Teapot

“ On a large round table in the centre, covered with a snowy cloth, were arranged china teacups of curious shape and rare value, the silver teapot, cream-jug, and sugar-dish of most antique patterns, in which the firelight gleamed and flickered, adding brightness to the good fare with which the table was loaded. ”

“ Mrs. Tempest seated herself in her own particular chair, beside which was her own particular table with one of those pretty tea-services which were her chief delight—a miniature silver tea-kettle with a spirit-lamp, a cosy little ball-shaped teapot, cups and saucers of old Battersea. ”

“ Crooked spouts were very liable to become obstructed by the tea leaves. "One drinks tea for pleasure, and one may justly feel irritated if the beverage declines to come out of the pot." The true form of teapot, we are told, began with Kung Ch ́un, from which one infers that the tea bowls of the T ́ang and Sung usage were in vogue up to his time. ”

“ Between the green tendrils one got a glimpse of the picture within—the dresser with its wealth of shining crockery, the log-fire leaping merrily on the hearth, a little brown teapot winking in the glow, the table spread with a clean white cloth and set out for two. ”

“ Sometimes the teapot, whether ceramic, pewter, or silver, was placed upon a dish or small, tile-like stand with feet. These teapot stands served as insulation by protecting the surface of the table or tray from the damaging heat of the teapot. Stands often were included in tea sets but also were sold individually, such as the “Pencil’d China ... tea pot stands,” advertised in 1775, and the “teapot stands” of “best London plated ware” imported in 1797. [69] The stands must have been especially useful when silver equipage was set on a bare table top ”

“ Now, there is no harm in a teapot, even if it contains tea, if it is let alone; ”

“ But the grand Curiosity 's not to be seen— The owner himself— an old fat Mandarin; A patron of painters who copy designs, That grocers and tea-dealers hang up for signs: Hence teaboard-taste artists gain rewards and distinction, Hence his title of 'Teapot' shall last to extinction. ”

“ Teapots based on Chinese models and often decorated with Chinese motifs were fashioned in ceramic and silver. No doubt many an 18th-century hostess desired a silver teapot to grace her table and add an elegant air to the tea ceremony. A lottery offering one must have raised many a hope, especially if, as an advertisement of 1727 announced, the “highest Prize consists of an Eight Square Tea-Pot,” as well as “six Tea-Spoons, Skimmer and Tongs.” ”

“ But who among civilians, (save the informed) , can imagine a barrack-room teapot?
Open your ears, O ye thrifty ones! while we state a few facts, and there will be no need to tell you to open your eyes.
Into the teapot which supplied Miles with his morning cup there was put, for one making, eight pounds of tea!—not ounces, observe, but pounds,—twenty-nine pounds of sugar, and six gallons—an absolute cowful—of milk! The pot itself consisted of eight enormous coppers, which were filled with boiling water to the brim. ”

“ Set out on the table was a queer little silver box of tea and four delicate, transparent cups or basins, for they had no handles, of the most fairy-like egg-shell china, each standing in a shell-like saucer.
"Where is your teapot?" I asked, coming up to the table and putting my hand on the blue silk-clad shoulder.
"Chinese never have teapot. That's all an English mistake. Chinese always make tea in a cup." ”

“ When it is very hot, fill the china teapot and put it where it will keep warm. When the water boils very hard, empty out the teapot, put in the tea, and put on the boiling water; do not stand it on the stove, as too many people do, but send it right to the table; it will be ready as soon as it is time to pour it—about three minutes. If you are making tea for only one person, you will need a teaspoonful of tea, as you will see by the rule, and two small cups of water will be enough. If for more, put in a half-teaspoonful for each person, and one cup of water more. ”

“ It is, no doubt, vastly ingenious to make a pepper dredge fit into a tea-canister which belongs in the teapot, which in turn should go into the saucepan, only unfortunately the class of persons to whom utensils of this kind are usually entrusted in wild countries are slow to appreciate mechanical puzzles, and usually throw the whole lot into the first bag they can get, when the spout of the teapot gets knocked off, and the pepper becomes hopelessly amalgamated with the tea, to the decided detriment of both. ”

