Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-12-19
From the Phi iladelphia Press.

From the Phi iladelphia Press.
All the world smokes tobacco nowadays
Even the ladies puff the smoke of a cigarett,
from their lps-some syy and in secret, other.
more openly between the courses of swell din
ner- Kings, Popes, Cars and Emperors have
Numbered anathemas against the unfOrtunat.
weed. Smoking still goes on Physicians
cier@ymen, and even the editors OF newspapers
VINO are VIGOROUSLY the COOLEST of men, nav,
protested against its use or abuse in grave ad-
vice, solemn lectures or powerful editorials and
then gone home and smoked a few cigars them.
selves to test their deleteriOus effects on thej,
own constitutions. But. spite of lectures, ed
torias and anathemas. the consumption of the
perniciOus plant is increasing enormously. anC
large sections of country once used for the pro-
ductiOn of wheat and grass are now devoted to
its growth.
As this paper is not meant to be statistical BY
any means, no reference, not even the most
casual. will be made to the area occupied by, OF
the revenue derived from the tobacco grown in
this or any other country. That view of the
subject is cheerfully left to the gentleman who
as we see in the daily journals, fairly revels in
columns of figures. and becomes ecstatic over
census reports. the mere sight of which pro-
duceS in the present writer strong SYMPTOMS al
dementia. Neither will he-thongh greatly
tempted to show his readng-speak of opium
smoking i'm China, misunderstanding i'm Turkey
bhany and hasheesh- smoking in Arabia and
Hndoostan. Understanding in Manila and
India; meerschaunl-plpe smoking in Germany
and clay-pipe smoking all over the world, but
strictly cOrfine himself, with some slight and oc-
caslOnal depression. to the mode of cOnsump-
ton of cigars and cigarettes in our own great
country.
And first as to cigars. Almost every male
of no hoe
peculiar taste in the quality Of his cigars. and
usually his own peculiar mode of smoking them
Men of taste and refinement in other matters are
generally fastidiOus in the selection of their
OF the finest imported Havanas Yet this rule
does not invariably hold. for the writer knew.
at dinner party, an instance where a gentle
man, Senator of the United States q high
liver and cOnnOsseur of wines, disdainfuly cast
aside superb imported Reina Victoria and pro-
duced from his own case a domestic cigar of the
most violent flavor which lie proceeded to smoke
to his own satisfaction; but to the great disgust
OF the other guests. The writer also knew another
man, member of one of the legations. fastidiOus
IN every other respect. to hurry away from the
Ministers table to smoke a CLAW pipe
But these facts are the mere eccentricties of
smokers. and do not affect the general rule that
refined and cultivated tastes always seek the
hnest articles in all cases. There are of course,
some unfOrtunates who. gifted with all the APP
Il
circumstances over which they have no control
to select the inferior These are to be pitied
especially if they have not the courage to aban-
don all smoking until their fortunes improve
We have produced some great smokers as
well as great men in this country. but rarely in
combination. Gen. Grant is perhaps the most
signal instance of such combination: and how
ever men may differ as to his merits rs great
soldier. no one who enjoys the pleasure Of
knowing him can deny hismerits as gifted and
powerful smoker
A friend once said he made a calculation that
the value OF the cigars smoked by General Grant
during his campaigns would pay the whole cost
OF the late war and leave a respectable bal nee
TO begin the next. This was probably an exar-
geration. but he certainly did smoke a treat
many fine and costly cigars during the period
alluded to. The writer was a witness and partly
an actor when four of General Grants very
costly cigars were consumed or rather de
stroyed. in a very brief space of time Shortly
before tne close OF the war he had occasion to
bring some important dispatches to headauar-
tefs ana as soon as they We're opened and di-
geSted by the General an invitation to break fast
followed. after which q cigar was rendered and
accepted. and the General and the writer pro-
ceeded down toward the wharf.
This which was an entirely new structure
was of immense length and had been built to
replace the one destroyed by fire, the result
of an explosion of shells which were being
lanited Tor the use of the army. There had been
Il great loss of life from this accident, and to
guard against repetition of it the General ssued
an order that no smoking should be allowed on
the wharf. To carry out the order more effect
ualiy. sentrles had been posted at each end with
directions tn allow no one to pass with lighted
pipe or cigar The General. who desired to give
some instructions to the writer, to be adopted
on his return. had evidently forgotten the terms
OF his own order about smoking and stepped
on the wharf cigar in mouth.
He was immediately confronted by the sentry
(who happened to be a cOlored NAM, who pre-
sented arms most respectfully but added Peg
pardlng. Ginera but deres no smOkin' lowed
heah-" The General flung his cigar into the
James. the writer followed. and we proceeded
slowly down the wharf. Upon arriving at about
the center of it. the General stopped to empha-
size some particular he was DESTROYS to impress
upon me, when he mechanically took from his
breast pocket two other cigars handed me one.
and from his fusee case produced a light. After
we got our cigars well started he proceeded to-
ward the other end OF the wharf. entirely obliy-
l0us of the fact that there was another sentinel
there
Upon arriving at the end. however. the sentry
another cOlOred man, drew himself up to his full
height. saluted the General and immediately
added: Beg parding. Gin'ral but dere's no
snokin lowed heah-" WhereupOn the General
turned TO me and said: ..D-n these niogers.
lets 90 somewhere where We can smoke" and
flung his cigar into the river. which was fol-
lowed by mine. 1t was supposed at one time
that no cigar could be manufactured too strong
for General Grant but that proved a falIacy.
When he became President some friends, know
Ing his taste for high-flavOred cigars sent an
order to Havana for five thousand of the largest
and strongest cigars that could be made. cost
being no consideration. They were duly sent.
when the cigar was completed. to New York.
and cost without duty $500 thousand. or
eighty cents apiece. They We're so strong. how
ever. as not to be smokable, even by the Cen
eral. and he had to give most of them away to
any of his friends who would accept them
There are all sorts OfillusiOns ON the subject
OF cigars among smokers. but it NAV be set
down a an incOntestabe fact that there is but
one small spot on this round orb where tobac-
co suitable for the finest cigars grow and that
Is the district of Vuelta AbujO, in the Island of
Cuba. Like the sites of some of the famous
vineyards of the old country. it possesses exclu-
siyely all the qualities of soil. climate and stua-
ton that render its production So famous and
so unapproachable. With all these advantages.
however the best judges agree that TO enjoy a
perfect cigar, it must not only be made i'm but
smoked on the island All the talk about Kew
West cigars they scott at. and the argument
that they are made from Havana tobacco. and
by certain wOrkmen. goes for nothing with
them. They insist upon two points which they
say render it impossible for Key West to rival
Havana, and these are: First that il can not