Drinks all Round
These cartoons are about the Rawson’s social life, which was certainly lubricated with Madeira, and rum swizzles.
Harold Finch-Hatton recounts his meeting with Charles Rawson, where they sat on the verandah to drink the local brew which consisted of rum, bitters, brown sugar, lemon, and water, swizzled together with a convenient little stick which just happened to come from a tree in the garden. As Charles thought the tree did not already have a botanical name, he had christened it Swizzlestickia Rawsoniensis.
16 Jan 1877
‘My turn, this isn’t quite big enough though!
‘Hold on till I fill up.’
‘Here’s to the man who sent it anyhow!’
‘Bother corkscrews give me a good old ---‘‘Hooray!’
‘By Jove boys, that’s a real --- top.’
Ned’s Madeira being still in its case he dreamt a ghastly dream!
12 January 1877
‘Do come here Decima! & look at Charley! Isn’t he in his glory!’
19 January 1877
‘Bring him up’
‘Where is he?’
‘We must wet this, boys’
‘Charley Rawson! Never!! I must have a drink with him.’
‘My dear boy this is splendid –come and have something short at my expense!’
‘Hullo Charley! Why who’d ‘a thought of seeing you here. Come and have a liquor old sport!’
‘Charley’s arrival in Cooktown “Save me from my friends”!
Last updated: 10th January 2008
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