DR. A. CLARKE ON TEA-DRINKING.
By G. T. WILSON
FROM the “Autobiography of Dr. Adam Clarke,” I copy the following:— In the year 1782 A.D. Dr. A. Clarke read Mr. John Wesley’s “Letter on Tea.” When he had finished it he said: “There are arguments here which I can not answer; and till I can answer them to my own satisfaction, I will neither drink tea nor coffee.” He broke off the habit from that hour, and never afterward sought for arguments to overturn those of Mr. Wesley, and from that day to the present never once tasted tea or coffee. . . . He spent that time in reading and study, which he must otherwise have spent at the tea table; and by this, in the course of thirty-seven years, he had saved several whole years of time, every hour of which was devoted to self-improvement, or some part of that great work which the providence of God gave him to do. For a short time after he left off the use of these exotics, he took in the evening a cup of milk and water, or a cup of weak infusion of camomile; but as he found that he gained no time by this means, and the gaining of time was his great object, he gave that totally up, never tasting anything from dinner to supper. In the morning he found it easy to supply the place of tea or coffee by taking milk in some form or other, or any other aliment which the junior parts of the families where he lodged were accustomed to take for their breakfast. In his “Letter to a Preacher,” since published, he had adverted strongly to this circumstance. Mr. Wesley himself, after having left off the use of tea and coffee for twelve years, resumed it, and continued the use of these beverages till his death; his pupil, Adam Clarke, followed his counsels without attending to his practise, so zealously as the Rechabites did those of their founder, Jonadab. What Adam Clarke has gained by his sacrifice has amply compensated the cost. He says in his journal that he has saved in the thirty-seven years over four years of time, which would have been consumed in visits and tea-drinking. Dr. Clarke gave a noble example to those who would be in a condition to profitably spend their time for God, and not waste it on the gratification of appetite in wrong ways. Then, too, by his disuse of tea and coffee, he had a clearer mind for his great work, and the Lord blessed him with much wisdom and knowledge for the duties he had committed to his hands. How much valuable time is wasted in tea-parties, and how many times are the delicate nerves whipped up with tea and coffee, only to relapse afterward far below their former level! This practise kept up for a time must sooner or later break down the nerve tone, and lay the foundation of neuralgia and other nerve diseases. The arguments of John Wesley against tea-drinking were good, but he ultimately failed in his practise. Dr. Clarke embraced the good principles, and put them into practise during the rest of his life. His was a noble example to follow. Avondale School, Cooranbong, N. S. W.