"Date nobis de cerevisia vestra; quia sitiunt guttura nostra"—"Give us of your beer; our throats are dry."
Then followed the psalm—
"Brother to brother spoke these words: shall two goblets of beer quench man's thirst?"
"Two, three, five, six are not enough for man's satiety."
"Blessed be Bacchus, who gave us beer."
Then followed the Capitulum.
"Brethren, attend, and do as I command ye. Before ye leave the ale-house for your own homes empty all the pots, leave not a drop therein, but tilt them and drain every drop of wine. This do from goblet to goblet. Stramen."
The countess felt, as she listened to this profanity, what a damned soul must experience when for the first time it consorts with devils. But now a hellish chorus broke forth of men's and women's voices, yelling out a parody of a hymn—
"Bacchus, who gave us drink,
Art thou not called the god of liquor?
Grant us all the holy grace,
Strength to drink in every place,
So that, drinking everywhere,
We for glory may prepare
In thy everlasting wine-cellar."
This was followed by the ringing of the bell, and the priest's voice intoned the blessing.