INTRODUCTORY. 11 



the tea of the despised Chinese, and the sugar of the wretched 

 Hindoo or enslaved negro. He cannot break his fast without 

 coffee, nor finish his dinner ; and the whole social life of many 

 nations is based upon the insignificant bean." The magic 

 drink, which has held such unlimited sway over the social 

 hospitalities of mankind for centuries, has also ministered to 

 the relief of innumerable despairing dyspeptics, and achieved 

 an incalculable amount of good, in rendering people more 

 happy, and on better terms w r ith themselves and everybody 

 else, as well as more thoroughly equipped for encountering 

 the battle of life. It is also suggestive of pleasant memories 

 and visions of joyous, smiling groups that have graced the 

 festive board, and shared with ourselves those genial " moods 

 and tenses " that constitute much of the poetry of life. If the 

 dreamy Mohammedan delights to divide his hours between the 

 rival fascinations of his fragrant cup and the aroma of his 

 " witching weed " in solemn silence, we of the Western World 

 find in this favorite beverage a delightful auxiliary to some oi 

 our purest social pleasures. Its influence upon the social 

 habits and intellectual culture of the a^e is a beneficent one. 



O 7 



for it not only exhilarates the mind, but it also acts as a gentle 

 stimulant, recuperative and sustaining to the physical frame. 

 Since cotton has been proclaimed " king " in the realm of com- 

 merce, coffee should be styled " queen " among the beverages 

 of domestic life. True, tea takes prominent rank with many 

 of the gentler sex, yet its fair fame has been traditionally 

 suggestive of a love of scandal ; while the aromatic berry is 

 wholly free from such a stigma, j Had the learned lexicogra 

 pher been less prodigal in his use of tea, and indulged himself 

 with a frequent cup of fragrant coffee, he doubtless would 

 have exhibited less asperity and angularity of character, and 

 might have become as genial as he was wise. Like coffee, 

 tobacco is also a potent plant ; both alike hold absolute sway 



