"I sent for a cup of tee--a China drink--of which I had never drank before," writes Pepys in his diary of the 25th of September, 1660. It appears, however, that it came into England in 1610; but at ten guineas a pound it could scarcely be expected to make headway. A rather large consignment was, however, received in 1657; this fell into the hands of a thriving London merchant, Mr. Thomas Garway, who established a house for selling the prepared beverage. Another writer states that tea was introduced by the East India Company early in 1571. Though it may not be possible to fix the exact date, one fact is clear, that it was a costly beverage. Not until 1667 did it find its way into Pepys' own house. "Home," he says, "and there find my wife making of tea, a drink which Mr. Pelling, the potticary, tells her is good for her cold and defluxions." Commenting upon this entry, Charles Knight said, "Mrs. Pepys making her first cup of tea is a subject to be painted. How carefully she metes out the grains of the precious drug which Mr. Pelling, the potticary, has sold her at an enormous price--a crown an ounce at the very least; she has tasted the liquor once before, but then there was sugar in the infusion--a beverage only for the highest. If tea should become fashionable, it will cost in their housekeeping as much as their claret. However, Pepys says the price is coming down, and he produces the handbill of Thomas Garway, in Exchange Alley, which the lady peruses with great satisfaction." This handbill is an extraordinary production. It is entitled "An exact description of the growth, quality, and virtues of the leaf tea, by Thomas Garway, in Exchange Alley, near the Royal Exchange in London, tobacconist, and seller and retailer of tea and coffee." It sets forth that--