How Pipes are made 175 



plans, his partner in joy and sorrow, is not to be 

 hastily chosen. He recognises the gravity and 

 responsibility of a pipe's position as his trusted 

 friend and companion. He will not court treachery 

 and faithlessness by a hasty choice that leads to 

 quick repentance. He once bought a pipe which 

 taught him a lesson. At first it smoked beautifully, 

 and he congratulated himself on his luck and judg- 

 ment. Then came a fall ; the brute turned nasty, 

 would not smoke smoothly, and, perforce, he was 

 compelled to throw it aside. All the trust he had 

 reposed in it was betrayed ; henceforth he selected his 

 pipe as he would a wife — for wearing qualities and 

 faithfulness. A pipe is the very image of true friend- 

 ship ; it grows better and sweeter with age. 



There are physical as well as social considerations 

 to be taken into account in choosing a pipe. In this 

 respect we cannot do better than quote a recent 

 paper in the Lancet on the respective hygienic merits 

 of pipes : 



'A soft clay is invariably cool smoking, because 

 the acrid oils obtained on the destructive distillation 

 of the tobacco are absorbed instead of collecting in 

 a little pool, which must eventually, either by the 

 volatilization or by mechanical conveyance, reach 

 the mouth. An old wooden pipe or briar, so dear 

 to inveterate smokers, becomes " smooth smoking," 

 because the pores of the wood widen, and so absorb, 

 as is the case with clay and meerschaum, a large 

 proportion of the tobacco oils. A hook-shaped pipe 

 must be better than a pipe the bowl of which is on 

 the same level as the mouth, for the simple reason 



