78 ST NICOTINE 



of Russe had consulted on her friend's behalf the most 

 eminent physicians of the realm, Nicot, with commendable 

 promptitude, despatched to the king a quantity of the 

 weed, sending therewith precise instructions how to prepare 

 and administer it. With this first instalment he wrote 

 describing it as having a peculiarly pleasant taste, and 

 oddly enough, he bestowed upon it his own name, saying, 

 ' Nicotiane est une espcce d'herbe de vertu admirable 

 pour guerir toutes ulc^res et autre tels accidents au corps 

 humain.' This letter is said to be still preserved in the 

 Chateau Belem. To the Queen Mother he presented 

 seeds of the plant which she caused to be sown in the 

 royal gardens. This wondrous product of the new-found 

 world, where all was strange and clothed in the garb of 

 mystery, created a lively interest in France. But Europe 

 had hardly yet emerged from the glamour of the Dark 

 Ages, when every important event was governed by invisible 

 agencies, and magic alone could explain the inexplicable. 

 Catharine de Medici would secretly consult her magician 

 before entering upon any of her numerous dark designs. 

 Parenthetically it may be mentioned that George Buchanan, 

 the Scotch philosopher and tutor to our James I., had so 

 strong an aversion to Catharine de Medici that in one of 

 his Latin epigrams, where he alludes to tobacco being 

 called d'herbe Medici, he warns all who value their health 

 to shun the herb, not that in itself it is hurtful, but being 

 called by so vile a name it must needs become poisonous. 

 A single instance may suffice to indicate the kind of 

 interest the weed on its first introduction into France 

 awakened in the French court. Gathered round the 

 queen's table are some of the brightest wits of the gay 

 capital, discussing with eager curiosity the marvellous 

 story told of the Indian's herb in the despatch just received 



