“Warren Hastings East Indyman,off Gravesend.March 24, 1813.Dear Brother Tom;This comes hopein to find you in good health as it leaves me safe anckor’d here yesterday at 4 P. M. arter a pleasant voyage tolerable short and a few squalls.—Dear Tom—hopes to find poor old father stout, and am quite out of pig-tail.—Sights of pig-tail at Gravesend, but unfortinly not fit for a dog to chor. Dear Tom, Captain’s boy will bring you this, and put pig-tail in his pocket when bort. Best in London at the Black Boy in 7 diles, where go acks forbest pig-tail—pound a pig-tail will do, and am short of shirts. Dear Tom, as for shirts ony took 2 whereof one is quite wored out and tuther most, but don’t forget the pig-tail, as I a’n’t had a quid to chor never since Thursday. Dear Tom, as for the shirts, your size will do, only longer. I liks um long—get one at present; best at Tower-hill, and cheap, but be particler to go to 7 diles for the pig-tail at the Black Boy, and Dear Tom, acks for pound best pig-tail, and let it be good. Captain’s boy will put the pig-tail in his pocket, he likes pig-tail, so ty it up. Dear Tom, shall be up about Monday there or thereabouts. Not so perticuler for the shirt as the present can be washed, but don’t forget the pig-tail without fail, so am your loving brother.”“T. P.”“P. S.—Don’t forget the pig-tail.”
“Warren Hastings East Indyman,off Gravesend.March 24, 1813.
Dear Brother Tom;
This comes hopein to find you in good health as it leaves me safe anckor’d here yesterday at 4 P. M. arter a pleasant voyage tolerable short and a few squalls.—Dear Tom—hopes to find poor old father stout, and am quite out of pig-tail.—Sights of pig-tail at Gravesend, but unfortinly not fit for a dog to chor. Dear Tom, Captain’s boy will bring you this, and put pig-tail in his pocket when bort. Best in London at the Black Boy in 7 diles, where go acks forbest pig-tail—pound a pig-tail will do, and am short of shirts. Dear Tom, as for shirts ony took 2 whereof one is quite wored out and tuther most, but don’t forget the pig-tail, as I a’n’t had a quid to chor never since Thursday. Dear Tom, as for the shirts, your size will do, only longer. I liks um long—get one at present; best at Tower-hill, and cheap, but be particler to go to 7 diles for the pig-tail at the Black Boy, and Dear Tom, acks for pound best pig-tail, and let it be good. Captain’s boy will put the pig-tail in his pocket, he likes pig-tail, so ty it up. Dear Tom, shall be up about Monday there or thereabouts. Not so perticuler for the shirt as the present can be washed, but don’t forget the pig-tail without fail, so am your loving brother.”
“T. P.”
“P. S.—Don’t forget the pig-tail.”
Treating of the milder virtues of tobacco, who ever knew a smoker—one of your twenty years’ standing,—ill tempered; or a veteran snuff-taker, who did not occasionally give utterance to witty sayings?—the thing were against reason. In conclusion, what can we say more for thee, omnipotent,prolific herb! than in the inspired lines of thy true admirer Byron?
Of the properties attributable to the plant in theMateria Medica, a variety of opinions prevail, and have done, indeed, since its first appearance in the civilized portion of the globe. It certainly cannot but strike the reader as a fact to be very greatly lamented, that science should be so unfixed, even in this much boasted-of-enlightened æra, that some medical men should be found to ascribe every bad and pernicious quality to the use of tobacco; and others, equally celebrated for their professional knowledge, recommend it as a panacea for many ills. Reflection makes this still more dreadful, when we consider these are the men to whose abilities we are frequently compelled to look up, for the preservation of our healths and lives. It would be well, indeed, if this lamentable difference of opinion among the facultexisted only in reference to our present subject.
We shall now, however, proceed to note some of the ideas of the learned that have been expressed concerning the qualities of the herb, in pharmacy, and quote our first specimen in the following poem, by the famous Dr. Thorious, who most sagely recommends it as an antidote for every evil under the sun.
A LATIN POEM,
By Raphael Thorious.
(Translated into English by the Rev. W. Bewick.)
Dr. Cullenobserves, that tobacco is generally recognized for its narcotic powers, as well as being a very considerable stimulant, with respect to the whole system, but more especially the stomach and intestines, and acts even in small doses as an emetic and purgative.
The editors of the Edinburgh Dispensary also remark, that of late, tobacco under the form of a vinous or watery infusion, given in small quantities, so as to produce little effect by its action on the stomach, has been found a very useful and powerful diuretic.
Dr. Fowlerpublished some cases of dropsy and dysury, in which its application was attended with the best effects, and this has been confirmed by the practice of others. Beaten into a mash with vinegar or brandy, it has sometimes proved highly serviceable for removing hard tumours of thehypochondres. Two cases of cure are published in the ‘Edinburgh Essays.’
Considerable reliance has also been placed upon it, by some of the most eminent practitioners, as an injection by the anus of the smoke, in cases of obstinate constipation, threateningIleus, ofincarcerated hernia, of spasmodic asthma, and of persons apparently dead from drowning or other causes.
Dr. Strotherspeaks of its being beneficial in smoking, to persons having defluxions on the lungs. By long boiling in water, its deleterious power is said to be neutralized, and at length destroyed: an extract made by long decoction, is recommended byStubband other German physicians, as the most efficient and safe aperient detergent, expectorant and diuretic.—Lewis Mat. Med.
