A SEASONABLE BEVERAGE.

Great charm hath tea—some fragrant blend;

Sipped with a fair and festive friend;

And even milk hath flavour, too,

When sun-kissed milkmaids hand it you.

Beer, in a large resounding can,

Befits a coarser type of man,

While some rejoice in spirit pure,

And others in a faked liqueur.

But none of these, nor any wine,

Hath present claim to praise of mine,

Hath e'er produced the gasp and thrill

Of that incomparable swill

When first, from care and toil set free,

I plunge into the summer sea

And bring a mouthful back with me.