A BREWER, in a country town, Had got a monstrous reputation; No other beer but his went down; -- The hosts of the surrounding station Engraved his name upon their mugs, And painted it on every shutter; And though some envious folks would utter Hints, that its flavour came from drugs, Others maintained 'twas no such matter, But owing to his monstrous vat, At least as corpulent as that At Heidelberg -- and some said fatter. His foreman was a lusty Black, An honest fellow; But one who had an ugly knack Of tasting samples as he brewed, Till he was stupefied and mellow. One day, in this top-heavy mood, Having to cross the vat aforesaid, (Just then with boiling beer supplied,) O'ercome with giddiness and qualms, he Reeled -- fell in -- and nothing more said, But in his favourite liquor died, Like Clarence in his butt of Malmsey. In all directions round about The negro absentee was sought; But as no human noddle thought That our Fat Black was now Brown Stout, They settled that the rogue had left The place for debt, or crime or theft. Meanwhile the beer was, day by day, Drawn into casks and sent away, Until the lees flowed thick and thicker; When lo! outstretched upon the ground, Once more their missing friend they found, As they had often done - in liquor. "See!" cried his moralizing master, "I always knew the fellow drank hard, And prophesied some sad disaster; His fate should other tipplers strike: Poor Mungo! there he welters, like A toast at bottom of a tankard!" Next morn a publican, whose tap Had helped to drain the vat so dry, Not having heard of the mishap, Came to demand a fresh supply, Protesting loudly that the last All previous specimens surpassed, Possessing a much richer @3gusto@1 Than formerly it ever used to, And begging, as a special favour, Some more of the exact same flavour. -- "Zounds!" cried the Brewer, "that's a task More difficult to grant than ask: -- Most gladly would I give the smack Of the last beer to the ensuing, But where am I to find a Black, And boil him down at every brewing?" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...NEW LOVE AND OLD by SARA TEASDALE WHAT OF THE DARKNESS?; TO THE HAPPY DEAD PEOPLE by RICHARD THOMAS LE GALLIENNE MEMORY by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS ANDRE by CHARLOTTE FISKE BATES A CHRISTMAS SONG by WILLIAM COX BENNETT INACCESSIBILITY IN THE BATTLEFIELD by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN |