The pungent grains of titillating dust.
Sudden, with starting tears each eye o’erflows,
And the high dome re-echoes to his nose.”
The Zoolus of Southern Africa use a small gourd to carry their snuff, and a small ivory spoon with which to ladle out the dust. We remember many years ago an elderly gentleman who practised on the Zoolu plan, his snuff was carried loose in his waistcoat pocket, whence it was conveyed to his nose by means of a small silver spoon, which was always at hand for the purpose.
ZOOLU SNUFF GOURD AND SPOON.
As early as the beginning of the reign of James I., a “taker of tobacco” was furnished with an apparatus resembling that of a modern Scotch mull, when supplied with all the necessary implements. In 1609, Dekker, in his “Gull’s Horn Book,” says—“Before the meat come smoking to the board, our gallant must draw out his tobacco-box, the ladle for the cold snuff into the nostril, the tongs and priming iron; all which artillery may be of gold or silver, if he can reach the price of it.” In 1646, Howell describes the apparatus and practice of snuff taking as quite common in other countries; since, he says—“The Spaniards and Irish take tobacco most in powder or smutchin, and it mightily refreshes the brain; and I believe there’s as much taken this way in Ireland, as there is in pipes in England. One shall commonly see the serving maid upon the washing block, and the swain upon the ploughshare, when they are tired of their labour, take out their boxes of smutchin, and draw it into their nostrils with a quill, and it will beget new spirits in them with a fresh vigour to fall to their work again.”
The word printed “smutchin” by Howell, is stated to be more accurately “sneeshin,” a vulgar name for snuff which causes sneezing; and hence “sneeshin mill” (sometimes corrupted into “mull”) is the Scottish name for snuff-box. Dr. Jameson’s Etymological Dictionary may be considered as an authority in these matters; and from it we learn that the word “mill” is the vulgar name for a snuff-box, especially one of a cylindrical form, or resembling an inverted cone. No other name was formerly in use in Scotland; and the reason assigned for it is, that when tobacco was first introduced into this country, those who wished to have snuff, were accustomed to toast the tobacco leaves before the fire, and then bruise them with a piece of wood in the box, which was thence called a “mill,” because the snuff was ground in it. From all this, it is easy to perceive how a ram’s horn, from its conical shape, became one of the primitive forms of the Scottish snuff-box, although latterly it is often one of the most costly and luxurious.
In confirmation of the latter remark, it is only necessary to refer to an example in the Exhibition of 1851. Mr. W. Baird of Glasgow, exhibited a ram’s head beautifully mounted, as a snuff-box and cigar case. When alive, he must have been a noble sheep, for the circular horns measured no less than 3 feet 4 inches from root to tip. The cigar case was beautifully mounted, having on the top a splendid Scotch amethyst, surmounted with thistle wreaths in gold and silver, and set out with many fine cairngorms and small amethysts. The snuff-box cavity, occupied the centre of the forehead, the lid surmounted by a splendid cairngorm, and clustered with gold and silver wreaths and small precious stones. In fact, the head presented a perfect flourish of the most beautiful and gracefully disposed ornaments, and altogether the article was most unique. Attached thereto was a fine ivory hammer and silver spoon, pricker and rake, with a silver mounted hare’s foot. It ran on ivory castors upon a rosewood platform, surmounted by a glass shade. There were not less than nine hundred separate pieces of precious stones and metals used in the construction of this ornate article.
Down to the middle of the eighteenth century, the “sneeshin horn,” with spoon and hare’s foot attached to it by chains, appears to have been regarded as so completely a national characteristic, that when Baddeley played Gibby in “The Wonder,” with Garrick, he came on the stage with such an apparatus.