The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1901-10-11
CHARACTER IN sMO<IhG.
Eaaciful TheoYies Abox4 BaAitn 81
Tobacco Osers.


Tobacco Osess.
A man may possess a most secretiTe
nature; he may have q face as destitute
Of meaning rs stone wall and manner
of speech absolutely nOAcommittal, but
watch him over his cigarette; note his
manner OF holding II between his bps or
his fingers; see how he puffs the smoke
out OF his mouth, what he does with the
ash, IL no eOnsumes the cigarette to q
mere stump or throws II away half fin
ishcd. and, sure as fate. you will read his
character like book. Cigarette, I said,
for q cigarette and O cigar In a lesser
degree are mach hotter character reveal
ers than a pipe. A man sticks pipe In
to the side of his mouth and puHs away.
and there's an end Of 1t. You discover
next to nothing unless indeed no happens
to puff very Violently, which ia q certain
indication OF q .neEvoua, Irritable temper.
From the SLING OF a pipe, 70 be sure,
many luminous httle hints may be gath
cred. You see a man stuff bis bowl
quickly and lavishly, letting loose threads
of tobacco dangle over the brim while he
applies the match. II he be net good
natured, generous to n fault, carolecs. IN
dolent, quick 30 make friends, quick to
forget them, shall be much astonished.
One notices meR very often tasins their
cigars from an upper waistceat pocket
into which they have been stuffed. Zoe
poor to buy themselves a cigar case? Not
a bit of 1t, but too untidy to keep one or
too lazy to arrange their cigars into enc.
And the same men almost invariably bite
the tips off their cigars instead Of using a
penknife or a cigar clipper, shocking
habit that not merely fills the mouth with
tobacco grit. but disarrangee the outer
leaf. often spelling an otherwise excellent
smoke.
The cigar once happily prepared for
smoking, observe how your map holds Il
between his teeth. But stny! The oper-
alton of lighting has also Its interest.
The tobacco epicure grips his cigar not
merely with his teeth wAen applying the
match. but with the finger and thumb oe
his left hand also and between every
third puff draws the weed from his mouth
and examines the glowing 0nd in order to
make SURF that it has been ignited equal
ly all II nd.
The ma iority of maa hold thGiR cigars
with the front teeth and puff the smoke
out on either side Of Ii. A large minor
ity hold them Ia the conner Of the mouth.
SO that II you happen 10 he walking he
hind them on a lark night you catch
sight OF the glowing end protruding Just
below the ear. Others. again-and these,
as a rule. are persons of viNaoious tenn
peramcnt-seldom kecp their cigars foe
two consecutive moments between their
lips. They take a few puffs, and then
the cigar Is given a vest between finger
and thumb.
A man of determined character, ener-
getic. pugnacious. impatient. often he
trays himself by giving his cigar an up
ward tilt while consuming TIA farorite
method with the Yankee. 10 whom the
above epithets are distinctly applicable.
The coatemplative. dreamy Individual
will let 1t droop toward his chin, while
level headed persons-and fortunately
they form the vast majority-hold theirs
horizontally. Naturally insolent people
frequently omit to remove the Cigar from
their mouths when speaking TO you,
while others of a sullen. brooding dispO-
sition chew the end into horrible pulp.
And is there anything more eloauent Of
stinginsss than the habit. largely in
dulged In By Germans, of sticking the
stump of a cigar on the small blade Of
penknife and consuming II oatil the glow
almost touches the lips aRoyal Maya
Hine.