‘ves heill’
means ‘be in health’.
From it comes
our word ‘wassailers’ –
one of the first of an Orion-
ful* of forgotten words
in ‘Childe Harold’ by Lord Byron.
Hitler notwithstanding;
we could revive that old toast,
for ‘reveller’
again use ‘wassailer’,
and say it to rhyme
with ‘Delilah’
and ‘Norman Kingsley Mailer’*.)
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