..

OXFORD

DEt:-OG A

COLLECT ION OF RECEIPTS

FOil ~t Al.\ I NO

V,\JlIOUS lll::VE llAG l!.S

USED I "

THE UNIVERSITY.

Onl<1 non cbrit l as •le~icnat? 01>erti. r cclm1it.

Sp.es jubct enc rat;is. in pm!ll<' 1ru<lll lncrtcm,
Sofli clcl' :.nlrnlJ onus C:"C1mlt, 111ftloc-et nrlf'!.
Fa:.c1rndl cflllccJ qnt'm non (1..·<"crc ttlscrtum !
ContrOlCl3 11u cm non i n pau pcrlMC so lucnm!
J/or. lib. I. rp. S.
W lrnl C-'nnot wint: perfm rn 1 It hrins:s 10 light
The iiccr ct gou l ; it bid~ t he cow;trd th:h1 :
Gi ves bei11g to our hopes, :rn~I fn',1 111 uur llc;,rts
Drives th e dull sorro w, :uHI lllSIJl r'C !! new 3rts.
Whom hi.th n ot :\11 ins1)iri111: h nmpcr l ;i111!11t
/\ 1low of words :t1HI lnfrinr~ of t huuc:lit !
£ \ t ll in t h' oppr~~sive gr:l t ll Of flO\'Crf)'..
1

Jt c.'n co l;iri,:c, a nd bid the wn:tch be J!rC::;icis.

Tl!ll\D E DI T IOX.

OXFORD,
FO! t H E NRY S LATTElt;
AND 1. 0 N GM AN, REES, onME, BROWN, AND GREEN,
LONDON.
1835.
'Entml:I at ;btatfontts' 1J:;1all.

OAXTF.R, I ' R l :N TE R, OXFORD.

 CONTENTS.

Poge
Bishop, or Spiced Win e 1
Lawn Sleeves 4
Cardinal 4.
Pope 5
Cider Bishop 5
N egus . 5
White Wine Negu• 6
Port Wine Negus 7
O.xford Punch, or Classical Sherbet 8
Spiced Punch 12
Tea Punch 12
Gin Punch 13
Red Pu nch 13
Punch Royal 13
Milk P unch 14
Oxford J\'lilk Punch 14
Norfolk M ilk Punch 15
Restorative Punch, vulgo Storative 16
Lemon Punch to keep 17
Almond Punch . . 17
 IV

Egg Punch 18
Shrub Punch 19
J,emooade 19
Orangeade 20
Sir Fleetwood Fletcher's Sack Possel 20
White Wine Whey, or Milk Posset 22
Pepper Posse t 22
Cider Posset 23
Perry Passel 23
Rum Booze, or Egg Passel 24
25
Beer Flip .
Rumfustian 26
The Oxford Grace Cup 26
Cider Cup, or Cold Tankard 29
P~rry Cup ::io
Beer Cup 31
Red Cup 32
The Wassail Bowl, or Swig 32
Brown Betty 34
Lambs vVool 35
Brasenose A le 37
M ethcglin 39
Vinous Mtheeglin 41
Mead and Bra ggon, or Bragget 41
 OXFORD

NIGHT CAPS,

-
IllSHOP, OR SPICED WINE.

Three cups of this a prudent man may take;

The first of th ese for constitution's sake ,
The second to the girl he loves the !Jest,
The third and last to lull him to his rest.
A ncient Fragm ent.

BISHOP seems to be one of the oldest

winter beverages known, and to this day is
preferred to every other, not only by the
youthful votary of Bacchus at his evening's
revelry, but also by the grave Don by way
of a night cap; and probably derives its
name from the circumstance of ancient dig·-
nitaries of the Church, when they honoured
B
the University with a visit, being regal ed
with spiced win e. It a ppears from a work
published some years since, a·nd entitled,
Oxoniana, or Anecdotes ef the Unfoersity of
Oxford, that in the Rolls or Accounts of
some Colleges of ancient foundation, a sum
of money is frequ en tly met with charged
" pro specielms," that is, for spices used in
their entertainments; for in tho se days
as well as the pre sen t, spiced wine was a
very fashionable beveragr. In the Compu-
tus of Maxtoke Priory, anno 1447, is the
following curious entry; " Item pro vino
cretico cum speciebus et confectis datis
di versis generosis in die Sancti Diony si i
quando Le Jole domini Montfordes erat hie,
et faceret jocositates s uas in camera Orioli."
" Vinurn creticmn" is s upposed to be raisin
wine, or wine made of dri ed grape!;; and th e
meaning of tbe whole seems to be thi s : Paid
for raisin win e with comfits an d spices, when
S ir S. Montford's fool was here, and exhi-
bited hi s merriments in the Oriel chamber.
 3
R ecip e.
M a ke several incisions in the rind of a
lemon, stick cloves in the incisions, and
roas t the lemon by a slow fire. Put s mall
but equal quantities of cinnamon, cloves,
mace, and all -spice, and a race of gin ger,
into a saucepan, with half a pint of water;
let it boil until it is reduced one half. Boil
one bottle of port wine; burn a portion of
the spirit out of it, by a pplying a lighted
paper to the saucepan. Put the roasted
lemons and spice into the wine; stir it up
well, and let it stand near the fire ten mi-
nutes . Rub a few knobs of sugar on the
rind of a lemon , put the su gar into a bowl
or jug·, with the juice of half a lemon, (not
ro as ted,) pour the wine into it, grate some
nutmeg into it, sweeten it to y our tas te, and
serve it up with the lemon and spice floating
in it.