BatesandFullergive many encomiums on its powers in asthmatic cases.
Boyleasserts the juice and the plant to be very excellent in curing ulcers and mortifications, although its operation, in this respect, is stated by numerous other authorities, to be deleterious in the extreme. As regarding, indeed, many of the virtues attributed to its use by Lewis and others, in decoctions and poultices, candour obliges us to declare, though with great deference to those opinions which have been expressed by the most eminent of the medical profession, that we cannot consider it of any particular efficacy. We shall, therefore, forbear tiring our readers with recipes of the different forms in which it is prescribed for many illnesses.
Taken as snuff, tobacco is generally allowed to be a mild and inoffensive stimulant, which, indeed, in many cases, is prescribed as a most effectual errhine for clearing the nostrils and head. When taken, however, as it frequently is, in excessive quantities, its consequences become often visible, and tumours and secretions in the nose are said to be the result. It is likewise said by some, when taken immoderately, to greatly tend to weaken the sight and bring on apoplexy.
RevenusandChenstlikewise wrote against the habit of smoking; but like more modernwriters, among whom may be namedDr. Adam Clarke, with little or no effect; for it may be set down as a fact, proved in many other instances, as well as this illustrates,—that where a people have the facilities of judging for themselves, they invariably will do so. In this case, practice and precept peculiarly go together.
Of the medical qualities of tobacco, as an antidote against contagion, its inestimable efficacy was never better proved, than in the period of the plagues[17]that have at times visited England.
Dr. Willissays, in his very able treatise, that its power in repelling the infectious air during the plague of 1665 was truly astonishing; so much so, that the shops of the tobacconists remained quite uninfected.
It is also very favourably mentioned byRichard Barker, a physician, at the period of the pestilence, who gives it in the following recipe against the plague: “Carry about with you a leaf of tobacco rolled up in tiffiny or lawn, so dipt in vinegar. Smell often to it, and sometimes clap it to the temples for some few minutesof time. For those that smoke tobacco, let them use it with one-fourth part of flower of sulphur, and seven or eight drops of oil of amber for one pipe.”
Among very many celebrated physicians, who have also recorded and recommended the use of tobacco against the poisonous influence of the plague, may be mentionedGideon Hovey, M.D.,[18]Dr. Fowler,[19]andDiemerbroek, a distinguished Dutch medical practitioner; besides numerous pamphlets that have been published on the subject of the plague.
One account, published in 1663 by W. Kemp, professing to recommend the best means to the public to avoid the infection, mentions tobacco in a way, that reminds us somewhat of its warm panegyrist, Dr. Thorious, and is too facetious to be here omitted. The following is the literal transcript:—
“The American silver weed[20]or tobacco, is an excellent defence against bad air, being smokedin a pipe, either by itself or with nutmeg shred, and rew seeds mixed with it; especially if it be nosed, for it cleanseth the air and choaketh and suppresseth and disperseth any venemous vapour; it hath both singular and contrary effects; it is good to warm one being cold, and will cool one being hot. All ages, all sexes and constitutions, young and old, men and women, the sanguine, the choleric, the melancholy, the phlegmatic, take it without any manifest inconvenience; it giveth thirst, and yet will make one more able and fit to drink; it chokes hunger, and yet will give one a good stomach; it is agreeable with mirth or sadness, with feasting and with fasting; it will make one rest that wants sleep, and will keep one waking that is drowsy; it hath an offensive smell, and is more desirable than any perfume to others; that it is a most excellent preservative, both experience and reason teach; it corrects the air by fumigation, and avoids corrupt humours by salivation; for when one takes it by chewing it in the leaf, or smoking it in the pipe, the humours are brought and drawn from all parts of the body to the stomach, and from thence rising up to the mouth of theTobacconist, as to the helm of a sublunatory, are voided and spitted out.”
Of the poisonous qualities of tobacco, we are informed that a drop or two of the chemical oil of tobacco, being put upon the tongue of a cat or dog, produces violent convulsions, and death itself, in the space of a few minutes; yet, the same oil used on lint, applied to the teeth, has been found of the utmost service in the tooth-ach.[21]
A very common opinion prevails among those who do not smoke, that it is bad for the teeth: a belief founded upon any thing but experience, and resulting generally from prejudice. For preserving the gums and the enamel of the teeth, in a healthy and sound state, few remedies can operate better than the smoke of tobacco. In the first instance, it renders nugatory the corruptive power of the juices that invariably set into the interstices of the teeth, and unless brushed away, remain after meals; and, in the second place, it destroys the effluvia arising at times from the breath that, in some constitutions, so quickly brings about a corrosion of the outer surface or enamel. The benefits that haveresulted from smoking, in cases of the tooth-ache, have been too commonly experienced to admit of doubt. In a pamphlet that was published some thirty years ago, detailing the adventures of the Pretender; an anecdote is related of its excellence. While taking refuge in the mansion of Lady Kingsland, in the Highlands of Scotland, from his enemies, after having had recourse to many things, he smoked a pipe to free himself from this ‘curse o’ achs;’ and after a short time, received the wished-for relief.
