The Sun.
London, England, 1839-09-04 00:00:00

SNUFFS AND SNUFF-TAKEItS.

What a moment! what a doubt 1
All my nose, inside out,
All my thrilling, tickling caustic,
Pynamid Rhinocerostic,
Wants to sneeze, and cannot do it I
Now it yearns me, thrills me, stings me,
Now with rapturous torment wrings me,
Now says, " Sneeze, you fool ; get through it."
Shee—shee—oh I 'tis most del-ishi,
Ishi—ishi—most del-ishi—
( Hang it I shall sneeze till spring),
Snuffis a most delicious thing,
The above is a free version of a passage from a clever
little Italian poem on tobacco (la Tabacheide), in which
the witty author has attempted the description of a
sneeze. This titillating indulgence, however, is per-
mittted only to the novice, for your real snuff-taker dis-
daineth to allow his nasal organ to yield obedience to
the thrilling call--his proboscis is proof against such
tickling. But if long habit have blunted the sensitive-
ness of this delicate promontory, it is fully compensated
for in the rapture his nose knows, be it Roman or snub,
when primed with a liberal pinch of Pontet's delicate
Martinique, or his son's more pungent mixture.
Little do the sneeze totallers know of the inexpres-
sible luxury attendant upon a pinch of fine old snuff
after dinner—it is the fit companion to a glass of gene-
rous wine ; and in shunning the real connoisseur's box,
they deny themselves one of the greatest enjoyments
discovered by man. Yes, gentle reader, sceptic though
you he, it is an enjoyment—a refined, a social enjoyment.
Some hyper-critics have denounced the habit of snuff-
taking as uncleanly, and a few ultra-railers have gone
so far as to say it is unwholesome, quoting as an au-
thority the late Mr. Abernethy, who, upon being asked
by an inveterate consumer of raps, if an immoderate
use of snuff was calculated to injure the brain, replied
in his usual caustic and splenetic manner, " Not in the
least, Sir, for people who take snuff immoderately, can
have no brains.

lam no advocate for excess of any kind—although
instances might be quoted where the greatest gluttons
in this way have had tolerably long heads—Napoleon
for instance, took snuff by handsful, and I think even
his enemies will allow that he lacked not brains ; but
numberless are the examples I could quote, of emi-
nent men, endowed with transcendant talents, who ex-
ceeded all bounds in the gratification of this taste.
But return we to the rational epicure (for there are epi-
cures in snuff) who takes his pinch at moderate
intervals, and who administers the comfort to his
nose, with such a good observance of propriety as to be
exempt from censure, and the imputation of unclean-
liness—why is this class to be decried? Without any
claim to the title of sensualist, let me ask why in this
short span of life a man is not justified in affordinc, him-
self all the enjoyment be can ? It may be asked why
create an artificial want? I answer, it in the indulgence
of that want, an extra drop of joy be added to the cup
of chequered happiness, dans se bas monde, taste of it,
and leave the reasoning to the noseless. It has been
asserted that the man who delighteth not in poetry or
music, has no soul, and I say that the man who liketh
not a pinch of snuff has no nose. How easily is a ge-
nuine snuff-taker recognised amongst a thousand—the
very manner in which he handles his box will betray
him. He is as easily distinguished from the of iroAXoi
as Taglioni amid the figurantes. Mark too, the inde-
scrible ease and tact with which he dexterously extracts
with the sinister thumb and finger (pardon the anomaly)
the soft and fragrant portion—talk of the eighteen ma-
noeuvres ! They are nothing compared to the manual
and platoon of the snuff-taker's exercise ! (although
some snuff boxes play tunes of themselves—but this is
a digression.)
The pseudo snuff-taker, and the uninitiated votary,

