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192
THE FLOWING BOWL
Orange Brandy
should be made in the month of March, and,
well-made, is the best of all cordials, being
especially valuable ona cold morning just before
proceeding with the hounds to draw Newton
Wood.
Take the thin rinds of six Seville oranges, and
put them into a stone jar, with half a pint of the
strained juice and half a gallon of good old brandy.
Let it remain three days, then add one pound and
a quarter of loaf-sugar—broken, not pounded and
stir till the sugar is dissolved. Let the liquor stand
a day, strain it through paper until quite clear, pour
into bottles, and cork tightly. The longer it is kept
the better.
The ancients apparently interpreted the word
"cordial" in a different way to our later way;
and their cordials were chiefly used in the sick
room.
The Saffron Cordial^
for instance, was chiefly employed to cure faint
ing fits, the ague, and the smallpox. I think I
should have preferred all three complaints at
once.
Fill a large still with marigold flowers, and strew
on it an ounce of ground nutmeg; beat them
grosly, and take an ounce of the best English
saffron, pull it, and mix with the flowers ; then take
three pints of muscadine or tent, or Malaga sack,
and with a sprig of rosemary dash it on the flowers ;
then distil it off with a slow fire, and let it drop on