“ Hilda. I put the teapot in the basket.
All (in surprise) . You?
Hilda. All my life that teapot has stood for what I detest. I wanted to be free from traditions and stupid conventions and antiques. I was going away (glancing at Dean) ; but I didn't, so the teapot had to.
Mr. T. Well, this is news to me. Professor Gates, I fear that you will have to take your bride without the teapot.
Prof. G. (beaming) . To tell the truth, Sue and I hardly need even so priceless a gift as the teapot to make our happiness complete. (Takes Sue's hand.) ”

“ A teapot that will not “pour out” freely is an annoyance at the best of times, and to the most placid of souls. (The fact that tea through the lid is as good as tea through the spout is more than counter-balanced by the fact that tea in the cup is better than tea on the table-cloth. And it is a very difficult art, only to be acquired by patient practice, to pour tea into the cup and the cup alone, from the top of a spout-bunged teapot. Try it.)
Bertram’s had temper waxed and deepened. ”

“ When of metal, tea sets (fig. 11) usually consisted of a teapot, containers for sugar and cream or milk, and possibly a slop bowl, while ceramic sets, such as the one seen in Family Group (fig. 1) , included cups and saucers as well.
Figure 11.—Silver tea set consisting of teapot, sugar bowl, container for cream or milk, and waste bowl, made by John McMullin, of Philadelphia, about 1800. Matching coffee and hot water pot made by Samuel Williamson, also of Philadelphia. The letter “G,” in fashionable script, is engraved on each piece. ”

“ She used in the first place to make sure that the kettle really boiled; then she carefully poured some water into the teapot and rinsed it, both to make it clean and to make it hot; then she knew exactly how much tea to put into the tiny little teapot, which was just big enough to hold two cups of tea; and having poured a very little boiling water to it, she used to set it by the side of the fire while she made half a slice of toast. How careful Ellen was about that toast! The bread must not be cut too thick, nor too thin; the fire must, if possible, burn clear and bright ”

“ Others are of the shape of a house, and many types of this design occur. Some are in the form of a squirrel. Then there are the heart-shaped teapots with the spout incongruously representing an arm resting on the neck of a swan. These teapots were supposed to have been made for lovers. We give an illustration (p. 197) of one of these heart teapots, and it will be seen how a slight touch of gilding has been added to heighten the effect on the embossed portions showing the fruit. Of course the cauliflower teapot exhibits a touch of humour, too, but this form is rarely found in salt glaze. ”

“ Some of the more ambitious people aspired to have cups each of a different pattern, possessing, in fact, the sole similarity that with their odd curves and dips of form they each resembled anything but a teacup. Others of the more ambitious aspired to a quite severe and godly "set," which, when viewed, appalled one with its austere and rigid family resemblances, and made one desire to ask the hostess if the teapot was not the father of all the little cups, and at the same time protesting gallantly that such a young and charming cream-jug surely could not be their mother. ”

“ CHAPTER TEN A TEMPEST in a teapot is a small thing, unless it ends with the teapot's boiling over and putting out the fire. In the case of the newly-kindled friendship between the young Leslies and the young Argyles, this narrowly escaped occurring. ”

“ A few rough rugs lay strewn over the floor, and a semblance of comfort was given to the place by some shelves containing a teapot, some bright little cups and saucers, and a brass tray and kettle. Food was soon brought us, the usual kuskusu and boiled turnips, with the extra luxury of a chicken—no small honour in these parts—then tea and dates. ”

“ There are simple vessels, teapots, and cups of clay, thin as Banko ware, and left unglazed, which for very oddity and perfection of workmanship are worthy of a place in any collection. Mr. Sutton has two pieces of this character. One is a{174} teapot shaped like a partially folded leaf, having its sides drawn together to form the spout. The lid is like an elongated shell, and is thin and light as a leaf. The other is also a teapot, and resembles a transverse section of the trunk of a tree. In such cases the artist is lost sight of in the workman. ”

