(O Tea!)
And thou hast played thy part
With never a change of heart,
(O Tea!)
For 'mid all the ding and dong
Waits a welcome--soothing song,
For fragrant Hyson and Oolong.
. . .
A song of peace, through all the years,
Of fireside fancies, devoid of fears,
Of mothers' talks and mothers' lays,
Of grandmothers' comforts--quiet ways.
Of gossip, perhaps--still and yet--
What of Johnson? Would we forget
The pictured cup; those merry times,
When round the board, with ready rhymes
Waller, Dryden, and Addison--Young,
Grave Pope to Gay, when Cowper sung?
Sydney Smith, too; gentle Lamb brew,
Tennyson, Dickens, Doctor Holmes knew.
The cup that cheered, those sober souls,
And tiny tea-trays, samovars, and bowls.
. . .
So here's a toast to the queen of plants,
The queen of plants--Bohea!
Good wife, ring for your maiden aunts,
We'll all have cups of tea.
--ARTHUR GRAY.

_TEA TERMS_

JAPANESE

Ori-mono-cha . . . Folded Tea
Giy-oku-ro-cha . . . Dew Drop Tea
Usu-cha . . . Light Tea
Koi-cha . . . Dark Tea
To-bi-dashi-cha . . . Sifted Tea
Ban-cha . . . Common Tea
Yu-Shiyutsu-cha . . . Export Tea
Neri-cha . . . Brick Tea
Koku-cha . . . Black Tea
Ko-cha . . . Tea Dust Broken Leaves
Riyoku-cha . . . Green Tea

CHINESE

Bohea . . . "Happy Establishment"
So called after two ranges of hills, Fu-Kien or Fo-Kien
Congou . . . Labor
Named so at Amoy from the labor in preparing it.
Sou chong . . . Small Kind
Hyson . . . Flourishing Spring
Pe-koe . . . White Hair
So called because only the youngest leaves are gathered,
which still have the delicate down--white hair--on
the surface.
Pou-chong . . . Folded Tea
So called at Canton after the manner of picking it.

Brick Tea--prepared in Central China from the commonest sorts
of tea, by soaking the tea refuse, such as broken leaves,
twigs, and dust, in boiling water and then pressing