As another and concluding instance of the preservative power of tobacco upon the teeth, it is related in the life of the great Sir Isaac Newton, who was remarkable for the quantity of tobacco he smoked, that though he lived to a good old age, he never lost butONE TOOTH.
Tobacco is a genus of the classpentandria. Ordermonogynia; natural order of luridæ (solaneæ,Juss.)—Generic characters—Calyx; perianthium one-leafed, ovate, half five-cleft, permanent. Corolla: one-petalled funnel-form.—Essential Character—Corolla funnel-form, with a plaited border, stamina inclined; capsule two-valved and two-celled.
There are six kinds of tobacco peculiar to America: which we shall proceed to notice in their relative order.
1. Nicotiana Fruticosa, or shrubby tobacco: leaves lanceolate, subpetioled, embracing; flowers acute, stem frutescent. This rises with very branching stalks, about five feet high. Lower leaves a foot and a half long, broad at the base, where they half embrace the stalks, and about three inches broad in the middle, terminating in long acute points.
2. Nicotiana Alba, or white-flowered tobacco. This rises about five feet high: the stalk does not branch so much as that of the former. The leaves are large and oval, about fifteen inches long and two broad in the middle, but diminish gradually in size to the top of the stalk, and with their base half embrace it. The flowers grow in closer bunches than those of the former, and are white: they are succeeded by short oval obtuse seed-vessels. It flowers and perfects seeds about the same time with the former. It grows naturally in the woods of Tobago, whence the seeds were sent to Mr. Philip Miller by Mr. Robert Miller.
3. Nicotiana Tabacum or Virginian tobacco: leaves lanceolate, ovate, sessile, decurrent, flowers acute. Virginian tobacco has a large, long annual root; an upright, strong, round, hairy stalk, branching towards the top; leaves numerous, large, pointed, entire, veined, viscid, pale green; flowers in loose clusters or panicles.
4. Nicotiana Latissima, the great broad-leaved or Oroonoko; formerly, as Mr. Miller says, sown in England, and generally taken for the common broad-leaved tobacco of Caspar Bauhin, and others, but is very different from it. The leavesare more than a foot and a half long, and a foot broad; their surfaces very rough and glutinous, and their bases half embrace the stalk. In a rich moist soil the stalks are more than ten feet high, and the upper part divides into small branches, which are terminated by loose bunches of flowers, standing erect: they have pretty long tubes, and are of a pale purplish colour. It flowers in July and August, and the seeds ripen in autumn. This is the sort which is commonly brought to the market in pots.
5. Nicotiana Tabacum, broad-leaved, or sweet-scented. The stalks of this, which is the broad-leaved tobacco of Caspar Bauhin, seldom rise more than five or six feet high, and divide into more branches. The leaves are about ten inches long, and three and a half broad, smooth, acute, sessile; the flowers are rather larger, and of a brighter purple colour.
6. Nicotiana Angustifolia, or narrow-leaved Virginian tobacco; rises with an upright branching stalk, four or five feet high. The lower leaves are a foot long, and three or four inches broad: those on the stalks are much narrower, lessening to the top, and end in very acute points, sitting close to the stalks.
Besides these, it must be remarked, there are many other kinds of tobacco peculiar to different countries.
Nicotiana undulata, or New Holland tobacco: radical leaves obovate, obtuse, somewhat wavy; stem-leaves sharp-pointed. It came to Kew in 1800, and is perennial in the green-house, flowering all summer long. The settlers at Port Jackson are said to use this herb as tobacco.
Nicotiana plumbaginifolia, or lead-wort-leaved tobacco: radical leaves ovate, contracted at the base; stem-leaves lanceolate, clasping the stem; all undulated; corolla salver-shaped, acute. The native country of this species is unknown. It has been cultivated in some Italian gardens, and there were flowering specimens in May 1804, in the store of the late lady Amelia Hume.
Nicotiana axillaris, or axillary tobacco: leaves opposite, ovate, flat, nearly sessile; stalk axillary, solitary single-flowered; corolla obtuse; segments of the calyx deep, spatulate. Gathered by Commerson at Monte Video, and communicated by Thouin to the younger Linnæus. Leaves rather above an inch long, and near an inch wide, downy, and apparently viscid, like the rest of the herbage. Fruits unknown.
Nicotiana tristis, or dull-purple tobacco: leaves lanceolate, wavy, clasping the stem; corolla salver-shaped, its tube not twice the length of the calyx, and scarcely longer than the obtuse limb. Gathered also by Commerson at Monte Video.
Nicotiana rustica, common English tobacco: leaves petioled, ovate, quite entire; flowers obtuse. The stalks of this seldom rise more than three feet high. Leaves smooth, alternate, upon short foot-stalks. Flowers in small loose bunches on the top of the stalks, of an herbaceous yellow-colour, appearing in July, and succeeded by roundish capsules, ripening in the autumn. This is commonly called English tobacco, from its having been first introduced here, and being much more hardy than the other sorts, insomuch that it has become a weed in many places.
Nicotiana rugosaof Miller, rises with a strong stalk near four feet high; the leaves are shaped like those of the preceding, but are greatly furrowed on their surface, and near twice the size, of a darker green, and no longer on footstalks.
Nicotiana urens, or stinging tobacco: leaves cordate, crenate; racemes recurved; stem hispid, stinging. Fructification in racemesdirected one way and revolute, with bell-shaped corollas, and cordate leaves like those of Nicotiana rustica; but crenate, and the whole tree prickly. Native of South America.
