viii PREFACE. 
dominated not one particular nation, but the whole world, both 
Christian and Pagan. Ushered into the Old World from the 
New by the great colonizers—Spain, England, and France—it 
attracted at once the attention of the authors of the period as a 
fit subject for their marvel-loving pens. It has been the aim of 
the writer to give as much as possible of the existing material 
to be had concerning the early persecution waged against it, 
whether by Church or State. These accounts, while they invest 
with additional interest its early use and introduction, serve as 
well to show its triumph over all its foes and its vast importance 
to the commerce of the world. This work has been prepared 
and arranged, not only for the instruction and entertainment of 
the users of tobacco, but for the benefit of the cultivators and 
manufacturers as well. As such it is now presented to the public 
for whatever meed of praise or censure it is found to deserve. 
HartrorD, Conn., 1875. 
