During the reign of the eighty-third Emperor, 1199-1210 A.D., the cultivation of tea was permanently established in Japan. In 1200, the bonze, Yei-Sei, brought tea seeds from China, which he planted on the mountains in one of the most northern provinces. Yei-Sei is also credited with introducing the Chinese custom of ceremonious tea-drinking. At any rate, he presented tea seeds to Mei-ki, the abbot of the monastery of To-gano (to whom the use of tea had been recommended for its stimulating properties), and instructed him in the mystery of its cultivation, treatment, and preparation. Mei-ki, who laid out plantations near Uzi, was successful as a pupil, and even now the tea-growers of that neighborhood pay tribute to his memory by annually offering at his shrine the first gathered tea-leaves. After that period, the use of tea became more and more in fashion, the monks and their kindred having discovered its property of keeping them awake during long vigils and nocturnal prayers. Prom this time on the development and progress of the plant are interwoven with the histories and customs of these countries. _ON TEA_ The following short poem by Edmund Waller is believed to be the first one written in praise of the "cup that does not inebriate": Venus her myrtle, Phoebus has her bays; Tea both excels, which she vouchsafes to praise. The best of Queens, and best of herbs, we owe To that bold nation, which the way did show To the fair region where the sun doth rise, Whose rich productions we so justly prize. The Muse's friend, tea does our fancy aid, Repress those vapors which the head invade, And keep the palace of the soul serene, Tit on her birthday to salute the Queen. Waller was born in 1605, and died in 1687, aged eighty-two. _SOME ENGLISH TEA HISTORY_ Tea was brought into Europe by the DUTCH EAST INDIA COMPANY, in 1610. It was at least forty, and perhaps forty-seven, years later that England woke up to the fascinations of the new drink. Dr. Johnson puts it at even a later date, for he claims that tea was first introduced into England by Lords Arlington and Ossory, in 1666, and really made its debut into society when the wives of these noblemen gave it its vogue. If Dr. Johnson's statement is intended to mean that nothing is anything until the red seal of the select says, "Thus shall it be," he is right in the year he has selected. If, on the other hand, the Doctor had in mind society at large, he is "mixed in his dates," or leaves, for tea was drawn and drunk in London nine years before that date.