Oranges, although not used in Bishop at

Oxford, are., as will appear by the follo win g·
B2

,;.
 4
lines, written by Swift, sometimes intro-
duced into that beverage.
Fine oran ges
Vlei\ roasted, with sugar and wine in a cup,
They'll make a sweet Bishop when gentlefolks sup.

LAWN SLEEVES, CARDINAL,

AND POPE;
Owe their origin to some Brnsen-nose Bac-
chanalians, and differ only from Bishop as
the s pecies from the genus.

LAWN SLKEVES.
Substitute madeira or sherry for port
wine, and add three glasses of hot calves-
feet jelly.

CARDINAL.
Substitute claret for port wine ; in other
respects the same as Bishop .
 5
POPE.
Precisely the same as Bishop, with the
exception of champagne being used instead
of port wine.

CIDER BISHOP.
Omit the wine, and add one bottle of good
cider, a quart.er of a pint of brandy, and
two glasses of calves-feet jelly in a liquid
state.

•
NEGUS.

Negus is a modern beverage, and, ac-

cording to Malone, derives its name from
its inventor, Colonel Negus. Dr. Willich, in
bis " Lectures on Diet and Regimen," says,
that Negus is one of the most innocent and
wholesome species of drink; especially if
Seville oranges be adrled to red port wine
'
 6
instead of lemons; and drunk moderately, it
possesses considerable virtues in stre11gth-
ening the stomach; but, on account of th e
volatile and heating oil in the orange peel,
Negus, if taken in great quantities, is more
stimulant and drying than pure wine.

WHITE WINE NEGUS.

Extract the juice from the peeling of 011 c

lemon, by rubbing loaf sugar 011 it; or cut
the peeling· of a lemon extremely tbin, and
poun<l it in a mortar. Cut two lemons into
thin slices; four glasses of calves-feet jelly
in a liquid state; small quantities of cinna-
mon, mace, cloves, and all-spice. Put the
whole into a jug, pour one quart of boilirw
water upon it, cover the Jug . close, let it"
stand a quarter of an hour, and th en a<l<l
one bottle of boiling hot white wine. Grate
half a nutmeg iuto it, stir it well togeth er,
sweeten it to your taste, and it is fit for use .

------~~ ------ ~--------- ______.

 Seville ora11g·es are uot g·euerally used at
Oxford in making Negus; when they are,
one ora11ge is allowed to each bottle of
win e.

COLD WHITE WINE NEGUS.

To make cold white wine Negus, let the
mixture stand until it is quite cold, and then
pour a bottle of white wine into it.
It is sometimes in the summer season
placed in a tub of ice; when that is done
it will be necessary to make the Negus
somewhat sweeter, as extreme cold detracts
from the sweetness of liquors.

PORT "VINE NEGUS.

In making port wine Negus, merely omit
the j elly; for when port wine comes in con-
tact with calves-feet jell y, it immediately
ass umes a disagreeable muddy appearance.
Negus is not confined to any particular
sorts of win e; if the jell y i:s omitted, it can
 8
be ma<le with any, or several sorts mixed
together.

OXl~ ORD PUNCH, OR CLASSICAL

SHERBET.
When e'en a bowl of punch we make,
}'our striking opposites we take;
The strong, the small, the sharp, the sweet,
Together mix'd, most kindly meet;
And when they happily unite,
The bowl is pregnant with delight.

The liquor called Punclt has become so

truly Eng·Iish, it is often supposed to be i11 _
digenous to this country, though its name at
least is oriental. The Persian p1mj, or San-
scrit panclia, i. e. five, is the etymon of its
title, and denotes the number of ingredients
of which it is compo~ed. Addison's fo :i:-
ltunter, who testified so much surprise wheu
he found, that of the materi a ls of which thi s
" truly English" beverage was made, only
the water belonged to Eng·Ia.nd, would hav e

~----------~----~------~
 9

been more astonished had this informant also

told him, that it derived even its na me from
the East.
Variou s opinion s are entertained resp ec t-
ing this compound drink. Some authors
praise it as a cooling· and refreshin g beverage,
when drank in moderation; others cond emn
the use of it, as prejudicial to th e brain and
nervo us srtem . Dr. Cheyne, a celebrated
S cotch physician, author of " An Essay on
Long· Life and Health," and who by a system
of diet and regimen reduced himself from
the enormous weight of thirty-two stone to
nearly one third, which enabled him to live
to the age of seventy-two, insists, that there
is but on e whole some ingredient in it, a nd
that is the water. Dr. Willich, on the con-
1rary, asserts, that if a proper quantity of
acid be used in makin g Punch, it is an ex-
ce ll ent anti septic , and well calculated to
s upply th e place of win e in resisting· putre-
faction, es pecially if drank cold with pl enty
of s ugar; it al so promotes perspiration ; but
 10
if drank hot and immoderately, it creates
acidity in the stomach, weakens the nerves,
and gives rise to complaints of the breast.
He further states, that after a heavy meal it
is improper, as it may check digestion, and
injure the stomach•.

