"The Indian weed, withered quite,Greene at noone, cut down at night,Shows thy decay; all flesh is hay;Thus thinke, then drinke Tobacco.The Pipe that is so lily-white,Show thee to be a mortal wight,And even such, gone with a touch,Thus thinke, then drinke Tobacco.And when the smoake ascends on high,Thinke thou beholdst the vanityOf worldly stuffe, gone with a puffe,Thus thinke, then drinke Tobacco.And when the Pipe grows foul within,Thinke on thy soul defiled with sin,And then the fire it doth require;Thus thinke, then drinke Tobacco.The ashes that are left behind,May serve to put thee still in mind,That unto dust return thou must;Thus thinke, then drinke Tobacco."
"The Indian weed, withered quite,Greene at noone, cut down at night,Shows thy decay; all flesh is hay;Thus thinke, then drinke Tobacco.
The Pipe that is so lily-white,Show thee to be a mortal wight,And even such, gone with a touch,Thus thinke, then drinke Tobacco.
And when the smoake ascends on high,Thinke thou beholdst the vanityOf worldly stuffe, gone with a puffe,Thus thinke, then drinke Tobacco.
And when the Pipe grows foul within,Thinke on thy soul defiled with sin,And then the fire it doth require;Thus thinke, then drinke Tobacco.
The ashes that are left behind,May serve to put thee still in mind,That unto dust return thou must;Thus thinke, then drinke Tobacco."
Buttes, in a little volume entitled "Dyets Dry Dinner," (1599) says that
"Tobacco was translated out of India in the seede or roote; native or sative in our own fruitfullest soils. It cureth any griefe, dolour, imposture, or obstruction proceeding of colde or winde, especially in the head or breast. The fume taken in a pipe is good against Rumes, ache in the head, stomacke, lungs, breast; also in want of meate, drinke, sleepe, or rest."
The introduction of tobacco from the colony of Virginia was followed soon after by a reduction of price that led to more frequent use among the poorer classes, such as groomsand hangers on at taverns and ale-houses, who are alluded to in Rich's "Honestie of this Age":
"There is not so base a groome that comes into an ale-house to call for his pott, but he must have his pipe of tobacco; for it is a commodity that is nowe as vendible in every tavern, wine and ale-house, as eyther wine, ale or beare; and for apothecaerie's shops, grocer's shops, chandler's shops, they are never without company, that from morning till night, are still taking of tobacco. What a number are there besides, that doe keepe houses, set open shoppes, that have no other trade to live by, but by selling of tobacco. I have heard it told, that now very lately there hath been a catalogue of all those new erected houses that have sett up that trade of selling tobacco in London, and neare about London; and if a man may believe what is confidently reported, there are found to be upwards of seven thousand of houses that doth live by that trade.
Old London Ale-house.
Old London Ale-house.
"If it be true that there be seven thousand shops in and about London, that doth vend tobacco, as it is credibly reported that there be over and above that number, it may well be supposed to be but an ill customed shop, that taketh not five shillings a day, one day with another throughout the whole year; or, if one doth take lesse, two other may take more; but let us make our account, but after two shillings sixpence a day, for he that taketh lesse than that would be ill able to pay his rent, or to keepe open his shop windows; neither would tobacco houses make such a muster as they do, and that almost in every lane, and in every by-corner round about London."
"A Tobacco seller is described after this manner byBlount in a volume "Micro-Cosmographie; Or A Piece of the World discovered; in Essays and Characters" (1628).
"A tobacco seller is the only man that finds good in it which others brag of, but doe not, for it is meate, drinke, and clothes to him. No man opens his ware with greater seriousness, or challenges your judgment more in the operation. His Shop is the Randenvous of spitting, where men dialogue with their noses, and their conversation is smoke. It is the place only where Spain is commended, and preferred before England itself."He should be well experienced in the World; for he has daily tryall as men's nostrils, and none is better acquainted with humour. His is the piecing commonly of some other trade, which is bawd to his Tobacco, and that to his wife, which is the flame that follows the smoke."
"A tobacco seller is the only man that finds good in it which others brag of, but doe not, for it is meate, drinke, and clothes to him. No man opens his ware with greater seriousness, or challenges your judgment more in the operation. His Shop is the Randenvous of spitting, where men dialogue with their noses, and their conversation is smoke. It is the place only where Spain is commended, and preferred before England itself.
"He should be well experienced in the World; for he has daily tryall as men's nostrils, and none is better acquainted with humour. His is the piecing commonly of some other trade, which is bawd to his Tobacco, and that to his wife, which is the flame that follows the smoke."