have all the awkwardness of undrilled recruits! For
instance, your old experienced hand will take his pinch I
from out the receptacle horizontally, unstinted in
quantity, and will inhale the bountiful and precious al-
lowance at one effort, while the neophyte will insert his
right finger and thumb vertically and falteringly into the
box, and compress the scattered grains into the smallest
possible compass, applying the aforesaid finger and
thumb to the nose in such a questionable manner as to
convey the impression that he is endeavouring to ab-
stract some capillary excrescence from the nostril, in-
stead of comforting the organ of smell. The veritable
art of snuff-taking is only to be acquired by long prac-
tice, and a close observance of the aforesaid manual
and platoon—the air and grace which distinguish the
polished gentleman, are the more observable in snuff-
taking than any other fashionable indulgence. The
snuff-takers of St. James's and St. Giles's differ as
widely in the manner of applying the redolent mixture
to their noses, as the votary of Terpsichore at Almack's
does from the coalheaver at Greenwich Fair. The
Democrat, the Radical, and the Leveller, may not be
disposed to admit this— but the truth is undeniable.
Same persons eat their fish, and even peas, with their
knives, while others use forks—the former are barba-
rians, the latter, gentlemen.—New Monthly Magazine.

ENGLISH TRAVELLERS.—AS usual among the
guests the English predominate. You can mark them at
once by diagnostic signs which never fail. If you behold
an unusually well dressed individual, high cravated, and
clad in a Stultz frac, coming into the dining-room after all
the rest of the people have finished their potage, be assured
he is an Englishman. If he begins grumbling in indifferent
French to the Miner, at the bouillon to ris, and and
turns up his nose at the bouilli which follows, doubt not
that he is an Englishman. If he beckons to the waiter
to bring him a dish out of its turn, so as to derange
altogether, the usual routine to which every one cheerfully
submits—he is unquestionably an Englishman. If he calls
for a bottle of champagne when every one is quaffing his
demi-bouteille of sour wine, the conclusion is inevitable;
and if three or four such individuals cluster together, talk
loud, and d—n the cookery, at the same time that they
admit how cheaply they can live and amuse themselves,
the case is quite manifest ; they arc all from this side of the
Channel—landed from the Dampschiff at Frankfort, and
recently imported into Bavaria.—Spas of Germany.
A WEDDING PRESENT.—On Wednesday, two
women, neatly attired, called upon a newly-married couple
on the Wear, and inquired if the gentleman of the house
was at home. The lady replied in the negative ; but pre-
suming them to be friends—perhaps relatives—of her
liege lord, she invited them to enter the house, till she sent
for him. The ladies (who stated they had brought a small
present) accepted the invitation, and sat down. In a mo-
ment or two, however, they started up—said peradventure
they would call again—and hastily departed. The hus-
band, for whom a messenger had been dispatched, arrived
shortly after their exit, an just in time to be present at the
discovery of a little female stranger, sound asleep on the
bed ! The unwonted incident has given rise to much mer-
riment, and not a little scandal, in the district. The young
couple, unable to ascertain from what quarter the i
"pre-
sent" has come, and neither of them (we are bound to sup-
pose) having any idea thereof, have contentedly andn
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INTERESTING TO LADIES little
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rrantieciou.s influence
of the solar beam, was for ages a LADIES.
flee m science.
of the Complexion from the burnindge,si
Half a century back Ladies suffered most severely from the
beat. The rapid progress
of science has happily effects produced by excessive
brought to light a discovery of the
bd K I
e e rate a vdor the auxiliary
highest importance to, the Female Fashionable World.
We allude to Rowland s c f
protector offemale beauty.
pr,,)„
aquatic parties, our lovely con'atrywornen
and their
fmr'eeenadd,ige,urraradeiadn, and
are shielded_s
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complexion 6 and blooming
and fer which they
as the most florid writer could portray
are renowned throughout the world,
On Thursday last, the 29Cri ult., was launched
from the building yard of Mr. Frederick Preston, at Yar-
mouth, a fine schooner named the George Lord, burthen
205 tons, intended for the Ik:lediterranean trade, and to be
commanded by Captain Thomas Amlot, of Cardigan ;
her beautiful structure (tiding to the already well-earned
fame of her builder) 'excited much admiration, and the
swan-like ease with
vO-.ich she entered her native element,
whilst bring christen,..d with all due ceremony by Mr.
I Rile 11. Evans, of London, afforded great delight to an
immense concourse of spectators.

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