Recipe.
Extract the juice from the rind of three
iemons, by rubbing loaf sug·ar 011 it.
The peeling of two Seville oranges and two
lemons, cut extremely thin. The juice of
four Seville oranges and teu lemons. Six
glasses of calves-feet j elly in a liquid state.
The above to be put into a jug, and stirred
well together. Pour two quarts of boili 11 , ..
water on the mixture, cover the jug closely~
and place it near the fire for a quarter of
an
hour. Then strain the liquid through a sieve

• Fielding mentions a Clergyman who preferred

Punch to Wine for this orthodox reason, that the former
was a liquor no where spoken agaimt in Scripture.
 11

into a punch bowl or jug, sweeten it with a

bottle of capillaire, and add half a pint of
white wine, a pint of French brandy , a pint
of Jamaica rum, and a bottle of orange
shrub; the mixture to be stirred as the spi-
rits are poured in. If not sufficiently sweet,
add loaf sugar gradually in small quantities,
or a spoonful or two of capillaire. To be
served up either hot or colrl". The O xford
Punch, when made with half the quantity
of spirituous liquors, and placed in an ice
tub for a short time, is a pleasant summer
beverage.
In making this Punch, lim es are some-
times used instead of lemons, but th ey are
by no means so wholesome".

b Ignorant servants and waiters someti mes put ox ali c

acid into Punch to give it a flavour; such a practice can
n ot be too severely censured.
c Arbuthnot, in his work on alim ents, says, " the
West India dry gripes arc occasioneJ uy lim e juice in
Punch. "
 12

SPICED PUNCH.
Boil a s ma ll quantity of each sort of
s pice in h a lf a pint of water, until it is re-
duced one h a lf; add it to th e in gredi e nts
which compose th e O xfo rd Punch , and
grate a whole nutme g into it. Spiced
Punch, if bottled off aR soon as it is cold
with th e spice in it, w ill ke ep go od severai
d ays.

TEA PUNCH.

Green tea is th e basis of this Punch; and

a lthough Tea Punch is seldom made in
Oxford, it neverth eless has been mu ch
esteemed Ly those w ho have partake n of it.
lt is inva ri a bly d ra nk hot. It is made pre-
cisely in the same way as the O xford
Punch, exceptin g· that the j i:: ll y is om itted
and green tea s uppli es the pl ace of water. '

I
I
 13

GIN PUNCH.
The same as Oxford Punch, only omit
the rum, braudy, and shrub, and substitute
two bottles of gin.

RED PUNCH.
Substitute port wi ne for white, and red
currant jelly for calves-feet jelly; in other
respects the same as Oxford Punch. If drank
in the summer, let it stand until it is cold,
and then put it into a bucket of ice. Care
must be taken that the ice water does not
get into the jug· which contairrn this Punch.

PUNCH ROY AL.

Extract the juice from the peeling of a

lemon, by rubbing loaf sugar on it. Pour
one pint of boiling water on it. Add the
juice of six lemons, one pint of rum, and a
pint of port wine. Sweeten it to your taste,
and it is fit for use.
 14
MILK PUNCH.
"Varm two quarts of water and one of
new milk, then mix them well together,
and sweeten it with a s ufficient quan-
tity of loaf sugar. nub a few knobs of loaf
s ugar on the peeling of a lemon ; put thern
into a jug with th e above, and pour into it
gradually half a. pi~t of lemo~ juice, stirring
th e mixture a s 1t 1s poured in. Th e n add
one quart of white brandy. Strain it through
a flannel b ag or a fin e hair sieve. Bottle it
, off, and if placed in a cool cellar it will
keep ten days or a fortnight. Jellies are
s ometimes used in making this Puncli b
' Ut
they are not necessa ry, as the milk will suf_
ficiently temper the acrimony of the l emon
juice.

OXFORD MILK PUNCH.

Dissolve two pounds and a half of doubl e
refined sugar in on e gallon of cold sprino·
water; acid to it a quarter of a pint ~·
0
orange flower water, th e juice of twenty

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --
 15

lini es and eight pot orang<.·s. Stir it well

tog·elher; pour one quart of boiling milk
into it, and then add three qu arts of white
brandy aud three qu arts of orange brandy
shrub; strain it through a fl annel bag or fine
hair sieve. Take out what is wanted for
present use, and bottle off the remainder.

NORFOLK MILK PUNCH.