Nicotiana glutinosa, or clammy-leaved tobacco: leaves petioled, cordate quite entire; flowers in racemes, pointing one way, and ringent. Stalk round, near four feet high, sending out two or three branches from the lower parts. Leaves large, heart-shaped, and a little waved.
Nicotiana pusilla, or primrose-leaved tobacco: leaves of oblong oval, radical; flowers in racemes, acute. This has a pretty thick taper root that strikes deep in the ground; at the top of it come out six or seven leaves spreading on the ground, about the size of those of the common primrose, but a deeper green. This kind was discovered by Dr. Houstoun at Vera Cruz, and he sent the seed to England.
Tabacum Minimum(Gen. Em. 358.) appears to be another species, hitherto unsettled, with a branched leafy stem, a span high; leaves ovate on footstalks, opposite; and stalked acute, greenish-yellow flowers. The N. minima of Molina (Poir. in Lum. Diet. iv. 481.), is probably another species, or perhaps the same.
Culture.—Tobacco thrives best in a warm,kindly rich soil, that is not subject to be over-run with weeds. In Virginia, the soil in which it thrives best is warm, light, and inclining to be sandy; and, therefore, if the plant is to be cultivated in Britain, it ought to be planted in a soil as nearly of the same kind as possible. Other kinds of soil might probably be brought to suit it, by a surface of proper manure; but we must remember, whatever manure is made use of, must be thoroughly incorporated with the soil. The best situation for a tobacco plantation is the southern declivity of a hill, rather gradual than abrupt, or a spot that is sheltered from the north winds: but at the same time it is necessary that the plants enjoy a free air; for without this they will not prosper.
As tobacco is an annual plant, those who intend to cultivate it ought to be as careful as possible in the choice of the seeds; in which, however, with all their care, they may sometimes be deceived. The seed should be sown in the middle of April, or rather sooner in a forward season, in a bed prepared for this purpose, of such soil that has been already described, mixed with some warm rich manure. In a cold spring, hot beds are most eligible for that purpose; and gardeners imagine thatthey are always necessary: but Mr. Carver[22]tells us, that he is convinced, when the weather is not very severe, the tobacco seeds may be raised without-doors: and for this purpose gives us the following directions:
“Having sown the seed in the manner above directed, on the least apprehension of a frost after the plants appear, it will be necessary to spread mats over the beds, a little elevated from the ground by poles laid across, that they may not be crushed. These, however, must be removed in the morning, soon after the sun appears, that they may receive as much benefit as possible from its warmth and from the air. In this manner proceed till the leaves have attained about two inches in length and one in breadth, which they will do in about a month after they are sown, or near the middle of May, when the frosts are usually at an end. One invariable rule for their being able to bear removal is, when the fourth leaf is shrouded, and the fifth just appears. Then take the opportunity of the first rains or gentle showers to transplant them into such a soil and situation as before described; which must be done in thefollowing manner:—The land must be ploughed or dug up with spades, and made as mellow and light as possible. When the plants are to be placed, raise with the hoe small hillocks at the distance of two feet or a little more from each other, taking care that no hard sods or lumps are in it; and then just indent the middle of each, without drilling holes, as for some other plants.
“In some climates the top is generally cut off when the plant has fifteen leaves; but if the tobacco is intended to be a little stronger than usual, this is done when it has only thirteen; and sometimes, when it is designed to be remarkably powerful, eleven or twelve are only allowed to expand. On the contrary, if the planter is desirous of having his crop very mild, he suffers it to put forth eighteen or twenty.
“This operation, calledtopping, is much better performed by the finger and thumb than with any instrument, because the grasp of the fingers closes the pores of the plant: whereas, when it is done by instruments, the juices are in some degree exhausted. Care must also be taken to rip off the sprouts that will be continually springing up at the junction of the leaves with the stalks. This is termedsuccouringorsuckeringthe tobacco, and ought to be repeated as often as occasion requires.
“When the plantation comes to a proper growth, it should then be cut down and placed in a barn, or covered house, where it cannot be affected by rain or too much air, thinly scattered over the floor; and if the sun does not appear for several days, they must be allowed tomiltin that manner; but in this case the quality of the tobacco is not so good.”
“Cure.—After the plants have been transferred, and hung sometime, pressing orSMOKING, as it is technically termed, they should be taken down, and again laid in a heap and pressed with heavy logs of wood for about a week: but this climate may probably require a longer time. While they remain in this state it will be necessary to introduce your hand frequently into the heap, to discover whether the heat be not too intense; for in large quantities this will sometimes be the case, and considerable damage will be occasioned by it. When they are found to heat too much, that is, when the heat exceeds a moderate glowing warmth, part of the weight, by which they are pressed, must be taken away; and the cause being removed, the effect will cease. This is called the second or lastsweating; and when completed, the leaves must be stripped from the stalks for use. Many omit this last sweating; but Mr. Carver thinks it takes away its remaining harshness, and makes it more mellow. The strength of the stalk is also diffused by it through the leaves, and the whole mass becomes equally meliorated. When the leaves are stripped from the stalks, they are to be tied up in bunches orhands, and kept in a cellar or other damp place. At this period the tobacco is thoroughly cured, and as proper for manufacturing as that imported from the colonies.
