Take to every Gallon of Fountain-water a good quart of honey. Set the water on the fire, till it be pretty warm; then take it off, and put it in your honey, and stir it till it be dissolved. Then put into every three Gallons, two handfuls of Thyme: two good handfuls of Strawberry-leaves, one handful of Organ; one handful of Fennel-roots, the heart being taken out, and one handful of Parsley-roots the heart taken out: But as for the herbs, it must be according to the constitution of them, for whom the Mead is intended. Then set the Herbs in it on the fire, to boil for half an hour, still skimming it, as the scum riseth; it must boil but half an hour; then take it off the fire, and presently strain it from the herbs, and let it stand till it be fully cold; then pour it softly off the bottom, and put it in a vessel fit for it, and put a small quantity of barm in it, and mingle it with it, and when it hath wrought up, which will be in three or four days, skim off that barm, and set on fresh: but the second barm must not be mingled with the Meath, but onely poured on the top of it. Take an Ounce of Nutmeg sliced: one Ounce of Ginger sliced: one Ounce of Cinnamon cut in pieces, and boil them a pretty while in a quart of White-wine or Sack: when this is very cold, strain it, and put the spices in a Canvas-bag to hang in your Meath, and pour in the Wine it was boiled in. This Meath will be drinkable, when it is a fortnight or three weeks old. TO MAKE METHEGLIN THAT LOOKS LIKE WHITE-WINE Take to twelve gallons of water, a handful of each of these Herbs: Parsley, Eglantine, Rosemary, Strawberry-leaves, Wild-thyme, Baulme, Liverwort, Betony, Scabious: when the water begins to boil, cast in the herbs: let them boil a quarter of an hour: then strain out the herbs; and when it is almost cold, then put in as much of the best honey, you can get, as will bear an Egg to the breadth of two pence; that is, till you can see no more of the Egge above the water, then a two pence will cover: Lave it and stir it till you see all the honey be melted; then boil it well half an hour, at the least: skim it well, and put in the whites of six Eggs beaten, to clarifie it: Then strain it into some woodden vessels; and when it is almost cold, put some Ale-barm into it. And when it worketh well, Tun it into some well seasoned vessel, where neither Ale nor Beer hath been, for marring the colour of it. When it hath done working, if you like it, Take a quantity of Cloves, Nutmegs, Mace, Cinnamon, Ginger, or any of these that you like best, and bruise them, and put them in a boulter bag, and hang it in the vessel. Put not too much of the Spice, because many do not like the taste of much Spice. If you make it at Michaelmas, you may tap it at Christmas: but if you keep it longer, it will be the better. It will look pure, and drink with as much spirit as can be, and very pleasant. TO MAKE WHITE METHEGLIN