Macerate the rose either in water, or in his own juyce, adding thereto, being temperately warm, in convenient proportion, either of yest or ferment, leave them so a few days in fermentation, till they have gotten a strong and heady smel, and beginning to incline towards vinegar. Then distil them in Balneo, in glass bodies — (bottles? — print indistinct), luted to their helms, and draw so long as you find any scent of the rose to come; then redistill; or rectifie the same so often till you have purchased a perfect spirit. Also if you ferment the juyce of Roses onely, without any leaves mixed therein, you may draw an excellent spirit from the same; or if you keep the juyce of damask roses onely in close vessels well seasoned with the rose, it will yeeld a delicate spirit, after it hath wrought itself to a sufficient head by the inward rotation or circulation of nature….
The last way, and the best way of all other that I know, is, by an outward fire to stir up the moist and inward fire of nature, till the same be grown to the subtilnesse of a rose wine, and when you have once brought it to a wine, then every Apothecary and ordinary practitioner in this art will easily divide his spirit from him; but they all will stagger in the first digestion; and though they should either reel or fall, I may not lend them my helping hand, otherwise than I have done already, unless I were assured that they were of the number of Hermes’ sons, and not begotten by some base Alchemist.
… If you would make your Rose-water and Rose-vinegar, of a Rubie colour, then make choyce of the crimson velvet coloured leaves, clipping away the white with a paire of sheers; and being thorow dryed, put a good large handfull of them into a pint of Damask or red Rose-water: stop your glasse well and set it in the sunne, till you see that the leaves have lost their colour: or, for more expedition, you may perform this work in balneo in a few hours; and when you take out the old leaves you may put in fresh, till you find the colour to please you. Keepe this Rose-water in the glasses very well stopt, and the fuller, the better. What I have said of Rose-water, the same may, also, be intended of Rose-vinegar, (and violet …) but the whiter vinegar you chuse for the purpose, the colour thereof will be the better.
First gather a great quantity of violet flowers and pick them clean from the stalkes and set them on the fire and put to them so much rose-water as you think good. Then let them boil all together untill the colour be forth of them. Then take them off the fire and strain them through a fine cloth, and put so much sugar to them as you thinke good, then set it againe to the fire until it be somewhat thick and put it into a violet glasse.
Take two ounces of dryed Gilliflowers, and put them into a bottle of Sack, and beat three ounces of Sugar candy, and fine Sugar, and grinde some Ambergreese, and put it in the bottle and shake it oft, then run it through a jelly bag. And give it for a great Cordiall.
… yf … (a) serpent be burned and the ashes of ii put in ye fyre, anone shall there be a raine bowe with an horible thunder.