Aunt Martha's corner cupboard,
Gregg, Mary Kirby, 1817-1893
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SEP -7 194b ©CIA 3182 INTRODUCTION *^Aunt MarthcLS Corner Cupboard” seems a singularly happy title for a hook. One immediately thinks of a kindly, white-haired old lady in the type of pleasant, old- fashioned house which would have a corner cupboard full of interesting and perhaps even delectable things. Reading of the book will confirm this idea. Aunt Martha is indeed a kindly old lady, and, not only that, but is an extremely interesting and well-informed and sprightly old lady with a wide knowledge of many subjects and a generous desire to share it in a delightful way with two nephews who are spending a vacation with her. These boys, much to their father s dismay, have brought home poor marks from school. Aunt Martha discerns the important fact that they are neither more lazy, nor more indifferent, nor more stupid than other boys of 5 their age. They have simply never been taught to observe things at hand, to feel a wondering curiosity about the ori¬ gin or history or development of countless things seen, eaten, handled or worn by them every day of their lives. She conceives the idea of attempting to awaken such a curi¬ osity, knowing that it will be accompanied by a quickening of interest in any kind of learning. The boys are accustomed to settle down by the fire late in the day for a story from Aunt Martha. On one such day, instead of telling one of the oft-repeated tales, of which they have confessed themselves a little weary, she tries a new form of story. Taking from her cupboard a tea-cup, she proceeds to tell them its history from the first use of it in China, down through the experiments of Palissy, to the elaborately decorated cups and saucers in use today. The story is a complete success, the boys are interested, and the scene is set for stories dealing with the other things con¬ tained in the cupboard. Tea, coffee, sugar, salt, pepper, flax, honey, raisins, glass, and many other things are brought out and explained for the boys’ entertainment. By the time they leave, they not only know something about many of the common things of their every-day life, but are eager to know of many others. Not every boy or girl is so fortunate as to have an ''Aunt Martha” with a "corner cupboard.” By reading this little book, however, every boy or girl can feel for a time that he has. Not every boy or girl is blessed with a wonder¬ ing curiosity, but the ones who are will find the answers to some of their questions in this book. As for the ones who are not, they may, like the two boys in the book, be enter¬ tained by an entirely different kind of "story.” CAROL WILFORD. 6 CONTENTS Introduction, Carol Wilford . 5 The Corner Cupboard . 9 The Story of the Tea-cup . 15 How the Tea-cup Was Finished . 24 The Story of the Tea . 34 The Story of the Sugar . 43 The Story of the Coffee . 51 The Story of the Salt . 61 The Story of the Currants . 71 The Story of the Flax . 76 The Story of the Sponge . 83 The Story of the Pepper . 89 The Story of the Glass . 93 The Story of the Cork . 99 The Story of the Chocolate (Cocoa) . 105 The Story of the Rice . 110 The Story of the Honey . 118 7 She lived in a house with gable ends. 8 AUNT MARTHA’S CORNER CUPBOARD The Corner Cupboard AM afraid that Charley and Richard Knight gave their teacher a great deal of trouble. The school they attended had just broken up for the Christmas holidays, and neither of them had received good marks. In¬ deed, they were never likely to do so, judging from the way in which they went on. They were good-tempered lads, and favorites with their playmates. If they had a cake sent them from home, they always shared it with the rest of the school. And they were first and foremost at every game that was played. Their blue eyes were always twinkling with fun ; and if they had been sent to Mr. Birch’s Academy merely to enjoy them¬ selves it would have been all very well. 9 10 AUNT MARTHA’S CORNER CUPBOARD But there is no use mincing the matter ; they were the most idle lads in the school. Nobody could make them learn their lessons — not even Mr. Birch, though he was very strict, and now and then gave them a caning. It was a pity they were so idle. Their father was a learned man, and wished them to follow in his steps. It made him very unhappy when they came home with poor marks; and always by the next post, a long letter from the teacher to com¬ plain that he could not make them work. Their mother tried to excuse them and said, “There is time enough yet.” But their father was of another opinion, now that Richard was twelve years old; and he used to shake his head, and