These evening potations rendered a morning's draught generally necessary; but, after that, drinking was again postponed till the day's work was over. The modern system of 'nipping' did obtain to a slight degree, but it was reprehended. 'Whereas Mr. Bickerstaff, by a letter bearing date this twenty fourth of February, has received information that there are in and about the Royal Exchange a sort of people commonly known by the name of WHETTERS, who drink themselves into an intermediate state of being neither drunk nor sober before the hours of Exchange, or business; and in that condition buy and sell stocks, discount notes, and do many other acts of well disposed citizens; this is to give notice, that from this day forward no WHETTER shall be able to give or endorse any note, or execute any other point of Commerce, after the third half pint, before the hour of one; and whoever shall transact any matter or matters with a WHETTER, not being himself of that order, shall be conducted to Moorfields[273] upon the first application of his next of kin.'[274] [Footnote 273: Bedlam.] [Footnote 274: _Tatler_, 138.] The war with France made the French wines somewhat scarcer than they would otherwise have been, and opened a trade for wines from other countries; still the number of prizes taken, laden with clarets, etc., and the efforts of smugglers, kept the market pretty well supplied. The wines seem to have been good, although the Spanish and Portuguese wines were fortified with 'Stum,' a fact well known, especially as to its effects: 'get drunk with Stum'd wine.'[275] The French wines were very numerous--some even unknown to us by their names--comprising Champagne, Burgundy, Frontiniac, Muscat, Anjou, Bouvrie (? Vouvray), Bayonne, Obrian (Hautbrion), Pontack, Claret, Bomas (? Pomard), High Priniac (Preignac), La Fitt, Margouze (Margeaux), La Tour, Graves, Cahorze, Blacart, Monson, Hermitage, Langoon, Bosmes (? Beaumes), Macco (? Macon), Languedoc, and Cap Breton clarets. Their prices were various: ordinary clarets from the wood 4_s._ to 6_s._ per gallon; good bottled clarets from 3_s._ or 4_s._ to 10_s._ a bottle. Champagne came over in baskets or hampers containing ten dozen to two hundred bottles per basket, and was sold retail about 8_s._ a bottle. Good Burgundy cost 7_s._ a bottle, but these prices varied, as they do now, with the quality. [Footnote 275: Shadwell's _Epsom Wells_.]