Early in the Seventeenth Century began the persecution by royal haters of the plant, others, however, had denounced the weed and its use and users, but venting nothing more than a tirade of words against it, had but little effect in breaking up the trade or the custom.[44]James I. sent forth his famous "Counterblast" and in the strongest manner condemned its use. A portion of it reads thus:
"Surely smoke becomes a kitchen fane better than a dining chamber: and yet it makes a kitchen oftentimes in the inward parts of men, soyling and injecting with an unctuous oyly kind of roote as hath been found in some great tobacco takers, that after death were opened. A custom loathsome to the eye, harmful to the braine, dangerous to the lungs, and the black stinking fume thereof, nearest resembling the horrible Stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless."[45]
Quaint old Burton in his "Anatomy of Melancholy," recognizes the virtues of the plant while he anathematizes its abuse. He says:—
"Tobacco, divine, rare, superexcellent tobacco, which goes far beyond all their panacetas, potable gold, and philosophers' stones, a soveraign remedy to all diseases. A good vomit, Iconfesse, a vertuous herb, if it be well qualified, opportunely taken, and medicinally used; but, as it is commonly abused by most men, which take it as tinkers do ale, 'tis a plague, a mischief, a violent purger of goods, lands, health, hellish, divelish and damned tobacco, the ruine and overthrow of body and soul."
The duty on importation had been only twopence per pound, a moderate sum in view of the prices realized by the sale of it.
The King now increased it to the enormous sum of two shilling and ten pence. James termed the custom of using tobacco an "evil vanitie" impairing "the health of a great number of people their bodies weakened and made unfit for labor, and the estates of many mean persons so decayed and consumed, as they are thereby driven to unthriftie shifts only to maintain their gluttonous exercise thereof."[46]Brodigan says of the "Counterblast:"
"However absurd his reasoning may appear, it unfortunately happened that he possessed the power to reduce his aversion to practice, and he may be considered as the author of that unwarrantable persecution of the tobacco plant, which under varying circumstances, has been injudiciously continued to the present time."
Other royal haters of the plant issued the most strenous laws[47]and affixed penalties of the severest kind, of these may be mentioned the King of Persia, Amuroth IV. of Turkey, the Emperor Jehan-Gee and Popes Urban VIII. and Innocent XII., the last of whom showed his dislike to many other customs beside that of tobacco taking.
One of the edicts which he issued was against the taking of snuff in St. Peters, at Rome; this was in 1690; it was, however, revoked by Pope Benedict XIV., who himself had acquired the indulgence.
Punishment for Snuff Taking.
Punishment for Snuff Taking.
Early in the Seventeenth Century tobacco found its way to Constantinople. To punish the habit, a Turk was seized and a pipe transfixed through his nose.
The death of King James, followed by its occupancy of the throne by his son Charles I., did not lessen the persecution against tobacco.[48]In 1625, the year of his accession, he issued a proclamation against all tobaccos excepting only the growth of Virginia and Somerites. Charles II. also prohibited the cultivation of tobacco in England and Ireland, attaching a penalty of 10£ per rood. Fairholt, in alluding to the Stuarts and Cromwell as persecutors of tobacco, says:
"Cromwell disliked the plant, and ordered his troops to trample down the crop wherever found."
It is an historical fact that both James I. and the two Charleses as well as Cromwell had the strongest dislike against the Indian weed.
With such powerful foes it seems hardly possible that the custom should have increased to such an extent that when William ascended the throne the custom was said to be almost universal.[49]"Pipes grew larger and ruled by a Dutchman, all England smoked in peace." From this time forward the varieties used served only to increase the demand for the tobacco of the colonies, and as its culture became better understood the leaf grew in favor, until the demand for it was greater than the production.
During the reign of Anne, the custom of smoking appears to have attained its greatest height in England; the consumption of tobacco was then proportionally greater, considering the population, than it is at the present time. Spooner, in his "Looking-Glass for Smokers," 1703, says of the custom:
"The sin of the kingdom in the intemperate use of tobacco, swelleth and increaseth so daily, that I can compare it to nothing but the waters of Noah, that swell'd fifteen cubits above the highest mountains. So that if this practice shall continue to increase as it doth, in an age or two it will be as hard to find a family free, as it was so long time since one that commonly took it."
When tobacco was first introduced into England its sale was confined to apothecaries, but afterwards it was dealt in by tobacconists, who sold other goods besides tobacco.
About the middle of the Seventeenth Century the culture of tobacco commenced in England; it continued, however, only for a short time, for the rump parliament in 1652 prohibited the planting of it, and two years later Cromwell and his council appointed commissioners for strictly putting this act in execution: and in 1660 it was legally enacted, that from the first of January, 1660-1, no person whatever should sow or plant any tobacco in England, under certain penalties.
In England drinking or smoking tobacco seems to have met with more success (as a mode of use) rather than chewing (now so popular). It was principally confined to the lower classes, and was common among soldiers and sailors. When used by gentlemen it was common to carry a silver basin to spit in.
Silver Spittoons.
Silver Spittoons.
