Old Boniface He Loved Good Cheer
Old Boniface he loved good cheer,
And took his glass of Burton*,
And when the nights grew sultry hot
He slept without a shirt on.
Notes
*Burton ale which was made in Burton-on-Trent, England. Burton upon Trent was famous for its many breweries.
According to The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, "Boniface was the name of the jovial innkeeper in Farquhar's Beaux' Stratagem (1707) whence it became a generic name for publicans." Publicans here means innkeepers.
Thanks and Acknowledgements
This rhyme and the illustration can be found in Redicula Rediviva, by J.E. Rogers (London, England 1869).
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