Wichita eagle., 1888-04-26
( THE CIGAR IN ITALY.
Eight Inches Long, with a Straw Down
the Center-The Popular "Virginia."

Eight Inches Long, with a Straw Down
the Center-The Popular "Virginia.''
Ny first experience of an Italian opera
performed in Italy was to say the least of it,
peculiar. This was at the Arena National, of
Florence, and the opera given was II Due
Foscari,n by Verdi. The house is shaped like
circus, only the ring, or arena, was filled
with rows of roughly made straw chairs.
Round the sides there are tiers of rising seats,
as at circus and above one circle of spacious
boxes. A low roof comes down Immediately
over the boxes. There is no gallery, no place
where the goods" could perch or peanuts be
thrown. On the floor or pit of the house, in
the circle, in the boxeS-everywhere, in fact,
a seething multitude of people were assidu-
ously occupied smoking long Virginia"
cigars. These are the eight-inch long Italian
cigars, with a straw down the center They
are an institution in themselves, the peculi-
arity being that the greatest ingenuity is dis
played to render it impossible to light such
cigars Smokers, on the other hand, are
equally patient and clever in overcoming
these difficulties.
The only certain way of lighting this
weed is, first of all, to extract, with a firm,
straight strong pull, the little thin piece of
| &
| cigar must be held in sIanting manner to-
wards q fame patiently and steadily, till the
one end of the cigar is sufficiently burned for
the smoke to travel of itself up the straw
and come out at the upper end, just as if it
were chimney. To do this effectively, it is
necessary to burn several wax matches in
succession. 1t was not till | was initiated in
this mystery that l could understand why
i al
were offered for sale in the streets; for to
this complication in lighting the cigar must
be added the fact that Italians, in the ex-
element Of conversation, allow the cigar to
90 out half dozen times before they have
quite finished smoking it. At the restau-
rants it is customary to serve candle with
cigars at dessert. On the side of the candle
is affixed a little silver wire rest, on which
the cigar may be placed SO that the end is in
the fame. BY the time the dessert is fin
ished, the cigar is Lit and can be smoked
without difficulty. Such is the Italian ''Vir-
ginia," the most popular of all smokes in
Italy.
In Austria, also, / found many persons
give it the preference, despite its recalcitrant
characteristics. The ''Cavour," another
Italian speciality, is not so long nor SO thin,
nor SO black, nor SO strong. 1t has no straw
in the center, and it is very easy to light, but
it is not particularly popular. AS for the
cigarettes, they seemed to me dear and not
particularly good. The Italian government
is not, however, SO strict as the French;
foreign cigars and cigarettes, after being
duly taxed, can be sold anywhere. In France
these are only to be obtained in one or two
shops and at exorbtant prices, In French
towns, unless frequented by the wealthiest
classes, the foreign cigar and cigarette are
not TO be obtained at all, and the smoker
must be satisfied with what the government
tobacco factories place on the Uarket.-Cor.
Philadelphia Telegraph.