Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1868-03-14
From the New York Observer.
LETTER FROM A SMOKED-MAN.
TO IREN AECS,

King James |. of England, wrote what
he crllcd "a Counter-blast Against To
bacco," as being in the use of it filthy,
injurious, and expensive. DIR. Adam
Clark, also, the learned Methodist Rabbi
and Commentator OH the Bible, wrote a
iustly severe exposure of the indecency,
discomfort. and sin, of the free and ha
biual use of tobacco; and especially as
Interfering with the decent and comtorta-
Bile observance of the custom OF knecling
in churches, i'll time of prayer. And last,
but not least, you have come to the res
cue, with series of ''counter-blasts"
against tobacco; more especially as you
suffered from it in Spain, and as the lead
ing cause of injuring the health, lessen
lug the usefulness, and shortening the
lives of some of the most gifted, eminent
and efficient divines in our land. | have
deeply sympathized with you in your
suferings abroad, more than thirty years
since, travelled extensively III Spain, Por-
tugal, and elsewhere in the East, when
in the old-fishiored dillgences, and other
SLOW coaches" was day and night sub
iected to such long continued and thor
oagh fumigation, that, like meat thor
oughly smoked, am now in an excellent
state of health and preservation, at the
age of more than three-score; though
some might account for this, from the
fact of my not using tea, coffee, or tobac-
co.
l had, in early life, class-mate, who
told me that he paid more for cigars,
than his college term bills for board, tut
tion, &c, amounted to. He, early in
life, became wrctchcd wreck in body
and mind, and committed suicide. An
other fcllow-student, an excessive smo
ker, became incorporate, (as the free use
of tobacco often and naturally leads to
other kinds of iEtempelarce,) early sac
rifced bright professional. prospects and
success, anil by his intemperance com
PEELED his wife and family to leave him.
Officers in the Navy, former ship-mates
of mine, when tobacco was much cheap
er than it now is, used to pay sixty or
eighty dollars year, or more, each of
them, for cigars. When, therefore, i'll
view of these facts, visit the studies or
offices of, clerical friends, and especially
of religious editors, and Secretaries and
Agents of religious and benevolent socie
ties, who are often and earnestly plead
ing for great self-denial, in view of the
claims of Christ and His Cause upon us,
and find them densely involved in the
smoke of costly tobacco, or cigars, am
somewhat strongly reminded of the pro-
verb, consistency is a jewell and won
der what children and servants would
say, We're they thereto see those thus
employed, who SO highly commend them
for denying themselves the use of tea,
coffee, sugar or butter, that thus they
may be able to give something for the
conversion of the world a'-! 7'-. ..''
While preaching, for years, at the
South, l noticed that men and women
sat on opposite sides of the country
churches; and on asking Il reason for 1t,
was told that the men used tobacco 80
freely, that the women could not sit
with them, without having their dresses
greatly soiled by tobacco spittle. In some
regions at the South, too, women use
snuff freely in the way OF dipping" as
it is called a box of snuff being often
dipped into, with small brushes, made
by chewing black gum wood, until moth
ing but strong woody fibres are left, and
then this snuff is freely and often rubbed
on the teeth. This habit is also indulg-
ed in by young girls in school, and in
the case of ladies of the first standing,
leads, at times, to the confirmed habit of
chewing tobacco. a well known female
author, in writing recently of smoking,
rs making men stupid and irritable, sep
arating them from the refining influence
Of female society at home, and in clubs
abroad, and in hading them to intemper-
ance, said, that she would not give the
toss of a cent for a choice between an in
temperate husband and one excessively
addicted to the use of tobacco. 80, ....a
The tendency of tobacco to produce
blindness, by its effects on the optic
nerve, is well established. ,Ofthirty-sev-
en- blind persons in London, whose cases
were examined with special reference
to this point, it was found that thirty
one OF them had used tobacco freely. \
very prominent divine, whose name |
might give, di9d in the prime oflife, from