40 / 66
4 0
CUPS AHD THEIB CUSTOMS.
OLD BE0IP1S.
FIRST and foremost among compound drinks, witli re-
gard to priority of date, stands Hydromel, the favourite
beverage of the ancient Britons, which is probably the
same as that made and used at the present day under
the name of Metheglin, a word derived from the Welsh
Medey-glin
3
and spoken of by Howell, who was Clerk
to the Privy Conneil in 1640. In ancient times, how-
ever, this compound was made by simply diluting
honey with water; but at the present day, substances
are usually added to it to cause it to ferment j and when
made in. this way, it differs little from mead or bragget.
Metheglm*
To nine gallons of boiling water put twenty-eight
pounds of honey, add the peel of three lemons, with a
small quantity of ginger, mace, cloves, and rosemary;
when this is quite cold, add two tablespoonfiils of yeast.
Put this into a cask, and allow it to ferment j at the
expiration of six months, bottle it off for use.
Another favourite drink in olden times was that called
"Lamb's Wool/' which derived its name from the 1st
of November, a day dedicated to the angel presiding
over fruits and seeds^ and termed
€£
La Mas-ubal/* which
has subsequently been corrupted into
cc
lamb
J
s wool/*