Negus

Mansfield Park, Jane Austen, 1814

1 oz. spiced port

½ oz. fresh lemon juice

½ cup boiling water

1 lemon slice, for garnish

Place the spiced port and lemon juice in a mug, pour the boiling water over the mixture, and stir to combine.

Garnish with the slice of lemon and enjoy.

[Fanny stopped] to view the happy scene, and take a last look at the five or six determined couples who were still hard at work; and then, creeping slowly up the principal staircase, pursued by the ceaseless country-dance, feverish with hopes and fears, soup and negus, sore-footed and fatigued, restless and agitated, yet feeling, in spite of everything, that a ball was indeed delightful.

At a grand ball, the novel’s heroine, Frances “Fanny” Price had been urged by Sir Thomas Bertram to retire for the evening, but she stops to behold the last of the revelers, with their aching limbs, apparently “feverish” with negus, among other things.

But what is negus? It’s a spiced port that was all the rage in Regency England and later. Mixed with hot water, oranges and lemons, spices, and sometimes sugar (though the port was probably sweet enough!), it must have packed a bit of a “punch” (pun intended) to keep those weary dancers pressing on into the evening!