The Eyes of the Junk

.Taken from ‘Little Folks; the Magazine for the Young’ of 1890

‘Why a boat should have eyes is probably not quite clear to you, but the Chinese sailor thinks them absolutely necessary. So the junks of the Flowery Land all have pairs of eyes painted on the side of their bows, and the native sailor will not sail in a vessel that has not got them. “For,” quoth he, “no have yes, no can see; no can see, no can go.” While sailing up the river Pei-ho to Pekin, Bishop fowler happened to sit in a free and easy way with his legs hanging over the side of the boat so that they covered one eye. He observed that the crew grew very uneasy, but could not make out the cause of their anxiety till at last they came to him and asked him to move his legs away, as the ship could not see to go!’

The First Tea in Scotland.

This little snippet is from ‘Sunday Reading for Young and Old’ 1881.

‘The First Tea in Scotland.

It is said that tea drinking became general in England much earlier than in Scotland; and the reason given is as follows-

   The widow of the Duke of Monmouth, in the year 1685, sent a pound of tea to one of her relations living in the north country. This Chinese product was hitherto unknown there. It was carefully examined, and a cook was summonsed, who, after lengthy examination, gave it as his opinion that it was a dried herb.

   The costly plant was entrusted to him to do as he pleased with it, and he set to work at once, boiled the leaves, threw away the water, and dished them up like spinach.

   The guests found the vegetable but little to their taste, and the credit of tea suffered for a long time afterwards in consequence.’