This is a well-established fact—
The very proverb says—pot-valiant.
Grog—I’ll define it in a minute—
Take gin, rum, whiskey, or peach-brandy,
Put but a little water in it,
And that is Grog—now understand me,
I mean to say, that should the spirit
Be left out by some careless dog,
It is—I wish the world may hear it!
It is plain water, and not Grog.
Having precisely fixed what Grog is
(My reasoning, sir, that question settles!),
We next must ascertain what Prog is—
Now Prog, in vulgar phrase, is victuals:
This will embrace all kinds of food,
Which on the smoking board can charm ye,
And by digestion furnish blood,
A thing essential in an army!
These things should all be swallowed warm,
For heat, digestion much facilitates;
Cold is a tonic, and does harm;
A tonic always, sir, debilitates.
My plan then is to raise, as fast
As possible, a corps of cooks,
And drill them daily from the last
Editions of your cookery-books!
Done into English and likewise into verse by H. and D.
