A cordial which is but seldom asked for nowadays was known in the seventeenth century as _King Charles II.’s Surfeit-Water_. Take a gallon of the best aqua-vitæ, and a quart of brandy, and a quart of anniseed-water, a pint of poppy-water, and a pint of damask-rose-water; put these in a large glass jar, and put to it a pound of fine powdered sugar, a pound and a half of raisins stoned, a quarter of a pound of dates stoned and sliced, one ounce of cinnamon bruised, cloves one ounce, four nutmegs bruised, one stick of licorice scraped and sliced; let all these stand nine days close covered, stirring three or four times a day; then add to it three pounds of fresh poppies, or three handfuls of dried poppies, a sprig of angelica, two or three of balm; so let it stand a week longer, then strain it out and bottle it. And then notify the undertaker, I should think. The Merry Monarch had his faults, but, surfeit or no surfeit, it is hard to believe that a king could bring himself to lap such a {190} “hell-broth” as the above. Pah! Let us take the taste out with _Ginger Brandy_. Bruise slightly two pounds of black currants, and mix them with one ounce and a half of ground ginger. Pour over them one bottle and a half of best old brandy, and let the mixture stand for two days. Strain off the liquid, and add one pound of loaf-sugar which has been boiled to a syrup in a little water. Bottle and cork closely. _Orange-flower Brandy._ There is not much of this in the market, or the store-cupboard. Take a gallon of best brandy, and mix with it a pound of orange-flowers which have been boiled. Save the water, sweeten it, and bottle off the mixture. _Carraway Brandy._ Steep an ounce of carraway seeds and six ounces of loaf-sugar in a quart of brandy. Let this stand nine days, then strain and bottle. And the author of the above adds: “ ’Tis a good cordial.” Three hundred years ago carraways invariably figured at the dessert-table in England. The seeds now appear either in cakes for school-treats, sugar-plums, or the favourite liqueur known as _Kümmel_. This is principally made in Russia, and is an excellent stomachic. Own brother to the {191} carraway seed is the anise seed, which appears in a liqueur, made chiefly at Bordeaux, and called _Anisette_. Personally, I prefer Kümmel, and the other is more of a drug than an enlivening potion. Cough remedies for the most part contain anise seed, which is also largely used at a “drag” hunt, hounds being especially keen on the scent. _Apricot Brandy._ This is not often met with away from its home in the United States.