And Amycus was dazzled with the light;
But raging, rushed straight forward to the fight,
Aiming fierce blows; but wary Pollux met him
Striking the chin of his vast opposite,

Who fiercer battled, for the sun did fret him,
And leaning forward tried unto the ground to get him.

Shouted the Bebryces; and, for they feared

The man like Tityus might their friend down-weigh
In the scant place, the heroes Pollux cheered;

But shifting here and there Jove's son made play,
And struck out right and left, but kept away
From the fierce rush of Neptune's son uncouth,
Who, drunk with blows, reeled in the hot affray,
Out-spitting purple blood; the princely youth
Shouted, when they beheld his battered jaws and mouth.

His eyes were nearly closed in the contusion
Of his swollen face; the prince amazed him more
With many feints, and, seeing his confusion,
Mid-front he struck a heavy blow and sore,
And to the bone his forehead gashing tore;
Instant he fell, and at his length he lay

On the green leaves; but fiercely as before,
On his uprising, they renewed the fray,
Aiming terrific blows, as with intent to slay.

But the Bebrycian champion strove to place
His blows upon the broad breast of his foe,
Who ceaselessly disfigured all his face;
His flesh with sweating shrunk, that he did show,
From huge, but small; but larger seemed to grow
The limbs of Pollux, and of fresher hue

The more he toiled; Muse! for 'tis thine to know,
And mine to give interpretation true,

Tell how the son of Zeus, that mighty bulk o'erthrew.

Aiming at something great, the big Bebrycian,
The left of Pollux with his left hand caught,
Obliquely leaning not from his position,

And from his flank his huge right hand he brought

And had he hit him would have surely wrought
Pollux much damage; but escape he found,
Stooping his head, and smote him quick as thought.
On the left temple; from the gaping wound

A bubbling gush of gore out-spurted on the ground.

Right on his mouth his left hand then he dashed;
Rattled his teeth; and with a quicker hail

Of blows he smote him, till his cheek he smashed;
Stretched out he lay; his senses all did fail,
Save that he owned the other did prevail

By holding up his hands; nor thou didst claim
The forfeit, Pollux, taking of him bail

Of a great oath in his own father's name,

Strangers to harm no more with word or deed of shame.

The other volume entitled Hebrew Idyls and Dramas contains some exquisite pieces, full of true poetry and deep reverential feeling. With the greater freedom his subjects allow him, Dr. Chapman displays more variety of phraseology and versification than in his book of translations. As in instance of wonderful power of language and a complete nastery of the subtleties of rhyme, we may point to his poem of Judith, which displays curiosities and felicities of rhyme never excelled by Byron himself.

Report on the Cheap Wines from France, Italy, Austria, Greece, and Hungary; their quality, wholesomeness, and price, and their use in diet and medicine. By ROBERT DRUITT, M.R.C.P.

Wine, the Vine, and the Cellar. By THOMAS GEOrge Shaw.

DR. DRUITT's book has been a "sensation" and a success. It has gone far to revolutionise wine-drinking and wineselling. The hitherto unfamiliar names of Beaune, and

Beaujolais, and Keffesia, and Ofner are on wellnigh every lip and on every vintner's price-list. The racy style, the vigour of genial life which breathes in every page, conjoined with the store of forgotten facts revived and reillumined, give to the book its well-merited influence. Its onesidedness is too palpable to cause much error; while its positive teaching is of indubitable value.

We have no intention of reviewing in detail a book that is in everybody's hand. But we propose to use its contents as a peg whereon to hang some remarks on wine and wines, regarded from our own point of view. In doing so, we are much aided by the second work cited above. It is a chatty volume by an old wine merchant on the subject-matter of his daily life, and abounds in curious and authentic facts.

