Clerk. ‘Kiss the horn, sir!’
You shall never drink brandy when wine you can get,
Say when good port or sherry is handy;
Unless that your taste on spirit is set,
In which case—you may, sir, drink brandy!
Clerk. ‘Kiss the horn, sir!’
To kiss with the maid when the mistress is kind,
Remember that you must be loth, sir;
But if the maid’s fairest, your oath doesn’t bind,—
Or you may, if you like it, kiss both, sir!
Clerk. ‘Kiss the horn, sir!’
Should you ever return, take this oath here again,
Like a man of good sense, leal and true, sir;
And be sure to bring with you some more merry men,
That they on the horn may swear too, sir.
Landlord. Now, sir, if you please, sign your name in that book, and if you can’t write, make your mark, and the clerk of the court will attest it.
Here one of the above requests is complied with.
Landlord. You will please pay half-a-crown for court fees, and what you please to the clerk.
This necessary ceremony being gone through, the important business terminates by the Landlord saying, ‘God bless the King [or Queen] and the lord of the manor;’ to which the Clerk responds, ‘Amen, amen!’