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212

DRINKS.

hostess,

called

in

his

defence,

thus

winds

up

her

evidence,

**

Nay,

I

beseech

you,

give

me

leave

to

speak

to

you

;

if

you

put

him

to

Death,

all

England

is

undone,

for

there

is

not

such

another

in

the

Land

that

can

do

as

he

can

do,

and

hath

done

;

for

he

can

make

a

Cripple

to

go,

he

can

make

a

Coward

to

fight

with a

valiant

Soldier,

nay,

he

can

make

a

good

Soldier

feel

neither

Hunger

or

Cold.

Besides,

for

Valour

in

him-

self,

there

are

few

that

can

encounter

with

him,

for

he

can

pull

down

the

strongest

Man

in

the

World,

and

lay

him

fast

asleep."

Of

course,

the

jury

found

a

verdict

of

Not

Guilty.

Beer

has a

large

literature

of

its

own,

principally

metrical,

but

this

has

pretty

well

been

collected

in

two

books

The

Curiosities

of

Ale

and

Beer,

by

John

Bickerdyke

;

and

In

Praise

of

Ale,

by

W.

T.

Marchant

either

of

which

would

be

a

valuable

ad-

dition

to

any

one's

library.

Yet

in

neither

of

them

have

I

met

with

Ned

Ward's

Dialogue

between

Claret

and

Darby

Ale''

published

1691,

in

which

each

of

the

drinks

speak

for

themselves

;

and,

of

course,

the

arguments

of

ale

are

all

potent

over

his

antagonist.

Space

will

only

allow

of

a

very

short

extract.

"

Darby.

I'm

glad

to

know

you,

High

and

Mighty

Sir

Think

you

your

pompous

empty

Name

could

stir

My

Choler

?

No,

your

Title

makes

me

fear

As

much

as

if

you'd

been

Six

Shilling

Beer.

Claret

Thou

Son

of

Earth,

thou

dull

insipid

thing,

To

level

me,

who

am

of

Liquors

King,