First, then, what is wine? The definition is ready to hand-wine is the fermented juice of the grape. But it requires some little consideration to realise all that is embodied in this definition. To begin with, its exclusive power is very great. Not only are malt liquors, distilled spirits, liqueurs, and such drinks as cider, perry, and mead put out of the category; but the whole tribe of "home-made wines," except of course those made from grapes, are forbidden to usurp the lofty name; for, though fermented, they are not the juice of the grape. Again, such wines as Tent, Malaga,

Paxarette, and most of what is sold as "Constantia" are

excluded; for these are simply unfermented grape-juice preserved by the addition of spirit, and sweetened. Nay, the definition cuts deeper still; for, if wine be fermented grape-juice, then just so far as fermentation is imperfect, so far is a wine less truly vinous. Hence, Port, Sherry, Madeira, and other wines of this class must-as to vinous character-be ranked below those of the Claret and Burgundy type.

But although our definition is impregnable, like all definitions it requires amplification. If wine be nothing but the fermented juice of the grape, then wherever grapes can ripen we ought to have wine; and the best wine ought to come from the sunniest climes; and all wines ought to be very much like one another, save where a peculiar kind of grape

-as the Muscat-gives them origin. How is it, then, that there are so many and such differing varieties of wine? and that only a few countries furnish this production? and of these, so few and small districts are renowned for their produce?

Well, the facts of the case are not altogether what these questions assume them to be. All countries where the grape can grow and ripen do produce wine. Besides the familiar productions of Spain and Portugal, of Sicily and Madeira, of France and Germany, we now know the wines of Italy, Greece, Hungary, and Austria, to say nothing of South Africa, Australia, and America. Again, wine is made in other parts of the countries producing it, than those best known to us. When we speak of “French wines," we think only of the produce of the Médoc, the Côte d'Or, and Champagne. But besides these classic localities there is hardly a province of southern and eastern France which does not send wine to the market. Vast quantities come from the banks of the Garonne, as it flows through Poitou, Guienne, and Gascony. Roussillon sends

us the port-like wine known by its name. As we ascend towards Burgundy, we pass by Beaujolais, Macon, and Beaune, each producing a wine peculiar to itself; while Burgundy and Champagne are flanked by the Rhone, from whose banks lower down comes the well-known Hermitage. In like manner it is with other countries. Oporto and Xeres, the Rhine and the Moselle, are not the only localities in Portugal, and Spain, and Germany, where grapes are grown and wine produced. Every part of the country has its own native growth from whose produce it makes wine for itself.

The distinction lies, not in the fact of production, but in the care taken with the making. To make and preserve good wine is an art of the utmost refinement, requiring endless thought and attention. People in general will not take this trouble, and are content to drink their own wines, without making them attractive to others. The little tracts of land whence come Claret and Burgundy, Port and Sherry, Champagne and Madeira, Hock and Moselle are

just exceptions to this statement. Here wine is not simply produced; it is made. The closest attention is paid to vines and wine, by men who make it their daily work and the study of a life-time. Hence the reputation of the produce of these districts. No advantage of soil or climate can compensate for the absence of this care. The wines of sunny Italy are not to be compared with those of the barren Médoc or the northern Rhine.

These are not so

Then, as to differences between wines. great as may at first appear. The only division of importance is that which separates red from white wines. It should be known that this difference is caused, not by the use of black and white grapes respectively, but by the addition in the case of red wines of the skins (and sometimes stalks) to the juice in the fermenting vat. Hence the astringency of red wines; from which white wines, which are made from the juice only, are free. The only permissible sub-division is based upon the different degrees of "body" recognised among red and white wines. Thus, taking Claret and Burgundy as our types of the red, and Sauterne and Sherry as those of the white, we may range the best known wines in the following classes.

I. RED.

1. Claret.-Red Hermitage, from the Rhone.
Red Mount Hymettus,

Red Keffesia, and

Santorin, from Greece.

Carlowitz and

Vizontaere, from Hungary.

Lachryma Christi and

Barbera, from Italy.

2. Burgundy.-Port, from Portugal.

Roussillon, from southern France.
Beaujolais, from the Rhone.

Ofner and

Erlauer, from Hungary.

Champagne, for instance, is nearly always made from black grapes.