1827 Oxford Night Caps

8

OXFORD PUNCH,OR CLASSICAL SHERBET.

When e'en a bowl ofpunch we make. Four striking opposites we lake; The strong, the small, the sharp, the sweet. Together mix'd, most kindly roeetj And when they liappily unite. The bo\vl is pregnant with delight.

The liquor called Punch has become so truly English, it is often supposed to be in digenous to this country, though its name at least is oriental. The Per.sian punj, or San scrit pancha, i. e. five, is the etymon of its title, and denotes the number of ingredients of. which it is composed. Addisoii's fox- hvnter, who testified so much surprise when he found, that of the materials of which this "truly English" beverage was made,only the water belonged to England, would have been more astonished had his informant also told him, that it derived even its name from the East.