COFFEE. 107 



1652, when Mr. Daniel Edwards, a Turkey merchant, 

 brought home with him a Ragusan Greek servant, whose 

 name was Pasqua Rossee, who understood the roasting 

 and making of coffee, and kept a house for that purpose, 

 in George Yard, Lombard Street, or rather, according to 

 Mr. Houghton, in a shed in the Churchyard of St. Mi- 

 chael's, Cornhill. This seemed to give alarm to the ale- 

 sellers, who, taking advantage of Rossee's not being free 

 of the City, petitioned the Lord Mayor against him ; 

 but Mr. Edwards having married a daughter of Alderman 

 Hodges, the Alderman joined Bowman his coachman, 

 who was a freeman, as a partner with Pasqua Rossee. 

 The Greek was afterwards obliged to leave the country 

 for some misdemeanor ; and Bowman, by his business and 

 the aid of a subscription of one thousand sixpences, was en- 

 abled to convert his shed into a coffee-house. The famous 

 Dr. Harvey used it frequently. Mr. Ray affirms that, in 

 1688, London might rival Grand Cairo in the number of 

 its coffee-houses, so rapidly had it come into use ; and it is 

 thought that they were augmented and established more 

 firmly by the ill-judged proclamation of Charles the 

 Second, in 1675, to shut up coffee-houses as seminaries 

 of sedition : this act was suspended in a few days. 



The first mention of coffee in our statute books is in 

 1660, (12 Char. II. cap. 24.) by which a duty of four- 

 pence was laid upon every gallon of coffee bought or 

 sold. Ksempfer says, " that Mocha is the peculiar region 

 of coffee :" " Kahwah ; quse nullibi terrarum quam circa 

 Mocham Arabise felicis colitur." (Aman. Exot. p. 123J 



Bruce, however, would trace it to Caffa, " the South 

 province of Narea, whence it is first said to have come." 

 (Travels, fyc. vol. ii. p. 411.) 



The Arabs seem to have been very jealous of letting 

 this tree be known ; and in order to confine the comrao- 



