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Poem
November 7, 1791
National Gazette
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
What is this article about?
A satirical poem on tobacco, recounting the speaker's regretful initiation into chewing and smoking the 'vile, forbidden leaf' from Virginia, portraying it as a poisonous vice that causes sickness and female disdain.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
For the NATIONAL GAZETTE.
Lines written on a paper of TOBACCO.
This Indian weed that once did grow
On fair Virginia's fertile plain
From whence it came, again may go
To please some happier swain:
Of all the plants that Nature yields
This, least beloved, shall shun my fields.
In evil hour I first essay'd
To chew this vile, forbidden leaf
When half asham'd, and half afraid,
I touch'd and tasted to my grief:
Ah me! the more I was forbid
The more I wish'd to take a quid.
But when I smoak'd, in thought profound,
And rais'd the spiral circle high,
My heart grew sick, my head turn'd round—
And what can all this mean? said I—
Tobacco, surely, was design'd
To poison and destroy mankind!
Unhappy they, whom choice, or fate
Inclines to prize this bitter weed!
Perpetual source of female hate—
On which no beast, but man, will feed—
That chills my heart, and turns my head
And sends me reeling home— to bed.
Lines written on a paper of TOBACCO.
This Indian weed that once did grow
On fair Virginia's fertile plain
From whence it came, again may go
To please some happier swain:
Of all the plants that Nature yields
This, least beloved, shall shun my fields.
In evil hour I first essay'd
To chew this vile, forbidden leaf
When half asham'd, and half afraid,
I touch'd and tasted to my grief:
Ah me! the more I was forbid
The more I wish'd to take a quid.
But when I smoak'd, in thought profound,
And rais'd the spiral circle high,
My heart grew sick, my head turn'd round—
And what can all this mean? said I—
Tobacco, surely, was design'd
To poison and destroy mankind!
Unhappy they, whom choice, or fate
Inclines to prize this bitter weed!
Perpetual source of female hate—
On which no beast, but man, will feed—
That chills my heart, and turns my head
And sends me reeling home— to bed.
What sub-type of article is it?
Satire
Song
What themes does it cover?
Temperance Moderation
Moral Virtue
What keywords are associated?
Tobacco
Smoking
Chewing
Vice
Virginia
Satire
Weed
Poem Details
Title
Lines Written On A Paper Of Tobacco.
Subject
On A Paper Of Tobacco
Form / Style
Rhymed Stanzas
Key Lines
Tobacco, Surely, Was Design'd
To Poison And Destroy Mankind!
Unhappy They, Whom Choice, Or Fate
Inclines To Prize This Bitter Weed!
Perpetual Source Of Female Hate—
On Which No Beast, But Man, Will Feed—