"Champagne," says Mr. Redding, in his interesting book, "reached its present perfection and estimation in 1610, at the coronation of Louis XIII. The oldest anecdote which the French possess relative to the excellence of Rheims wine dates as far back as 1397, when Vinceslaus, King of Bohemia and of the Romans, on coming to France to negotiate a treaty with Charles VI., arrived at Rheims, and hav.ng tasted the wine of Champagne - it is to be presumed for the first time - spun out his diplomatic errand to the longest possible moment, and then gave up all that was required of him in order to prolong his stay, getting drunk on Champagne daily before dinner. It is said that Francis I. of France, Pope Leo X., Charles V. of Spain, and Henry VIII. of England had each of them a vineyard at Ay, their own property, and on each vineyard a small house occupied by a superintendent. Thus the genuine article was secured by each sovereign for his own table".

The vineyards on the banks of the Marne produce the best Champagne.

Champagne is divided into sparkling or mousseux, demi-sparkling (cremans or demi-mousseux), and still Champagne or non-monsseux. They are white, straw-coloured, grey, rosy, or red.

Still Champagne is infinitely the best, though not generally preferred in England.

Sillery has no sparkle at all. The wine which froths only slightly is the best.

Ice improves Champagne by diminishing its effervescence. The Champagne which effervesces violently is not the best wine. The best Champagnes are: Sillery (still and dry), Ay (fine effervescing wine, bright in colour), Hautvilliers, Dizy, Epernay " Closet." These are white Champagnes. The Hautvilliers, Dizy, Marenil, and Epernay Closet, which are red Champagnes, are third-class wines.

The use of Champagne for invalids cannot be extolled sufficiently.

The writer has seen cases where its administration has been apparently life-giving. It acts so quickly on the circulation, raises the depressed spirits so gently, and exhilarates without causing any after-reaction, that it cannot be praised enough as a curative agent.

New Champagne glasses, which by means of a hollow stem keep up the effervescence, have been invented for some years, but we prefer the old-fashioned glasses. Rhine wines and Moselle should be drunk out of the thinnest glass it is possible to procure. The glasses sold for Hock are green.

The wines of Champagne, whether still or effervescing, are generally in perfection the third year of bottling; but the best wines gain, rather than lose in delicacy by keeping, up to ten or twenty years.

Though good Champagne is so excellent its imitations or any species of bad Champagne are very deleterious.

English gooseberry wine is a pleasant effervescent wine, but altogether lacks the aromal bouquet of Champagne.