
THE OLD SOAK, and HAIL AND FAREWELL - By Don Marquis - Line Drawings By Sterling Patterson - Garden City, N. Y., and Toronto - Doubleday, Page K Company - 1921
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
OLD SOAK
CHAPTER ONE—Introducing the Old Soak
CHAPTER TWO—Beginning the Old Soak's History of the Rum Demon
CHAPTER THREE—Liquor and Hennery Simms
CHAPTER FOUR—The Old Soak's History—The Barroom as an Educative Influence
CHAPTER FIVE—Look Out For Crime Waves!
CHAPTER SIX—Continuing the Old Soak's History—The Barroom and the Arts
CHAPTER SEVEN—An Argument With the Old Woman
A witty portrait of a curmudgeonly, hard‑drinking character, this collection opens with the Old Soak’s own rambling reflections on hope, despair, and the art of homemade liquor. His gruff humor and sharp observations turn a simple barroom chat into a lively meditation on the quirks of everyday life, from makeshift brews to the fading glory of old saloons. Listeners will be drawn into his world of cracked jokes, colorful anecdotes, and a yearning for a “professional” spirit that only nature might supply.
The narrative unfolds like a diary, peppered with the Soak’s candid musings on law, charity, and the disappearing rituals of the neighborhood tavern. His storytelling style—part monologue, part sketch—captures the flavor of early‑20th‑century streetwise wisdom, inviting audiences to hear the humor and melancholy of a bygone era, all through the voice of a man who loves his booze as much as his stubborn honesty.
Language
en
Duration
~2 hours (123K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by David Widger from page images generously provided by the Internet Archive
Release date
2016-05-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1878–1937
Best remembered for the witty, lowercase adventures of archy and mehitabel, this American humorist turned newspaper columns into a home for sly satire and offbeat charm. His work still feels lively because it mixes playfulness with a sharp eye for human nature.
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