The habit of smoking or using tobacco in any form wasthen more constant than now, and its use was common in almost all places of public gathering. It was the custom to smoke in theatres; stools being provided for those who paid for their use and the privilege of smoking on the stage. Tobacco was also sold at some of the play-houses, and proved a source of profit, doubtless, beyond even the representation of the plays. We should infer also from some of the early stage plays, that the "players" used the weed even when acting their parts. Rowlands gives the following poem on tobacco in his "Knave of Clubs," 1611:—
"Who durst dispraise tobacco whilst the smoke is in my nose,Or say, but fah! my pipe doth smell, I would I knew but thoseDurst offer such indignity to that which I prefer.For all the brood of blackamoors will swear I do not err,In taking this same worthy whif with valiant cavalier,But that will make his nostrils smoke, at cupps of wine or beer.When as my purse can not afford my stomach flesh or fish,I sop with smoke, and feed as well and fat as one can wish.Come into any company, though not a cross you have,Yet offer them tobacco, and their liquor you shall have.They say old hospitalitie kept chimnies smoking still;Now what your chimnies want of that, our smoking noses will.Much vituals serves for gluttony, to fatten men like swine,But he's a frugal man indeed that with a leaf can dine,And needs no napkins for his hands, his fingers' ends to wipe,But keeps his kitchen in a box, and roast meat in a pipe.This is the way to help down years, a meal a day's enough:Take out tobacco for the rest, by pipe, or else by snuff,And you shall find it physical; a corpulent, fat man,Within a year shall shrink so small that one his guts shall span.It's full of physic's rare effects, it worketh sundry ways,The leaf green, dried, steept, burnt to dust, have each their several praise,It makes some sober that are drunk, some drunk of sober sense.And all the moisture hurts the brain, it fetches smoking thence.All the four elements unite when you tobacco take.For earth and water, air and fire, do a conjunction make.The pipe is earth, the fire's therein, the air the breathing smoke;Good liquor must be present too, for fear I chance to choke.Here, gentlemen, a health to all, 'Tis passing good and strong.I would speak more, but for the pipe I cannot stay so long."
The Negro Image.
The Negro Image.
In 1602 appeared a sweeping tirade entitled, "Work for Chimney Sweepers, or a Warning against Tobacconists." Itabounds with threats against all who indulge in tobacco. The most singular work, however, appeared in 1616, bearing the following singular title: "The Smoking Age, or the Man in the Mist; with the Life and Death of Tobacco. Dedicated to Captain Whiffe, Captain Pipe, and Captain Snuffe." A frontispiece is given representing a tobacconist's shop with shelves, counters, pipes and tobacco; a carved figure of a negro stands upon the counter, which shows how soon such figures were used by dealers in pipes and tobacco. The title-page contains the following epigram:
"This some affirme, yet yield I not to that,'Twill make a fat man lean, a lean man fat;But this I'm sure (howse'ere it be they meane)That many whiffes will make a fat man lean."
The following effusion resembles many of the verses of the day on the fruitful subject:
"Tobacco's an outlandish weed,Doth in the land strange wonders breed,It taints the breath, the blood it dries,It burns the head, it blinds the eyes;It dries the lungs, scourgeth the lights,It numbs the soul, it dulls the sprites;It brings a man into a maze,And makes him sit for other's gaze;It makes a man, it mars a purse,A lean one fat, a fat one worse;A sound man sick, a sick man sound,A bound man loose, a loose man bound;A white man black, a black man white,A night a day, a day a night;The wise a fool, the foolish wise,A sober man in drunkard's guise;A drunkard with a drought or twain,A sober man it makes again;A full man empty, and an empty full,A gentleman a foolish gull;It turns the brain like cat in pan,And makes a Jack a gentleman."
The well-known song of "Tobacco is an Indian Weed," was written most probably the last half of the Seventeenth Century, Fairholt gives the best copy we have seen of it. It is taken from the first volume of "Pills to Purge Melancholy," and reads thus:
"Tobacco's but an Indian weed,Grows green at morn, cut down at eve,It shows our decay, we are but clay;Think of this when you smoke tobacco."The pipe, that is so lily white,Wherein so many take delight,Is broke with a touch—man's life is such;Think of this when you smoke tobacco."The pipe, that is so foul within,Shews how man's soul is stained with sin,And then the fire it doth require;Think of this when you smoke tobacco."The ashes that are left behindDo serve to put us all in mindThat unto dust return we must;Think of this when you smoke tobacco."The smoke, that does so high ascend,Shews us man's life must have an end,The Vapor's gone—man's life is done;Think of this when you smoke tobacco."
"Tobacco's but an Indian weed,Grows green at morn, cut down at eve,It shows our decay, we are but clay;Think of this when you smoke tobacco.
"The pipe, that is so lily white,Wherein so many take delight,Is broke with a touch—man's life is such;Think of this when you smoke tobacco.
"The pipe, that is so foul within,Shews how man's soul is stained with sin,And then the fire it doth require;Think of this when you smoke tobacco.
"The ashes that are left behindDo serve to put us all in mindThat unto dust return we must;Think of this when you smoke tobacco.
"The smoke, that does so high ascend,Shews us man's life must have an end,The Vapor's gone—man's life is done;Think of this when you smoke tobacco."
One of the strongest objections against the use of the "Indian novelty" was its ruinous cost at this period. During the reign of James The First and Charles The Second, Spanish tobacco sold at from ten to eighteen shillings per pound while Virginia tobacco sold for a time for three shillings. In no age and by no race excepting perhaps the Indians was the habit so universal or carried to such a lengthas in the Seventeenth Century—its supposed virtues as a medicine induced many to inhale the smoke constantly. This was one reason why tobacco was condemned by so many of the writers and playwrights of the day yet many of them used the weed in some form from Ben Johnson to Cibber the one fond of his pipe the other of his snuff.
