Cooking and castle-building

It is an insult to any decent stomach to force into it the wretched slops so barbarously extracted from the Chinese herb. I write feelingly on this subject, for it has been my privilege to drink tea properly made, and fragrant memo- ries of the delicious flavor linger with me, effectually spoiling my relish for the common, vile decoction. " As for dry toast, I dare say no woman would be willing to confess she did not know how to toast bread ; yet my experience is, that good toast is the exception. Bad bread, scorched or burned, and sent to the table cold and tough, is as uninviting a dish as can be served ;while a plate of crisp, hot toast, properly prepared, is more appetizing and tempting to the average man than the danticst of hot cakes or muffins. Give me a cup of nice coflce or tea, with a plate of crisp, richly-browned toast, and firm, golden butter, for my morning or evening meal, and I will be content with ayiy relish you choose to add — even chipped beef; or I will be satisfied with tea and toast alone, if both are at their level best. " Do make haste and enlighten the world about tea and toast. For so doing, you will deserve its everlasting gratitude, and shall have, at least, that of Cousin John." " Poor John ! it is too bad that a folorn old bachelor can't have the small comfort to be found in tea and toast," observed Emeline, as I finished reading the letter. " I hope you will comply with his requests. Your toast is always perfection itself, and I think even Cousin John would be quite satisfied with the English breakfast tea you give US here, Kate ; for I never drank finer, even in England. How long do you boil it, and how do you manage always to have it just right ? " " I do not boil it at all. And following precisely the same method of makhig every time, why should the quality of the tea vary ? I think it would be safer for a careless, inattentive cook to boil the tea, if it did not boil more than a minute, for to make it without boiling, three requisites must be faithfully observed. The pot must be as hot, when the tea is put into it, as boiling water can make it. The water must be boiling when poured upon the tea, and the tea must stand, before being poured, from five to ten minutes. This is the recipe I shall give for making English breakfast tea : Ten or fifteen minutes before making the tea, fill the teapot with boiling water, and the tea-kettle with cold water, freshly drawn. It makes a vast difference with the quality of the tea whether it is made of water freshly boiled or of stale water that has stood in the kettle and been re-boiled, until all the sparkle and life have gone out of it. As soon as the kettle boils, empty the tea-pot, rinsing it with boiling water. Put into it a heaping teaspoonful of tea to each person, allowing a cup and a half of water to the same. Cover closely, letting it stand from five to ten minutes before pouring. Cream is as essential to good tea as it is to good coflee ; and in both cases is best when the hot liquid is poured upon it. When all the tea is poured from the pot, boiling water may be added to extract the remaining strength from the leaves."