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At a good teetotal rate,
With a little, nice teetotal wife
To render sweet the state
Of this real staunch teetotaler
One of the present time.
He used to beat his weeping wife,
And spend his hard earned gains
In buying whiskey, ale and wine
To stupefy his brains;
His coat was out at elbows,
And his hat without a crown;
In short he was a common pest–
The nuisance of the town,
Before he turned teetotaler–
One of the present time.
But now so happy is his home;
So nicely is he drest-
He never beats his little wife,
But clasps her to his breast;
And if a tear is
in
her eye,
It is for joy that he
Left off his wicked drunkenness,
And turned out to be
A real staunch teetotaler–
One of the present time.
Penny Song Book,
1860.
[
~2]
.,