_Honeymoon._--Among my memoranda I find that, on January 31, 1845, an
accomplished Welsh lady said to me, that the common expression "Honeymoon"
was "probably derived from the old practice in Wales of drinking
_methèglin_ for thirty days after the marriage of a bride and bridegroom. A
_methèglin_ jollification for thirty days among the relatives and friends
of the newly married pair." The _methèglin_ is a fermented liquor, of some
potency, made from honey. The lady asked me, at the same time, if _honey_
was used by the ancient Greeks or Romans in the preparation of a fermented
liquor. I said that I recollected no such use of honey among them, but that
the ancient Greeks seemed to have brewed a _beer_ of some kind from barley
or other grain, as allusion was made to it by Aristophanes. Perhaps this
notice of the "honeymoon" may draw forth some information from your
correspondents who are learned in "folk lore." In the Old Testament there
are many passages alluding to the use of honey, but none of them appear to
indicate its having been employed in making a fermented beverage. Lucretius
alludes to the practice of enticing children to swallow disagreeable
medicine by anointing the edge of the cup with honey.