In 1639 Venner published a volume entitled "A Treatise" concerning the taking of the fume of tobacco. His advice is "to take it moderately and at fixed times." Many of the clergy were devoted adherents of the pipe. Lilly says of its use among them:
"In this year Bredon vicar of Thornton a profound divine, but absolutely the most polite person for nativities in that age, strictly adhering to Ptolemy, which he well understood; he had a hand in composing Sir Christopher Heydon's defence of judicial astrology, being that time his chaplain; he was so given over to tobacco and drink, that when he had no tobacco, he would cut the bell-ropes and smoke them."[Back to Contents]
NNeander in his work "Tobacologia," (1622) gives a list of the various kinds of tobacco then used and where they were cultivated, among them are the following well known now as standard varieties of tobacco: Brazilian, St. Domingo, Orinoco, Virginia, and Trinidad tobacco. Fairholt says of the latter that it was most popular in England and is frequently named by early authors.[50]Tobacco when prepared for use was made into long rolls or large balls which often answered for the tobacconist's sign. What we now call cut tobacco was not as popular then as roll. Smokers carried a roll of tobacco, a knife and tinder to ignite their tobacco. At the close of the Sixteenth Century tobacco was introduced into the East. In Persia and Turkey where at first its use was opposed by the most cruel torture it gained at length the sanction and approval of even the Sultan himself. Pallas gives the following account in regard to its first introduction into Asia:
Neander in his work "Tobacologia," (1622) gives a list of the various kinds of tobacco then used and where they were cultivated, among them are the following well known now as standard varieties of tobacco: Brazilian, St. Domingo, Orinoco, Virginia, and Trinidad tobacco. Fairholt says of the latter that it was most popular in England and is frequently named by early authors.[50]Tobacco when prepared for use was made into long rolls or large balls which often answered for the tobacconist's sign. What we now call cut tobacco was not as popular then as roll. Smokers carried a roll of tobacco, a knife and tinder to ignite their tobacco. At the close of the Sixteenth Century tobacco was introduced into the East. In Persia and Turkey where at first its use was opposed by the most cruel torture it gained at length the sanction and approval of even the Sultan himself. Pallas gives the following account in regard to its first introduction into Asia:
"In Asia, and especially in China, the use of tobacco for smoking is more ancient than the discovery of the New World, I too scarcely entertain a doubt. Among the Chinese, and among the Mongol tribes who had the most intercourse with them, the custom of smoking is so general, so frequent, and become so indispensable a luxury; the tobacco purse affixed to their belt, so necessary an article of dress; the form of the pipes from which the Dutch seem to have taken the model of theirs so original; and, lastly the preparation of the yellow leaves, which are merely rubbed to pieces andthen put into the pipe, so peculiar, that we cannot possibly derive all this from America by way of Europe; especially as India, (where the habit of smoking is not so general,) intervenes between Persia and China. May we not expect to find traces of this custom in the first account of the Voyages of the Portugese and Dutch to China? To investigate this subject, I have indeed the inclination but not sufficient leisure."
Tobacco and Theology.
Tobacco and Theology.
We find by research that smoking was the most general mode of using tobacco in England when first introduced. In France the habit of snuffing was the most popular mode and to this day the custom is more general than elsewhere. In the days of the Regency snuff-taking had attained more general popularity than any other mode of using the plant leaves; the clergy were fond of the "dust" and carried the most expensive snuff boxes, while many loved the pipe and indulged in tobacco-smoking. The old vicar restored to his living enjoyed a pipe when seated in his chair musing on the subject of his next Sunday's discourse, "with a jug of sound old ale and a huge tome of sound old divinity on the table before him, for the occasional refreshment as well of the bodily as the spiritual man."
The cultivation of tobacco in Europe was begun in Spain and Portugal. Its culture in these kingdoms as well as by their colonies brought to the crown enormous revenues. In 1626, its culture began in France and is still an important product. A little later it began to be cultivated in Germany where it had already been used as a favorite luxury. From this time its use and cultivation extended to various parts of Europe. The Persecutors whether kings, popes, poets, or courtiers at length gave up their opposition while many ofthem joined in the use and spread of the custom. It has been said with much truth:
"History proves that persecution never triumphs in its attempted eradications. Tobacco was so generally liked that no legislative measures could prevent its use."
At first the use of tobacco was confined to fops and the hangers on at ale houses and taverns but afterwards by the "chief men of the realm." Soon after the importation of the "durned weed" from Virginia the tobacco muse gave forth many a lay concerning the custom. The following verses describe the method of smoking then in vogue:
Nor did that time knowTo puff and to blowIn a peece of white clay,As they do at this dayWith fier and coole,And a leafe in a hole;As my ghost hath late seen,As I walked betweneWestminister HallAnd the church of St. Paul,And so thorow the citieWhere I saw and did pittyMy country men's cases,With fiery-smoke faces,Sucking and drinkingA filthie weede stinking,Was ne'r known beforeTill the devil and the MoreIn th' Indies did meete,And each other there greeteWith a health they desire,Of stinke, smoke and fier.But who e're doth abhorre it.The citie smookes for it;Now full of fier shop,And fowle spitting chop,So sneezing and coughing,That my ghost fell to scoffing.And to myself said:Here's filthie fumes made;Good phisicke of forceTo cure a sicke horse.
