Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-05-12
THE MEERsCHAUM CENTENARY.
100 Years Since the Ideal Pipe was
Presented to World of Smokers.
Courier des Etats Unis)

presented TO WORTH Oh shohS'Ss
Courier des Etats Unis)
The centenary Of the tall hat was not
quite so brilliant as its promoters expect
ed and the lovers of anniversaries VIII
be glad to learn that there is still an
other chance for them TO exercise their
zeal In the centenary of the meerschauin
pipe. 1t now lacks only a few weeks or
being just one hundred years since the
French smokers enjoyed their first i'm
ported pipes of slicate magnesia, and just
fifty years since these pipes were hrst
manufactured in France.
According TO the best authorities upon
the subject, the idea of using white tale
in the manufacture of pipes Is OF COM
paratively recent date. compared with the
age of the habit OF smoking, and what
is still more curious is the TACT mat III
the Oriental countries, which produce
white tale or meerschaum, as II Is Called
and where the use of tobacco forms part
of the education OF the faithful, the peo-
pie never dream of making this substance
into pipes. They make bowls and goblets
of 1t. but no pipes. 1t may be that the
long pipe-stems which allow the smoke to
cool and lose its acridity before. reaching
the mouth leave the Oriental smoker
quite Indifferent in regard TO the quality
of the bowl. At all events, one never
sees Turk with meerschaum pipe.
gary toward the close Of the eighteenth
century, and were afterward sold at the
fairs of Lepsic and Frankfort. Then the
Viennese went into the business, and sold
their products, which were made on
uniform model, at exorbitant prices. They
knew where TO procure the raw material,
in regard TO the nature of which the
smokers and the chemists. too, were very
much divided in their judgment.
AT first il was thought that the sub
invented
chant named GUNNER, and the learned
Of the period took advantage OF their
erudition to make fun OF the ignorant
who called ii meerSchaum or equine DE
mer instead Of GUNNER, an objectionable
barbarism, in their opinion. Ii was also
claimed by others that the thing was
merely trituration or egg shells blended
with some particular oil. TO distinguish
the genuine meerschaum from the bogus,
the wiseacres prescribed a simple method,
consisting of sticking a needle through
the bowl when it was hot. After the
piercing the hole should close up inn
mediatey. leaving no mark: That was
the infallible old-time proof of genuine
meerschaum, but those who tried II must
have become convinced that the real ma
terial was very rare, indeed
When by analysis the nature OF the SUD
stance was proved beyond doubt, the
discoveries of mines and quarries OF white
tale became numerous. At the price az
which the material was sold, and Is sun
sold. the search for ii was certainly worth
the trouble The seekers declared, ana
probably with some degree Of reason, that
there was nothing to prove that Anatont
had a monopoly of the production OF pure
silicate of magnesia, and they started 10
hunt for 1t almost everywhere. In 1851
one of the Paris papers took it's readers
into its confidence and revealed the secret
that the quarries OF Montmartre were
full of the precious material that people
were taking long Journeys TO procure;
discovery sufficient
into the shade the adventures OF Rocam-
bole himself. But, unfortunately, the
high hopes of the good people of Mont
martre were doomed TO disappointment;
Later the geographers affirmed that the
Crimea was the land Of promise for those
who were seeking magnesh quarries.
During the siege OF Sebastopol q, captain
i'm the engineer corps, while digging I,
trench, fancied that ne had struck one OF
those precious deposits, and at the close
of the war brought back for his share OF
the booty box containing some blocks
of the material which he had found while
under fire. He presented his specimens
to a Partisan manufacturer and asked
him TO turn them as quickly as possible
into pipes, which he intended 10 present
to some of his brother officers as souVe-
Mrs of the Crimea. The manufactures
told the story as follows:
This officer now returned with the
epaulettes of a colonel made haste TO
pay me the visit which he had previously
announced by letter. and showed me his
find. The appearance OF the material was
fine and bore so strong resemblance 10
meeT schaum that trained eye might
easily at first sight be deceived by 1t.
did not like personally TO disappoint him.
My foreman undertook the painful task.
He took up one of the blocks, examined II
infinitely for some little time.
"'Well, my friend said the Colonel.
you are going to make us some hand
some meerschaum pipes
"'You mean chalk pipes, Colonel
"'What: Chalk
That's just what 1t is. but must adj
nit that never saw anything OF the kind
that could compare with 1t in quality. II
would be just the thing for the tailors.'
"And. going over 10 the door Of the
workshop. he traced some clear lines
with the supposed meerschaum."
Several European specimens of what
was believed to be genuine meerschaum,
on being examined, were found TO be
similar 10 the one described above. In
| reality, Asia Minor is the only country
where the real thing exists and IL was
q French merchant, Il. Carbon. who. in
1877, established the first direct relations
between Europe and those distant re-
gions in Asia Minor where the ta!c Exists.
His travelling Impressions, gathered In
that country, were published in little
volume full of humor and giving all the
dramatic episodes of his bold attempt.
Even at the present time travelling Is
not very safe in that country, but half
n century ago a trip there might almost
be called rash. Carbon was regularly
black-mailed by the functionaries of seve-
raj districts. and was captured and rob-
bed by brigands in the less civilized por-
tions of the country. In short. he re-
turned with nothing but the cargo, which
| the pirates imagined was mere rubbish,
not worth confscating But he managed
10 establish communication with the
Arabs, with a view TO procuring the de-
sired material. The result for French
trade was something that nobody could
afford to despise. France was freed from
the German monopoly In meerschaum.
and on account OF the variety of the
| models French pipes became the mis-
tress I'm that branch OF trade in the Euro
pean market. The manufacture OF meer-
schaum pipes In France. which In 1860
| was not even mentioned by the report OF
| the commission inquiring into Partisan in
| dustries. now amounts TO millions OF
| francs a year.
] 1t would be well to inaugurate bust
| TO Carbon at the coming centenary, and
TO have 1t made Of the purest meer-
schaum S.
Latest from the Wires.
Montreal.--The Quebec provincial cleo
tions were held. and resulted I'm a COM
plete overthrow Of the Conservative party.