look very sad. This cold, snowy Christmas the boys were not going home. They had been promised that they should spend the holidays with their Aunt Martha; and her old-fashioned car was at the door to take them. They had not the least objection, for they were very fond of Aunt Martha, as indeed was everybody that had ever seen her. She lived in a house with gable ends, just as you turn into the village. It was a very old house, and was said to have been built in Revolutionary Days. It was quite covered with ivy ; and there was a large THE CORNER CUPBOARD 11 garden, but the snow had hidden everything in it. The rooms were large, but very low. The one Aunt Martha liked the best had the morning sun upon it, and looked into the garden. And here she had her work-table, and her basket of knitting, for her eyes were not very good, now that she was get¬ ting old. And here she sat all the day long. Close by was her corner cupboard, that she kept locked, and the key was on a bunch that she car¬ ried in her pocket. She never left her cupboard open, because it had so many things in it. The boys knew the cupboard by heart. Out of it came sweet cakes, and honey and sugar, and tops and marbles, and all the things they liked. And there were no tiresome spelling-books, or grammars, or anything of the kind to plague them. But you must not suppose that Aunt Martha was an ignorant lady. Far from it. She knew many things indeed, and she did not like the thought that her nephews might grow up to be dunces, which was likely to be the case. Of course, she did not presume to think that she could teach them as well as Mr. Birch, who under¬ stood Latin and Greek, and had kept a school twen¬ ty years. But she had a scheme in her head to teach them something. Not that she intended them to learn lessons in the holidays,— that would have been extremely un- 12 AUNT MARTHA^S CORNER CUPBOARD kind. The knowledge that she meant to give them was not to be found in their lesson-books, thumbed and dog-eared as they were; for an idle boy can wear his book out without using it. No; the lore she was thinking about was contained close by, in her corner cupboard. It seemed to Aunt Martha — for she was a lady of a lively imagination — as if everything in that cup¬ board, — her china, her tea, her coffee, her sugar, even her needle, — had a story to tell, and a most entertaining one too. Had not many of the things been in foreign parts, where there are great palm- trees, and monkeys, and black men, and lions, and tigers? And if they had not been abroad, they were sure to have something to relate that the boys had never heard. The boys loved to hear stories told them, just when it got dusk, before the lamp was lighted. They would play about all day long, and pelt each other with snow-balls, and make slides on the pond, and scamper up and down the lane, till their legs, young as they were, began to feel tired. And then it was nice to sit on the hearth-rug before the fire, and hear Aunt Martha tell a tale. Now, Aunt Martha had prepared a great many tales, and had them, so to say, at her finger-ends. She did not have to make them up as she went on. THE CORNER CUPBOARD 13 for that would have spoilt everything. Indeed, I almost think she had learned them by heart. She hoped that when her boys had heard all the curious things she was about to relate, it would make them want to read for themselves. Charley and Richard had no idea of the trouble their good aunt was taking on their account, and they did just as they had always done. They rolled their hoops, and threw snow-balls, and scampered about to their heart’s content. And when, at last, their legs began to ache, good old Sally, who had lived with Aunt Martha for nearly thirty years, brought them in, took off their wet boots and put on dry ones, and brushed their hair, and washed their faces, and sent them into the parlor to their aunt. “She’ll have a story to tell, I warrant,” said old Sally, who was a little in the secret. Now, everything happened just as it should have. The boys wanted a story as much as ever, but, like the rest of the world, they wished for some¬ thing new. They were thoroughly acquainted with “Jack the Giant-killer,” and entertaining as he had once been, they were by this time a little tired of him. They knew “Cinderella” and “Little Red Riding Hood” by heart, and they did not want to hear them over again. Not that they could get really tired of such delightful stories, but they “might lie 14 AUNT MARTHA S CORNER CUPBOARD by,” Charley said, “for one Christmas, and some¬ thing else come out.” Aunt Martha was quite willing — indeed, this was just what she had been planning for. Her dear old face brightened up and looked as pleased as could be, when Charley settled himself on the rug, and Richard brought a stool and sat close by, their merry blue eyes fixed intently upon her. Then Aunt Martha began to relate her first story — “The Story of a Tea-Cup.” The Stor3i^ of the Tea -cup )ME/’ as I daresay you have heard, “was not built in a day.’’ People who use the expres¬ sion, mean by it that nothing of any value can be done without a great deal of time and trouble. The tea-cup seem.s a simple thing, and you use and handle it very often, and drink your tea out of it every afternoon. But perhaps you have never been told its whole history, and do not know that it takes a vast amount of labor, and sets numbers of persons to work, before it can become a cup at all. I will speak of the best china, that is kept on the top shelf in the cupboard, and only comes out on high days and holidays. It is very superior, let me tell you, to the blue and white cups and saucers in the kitchen, that have no gold rim round them. The word china will remind you of a country a 15 16 AUNT MARTHA’S CORNER CUPBOARD long way off, where the gentlemen have long braids of hair hanging down their backs, and the ladies hobble about in little shoes turned up at the toes. The Chinaman drinks a great deal of tea, because he likes it, and the tea grows in his country. And the tea-cups are always being handed about on little trays, that everybody may have some. So the China¬ man has a great deal of practice in making tea-cups, and can do it remarkably well. I am sorry to say that he is not of an open dis¬ position, and likes to keep everything he knows to himself. He would not tell the people who lived in other countries how he made his cups, though they were very curious to know, and asked him over and over again. There is a town in China where a great many potters lived, and made their beautiful cups. The streets were quite crowded with the potters, and boat-loads of rice came every day for them to eat. There was a river close by the town; and when the cups and pots were finished, they were packed and sent away in the boats. The potter’s furnaces were always burning to bake the cups, so that at night the town looked as if it were on fire. The potters would not let a stranger stay all night in the place, for fear he should find out the secret of cup-making. He was obliged either to THE TEA CUP 17 sleep in one of the boats, or to go away till the next morning. But it happened that two strangers had been on the watch for a long time, and at last they thought they had found out the secret. bne day they bought some great squares, or bricks, that were being sold in the market and car¬ ried off by the potters. They felt quite sure that this was the stuff of which the cups were made. Now the bricks were sold to be used in the potteries. 18 AUNT MARTHA’S CORNER CUPBOARD They were made of a kind of flint called petunse, which looks bright and glittering, as if it had been sprinkled with something to make it shine. And the Chinaman collects it with great care, and grinds it to powder, and makes the bricks of it. The two strangers carried the bricks home to their own country, and set to work to make cups. But, alas! they could do nothing. They were like a workman who had left half his tools behind him. For they needed another sub¬ stance to mix with the petunse, and that was called kaolin. Now kaolin was dug by the Chinaman out of some deep mines, that he knew very well and often visited. It lay about in little lumps, and he picked it out, and made it into bricks just as he had done the other. x^nd he laughed very much when he heard what the barbarians,’’ as he called them, had been trying to do. For he did not pity them in the least. “They think themselves very clever,” he said, “to make a body that shall be all flesh and no bones. He meant that the kaolin was hard, and could not turn to powder when it was burnt as the petunse did; so that it was like bones to the cup, and made it firm. Indeed, without it the cup was too soft, and did not hold together. THE TEA CL P 19 1 should not have told you this long story if it had nothing to do with the best china. But people can get a kind of clay out of our own country that does quite as well as the Chinaman’s bricks, and the best china is always made of it. People come a long way to look for the “porcelain clay,” as it is called; and they dig it out of the earth, and carry it to a great building that is, in fact, a porcelain manu¬ factory, where all kinds of cups and saucers, and jugs and basins are constantly being made. And as soon as the clay gets there, it is thrust into a machine, where it runs upon a number of sharp knives