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<h2> CHRISTMAS </h2>
<p>Christmas has come, let's eat and drink—<br/>
This is no time to sit and think;<br/>
Farewell to study, books and pen,<br/>
And welcome to all kinds of men.<br/>
Let all men now get rid of care,<br/>
And what one has let others share;<br/>
Then 'tis the same, no matter which<br/>
Of us is poor, or which is rich.<br/>
Let each man have enough this day,<br/>
Since those that can are glad to pay;<br/>
There's nothing now too rich or good<br/>
For poor men, not the King's own food.<br/>
Now like a singing bird my feet<br/>
Touch earth, and I must drink and eat.<br/>
Welcome to all men: I'll not care<br/>
What any of my fellows wear;<br/>
We'll not let cloth divide our souls,<br/>
They'll swim stark naked in the bowls.<br/>
Welcome, poor beggar: I'll not see<br/>
That hand of yours dislodge a flea,—<br/>
While you sit at my side and beg,<br/>
Or right foot scratching your left leg.<br/>
Farewell restraint: we will not now<br/>
Measure the ale our brains allow,<br/>
But drink as much as we can hold.<br/>
We'll count no change when we spend gold;<br/>
This is no time to save, but spend,<br/>
To give for nothing, not to lend.<br/>
Let foes make friends: let them forget<br/>
The mischief-making dead that fret<br/>
The living with complaint like this—<br/>
"He wronged us once, hate him and his."<br/>
Christmas has come; let every man<br/>
Eat, drink, be merry all he can.<br/>
Ale's my best mark, but if port wine<br/>
Or whisky's yours—let it be mine;<br/>
No matter what lies in the bowls,<br/>
We'll make it rich with our own souls.<br/>
Farewell to study, books and pen,<br/>
And welcome to all kinds of men.<br/></p>
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