narcotic qualities, benumbs the senses and renders the individual less conscious of his distress, he takes it for granted that he is materially relieved, and knows not, poor man, that it is all delusion. Thus, instead of taking the only rational method, that of adapting the quantity of food to the powers of digestion, he pursues a course which continues to weaken the organs of digestion and assimilation, and at length plunges him into all the accumulated horrors of dyspepsia, with a complete prostration of the nervous system.

But it has been said, that smoking will cure the tooth-ache; and we should have recourse to any means for the removal of so painful a disease. That it will, as a powerful sedative, lessen the pain, and sometimes even altogether remove tooth-ache, is probably true; but why continue the practice after the occasion has ceased? Opium and calomel, judiciously administered, will relieve cholera morbus; but whoever thought of making them an article of diet, because from their application he had experienced relief in that dangerous complaint? Or whoever dreamed of using them constantly, lest he might again be attacked with it? Would not prudence dictate to lay them aside, that they might not lose their influence on the system, and consequently their medicinal virtues?

But smoking sometimes diminishes the secretions of the mouth, producing dryness and thirst, instead of moisture; still it is used with the same perseverance as in the former case, and to obviate the same difficulty, an overburdened stomach. And such is the united influence of its stimulant and narcotic qualities, that the thirst it occasions is not to be allayed by ordinary drinks, but wine, ale, and brandy must be taken, to satisfy this unnatural demand. Hence, smoking has, in many instances, been the sad precursor to the whiskey-jug and brandy-bottle, which together have plunged their unfortunate victims into the lowest depths of wretchedness and woe.

I am well acquainted with a man in a neighboring county, whose intellectual endowments would do honor to any station, and who has accumulated a handsome estate; but whose habits, of late, give unerring premonition to his friends of a mournful result. This man informed me that it was the fatal thirst occasioned by smoking his cigar, in fashionable society, that had brought him into his present wretched and miserable condition. Without any desire for ardent spirit, he first sipped a little gin and water, to allay the disagreeable sensations brought on by smoking, as water was altogether too insipid to answer the purpose. Thus he went on from year to year, increasing his stimulus from one degree to another, until he lost all control over himself; and now he stands as a beacon, warning others to avoid the same road to destruction.

Smoking has been prescribed for spasmodic asthma, and undoubtedly with some success; and the manner in which it affords relief in this distressing disease has been pointed out, when speaking of the narcotic and antispasmodic effects of this drug. But suppose it capable of relieving the paroxysm, when administered to a person unaccustomed to its deadly stimulus, it will by no means be followed by the same happy effect, when once its use becomes habitual.

But smoking has been the grand resort to secure the system from the influence of contagion; and perhaps no power ascribed to it, has ever been so universally acknowledged. But upon what series of experiments are these pretensions founded? From all the attention which I have bestowed on this investigation, I have been unable to discover any evidence of its utility in this respect, except what arose from the prejudices of the ignorant, or the obstinacy of those who are slaves to the practice of it. The bare assertion of Deimerbroek, "that it kept off the plague," without a single corroborative fact, would hardly be sufficient authority on which to establish a conclusion so important; especially when we have the united experience of Rivernus, Chemot, and Cullen, to prove the opposite of this position. Hence we conclude, that its properties in keeping off contagion, depend on its sedative powers, which it possesses in common with other narcotics, wine, brandy, and opium. As these lessen sensibility, and sometimes allay anxiety of the mind, it is not impossible that in a very few instances they may have prevented the exciting causes of disease from taking effect. But what are these few, when compared with the multitudes whose nervous systems have been destroyed by this pernicious habit, and thus exposed to all the horrors of malignant disease.

Smoking also assuages the tedium of life. Here is the grand secret. Man fears to be alone; and when left to his own solitary reflections, he dreads the result of self-examination. He flies for relief to his pipe, his cigar, his quid, or his bottle, with the vain hope of escaping from himself. To accomplish an object so desirable, he hesitates not to stupify those noble faculties which he cannot hope to extinguish, and with which he has been endowed by the God of nature, for wise and benevolent purposes. And will you, gentlemen, by precept and example, longer sanction such a course of conduct,—conduct so degrading to us as intelligent beings, and as conservators of the public health?

The third mode of habitually using tobacco, is chewing. In this manner all its deadly powers are speedily manifest, in the commencement of the practice, as has been already shown. In this mode, too, its nauseous taste and stimulant property excite and keep up a profuse discharge from the mucous follicles and salivary glands. Probably to this circumstance alone, is owing the superior efficacy of this mode of using this drug in the cure of tooth-ache. But whether this enormous waste of the secretions of the mouth and fauces can be borne by the constitution with impunity, you, Gentlemen, are abundantly competent to judge. Physiologists agree that these secretions are intended to assist in preparing the aliments for deglutition, by rendering them sufficiently fluid, and afterwards, by their peculiar properties, to promote digestion and assimilation. The great increase of these just before and after eating, and the large quantities swallowed about that time, are unequivocal evidence of their importance to the digestive economy. Then what must be the state of that man's digestion, who, until seated at table, keeps his quid in his mouth, and immediately returns it thither, after rising from his meal? And when we reflect, that large quantities of saliva strongly impregnated with this poison, and even particles of the substance itself, are frequently swallowed, what, again I ask, is the probable condition of such a person's digestive organs?

I know it may be said in reply, that such persons often consume large quantities of food, without experiencing any perceptible inconvenience; and I also know that they are often emaciated, notwithstanding the enormous portion of aliment they daily consume. Under these circumstances the emaciation arises, either from the profuse discharge of saliva, or an imperfect digestion, or the combined influence of both. Hence, when a man of a corpulent habit, with a keen appetite, who is unwilling to forego his wine and to use moderation in his roast beef, applies for professional advice to prevent corpulence, medical men very naturally and philosophically direct him, if he persists in his excess, to the use of tobacco, as a temporary relief, against the direful effects of his gluttony and intemperance.

A clergyman of high standing informed me, that he acquired the habit of using tobacco in college, and had continued the practice for a number of years; but he found, by experience, his health materially impaired, being often affected with sickness, lassitude, and faintness. His muscles also became flabby and lost their tone,