Cut the peelin g· of six Seville oran ges and
six lemon s extremely thin. Pound it in a
sto ne mortar. Add thereto a pint of brandy,
and let it remain about six hours; then
squeeze the juice of six Sev ille oranges a nfl
eight lemons into it. Stir it well, and pour
into it three more pints of brandy, three
pints of rum, and three quarts of water.
Make two quarts of skimmed milk boilin g
hot; grate a nutmeg into it; mix it gradu-
all y with the other in gredients; add a suffi-
ci ent quantity of fine loaf sugar to sweeten
it, (about two pounds.) Stir it till the sugar
is dissolved . Let th e mixture s tand twelve
 16
hours, then strain it through a flann el bag
till it is quite clear . It is then fit for use.
It has been said, that if this Punch is bot-
tled off and well corked, it will keep in any
climate, and for any length of tim e.
The bottles it is put into must be per-
fectly dry.

RESTORATIVE PUNCH vulgo,

STORATIVE.
Extract the juice from the peeling of on e
Seville orang·e and one lemon; th e juice of
six Seville oranges and six lemons, six
glasses of calves-feet jelly in a liquid state
a sufficient quantity of loaf suga r, (abou~
half a pound;) put the whole into a juo-
pour on it one quart of boiling water; ad~
four glasses of brandy; stir it well together,
and it is fit for use<.

c Many of the first statesmen of th e present da

(should they see this) will recognize it as th e liquor · y
In-
variably drank by the m a t College before they a ttend ed
their dehating parties.
 17
L "EMON PUNCH TO KEEP.
Cut the rind off six lemons if large, eight
if small, squeeze out the juice, put the
rind and the juice together, and add one
quart of white brandy. Let it remain closely
covered for three or four clays.
Let the juice of six or eight additional
lemon s b e squeezed into two quarts of water,
put into it a sufficient quantity of double
refined sug·ar to sweeten the whole. Boil it
w ell, and when quite cold, pour into it a
bottle of sherry or madeira. Then mix it
well with the lemon and brandy, and, if
sufficiently sweet, strain it through a flannel
bag into a small cask. At the expiration of
three months bottle it off, and, if the bottles
are well corked and kept in a cool place ,
it will be fit to drink in a month.

ALMOND PUNCH.
Extract the juice from the peeling of one
le111011 and one Seville orange by rubbirin-
c "
 18

loaf sugar on it. The juice of s ix lemons and

one Seville orange, one b ottle of capillaire,
and a quarter of a pound of loaf sugar. Put
the whole into a ju g, and when well mixed pour
upon it three pints of boiling water. Cover
the jug close, and keep it near the fire a quarter
of an hour. Then add three ounces of sweet
and half an ounce of bitter almonds, bla nched
and pouuded fine in a mortar, and gradualJ '.
mixecl with a bottl e of white brandy .,
· ~t1r
!
it well, and if s ufficientl y sweet it may be
used imm edi ately .

EGG PUNCH.
One quart of cold water, the JUICe of six
lemon s and six pot oranges, four gl asses of
calves-feet j elly in a liquid state; s tir th e
whole well tog·e th er; let it rema in covered
over for ha lf an hour; then strain it through
a hair sievP, a nd add to it o ne bottl e of ca_
pillaire, two glasses of sherry, half a pint of
brandy, and one bottle of ora nge sltrull.

II

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___ji,l
 19

P ut s om e pul ve rised sugar and ten fresh-

Jaid hens' eggs into a bo wl, beat them well
together, and gradua lly unite the two mix-
tures by kee ping the eg·gs well stirred as it
is poured in; then whip it with a wh is k un-
til a fine froth rises, and if sweet enough it
is fit for immediate use.
This Punch should be drank as soon as
it is made, for if kept any length of time
it will turn sour.
Omit the wine and spirits, and freeze the
remainder, and a mould of ice may be ob-
ta in ed equal to any in us e.

SHRUB PUNCH.
To make the above into S hrub Punch of
a s uperior flavour a nd quality to that in ge-
nera l us e, merely leave out the eggs.

LEMONADE.

To c onvert Egg Punch into a deliciou s

Lemo nad e, leave out the win e, s pirits, a ntl
c2
 20

oranges, and add the juice of four more le-

mons and a proportionate quantity of sugar.

ORANGEADE.

The mixture may also be made into

Orangeade by omitti1{g the wine, spirits,
and lemons, and 2queezing into it the juice
of twelve oranges in addition to those men-
tioned in the recipe for Egg Punch.

POSSET.
From fam'd Barbadoes, on the " ;estern main,
Fetch sugar, ounces four; fetch sack from Spain
A pint ; and from the Eastern Indian coa st
Nutmeg, the glory of our northern toast;
O'er flamin " coal s let them together heat,
Till the all-~onquering sack dissolve the sweet;
O'er such anoth er fire put eggs just ten,
New-born from tread of cock and rump of hen;
Stir them with steady hand and con science pricking ,
To see th' untimely end of ten fin e chick en :
 21
From shining shelf take down the brazen ske ll ct,
A quart of milk from gen tle cow will fill it;
When boil'd and cold, put milk and sack to egg;,
Unite them firmly like the tripl e lea1i ue ,
And on the fire let th em togeth er dwell
Till miss sing twice- you must not kiss and 1ell:
Each lad and Jass take up a si lver spoon ,
And fall on fiercely like a starv 'd dragoon .
Si1· Fleetwood Fletcher's Sack Posset.

