Old Oak
We now know that, minutes before his execution, Ambrose Bierce chose a warm and lingering finish. The story was passed down to us by the priest of the village of Sierra Mojada, in Coahuila, Mexico. Instead of the last rites the priest offered him to save his soul, the bitter Bierce chose a final glass of sherry brandy, a piece of paper, and a pencil. Once the ceremony of contemplation was over, he wrote the most autobiographical of entries in his dictionary:
brandy (from Jerez), n. A resting period chosen to allow this spirit to mature in old oak.
Agustín Celis Sánchez