The Puritans, from the first introduction of the plant, were sincere haters of tobacco, not only in England but in America. Cromwell had as strong a dislike of the plant as King James, and ordered the troopers to destroy the crops by trampling them under foot. Hutton describes a Puritan as one who
"Abhors a sattin suit, a velvet cloak,And sayes tobacco is the Devill's smoke."
Probably no other plant has ever met with such powerful determined opposition, both against its use and cultivation, as the tobacco plant. It was strenuously opposed by all possible means, governmental, legislative, and literary. When tea and coffee were first introduced both were denounced in unmeasured terms, but the opposition was not so bitter or as lasting.
The following verses bearing thenom de plumeof an "Old Salt," record much of the history of the plant:—
"Oh muse! grant me the power(I have the will) to singHow oft in lonely hour,When storms would round me lower,Tobacco's prov'd a King!"Philanthropists, no doubtWith good intentions ripe,Their dogmas may put out,And arrogantly shoutThe evils of the pipe."Kind moralists, with tracts,Opinions fine may show:Produce a thousand facts—How ill tobacco actsMan's system to o'erthrow."Learn'd doctors have employedMuch patience, time and skill,To prove tobacco cloyedWith acrid alkaloid,With power the nerves to kill!"E'en Popes have curst the plant;Kings bade its use to cease;But all the Pontiff's rantAnd Royal Jamie's cantNe'er made its use decrease."Teetotallers may stampAnd roar at pipes and beer;But place them in a swamp,When nights are dark and damp—Their tune would change, I fear."No advocate am IOf excess in one or t'other,And ne'er essayed to tryIn wine to drown a sigh,Or a single care to smother."Yet, in moderation pure,A glass is well enough;But, a troubled heart to cure,Kind feelings to insure,Give me a cheerful puff."How oft a learn'd divineHis sermons will prepare,Not by imbibing wine,But, 'neath th' influence fineOf a pipe of "baccy" rare!"How many a pleasing scene,How many a happy joke,How many a satire keen,Or problem sharp, has beenEvolved or born of smoke!"How oft, amidst the jarOf storms on ruin bent,On ship-board, near or far,To the drenched and shiv'ring tarTobacco's solace lent!"Oh! tell me not 'tis bad,Or that it shortens life.Its charms can soothe the sad,And make the wretched glad,In trouble and in strife."Tis used in every clime,By all men, high and low;It is praised in prose and rhyme,And can but end with time;So let the kind herb grow!"'Tis a friend to the distress'd,'Tis a comforter in need;It is social, soothing, blest;It has fragrance, force, and zest;Then hail the kingly weed!"
"Oh muse! grant me the power(I have the will) to singHow oft in lonely hour,When storms would round me lower,Tobacco's prov'd a King!
"Philanthropists, no doubtWith good intentions ripe,Their dogmas may put out,And arrogantly shoutThe evils of the pipe.
"Kind moralists, with tracts,Opinions fine may show:Produce a thousand facts—How ill tobacco actsMan's system to o'erthrow.
"Learn'd doctors have employedMuch patience, time and skill,To prove tobacco cloyedWith acrid alkaloid,With power the nerves to kill!
"E'en Popes have curst the plant;Kings bade its use to cease;But all the Pontiff's rantAnd Royal Jamie's cantNe'er made its use decrease.
"Teetotallers may stampAnd roar at pipes and beer;But place them in a swamp,When nights are dark and damp—Their tune would change, I fear.
"No advocate am IOf excess in one or t'other,And ne'er essayed to tryIn wine to drown a sigh,Or a single care to smother.
"Yet, in moderation pure,A glass is well enough;But, a troubled heart to cure,Kind feelings to insure,Give me a cheerful puff.
"How oft a learn'd divineHis sermons will prepare,Not by imbibing wine,But, 'neath th' influence fineOf a pipe of "baccy" rare!
"How many a pleasing scene,How many a happy joke,How many a satire keen,Or problem sharp, has beenEvolved or born of smoke!
"How oft, amidst the jarOf storms on ruin bent,On ship-board, near or far,To the drenched and shiv'ring tarTobacco's solace lent!
"Oh! tell me not 'tis bad,Or that it shortens life.Its charms can soothe the sad,And make the wretched glad,In trouble and in strife.
"Tis used in every clime,By all men, high and low;It is praised in prose and rhyme,And can but end with time;So let the kind herb grow!
"'Tis a friend to the distress'd,'Tis a comforter in need;It is social, soothing, blest;It has fragrance, force, and zest;Then hail the kingly weed!"
