1827 Oxford night caps, a collection of receipts for making various beverages used in the university

8

OXFORD PUNCH, OR CLASSICAL SHERBET.

When e'en a bowl of punch we make, Four striking opposites we take ; The strong, the small, the sharp, the sweet, Together mix'd; most kindly meet; And when they happily unite, 1'he bowl is pregnant with delight.

The liquor called Punch has become so truly English, it is 'often supposed to be in– digenous to this country, though its name al least is oriental. The Per11ian punj, or San– scrit pancha, i. e. 6ve; is the etymon of its title,· and denotE:s the number of ingredients of which it i11 composed. Addison's foa:– /,unter, who testified so much surprise when he found, that of the materials of which this " truly English" beverage was made, only the water belonged to England, would have been more astonished had his informant also told him, that it derived even its name from the East.