CAUDLE. 143 
tender, then rub them into a paste with three plainly-boiled 
potatoes, mashing this through a hair sieve (adding a pat of 
butter, or a little cream, except for a person with disposition to 
biliousness), stir till boiling, then serve. 
The small purple flower which grows in the middle of the 
umbel crowning a full grown Carrot plant, has been found of 
benefit for mitigating epilepsy. 
CAUDLE. 
PRACTICALLY Caudle, so called from the Latin “* Calidus’’ hot, 
or the old French word “* Chaudel,” is a drink of warm ale made 
with groats, and given to the sick as a restorative support. It 
is more frequently composed of warm wine (or ale), mixed with 
bread, sugar, spices, and sometimes eggs; being administered 
specially to a woman in childbed (though with doubtful wisdom), 
and to her congratulatory visitors. ‘“‘ Hark ye, Master Hollytop ! 
your wits are gone on wool-gathering : comfort yourself with a 
Caudle” (Sir Walter Scott’s Abbot). For “tea Caudle, make 
a quart of strong green tea, and pour it out into a skillet (a long- 
handled metal pot), and set it over the fire; then beat up the 
yolks of four eggs, and mix with them a pint of white wine, a 
grated nutmeg, and sugar to taste’; put all together ; stir it over 
the fire till it is very hot, then drink it in china dishes.”— 
Compleat Housewife, 1736. 
When Harley (in the Man of Feeling, 1771) “ came downstairs 
to set out for London, he found his aunt in the parlour with a tear 
on her cheek, and her caudle cup in her hand ; she knew enough 
of physic to prescribe against going abroad of a morning with 
an empty stomach: and she gave her blessing with the 
draught.” ' 
For old-fashioned brown Caudle: stir two tablespoonfuls ot 
oatmeal into a pint of water, and add the thin rind of a lemon, 
a blade of mace, and a tablespoonful of brown sugar. Let all 
boil together : then strain the liquid, and add a pint of mild ale. 
Warm it for use. A little grated ginger is often put into this 
Caudle. The old-fashioned Caudle-pot was of glazed Delft- 
ware, holding about a quart, and having a small curved spout 
which went into the mouth of the drinker. Such a pot (now 
much sought after by collectors) is to be seen among the 
treasures at Lilford Hall, Northants. 
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