the Year.
If You leave the Door open for _Five_ minutes--it will let in more cold air than your Fire can make warm in _Fifteen_--therefore, initiate your Domestics in these first principles of the _Economy of Caloric_,--and when the Weather is cold, caution them to keep Doors shut.
A regular Temperature may be preserved by a simple contrivance attached to a Thermometer, which will open an aperture to admit the external air--when the apartment is heated above the degree desired (_i. e._ about 60 for common constitutions,) and exclude it when it falls below it.
A Room, which is in constant occupation all day--may be occasionally _pumped_ by moving the door backward and forward for several minutes.
We do not advise Invalids to indulge themselves in heating their rooms to a higher temperature[48] than from 60 to 65.--Those who have resided the best part of their Life in warm climates--will like the latter best. While we recommend the Aged and Infirm to be kept comfortably warm--they must at the same time cautiously avoid excess of heat.
When the Thermometer tells them that the external air is under 60,--whether it be in July, or in January,--those who are susceptible of Cold, must tell their Servants to keep a small fire--especially if the Weather be at the same time damp.
Those who, from caprice, or parsimony,--instead of obeying this comfortable and salutary precept, sit shivering and murmuring, and refuse to employ the Coal-merchant, as a substitute for the Sun--may soon spend in Physic, more than they have saved in Fuel.
By raising the temperature of my Room to about 65, taking a full dose of Epsom Salts, and a Broth Diet, and retiring to rest an hour sooner than usual, I have often very speedily got rid of _Colds_, &c.
The following _Plan of Lighting and managing a Fire_, has been attended with great comfort and convenience to myself, (particularly at the beginning and the end of winter, when a very small fire is sufficient), and I think considerable saving of coals.
Fill your Grate with fresh coals quite up to the upper bar but one, then lay in your faggot of wood in the usual manner, rather collected in a mass, than scattered, that a body of concentrated heat may be produced as soon as possible; over the faggot place the cinders of the preceding day--piled up as high as the grate will admit, and placed loosely in rather large fragments--in order that the draft may be free--a bit or two of fresh coal may be added to the cinders when once they are lighted, but no small coal must be thrown on at first, for the reason above stated:--when all is prepared, light the wood, when the cinders becoming in a short time thoroughly ignited--the gas rising from the coals below, which will now be effected by the heat, will take fire as it passes through them, leaving a very small portion of smoke to go up the Chimney.
The advantage of this mode of lighting a fire is, that small coal is better suited to the purpose than large--except a few pieces in front to keep the small from falling out of the Grate--it may be kept in reserve, to be put on afterwards if wanted. I have frequently known my fire lighted at 8 o'clock in the morning, continue burning till 11 at night, without any thing being done to it: when apparently quite out, on being stirred, you have in a few minutes a glowing fire: it will sometimes be necessary to loosen, or stir slightly the upper part of the fire if it begins to cake--but the lower part must not be touched, otherwise it will burn away too soon.
AIR.
Many Invalids are hurried into their Grave--by the indiscreet kindness of their friends forcing them from the comforts of Home--for the sake of Air more abounding with _Oxygen, i. e._ the vivifying part of the atmosphere:--that great benefit is received from what is _called_ change of air is true enough--it is seldom considered that there is also a change in most of the other circumstances of the patient--many, of infinitely more importance, than that which derives all the credit of the Cure.
For instance, if a person living in a confined part of the City--neglecting exercise, harassed all day by the anxieties of Business, and sitting up late at Night, &c. be removed to the tranquillity of rural scenes, which invite him to be almost constantly taking Exercise in the open Air, and retiring to rest at an early hour--and thus, instead of being surrounded by irritations unfavourable to Health, enjoying all the "_jucunda oblivia vitæ_" which are favourable to it--such a Change will often do wonders, and sufficiently account for the miraculous cures attributed to--_Change of Air_.
