———

“Oh, thou invisible spirit of Rum! if thou hadst no name by which to know thee, we would call thee—devil.”—Shakspeare.

Let thy devotee extol thee,

And thy wondrous virtues sum;

But the worst of names I’ll call thee,

O, thou hydra monster, Rum!

Pimple-maker, visage-bloater,

Health-corrupter, idler’s mate;

Mischief breeder, vice promoter,

Credit spoiler, devil’s bait.