William Andrews

Toasting and drinking were more general half a century ago than they are at the present time. In the earlier years of the Queen’s reign temperance, if not teetotalism, was, it is true, making headway, but in a great measure convivial customs were maintained, and toasting was popular. Books were published to supply suitable toasts, for public and private parties. Such compilations must have been extremely useful to those who attended social gatherings, and were not able to express graceful and pithy sentiments.

We have before us a little work issued in London in 1847, under the title of “The Social and Convivial Toast-Master; and Compendium of Sentiment.” It consists of prose and poetry arranged under various headings, such as Loyal and Patriotic, Naval and Military, Masonic, Bacchanalian, Amatory, Sporting, Political, Sentimental, and lastly, Miscellaneous. It cannot be without interest to reproduce from this rare volume a few examples of the toasts of the earlier Victorian era.The opening section of the book is devoted to loyal and patriotic toasts. The first toast is this:—

“Albert and Victoria; may their union be cemented by love and affection, and their Royal offspring adorn the station they are destined to fill.”

A brief and popular toast was:—

“Church and Queen.”

Another sentiment was:—

“Happiness to the Royal pair—Victoria and Albert.”

A longer toast is as follows:—

“Here’s a health to Her Majesty,
Conversion to her enemies,
And he that will not pledge her health
I wish him neither wit nor wealth,
Nor yet a rope to hang himself.”

Another toast is to this effect:—

“Health to the Queen, prosperity to the people, and may the Ministry direct their endeavours to the public good rather than engage in party distinction.”

A favourite sentiment was:—

“Great Britain’s rising star, the Prince of Wales.”

Many of the patriotic toasts ask for reforms:—

“A revision of the code of criminal laws.”

At this period they were extremely severe.

“A speedy restoration of the rights of the people.”was another toast, and not a few related to Ireland.

“Truth for England and justice for Ireland”

is one, and another says:—

“The birthplace of wit, the home of hospitality—Ireland.”

Patriotic toasts relating to Scotland are numerous, such as:—

“Scotland, the birthplace of valour—the country of worth.”

“Scottish heroes; and may their fame live for ever.”

A popular toast of the past was:—

“The independence of Greece and the memory of Byron.”

The dislike to France by our fathers is plainly indicated in several sentiments:—

“May French principles never corrupt English manners.”

It would appear from many of the toasts that the nation was weary of war and wanted peace and liberty. The plea for liberty occurs in many of the sentiments; it is the closing wish of the following:—

“May peace o’er Britain spread her wing,
And commerce fill her ports with gold;
May arts and science comfort bring,
And liberty her sons enfold.”

The naval and military toasts, as befits a nation that has gained glory in battles on sea and land, are on the whole good. A few examples only must suffice. How out of date our first appears in this age of ironclads:—

“Old England’s wooden walls.”

Here is a punning toast:—

“Sir Home Popham—and pop-home to all our enemies.”

A nautical toast is:—

“To Nelson’s memory here’s a health,
And to his gallant tars,
And may our British seamen bold,
Despite both wounds and scars,
Make France and Spain,
And all the main
And all the foes to know,
Britons reign o’er the main,
While the stormy winds do blow.”

Says another toast:—

“May the deeds never be forgot that were done at Trafalgar and Waterloo.”

Wellington is not neglected in the toasts, but he is not so popular as Nelson. The feats of the Life Guards at Waterloo are remembered:—

“The Life Guards: that washed out in blood the blots of Piccadilly.”

Another famous regiment is thus toasted:—

“The Scotch Greys: that made the Eagles look black.”

Half a century ago was a toast which will find to-day a response in many hearts:—

“The Greeks: may they never fall under Turkish bondage.”Many of the masonic sentiments are fine; they are amongst the best in the book. Here is good teaching:—

Other toasts are equally good, but the masonic allusions make them more suitable for the perusal of members of the craft than for the public.

Next in order come Bacchanalian toasts. Some of the sentiments would not meet with favour in well regulated society at the present period, but we doubt not were hailed with delight in the hard drinking days of old. The first toast under this head is:—

“A friend and a bottle of wine to give him.”