While Raleigh[51]and many of Elizabeth's courtiers indulged frequently in a pipe, some have imagined that even Queen Bess herself tested the rare virtues of tobacco. This is hardly based upon sufficient proof to warrant a very strong belief in it; but the following account of "How to weigh smoke" taken fromTinsley's Magazineshows that the Queen was acquainted at least with Raleigh's use of the weed:
"One day it happened that Queen Elizabeth, wandering about the grounds and alleys at Hampton with a single maid of honour, came upon Sir Walter Raleigh indulging in a pipe. Smoking now is as common as eating and drinking, and to smoke amongst ladies is a vulgarity. But not so then: it was an accomplishment, it was a distinction; and one of the feathers in Sir Walter's towering cap was his introduction of tobacco. The all-accomplished hero rose and saluted the Queen in his grand manner, and the Queen, who was in her daintiest humour, gave him her white hand to kiss, and took the seat he had left."Now, Sir Walter, I can puzzle you at last." "I suppose I must not be so rude as to doubt your Majesty." "You are bold enough for that, but your boldness will not help you, Sir Walter, this time. You cannot tell me how much the smoke from your pipe weighs." "Your Majesty is mistaken. I can tell you to a nicety. Will your Majesty allow me to call yonder page, and send for a pair of scales and weights?" "By my honour," said the Queen, "were any other subject in our realm to make request so absurd, we should very positively deny it. But you are the wisest of our fools, and, though we expect to see but little use made of these weights when brought, your request shall be granted. And, supposing you fail to weigh the smoke, what penalty will you pay?" "I will be content," said Sir Walter, "to lose my head." "You may chance to lose it on a graver count than this;" answered the Queen. "If the head shall have done someslight service to your Majesty and the realm," replied the courteous knight, "thee will be well content nevertheless."
"One day it happened that Queen Elizabeth, wandering about the grounds and alleys at Hampton with a single maid of honour, came upon Sir Walter Raleigh indulging in a pipe. Smoking now is as common as eating and drinking, and to smoke amongst ladies is a vulgarity. But not so then: it was an accomplishment, it was a distinction; and one of the feathers in Sir Walter's towering cap was his introduction of tobacco. The all-accomplished hero rose and saluted the Queen in his grand manner, and the Queen, who was in her daintiest humour, gave him her white hand to kiss, and took the seat he had left.
"Now, Sir Walter, I can puzzle you at last." "I suppose I must not be so rude as to doubt your Majesty." "You are bold enough for that, but your boldness will not help you, Sir Walter, this time. You cannot tell me how much the smoke from your pipe weighs." "Your Majesty is mistaken. I can tell you to a nicety. Will your Majesty allow me to call yonder page, and send for a pair of scales and weights?" "By my honour," said the Queen, "were any other subject in our realm to make request so absurd, we should very positively deny it. But you are the wisest of our fools, and, though we expect to see but little use made of these weights when brought, your request shall be granted. And, supposing you fail to weigh the smoke, what penalty will you pay?" "I will be content," said Sir Walter, "to lose my head." "You may chance to lose it on a graver count than this;" answered the Queen. "If the head shall have done someslight service to your Majesty and the realm," replied the courteous knight, "thee will be well content nevertheless."
Weighing Smoke.
Weighing Smoke.
"But your Majesty will soon see that I fail not. First, madam, I place this empty pipe in the scales, and I find that it weighs exactly 2 ounces. I now fill it with tobacco, and the weight is increased to 2-1/10th ounce. I must now ask your Majesty to allow me to smoke the pipe out. I shall then turn out the ashes, and place them together with the pipe in the scale once more. The difference between the weight of the pipe with the unsmoked tobacco, and weight of the pipe with the ashes, will be the weight of the smoke." "You are too clever for us, Sir Walter. We shall expect you to-night at supper, and if the conversation grow dull, you shall tell our courtiers the story of the pipe."
Many other anecdotes have been told of the adventures of Raleigh with his pipe. One is that while taking a quiet smoke his servant entered and becoming alarmed on seeing the smoke coming from his nose threw a mug of ale in his face.
The same anecdote is also related of others including Tarlton. He gives an account of it in his Jests 1611. It is told in this manner:
"Tarlton as other gentlemen used, at the first coming up of tobacco, did take it more for fashion's sake than otherwise, and being in a roome, sat betweene two men overcome with wine, and they never seeing the like, wondered at it, and seeing the vapour come out of Tarlton's nose, cryed out, 'Fire, fire!' and threw a cup of wine in Tarlton's face. 'Make no more stirre,' quoth Tarlton, 'the fire is quenched; if the sheriffs come, it will turne a fine as the custom is.'And drinking that againe, 'Fie,' says the other: 'what a stinke it makes. I am almost poysoned.' 'If it offend,' quoth Tarlton, 'let's every one take a little of the smell, and so the savor, will quickly go;' but tobacco whiffes made them leave him to pay all."
Rich gives the following account of a similar scene:—
"I remember a pretty jest of tobacco which was this: A certain Welchman coming newly to London, and beholding one to take tobacco, never seeing the like before, and not knowing the manner of it, but perceiving him vent smoke so fast, and supposing his inward parts to be on fire, cried out, 'O Jhesu, Jhesu man, for the passion of Cod hold, for by Cod's splud ty snowt's on fire,' and having a bowle of beere in his hand, threw it at the other's face, to quench his smoking nose."
