Curing a Headache.
"The specimens which came in the reign of James I., southward, did not command much respect or admiration from our countrymen; indeed they were the bulls at which every satirist hurled his shafts, and blunt must have been that one which did not pierce some potent folly of language or manner. The town rang with anecdotes of their rags, beggary, and quarrels; ballad-singers made merry at their expense, and the stage resounded with uncomplimentary allusions. Indeed, in one of the most popular plays of that period, the king himself was not spared, and the actors (Ben Jonson among them) had very nearly lost their ears for their boldness. Nor was it at least for a hundred and fifty years after this period that the Scotch became noted for that enterprise and talent which now distinguish them.
"We do not deny that the union may have developed their traits, but it is clear that within that time snuff had become a national stimulant. To the observer of men and manners there is something very characteristic in the various fashions in which the pinch of snuff is taken. 'The exercise of the snuff-box,' as it was once termed, was an acknowledged science, but few were the great proficients who could mutely express their feelings by its aid. We have not space to run through all its exercise, but we may mention the 'pinch military,' which Frederick, and after him, Napoleon practiced inhaling snuff copiously, and with much waste, as though it were human life they were throwing away; the 'pinch malicious,' of which Pope was perfect master; the 'pinch dictatorial,' which burly Jonson established; the 'pinch sublimely contemptuous,' such as Reynolds took when some travelling virtuoso hinted at excellence away from Leicester-square, and ruffled his complacent vanity; and, above all, the 'pinch polite,' which Talleyrand understood so well.
"From snuff to sneezing is but a step, which we purpose taking before we bring this cursory article to a close. The act of sneezing appears to have been variously regarded at various stages of the world's history, but from the earliest times of which we have any authentic record, it has been the customs of those around to give vent to a short benediction immediately upon its commission. The Robbins considering themselves bound to find a reason for this universal custom, and being hard pressed, gave the somewhat incomprehensible explanation that, previous to Jacob, man sneezed but once in his lifetime, and then immediately before death; so that those around, warned of his imminent journey, hastened to wish it a good termination. How it was that Jacob instituted a new order of things we are not told, but as a proof of the truth of their assertion they give the fact that in all nations of the earth a similar custom will be found existing.
"Strangely enough this assertion was corroborated by the first colonists of America, who found the habit to be in common use amongst the aboriginal tribes. The Greeks and Romans certainly had a similar habit, but far from attaching any ill-omen to the sneeze they regarded it as of good augury. Thus Catullus assures us that when Cupid upon a memorable occasion sneezed, all:
'The little loves that waited by
Bowed and blessed the augury.
And in the 'Life of Themistocles,' Plutarch informs his readers that sneezing by the General on the eve of a battle was regarded as a certain sign of conquest. Strangely enough we find that in comparatively modern times, the custom of giving expression to good wishes when a friend sneezed was attributed to the fearful plague which periodically swept over Europe. Sneezing was one of its first and most dangerous symptoms, and those who were by, as they gathered their robes about them and fled from their doomed fellow-creature, would ejaculate a quick 'God bless you,' hurriedly invoking from a more merciful quarter the aid they feared to give. Violent sneezing was not only among the first, but was one of the last fatal signs of that fearful scourge, and was often too rapidly followed by death to give time for more than a short benediction. Anyhow, the custom still exists and one of the most pleasant reminiscences attached to the first pinch of snuff is the chorus of hearty good wishes of sympathizing friends which follows upon the inevitable sneeze."