In the drama of the past Thou art featured in the cast; (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-châ . . . Folded Tea Giy-ôku-ro-châ . . . Dew Drop Tea Usu-châ . . . Light Tea Koi-châ . . . Dark Tea Tô-bi-dashi-châ . . . Sifted Tea Ban-châ . . . Common Tea Yu-Shiyutsu-châ . . . Export Tea Neri-châ . . . Brick Tea Koku-châ . . . Black Tea Ko-châ . . . Tea Dust Broken Leaves Riyoku-châ . . . 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 them into moulds. Used in Siberia and Mongolia, where it also serves as a medium of exchange. The Mongols place the bricks, when testing the quality, on the head, and try to pull downward over the eyes. They reject the brick as worthless if it breaks or bends. [Illustration of Japanese woman] _TEA LEAVES_ BY JOHN ERNEST MCCANN