NEW WORDS TO AN OLD TUNE.
A COMIC DITTY.
ODE ON TOBACCO.
STANZAS TO A LADY.
IN DEFENCE OF SMOKING.
THE LAST QUID.
The Precious Pipe.—Napoleon greatly patronized the habit of smoking in the French army, so that it soon became actually indispensable for the continuance of thatgaité du cœur, for which his troops were remarkable, even in the moments of severest peril. Under the cheering influence of the pipe, they surmounted all difficulties; and, under its consoling power, bore fatigue, and hunger, and thirst with a fortitude and philosophy, remarkable in the annals of military record. During the latter end of their march to Moscow, and after the burning of the Russian capital, they endured severe privations from the loss of their favourite herb, the stock of which was all expended: nor was this all; they suffered exceedingly through want of food and the inclemency of the weather, with many other evils, the smoking of tobacco had hitherto consoled them for. Such was the general state of the army, when a private of theGarde Imperiale, being out with a detachmenton a foraging party, chanced to stray from the rest, and, in the skirt of a wood, came upon a little low deserted hut. Overjoyed in the hopes that he might find something to relieve his necessities, he stove in the door with the butt end of his musquet, and instantly commenced a scrutiny, to see if anything had been left behind by those who had evidently lately quitted it. The few articles of comfort it had formerly contained seemed, however, all to have been carried away in the flight of its late inmates, and he was about abandoning his search, when he perceived something stuffed up between the rafters of the ceiling. Thrusting it with his bayonet, a dark bundle fell at his feet: his joy may be better imagined than expressed, when, on untying the rag that bound it, he found a quantity of coarse tobacco. After filling his pouch with it, and stowing the rest of the (to him) invaluable treasure about his person, he pulled forth a short clay pipe, whose late empty bowl he had so often contemplated with melancholy regret, and, having struck a light, filled it with his darling herb, and commenced smoking immediately. “Never,” said the soldier, who himself narrated the tale to us in Paris, “since the campaign began, when we started with thecertainty, almost, of returning with plunder to enrich the rest of our lives, did I feel half the pleasurable emotions I did, the hour I spent, sitting in the darkened room of that hut, whiffing the grateful fumes from my short pipe. Indulging in visions that for a long time had been a stranger to me, the much-boasted pleasures of the opium eaters, were nothing in comparison to mine.—I seemed in heaven, sir.”
After having regained the camp, it soon became a subject of remark and discussion, how Faucin (the soldier’s name) got his tobacco to smoke, and looked so cheerful, when his comrades would have given all they were worth for the same luxury. Knowing his extreme danger if it should be discovered he had any quantity of tobacco in his possession, he took every opportunity, when questioned, as he often was closely on the subject, to state that it was only a trifling remnant he had preserved. Under this pretence, he refused the numerous applications that were made him for portions, however small. At length, as his short pipe was still perceived week after week, emitting its savoury steam, on their toilsome march homewards, it was generally suspected, and he was openly told, he had plenty of tobacco in hisknapsack, and he was threatened, in case of his refusal to divide a share. Firmly believing he should be robbed, if not murdered, by some of his comrades, who watched him with selfish eyes for the sake of the tobacco he carried, he was obliged by prudence to confess the secret to two corporals and a serjeant, and divide a quantity among them. While their line of march was daily and nightly strewed with the dead and dying, and many a gallant fellow breathed his last on the cold beds of snow, they were wonderfully sustained by the tobacco, that kept up their spirits throughout the scene of famine and desolation, and he reached France with the few wretched remnants of the fine troops, who had quitted it with the eagle’s flight, amid the shouts ofvive Napoleon.
An old Quiddist.—A late messenger in a certain public law-office had rendered himself remarkable for the very excellent economy he pursued in the consumption of tobacco. In term time he had always plenty to do, and picked up a sufficient sum to supply the deficiency of business in the short vacations, which enabled him to obtain as much shag as he could well chew at those times, but he never lost sightof the ‘rainy day.’ He frequently got drunk but never forgot the miseries of the ‘LONG VACATION,’ and accordingly acted upon the following plan, which, for its genius, has never been equalled in the annals of chawing:—He would begin, for instance, the first day of Michaelmas term, which succeeds the long vacation, with aNEW QUID, which he would keep only about half the usual time in his mouth, and extract only a portion of its nectarine sweets. This quid, instead of casting it at his feet, he would then transfer to a certain snug little shelf in the office, with the most reverential caution, and obtain another. This practice he would repeat five or six times in the course of the same day, and every day during the times before mentioned, and what was the result? When the long vacation commenced, and he had nothing to do, he had collected the amazing quantity of between 14 and 1500 quids!!! These he worked upon,de novo, during the long recess, and ‘rich and rare’ indeed was the collection; it was the poor messenger’s only comfort.
Dr. Aldrich.—His excessive love for smoking was well known to his associates; but a young student of his college, finding some difficultyto bring a fellow collegian to the belief of it, laid him a wager that the Dean Aldrich was smoking at that time (about ten o’clock in the morning). Away went the latter to the deanery; when, being admitted to the dean in his study, he related the occasion of his visit. The dean, instead of being disconcerted, replied in perfect good humour, “You see, sir, your friend has lost his wager, for I am not now smoking, but only filling my pipe!”
