48 Transactions of tlie 



' But hear, alas ! this mournful truth, 



Nor hear it with a frown, — 

 Thou canst not make the tea so fast, 

 As I can gulp it down. ' 



That the characteristic element of tea, theine, should be pre- 

 sent, not only in the tea-plant of China and India, but in the 

 coffee of Arabia and the matd-plant of South America, is in itself 

 a remarkable fact. But when we consider that those plants con- 

 taining theine should have been separated from countless others, 

 by nations and tribes unknown to one another, and in every degree 

 of civilisation, to draw from them an exhilarating and refreshing 

 beverage — when we consider this, I say, we are led to believe that 

 under the fact lies more significance than our present science has 

 yet elicited ; almost compelling us to say that tea, or its substi- 

 tutes, plays an important if not necessary part, in the economy of 

 the human race. 



I know of no article of diet that has so won our affections as tea. 

 How gradually and imperceptibly has this fascinating shrub in- 

 sinuated itself into our daily food. What should we do without 

 our evening tea ? But perhaps our liking for tea may in part be 

 attributed to the pleasant meetings of which it is the author. 

 From the stately tea-meetings of Bath, to the merry children's 

 tea-parties on which we all look back with pleasure, tea is the 

 grand social mover. I cannot do better than close this paper 

 with the words of Cowper, who thus describes the comforts of 

 that evening meal : — 



' Now stir the fire, and close the shutters fast, 

 Let fall the curtains, wheel the sofa round. 

 And while the bubbling and loud hissing urn 

 Throws up a steamy column, and the cups 

 That cheer but not inebriate wait on each, 

 So let us welcome peaceful evening in.' 



A vote of thanks to J. Stone for his paper was proposed by the 

 President, seconded by E. J. Crosse, and carried. 