Chemical Philosophers assert indeed--that a Gallon of the unsavoury Gas from Garlick Hill, gives as high a proportion of _Oxygen_, as the like quantity of the ethereal element of Primrose Hill:--this seems incredible, and must arise either from the imperfection of the _Eudiometer_ giving erroneous results, or from the air being impregnated with matter unfriendly to Health, which the instruments employed to analyze it, have not the power of denoting:--let any one thread the mazes of a crowded city, and walk for the same space of time in a pleasant Country--the animal spirits will soon testify, which is the most exhilarating.
However, people certainly do live long, and enjoy Health, in situations apparently very unfavourable to Animal Life.
Our Omniscient Creator has given to our Lungs, the same faculty of extracting nutriment from various kinds of Air--as the Stomach has from various kinds of Aliment:--the Poor man who feeds on the coarsest food, is supported by it in as sound Health, as the Rich man who fares sumptuously every day.
Well then, in nine cases out of ten, to change the Atmosphere we have been long accustomed to, is as unadvisable as a change in the Food we have been used to--unless other circumstances make it so, than the mere change of Place.
The Opulent Invalid who has been long indulged with a Home arranged to his humour--must beware (especially during any exacerbation of his infirmity) of leaving it--it would be almost as desperate a procedure as to eject an Oyster from his Shells.
EXERCISE.
"By ceaseless action, all that is subsists, Constant rotation of the unwearied wheel That nature rides upon, maintains her health, Her beauty, her fertility. She dreads an instant's pause, And lives but while she moves."--COWPER'S _Task_.
"The wise, for Health on EXERCISE depend; God never made his work for Man to mend."
The more luxuriously you live, the more Exercise[49] you require,--the "_Bon Vivant_" may depend upon the truth of the advice which Sir Charles Scarborough gave to the Duchess of Portsmouth, "You must Eat less,--or take more Exercise[50]--or take Physic,--or be Sick."
Exercise is the grand power to promote the Circulation through the capillary vessels, by which the constitution is preserved from obstructions,--Appetite increased, and Digestion improved in all its stages,--the due distribution of nourishment, invigorates the Nervous System, gives firmness and elasticity to the Muscles, and strength to every part of the System.
Exercise, to have its full effect, must be continued till we feel a sensible degree of _Perspiration_,--(which is the _Panacea for the prevention of Corpulence_)--see page 50--and should, at least once a-day, proceed to the borders of fatigue, but never pass them,--or we shall be weakened instead of strengthened.
Health depends upon perpetual Secretion and Absorption, and Exercise only can produce this.
After Exercise, take care to get cool gradually--when your Head perspires, rub it, and your Face, &c. dry with a cloth:--this is better for the Hair than the best "Bear's Grease," and will beautify the Complexion beyond "_La Cosmétique Royale_," or all the Red and White Olympian Dew that was ever imported.
One of the most important precepts for the preservation of Health, is to take care of _the Skin_[51].
In Winter, the surface of the Body, the Feet, &c. should be washed twice or thrice a Week, with water of the temperature of about 98, and wiped every Day with a wet towel;--_a Tepid Bath_ of the like temperature once a fortnight will also conduce much to both health and comfort. Some advise that the surface of the Body be wiped every morning with a wet sponge, and rubbed dry after, with not too fine a cloth.
WINE.
"Le Vin est l'un des produits de la nature les plus difficiles à juger et à bien choisir: et les plus habiles gourmets sont souvent mis en défaut."--_Manuel du Sommelier_, Paris, 1817, p. 1.
Wine, especially Port, is generally twice spoiled--before it is considered fit to be drank!!!
The _Wine-Maker_ spoils it first, by over-loading it with _Brandy_ to make it keep.--
The _Wine-Drinker_ keeps it till time has not only dissipated the superabundant spirit,--but even until the acetous fermentation begins to be evident,--this, it is the taste now to call "_Flavour_,"--and Wine is not liked, till it has lost so much of its exhilarating power, that you may drink a Pint of it, before receiving that degree of excitement,--which the Wine-drinker requires to make him Happy. We mean a legal PINT containing 16 ounces.
