The situation:
I was about to organize our next poker tourney. Quite some of our regular players are in Las Vegas by now, so there are only few of us who remain to play this Friday. Of course the lines that came to my mind in this situation were the ones from Henry V: “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers”. Then I remembered that it´s October, and so the St. Crispians reference from that passage should be fitting as well. After looking it up, I found that St. Crispian is indeed on October the 25th. Some minor editing later I happened to have a good text to send with the invitation. Many thanks to you, Big Willy.
By the end of this week will be the feast of Crispian:
He that outlives friday and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam´d,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall see this day, and live old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say, "To-morrow is Saint Crispian":
Then he will open his chest, show his chips,
And say, "These chips I won before Crispin´s day".
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he´ll remember with advantages
What feats he did that week. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words,
Ontic the King, Frank it and Sören,
Flippo and Schnuddel,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember´d.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
and Crispin Crispian shall ne´er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he tomorrow that plays poker with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne´er so vile
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in Vegas then at breakfast
Shall think themselves accurs´d they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That played with us before Saint Crispin´s day.
