The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1851-07-24
A PAPER OF TOBACCO.

We find lively passage on tobacco IN the
pleasant new book by Alphonse Kari. tmust
be borne in mind that, in France, tobacco is a
monopoly, and very productive one IN the
hands of Government:
"There is a family of poisonous plants,
among which we may notice the henbane, the
datura stramonium, and the tobacco plant
The tobacco plant is perhaps little less poi
sonous than the datura, but II Is more so than
the henbane. which is a violent poison. Here
is a tobacco plant, as fine plant as you can
wish to see. 1t grows 10 the height OF SIX feet,
and from the centre Of tuft OF leaves, OF a
beautiful green, shoot out elegant and graceful
| clusters pink of flowers.
% For a long while the tobacco plant grew
unknown and solitary in the wlds OF America.
The savage TO whom we had given brandy gave
us in exchange tobacco, with the smoke OF
which they used to ntoxcate themselves on
grand occasions. The intercourse between the
! Two worlds began with this amlable interchange
OF posons.
Those who first thought of putting tobacco
dust up their noses were first laughed at, and
then prosecuted more or less. James | Of
England, wrote against snuff takers book en-
titled Misocapnos Some years later, Pope Ur-
ban VIII accommodated all persons who
took snuff in churches. The Empress Eliza
beth thought II necessary TO add something TO
the penalty of communication pronounced
against those who used the black dust during
divine service, and authorized the beadles 10
confs cate the snuff boxes TO their own use
Amurath w forbade the use Of snuff, under
pain or having the So ?
"No useful plant could have withstood such
s,sS.kI Il before this invention MGR mi
been found To say, let us seek the means oil NIL
ing the Golfers of the State by voluntary tax
let us set about selling something which every
body will like TO do without, he would have
been thought crazy. In America there is a
plant essentially poisonous If from Its leaves
you extract an empyreumauc oil, single drop
oft will cause an animal TO die in horrible con
WILSON'S. Suppose we offer this plant for sale,
chopped up or reduced 10 a powder. We will
sell i, very dear, and tell people to snuff the
powder up their noses.
THAT is TO say, suppose, you will force
them to do so by law?'
/" Not bit of it. Ispoke of voluntary tax.
AS TO the portion we chop up. we will tell them
to inhale it, and swallow little of the smoke
from it besides.
"' But it will kill them
as No they will become rather pale, perhaps
feel giddy, spit blood, and suffer from cholics,
or have pains in the chest-that'S all. Besides,
you know, although it has often been said that
habit is second nature, people are not yet aware
how completely man resembles the knife, OF
which the blade first and then the handle had
been changed two or three times. In man there
is no nature left-nothing but habit remains.
People will become like Mithridates, who had
learned to live on poisons.
hat nKa ha
will feel sickness, nausea, giddness, and cholics,
but that will go off by degrees, and in time he
will get so accustomed to it, that he will only
| feel such symptoms now and then-when he
smokes tobacco that is bad or too stronger
when he is not well, and in five or six other
cases. Those who take it in powder will
SneeZe, nave disdg crabir smell, lose the oeuse
of smelling and establish in their nose a sort OF
perpetual blister
"'Then, suppose II smells very NICE
! "Quite the reverse. 1t has a very unpl .as-
ant smell, but, as said, we'll sell il very dear,
and reserve to ourselves the monopoly of it.
"'My good friend,' one would have said 10
any one absurd enough to hold a similar Ian
guage, nobody will envy you the privilege Of
selling a weed that no one will care to buy.
You might as well open shop and write on
it. clicks sold here or, Such-a-one sells blows,
wholesale and retail" You will find as many
customers as for your poisonous weed
Well! who would have believed that the
first speaker was right, and that the tobacco
speculation would answer perfectly! The
kings of France have written no satires against
snuff, have had no noses cut off, no snuff
boxes confscated. Far from it. They have
sold tobacco, laid an impost on noses, and given
snuff boxes to poets with their portraits on the
lid. and diamonds all around"