Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-12-07
PooR JUDGES oF TosAcco.

Lack of Knowledge Of the Weed Pos-
 sessed by the Average Smoker.
 "I have come to the conclusion that the average smoker is poor judge of cigars" remarked young physician of prominence to a Detroit Free Press reporter, ''and to test the correct ness of my view of the matter made a test two or three days ago that strength ened my conviction.
 "While walking down Gratiot avenue Saturday afternoon met a small boy who importuned me to buy some cigars that he was carrying in box under his arm. The urchin claimed that he had been sent out to peddle the cigars, but suspect he didn't come by them any too honestly. However, exam ined the weeds and finally made the youngsters heart glad by giving him thirty cents for fifteen of them. Just out of curiosity lighted one of the alleged cigars, and oh! my countrymen, but it was rank! Concluding that liked cabbage boiled and served with corned beef rather than rolled into the shape of cigars I slowed my purchase away in my various pockets and deter mined to play a practical joke on a friend who brides himself on his epicu- rean tastes, and who makes great pre- tensions on being a superior judge of liquors and tobacco. Calling at'his office I seated myself for chat, and after a few moments desu1tory conversation drew two of the cabbage conchas es- pecialos from my cigar case-one of which had carefully wrapped in tin foil-and handing them to him, said: Here are some cigars, Frank, that l know you will enjoy. They were given me by an acquaintance who has just returned from Havana, and he assures me that they are the identical brands smoked by the wealthy Cuban gran dees. The one in tin-fon, which by the way would cost forty-fve cents in New York if bought by the wholesale, is the | stronger of the two, and would advise you to keep that for an after-dinner smoke The other is a thirty-fve cent CT: try that now.'
 ''My friend thanked me warmly for | my thoughtfulness in sharing my treat with him and applied match to the 'milder' cigar. After he had puffed a minute or two in silence he blew a mouthful of smoke full into my face and rapturously exclaimed:
 "'Ah, my boy, there is fragrance for | you! Oh, how soothing such cigar is. By my faith, could spend all my work ing hours in smoking had but such deli cious cigars as these at my commando "He continued talking in similar strain until the cigar was consumed. Placing the half-inch stub in small china receptacle he said:
 "'I'll keep this to remind me of the most satisfactory smoking experience | of my life, and after have dined will discuss the beauty wrapped in tin foil. ''Chuclkling involuntarily bade my friend good afternoon and left him tc gloat over the treat that awaited him after dinner. Meeting him the next morning he almost wrung my hand of as he told me of the pleasure that he hac derived the night before as he inhaled the 'highly-scented' smoke of the tin foil-wapped Havana.
 "'Why, do you know, my boy he said, with sparkling eyes, I never imagined that so much comfort, solace and soul satisfaction could be extracted from cigar as that I fairly bathed 1T last evening. That second cigar was poem in richly-tinted tobacco that sprang into life, blossomed and grew tc 1 ripeness under the warm tropic sun o1 | Cuba and absorbed as it ripened all the thousand and one delicious odors of thai gem of an island. If ever I accumulate a fortune, believe me, I will smoke nothing else but those Havana beautie: such as the two your generosity ha: enabled me to enjoy
 "Now, what do you think of tha from sensible, level-headed man Smokes some vile cabbage-leaf cigars, and just because he is told they are { choice importation goes into all sorts o1 rhapsodies over them. It establishes the correctness of my proposition-tha the average smoker is a poor judge O. cigars, and demonstrates the power O. mind over matter"