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Take nine Gallons of Spring Water, and half a Bushel of Elder-berries, pick'd clean from the Stalks; boil these till the Berries begin to dimple, then gently strain off the Liquor, and to every Gallon of it put two Pounds of good Lisbon Sugar, and boil it an Hour; then let it stand to cool, in an open Tub, for if it was to cool in the Copper, or Brass Kettle, it was boil'd in, the Liquor would be ill-tasted.
This Wine is so like the fine rich Wine brought from Cyprus, in its Colour and Flavour, that it has deceiv'd the best Judges, These Berries are ripe in August, and may be had at the Ivy-House at Hoxton. To make Wine of Black Elder-berries, which is equal to the best Hermitage Claret; from Henry Marsh, Esq. of Hammersmith.
From this promontory to the point below the town, the bank of the river was curtained and garlanded with blossoming shrubs mock-orange, honeysuckle, spirea, aerifolia, crimson roses, and clusters of elder-berries, lavender, scarlet, and orange everywhere, except where men had torn them away to make room for their improvements.
Summer was nearly ended, and Lucy Thistlewood was presiding in the great kitchen of the Manor-house, standing under the latticed window near the large oak-table, a white apron over her dress, presiding over the collecting of elder-berries for the brew of household-wine for the winter.
Take 42 gallons of worked cider, 12 gallons of good port wine, 3 gallons good brandy, 6 gallons pure spirits. Mix together. Elder-berries and sloes, or fruit of the black hawes, make a fine purple colour for wines. Mix and let it stand a short time; bottle while fermenting. This makes an excellent imitation of champagne with age.
There were cow-bells, mountain elder-berries and lots of flowers in the grass. There was the glacier, the roar of the river and a plaintive little chapel on a green knoll under the great cliff of ice which cut the sky. There was a fat, crumby woman making hay. She said: "Buon giorno." And the "i o r" of the "giorno" came out like oil and honey. I saw she wanted a gossip.
Eli's been drunk some, bur his girls are really a good deal of help. There are going to be more elder-berries this fall than you can shake a stick at; they're just breaking the branches. And the " "Oh, aunt," I broke in, "do tell me! Are Daisy and Mr. Stewart well?" "Why, of course they are," she answered; "that is, they were when they left here a week come Thursday.
Gather the Elder-Berries ripe and dry, pick them, bruise them with your Hands, and strain them; then set the Liquor by in glaz'd earthen Vessels for twelve hours to settle, then put to every pint of Juice a pint and half of Water, and to every Gallon of this Liquor put three Pounds of Lisbon Sugar: set this in a Kettle over the Fire, and when it is ready to boil, clarify it with the Whites of four or five Eggs; let it boil an hour, and when it is almost cold, work it with some strong Ale-Yeast, and then tun it, filling up the Vessel from time to time with the same Liquor saved on purpose, as it sinks by working.
Nor could a sweeter resting-place be found, especially at the time of ripe elder-berries, when the thickets are purple with their clusters and the starlings come in flocks to feed on them, and feeding keep up a perpetual, low musical jangle about me.
The day was fine, such as an October day in the Northern Hemisphere might be. All, towards the evening after dinner, were seated under the veranda on the edge of Prospect Heights, and they were watching the darkness creeping up from the horizon. Some cups of the infusion of elder-berries, which took the place of coffee, had been served by Neb.
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