*E^3g NATURE NEAR LONDON se^g 



A mug is moderate of wishes and somewhat 

 cynical : 



" A little health, a little wealth, 

 A little house, and freedom ; 

 And at the end a little friend, 

 And little cause to need him." 



The toper, if he drank too deep, sometimes 

 found a frog or newt at the bottom (in china) 

 a hint not to be too greedy. There seem to have 

 been sad dogs about in those days from the picture 

 on this piece one sniffing regretfully at the 

 bunghole of an empty barrel : 



" This cask when stored with gin I loved to taste, 

 But now a smell, alas ! must break my fast." 



Upon a cup a somewhat Chinese arrangement 

 of words is found : 



More beer score Clarke 



for my the his 



do trust pay sent 



I I must has 



shall if you maltster 



what for and the 



These parallel columns can be deciphered by 

 beginning at the last word, " the," -on the right 

 hand, and reading up. With rude and sometimes 

 grim humour our forefathers seem to have been 

 delighted. The teapots of our great-grandmothers 

 are even more amusingly inscribed and illustrated. 

 At Gretna-green the blacksmith is performing a 



