in this red Sea of Claret; and what Crowds
are there, now creeping by this way alone, into Stone and Gout,
Rheumatisms, Palsies and Dropsies; after having by their Love of the
Bottle, exchang'd their Youth and their Strength, not for a short and a
merry Life, but a short and a miserable one.

PRIOR. It is a terrible Thing to consider, if half the Money paid for
_French_ Wine, was laid out in Building and Planting here, what a
Garden they wou'd make of this whole Island; and instead of this, they
make the Bottle the Business of their Lives, and sacrifice to this
noble Passion, I will not say their Country, (for that no body minds)
but their Healths and their Fortunes as readily as their Reason. It is
odd to me, Mr. _Dean_, if we must use foreign Wines, why we do not make
those of _Portugal_, _Spain_, _Italy_ and _Sicily_, cheap by low
Duties, and the _French_ twice as dear by high ones; for by this means,
we cou'd get Drunk with the Loss of less Time, and Health, and Money.
If even such a Tax was laid on it, as would make its Consumption less
general, and hinder the poorer part of our People, from being ruin'd by
the dreadful Affectation, of drinking like the Men of Figure and
Fashion, it wou'd be an excellent Method; and above all if the
additional Taxes, were appropriated to extend the Linen Manufacture
thro' the Southern Provinces. This wou'd soon enrich us, and impoverish
at the same Time, the great Enemy to the repose of _Europe_; for 'tis
by her Wines and our Money chiefly, that _France_ has been enabled, to
soar towards Universal Monarchy, and if this Feather was pluck'd from
her, she wou'd soon shorten her Flights, and droop her Wings.

SWIFT. You think extravagantly and wildly! You cheat yourself like most
Projectors, with your own Dreams, and your Expectations are suited only
to Citizens, who live and act, _Tanquam in Republica Platonis_. Can you
be so absurd as to hope, that Men in these Days, and in Manners like
ours, shou'd listen to Reason; and think our own Beer, Ale, Cyder, Mead
and home Wines, fittest and best for themselves, their Friends and
their Families? Can you imagine that this Age of Intemperance and
Luxury, will think a while of these important Truths, instead of
pleasing their Palates, and driving off that heavy Load, their Time,
with the Roar of Jollity and Riot? Is it to be expected that good
Fellows and Pot Companions, will be influenced by a Regard for the
Welfare of _Ireland_, when they