CHINESE AND JAPANESE PIPES. 213 



time, the tobacco used being cut into very fine shreds, 

 and sometimes supplied by a servant at every inha- 

 lation. The Chinese have a tradition that tobacco 

 was introduced with the Yuen dynasty, a. d. 1800. 

 But most things connected with China are difficult of 

 substantiation, and ask for a large amount of faith.* 

 The only country of the Indian Archipelago, in the 

 annals of which any direct mention is made of the date 

 in which tobacco was first introduced, is Java. This 

 refers to the year 1601, or one hundred and eighteen 

 years after the discovery of America, and ninety years 

 after the first appearance of the Portuguese in the 

 waters of the Archipelago. It was therefore most 

 probably introduced through them to the Chinese. 



"We conclude our specimens with a Japanese pipe of 

 silver, inlaid with flowers and insects in enamelled 



copper ; the central portion is formed of cane, for con- 

 venience of holding. 



Cigars are of comparatively recent use in England. 

 Heavy duties, and absolute prohibition, helped to keep 

 a knowledge of cigars out of the country. America 

 and Spain indulge freely in their use : in the former 

 country leaves of pure tobacco are rolled into the 



* It is asserted by some writers that the plant anciently smoked by the 

 Chinese was not tobacco, but a different herb, smoked in a similar way, 

 and that they were led to the substitution of tobacco by the example of 

 the Europeans. 



