74 SMOKERS' STORIES. 



and repulsive flavor reached one's mar- 

 tyred lips through the tube of a straw. 

 Civilization has truly altered such early 

 simplicity. Spain, Turkey, and Havana 

 have yielded up to us the most precious 

 treasures of their smoke-enwrapt dream- 

 land ! and our lips can now filter the per- 

 fumed vapor of odoriferous leaves which 

 have crossed the sea at our summons. 

 Do not ask me to describe the charms of 

 the reverie, or the contemplative ecstasy 

 into which the srnoke of our cigar 

 plunges us. Words are powerless to ex- 

 press or define these " states "; they are 

 vague and mysterious, as unseizable as 

 the sweetly scented clouds which are- 

 emitted from your " Mexico " or your 

 " Panatella." Only let me tell you that 

 if you have ever found yourself extended 

 upon a divan with soft and downy 

 cushions, on some winter's evening, be- 

 fore a clear and sparkling fire, enveloping 

 the globe of your lamp or the white light 

 of your wax-candle with the smoke of a 



