Whether this is made from British or lager beer is not stated in the recipe before me, which hardly reads suited to the ordinary English palate. I will now give a few modern recipes for tasty beer-compounds. {55} _Ale Cup (Cold)._ Squeeze the juice of a lemon into a round of hot toast; lay on it a thin piece of the rind, a tablespoonful of powdered sugar, a little grated nutmeg or powdered all-spice, and a sprig of balm. Pour over these one wine-glass of brandy, two of sherry, and three pints of mild ale. Do not allow the balm to remain in many minutes. _Ale Flip (Hot)._ Put into a saucepan three pints of ale, a tablespoonful of sugar, a blade of mace, a clove, and a small piece of butter, and bring the liquor to a boil. Beat the white of one egg and the yolks of two thoroughly, mixing with them a tablespoonful of cold ale. Mix all together, and then pour the whole rapidly from one large jug to another, from a good height—mind your fingers and the furniture—for some minutes, to froth it thoroughly. Do not allow it to get cool. _Ale Posset (Hot)._ Boil a pint of new milk, and pour it over a slice of toasted bread. Stir in the beaten yolk of an egg and a small piece of butter, and sugar _ad lib._ Mix these with a pint of hot ale, and boil for a few minutes. When the scum rises the mixture is ready for use. _Mulled Ale (Very Hot)._ Put half a pint of ale, a clove, a little whole ginger, a piece of butter the size of a marble, and a teaspoonful of sugar into a saucepan, and bring {56} it to boiling-point. Beat two eggs with a tablespoonful of cold ale, and pour the boiling ale into them, and then into a large jug. Pass the whole from one jug to another, as in the case of Ale Flip, return to saucepan, and heat it again till almost, _not quite_, at boiling-point. With regard to _Wassail, or Swig (Cold)_, which used to be a very popular beverage at the universities—at one time it was peculiar to Jesus College, Oxford—is of very ancient date indeed. “Sir quod he,” is part of a conversation culled from an old MS., “Watsayll, for never days of your lyf ne dronk ye of such a cuppe,” which sounds as if the Watsayll was of a seductive and harmful nature. Nevertheless here is the recipe, taken from “Oxford Nightcaps.” Put into a bowl half a pound of Lisbon sugar (if you do not possess that brand, I have no doubt “best lump,” pulverized, will do as well), and pour on it one pint of warm beer; grate a nutmeg and some ginger into it; add four glasses of sherry and five additional pints of beer; stir it well and sweeten to taste; let it stand covered up two or three hours, then put three or four slices of bread cut thin and toasted brown into it, and it is fit for use. Sometimes two or three slices of lemon are introduced, together with a few lumps of sugar rubbed on the peel of a lemon. Bottle this mixture, and in a few days it may be drunk in a state of effervescence.