that work round and round, and have been set there on purpose to chop it to pieces. When it has been chopped long enough, it is turned into a kind of churn, and churned as though it were going to be made into butter. Indeed, when the churning is over, the person who has churned it calls it “clay- cream.” Other matters, such as flint and bone, are now mixed with it. But, in order that they might work in harmony one with the other, the flint and the bone each have to be ground to a fine powder, and then made like itself into “clay-cream.” The two creams in two separate vessels, are car¬ ried to a room called “mixing-room,” and put into a pan of water and stirred well. 20 AVIST MARTHA’S CORNER CUPBOARD They are stirred until they are quite smooth, and without an atom of grit. But as cups can not be made of the clay-cream, it has to be made solid again. And it is boiled over a fire until the moisture is dried up, and it is very much like dough. A man now begins to slap and beat it, and cut it into pieces, and to fling the pieces one on the other with all his might. And when he has slapped it long enough, it is “ready for the potter.” The potter is called “a thrower,” — and it is a good name for him. He flings a ball of clay on the little round table before him, with such force that it sticks quite fast. The table is called a whirling table; and well it might, for it begins to whirl round and round very swiftly. The reason why it whirls is because a long strap goes from it to a wheel in the corner, that a boy is turning. When the boy turns his wheel, the table turns as well. And as the table goes round, the potter begins to pinch and pat, and work the clay about with his fingers and thumb, and give it what he calls “a shape.” He can do just what he likes with the clay, and can make it into any shape he pleases. He has some tools to help him, such as little pegs and bits of wood, with which he scrapes it on the ViViVVaV«V^i*>* vs*.v.:^ito<«^S9 i\>V;v. Vi>^V»*.V>. ivnv ,<VWI\V •tO»J li»« .s*.*.*.ss*.'.*,s*. .’.•••.SS'.S'.SV. ffTTTv.' AW>. .v.v. mm ■•?;:;*::• mm :;:>;::;i:|; x«>':':*:«:'>:*x •:•>>:•:•:<•> ••<?.•!' A*. /4s the table goes round, the potter begins to pinch and pat, and work the day about with his fingers. *«$*¥*; 22 AUNT MARTHA’S CORNER CUPBOARD outside and presses it on the inside, until he has brought it into the form of a cup. And all the while the wheel keeps going round and round, until it is enough to make you giddy. At last the wheel stops and so does the table. And the clay is taken off looking very much like a cup. Aunt Martha had scarcely time to finish the last sentence before there was a tap at the door, and old Sally came in with the tea-things. Now the best china had been taken down and carefully dusted; for Christmas was looked upon as a high day and a holiday, and Charley and Richard were company, as a matter of course. As their heads were still running upon cups and saucers, they jump¬ ed up and began to look at them, and talk about ‘‘flint,’’ and “clay,” and “kilns,” in a very learned manner, and one that made old Sally smile. Aunt Martha was very much pleased, for she saw that her story had been carefully listened to, and had not gone in at one ear and out at the other, as such instructive stories do sometimes. And she was more pleased still, when her little nephews asked her a great many questions, and wanted to know more about the “tea-cup.” She did not tell them any more just then for she was a wise old lady, and she wished to keep their curiosity awake, and not let them have too much of the subject at once. THE TEA CUP 23 So she talked about something else all tea-time, and then she got out puzzles and other games, to make the evening pass pleasantly. But old Sally told her that when the boys went to bed, and she turned out their light, they were still talking about the “tea¬ cup.” And the next afternoon, when they had finished running about, and their hair had been brushed, and their faces washed, they ran into the parlor where their aunt was sitting, and asked her to go on with her story, for they wanted to know a great deal more. Now it was rather early, and Aunt Martha had hardly finished her afternoon’s nap. But she did not like to keep the boys waiting. So she roused herself up, put a log of wood on the fire, — for it was very cold, — and when Charley and Richard had settled themselves, she began, or rather went on with — “The Story of the Tea-Cup.” ^ow the Tea cup \pas finished HE cup is, as I told you, taken off the wheel. It is then set aside to dry; and very soon it reaches what the potter calls “the green state” — though he might better say the hard state — for it is get¬ ting gradually harder. It is next taken to the turning-table, and has all its roughness smoothed away, and its appearance is very much im¬ proved. Still, it is by no means so handsome as cups are now ; and it has no handle. The Chinaman makes his cup without a handle; and when tea-cups were first used in this country, they had no handles, and were very much smaller than they are now. People in those days could not afford to drink much tea at a time, it was so dear and so scarce. 