It has been the sad reflection of many an one, on wandering in a churchyard and reading the epitaphs of the departed, that certainly the most virtuous and highly-gifted of mankind have already passed {150} away—that is, if the epitaphs are absolutely to be relied on. Mr. Tipper, the Newhaven brewer, who died in 1785, and lies buried in Newhaven Churchyard, is an instance in point. Surely none but himself could have been Mr. Tipper’s parallel. His epitaph runs thus:— Reader! with kind regards this grave survey, Nor heedless pass where Tipper’s ashes lay. Honest he was, ingenuous, blunt and kind, And dared do, what few dare do—speak his mind. Philosophy and History well he knew, Was versed in Physick and in Surgery too. The best old Stingo he both brewed and sold, Nor did one knavish trick to get his gold. He played thro’ life a varied comic part, And knew immortal Hudibras by heart. Reader, in real truth, such was the man, Be better, wiser, laugh more if you can. The last resting place of Mr. Pepper, sometime brewer of Stamford, in Lincolnshire, bears these lines:— Though _hot_ my name, yet mild my nature, I bore good will to every creature; I brew’d good ale and sold it too, And unto each I gave his due. The following lines were composed on a brewer who, becoming too big a man for his trade, retired from business—and died:— Ne’er quarrel with your craft, Nor with your shop dis’gree. He turned his nose up at his Tub And the bucket kicked he. And so the old Brewers are dead and gone, with their virtues and their faults, their troubles and their successes, and the modern Brewers reign in their stead. [Illustration] {151} [Illustration] CHAPTER VII. “The Almaynes with their smale Rhenish wine are contented; but we must have March beere, double beere, dagger ale, and bracket . . .” _Gascoygne’s Delicate Dyet for Daintie-Mouthed Droonkards._ Alum si fit stalum non est malum Beerum si fit clerum est sincerum. _Old Rhyme._ _VARIOUS KINDS OF ALES AND BEERS.—SOME FOREIGN BEERS. — RECEIPTS. — SONGS. — ANECDOTES._ An attempt to describe, or even to specify, all the ales and beers that have gained a local or more wide-spread fame, would be a lengthy task. Nearly every county in England, and nearly every town of any size, has been at one time or another noted for its malt liquors. The renown of some localities has been evanescent, having depended probably upon the special art of some “barmy” brewer or skilful ale-wife, whilst of others it may be said that years only increase their fame and spread their reputation.