On a sudden returned, with such joy in her eyes, That her grey, sedate parent expressed some surprise.

'O mother!' said she, 'the good folks of this house,

I'm convinced, have not any ill-will to a mouse; And those tales can't be true which you always are telling,

For they've been at such pains to construct us a dwelling.

"The floor is of wood, and the walls are of wires, Exactly the size that one's comfort requires; And I'm sure that we there should have nothing to fear,

If ten cats with their kittens at once should appear. And then they have made such nice holes in the wall,

One could slip in and out with no trouble at all; But forcing one through such rough crannies as these,

Always gives one's poor ribs a most terrible squeeze.

'But the best of all is, they've provided us well With a large piece of cheese of most exquisite smell;

"Twas so nice, I had put my head in to go through, When I thought it my duty to come and fetch you.'

Ah, child,' said her mother, 'believe, I entreat, Both the cage and the cheese are a terrible cheat

t;

Do not think all that trouble they took for our good,

They would catch us, and kill us all there if they could,

As they've caught and killed scores; and I never could learn

That a mouse, who once entered, did ever return! '

Let the young people mind what the old people say, And when danger is near them, keep out of the way.

TEA.

Tom. Now, Uncle John, as Dick and I have learned our lessons, will you tell us something that you have seen in your travels abroad?

Uncle. I will gladly do so, my boys. But what shall I tell you that will interest you, and at the same time be useful?

Dick. As you have been to China, uncle, suppose you tell us about tea.

Tom. And then you could tell us about the sugar with which we sweeten our tea. I heard you say the other day you had often seen the sugar-cane growing in the West Indies.

Uncle. Our journey to China and back for the tea will, I am sure, be enough for to-night; but I will try and take you to the West Indies tomorrow evening.

Tom. Yes, I think that will be much better:

two such long voyages in one evening would be rather more than we could manage.

Uncle. But to begin.

The tea plant is a native of China, and in that country it is chiefly grown. It is to China, therefore, that our ships go to fetch us our tea, and every season there is a good race from that country to see which ship can bring the first cargo of new tea to England. If you were in China you would see the sides of some of the hills covered almost to the very summit with the tea shrubs; not, however, growing in large plantations, but in small garden-plots, one of which is just sufficient for the labour of a single family. You would find the fresh leaves on the plants of a bright deep green colour, very hard and glossy. The tea tree, I should have told you, is an evergreen. Dick. Oh! that is a tree on which the leaves are always green; is it not, uncle?

Uncle. An evergreen, Dick, is a tree on which the old leaves remain until the new ones come, so that there are always green leaves on it, though not, as some think, the same leaves: for as the new foliage grows, the old falls off.

Tom. Well, uncle, I did not know that before. But does the tea shrub have any flowers?

Uncle. Certainly, Tom. It bears white blossoms, which resemble those of our own wild rose. When the flower falls off, it is succeeded by a dry fruit containing seeds; and it is from these seeds that the plants are raised. The shrubs require careful tending and weeding for three or four years, before

the leaves, of which we make our tea, are fit to be gathered. After this age the leaves are plucked three times a year. The first gathering takes place in the early part of spring, and consists of the young leaflets, which form the choicest and finest teas.

Dick. Is the tea tree a tall plant, uncle?

Uncle. It is only allowed to reach a height of five or six feet, though it would, if not prevented, grow much higher.

Dick. Then, as the leaves are not far out of reach, they must be quickly gathered. I should pull them off by handfuls at a time.

Uncle. And spoil as much as you picked, my boy. You are quite mistaken to suppose it easy work. Tea-gathering is a very tedious and delicate process, I can assure you. The leaves are

not plucked by handfuls, but singly.

Tom. You surely don't mean to say, Uncle John, that the leaves are gathered one by one?

Uncle. Indeed I do, Tom; and an active labourer will not collect more in a whole day than fifteen pounds.

Dick. Who could have thought that all the tea used has had to be plucked in that wearisome manner? I am glad I do not have to gather the leaves from which my tea is made.

Tom. But the tea comes to us dry, and wrinkled, and curled up,-very different to the leaves left in the tea-pot.

Uncle. I will tell you how that is, Tom. As

soon as the leaves are picked, they are put into shallow bamboo baskets and partly dried by the sun and the air. After this, they are thrown into an iron pan, the bottom of which is heated by a gentle fire. In this pan the leaves are stirred for a few minutes, then taken out and emptied into a bamboo basket, which is placed on a table. Now the heated leaves are rolled up, in order to press out any juice they may contain, and to twist them. Both the stirring over the fire and the rolling are done with the hands. After they have been rolled, they are dried over a fire of wood or charcoal. The drying has to be very carefully done, lest the flavour of the tea should be injured. When dried, the tea is sifted, and the faulty leaves picked out. It is then packed into chests, and is ready for sale. Dick. I say, Tom, if we have our corn harvest, the Chinese folks have a tea harvest.

TEA-(continued).

Tom. Now, uncle, I should like to know how tea first came into use?

Dick. Oh, yes! tell us that.

Uncle. Well, boys, there is a strange story connected with it, which I will relate. But I don't think there is any danger of your believing it. It runs thus:-Once upon a time, a famous Indian prince arrived on the shores of China. He was said to be a person of very great piety, which he took every means of showing, according to the mis