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235
The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft
·
George Gissing
191
In
nothing
is
the
English
genius
for
domesticity
more
notably
declared
than
in
the
institution
of
this
festival--almost
one
may
call
it
so--of
afternoon
tea.
Beneath
simple
roofs,
the
hour
of
tea
has
something
in
it
of
sacred;
for
it
marks
the
end
of
domestic
work
and
worry,
the
beginning
of
restful,
sociable
evening.
The
mere
chink
of
cups
and
saucers
tunes
the
mind
to
happy
repose.
I
care
nothing
for
your
five
o'clock
tea
of
modish
drawing-rooms,
idle
and
wearisome
like
all
else
in
which
that
world
has
part;
I
speak
of
tea
where
one
is
at
home
in
quite
another
than
the
worldly
sense.
To
admit
mere
strangers
to
your
tea-table
is
profanation;
on
the
other
hand,
English
hospitality
has
here
its
kindliest
aspect;
never
is
friend
more
welcome
than
when
he
drops
in
for
a
cup
of
tea.
Where
tea
is
really
a
meal,
with
nothing
between
it
and
nine
o'clock
supper,
it
is--again
in
the
true
sense--the
homeliest
meal
of
the
day.
Is
it
believable
that
the
Chinese,
in
who
knows
how
many
centuries,
have
derived
from
tea
a
millionth
part
of
the
pleasure
or
the
good
which
it
has
brought
to
England
in
the
past
one
hundred
years?
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