esence? True politeness would seem to require,
moreover, that even the feelings of _gentlemen_ should be respected. But
all sense of propriety seems to have fled before the indulgence of this
foolish habit. To such an extent has it obtained, that we meet it in the
kitchen, in the dining-room, and in the parlor; in every gathering of
men of business; in every party of pleasure; in our halls of
legislation; in our courts of justice; and even the sanctuary of God is
sometimes polluted by this loathsome practice. It is impossible to walk
the street without being constantly assailed by this noxious vapor, as
it is breathed from the mouths of all classes in community, from the
sooty chimney-sweep, to the parson in his sacerdotal robe. You can
scarcely meet a man in the street, with whom you have business, but he
pours a stream of smoke into your face, exceedingly disgusting. And this
he does too, without imagining that he transgresses the rules of
politeness, or gives you any cause of offence.

In these habits we resemble the _Aborigines_ of our country. They load
their huge pipes with the dried leaves of this plant, and when lighted,
they breathe the dark cloud of smoke from their mouth and nostrils, and
as it curls around their head, ascending towards heaven, they present it
as an offering to appease the anger of the Great Spirit. A mutual
influence has resulted from our intercourse with the Indian. We have
taught him how to debase himself below the brute, and destroy the quiet
of savage life by the use of our _whiskey_; and he, in return, has
taught us to destroy our constitutions, and interrupt the harmony of
civilized society, by the habitual use of his deadly narcotic.[E]

[Footnote E: The counsel given by the Journal of Health, is,
therefore, in perfect accordance with the principles of
medical philosophy. "Our advice is, to desist, immediately and
entirely, from the use of tobacco in every form, and in any
quantity, however small."--"A reform of this, like of all evil
habits, whether of smoking, chewing, drinking, and other
vicious indulgences, to be efficacious, must be _entire, and
complete_, from the very moment when the person is convinced,
either by his fears or his reason, of its pernicious tendency
and operation."]

Gentlemen, I have done. The subject, with a slight examination, is
before you. I have plainly and fearlessly expressed my opinion, without
intending to wound the fee