24 HOW THE TEA CUP WAS FINISHED 25 But fashions are always changing, and in our days every cup must have a handle. The handle was made separate from the cup, and fitted on afterwards. It was nothing but a strip of clay cut the proper length, and pressed into a mould to make it the right shape. The man who has to do it, takes a great deal of pains to make it fit very neatly. The parts where the handle is to join the cup are wetted with a certain mixture of clay and water, to make them stick; and they do so at once. The cup is now put into a square box, or case, with sand at the bottom. Other cups are placed in with it, though care is taken to prevent them from touching each other. Another box, just like it, and full of cups, is set over it, so that the bottom of one box makes a lid for the other. All the boxes, piled up in this way, are put into an oven, called “the pot¬ ter’s kiln.” It is in the shape of a cone, and with a hole at the top to let the smoke out. The Chinaman takes the trouble of putting each cup into a separate box, in order, as he says, that its delicate complexion may not be spoilt by the fire ! When the cup is taken from the box, it is pure white, and nearly transparent. It is not yet thought worthy of the name of porcelain, and is merely called “biscuit china.” It was a long time before people found out how to 26 AUNT MARTHA’S CORNER CUPBOARD paint pictures on the cup, or to give it its beautiful gloss. The surface of the cup was not hard enough to hold the colors, and needed a coating upon it that is called “enamel.” No one knew how to make the enamel, except the Chinaman. But a potter named Bernard Pallissy tried again and again to make it. He made cup after cup and coated them over with what he thought was the right thing ; but not one of them would do. And at last he became so poor that he had no wood left to heat his furnace — just at the time, too, when more cups were ready to go into it. He wanted wood to such a degree that he became quite frantic, and felt that he must put something into his furnace, he did not care what. And he ran into the room where his wife was sitting, and snatched up the chairs and tables as if he were crazy and ran with them to his furnace. Poor Madame Pallissy wrote a book about her troubles, at which I do not wonder. It is a comfort to know that he succeeded at last, and earned a great deal of money. But many improvements have been made in tea-cups since his time. Before the pictures are painted on the cup, it is nicely cleaned, to remove any atom of dust ; and then it has to be glossed, or, as it is called, “glazed.” The stuff that give it its gloss, and makes it shine, looks HOW THE TEA CUP WAS FINISHED 27 like thick cream, and is kept in wooden troughs in a room called “the dipping-room/’ A man dips the cup into the trough and turns it about in such a way that every part shall be coated, and yet every drop drained out. It is now put on a board, and, with other cups, again baked, but in a cooler oven than before. When it comes out of the oven it shines with the beautiful gloss you see. But it is not finished ; for it is a bare cup, without any pictures of flowers or fruit, or figures like those on the best china. 28 AUNT MARTHA’S CORNER CUPBOARD It is taken to a room where there are long tables, and a great many windows to let in the light. People sit at the tables, with brushes and colors before them, and paint the cups. In China one man paints nothing but red, another nothing but blue, and so on. But here, in the paint¬ ing-room, there is a little difference. One man paints flowers, another leaves, another fruit, and another figures. The colors they use are made of metals — such as gold, iron, and tin — for nothing else can stand the heat of the furnace, in which the cups must once more be baked. Indeed, the painter now and then pops his cup or his saucer into the kiln to see how the colors will stand, before it is quite finished. When the cup has been painted, and baked for the last time, it is taken to another room still, where there are a great many women and girls at work. Each girl sits with her face to the light, and takes a cup in one hand, and a stone called an agate in the other. She rubs the parts