Barry, as forwarded by G,

[Wilson Gray]

supplies the cite:

"... we though[t] of their delicate healths in a _bumper_ [of their
gift of wine, I assume] ..."

When I was in high school, one of the Jesuits habitually referred to
drinking beer as

"... having a few _bumpers_ of the amber goodness ..."

This is the only other time that I've come across "bumper" used in
connection with an alcoholic beverage.

FWIW, "swallows" also strikes me as a word that might be used in
punning on the drinking of akka-haul.

-Wilson
--
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-----
 -Sam'l Clemens

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