Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1868-03-18
SMOKING AND SOCIETY.

men into clubs, these dinners to whioh
men only are invited, the late sitting at
the table after the ladies have wit hdIawri
the gathering of male guests into some
smoking-rootn, apart from the ladies' of the
party-is Hot the cigar chiefly responsii-
BILE for these atrocities? Nlea are not
society; society is the mingling of the
two sexes In such way that each re-
strains and inspires the othef. That
community is afreaay far gohe in degen-
| eracy IN which men prefer to band to.
gether by themselves, ia which m do
not crave the society of ladies, and value
it as the chief charm of existencs. "Wha.
is the real attraction of the gorgeous es-
| tablishments I" [ asked the other eve.
ming of an acquaintance who was about to
enter one Of the new club-houses on Fifth
ave. His reply was: 'No w6men can
enter them Once within these sacred
wall g, we are safe from everything that
wears pet.icost! Are we getting to be
Turks? The Tufke shit #otiisn IN; ~s
shut them out. The Turks build hargtts
for their women but we find it necessas
~ to abandon to women our abedes, and
construct hafefha for ourselves. sea-.
Humiliatids as the truth is, it midst BIZ
confessed, tobacco is woman's rival, het
successful rival. 1t is the cigar and tha5
wine Gt used to be wine and puhGhy that
enable met to endure one another duriis
the whole of a. long evening: Retnoss
from every club house all the means 5f
into&icatlon--i. e., all the wine and tos
bacco-and seveb out Of evefy ten 5f
them would cease to exist in cns retrs
Men would come together for few evsr-
inss, as tisiial, talk over the evening pa
pers, yawn and go away, perhaps SO homtl
"a place which otr confirmed clabbistg
6Hly know as convenience for sleeping
and breakfasting. One of the worst
effects Of smoking is that it deadens our.
susceptibility to tedium, and enables us
to keep ON endufing what we ought to wsf
against and overcome. It is drunken
people who 'won't go home till ffioriiing.'
Tyrarts and oppressors are wong in
dfawing SO much revenue from, tobacco;
they ought rather to give if away; for IL,
tends to enable people to sit down cont4nS
under every kind Of oppression.
Men say; in reply to those who object
to their clubs, their mems dinner partiesg
and their smoking rooms; "W Wofieti
overwhelm society with ,supsrhttoiis drf
goods. The moment ladies are invited
the whole affair becomes Mere atissticr
of costume. A party at which ladies
assist is littls more than an exhibition of
wearing appargl They dress, tco; not
for the purpose Of giving pleasure to fset5;
but for the purpose Of Injecting pain oil
oae another. Besides, a lady who carrs-
ing considerable estate upon her perso1
must devote great part of her attention
to the management Of that estates. Sn5
ttiay be talking to Mr. Stiith abort
and the tttisical- glasses, butl
the thing her mind is really bent tipon is
Brushing Mrs. Smith with her new lace.
Even dancing is nothing but an exceed
lngfy laborious and anxious welding of
yards OF silk trailing 8ut behitd p Sc:
Smoky dlners-out will ree6gnizza this
line of remark When ladies have left
the table, and are amusing thsnseltss IL
the drawing GROOM III Ways Which NAV
sohigtities be trivial, bit ste haysr sen.
sual, tiien FREQUENTLY fall into discourse
over their cigars, upon tie foibles Of the
sex, and often succeed in delivsfing thennss~s
selves OF one or more of the obser7ations
gust quoted; Ms these nob6 critics aif
boozing and smoking, they o1i somsetiiniale5
hear the brilliant run upJn the piano, or
the notes Of a finely tfained voice, or Tia
Joyous lat1s hter Of a group Of glrls--alf
idSitibs them to higher and pure1r t,i;s ens
Joyrtient than stsepibg tliseir senses IN b;aff<
barous smoke: But they stick to theisr
cigars, aid assume a lofty moral supefiorr.-
ity ovsf the lovely beihss, the evidence
Of whose better ciyilikation Is Soluindihs i'll
their ears:
Now, one If the subtle, mysterious N, reus
effects of t6bacco upon "the male Of ctr
species" is to disanchaht him With regard
to the female: ltmakes US read the poerns
en- titled Woman as though it were OILY i
piece of prose. It takes off the edge Of
virility. IF it does not MAKE 4 nan nan 1855
ttiascGiihe, it Resps his mnascttilinit99 IL j
state of partial torpor, WEioh Causes Causes hiinla ila
to look upon woman, not indeed without
certain curiosity, but without eHtbus-
lasm, without rouattic elevation of mind,
without any feelitig of awe and,,veneratiorG
for the august Mothers of our race. It
tends to make us reg&rd women, rom
what W.. may style tie Black Crook poinE
of view. The youbg 8ho boassted that he
had seen the Blce Crook IT tirt63 il
three mouths must nave been al irra,
clalmable smoker. Nothing but dulled,