of the cup that are intended to look like gold with the stone until they become of a brilliant gloss, and shine as if they were gold. There is a place in Staffordshire called “the Pot¬ teries,” where cups and pots have always been made. In olden times they were very rough-looking things, and had neither gilding nor gloss. But the HOW THE TEA CUP WAS FINISHED 29 People sit at the tables with brushes and colors before them, and paint the cups. people who used them were just as rough, and so was the country round. The roads were very bad indeed, and full of deep ruts, so that no carriage could go over them. There were no towns or factories, and the potter lived in a little thatched cottage like a hovel. He had a shed where he worked at his wheel and baked his pots. He dug the clay out himself, and his boys helped him to ‘‘throw” and “press,” and do all that was wanted to be done. When he had finished making his pots, his wife used to bring up the asses from the common, where 30 AUNT MARTHA S CORNER CUPBOARD they were grazing, and get them ready for a journey. She put panniers on their backs, filled with her hus¬ band’s pots; and then she set off, over the bad, rutty roads, to the towns and villages to sell them. That part of Staffordshire is still called “the Pot¬ teries” ; but it is very much improved — and has great towns, and factories, and good roads, and is not at all what it used to be. One of the towns is called Burslem; and a potter named Mr. Wedgwood lived there. He spent all his life in making the cups of a more beautiful kind than had ever been made before. They were of a cream color; and instead of the ugly figures that were in fashion then, he painted them with flowers and fruit, as we see them now. One reason why he got on so well was because he took so much pains, and would not let anything pass unless it was perfect. If a cup came off the wheel with the slightest fault in it, he would break it to pieces with his stick, and say, “This will not do for me.” Charley and Richard were so interested in what Aunt Martha had been telling them, that old Sally tapped at the door twice before they heard her. And then, when she had brought in the tea, and the muf¬ fins hot out of the oven, they could neither eat nor drink for talking about “the tea-cups.” And Richard began to wonder what Aunt Martha’s next story would be about, and tried to make her tell him. But HOW THE TEA CUP WAS FINISHED 31 She put panniers on their hacks, filled with her husband’s pots. he did not think this would be wise; and all he could ascertain was that the subject of it would come out of her corner cupboard. It was clear, however, that the story had done them good ; for the next morning, Charley and Rich¬ ard, instead of spending every moment in play, walked up and down the garden-walk, talking about the clay, and the glaze, and the enamel — things they had known nothing about before. But their greatest pleasure was to come ; for stroll¬ ing out by the gate into the lane, they spied, all at once, some bits of broken pot. You would have thought they had found something very precious, indeed, they were so pleased. They picked them up. 32 AUNT MARTHA’S CORNER CUPBOARD and carried them off in triumph into the old tool- house, where Charley at once set to work with a great stone to pound them to powder. He had nearly broken them up, to mix with some clay that Richard brought out of the ditch, when the thought struck him that these blue and white pieces of pot were not like Aunt Martha’s best china. He would go in and ask her if they were. Aunt Martha was seated at her work-table, in the parlor, when the boys came running in. She told them that Charley was right. Her best cups and saucers had the patterns painted on them, and required more skill to make than these. Common blue and white cups — such as Charley had a bit of in his hand — ^were managed in quite an¬ other way. A paper, with the pattern printed on it, was wrapped round each cup. The cup was rubbed for a long time, and then set in water. The paper soon peeled off, but the blue marks were left behind. Richard and Charley wanted to know a great deal more; but Aunt Martha would not answer any of their questions. So they went back to the tool-house again, to play at potters. What delightful work it was! So delightful, that Charley made up his mind to be a potter as soon as he was old enough, — and if his father would let him. Richard said, if he were a potter he ought to go to China ; and then he remembered his dog’s-eared geog- THE TEA CUP 33 raphy in his desk at school, and thought when he got back he would look into it, and see if it said anything about China. He should like to know a little