Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1895-05-08
LOVERS OF THE WEED.
A Cigar Dealer Gossips About the Pecul'
iarities of His Customers.

ga cigar store is good place to study
human nature" said tho proprietor of
we'll known cigar store to an Indianap-
oils News reporter. 'sHere is perhaps as
good place as one can find to study
men. Among my customers are people
of all classes, and here are shown many
traits of character which would not crop
out in another way perhaps in a years
acquaintance with an individual
''That old fellow you see getting out
of the carriage across the street will be
in to see me before he drives back to his
home. He is retired South Meridian
street merchant and has money to throw
at the birds, but he doesn' t throw any of
it for cigars either, though he smokes as
many perhaps as any other man in the
city. lose money on him right along
and would refuse to deal with him at
all if it were not for fear Of losing the
really good trade of his two sons. I more
than make even off them what lose on
his trade. He buys only one grade Of 5
cent goods. He buys only them by the
hundred, and generally see his face
about twice week, and he generally
brings back about half the cigars he
buys and gets credit on a new purchase.
If cigar does not burn to suit him, he
lights another and carefully places the
discarded one ina box to be returned to
me.
"The brand he'smokes is unfavored,
but he often detects suspicion Of o
flavor, and whenever this happens the
particular weed is consigned to the re
turn box and is ultimately exchanged
for new cigar at my expense. sup
pose I am to blame for getting myself
into the position. 1t came about in this
way: He complained one dayof the last
box of cigars that he bought, saying they
were badly rolled and did not smoke
we'll He said he had thrown half Of
them away. Well, just gave him nice
box and told him that any time any
cigars he bought were not satisfactory to
let me know, and would make it right.
The next time he came half dozen had
been bad. and made an allowance on
his purchase. After that he adopted the
plan of returning the bad ones and has
done it now for several years.
ga cigar dealer has to be very eau
tious and diplomatic with some people,
or he will either let them smoke up all
his profit or will drive away trade,
which, if properly handled, is really
worth having. There are some people
who seem to believe that their cigar man
is under lasting obligations to them for
smoking his goods. They expect to be
rewarded with box of Havanas every
third day for buying perhaps box in a
month. Why, introduced this cigar to
the boys at the club, said one of them
to me when he thought I was close for
not making him present of box of
them. He may have done SO, but the
truth is that I don't sell enough of those
cigars in year to afford to give away
single box.
"Then there is the fellow who is a
regular customer-buys a cigar every
morning perhaps. He comes in then in
the evening and tries to buy Sc pipe
for So and wants you to give him q ci
gar in the bargain. He is not bit slow
about asking for the cigar either.
81 have many ladies among my GUS
toners. There are more ladies IN Indi-
annapolis who smoke cigarettes than one
would suppose. Cigarette smoking is not
confined, as you may suppose, to the
women of the demimonde class. 1 sell
lots of them to ladies of good families
Oh, no. They don't come after them
themselves, but I often know who the
messenger boy is buying for. Most fre-
quently they send a servant after them,
and it is not hard in this way to identi-
fly the smoker. Then have another way
by which can verify my statement that
ladies are becoming addicted to the ciga-
rette habit. I can go to social gather
ing and pick out from among fifty ladies
all who smoke. can tell by their eyes.
may miss one, but will never fail to
strike the smoker, if she has been smok-
ing for as long as six months to any
great excess. The habit gives the eyes
peculiar dull, CLASSY appearance not pro-
duced by anything else that is at all
general :"