82 TOBACCO. 



to a shooting match as of old, he accepted. He 

 could not even aim straight, still less could he hit 

 a mark, however near. The virtue had all gone 

 out of him. He made up his mind to stop short, 

 but his sufferings were pitiable, the miserable slave 

 continually fumbling in his pockets after the longed- 

 for weed. 



Mr. Hanlan, the victor of the international boat- 

 race, said before he left England : " In my opinion, 

 the best physical performances can only be secured 

 through the absolute abstinence from alcohol and 

 tobacco. This is my rule. In fact, I believe that 

 the use of liquor and tobacco has a most injurious 

 effect upon the system of an athlete, by irritating 

 the vitals and consequently weakening the system." 



Does not the same reasoning apply even more 

 strongly to the soldier ? No man, surely, has greater 

 need of unflinching nerve and never-failing endur- 

 ance. For no man is the best possible physical 

 condition of more supreme importance. The Duke 

 of Wellington complained of the excessive use of 

 tobacco by his soldiers, and attempted to restrain 

 it. Another distinguished English officer, Gen. 

 Markham, was so convinced of the injurious effects 

 of this drug, that he neither smoked himself nor 

 allowed any of his personal staff to do so. 



Mr. Meadows tells us, in the British Quarterly 

 Review, that, in China, "the soldier who smokes 

 tobacco is bambooed." 



In a letter to Dr. Lizars, Mr. Anton writes : 

 "lam convinced that a soldier who is an inveter- 