Chinese Arrogance.—As a precursor to the following, it will only be proper to relate, that in China the use of smoking and snuff-taking is general, although buildings are not thought requisite for curing tobacco, as in the West Indies, there being little apprehension of rain to injure the leaves when plucked. Thus the Chinese grow tobacco enough for their own consumption, and will not allow any to be imported, so as to discourage their own cultivation. This prohibition, which has long existed in that country, was some years ago notified to Mr. Wilkodes, the American consul, then at Canton, in the following manner:
“May he be promoted to great powers! We acquaint you that the foreign opium, thedirt which is used for smoking, is prohibited by command. It is not permitted that it shall come to Canton. We beg you, good brother, to inform the honoured president of your country of the circumstance, and to make it known, that the dirt used for smoking is an article prohibited in the celestial empire.”—Paunkbyquia Mowqua, &c. Kai Hing, 22nd year, 5th Month, 22nd day, Canton, May 22nd, 1818.
Sir Isaac Newton.—This illustrious individual was remarkable for smoking and temporary fits of mental abstraction from all around him; frequently being seized with them in the midst of company. Upon one occasion, it is related of him, that a young lady presenting her hand for something across the table, he seized her finger, and, quite unconsciously, commenced applying it as a tobacco-stopper, until awoke to a sense of his enormity by the screams of the fair one.
Extraordinary Match.—Some years ago, in a public room at Langdon Hills, in Essex, the conversation chancing to turn on smoking, a farmer of the name ofWilliamsboasting of the great quantity of tobacco he could consume at asitting, challenged the room to produce his equal. Mr.Bowtell, the proprietor of the great boot-shop, Skinner-street, and remarkable for smoking “pipes beyond computation,” travelling his round at that time, chanced to be present, and immediately agreed to enter the lists with him for five pounds a-side. A canister of the strongest shag tobacco was placed by the side of each at eight o’clock in the evening, when they began the match. Smoking very fast, by the time the clock had struck twelve, they had each finished sixteen pipes, when the farmer, through the dense atmosphere, was observed to turn pale. He still continued, however, dauntlessly on, but, at the end of the eighteenth pipe, fell stupefied off his chair, when the victory was adjudged to his opponent, who, calling for an extra glass of grog, actually finished his twentieth pipe before he retired for the night!
It is with feelings of pleasure we have remarked of late years the change that has gradually taken place in regard to places of public nightly amusement. Formerly, the metropolis had no other allurements than were comprised in the theatre or the tavern,—the former of these being but too frequently a precursor to the latter; and that latter, in its turn, among young men in general, to scenes of a worse, and, in the end, more fatal description. As a preventative in a great degree to the above incentives to dissipation, must we welcome the appearance of divans amongst us, forming, as they do, in their quiet and elegant seclusion, a pleasing and intellectual contrast to their more boisterous contemporaries. Divan, ormore properly speaking,Diwan, by some writers is said to be of eastern origin, and the plural ofdiw, a devil. The appellation, says a Persian lexicographer, was first bestowed by a sovereign of Persia, who, on observing his crafty counsellors in high conclave, exclaimed,Inan diwan end—“these men are devils.”Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur, may be pertinently applied, in this instance, to the councils of more sovereigns than those of Ispahan. Another derivation, and a more probable one, perhaps, is the Turkish word for sopha,—a luxury abundantly supplied in every divan in Turkey. In that country it is a chamber of council held by the Grand Seignior, his pashas, or other high tributaries, in which all the councillors assembled smoke their chibouques during the debate in all the sedate pomp of eastern magnificence. The interiors of these divans are represented by travellers as superbly grand, falling little short of the far-famed description of their harems. Coffee, it must be remarked, is the common beverage used by the Turks whilst smoking, and is commonly handed round with little or no milk or sugar, in small china cups. Taken thus, perhaps, nothing harmonizes with smoking so well on the palate; as theRev. Dr. Walsh says, in his Travels in Turkey, speaking of tobacco, and in whose judicious remarks we cannot but concur, “I do not wonder at the general use of this most indispensable of Turkish luxuries; it is always the companion of coffee (mocha), and there is something so exceedingly congenial in the properties of both, that nature seems to have intended them for inseparable associates. We do not know how to use tobacco in this country, but defile and deteriorate it with malt liquor. When used with coffee, and after the Turkish fashion, it is singularly grateful to the taste, and refreshing to the spirits; counteracting the effects of fatigue and cold, and appeasing the cravings of hunger, as I have experienced.”
The popularity of divans in England may be best known by the rapid increase of their numbers since their first adoption here.
At the present period there are no less than six popular divans (independent of several obscure ones) in London.
These are,—
The Oriental Divan, Regent-street.The Private Subscription Divan, Pall Mall.The Royal City Divan, St. Paul’s Churchyard.The Royal Divan, King-street, Covent Garden.The Royal Divan, Strand.The Divan, Charing Cross.
The whole of these divans are fitted up in a style of Asiatic splendour and comfort, that produces to the uncultivated eye a very novel and pleasing effect; while, upon a closer examination, the other senses are no less delighted.
The Journals of every nation in Europe are a general attraction to linguists and foreigners, while the cream of our own ever fertile press leaves the English reader nothing to wish for in the way of literature. Indeed, no means of entertainment are found wanting at these delightfulsoirées; chess invites the player, pictures the eye, and occasional music the ear; while lounging on a sopha with a cigar in the mouth, the gazer might almost fancy himself in the land of the crescent.
