The Etiquette of SMOKING
To many who are violently opposed to
the use of tobacco in any form, a chapter on smoking may seem out of place; and yet there
will always be found in all society those who love the weed, and the users of it have an
etiquette which should govern them. Of course, these hints are intended for
gentlemen alone, for we cannot imagine a lady smoking.
It is perfectly proper for a
gentleman to smoke in the drawing room or dining room of his own house, when company is
not present, provided the ladies of his household have no objection. We have heard
ladies declare that it made it seem homelike to have their husbands indulge in a quiet
smoke at home.
Do not, however, smoke in a bedroom,
for it uses up the fresh air so necessary to refreshing slumber.
When a gentleman calls in the
afternoon he should not smoke, unless he finds his host is at home, and is urged to join
him in a smoke. It is one of those privileges, however, which is more "honored
in the breach than in the observance."
A room is generally provided at all
entertainments where the gentlemen guests may retire and enjoy themselves without
disturbing anyone.
Spare the singers; when a person is
singing for the entertainment of the company do not smoke, for tobacco smoke will cause
serious discomfort to singers, often preventing their effort; the vocal organs of such
artists are extremely sensitive, and tobacco smoke is deadly to them.
Smoking in the public streets is now
quite general, but a gentleman will be very cautious in passing a lady that he does not
allow the smoke to puff into her face. No gentleman will accompany a young lady in a
public street with a lit cigar in his mouth. The young man who would expose her in this
manner is astonishingly deficient in the manners which make the gentleman.
The cuspidor is a disgusting object
which has no place in a drawing room, or in any other apartment. Why the American
gentlemen must expectorate so copiously when they smoke is one of the unexplainable
mysteries. Foreigners are not addicted to this habit, and it is a matter for ridicule with
them, that our men do it.
In England, a gentleman never smokes
upon the street. here it is customary, but a gentleman should always remove his cigar if
he stops to address a lady friend.
A gentleman should never ask a lady
if smoking is offensive to her. Nine out of ten will declare it is not, from a desire not
to appear selfish or rude.
It is no longer a suppositition, but
is a fixed fact, that the excessive use of tobacco in any form is detrimental to the
health. But as this is not a medical treatise, but rather offering a few suggestions to
the well-bred, we pass that phase of the subject by.
No one has the right to inflict a
cheap, bad-smelling cigar upon his friends. If you cannot obtain something nice, defer
your smoking to the privacy of your own room. Never hold an unilt cigar in your
mouth, chewing the end unitl it becomes disgusting to the eyes of those around you.
Do not smoke a pipe in company. That is another indulgence that should be relegated to
your own apartment, or to the society of a few choice spirits.
When you have been smoking, take a
brisk walk in the open air before you present yourself to lady friends.
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