Posset, it seems, is a medicated drink of

some antiquity; for among the numerou s
English authors who in some way or other
speak of it, our immortal Bard Shakspeare
has made one of hi!! ch a racters say," 1Ve'll
have a Posset at the latter end of a sea coal
fire." And Sir John Suckling, who di ed in
1641, says, in one of his poems, " In came
the bridemaids with the Posset." Dr. John-
son describes Posset to be milk curdled
with win e and other acids; we may there-
fore with propriety infer, that the 1Vhite 'Vine
Whey so common in Oxford is th e Milk
Posset of our forefathers.

~ ---------- --------- --
 22

WHITE WINE WHEY, OR Ml LK

POSS E T.

II Put on€ pint of milk into a sauce pan, and

when it boils pour into it one gi ll of white
wine ; boil it till the curd becomes hard
then strain it through a fine sieve; rub ~
few knobs of loaf sugar on the rind or a
l emon, put them into the °"' h e y; grate a
small quantity of nutmeg i11to it; sweeten it
to your taste, and it is fit for use.

PEPP.ER POSSET.
The more to promote perspiration, ·whole
pepper is sometimes boiled in the "Whey, but
all-spice is far preferable.
A PepperPosset was known to the learned
and ingenious John Dryden, as will appear
by the followin g liu es written by him;

A sparing diet did her health assure ;

Or sick , a pepper posse! was her cure.
 23
CIDER P OSSET.
Pound the peeling of a lemon in a mortar,
pour on it one quart of fres h draw n cid er;
sw eeten it with double refi ned s ugar, add
one g ill of brandy, and one qu art of milk
from th e cow, s tir it well together, s train it
throu gh a fin e hair sieve or a fl ann el bag,
th en grate a nutmeg into it, a nd it is fit
for use .

PE RRY P OSSET
is prepared in the sa me way, exceptin g·
that p err y is used instead of cider.

There are other Po ssets, which have milk

for their basis, in use in di ffe rent p arts of the
co untry, s uch , for instance, as T reacl e Beer
and O ra nge P osset; but as they a re seld om
if ever mad e in O xfo rd, it is not necessary
th at any thing furth er s hould be said of
them.
 24
The following have a n afli nity l o, an d
possibly derive the ir origin from, Sir Fl eet-
wood Fle tcher's Sac k Posset.

RUM BOOZE, OR EGG POSS ET"·

Tlieyolks of e ight eggs well beaten up, w ith
some refined sugar pul veri!'ed, and a. grated
nutmeg; extract the juice from th e rinu of a
lemon by rubbing loaf s ugar on it; put the
sugar, a piece of c inna mon, and a bottl e of
white wi ne, into a c lean sa uc ep:rn ; wh e n th e
wine boils take it off th e fire; pour o ne gluss
of cold white wine into it, put it into a
s pouted jug, and po ur it gr~duall y arnong·
the yolks of eggs, &c. keeping th e m welJ
stirred with a s poo n as the wi ne is p o ured
in; if not s wee t eno ug h, a dd a ~mall quantity
of loaf sugar ; th en po ur the mi xtu re as swift
as possible fro111 one vessel to thc other

b It is sometimes denominated Egg Fli11.

 25
until n fine white froth is obtaiuc<l. Half a
pint of rum is some times added, but it is
the n very intox icatin g. P ort wine is so me-
tim es s ubs tituted fo r white, but is not co n-
~idere<l so palatab le. This liquor should be
drank when quite hot. If the win e is poured
boiling hot a mong th e eg·gs, the mixture
will beco me c urdled.

BEER FL IP.

Deer Flip is ma<le tfi e sa me way antl

with the same materials as t he preceding,
excepting that one quart of strong home-
brewed beer is substituted for the wine;
a glass ofgi u is sometimes added , but it is
better without it. This beverage is generall y
given to servants at Christmas, and othe r
hig h festivals of our Church.
 2G

RUM. FUSTIAN.
The yolks of tw elve eggs, one q uart of
strong b eer, one bottl e of white wi ne, h alf a
pint of gin, a grated nutmeg, t he juice fro m
the peeling of a lemon, a. small quantity of
cinnam o n, a n<l sufficient s ugar to swe eten it·
prepared precisely in the same way as Ru~
Booze.
S uch is th e intoxica ting property of thi s
liquor, th a t no ne but hard drinkers will
venture to rega le the mselves with it a secoud
time.

THE OX FORD 9-RACE CUP.

T he grace cup serv' d, the cloth away,
J ove thought it time to shew his play.
Prior.

