George Warwick

“ It was written that all men should drink.
Not water or milk, but the strongest of schnapps;
Such as Dutchmen for ages have used for night caps.
The schnapps flowed in rivers. Each man could afford
Every day in the year to get drunk as a lord.
The schnapps it cost nothing on land or on sea,
And says Schneider Von Groot, “it’s the country for me.
I’ll never get sober, but always keep tight,
And I’ll drink like a fish from the morning till night.” ”

“ But gently and peacefully sank into rest,
And enjoyed for the time the sweet sleep of the blest.{2}
He was soon into dreamland, and the first thing he saw
Was a queer little elf with a book of the law. ”

“ And Von said to himself, “now, it really don’t seem
What I’ve passed through to-night can be only a dream.”
The soft Christmas chimes then rang out loud and clear,
Like a sweet benediction saying “be of good cheer;
Be a man, drink no schnapps, and go home to your wife—
Stick to water, my boy, for the rest of your life.
The little green imps that you saw here last night
Were all made of schnapps and I hope that the fright
That they gave you will save you for ever and aye.”
“Oh, yes,” says Von Schneider, “to schnapps now good-bye.{6}”
He rose from the bank ”