Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1868-04-25
MISCELLANEOUS.
DOES 1T PAY TO SMOKE.

Mr.. Parton has an interesting article in
the last Atlanttc Monthly in answer to this
question. The article alone is well worth
the price of the atlantic, and the remain.
der OF the number is one of unusual interest.
We make few extracts from the readable
article of Mr. Parton:
The first dollar that George Law ever
earned, after leaving his fathers house, was
earned by carrying the hod at Albany. But
with that dollar he bought an arithmetic
and spelling book which, when winter
closed in and put stop 10 hod-carrying,
he mastered, and thus began to prepare to
build the High Bridge" over the Harlem
River, where he made million dollars by
using steam bod-carriers instead of Irish
ones. The pipe is one of the points of diff
ference between the hod carrier who is con.
tent with his lot and the hod carrier who
means to get into brickluying next spring.
Youder is one Of the latter class reading his
Sun" after dinner, instead of sleeping his
senses in forgetfulness over pipe. He. per
haps, will DO taking a contract to build u
bridge over the East River, about the time
when his elderly comradc is buried in
corporation coffin.
The winning boat of Harvard University,
and the toasting boat of Yale, were not row
ed by smokers. One of the first things de-
manded of a young man who is going into
training for a boat race is, Stop Smoking!
And be himself, long before his body has
reached its highest point Of purity and de-
vcopment, will become conscious of the
lowering and disturbing effects of smoking
one inch OF mild cigur. No smoker who
has ever trained severely for race, or
game, or fight, needs to he told that smo.
king reduces the tone of the system and di
minishes all the forces OF the body. He
knows il. He has been as conscious of it
as boy is conscious of the effects of his
first cigar. Let the Harvard ere " smoke du, ,
ring the last two months of their training,
and let the Yale men abstain, and there is
one individual prepared to risk small sum
upon Yale's winning back her laurels.
Thackeray smoked 4; lie was very parti.
cular in his smoking; the scent of a bad
cigar was an abominatiOn to lin. That
Byron smoked and loved "the naked beau.
ties" of tobacco, he has told US in the most
alluring verses the weed has ever inspired
Milton, Locke, Raleigh, Ben. johnson, Isaac
Walton, Addison, Steele, Bulingbroke,
Burns, Campbell, Scott, Talfourd, Christie.
pher North, Lamb, were all smokers at some
part OF their lives. Among our Presidents,
John Adams, John Quincy Adams, General
smokers. Henry Clay, down to late peri
od of his life, chewed, smoked, and took
snuff, but never approved of either practice,
and stopped two of them. Gen Grant
smokes, but regrets that he does, and has
reduced his daily allowance of cigars. Ed
win Booth smokes, as do most of the gentle
men of his arduous' profession. Probably a
majority of the physicians and surgeons of
the United States under forty years of age,
are smokers; and who ever knew q medical
| student that did not smoke furiously 2 This
perhaps Is not be wondered at, since doctors
live upon the bodily sins OF mankind.
Almost all smokers, who are not Turks,
Cinnamon, or Indians, appreciate at once
the wisdom of Sir Isaac Newton's reply to
one who asked him why he never smoked
pipe. Because" said he, II am unwilling
| to make myself any necessities" Nor can
| any intelligent smoker doubt that the fumes
| of tobacco are hostile to the vital principle.
We smokers and ex-smokers all remember
how our first cigar sickeneu us we have ali
experienced various i'll effects from what
smokers call smoking too much :" and very
many smokers have once or twice in their
! lives, risen in revol: against their tyrant,
giving away their pipes, and lived free men
| long enough to become conscious that their
whole being had been torpid, and was alive
| again. No, no let who will deny that
! smoking is unfriendly to hie smokers will
not question it, unless they are very igno-
rant indeed, or very young. 1t will be OF
no avail to talk to them of the man who
| lived to be hundred years old and had
smoked to excess for half century. Smo.
kers have that within which keeps them
well in mind that smoking is pernicious. II
there are any smokers who doubt it, il is
! the few whom smoke is rapidly killing
such, for example, as the interesting profes
sional men who smoke an excellent quality
of cigars and "break down" before they are
thirtyfve 1t is not honest, legitimate hard
work that breaks 80 many people down in
the prime of life. 1t is bad habits.
Humiliating as the truth is, it must b,
confessed, tobacco 10 woman's rival, her sue
cessful rival. 1t is the cigar ana pipe lit useo
TO be wine and punch) that enables men tt
endure each whole evening Remove fron
every club house all the means of intoxica
toni e.. all the wine and tobacco, ,--snt
seven out of every ten of them would ceas
to exist in one year. Men would come to
getaer few evenings, as usual, talk owe
the evening papers, yawn and go away, per
haps go home place which our confirmed
clubbist only knows as a convenience TO
sleeping and breakfasting.
| Now, one of the subtle, mysterious effect
of tobacco upon "the male OF our species"
to disenchant him with regard to the female
It makes US read the poem entitled Woma
as though II were only piece OF prose.
takes of the edge of virility. II 1t does no
'..aLa . man iaas masculue IL keeps bi