The anc ient Grace C up was a vessel pro-

portioned to the number of th e co mpany
 27
asse1nblctl , whi ch wc11t rou11d th e table, the
g ues ts dri11ki ng o ut of the same c up o11e
:1fter a nother. Virgi l desc ribes something
like it, whe n, s pea king of the entertainmel\t
Queen Dido gave to JEnea s, he says,
Postquam prima quics epulis, me ns:l'que rcmot:u;
Cratcras m:.gnos ~ la.tuunt, et vina corooant.
• • • • • • • • • •
H ic reg in a gral'cm gem mi~ auroquc poposcit

~ . ........
Implel'itquc mcro patcram : • • • "

P rimaque lil>ato summo tcnus a ttigit ore.

Tum Ditire dcdit iocrcpit ans : ille impiger hausit
Spumnnte m pa tcram, e t plcno se proluit anro.
Post alii proccrcs.

I t has bee11 t he c usto m from time imme-

morial, at the c ivic feasts in Oxford, for th e
Grace C np to be introduced before the re-
moval of th e cloth, wh en the Mayor receives
th e Cup standing; his right and left haud
g uests a lso rise from their ~eats while lte
g ives th e toas t, whi ch, sin ce th e H efor111a
tio11, has bee n, "Church au·d Kin g." Th e
 28
Cup is then handed round th e lalilc, no one
presuming to apply his lips to it until two
pe rsons have ri sen from their seats. The
origin of this custom is ascribed by our
antiquaries to the practice of the Danes
heretofo re in England, who frequ e ntly used
to stab or cut the throats of th e nativ es
while th ey were drinkin g, the perso ns stand.
ing b eing sur"°t.ies that the one hol<liug the
cup sl1ould come to no ha rm while par.
taking of it.

R ecipe.
Extract the juice from the peeling of a
lemon, and cut the re mainder into thiu slices.
put it into a jug or bowl, a nd pour on it thre~
half pints of strong hom e-brewed beerc an<l
a bottle of mountain wine; grate a nutnieg

c Home-brewed beer is here recommended, as ~Orne

common brewers and publicans mix witl1 their beer
sulphuric acid, copperas, tobacco, capsicum, cocculus
I adieus, coriander seeds, all um, and burnt sugar,
 29
into it; s weeten it to yo ur tas te; s tir it till
th e sugar is .dissolved, and the n add three
or four s lices of bread toas ted brown. Let it
stand two hours, and then strain it off into
the Grace Cup.

CIDER CUP, OR CO LD TANKARD.

Extract the juice from th e peelin g of one
lemon by ru bbin g lonf s ug ar on it; cut two
leruon s into t hin s li ces ; the rind of o ne

I lern on c ut thin, n qu arter of a pound of lonf

sugar, a nd ha lf a pin t of brandy. Put th e

I
whol e into a large jug, mix it well tog:ether,
and pour one qu art of cold s prin g water
upon it. Grate a nutm eg into it, add one pint
of white win e and a bottle of cider, sweeten
it to your taste with capi ll aire or s ugar, put
a ha ndful of balm and th e same quantity of
boraged in flow er (borago nfficinalis) into

rl " The sprigs of borage in wine are of known virtue

to 1c1•ivc the hypochond riac, and cheer the hard stu'.
 30
it, stalk downwards. Then pnt th e jug con-
taining thi s liquor into a tu.b of ice, a nd
wh en it has remai ned there one hour it is fit
fur use. The balm a nd borage should be
fresh gath ered.

P ER.RY CUP.
Merely s ubstitute perry for cider.

dent." Evcly11's Acetaria, p. 13. " Boragc is one of

the four cordial flowers ; it comforts the heart, cheers
melancholy, and revives the fain ting spirits." Salmon'•
l/o1t;t/iold C11mpa11io11, London, 1710. "llorage has the
credit of heing a great cordial ; throwing it into cold wine
is better than all the medicinal preparations." Sir John
Hill, M.D.
'• The leaves, flowers, and seed of boragc, all or any
of them, arc good to expel pensiveness and melancholy. "
Th e E 11"/i;/i Ph .,sicia11.
" B:im is ve;y good to help digestion and open obstruc.
lions of the brain , and hath so much purging quality in it,
as to expel those melancholy vapours from the spirits an<}
blood which are in the heart and arteries, although it
cannot do so in other parts of the boc.ly." Ibid.
 31

BEER CUP.
One qu art of s trong b eer ins tead of cider
or perry. T he other ing redients the same
a s in Cider C up.

RED CUP.
lTse one pint of port win e ins tead of
white; s ome times tlVO glasses of red currant
j elly are add ed. In other respects the same
as Cider Cup, excepting t!Jat warm water is
used to disso lve the j elly.

THE WA SSAIL BOWL, OR SWIG.

Sir, quod he, \V atsayll, for never days of your lyf
ne dronk ye of such a cuppe. A11cie11t MS.

