Literary Byways Part 12

"May we never condemn that in a brother which we pardon in ourselves."

"May the evening's diversions bear the morning's reflections."

"May every society inst.i.tuted for the promotion of virtue--flourish."

Other toasts are equally good, but the masonic allusions make them more suitable for the perusal of members of the craft than for the public.

Next in order come Baccha.n.a.lian toasts. Some of the sentiments would not meet with favour in well regulated society at the present period, but we doubt not were hailed with delight in the hard drinking days of old. The first toast under this head is:--

"A friend and a bottle of wine to give him."

Wine and women find a place in not a few of the sentiments:--

"A full purse, a fresh bottle, and a pretty face."

"Beauty, wit, and wine."

"Wine, women, and wit."

The foregoing are brief, and are perhaps the best toasts which link women with wine. The next is not a bad toast:--

"May our love of the gla.s.s never make us forget decency."

Punning examples are included, such as the two following:--

"May good fellows be found in every port, and all bad ones obliged to sherry out."

"May we never be out of spirits."

On the whole, the toasts under this heading are not equal in merit to many of the others in the volume.

We find amatory toasts next in order, and of this cla.s.s quote three examples:--

"The fairest work of nature--women."

"The village maid, may she remain so till she gets a good husband."

"Love without deceit, and matrimony without regret."

Sporting sentiments are by no means numerous; only four pages are devoted to them. The following are specimens:--

"May the thirst of blood never disgrace a British sportsman."

"May the love of the chase never interrupt our attention to the welfare of the country."

"The huntsman's pleasures--the field in the morning, the bottle at night."

Some are in rhyme, and the following is a favourable example:--

"May jovial hunters in the morn Prepare them for the chase; Rise at the sounding of the horn, And health with sport enhance."

Under the heading of political toasts are a number free from party sentiment, advocating more the glory of our country than the praise of a particular party. We can quite understand how favourably a toast like the following would be received:--

"The British Lion, may he never rise in anger and sit down in fear."

The next is brief:--

"Death or Liberty."

A popular toast is as follows:--

"Here's to England, the ruler and queen of the waves, May she ever be found to give freedom to slaves.

May she always extend to the weak and oppressed, Those blessings with which her own have been blessed.

Lastly, let us quote one that in our day might be taken to heart by those in office:--

"May Ministers while they are servants of the Crown never forget that they are representatives of the people."

Next in order come sentimental toasts. Examples of these may almost be culled at random to represent the whole, for there is a great sameness about them:--

"May our great men be good and our good men great."

"May goodness prevail where beauty fails."

"May we never be lost to hope."

"Our friends, our country, our laws, home, love, and liberty."

Two pages are devoted to flash toasts, but as far as we are able to judge are without interest.

The work closes with a varied and interesting collection of toasts under the heading of "Miscellaneous," and contains excellent examples of the wit and wisdom of bygone times. The celebrated Roxburghe Club of book-lovers was founded in 1812, and has given to the world many valuable volumes. The social side of the society was well sustained, and the following are the ten bibliomania toasts which were honoured at the festive gatherings:--

1. "The immortal memory of Christopher Valdarfer, printer of the Boccaccio of 1471."

2. "The memory of William Caxton, founder of the British Press."

3. "To the memory of Wynkyn de Worde, Pynson, and Notary, successors of Caxton."

4. "The memory of John, Duke of Roxburghe."

5. "The memory of Lady Juliana Barnes and the St. Albans' Press."

6. "The memory of Gutenberg, Fust, and Schoeffer, fathers of the art of printing."

7. "The Aldine family of Venice."

8. "The Giunti family of Florence."