This is an elaborate affair. One quart of syrup of orgeat (to make this _vide_ next recipe), one pint and a half of old brandy, two wine-glasses of maraschino, one pint of old rum, {96} two large and one small bottles of champagne, three bottles of Seltzer water, half a pound of sifted sugar, and the juice of five lemons. Peel the lemons and put the thin rind in a mortar with the sugar. Pound them well, and scrape the result with a silver spoon into a large bowl. Squeeze in the juice of the lemons, add the Seltzer water, and stir till the sugar is quite dissolved. Then add the orgeat, and whip the mixture well with a whisk, so as to whiten it. Add the maraschino, rum, and brandy, and strain the whole into another bowl. Just before the cup is required, put in the champagne and stir vigorously with a punch ladle. The champagne should have been previously well iced, as no apparent iceberg is allowable in this mixture. Do not make too free with this mixture, if you are about to ride the favourite for an important race, or you will be seeing five winning posts, like the late “Jem” Snowden. _Orgeat._ You do not often hear this compound called for nowadays, but here is the programme for its manufacture:— Blanch and pound three quarters of a pound of sweet almonds, and thirty bitter almonds, in one tablespoonful of water. Stir in by degrees two pints of water and three pints of milk. Strain the mixture through a cloth. Dissolve half a pound of loaf-sugar in one pint of water. Boil and skim well, and then mix with the almond water. Add two tablespoonfuls of orange-flower water and half a pint of old brandy. Be careful to boil the _eau sucré_ well, as this concoction must not be too watery. {97} A Crimean Cup for a much smaller party can be made, without the addition of orgeat, as follows:— Put the peel of half a lemon or orange into a bowl, add a tablespoonful of sifted sugar, one small glassful of maraschino, half that quantity of curaçoa, and a wine-glassful of old brandy. Mix well together, and add two bottles of aërated water, one bottle of champagne, and a block of ice. _Race-day Cup._ Dissolve a quarter of a pound of sugar in a quarter of a pint of water, add the juice of two lemons, one wine-glassful of brandy, half a wine-glassful of cherry brandy, a dash of maraschino, and a bottle of champagne. Add also a small piece of cucumber-peel, two sprigs of borage, two thin slices of lemon, four strawberries, four brandy-cherries, and two bottles of Seltzer water; stir well, and ice for an hour after covering up the bowl. Before serving put in a block of ice, and serve in tumblers. _Loving Cup._ Better a little flavoured brandy-and-water where love is than a Crimean Cup or a Halo Punch amidst bickerings and vexation of spirit.