already alluded to in an earlier chapter, will get no recommendation from me, as a restorative. If quite certain of your soda-water, and of your brandy, a tumblerful on occasion will do no harm; but do not be in too great a hurry to order this, after meeting an old friend, in a strange district. Like Wotsisname’s pills, the more brandy-and-sodas you take, the more you will want; and the tendency of soda-water is distinctly lowering. As for bad soda-water—well, it will kill almost as rapidly as will bad brandy. A favourite restorative of the working man, who has been propounding abstruse political problems in the tap-room all night, is a red-herring, eaten raw, with the aid of his clasp-knife. This he will wash down with some sort of ale, or with a mixture of gin-and-peppermint, according to the state of his feelings. That old, heroic soberer the Pump, is not much used for that purpose, nowadays. _A Scorcher_ is a rarely-employed pick-me-up. It consists of {208} the juice of half a lemon squeezed into a large wine-glass, a liqueur-glass of old brandy being added, and a dash of cayenne. I have already alluded in another chapter to a Prairie Oyster. A Worcester Oyster is made in the same way, with the substitution of Worcester sauce for vinegar. _Brazil Relish._ This reads far more like an emetic than a “livener”; but I am assured by one who has been in Brazil—“where the nuts come from”—and in the regions which border on the river Plate, that ’tis used in those parts as a stimulant, and is in high favour for that purpose. Into a wine-glass half full of curaçoa pop the unbroken yolk of a bantam’s egg, and fill the glass up with maraschino. I think I should prefer the “Twist” of the workers in the Borough hop-market. _St. Mark’s Pick-me-up_, a Venetian recipe. The original St. Mark never wanted it. Ten drops of Angostura bitters in a wine-glass, filled up with orange-bitters. One wine-glassful of old brandy, one ditto cold water, one liqueur-glassful of curaçoa, and the juice of half a lemon. This, I should say, ought to be mixed with a swizzle-stick. Here follows a very old, and a very excellent, recipe for {209} _Bitters_ for mixing purposes. One ounce of Seville orange-peel, half an ounce of gentian-root, a quarter of an ounce of cardamoms. Husk the cardamoms, and crush them with the gentian-root. Put them in a wide-mouthed bottle, and cover with brandy or whisky. Let the mixture remain for twelve days, then strain, and bottle off for use, after adding one ounce of lavender drops. A hot-pickle sandwich may be made with two thin, crisp slices of toast, with chopped West-Indian pickles in between. There are also many excellent sandwiches made for restorative purposes, by the nymphs who enliven the various Bodegas by their abilities and pretty prattle. And of those sandwiches commend me to the one labelled “Rajah.” To make a _Devilled Biscuit_