THE NEW NECTAR.
[Professor Huxley, at the anniversary meeting of the Royal Society, suggested that in the future imaginative speaking at their dinners might be stimulated by the drinking of liquid oxygen, bien frappé.]
Air—"Take hence the Bowl!"
Take hence the bowl; though beaming
Brightly as bowl e'er shone,
With Fizz sublimely creaming,
Or Port or Zoedone.
There is a new potation
To warm the hearts of men,
And wake imagination—
In Liquid Oxygen!
Each cup I drain, bien frappé,
My tongue pat talk can teach;
It helps to make me happy
In after-dinner speech.
At banquet, or at gala,
I match such mighty men
As Gladstone, Carr, or Sala,
On Liquid Oxygen!
A fig for Mumm or Massio,
Falernian and such fudge;
(Thin stuff those tipples classic
If I am any judge.)
But burning thoughts come o'er me
And fire my tongue, or pen,
When I've a bowl before me
Of Liquid Oxygen!
When fun needs stimulation,
Or fancy fails in fire;
When lags the long oration,
Or tongues postprandial tire;
Then take the tip Huxleyan,
And one long swig,—and then
You'll promptly raise a pæan
To Liquid Oxygen!