more than Aunt Martha had told them. That afternoon old Sally had to keep the boys from going into the parlor too soon; for they were ready half an hour before the usual time. But good Aunt Martha was ready; and when she heard their feet pattering along the hall, she got up and opened the door. Then Charley settled himself on the hearth-rug, and Richard fetched a stool; and the boys were as still as mice while Aunt Martha told them — “The Story of the Tea.” The Stor^ of 1he Tea use, if it is kept only to look at. It needs to be filled with good strong tea. I wonder what people did before tea was brought to England; for it is not, as everybody knows, a native of this climate. It grows in China, where the beauti¬ ful cups are made on purpose to hold it. And it was sipped by emperors on their thrones, and by their grand mandarins, many years before we knew any¬ thing about it. And even now, the best of the tea is kept at home for the benefit of the Court, and it is only the next best that finds its way into our tea-pots. About two hundred and fifty years ago, there was 34 THE TEA 35 no tea in England except what people made of their herbs that grew in their gardens, such as mint, and thyme, and sage; no one, not even their majesties the kings and queens, had ever tasted a cup of real Chinese tea. But it happened in the year 1610 — for I daresay you would like to know the date — some Dutch ships brought a little tea to Holland ; and then a little more was brought home to England, and people talked about it as “a new drink that came from China.” Everybody would have liked to taste some of it, but it was very difficult to get ; and when a present of two pounds of tea was made to the king, he thought it a very handsome gift indeed. Not many people could buy tea in those days; and even when they did get it, they hardly knew whether it was to be eaten or drunk. There is a funny story of two old people, who had an ounce of tea sent to them, and who were quite at a loss what to do with it. At last, the old lady pro¬ posed to her husband that they should sprinkle it on their bacon, and eat it ; which they accordingly did — and very nasty it must have been. By slow degrees, however, tea found its way to every home in England ; and in these days every one can afford to buy it. It is welcomed in the palace of the King, and it affords refreshment to the poorest cottager. A cup of tea is equally grateful to all. 36 AUNT MARTHA’S CORNER CUPBOARD It must be confessed that the tea makes its appear¬ ance under great disadvantages. No one who has seen it growing in the Flowery Land of its birth can, sup¬ pose it to be the same thing. And it is rather whimsi¬ cal as to where it does grow. The north is too cold, and the south is too hot; but there is a middle tract country neither too hot nor too cold, that suits it the best. It is called by the Chinaman Thea or Tha, and from this word comes our English name, tea. It has white flowers, a little like the wild rose ; and when the flowers are gone there come some green pods, that contain the seed. The Chinaman is very careful how he sows his seeds, because his next crop is to come from them. And he sows six or seven seeds in one hole, to be quite sure that some of them will come up. The leaves are, as you may suppose, the most im¬ portant part of the plant. They are very handsome and glossy, like the leaves of the camelia that lives in the hothouse. But it is not on account of their beauty they are so much valued ; they have some good qualities that no other leaves possess. When a person drinks a cup of tea, how refreshed he feels ! That is because of the reviving and strength¬ ening quality in the leaf. The leaf also has in it a bitter substance called Thein — or, as it might be styled, pure extract of tea; and this has a great effect It was sipped by emperors on their high thrones and by their grand mandarins. 37 38 AUNT MARTHA’S CORNER CUPBOARD in taking away the feeling of being wearied. The Chinaman has his tea-plantation, just as we have our vegetable-garden, or the Irishman has his potato-ground. It is called “tea-farm” ; and the farmer lives close by, in a funny little house, like a pagoda, with long-pointed eaves to it. He and his wife are always busy in the planta¬ tion, for she helps him weed and water, and her feet have no little shoes to pinch them. She could not afford to hobble about as the fine ladies do, or to be carried in a sedan. In the early spring, when the young leaves are newly put forth, and have a delicious flavor, the family begins to be very busy. The children come into the plantation and strip them off, until the branches are nearly bare. But they leave enough for another