Beat the yolks of sixteen eggs and twelve tablespoonfuls of pulverized loaf-sugar to the consistency of cream; stir into this two-thirds of a grated nutmeg, and then pour in half a pint of good old brandy, or Jamaica rum—or both n.q.—and three wine-glasses of Madeira. Have ready the whites of the sixteen eggs, whipped to a stiff froth, and beat them well into the above mixture, and then stir in six pints of new milk, as fresh as possible from the cow.
One of the best restoratives is that which is frequently given by the trainer of an athlete, or boxer, should his charge feel the effects of overwork. It consists of the heart of a good loin chop, free from fat, and neither underdone nor overdone, on a very hot plate, with a glass of port wine poured over the meat. Another familiar strengthener is prepared in the following way:—
Put a tablespoonful of old brandy into half a pint of good beef-tea. And by beef-tea I mean the juices of the meat extracted at home, and not by the employées of advertising firms. “Breakfast delicacies” and tinned preparations are only for the unwary. This may be taken either hot or cold. {207}
Orange Quinine
is an excellent tonic.
To a pint bottle of orange wine add ten grains of sulphate of quinine, cork well, and let it stand for a few days. Take a wine-glassful at a time, either with or without a dash of soda-water.
Brandy-and-Soda,
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.