St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-08-18
EFFECTS OF SMOKING.
The Personal Experiences of the
Greatest Writers in France.

L CESOlIal VI wv
Greatest Writers in France.
Pail Mail Budget.
The French "Societe contre FAbus
du Tabac" has awarded medal to the
author of an essay on the use and abuse
of the weed. The writer. in collecting
his material, has applied to the most
eminent among contemporary French
authors for their OPP inion on the subject,
and has thus collected large number
of very interesting letters from men OF
letters of the most diverse schools. The
following are the verdicts of a few OF
the beSt-knoWn BmOng them:
n. Tame, who is best known IN this
country for his History of English Lit
erature," writes as follows: II regret
to say that | have neither notes nor per-
sonal reflections to communicate to you
on the subject you are treating, having
never occupied myself with it. To tell
the truth, smoke (cigarettes): it is an
amusement in idle moments and during
intellectual laziness, but it is a bad
habit, and often danger, as has been
shown in many cases. Since you have
noticed on your own person the effect OF
tobacco, you are competent to give
methodical monograph, which would be
very valuable, especially if you added
the experience of Germans, Dutch, Bel
gians, Englishmen and Americans, all
of whom smoked before US, to your ac-
count of the experience of Frenchmen."
NJ. lola has no time for long letters,
but mis- remarks are TO the point. He
says: 81 have no final opinion on the
question you put to me. Personally l
left off smoking some ten or twelve
years ago, OH the advice of physician,
at time when thought was suffer-
ing from heart disease. But to think
that tobacco has an influence on French
literature is so absurd that indeed sci
entific proofs ought to be given in order
to prove it. l have seen great writers
smoke a great deal, and their intelli-
gence did not suffer in consequence. II
genius is nervous affection. why cure
it? Perfection is so dull a thing that 1
often regret having cured myself Of
smoking"
Next comes NJ. Francois Coppee, the
Partisan poet, who is of opinion that to-
baeco is precious to the artists taste.
you have come to wrong quarter,
sir" he saws. II have been a great
smoker ever since l was eighteen or
nineteen years old. | am forty-seven
at present. l burn cigarettes all day
long. Never a pipe or cigar. only
cigarette, and throw it away after the
first puff or two. 1t is true my health
is rather bad. but l have no reason at
all for attributing my weak health to
the use of tobacco, which, on the con-
trary, shall consider, till have proofs
to the contrary, as a stimulant to work
and to dreams, and for the poet these
two words are synonyms" The latter
phrase the poet has probably borrowed
from Victor Hugo, whom Coppee holds
to have been 1.-The greatest lyric genius
which France has produced" Victor
Hugo says: Tobacco changes thought
into dream. Thought is the labor of the
intellect; dream is its pleasure. Woe to
him who falls from thoughts into
dreams! To replace thought by dreams
is to mingle a poison with nourish-
ments.
NJ. Dumas fls' letter is characteristic:
81 have alreadp replied to-day to one
letter on the subject. forget the name
of my correspondent; receive SO many
letteIs!" Il have advised him to 90 to
Angler and Feuillet, who are great
smokers before the Lord, and who have
almost died of it. |, who had, fortu
nately, begun very late to smoke, have
SlNCI IL up HOth ilS LdNlll5
become great habit, quickly acquired,
as are all bad habits, when | found that
tobacco made me giddy, the giddiness
disappearing six months after L ceased
smoking. Tobacco, in my opin-
ion, together with alcohol, is the most
formidable enemy of intelligence. but
nothing will do away with the abuse,
the majority being imbeciles in whom
tobacco finds nothing to destroy, but,
since it is not imqeciles with whom you
are occupied, try to convince the intel
ligent."
NJ. Octave Feuiilet is equally eloquent
in his denunciation, the terms of which
remind one of the speeches made at
Salvatlonist meetings by converts re-
lating their experience" II have been
a great smoker and it cost me great
deal of trouble to give up tobacco. But
! have been absolutely compelled to do
so, some years ago, by the aggravation
of fits of nervousness which for a long
time | refused to attribute to nicotine.
but which in reality had no other cause.
| was obliged to surrender to the truth
when the nervous fits became more fire.
quent and more intolerable. On the
whole. think tobacco is very injurious,
especially to nervous persons. 1t pro-
duceS first a slight excitement and in
toXicatiOn, which ends in somnolence.
1t blunts the faculties of the mind. One
is compelled to fight against its action
in a reaction which fatigues and wears
the will"