Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1905-09-17
NOTABLE TEA TOPERS
S@E NsY n g osE$yitM,B!sgD THE sTimuLAT-
So j. ZINC SBRtW TO EXCESS.

.
Dc Quincy EmptIcd Ills Cups From
o'Clocls Mt Might Till 1 II, the
observation-disclosures II shnmcIcss Ten
SeBibber-Why Hawthorne Quilt.
5Thc most hardened tea drinkcr may
ndmit that tea drinking can be ana
often is ovcrdonc, anu yet the best
kHown ten topcrs do not appear to have
suffered IN consequence of their excess
I've indulgence in tue cheering cup.
DE Quincy was Il notable tea topper.
In his picture of winter evening i'm
his cottage among the Cumberland
hills he mentions the tea cquipugc OH n
table beside tic fire. and behind the
table fair tea maker, whose duty it
was to fill an almost endless process.
sion of cups De Quincy declares that
he drank ten frolu s o'clock at night
to In the morning. and claims the in
fusion as "thc favoritc beverage OF the
intellectual"
Another tea topper was uazlitt. the
cssayist, who was not only very fond
of the beverage. but seems TO have
drunk ii II extraordinary strength
We are told on excellent authority that
lie used two ounces for his breakfast
and two for his tea. with cream and
that for this tca-thc finest Soochong-
lie paid Mt first II shllings and after
ward II shilllngs per pound. Perhaps
this extravaganza and excessive con-
sumption of tea may account for some
Of the eSsayist's quarrclsoncncsS.
Cowpcr, as we all know, appreciated
ito the full the charm Of the fragrant
leaf, but there Is hardly sufficient evil
dcnce to show that he was guilty OF
undue indulgence. The most famous
ten topper was Of course DR.. Johnson,
whose fcats with the cup which Mrs.
1lrnle, nllc,l SO assiduously are too well
known to need charging upon. Ills
record appears to have been twenty
FIVE cups which hc drank ut Il sitting.
but i'll mitigation of Judgment 1t should
be remembered that in all probability
the cups wore mucl smaller than ihc
teacups in use ut The present time
Still, johnson told. Miss Reynolds IN
playful verse:
Thou carst not malic the tea so fast
AS can gulp 1t down.
And lie described himself as Il ''liard-
cnch and shameless; tea drinlicr. who
has for many years diluted his meals
with only tho Infusion OF this fascinat-
Ing plant; whose kettle has scarcely
time tp, cool; who with tea amuscs the
= evening. with tea so!accs the midnight
and with tea welcomes the morning."
1t is an amazing confession, hut wc
arc bound TO remember that this in
temperate tea bibbcr lived SO the age
OF scvcnty-Gvc.
Jolinson's record was tqualc,l by
Bishop Gilbert Burnct. the author OF
the we'll known III list Dry OF My own
Times" who il rcportcd to have dis
posed OF twenty-five cups in IL morn
ing. Another man of letters of n very
different type. Nathaniel Hawthorne.
who might have cGunicd the doctor.
curbcd his tea drinking propcnsitic:;
Nenrly. When he was very young
SMnn Hawthorne WIS In The habit OF
visiting Fat q house where the hostess,
made excellent tea. and one evening
when tho VISITORS cup was passed TO
be reflllcd she said: Now. Mr. law
thornc, I nm going TO play Mrs. Thralc
to your Johnson. know you arc IL
slave to my tea" The young man
aa"NiS nv i'p's, DtI iic tl'iu lU lIlciliEt-
ton to play the role assigned to him,
and for five years from that night
Hawthorne did not taste cup of tea
n protest which seems as excessive in
its way rs the inclination which his
hostess had attributed to him.
There have been other heroes of the
teapot not n few. Hartley Coleridge
may fairly claim place among the
tea Htopers. Some one Is said to have
asked him once how many cups he
usually drank and to have received the
scornful reply: Soups! don't count
by cups. I count by pots" Then
there have been others whom 1t would
be hardly fair to rank as tea topcrs,
but who have shown marked devotion
to the teapot. In recent days Mr.. Glad
stone and Dean Stanley would appear
in this clnss but indeed any list of
enthusiastic lovers In recent times OF
what Waller called the "best of herbs
would, be Of most inordinate length
London Globe