I'm
afraid they did not make very good music."
Theo smiled.
"Besides these fantastic things the Dutch also made tea sets, and when
I say that you must realize that this was a very important fact; for
up to about 1660 tea was a great novelty in England. It had but
recently been introduced there by Oriental traders, and was very
expensive, selling for about eight dollars a pound--at that time a
great deal of money, and even quite a price when rated by our own
standards. People were very ignorant still as to its use. You have
probably heard the story of the servant who, knowing nothing about
preparing the new delicacy, boiled the tea leaves, sprinkled them with
salt and pepper and, throwing away the liquid, served the dainty to
his master in a covered dish."
There was a hearty laugh from Theo.
"As late as 1661 an Englishman named Samuel Pepys, whose diary is an
interesting record of the time, writes: '_I had to-day some tea--a
China drink of which I had never drank before._' Isn't it a pity that
while he was writing the little man did not also put down how he liked
this new beverage?"
Mr. Croyden drew out his watch and rose.
"So you can see, Theo," he added as he stood with his back to the
fire, "what it meant to have tea sets introduced into England.
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