The divans in Regent-street and Pall Mall, are considered the most oriental of any in town, though the saloon in the Strand is perhaps the largest.
A refinement that peculiarly distinguishes the divan in King-street, is an admirably laid-out garden; at night lit by numerous parti-colouredlamps; in the day during the summer-time it forms a pleasing attraction to all lovers of the cooling shade.
Of the Royal City Divan, of whose elegant interior our frontispiece engraving presents so correct a view, we can only say that its allurements are peculiarly attractive. In the first place, the saloon has an advantage in being situated—unlike all the other divans—on the first-floor, and is fitted up in a very superior manner. It likewise possesses, from the extent and spaciousness of the premises, the additional advantage of private refreshment rooms, to which parties of friends can retire from the busy hum of the grand saloon, and enjoy the pleasures of a convivial glass.
Altogether, we cannot help observing, ere we conclude, that great merit is due to the several proprietors of the divans for the tasteful and expensive way in which they have furnished their different saloons; while, from the extreme moderation of their charges, they cannot but have strong claims to the patronage of a discerning public.
Cigars.—The best and most approved cigars consumed among our nobility and gentry, are those brought from the Havanah in the West Indies. The Woodville, so called from the name of the importer, are held in the greatest estimation. In form, these should gradually decline from the middle to long and tapering ends. Color, a clear raw sienna brown, variegated with bright brown yellow spots. In flavour they should be light and spicy, draw free, leaving a firm white ash. An excellence too, that should distinguish these cigars from the common kind, independent of their taste, should be the length of time they are capable of retaining their light without being drawn.
The strong flavoured Cuba, by smokers of long standing, when indeed a pipe has not altogethersuperseded the cigar, are in the greatest request. These vary in color from black to brown, according to the strength or age of the leaf; and like the Woodville, are also distinguished when properly seasoned, and kept by mildew spots, though of a darker hue.
The tobacco of the Cubas growth is very frequently made up into cheroots, a form some prefer to the cigar, and are sold under the denomination of Manilla.
Without entering into a description of the numerous kinds of cigars vended in the United Kingdom, we can only remark, as a fact well authenticated, that the greater and more common part, sold from eight to thirteen shillings the hundred; are prepared from the cabbage-leaf, soaked in a strong solution of tobacco-water. Cigars, so composed, are generally passed off under the names ofHambro’,Maryland, andVirginia. The same deceptions may be said to exist, in respect to the small cheroots, whether scented or not: they are, with comparatively trifling exceptions, nearly all of British make.
The reason is obvious, why these deceits are practised: in a former part of this little work, we stated the duty on the imported raw leaf of tobacco to be three shillings per lb., while onthemanufactured, it is just thrice that amount: at once a reason why a good price must needs be given for the genuine foreign article.
A great saving is effected in purchasing cigars by the weight or box as imported, while from a respectable shop you may be always sure of their being made abroad, as they are sent under seal in boxes from the West Indies.
Tobaccos.—An idea prevails among young smokers, that tobacco, independent of its fancied vulgarity, is always much stronger than cigars; an error that is very common. Like cigars, indeed, it is of various growth and quality, and like them, may be had weak, or strong. The smoker, if he desires it, can have tobacco as weak as the mildest Havanahs. The only difference in their manufacture is, the leaf is cut into shreds to form the one, and wrapt up to form the other. The Persian, Turkish, and Maryland tobacco, are the mildest. The shag and twists, the strongest; the latter of which, as its name implies, is manufactured uncut; its excellence may always be told by a shining cut and an agreeable smell. Besides these, we have tobaccos under an infinite number of appellations, with all the variations in their nature, incident toclimate, growth, age, and method of being prepared for use.
The tobacco held in the greatest esteem in the East, is the Persian. The Turks, notwithstanding their own excellent growth of the plant, give very high prices to possess it; especially that which comes from,Shiraz. This is accounted the best. The moslems are also much in the habit of smoking a composition of opium and rose leaves with their tobacco through scented waters. A similar practice is common in India among the higher class; the same materials are made into a thick consistency and rolled into balls, which they termJugeny. To the unpractised palate, the smoking of this composition has a strangely exhilarating and intoxicating effect.
A singular habit also prevails in the island of Ceylon. Some of the natives wrap the leaf of a strong tobacco they callKapadainto a lengthened form, and then covering it with the leaf of theWattakantree, light one end of it, and smoke by the other, till the whole is consumed.
Besides the tobacco of the West Indies, Persia and Turkey, considerable quantities arecultivated in the Levant, the coasts of Greece, the Archipelago, the island of Malta, and Italy.
Pipes.—In reference to these essentials to smoking tobacco, a great variety of tastes are displayed, while that of each country forms an amusing contrast to that of its neighbour. In the Eastern portion of the globe, the gorgeous hookah or superb chibouque with their serpent train are caressed: in France, the short twisted pipe: in Germany, the merschaum: in Holland, the long slender black pipe: in America, the short red clay pipe, or the ingeniously manufactured, yet murderous tomahawk, bears the tube of comfort; while in England—happy England—all, or any of these, are attainable.
