TEA.

THE last news from abroad is that England is about to make an attack upon Canton. Such an event can hardly fail to enhance the price of that cherished companion of our evening meal, which so tends to raise and exhilarate our spirits, to open the floodgates of conversation and wit, to change us from dull, inanimate bodies, into gay, lively souls, to brighten the intellect and to warm the affections. What would become of the world-at least the female and most valuable part of it-without this Chinese beverage, which keeps us from sinking into listlessness and despair? We read of the inspiration of the gin-bottle; but what is that to the inspiration of the tea-pot? The one intoxicates and destroys, while the other enlivens, cheers, and prolongs our lives. The grand objection to this pleasant beverage is that it is accused of being a great promoter of scandal, a deadly foe to reputation, a detractor from our fame, and a destroyer of our good name. If such is really the case, as some people would persuade us, then we may congratulate ourselves that, as tea goes up, scandal

goes down. Some good, after all, may come out of this war in China. Reputations will rise with the rise of tea, and we may calculate the value of our good names by the last price current from Canton and Hong Kong.

The story is told of a party, who, being the fortunate possessor of a pound of tea, at the time of its first introduction into Boston, made an excursion to Salem for the purpose of having a good time with the new-found luxury. The landlady who received them had never seen or heard of this wonderful Chinese plant; but, being naturally unwilling to confess her ignorance, readily undertook to prepare it for her guests. After waiting an hour or more, they began to grow impatient, when lo! the fragrant herb was brought in, served up in a platter, with a large piece of salt pork floating in the centre of the "greens!" Since that time we have all learned to make as well as to drink tea, and to appreciate its invigorating and exhilarating qualities. It is no longer a stranger, but our daily companion. Sancho said he blessed the man who invented sleep. We bless the man who invented tea; and, rather than give it up, will risk even our name, fame, and reputation. A cup of tea refreshes both mind and body. We forget in its delightful aroma the cares and perplexities we have left behind us. It is associated with our domestic joys, our social affections, and all the endearments of

home. When "tea is ready," we lose sight of all our troubles, and throw off the heavy load of business and labor.

With

The Chinese are a wonderful people. In China the extremes of civilization and barbarism meet and join hands. The highest perfection in the arts is joined to the rudest implements of mechanical and agricultural labor. The highest intellectual cultivation is offset by the most debasing sensualism. all their gods, it is admitted that they are almost entirely without religious sentiment, while they seem devoid also of common feelings of humanity. Cowardly in war, and furnished with the rudest weapons of defence and attack, they are cruel and bloodthirsty in their punishments beyond all example in the history of nations. With a population of four hundred millions of souls, human life is deemed of no more importance than that of the rats which form a portion of their food; and dead bodies are seen lying about for days, unburied and unregarded. They seem to be a race set apart and distinguished from all the rest of the human family. We find it difficult to believe that they are really human, exhibiting as they do such strange contradictions and such a devilish refinement of cruelty in their criminal code. A nation combining the lowest forms of barbarism with the highest forms of civilization, disgusts us far more than the most degraded life of uncivilized and barbarous na