Explore "Drinking Dirge" by Hilaire Belloc on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
A thousand years ago I used to dine / In houses where they gave me such regale / Of dear companionship and comrades fine / That out I went alone beyond the pale; / And riding, laughed and dared the skies malign / To show me all the undiscovered tale -- / But my philosophy's no more divine, / I put my pleasure in a pint of ale.
And you, my friends, oh! pleasant friends of mine, / Who leave me now alone, without avail, / On Californian hills you gave me wine, / You gave me cider-drink in Longuevaille; / If after many years you come to pine / For comradeship that is an ancient tale -- / You'll find me drinking beer in Dead Man's Chine.