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DRINKS.

277

which

we

see

a

lady

using

the

dombilla,

zhhou^

the

Mats

cup

has

an

apartador.

The

silver

kettle

for

supplying

hot

water

is

fed

with

charcoal

at

the

side,

and

somewhat

resembles

the

Russian

Samovar.

We

give

a

modern

Mat^

cup

and

bombilla

;

but

this,

which

is

made

wholly

of

silver,

is

only

intended

for

one

person's

use.

Sometimes

the

MaU

cups

are

made

of

the

gourds

of

the

Cuca

{Crescentia

Cujete)

or

Caba^o

{Cucurbita

lagenaria)

silver

mounted.

Indeed,

the

cup

itself

is

the

Matd,

which

gives

the

name

to

the

Herb,

meaning,

in

the

language

of

the

Incas,

a

calabash.

The

decoc-

tion

is

drank

with

a

little

brown

sugar

or

lemon

added,

never

with

milk,

and

if

not

drank

very

quickly

will

turn

quite

black.

It

loses

in

flavour

and

aroma

by

keeping,

so

that

in

England

it

cannot

possibly

be

drunk

in

perfection,

which,

of

course,

can

only

be

done on

the

spot

where

it

is

produced.

Its

virtues

are

much

vaunted.

It

is

supposed

to

give

nervous

vigour,

and

to

enable

the

system

to

resist

fatigue

;

but

this

can

scarcely

account

for

the

enormous

quantity

drunk,

although

to

persons

unused

to

it,

when

taken

in

large

doses

it

is

both

pur-

gative

and

emetic.

Like

Chinese

tea,

it

has

a

volatile

oil,

which

gives

it

its

peculiar

aroma

;

it

also

contains

nearly

2

per

cent,

of

theine,

and

about

1

6

per

cent

of

an

astringent

acid,

resembling

tannin,

which

causes

the

infusion

to

turn

black

after

a

slight

exposure

to

the

air.

There

is

another

variety

of

Matd,

called

Gongonka,

which

is

drunk

in

Brazil,

which

is

prepared

from

two