Don Juan 02-178
Canto the Second

CLXXVIII

And the small ripple spilt upon the beach
     Scarcely o'erpass'd the cream of your champagne,
When o'er the brim the sparkling bumpers reach,
     That spring-dew of the spirit! the heart's rain!
Few things surpass old wine; and they may preach
     Who please,-the more because they preach in vain,-
Let us have wine and women, mirth and laughter,
Sermons and soda-water the day after.

George Gordon Byron, Lord Byron (1788-1824) ByronLong