English wine cask units the mediæval French and Italian "botte") or pipe was half a tun, or 1008 pints. Tradition has it that George, Duke of Clarence, the brother of Edward IV of England, was drowned in a butt of malmsey on 18 February 1478. (However, Josephine Tey in "The Daughter of Time" suggests that "drowned in a butt of malmsey" means rather that George, Duke of Clarence, drank himself to death rather than literally drowning in a container of wine.) In Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Cask of Amontillado", the narrator claims he has received "a pipe of what passes for Amontillado".
Three Shakespeare Songs / As dreams are made on; and our little life / Is rounded with a sleep." The text of each song is derived from plays by William Shakespeare: The first song is a setting of Ariel's Song to Ferdinand from "The Tempest". It refers to Ferdinand's father — Alonso, King of Naples — who is presumed drowned in a shipwreck and whose body undergoes a magical transformation in the ocean depths. "The Tempest", Act 1 scene 2: "Full fathom five thy father lies,Of his bones are coral made;Those are pearls that were his eyes:Nothing of him that doth fade,But doth