1879 Facts About Champagne and Other Sparkling Wines

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Chwmpagne and Other Sparlcling Wines.

"I am the blood Burgundian sunshine makes ; A fine old feudal knight Of bluff and boisterous might, Whose casque feels- ah, so heavy when one wakes !'' "And I, the dainty Bordeaux, violets' Perfume, and whose rm·e rubies gourmets prize. My subtile savour gets · In partridge wings its daintiest allies." Ah, potent chiefs, Bordeaux and Burgundy. If we must answer make, This sober counsel take : Messeigneurs, sing your worth less haughtily, F or 'tis Champag ne, the sparkling soul of mirth, That bubbling o'er with laughing gas, Flashes gay sunbeams in the glass, And like our flag goes proudly round the earth. Aye, 'tis the true, the typic wine of F rance ; Aye, 'tis our hefU't t hat sparkles in our eyes, And higher beats for every dire misch:mce ; It was the wit that made our fathers wise, That made their valour gallant, gay, Wh en plumes were stirr'd by winds of waving swords, And chivalry's defiance spoke the words : "A vous, l\{essieurs les Anglais, Jes premiers !" L et the dull beer-apostle t ill he's hoarse "'lent his small spleen and spite, Fate fill his sleepless night With ni"'htmares of invincible remorse ! W e siug"'Champagno, t he sparkling soul of mirth, That bubbling o'er with laughing gas, Flashes gay sunbeams in the glass, .And like our flag goes proudly round the earth.