Although in 1807 the governing powers of Great Britain forced
excise duties on teas up to ninety per cent. of their cost, tea
had been proved to be so beneficial and essential to happiness by
British workers that Charles Dickens, in reviewing the situation,
presents it as follows:--"And yet the washerwomen looked to her
afternoon 'dish of tea' as something that might make her
comfortable after her twelve hours of labor, and balancing her
saucer on a tripod of three fingers, breathed a joy beyond
utterance as she cooled the draught. The factory workman then
looked forward to the singing of the kettle, as some compensation
for the din of the spindle. Tea had found its way even to the
hearth of the agricultural laborer, and he would have his ounce
of tea as well as the best of his neighbors." But the heavy taxed
worker was often forced to choose between a tea adulterated with
English plants of other kinds, or the contraband but genuine
commodity offered by enterprising smugglers, who were the despair
of the Crown officers of the revenue, and the recognized friends
of the over-taxed poor.

It must not be inferred that tea as a beverage became naturalized
in England without meeting with the unreasoning opposition that
usually greets the advent of a stranger. The press and pamphlets
of the day contained frequent attacks upon tea, and the violence
of denunciation usually bore a fair proportion to the ignorance
of the writer; ignorance of physiology, ignorance of medicine,
ignorance of the pamphlets itself. The unfavorable opinions and
portentous predictions of some of the physicians of the period
are among the curiosities of medical records. Tea, like all other
things, may be abused, and a good friend be converted into an
enemy. But cold water has killed many persons, and plain bread