Circling Through My Ruddy Nose

TOBACCO.

HAIL, Tobacco, queen of flowers,
Solace of my lonely hours,
Fume that fuddles as it flows,
Circling through my ruddy nose.
Let others boast of joys of soul
That kindle o’er the flowing bowl,
Or fancy raptures, as they sip
Balmy, sweets from Lesbia’s lip;
Sweeter far the fume that flows,
Circling through my ruddy nose.
Vulgar souls may deem that noses
Were only made for smelling roses;
Smokers, true to nature’s plan,
Feel the dignity of man,
And use their nose as a stack o’
Chimnies to expel tobacco
Herb divine for thee shall rise
Clouds of incense to the skies;
O’er thy notaries’ brains shall flit
Many a sooter kin of wit,
And noses yet unborn shall shine
With radiance luminous as mine.
Whether from hooker, pipe or quill
Thy fumes ascend, I love thee still,
Whatever shape thou deign’st to wear,
Long-cut, short-cut, shag, segar,
There’s not a whiff of thee but goes
A short or long cut thro my nose.
Hail, tobacco, Queen of Flowers,
Solace of my lonely hours,
Fume that fuddles as it flows,
Circling through my ruddy nose.

Ohio Repository, The (Canton, Ohio) Jun 6, 1822

Image from the following book:

Title: A paper:- of Tobacco, Treating of Smoking, by Joseph Fume
Author: William Andrew Chatto
Published: 1839
(Google book LINK)

Tags: 1822, 1839, Poetry, smoking, tobacco