1447, is an entry in Latin, the translation of which seems to be this:—"Paid for raisin wine, with comfits and spices, when Sir S. Montford's fool was here and exhibited his merriments in the oriel chamber." And even in Edward III.'s reign, we read that at the Christmas feasts the drinks were a collection of spiced liquors, and cinnamon and grains of paradise were among the dessert confections—evidence of compound drinks being in fashion; and these, although somewhat too much medicated to be in accordance with our present taste, deserve well of us as leading to better things. Olden worthies who took their cups regularly, and so lived clean and cheerful lives, when they were moved to give up their choice recipes for the public good, described them under the head of "kitchen physic;" for the oldest "Curry" or Cookery Books (the words are synonymous) include, under this head, both dishes of meats and brewages of drinks. One cup is described as "of mighty power in driving away the cobweby fogs that dull the brain," another as "a generous and right excellent cordial, very comforting to the stomach;" and their possession of these good qualities was notably the reason of their appearance at entertainments. Among the most prominent ranks the medicated composition called Hypocras, also styled "Ypocras for Lords," for the making of which various recipes are to be found, one of which we will quote:—

Infuse these for twenty-four hours, then put a pound of sugar to a quart of red wine or cider, and drop three or four drops of the infusion into it, and it will make it taste richly." This compound was usually given at marriage festivals, when it was introduced at the commencement of the banquet, served hot; for it is said to be of so comforting and generous a nature that the stomach would be at once put into good temper to enjoy the meats provided. Hypocras (so called from a particular bag through which it was strained) was also a favourite winter beverage; and we find in an old almanac of 1699 the lines—

Hypocras, however, is mentioned as early as the 14th century. From this period we select our champion of compound drinks in no less a personage than the noblest courtier of Queen Bess; for, among other legacies of price, Sir Walter Raleigh has handed down to us a recipe for "Cordial Water," which, in its simplicity and goodness, stands alone among the compounds of the age. "Take," says he, "a gallon of strawberries and put them into a pint of aqua vitæ; let them stand four days, then strain them gently off, and sweeten the liquor as it pleaseth thee." This beverage, though somewhat too potent for modern palates, may, by proper dilution, be rendered no unworthy cup even in the present age. From the same noble hand we get a recipe for Sack Posset, which full well shows us propriety of taste in its compounder. "Boil a quart of cream with quantum sufficit of sugar, mace, and nutmeg; take half a pint of sack, and the same quantity of ale, and boil them well together, adding sugar; these, being boiled separately, are now to be added. Heat a pewter dish very hot, and cover your basin with it, and let it stand by the fire for two or three hours."

With regard to wines, we find in the beginning of the 16th century that the demand for Malmsey was small; and in 1531 we find Sack first spoken of, that being the name applied to the vintages of Candia, Cyprus, and Spain. Shakspeare pronounced Malmsey to be "fulsom," and bestowed all his praises on "fertil sherries;" and when Shakspeare makes use of the word Sack, he evidently means by it a superior class of wine. Thus Sir Launcelot Sparcock, in the "London Prodigal," says,

In all probability, the sack of Shakspeare was very much allied to, if not precisely the same as, our sherry; for Falstaff says, "You rogue! there is lime in this sack too; there is nothing but roguery to be found in villanous man; yet a coward is worse than sack with lime in it;" and we know that lime is used in the manufacture of sherry, in order to free it from a portion of malic and tartaric acids, and to assist in producing its dry quality. Sack is spoken of as late as 1717, in a parish register, which allows the minister a pint of it on the Lord's day, in the winter season; and Swift, writing in 1727, has the lines—

He was probably of the same opinion as the Elizabethan poet, who sang,