mansion. Choice fish of every kind; venison from Nannau Park, celebrated
for the delicious flavour of its fat bucks; mountain-mutton, from the
fertile pastures of Llanfachreth; the noble sirloin, and, in fact, every
substantial delicacy that wealth could procure, pressed even to groaning
the broad tables of our host; while the harper in the hall twanged his
instrument with a force and a fury, that plainly showed his previous
intimacy with the good cheer of the place. But noble and magnificent
as our entertainment was in the eating department, it was infinitely
surpassed by that which was devoted to the orgies of Bacchus. No sooner
was the brief and scarcely audible grace pronounced by the chaplain,
than in marched old Pearson, the gray-headed butler, bearing in each
hand a goblet, in form like an acorn, and fashioned of the dark polished
oak of the far-famed Spirits-Blasted Tree,[7] richly ornamented with
appropriate silver emblems. One of these was placed reversed by the side
of the president and _croupier_ of each table, and presently afterwards
flanked by a huge silver tankard of foaming ale, strong enough almost to
blow into the air a first-rate man-of-war. Filling this goblet, which
held very nearly a pint, the president made his speech to the health and
happiness of the young 'squire, and draining it dry, passed it on to his
left-hand neighbour. The _croupier_ did the same, and like the great
bear of Bradwardine, did the acorn of Nannau begin to make its rounds,
in a manner quite as fearful to me as was the terrific approach of the
bear aforesaid to the heir of Waverley Honor. Unfortunately for me, I
sat between two determined and well-seasoned topers, who took especial
care that I should not only fill to each toast, but drain the cup to
the very bottom; so that, novice as I was in this sort of hilarity, I
found myself, in a very short time, lying down under a laburnum tree
in the lawn, and composing myself very comfortably--no, not _very_
comfortably--to sleep. I had my sleep, however; and when I awoke and
re-entered the house, a merry group of guests had surrounded the harper