250 / 374
2SO
DRINKS,
est
fort
ordinaire
en
la
Chine."
^
He
says,
**
One
of
the
things
which,
in
my
opinion,
contributes
most
to
the
great
health of
this
people,
who
often
attain
to
extreme
old
age,
is
Tay^
the
use
of
which
is
very
com-
mon
throughout
the
East,
and
which
is
beginning
to
be
known
in
France,
by
means
of the
Dutch,
who
bring
it
from
China,
and
sell
it
at
Paris
at
30
francs
the
pound,
which
they
have
bought
in
that
country
for
8
or
10
sols,
and
yet
I
perceive
that
it
is
very
old,
and
spoilt.
Thus
it
is
that
we
brave
Frenchmen
suffer
strangers
to
enrich
themselves
in
the
East
India
trade,
whence
they
might
draw
the
fairest
treasures
of
the
world,
if
they
had
but
the
courage
to
undertake
it
as
well
as
their
neighbours,
who
have
less
means
of
being
successful
than
they
have.
"
Tay
is
a
leaf
as
large
as
that
of
our
pomegranate,
and
it
grows
on
shrubs
similar
to
the
myrtle
:
it
does
not
exist
elsewhere
throughout
the
world,
but
in
two
provinces
of
China,
where
it
grows.
The
chief
is
that
of
Nanquin,
whence
comes
the
best
Tay,
which
they
call
Ckd
;
the
other
is
the
province
of
Chin
Chean.
The
gathering
of
this
leaf
in
both
these
provinces
is
made
with
as
much
care
as
we
exercise
in
our
vintage,
and
its
abundance
is
so
great,
that
they
have
enough
to
supply
the
rest
of
China,
Japan,
Tonquin,
Cochin
China,
and
several
other
kingdoms,
where
the
use
of
tea
is
so
common,
that
those
who
drink
it
but
three
times a
day
are
most
moderate,
many
taking
it
ten
or
»
Divers
Voyages
et
Missions
du
P.
Alexandre
de
Rhodes
^
en
la
ChinCy
6-
autres
Royaumes
de
r
Orient^
etc
Paris^
1653,
p.
49.