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A Tankard of Ale |
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Sandy Amen !
Basil Wass hael!
Brian
Drinc hael!
THE MONKS OF THE SCREW
By John Philpot Curran (1750-1817)
When St. Patrick this order established,
He called us the " Monks of the Screw ! " Good rules he revealed to our abbot,
To guide us in what we should do. But first he replenished our fountain
With liquor the best from on high, And he said, on the word of a saint,
That the fountain should never run dry.
" Each year, when your octaves approach
In full chapter convened let me find you ; And when to the convent you come,
Leave your favourite temptation behind you. And be not a glass in your convent—
Unless on a festival—found ; And, this rule to enforce, I ordain it
One festival all the year round.
" My brethren be chaste—till you're tempted ; While sober be grave and discreet; And humble your bodies with fasting— As oft as you've nothing to eat.
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