T he: ' Vassail Bowl, or Swig-, as it is

t ermed a t J es us Collegl:! in this U niversi ty, is
of cons irl era bl e :rntiquity, and up to this lim e
 32
is a great favourite wilh the sons of Cam -
bria; so much so , in<leed, lhat a party sel -
dom <lines or sups in that College w ithout
ils forming n part of their entertainm ent•.
On the festival of St. D avid, Cambria's
tutelary Saint, an immense si lver gilt bow l,
containing ten gallons, and whi ch was prc-
scnte<l to J esus College by Sir ' Vatk in W.
'Vy11ne in 1732, is fill ed with Swig, a nd
handed round to th ose who are invited on
that occasion to sit at th eir festive and
hospitable board. The following i ~ the
method of manufacturing it at that College.

P ut into a bowl half a pound of Lisbo n

suga r; pour on it one pint of warm beer;
grate a nutmeg and so me ginger in to it : adll
four glasses of sherry a nrl five additional
pints of beer ; stir it well ; sweeten it to your
c Swig was formerly almosl exclusively confined to
Jesus College; il is now, however, a gre:tt favourite
throughout the University.

\
 33
tast e: let it stancl covered up two or three
h o urs, th en put three or four s lices of bread
cut thin and toasted brown into it, a nd it is fi t
~ ·.
for u se. Sometimes a cou.ple or three slices
of lemo11, and a few lumps of loaf sugar
rubbed on the peeling of a lemo11 , are
introduced.
Bottle this mixture, and in a few days it
may be dran k in a state of effervescence.

The Wassail Dow!, or Wassail Cup, was

foratcrly pre pared in nearly the same way
ns at present, excepting that roasted apples,
or crab app les, were introduced instead of
toasted bread. And up to the present pe-
riod, in some parts of the kingdom, there are
persons who k eep up the a ncient custom of
rc""aling
0
their friends and neighbo urs on
Christm as-eve a nd Twelfth-eve with a '"as-
sail Bowl, with roasted app les fl oating in it,
a nd whi ch is generally ushered in w ith great
ceremony. Shaks peare allude!; to the " ' as-
D
 34

sail Bowl when he says, in his Midsummer

II Night's Dream,
Sometimes lark I in a gossip's bowl,
Ia very lik eness of a roasted crab,
Aad when she drinb, against her lips I bob,
And on her wither"d dewlap pour th e ale.

BROWN BETTY.
Brown Betty does not differ materially"
from the preceding; it is said to have de-
rived its name from one of the fair sea:,
ycleped a bedmaker, who invariably recom-
mended the mixture so named as a never
failing panacea.

Recipe.
Dissolve a quarter of a pound of brown
sugar in one pint of water, slice a lemon
into it, let it stand a quarter of an hour,
then add a small quantity of pulverized

"'----- - - - - - - - -- ----=-----------
 35
cloves and ci11narnon, half a pint of brandy,
and one quart of good strong· ale; stir it
well together, put a couple of slices of
toasted bread into it, grate some nutmeg
and ginger on the toast, and it is fit for use.
Ice it well and it will prove a g·ood summer,
warm it and it will become a pleasant
winter, beverage. It is drank chiefly at
di11ner.

LAMBS WOOL.
Next crowne the bowie full
With gentle Lambs wooll,
Adde sugar, nutmeg, and ginger,
·with store of all too,
And thus ye must doe
To make the Wassaile a swinger.
H erricl!s T welft.h N ight, or King and Qu een.

Lamb~ "\-Vool is merely a variety of the

Wassail Bowl, and although not common in
Oxford, is a great favourite in some parts
 36
of :England. The following 1s the ongrn
of the term Lambs "\<V ool, as applied to
this particular beverage. Formerly the first
day of November was dedicated to the
Angel presiding over fruits, seeds, &c. and
was therefore named La mas ttbal, that is,
The day of the apple fruit, and being pro-
nouuced lamasool, o ur country people have
corrupted it to Lambs \-V ool •.
Lamb5 Wool was anciently often met
with in Ireland r, but is now rarely heard
of in that country, having b een entirely
superseded by the more intoxicating liquor
called Whiskey.

Recipe.
Mix the pulp of half a dozen roasted
apples with some raw sugar, a grated
nutmeg, and a small quantity of ginger.
Add one quart of strong· ale made moderately

•See Col. Vallancy, Collect. de Re\J. Hibern. iii. 441.

r Brand's Popul. Antiq. i. 312.
 37
warm. Stir the whole well together, and, if
sweet enough, it is fit for use.

This mixture is sometimes served up m

a bowl, with sweet cakes floating in it.

BRASENOS E ALE.

j~rom the foundation of Brasenose Colleo·e

b
to the present time a custom has prevailed, of
introducing into the refectory on Shrove
Tuesday, immediately after dinner, what is
denomin ated Brasenose Ale, but which 111
fact is a spe cies of Lambs \Yoo!.
Verses iu praise of Brasenose Ale are
annually written by one of the Under"'
grad uates , and a copy of them sent to
eve ry resident member of the College.
 38
The following Stanzas are extracted from
a copy of recent date.

Shall all our singing uow be o'er,

Since Christmas carols fail?
No ! let us shout one stanza more
In praise of Brasenose Ale !