“ Bewicke, he drew the tray close to the low divan in front of him, saw that his sons provided cushions for our backs, and proceeded to wash the green tea in a bright nickel pear-shaped teapot, with water from the great brass urn which stood over a charcoal-burner: the washed tea was then transferred into a twin teapot, which the Hadj generously filled with immense lumps of sugar out of a glass dish standing on a tray by itself, stacked high with great blocks split off the cone with a hatchet. ”

“ She bought a big tall clock out of somebody’s attic, and four-posted beds, the kind folks used to sleep in, an’ outlandish old cracked china plates with scenes on ’em. I recollect I gave her a blue and white teapot, with an eagle on the side that belonged to my grandmother. She thought it was perfectly elegant, and kept it full of rose-leaves and spice on the parlor mantelpiece. Land! I hadn’t thought of that teapot for years and years. ”

“ One of the orderlies brought some boiling water, and the padre asked Aurelle to make the tea.
"When I was married—not that way, messiou; it's curious that no Frenchman can make tea. Always warm the teapot first, my boy; you cannot make good tea with a cold teapot." ”

“ Toiling up the street again, and examining the shops as we go, I say that, much as I like Rochefort, I do not advise any one to come here in order to purchase their wedding trousseau, or lay in a stock of winter clothing. We look in vain for something to buy in remembrance of the place; but can see nothing out of the way, except it is a yellow teapot, holding at the least four quarts, and with a curled spout to prevent the tea coming out too fast, which must be almost necessary with such a load of liquid. ”

“ It is certain that the son experimented with the bodies of clays until he produced a "cream colour," afterwards improved by Josiah Wedgwood in his renowned cream ware. We illustrate (p. 149) an Astbury teapot in date about 1740, with an orange-coloured glaze body having design in relief in white. The other Astbury ware teapot is of slightly later date, and has a coffee-brown body with white and green floral ornaments in relief. ”

“ In the tea-drinking shops you see a large samovar, about three feet high, in one corner, where water is kept boiling hot by the glowing charcoal in the centre pipe. Men drop in and seat themselves, cross-legged, for a chat and a cup of tea. The shops will hold some three or four. The Afghans like their tea very hot, weak, very sweet, and flavoured with cardamoms, which are put unpowdered into the teapot. They pay a pice, that is a little less than a farthing, for a cup of tea. If a man has some tea with him, and he often has, he can always send to one of these shops for a teapot and hot water. ”

“ The inventor darted to the stove, snatched up the teapot, poured out a cup of the universal restorer, scalding his forefinger in the hurry, milked and sugared it just right, and bore it to his daughter, who was nodding again. She drank it dutifully, like medicine.
Children do not comprehend tea. We have to grow up to it. It is the appointed balm of fatigued and sorrowing middle age.
In its function of medicine, the strong draught revived her, giving a twist to her pretty features, and sending a lively shudder through her slender frame. Pet rose from her seat quite briskly. ”

“ He held his cup untasted for a moment, looking thoughtfully into the fire. "Tea is the best drink you can have in difficult, fatiguing journeys. Even the gold-diggers of Australia know that. They drink hard enough when they are on the spree, but when at work in earnest they stick to the teapot," he said, turning his eyes full upon her with a cool, critical gaze, which half amused, half irritated her. ”

“ Not seen in this detail of the painting is the entry of a male servant who is carrying a tall silver pot, which may have contained chocolate or coffee. These two other social beverages of the 18th century were served in cups of a deep cylindrical shape, like the three seen on the end of the table. The shallow, bowl-shaped, handleless teacups and the saucers are arranged in a neat row along one side of the table. The teapot rests on a square tile-like stand or dish that protects the table from the heat. Nearby is a bowl to receive tea dregs, a pot for cream or milk, and a sugar bowl. ”

“ People were just getting up, and in the poorer streets was a continual splash of tea-leaves, flung out on to the cobble-stones. A teapot came crashing down from an upper story just behind Lois, and she, starting round and looking up, thought that the trembling, drink-bleared man at the upper window, who was stupidly staring after his pot, had had designs on her life ”