The measure of a BOTTLE OF WINE ought to be as definitive, as that of a POT OF PORTER:--is it not astonishing that the Legislature have not ordered _a Standard and Stamped Quart_, for the Wine-merchant--as they have a Pot for the Publican?
This would be equally as desirable to the respectable Wine-merchant,--as to the Public.
It would protect the former against the injurious competition of those who at present, by vending Wine in Bottles of inferior dimension, impose on the unwary purchaser under pretence of selling at a lower than the Market price.
The purchaser of a Dozen Bottles of Wine expects to receive Three Gallons of Wine.
_Proportions of the Wine Gallon, according to the last London Pharmacopœia_:--
Gallon. Pints. Fluid Ounces. Drachms. Minims or Drops. 1 = 8 = 128 = 1024 = 61,440
There are 32 ounces in a legal wine quart. Multiply by 12 quarts in three gallons. ___ 384 ounces in ditto.
Measure the number of ounces your bottle holds--divide 384 by it, and the quotient will give you the number of such bottles required to contain three gallons of wine.
Some Bottles do not contain more than 26 ounces.
26) 384 (14 Bottles, 1 Pint, and a Quarter. 26 ___ 124 104 ___ 20
_Or,_
Multiply 26, _i. e._ the number of ounces By 12 your bottle will contain. ___ 312 the number of ounces contained in your dozen bottles, which Ought to hold 384 the number of ounces in Subtract 312 Three Gallons. _________ Divide by the number } 32) 72 (2 Quarts and half a Pint of ounces in a Quart,} 64 short of measure. __ 8 ounces.
So, instead of THREE GALLONS--you have only _Two Gallons, one Quart, and a Pint and a half_.
_The Quantity a Bottle will contain_, may easily be accurately ascertained, by LYNES'S _graduated Glass measure_, which holds half a pint, and is divided into ounces, &c.--_it is a convenient vessel to mix_ GROG _in_.
A PIPE OF PORT contains, on the average, 138 Gallons, of which three must be allowed for Lees, &c.--This is enough for waste, if the Wine has been properly fined, and steadily bottled.
A BUTT OF SHERRY contains 130 gallons. MADEIRA, 110 ditto. Hogshead of CLARET, 55 ditto.
It is convenient for small Families to have part of their Wine in _Pint Bottles_.
That Wine is much best when quite fresh opened, is a fact it is needless to observe,--half a Pint of Wine (_i. e._ 8 ounces, _i. e._ 4 ordinary wine-glasses) is as much as most people (who have not spoiled their stomachs by intemperance) require.
The Rage for Superannuated Wine,--is one of the most _ridiculous Vulgar Errors of Modern Epicurism_,--"the Bee's Wing," "thick Crust[52] on the Bottle," "loss of strength, &c." which Wine-fanciers consider the Beauty of their tawny favourite, "fine Old Port,"--are forbidding manifestations of decomposition, and the departure of some of the best qualities of the Wine.
The Age[53] of maturity for exportation from Oporto, is said to be the second year after the Vintage, (probably sometimes not quite so long.)
Our Wine-merchants keep it in Wood from two to six years longer, according to its original strength, &c.--surely this must be long enough to do all that can be done by keeping it--what crude Wine it must be to require even this time to ameliorate it--the necessity for which, must arise either from some error in the original manufacture,--or a false taste, which does not relish it, till Time has changed its original characteristics.
_Ordinary Port_ is a very uncleansed, fretful Wine--and experienced judges have assured us, that _the Best Port_ is rather impoverished than improved, by being kept in Bottle longer than Two[54] Years, _i. e._ supposing it to have been previously from two to four years in the Cask in this Country,--observing, that all that the outrageous advocates for "_vin passé_"--really know about it, is, that SHERRY _is Yellow_,--and PORT _is Black_,--and that if they drink enough of either of them,--it will make them Drunk.
WHITE WINES, especially _Sherry_ and _Madeira_, being more perfectly fermented, and thoroughly fined before they are bottled--if kept in a cellar of uniform temperature, are not so rapidly deteriorated by Age.
_The Temperature of a Good Cellar_ is nearly the same throughout the year. _Double Doors_ help to preserve this. It must be dry, and be kept as clean as possible.