gathering by-and-by. Of course, the young tender leaves are the best, and make the nicest tea. The Chinaman calls it Souchong. When the leaves that are left get older, they are gathered; but they are not so delicate, and people do not like them so well. There is still a third gathering, but this is worse than the last, and makes very poor tea. When the leaves are stripped off, they are thrown into some shallow baskets, and set in the sun, where the wind can blow on them to dry them. They are then put in a pan, and placed on a stove with a THE TEA 39 The children strip the leaves off. fire under it, to be dried still more. While they are over the fire they are stirred about with a brush until they are quite dry. You may see that the tea-leaf is rolled up and crumpled, and that it comes straight when it is put into the water. The Chinaman takes the trouble to roll it in this way. He does it at a board, and rolls the leaf between his fingers. After this has been done, he again dries the leaves over the fire. He takes pains to pick out all the bad leaves and throw them away. He knows his tea will be looked 40 AUNT MARTHA'S CORNER CUPBOARD at, before it can be sold to a person who knows good tea from bad. This person is a tea-merchant and lives in the next town. All day long, the farmers keep coming into the office where he sits, with chests of tea slung over their shoulders. They want him to buy, and he is quite willing. Indeed, the more he can get the better, for he wants to send it in a ship to Europe. But he always makes the farmer open his chest and spread his tea out before him. He looks at it very sharply, and takes it in his hand and smells it; and he would find out in a minute if any bad leaves were left in it. But if it is really good tea, he gives the farmer some money for it, and sends him away. The farmer goes to the market and lays out some of his money, — though he is very saving and thrifty, or he would not be a Chinaman. It was a good thing that old Sally just then came in with the tea, for that was what Charley and Richard wanted. Not that they were either hungry or thirsty; but it was delightful to jump up and look at the tea in the caddy, as Aunt Martha took it out with a scoop. It was better still to watch the water being poured on it, and to see the tea-leaves begin to un¬ roll themselves and to get quite flat. Charley clap¬ ped his hands with glee, and they both skipped round the room, saying they had never enjoyed a THE TEA 41 The farmers come with chests of tea slung over their shoulders. cup of tea SO much as now that they knew some¬ thing about it. And the very next afternoon Charley and Rich¬ ard found their way to a room they had never much cared about before. This room was called the li¬ brary, and had rows and rows of shelves, with many books upon them. But besides the books upon the shelves, there were others on the table. And Charley, who was thinking very much about foreign countries, was glad to find a book lying open on Aunt Martha’s desk, telling all about India and China. It was full of pictures; among them were some potters making cups and other vessels, and of people picking off the leaves of the tea-plant. 42 AUNT MARTHA’S CORNER CUPBOARD How quickly the time passed in looking at them! Instead of being tired of doing nothing, as Charley very often was when it rained and he could not play out of doors, the time seemed to fly; and Aunt Martha had finished her nap and taken her knitting, and was ready to tell her story, almost before they were ready to hear it. Not that they were a moment too late; oh no! — they wanted very much to know more about the contents of Aunt Martha’s corner cupboard, and were very glad when, without any delay, she began —‘‘The Story of the Sugar.” The Storj of the Sugar VERYBODY likes sugar. The Christmas pudding would be nothing without it ; and the plum-cake, and the tarts, and the custards, and all the nice things that boys are so fond of, would have no sweet taste in them if it were not for the sugar. But its range is much wider than this. It is found in the ripe peach on the wall, and in the juicy nectarine. The bee knows the taste of it well, and finds it hidden deep in the bell of the flower. It lurks in the grape, and the orange, and fruits too many for me to name. And it finds its way into the stems of plants, and makes their juice sweet and delicious. There is a tall, reed-like plant, with a yellow stem. It is called the sugar-cane, because there is so much sugar in it. 43 44 AUNT MARTHA'S CORNER CUPBOARD In some places, people are always chewing it. They cut it with their knives to make the juice come out, and go on cutting and chewing all day long. 