The portable pipes the Turks are in the habit of using have their bowls generally made of a peculiar kind of red clay; and the tube part of jasmine and cherry sticks. The most expensive and those which from their exceeding size, and costliness, are regarded as the most sumptuous furniture of the mansion, are composed of a variety of materials.
The tubes, which sometimes have been known to exceed twenty yards in length, are commonlymade of leather covered with the richest velvets, and bound with gold or silver wire; this is generally terminated at the one end by a gold, silver, or amber mouth-piece; while the other (when used as it almost always is with scented water) tipped with a reed of a foot long, is placed in a decanter containing the water, through which the smoke is to be drawn; it is then met and joined by a similar reed, bearing the chafing dish; this is of silver, very large, with a fretwork cover of the same metal, through which the fumes of the aromatics used arise.
It is by no means an uncommon thing in the East to have these tubes (which are remarkably flexible) carried through the wall of one apartment into another, that the apparatus may not be in the way of the smoker.
The merschaum or German pipes, in Europe, are celebrated for the virtues of their bowls, which are of a very porous quality. These are composed of a substance thrown upon the shore by the sea in Germany, and being calledEcume de Merform the origin of the word Merschaum. In Germany they are commonly set in copper, with leather and horn tubes, but in England they are variously formed and ornamented with chains and tassels.
Tubes, when they are used for cigars (whose flavour we think they greatly tend to spoil) should be short, and composed of amber.
Lights for Smoking.—The advantage of obtaining an instantaneous light, is perhaps seldom more appreciated than by smokers. The articles used until lately for the purpose of igniting cigars, when out, or travelling, were the Amadou, with the flint and steel—the phosphorus box, and pneumatic cylinder:—all of which were, more or less, uncertain or inconvenient, until the ingenious invention of Jones’s Prometheans. These may very fairly be said to possess a never-failing facility in producing an instantaneous light.
The Promethean is composed of a small bulb of glass, hermetically sealed, containing a small part of sulphuric acid, and surrounded by a composition of chlorate of potash and aromatics. This is enclosed in paper prepared for the purpose. The light is simply effected by giving the promethean a smart tap that breaks the bulb, when the acid, coming in contact with the composition, causes instant ignition. It must be remarked however, the Lucifers or chlorate matches that ignite, by drawing the matchthrough sand paper, introduced by the same inventor, is decidedly bad for a cigar; the fumes arising from the combustion being offensive, are too apt to spoil the flavour of the leaf.
In divans, burners called Jos-sticks, are generally used for lighting cigars, as they smoulder in their light, like the promethean.
FINIS.
London: Printed by Littlewood and Co. Old Bailey.
Footnotes:
[1]Memoires Philosophiques, Historiques, Physiques, concernant lá Decouverte de l’Amerique, &c. Par Don Ulloa. Traduit avec des observations par M——.Paris, 1787. Vol. II. p. 58.
[2]M. Valmont de Bomare, formerly director of the cabinets of Natural History, Medicine, &c. to the prince of Conde.
[3]The British Historian.
[4]A well-known perfumer in his day who resided in Beaufort’s Buildings, London, A. D. 1740.
[5]Scrows are the untanned hides of buffaloes, sewed with thongs of the same, and made up into bags or bales for the exportation of several kinds of American produce, as indigo, snuff, tobacco, &c. &c. The fleshy side of the skin is turned outwards, whilst the hairy side, partly scraped, comes into anything but an agreeable contact with the commodity.
[6]Independent of His Royal Highness’s attachment to the Columbian weed, the Duke has a repository where are to be seen, in curious arrangement, all the smoking tubes in use by the civilized inhabitants of the world, from the slender pipe used by the Hollander, to the magnificent Hookah used by the Indian prince in his Court, or on the back of his elephant; and so attentive is the prince to this healthy amusement, that even in his travelling carriage a receptacle is formed for the pipe, the tinder, the flint, and the steel.
[7]The Pipe of Peace.
[8]The two celebrated anglers.
[9]See Walton’s complete Angler. Charles Cotton of Beresford Hall, his little Fishing House.
[10]Except from British possessions in America, and then it is 2s.9d.
[11]A short pipe smoked by the lower orders, and generally rendered black by time and the frequent use of the commonest shag tobacco.
[12]Sterne’s Tristram Shandy.
[13]Sterne’s Sentimental Journey.
[14]By Goldsmith.
[15]Smollett’s Peregrine Pickle.
[16]Antiquarian fact: The identical Pipe and Chair used by the celebrated author of the Rambler are still in being, and are exhibited as relics of no ordinary value, at the house he used formerly to frequent in Bolt-court, Fleet-street. It now goes under the very appropriate appellation of Dr. Johnson’s Coffee-house.
[17]We more particularly refer to this fact from the reports concerning the Cholera Morbus that are now in circulation.
[18]Discourse on the Plague, A. D. 1678—recommends tobacco smoked in a pipe.
[19]Physician to the General Infirmary of the county of Stafford, A. D. 1785.
[20]At that time frequently so called.
[21]Vide Experiments on the Effects of Oil of Tobacco on Pigeons, &c. &c.—Phil. Trans. Vol. xx. Part I. Append, p. 38. Fonbine sur les poissons, Florence. Quarto.
[22]Treatise on the Culture of Tobacco.
[23]I am sorry to say our leading black primer is all out; I have been down below, but they cannot spare any there.—Printer’s Devil.