li TOBACCO AND ITS IJ I STORY. 



Elizabeth liaving passed away before the "sanctuary was 

 cleansed," James the First, on ascending the throne in 1603, 

 continued the Ojiposition against tobacco by issuing a book 

 called Misucapuhs, or Comiferhlmte. In this imperial volume, 

 his Majesty used strong language. Among other things, he 

 says : — 



"A custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harm- 

 ful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black 

 stinking fumes thereof nearest resembling the horiible stygian 

 smoke of the pit that is bottomless." Again, after stating that 

 the use of tobacco tends to lust and drunkenness, ho adds ; 

 'SSome gentlemen bestow three, some four hundred pounds a 

 year, u^ton this precious stink, * ^ which is a great inicpiity 

 and against all Jmmanity. * * Have you not reason then, 

 to l)e ashamed, and to forbear this filthy novelty, so basely 

 grounded, so foolishly received, and so grossly n)istaken in the 

 right use thereof?" 



"NV lulst the royal Coinderhlaste is b(^ing perused, the renowned 

 Robert Burton is compiling that remarkable volume, Anatomy 

 of Me\anchohj, in which he discusses the " burning (juestion'' 



pro and con, in the following strain : 



"Tobacco — divine, rare, superexcellent Tobacco, which goes 

 far beyond all the panaceas, potable gold, and philosoi)her's 

 stone, is a sov(>reign remedy in all diseases— a good vomit, I 

 conf(!ss, a virtuous herb if it b(> well qualified, opportunely 

 taken, and medicinally used ; but, as it is commonly abused by 

 most men, which take it as tinkers do ale 'tis a plague, a mis- 

 chief, a violent purger of goods, lands, lu.-alth,— hellish, devilish, 

 and damned Tobacco, the ruin and overthrow of body and soid." 

 The craze after Tobacco at that time was intense. Owing to 

 its demand in Europe, "the fields, the gardens, the public 

 scpuires, and even the streets of Jamestown were planted with 

 tol)acco, which soon became not only the staple but currency of 

 Virginia." In olden times, to gratify an insatiable appetite, 

 we are told the heathen " sold a girl for wine, that they might 