_The Art of preserving Wines_, is to keep them from fretting, which is done by keeping them in the same degree of heat, and careful Corking[55]. "If persons wish to preserve the fine flavour of their Wines, they ought _on no account_ to permit any Bacon, Cheese, Onions, Potatoes, or Cider, in their wine-cellars. Or, if there be any disagreeable stench in the Cellar, the wine will indubitably imbibe it; consequently, instead of being fragrant and charming to the nose and palate, it will be extremely disagreeable."--CARNELL _on Wine Making_, 8vo. 1814, p. 124. See also _Manuel du Sommelier, par A. Jullien_, Paris, 1817.
That MADEIRA (if properly matured before) improves in quality by being carried to the _East Indies_ and back, by which Voyage it loses from 8 to 10 Gallons,--or to the _West_, by which about 5 are wasted[56],--however these round-about manœuvres may tickle the fancy of those folks who cannot relish any thing that is not far-fetched, dear-bought, and hard to be had, and to whom rarity is the "_sine qua non_" of recommendation--it is one of those inconvenient prejudices, from which common sense preserve us!
The Vulgar objection to _New Wine_--(by which we mean Wine that has been maturing in Wood two years in Portugal--two in England--and in Bottle more than twelve months), is, that its exhilarating qualities are too abundant, and intoxicate in too small a dose--those "_Bons Vivants_," to whom "the Bottle, the Sun of the table," and who are not in the habit of crying to go home to Bed while they can see it shining,--require Wines weaker than those which are usually imported from Spain and Portugal,--however PORT and SHERRY may be easily reduced to the standard desired by the long-sitter,--"_paululum aceti acetosi_," will give the Acid Goût,--"_aqua pura_" will subdue their Spirit "_ad libitum_,"--and produce _an imitation of the flavour acquired by Age, extempore_--and You can thus very easily make fine fruity nutritious new Wine,--as Light,--and as Old[57],--and as Poor, as you please--and fit it exactly to your customer's palate, whether "_Massa drinky for Drinky,--or drinky for Drunky Massa._"
_To ameliorate very new, or very old Wine_--mix a bottle of the one with a bottle of the other--or to a bottle of very old Port add a glass or two of good new Claret--to very new, a glass of Sherry.
Of all our Senses,--_the Taste_, especially for Liquids, is the most sophisticated Slave of Habit--"De gustibus, non est disputandum."
The Astringent matter, and Alcohol--which render PORT WINE the prop of an Englishman's Heart--are intolerable to the palate of an Italian, or Frenchman.--But a Stomach which has been accustomed to be wound up by the double stimulus of Astringents, and Alcohol also,--will not be content with the latter only,--especially if that be in less quantity--as it is in the _Italian and French Wines_; which, therefore, for the generality of Englishmen, are insufficiently excitant.
He who has been in the habit of drinking PORTER at Dinner,--and PORT after--will feel uncomfortable with _Home-brewed Ale_, and _Claret_.
Mr. ACCUM, the chemist, analyzed for the Editor, some PORT and SHERRY of the finest quality--the PORT[58] yielded 20 per cent--and the SHERRY 19-25 per cent, of ALCOHOL of 825 specific gravity--_i. e._ the strongest Spirit of Wine that can be drawn, full double the strength of BRANDY, which seldom has 40 per Cent, and common GIN[59] not more than 30--or 25.
Some people have a notion that if they go to the Docks, they can purchase a Pipe of Wine for twenty pounds less, than they must pay to a regular Wine Merchant--and, moreover, have it _neat as imported_--as if all Wines of the same _Name_, were of the same Quality.
PORT _varies at Oporto in quality and price as much as_ PORTER _does in London_--it is needless to say how difficult it is to obtain the best Beer at any price--it is quite as difficult to obtain the best Port Wine at Oporto, where the very superior wine is all bought up at a proportionately high price by the agents for the London Wine Merchants.
BRANDIES and WINES _vary in quality quite as much as they do in Price_: not less than twenty pounds per Pipe in the country where they are made.
