THE TOBACCO NUISANCE. 61 



that it lU'ithei- benefits liody noi' liraiii; tliat it rondors me of- 

 fensive to those with whom I iiiiist meet and min,i,d(> ; that its 

 tomlencies are not condueivc to sobriety; and that it gives ocoa- 

 sion to the enemies of my ^lastei- to speak against the puritv of 

 liis chui-rli and the piety of his peojile : if all this is true, then 

 tlien' is nothing left me to do but to abstain. And belicviu" 

 as T do most (irmly, tliat it promotes no man's spirituality, ren- 

 ders him no help in the l)attle of life with the world, tlie flesli, 

 and the devil ; furnishes a \vea[)on for the use of the ungodly 

 wliieh they are only too ready to make use of, and that I can- 

 not carry it to the tiirone of grace and ask upon it tlie blessing 

 of my Father and my ( Jod, there is only one consistent course 

 open to me, and that is entire abstinence; ;ind if such a course 

 is right and proper for me, it certainlv cannot be wroni; for von. 

 P(!rhaps you will seek to Justify your use of tin; weed, as 

 many others have done and still do, l)ecause certain medical 

 men whose professional standing is liigh, and wliose intluenco in 

 the commnnity is great, are users of the weed also. I regret 

 very much indeed that such is the case, l)ut it does not follow 

 by any moans that their practice is in accord with their opinion. 

 Ask tlicse men to give you their own \ iews on the subject, and 

 r venture to say that nine out (jf excry ten who use it will 

 advise you not to do so. \'arious reasons c;in be given for 

 tlieir scheming inconsistency. .Some actpiired the habit when 

 mere boys, an<l it has grown with their gi-owth, and strength- 

 ened with their strength, until it has obtained the complete 

 mastei-y over them, or at least they think so. !^ome liavc l)een 

 recommended to use it for one cause and some for another, and 

 despite their better judgment they have done as directed. But 

 as I have never yet met a father who used it himself who 

 advised his boys to imitate his example, there are few, 

 it any, }>hysicians to Ix; found to-day among those wlioso 

 opinions aie entitled to any weight who will advise a young 

 man to take up this dirty and disagr(>eable practice. 



