There are people of so gloomy a temperament that they would not let a man cultivate a flower-garden or listen to the songs of birds on the Sabbath; who look upon music as a sensuous indulgence, and reading as idleness. To these we have nothing to say; it is their misfortune to think and feel so. Stripping the argument of the puerilities and exaggerations of prejudice, let us recognise the broad fact that men of every nation and in every climate do smoke; a fact that is universal needs no apology. The prophylactic properties of tobacco will be considered from an historical point of view in the next chapter, headed, ‘The Use and Abuse of Tobacco.’ This chapter first appeared in _The Nineteenth Century_ for May 1897. Mr. W. T. Stead, commenting upon it in his _Review of Reviews_, agreed with the writer’s firm stand against juvenile smoking, and expressed the opinion that ere long an act of Parliament would be entered in the Statute Book prohibiting the sale of tobacco to youths under the age of 16. Unavailing efforts to this end were subsequently made by private members of the House of Commons. At last the Legislature has taken up the subject, and under the tactful conduct of the measure of Mr. Herbert Samuel, the Under-Secretary for the Home Office, a Bill has passed the third reading making the sale of cigarettes to children illegal. This step in the right direction will have the effect of awakening public attention to the subject, and of stirring up parents to a more watchful supervision over their children’s habits. CHAPTER V THE USE AND ABUSE OF TOBACCO Ye hot, ye cold, ye Rheumatick draw nigh; In this rich leafe a sovereign dose doth lie. We’ll cure ye all; Physick ye need not want, Here, ’tis i’ th’ gummy inside of a plant. —1670. Though differences of temperament may not allow everyone the mild indulgence of the pipe, all are interested in learning that in the leaves of the Indian’s weed dwells a friendly genius ready to protect us from the virulent attacks of the myriad host of invisible life which floats around us, in some cases infecting the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink. This assurance comes to us from the bacteriologist, whose experiments conducted under the microscope, demonstrate that contact with the smoke of tobacco destroys the vitality of microbes. Especially comforting is it to know this at the season of the year when the air lies heavily upon the land. Here, then, we come upon ground interesting alike to the smoker and the non-smoker, for both will agree that it is infinitely better to let the weed spread its wings on the blast and breathe in the face of the foe than to go unprotected through unwholesome air laden, it may be, with noxious germs.