Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1877-12-28

| did thoroughly. And they went INTO smok-
ing" or drinking" tobacco, as it was first call
| e6, as If the safety ofthe nation depended upon
it. They established smokinG-Sch bought
the costliest smoking utensils silver pipes and
| tobacco boxes if their means would compass
them-and when they drank, met, as in
| the picture We have mentioned and smoked
like charcoal-kilns.
| The women did not by any means abhor tc-
bacco. In Heywoods comedy "Fair Maid of
the Exchange" one of the characters is told
that TO court girl the more efectually he
can greatly advance his suit by 'asking her
ii she'll take pipe OF tobacco" On the
title-page OF Nliddleton's play, The Roaring
Girle, is picture of the heroine. who, dressed
sed in male attire as was her wont, is vigor-
ously putting on pipe There is also an oil
portrait extant of a smoking lady.
TOBACCO As MEDICINE
Tobacco had been known in Europ before
smoking came into vogue. but entirely as
medical herb. Spencer, in the "Faery
Queene," speaks OF it amoung the other
medicinal herbs which Belphebe gather to
heal Timais as Divine tobacco" and Lilly,
court-poet to Elizabeth, mentions 1t as "Our
holy herbe Nicotian."
At first the smokers could only obtain to-
bacco from the apothecary, who kept it as a
drug but the demand increased so fast that
soon the grocers adopted it then other
tradesmen, and comparatively short time
after its introduction there were shops where
nothing else was sold
Barnaby Rich "a. ID. 1914 IN his book
"Honestie of this Age" has the following re-
garding its sale:
Il have heard it told that now very lately
there hath been n catalogue made OF all those
new erected houses that have set up that
trade of selling tobacco in London and neare
about London and if man may believe
what is confidently reported, there are to
be found upward of seven thousand houses
that doth live by the trade cannot say
whether they number apothecaries' shops,
grocers' shops and chandlers' shops, in the
computation but let it bee that these weere
thrust in to make up the number.
APREsIpENTIAL OPINION.
John Quincy Adams, who, in his youth,
both smoked and chewed, but atterward left
off both the habits took something this view
of the subject In n letter to a friend, he
says
Il have often wished that every individual
of the human race afflicted with this artiti-
cial passion could prevail upon himself TO
try the experiment which | have made (of
leaving off tobacco) sure that it would turn
add five years of longevity to the average OF
human life.
An extravagsnt habit which had so little
argument in its favor could not but meet
with resistance
Modern lovers of the pipe seldom think OF
the worthless to whom they are indebted for
its free enjoyment and of those who delight
in nasal aliment, how few ever call to mind
the Diocletian prosecutions their predeces-
sors passed through in adhering to their faith
in, and transmitting to their descendants,
the virtues of tobacco. Europe trowned,
and Asia threatened Pagan, Mohammedan
and Christian monarchs combined to crush
them. The world was reused like a famish-
ing hon from its lair, and gloated on them.
James l., of England foaming with rage,
sent forth his COiDteTbldSt. The half savage
ruler of the MuScovites followed suit ; the
Emperor lehan Geer and others all joined
the crusade. Pope Innocent MI. also. ex-
communicated those who should smoke or
take snuff in st. Peters at Rome. The bull
of the latter was soon otter revoked by Pope
Benedict, who is said to have been immoder-
ately addicted 20 the use OF tobacco HIM
self
EARLY INTOLERANCE.
Nowhere, perhaps, were the yotaries OF the
weed more severely punished than IN Rus
sia, where the offender was chastised by am
putation OF his nose. In switzerland as late
as the middle of the 18th century partieu-
lar court was held to try the tobacco users.
The most strenuous enemy OF tobacco Eng
land ever saw was James the First who Is
deserted in the "lngoldsby Legend" Us
"A gentleman called King James,
In quilted doublet and knee-br ches.
Who held in abhorrence tobacco and witches.
James was at no end OF pains to show his
hatred. He issued a ''counteIblast, damn
ing tobacco as an ''evil varietie" by which
"the health of a great number of people is
impaired, and their bodies weakened and
made unfit for labour, and the estates of
many mean persons SO decayed and consum-
ed, rs they are hereby driven to unttriftie
shifts, only to maintain their gluttonous ex
ercise thereof"
Charles | did not remove the restrictions
made by James. He even went Il step fur
ther than that king by making its sale a
monopoly OF the crown, an act especially in
furious to the tobacco growers. Cromwell
also prosecuted the English planters and
sent his troops to trample down the crops
wherever they could find them. 1t must
have been an unwelcome task to his soldiers,
who. as if in token of their happy release
from the Protectors hand, smoked at his
funeral.