the neighbourhood. Perhaps it may have the
effect of making us give an extensive order.

In the introduction to this gorgeous
volume—which has for its motto the
pregnant truth that " Wine is the revealer of
human varieties," revealing also a few of its
own—we read: " In the following pages we
shall take the liberty of offering to your
notice and consideration a few words about
Wine; for it is really astonishing, that while
hundreds of familiar books—from Mrs. Glasse
to Monsieur Soyer—have been written about
domestic cookery, and how to lay out a table,
and bring in courses, and make the removes,
no book has been written to give young
housekeepers an idea of how Wine is to be
purchased, how to be managed when sent
home, what Wines are necessary to accompany
a dinner (and without good Wine a
dinner is worthless) and how to be served;
and we shall hope that these few observations
may be found useful, particularly to
some of our readers, who are just entering
upon that honourable position of becoming
housekeepers; and nothing in domestic
economy tells more of home comfort, and
consequently of home happiness, than the quality
and condition of the Wine, and the manner in
which it is served; and we respectfully
present this little book to you, in the earnest
hope that there will be found in it some hints
that may repay the trouble of perusing it."

A good long sentence this, and penned with
tract-like earnestness: it takes away one's
breath, like a glass of real Glenlivat, of which
we beg to inform the public that Our Wine
Merchant—but this is antlcipation. Having
recovered from its effects, we turn to the
Preface, which, like every separate subject
throughout the work, has its special epigraph.
Here we are treated to that rare one—" In
vino veritas,'' though modern Wine and
old-fashioned truth seldom run in couples. Truth
may live in a well, but she is not often found
in a wine-cellar. Our Wine Merchant begins
his Preface by stating that he has been
intimately acquainted with Saint Joseph's Wood
for between thirty and forty years; that he
has been a resident there for nearly twenty
years; and that during that time the question
has been many hundred times put to
him, " Do you know where we can obtain a
good Bottle of Wine in this neighbourhood,
at a fair price?" to which question he has
been compelled, in the language of sincerity,
to reply that he knows "of none such."

His course, therefore, after a moral struggle
of between thirty and forty years, was
sufficiently obvious. If the mountain won't come
to Mahomet, why, Mahomet must go to the
mountain; and Our Wine Merchant,
impelled solely by a sense of the public necessity,
embraces the following stern resolve:—
"We have determined (of course no persuasion
of friends or relations could keep him
back now) to supply what appeared to us to
be one of the wants of this neighbourhood,
[but, my dear sir, it was the want, as—if you
read this article—you will immediately
discover]; and having premises (of our own)
[that is a great hit], admirably situated for
the purpose, we have had them (at great
expense, &c.) .adapted for a first-rate Wine,
Spirit, and Ale and Beer trade." He adds—
what every one must be certain he would add,
beginning with Roman capitals—that every
article will be "Pure and Genuine, and in no
manner Doctored, Adulterated, or Tampered
with in any way; while the price shall," &c.,
"our only object being," &c., "gain,"
"retain," "firm conviction," " honestly and fairly,"
"intention to make," " establishment,"
"permanence," &c. &c. There! self-devotion on
the one hand and all the advantage on the
other, what can the inhabitants of Saint
Joseph's Wood desire more? Let us hear,
then, of no more complaints; let us also hear
Our Wine Merchant when he departs from
generalities and enters into particulars:—

CHAPTER I.—OF A WINE CELLAR.—Poetry,
"genuine, in no manner doctored," &c.,
introduces this branch of the subject.

        A wine-cellar too hot or cold
        Murders wine before it is old.

Lamenting the fact that builders of modern
houses are in the habit of saying, " Oh, we
can put the wine-cellar and the dust-bin
anywhere," Our Wine Merchant informs us
that he at any rate has not been fobbed off
in so unworthy a manner—he has constructed
a cellar of his own, and thus he describes it:
—" We have had—at very considerable
expense—the whole basement of our premises
excavated into the solid earth; and the best
judges have pronounced that our cellars, for
their size (and they are of considerable size),
are among the most perfect they have seen."
In the most generous spirit he adds:—" Our
cellars are at all times on view to any
respectable person who would wish to see a
large stock of Wines well arranged; and as
access to these cellars are easy, and they are
perfectly clean and of good height, ladies can
view them without inconvenience." A little
superfluous information follows:—In these
cellars our Wines are kept, and will be found
in the most perfect condition when delivered
to our customers; and we feel quite satisfied
that it will be more to their advantage—Wine
from us—moderate quantities—fit for drinking
—rather than," &c. &c.

Our Wine Merchant, who has evidently
travelled, proceeds to tell us, that in Paris
people buy their wine daily, and that the
Wine merchants there send round their carts
for orders, in the same manner as the
butchers and other tradesmen do in England,
with a printed list containing a blank column
to be filled up; and he wishes [there is no
doubt of itj to see this sensible plan followed
in Saint Joseph's Wood. The truck then
would really have something to do.

CHAPTER II.—A WORD OF ADVICE AS TO