He who doth not smoke hath either known no great griefs, or refuseth himself the softest consolation next to that which cometh from heaven. “What, softer than woman?” whispers the young reader. Young reader, woman teases as well as consoles. Woman makes half the sorrows which she boasts the privilege of soothing. On the whole, then, woman in this scale, the weed in that—Jupiter! hang out thy balance and weigh them both; and, if thou give the preference to woman, all I can say is, the next time Juno ruffles thee, O Jupiter, try the weed!
Bulwer Lytton (What will He do with It?)
Compare Kipling in “The Betrothed”:—
A woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a smoke.
Il y a toujours l’un qui baise, et l’autre qui tend la joue.
(There is always one who kisses and the other who offers the cheek.)
Author not traced.
Ah, wasteful woman, she who may