Kentucky Gazette

FROM THE VIRGINIA GAZETTE.

JACKSON DINNER.

The following is the production of a young gentleman from the North of Ireland, on visiting the battle ground—It is not believed that it was published in this state.

SONG FOR THE 8TH OF JANUARY.
TUNE—PADDY'S WEDDING.

Sure won't you hear what roar and cheer
Was spread at Jackson's dinner O,
And how so gay they spent the day
Till guests grew thin and thinner O,
First tickets flew, the country through,
No lads than his were smarter O,
They invited all, both great and small
Nor asked for rest or quarter O.

Now d'ye see it was about the merry making
times of Christmas, that Jackson took it into his
head to prepare a splendid dinner; so, he sent a
few brave fellows with invitations up and down—
round and about—north and south; who went as
fast as their legs could carry them—yet devil a
whit did they rue the fatigue, but still went singing
We are the boys to suit ye O
To suit ye O, to suit ye O.

Now Packenham in splendor came,
And Gibbs so fond of dancing O;
And then Sir Keene, who wars had seen,
And Lambert tamed for lasing O—
And then a score of blues or more,
Deck'd off with star and garter O,
And then the Reds, twelve thousand heads,
Who'd never cried for quarter O.

Then come d'ye see a heap of your star and gar-
ter, and gold trimm'd gentry, who conquered the
French in Old Spain, with a pack o'their fellows
dressed off in their blood red coats, who kept scrap-
ing and bowing, while a parcel of our long tailed
shepherds marched up without making any answer
to their palavering, but kept singing
We are the boys, &c.

The jovial set at dinner met,
The scene was style and splendor O.
The powder pye was season'd high,
The meats were nice and tender O,
The sugar plums were Jackson's bombs,
The bowl for punch a mortar O,
You'd scarce have quaff'd the second draught
Before you'd cried for quarter O.

Faith, and it would have done your heart good
to have seen the grand preparations made for the
entertainment; every dish was in the highest style;
the sizes, eighteens and thirty twos, served as pint
and quart decanters and the mortar taken from old
George last war at Yorktown, as a gallon bottle, & at
every sup our backwoodsmen took they kept singing
We are the boys, &c.

Now swords they for knives did lay.
And bayonets for forking.
And bottles strong full five feet long,
With leaden balls for corking O—
And when at first a bottle burst,
They thought 'twas nought but water O
But soon the sound was spread around,
As loud they bawl'd for quarter O.

Now Jackson was a comical old fellow, and de-
termined to do the thing in a military way, so he
clapt down swords instead of case knives. and bay-
onets instead of forks; instead of glass bottles he
had decanters of wrought iron, and loaden stoppers
instead of ground ones; and when any of the decan-
ters happened to burst, Johnny Bull thought the
contents were nothing but water, but he soon bawled
out that it was Yankee stuff of tenth proof—while
our long tailed shepherds kept winking and singing
We are the boys, &c.

Now knife and fork did briskly work.
As roll tast was Carving,
He'd slice the breast, nor mind the rest,
No season this for starving O—
Then round he'd toss the dainty sauce,
They thought it was mix'd with tartar O
And down they threw their arms and blew
A royal blast for quarter O.

When Andrew, d'ye see, set Carroll to carving,
he made a wing fly this way, and a leg fly that way,
but devil a whit did he care for either, so that he
could but give them a bit of the breast, but when he
came to pour a little sauce upon it, they squalled
out lustily for quarter, & went staggering & puking
about—while our lads did nothing but laugh & sing
We are the boys, &c.

The Yankee glass full brisk did pass,
We begged they'd stay for coffee O,
Of Jackson play, enough had they,
And hop'd we'd let them off O—
They cross'd the sea with mirth and glee,
But wish'd they'd stopped much shorter O,
And missed this dish o' odd mush
Which made them yell for quarter O.

Now d'ye see, the glass was pushed about so brisk-
ly that our fellows got in fine glee and begged their
guests to wait and take a cup of Coffee with them;
but they made a thousand apologies and begged to
be excused, pushing off with all speed in the direc-
tion of Old England, while our jolly souls, militia
and all huzza'd and sung
We are the boys to suit ye O
To suit ye O—suit ye O