The following anecdote is equally ludicrous. Before tobacco was much known in Germany, some soldiers belonging to a cavalry regiment were quartered in a German village. One of them, a trumpeter, happened to be a negro. A peasant, who had never seen a black man before, and who knew nothing about tobacco, watched, though at a safe distance, the trumpeter, while the latter groomed and fed his horse. As soon as this business was dispatched, the negro filled his pipe and began to smoke it. Great had been the peasant's bewilderment before; great was his terror now. The terror reached an intolerable point when the negro took the pipe from his mouth, offered it to the peasant, and asked him, in the best language he could command, to take a whiff. "No, no!" cried the peasant, in exceeding alarm; "no, no! Mr. Devil; I do not wish to eat fire."
Henry Fielding, in "The Grub Street Opera" written about a century ago, has the following verses on Tobacco:—
"Let the learned talk of books,The glutton of cooks,The lover of Celia's soft smack—O!No mortal can boastSo noble a toast,As a pipe of accepted tobacco."Let the soldier for fame,And a general's name,In battle get many a thwack—O!Let who will have mostWho will rule the rooste,Give me but a pipe of tobacco."Tobacco gives witTo the dullest old cit,And makes him of politics crack—O!The lawyers i' th' hallWere not able to bawl,Were it not for a whiff of tobacco."The man whose chief gloryIs telling a story,Had never arrived at the smack—O!Between every heying,And as I was saying,Did he not take a whiff of tobacco."The doctor who placesMuch skill in grimaces,And feels your pulse running tic tack—O!Would you know his chief skill?It is only to fillAnd smoke a good pipe of tobacco."The courtiers aloneTo this weed are not prone;Would you know what 'tis makes them so slack—O?'Twas because it inclinedTo be honest the mind,And therefore they banished tobacco."
"Let the learned talk of books,The glutton of cooks,The lover of Celia's soft smack—O!No mortal can boastSo noble a toast,As a pipe of accepted tobacco.
"Let the soldier for fame,And a general's name,In battle get many a thwack—O!Let who will have mostWho will rule the rooste,Give me but a pipe of tobacco.
"Tobacco gives witTo the dullest old cit,And makes him of politics crack—O!The lawyers i' th' hallWere not able to bawl,Were it not for a whiff of tobacco.
"The man whose chief gloryIs telling a story,Had never arrived at the smack—O!Between every heying,And as I was saying,Did he not take a whiff of tobacco.
"The doctor who placesMuch skill in grimaces,And feels your pulse running tic tack—O!Would you know his chief skill?It is only to fillAnd smoke a good pipe of tobacco.
"The courtiers aloneTo this weed are not prone;Would you know what 'tis makes them so slack—O?'Twas because it inclinedTo be honest the mind,And therefore they banished tobacco."
One of the most curious pieces of verse ever written on tobacco is the following by Southey, entitled "Elegy on a Quid of Tobacco:"—
"It lay before me on the close-grazed grass,Beside my path, an old tobacco quid:And shall I by the mute adviser passWithout one serious thought? now Heaven forbid!"Perhaps some idle drunkard threw thee there—Some husband spendthrift of his weekly hire;One who for wife and children takes no care,But sits and tipples by the ale-house fire."Ah! luckless was the day he learned to chew!Embryo of ills the quid that pleased him first;Thirsty from that unhappy quid he grew,Then to the ale-house went to quench his thirst."So great events from causes small arise—The forest oak was once an acorn seed;And many a wretch from drunkenness who dies,Owes all his evils to the Indian weed."Let no temptation, mortal, ere come nigh!Suspect some ambush in the parsley hid;From the first kiss of love ye maidens fly,Ye youths, avoid the first Tobacco-quid!"Perhaps I wrong thee, O thou veteran chaw,And better thoughts my musings should engage;That thou wert rounded in some toothless jaw,The joy, perhaps of solitary age."One who has suffered Fortune's hardest knocks,Poor, and with none to tend on his gray hairs;Yet has a friend in his Tobacco-box,And, while he rolls his quid, forgets his cares."Even so it is with human happiness—Each seeks his own according to his whim;One toils for wealth, one Fame alone can bless,One asks a quid—a quid is all to him."O, veteran chaw! thy fibres savory, strong,While aught remained to chew, thy master chewed,Then cast thee here, when all thy juice was gone,Emblem of selfish man's ingratitude!"O, happy man! O, cast-off quid! is heWho, like as thou, has comforted the poor;Happy his age who knows himself, like thee,Thou didst thy duty—man can do no more."
"It lay before me on the close-grazed grass,Beside my path, an old tobacco quid:And shall I by the mute adviser passWithout one serious thought? now Heaven forbid!
"Perhaps some idle drunkard threw thee there—Some husband spendthrift of his weekly hire;One who for wife and children takes no care,But sits and tipples by the ale-house fire.
"Ah! luckless was the day he learned to chew!Embryo of ills the quid that pleased him first;Thirsty from that unhappy quid he grew,Then to the ale-house went to quench his thirst.
"So great events from causes small arise—The forest oak was once an acorn seed;And many a wretch from drunkenness who dies,Owes all his evils to the Indian weed.
"Let no temptation, mortal, ere come nigh!Suspect some ambush in the parsley hid;From the first kiss of love ye maidens fly,Ye youths, avoid the first Tobacco-quid!
"Perhaps I wrong thee, O thou veteran chaw,And better thoughts my musings should engage;That thou wert rounded in some toothless jaw,The joy, perhaps of solitary age.