A fig for Horace aml his juice,

Falernian and Massie;
Far better drink can we produce,
Though 'tis not quite so Classic.

Not all the liquors Rome e'er had

Can beat our matchless Beer;
Apicius' se lf had gone stark mad,
To taste such noble cheer.

Recipe.
Three quarts of ale, sweetened with refined
sugar finely pulverized, and served up in a
bowl with six roasted apples floating in it.
 39
METHEGLIN.
Non Vitis, sed A pis succum tibi mitto bibendum,
Quern Jegimus Bardos olim potasse Britannos.
Qualibet in bacca Vitis IVIegt<ra htcscit,
Qu alibet in gutta :VIellis Aglaia nitet.

The juice of Bees, not Bacchus, here behold,

Which British Bards were wont to quaff of old ;
The berries of th e grape with Furies swell ,
Bu t in the honeycomb the Graces dwell.
Howell.

Mctheglin is probably derived from the

Welch Meodyg·lyn, a medical drink 1 and
was once th e n atural beverage of a 0-reat
"'
. country, and according to some
part of tlus
authors is the Hyrlrornel • of the ancients.
f{owell ", in one of his familiar letters, 011

a In fevers, the alim ents prescribed by Hippocrates

were ptisans and cream of barley, hydJ"omel, that is,
honey and water, where there was no tendency to
delirium . Arbuthuot.
b James Howell, Clerk of th e Privy Council in l6 40,
and sometime Fell ow of J esus College in this University.

- - -- - - - - - -- --- - - - - - -
 40
presenting 11. friend with a bottle of Metheglin,
thus speaks of it; "Ne ithe r Sir J ohn
" Barleyc orn or Bacchus had any thing to do
" with it, but it is th e pure juice of the b ee,
" the laborious b ee, and the kin g of in sects ;
" the Druids and old British B a rd s were
" wont to take a carou se hereof before
" they entered into th eir s peculations. B ut
" this drink always carries a kind of stnte
" with it, for it must be a ttende d with a
" brown toast; nor will it admit b ut of one
" good draught, and that in th e morning; if
" more , it will keep a humming in the head,
" and so sp~ak too much of the hou se it
" comes from , I mean, th e hive."
Indeed a lmost every othe r auth or who has
written on the s ubj ect affirms, that before th e
introduction of .Agricult ure into th is isla nd,
honey diluted with wate r (i. e. 1\'letheglin )
was the only stron g drink known t o, and
was a great favourite a mon g , the An cient
Rritons,
 41

Metheg-lin is usually d ivided iuto the

Simple a ud the Vinous. Simple Methegliu
is th at which has not been fermented, and
the Viuous is th at which has obtained a
spirit by fermentation .

VINO US METHEGLIN.
Take as much uew ho ney separated from
th o comb which, when well mixed with
water, will be of such a consistency as t o
bear an egg; boil this liq uor for oae hour;
let it s tand covered up till t he next mornin n-
~·
a nd, if it is then quite cold , put it into a cask.
To every fifteen gallon s add pulverized ginge r,
iuace, c i11namo11, and c loves, of each an ounce.
To promote fer mentation, put into the bung-
ho le two ta ble-spoo usful of yeast. When
it has done workin g s top it up, and in a
rnonth or six week s it will be in a tit state to
be draw n off into bottles .
 42
MEAD AND BRAGGON, OR
BRAGG ET,
Do not uiffer materially fr om M eth eg lin;
they are indeed varieties of the same.
Howell says, " they differ in s trength a c-
" cording lo the three degrees of compari-
" so n, M eth eglin being s tro ng in the s up er-
" lative, and if taken imm oderately doth
" stupify more than a ny other liqu or."
The following a re the m ethod~ of preparing
them.
Mix the whites o f six eggs with twelve
gallons of spring water; add twenty pounds
of the bes t virgin hon ey and t he peeling of
three lemons ; boil it a n hour, and then put
into it so me rosemary g' cloves, mace, and
ginger; when it is quite cold, add a spoonfu l
or two of yeast, tun it, an d when it has done
Working, s top it up close. ln a few months

g The bc51 honey known i• th•t of N:irhonne in France,

where 1osernary abounds, it having a very •trong flavour
of that plant.

- -- -- -- - - - - ----
 43

bottle it off, a nd d eposi t it in a cell ar of cool

t e mp e rature.
Some prefer it witho ut the spices, others
without lemons.
To each gallon of wate r acid four p ounds
o f the whitest, pures t, a nd bes t tasted honey,
a nd th e peelin g of two lemo ns ; boil it ha lf
an h our. Scum it wi1en cold. Put it into
a. cas k, a dd so me yeast to it; when it has
done fermenting, stop the cask up c lose,
and a t th e expiration of eig ht 1nonths bottle
it off.

If this li quor is prope rl y kept, the t aste of

th e h oney will go off, a nd it will resemble
'fokay both in s trength and flavo ur.

TIIE EN D.

llAXTF.1:, 1'111x·n:1:, oxrono.