Wine and women find a place in not a few of the sentiments:—

The foregoing are brief, and are perhaps the best toasts which link women with wine. The next is not a bad toast:—

“May our love of the glass never make us forget decency.”Punning examples are included, such as the two following:—

On the whole, the toasts under this heading are not equal in merit to many of the others in the volume.

We find amatory toasts next in order, and of this class quote three examples:—

Sporting sentiments are by no means numerous; only four pages are devoted to them. The following are specimens:—

Some are in rhyme, and the following is a favourable example:—

“May jovial hunters in the morn
Prepare them for the chase;
Rise at the sounding of the horn,
And health with sport enhance.”Under the heading of political toasts are a number free from party sentiment, advocating more the glory of our country than the praise of a particular party. We can quite understand how favourably a toast like the following would be received:—

“The British Lion, may he never rise in anger and sit down in fear.”

The next is brief:—

“Death or Liberty.”

A popular toast is as follows:—

“Here’s to England, the ruler and queen of the waves,
May she ever be found to give freedom to slaves.
May she always extend to the weak and oppressed,
Those blessings with which her own have been blessed.

Lastly, let us quote one that in our day might be taken to heart by those in office:—

“May Ministers while they are servants of the Crown never forget that they are representatives of the people.”

Next in order come sentimental toasts. Examples of these may almost be culled at random to represent the whole, for there is a great sameness about them:—

Two pages are devoted to flash toasts, but as far as we are able to judge are without interest.

The work closes with a varied and interesting collection of toasts under the heading of “Miscellaneous,” and contains excellent examples of the wit and wisdom of bygone times. The celebrated Roxburghe Club of book-lovers was founded in 1812, and has given to the world many valuable volumes. The social side of the society was well sustained, and the following are the ten bibliomania toasts which were honoured at the festive gatherings:—

By-the-way, in St. Margaret’s Church, Westminster, is a memorial to the first English printer, bearing the following inscription:—

“To the memory of
William Caxton,
Who first introduced into Great Britain
The Art of Printing;
And, who, A.D. 1477 or earlier, exercised that art in the
Abbey of Westminster,
This Tablet,
In remembrance of one to whom the literature of this
country is so largely indebted, was raised
Anno Domini MDCCCXX
By the Roxburghe Club.
Earl Spencer, K.G., President.”

Professional sentiments are rather plentiful. The surgeon’s toast is:—

“The man that bleeds for his country.”

The schoolmaster’s toasts are rather numerous, but not without point:—

“Addition to patriots,
Subtraction to placemen,
Multiplication to the friends of peace,
Division to its enemies,
Reduction to abuses,
Rule of three to king, lords, and commons,
Practice to reformation,
Fellowship to Britons,
Discount to the National Debt,
Decimal fractions to the clergy.”

Toasts of musicians are included:—

“May a crotchet in the head never bar the utterance of good notes.”

A second sentiment is:—

“May the lovers of harmony never be in want of a note, and its enemies die in a common chord.”

Tradesmen’s toasts are very plentiful, and several include puns. Here is the hatter’s sentiment:—

“When the rogue naps it, may the lesson be felt.”

Respecting the baker is the following:—

“May we never be done so much as to make us crusty.”

The glazier’s toast is:—

“The praiseworthy glazier who takes pains to see his way through life.”

A rather longer toast is that of the greengrocer:—

“May we spring up like vegetables, have turnip noses, reddish cheeks, and carroty hair—and may our hearts never be hard like those of cabbages, nor may we be rotten at the core.”

The sentiment of the pawnbroker is:—

“When we lend our cash to a friend, may it be to his interest to pay the principal, and his principle to pay the interest.”

The shoemaker’s toast is:—

“May the cobbler’s lapstones never fail him.”

In another toast we have an allusion to shoes:—

“May the enemies of Great Britain always have long corns and short shoes.”

Here we close this curious collection of toasts, feeling thankful that such a book is no longer required for the every-day use of the people. A great change for the better has come over the manners and customs of our countrymen. Turning over the pages of this publication has given us pleasure, and we trust the quotations culled from it may not fail to interest our readers.