"One who has suffered Fortune's hardest knocks,Poor, and with none to tend on his gray hairs;Yet has a friend in his Tobacco-box,And, while he rolls his quid, forgets his cares.
"Even so it is with human happiness—Each seeks his own according to his whim;One toils for wealth, one Fame alone can bless,One asks a quid—a quid is all to him.
"O, veteran chaw! thy fibres savory, strong,While aught remained to chew, thy master chewed,Then cast thee here, when all thy juice was gone,Emblem of selfish man's ingratitude!
"O, happy man! O, cast-off quid! is heWho, like as thou, has comforted the poor;Happy his age who knows himself, like thee,Thou didst thy duty—man can do no more."
Another well known song of the Seventeenth Century is entitled "The Tryumph of Tobacco over Sack and Ale:"—
Nay, soft by your leaves,Tobacco bereavesYou both of the garland; forbear it;You are two to one,Yet tobacco aloneIs like both to win it, and weare it.Though many men crack,Some of ale, some of sack,And think they have reason to do it;Tobacco hath moreThat will never give o'erThe honor they do unto it.Tobacco engagesBoth sexes, all ages,The poor as well as the wealthy;From the court to the cottage,From childhood to dotage,Both those that are sick and the healthy.It plainly appearsThat in a few yearsTobacco more custom hath gained,Than sack, or than ale,Though they double the taleOf the times, wherein they have reigned.And worthily too,For what they undoTobacco doth help to regaine,On fairer conditionsThan many physitians,Puts an end to much griefe and paine;It helpeth digestion,Of that there's no question,The gout and the tooth-ache it easeth:Be it early, or late,'Tis never out of date,He may-safely take it that pleaseth.Tobacco preventsInfection by scents,That hurt the brain, and are heady.An antidote is,Before you're amisse,As well as an after remedy.The cold it doth heate,Cools them that do sweate,And them that are fat maketh lean:The hungry doth feed,And if there be need,Spent spirits restoreth again.The poets of old,Many fables have told,Of the gods and their symposia;But tobacco alone,Had they known it, had goneFor their nectar and ambrosia.It is not the smackOf ale or of sack,That can with tobacco compare:For taste and for smell,It beares away the bellFrom them both, wherever they are:For all their bravado,It is Trinidado,That both their noses will wipeOf the praises they desire,Unless they conspireTo sing to the tune of his pipe.
The history of the rise and progress of tobacco in England, is one of the most interesting features connected with the use and cultivation of the plant. In Spain, Portugal, Germany and Holland the plant was sustained and encouraged by the throne, and royalty was the strongest and most devoted defender it had. It saw in the encouragement of its use, an income of revenue and a source of profit far greater than that received from any other product. Soon after its cultivation began in France, Spain, and Portugal, the tobacco trade was farmed out.
From its first cultivation in these countries it has been a government monopoly. In 1753, the King of Portugal farmed out the tobacco trade, and from that time until now, the annual amount received has been one of the principal sources of revenue to the crown. In France, as early as 1674, a monopoly of the trade was granted to Jean Breton, for six years, for the sum of 700,000 francs.
In 1720 the Indian Company paid for the privilege 1,500,000 francs per annum; and in 1771 the price was increased to 25,000,000 francs. Besides France there are thirteen other European states where the tobacco trade is a government monopoly, namely, Austria, Spain, Sicily, Sardinia, Poland, Papal States, Portugal, Tuscany, Modena, Parma, San Marino, Lichtenstein.
From the first cultivation of the plant, its growers saw in the tobacco trade a vast and constantly increasing source ofwealth. They doubtless in some measure comprehended the close relation existing between it and commerce and realized how extensive would be its use.
From the nature of the plant, it affords states and nations an opportunity to engage either in its culture or commerce with the prospect of the largest success. In this respect it is far different from any other tropical plant, and unlike them is capable of being cultivated in portions of the earth far remote from the tropics. In Switzerland and in the Caucassias it attains to a considerable size, but is nevertheless tobacco although it may possess but few of the excellences of some varieties, still it affords some enjoyment to the user, from the fact that it is the Indian weed. Fairholt speaking of the tobacco trade says:
"The progress of the tobacco trade from the earliest introduction of the plant into Europe until now, is certainly one of the most curious that commerce presents. That a plant originally smoked by a few savages, should succeed in spite of the most stringent opposition in church and state, to be the cherished luxury of the whole civilized world; to increase with the increase of time, and to end in causing so vast a trade, and so large an outlay of money; is a statistical fact, without an equal parallel."
The tobacco plant notwithstanding its fascinating powers, has suffered many romantic vicissitudes in its fame and character; having been successively opposed and commended by physicians, condemned and eulogized by priests, vilified and venerated by kings, and alternately proscribed and protected by governments, this once insignificant production of a little island or an obscure district, has succeeded in diffusing itself throughout every clime, and—exhilarating and enriching its thousands—has subjected the inhabitants of every country to its dominion. And every where it is a source of comfort and enjoyment; in the highest grades of civilized society, at the shrine of fashion, in the depths of poverty, in the palace and in the cottage, the fascinating influence of this singular plant demands an equal tribute of devotion and attachment.[Back to Contents]