2 86 The Soverane Herbe 



by his sides were laid his china-bowled pipe and a 

 box of matches, and steel, flint and tinder. In 

 accordance with his will all the smokers of Rotter- 

 dam were invited to the funeral, and, instead of the 

 old-fashioned mourning -rings, each was presented 

 with lo pounds of good tobacco and two pipes 

 bearing Van Klaes' arms. All the mourners smoked 

 during the funeral service, and at the words, ' Ashes 

 to ashes, dust to dust,' shook the ashes out of their 

 pipes on to the coffin-lid. By a further bequest a 

 sum of money was provided for the distribution 

 every year of lo pounds of tobacco among the poor 

 of Rotterdam. It is worth noting that Van Klaes 

 amassed a fortune during his smoking life. He 

 died about thirty years ago. 



Smoking is essentially the temperate man's recrea- 

 tion, and in it there has never been that competition 

 which marks other hobbies. Smokers are shy about 

 revealing the size of their weekly tobacco-bill ; they 

 draw back and equivocate when asked how much 

 they smoke a week. Some few, chiefly novices, 

 boldly brag of the quantity they smoke, but the 

 average smoker is more than a little reluctant about 

 it. But it is a question which should be faced. 

 Every smoker should fix a maximum, within which 

 he should restrain his appetite. If this is not done 

 there is the danger of becoming a slave to the 

 herb. Place a limit on your pipe. If, for instance, 

 you smoke 4 ounces a week, you should resolve 

 never to smoke more than half a pound a week. 

 By this means you experience all the moral exhilara- 

 tion and virtuous glow which come from keeping a 



