On the contrary, no ingenuity has been spared to invent, improve or remodel the various vehicles by which the more exquisite and graceful practice of smoking may be enjoyed.
Although tobacco may have been indigenous to America, yet we have the assertion of Professor Beckman to corroborate the fact, that this plant was known to the Tartars long before the discovery of America. As early as the year 1610 a native Turk was paraded through the streets of Constantinople with a pipe transfixed through his nose, as the penalty of indulging in the pastime of smoking, which was then in great disrepute.
Indeed, if we may credit tradition, Mohammed himself predicted “that in times to come there should be men, bearing the name of Mussulmans, but not really such, who should smoke a certain weed called Dükhan, or Tobacco.”
Tobacco was introduced into England soon after the discovery of Columbus, by Sir Walter Raleigh, and thence found its way into Europe; but not until fifteen years after do we hear of it among the Turks, whence it seems that the Orientals must have acquired their knowledge of this plant through some other channel, most probably from their Tartar neighbors. But from whatever clime we first derived this fragrant weed, there is no doubt that the earliest method of using it was in a pipe, and not in the form of cigars, or by imbibing the juice by chewing—which latter practice was unknown to the early lovers of tobacco, and is unpractised by the Orientals even at this day.
As the aromatic plant by degrees became essential to the happiness of mankind, even including the fair sex, doubtless the inconvenience of the pipe suggested the idea of a more portable form, whence the invention of cigars.
In Holland, in 1570, they smoked out of conical tubes, made of palm-leaves plaited together; and subsequently the leaf of the plant was rolled up, and the present form of cigars adopted. The only recommendation to the form of cigars is their convenience; but many amateurs pretend that they thus attain a stronger relish of the tobacco than from pipes. The cigar is certainly strong in its fumes, but whether the relish is greater is a matter to be questioned, and in this form the injurious and even poisonous properties of the plant are imparted to the system. Besides, there is the close proximity of the fire to the mouth and teeth; secondly, the condensation of the essential oil on the lips, leaving a yellow tinge around the mouth; thirdly, the gradual dissolving of the end of the cigar in the mouth, producing, by its nicotine property, irritation of the gums and the salivary glands; fourthly, there is the necessity of always holding the cigar, which in the course of time imparts a dingy hue to the fingers; fifthly, the danger of injuring the clothes and furniture by the constant falling of the ashes; sixthly, the eyes suffer from their proximity to the heated fumes; and last, but not least, there is the satisfaction of imbibing the nectar-juice of some black mouth, for the black nymphs who are employed in this manufacture, always salivate their handiwork, by way of giving it a smooth and handsome finish. Surely, could our amateurs but witness the manufacture of their favorite Havanas, they would forever eschew that form of the aromatic weed.
But apart from all these considerations, the very convenience of the cigar becomes an objection; for being always at hand, the too frequent use of it has converted the pleasure into an evil—such a constant craving being excited that even the health is injured. Doubtless this perverted taste, in circumstances where smoking has not been permitted, as on board ships, behind counters, in offices, etc., has induced the pernicious practice of chewing.
Those nations who retain the original, natural, and simplest mode of enjoying the weed, have never relinquished the pipe, but have varied the form of this implement, and much beautified and improved it. The people who have retained the use of the pipe, are the Dutch, Irish, English, Scotch, Germans, Russians, Turks, Persians, and all Orientals. In the perfection of the art of smoking the Persians may rank first, then the Osmanlis, Russians, Hungarians, Dutch, English, and last of all the Germans.
The Persians rank high in this respect, because they have studied the philosophy of enjoying the fumes of tobacco in their greatest purity. This they have attained by passing the smoke through water, and thus purifying it from the essential oil of the plant. The kaleon of the Persians, the hookah of Hindostan, the shishé of the Arabs, or the narghillé of the Turks, is an air-tight vessel partially filled with water, on the top of which is a bowl to contain the ignited tobacco. From this bowl a tube descends into the water, and the long and flexible pipe is inserted into the vessel above the level of the water. When the smoker begins to draw through the pipe, a partial vacuum is created in the vessel, which occasions the pressure of the external air to force the smoke of the tobacco downward through the small tube above mentioned into the water beneath, where, after losing its solid particles, it bubbles up into the vacant space above, and thence through the pipe to the mouth of the smoker.
But ever since the peculiar and agreeable properties of this fragrant plant have been known, the ingenuity of its votaries has been excited to invent and improve the ways and means of obtaining the greatest amount of satisfaction from its use.