The only way to obtain genuine wholesome liquor, is to apply to a respectable Wine Merchant--and beg of him to send you the best wine at the regular market price.
If you are particular about the Quality of what you buy--the less You ask about the price of it the better--if you are not, bargain as hard as you please.
The Editor buys his _Wines_ of Messrs. DANVERS and CLARKE, No. 122, Upper Thames Street; his _Brandy and Liqueurs_[60] of Messrs. JOHNSON, in Pall Mall; and his _Spirits_, &c. of Mr. RICKARDS, Piccadilly.
_A Moral and Physical Thermometer; or, a Scale of the Progress of Temperance and Intemperance, by_ J. C. LETTSOM, M. D.
LIQUORS, _with their_ EFFECTS, _in their usual Order_.
TEMPERANCE.
70-|-| WATER. } { Health, Wealth, |-| } { |-| } { |-| } { Serenity of Mind, |-| } { 60-|-| Milk and Water. } { |-| } { Reputation, long Life, |-| } { and |-| } { |-| } { Happiness. 50-|-| Small Beer. } { |-| } { |-| } { |-| } { |-| } { 40-|-| Cyder and Perry. } { Cheerfulness, |-| } { |-| } { |-| } { |-| } { Strength, and 30-|-| Wine. } { |-| } { |-| } { |-| } { Nourishment, when taken |-| } { 20-|-| Porter. } { |-| } { only at Meals, and in |-| } { |-| } { |-| } { moderate Quantities. 10-|-| Strong Beer. } { |-| |-| |-| |-| 0-|-| INTEMPERANCE. |-| |-| |-| }{ VICES. }{ DISEASES. }{PUNISHMENTS. |-| }{ }{ }{ 10-|-|Punch. }{Idleness. }{Sickness, }{ |-| }{ }{Puking, and }{ |-| }{ }{Tremors of the }{Debt. |-| }{Peevishness.}{ Hands in the }{ |-| }{ }{ Morning. }{ 20-|-|Toddy and Crank.}{ }{ }{Black Eye. |-| }{ }{ }{ |-| }{Quarrelling.}{Bloatedness. }{ |-| }{ }{ }{ |-|{Grog, and }{ }{Inflamed Eyes. }{ 30-|-|{Brandy and }{Fighting. }{ }{Rags. |-|{Water. }{ }{Red Nose and Face. }{ |-| }{Lying. }{Sore and swelled }{Hunger. |-| }{ }{ Legs. }{ |-| }{ }{ }{ 40-|-|Flip and Shrub. }{Swearing. }{Jaundice. }{Hospital. |-| }{ }{ }{ |-| }{ }{ }{ |-|{Bitters infused}{Obscenity. }{Pains in the Limbs,}{Poor-house. |-|{in Spirits. }{ }{ and burning in }{ 50-|-|{Usquebaugh. }{Swindling. }{ the Palms of the }{ |-|{Hystericwater. }{ }{ Hands, and Soles }{Jail. |-| }{ }{ of the Feet. }{ |-|{Gin, Anniseed, }{Perjury. }{Dropsy. }{Whipping. |-|{Brandy, }{ }{Epilepsy. }{ 60-|-|{Rum, and }{Burglary. }{Melancholy. }{The Hulks. |-|{Whisky in the }{ }{Madness. }{ |-|{_Morning_. }{ }{Palsy. }{Botany Bay. |-| }{Murder. }{Apoplexy. }{ |-|{Do, during }{ }{ }{ 70-|-|{the _Day and_ }{ }{ }{ |-|{_Night_. }{Suicide. }{DEATH. }{GALLOWS.
_Those who drink Wine[61], &c. for the purpose it was given_, as a Cordial, to cheer the Circulation, when it falters from Fatigue, Age, or profuse Evacuations of any kind, "for the Stomach's sake," as St. Paul recommends it, and for our "often infirmities" as a medicine--will understand, that of all the ways of saving, to run any risk of buying inferior Wine, is the most ridiculously unwise Economy.