40 tobacco; its use and abuse. 



ounces of bread per man, they furnished him with three 

 farthings' worth of bad tobacco. During the conquest 

 of Holland, Louvois paid more attention to furnishing 

 tobacco than provisions ; and even at this day, as well as 

 in former times, more care is tal^en to procure tobacco 

 than bread to the soldier. Every soldier was obliged to 

 have his pipe and his match." 



48. Constant relates the following anecdote of the 

 great Napoleon : ." Napoleon," says he, " once took a 

 fancy to smoke, for the purpose of trying a very fine 

 oriental pipe presented to him by a Turkish or Persian 

 ambassador. Preparation having been made — the fire 

 having been applied to the recipient — nothing more was 

 to be done than to communicate it to the tobacco, but 

 that could never be efi'ected in the way taken by his 

 majesty for that purpose. He contented himself with 

 opening and shutting his mouth alternately, without the 

 least in the world drawing in his breath. 'How the 

 devil,' cried he at last — ' that does nothing ! ' I made 

 him observe, that he made the attempt badly, and showed 

 him the proper mode of doing it. But the emperor 

 always returned to his kind of yawning. Wearied by 

 his vain attempts, he at last desired me to light the pipe. 

 I obeyed, and returned it to him in order. But scarcely 

 had he drawn in a mouthful, when the smoke, which he 

 knew not how to expel from his mouth, turned back into 

 his palate, penetrated into his throat, and came out by 

 the nose and blinded him. As soon as he recovered 

 breath — ' Take that away from me — what abomination ! 

 Oh, the swine ! — my stomach turns ! ' In fact, he felt 

 himself so annoyed for at least an hour, that he renounced 



