This song, which was a great favourite at the end of last century, was composed by one Gunthorpe, a naval officer, by way of payment for a cask of the “particular,” received as a present from his brother, who was a Nottingham Brewer.
To go further north, Newcastle, besides its coals, has long had the reputation for what, if we are to believe the townsmen of the place, is the best, the stoutest, the brightest “Stingo” that the heart of man can desire. As every Jack will have his Jill, so famous ale ever finds its appropriate verses. The song _Newcastle Beer_, of which a verse is, given below, extols the wonders wrought by English beer in general, and by that of Newcastle in particular:—
’Twas Stingo like this made Alcides so bold, It brac’d up his nerves, and enliven’d his powers; And his mystical club, that did wonders of old, Was nothing, my lads, but such liquor as ours. The horrible crew That Hercules slew, Were Poverty—Calumny—Trouble—and Fear; Such a club would you borrow, To drive away sorrow, Apply for a jorum of Newcastle Beer.
_Warrington Ale_, a song of last century, describes in glowing terms the good ale of that Lancashire town, and the poet, if he is to be believed, is evidently a man of some experience in various drinks:—
D’ye mind me, I once was a Sailor, And in different countries I’ve been; If I lie, may I go for a tailor, But a thousand fine sights I have seen. I’ve been crammed with good things like a wallet, And I’ve guzzled more drink than a whale; But the very best stuff to my palate Is a glass of your Warrington Ale.
De Foe in his _Tour through Great Britain_ eulogises the Lancashire ale of the period. In travelling through the northern parts of the county, “though it was but about the middle of August, and in some places the harvest hardly got in, we saw the mountains covered with { 169} snow, and felt the cold very acute and piercing, but we found, as in all these northern countries, the people had a happy way of mixing the warm and the cold together; for the store of good ale which flows plentifully in the most mountainous parts of this country, seems abundantly to make up for all the inclemencies of the season, or difficulties of travelling.”