Sirocco

“ The hot air of a furnace is a sirocco; the heat of a wood-fire is only intense sunshine, like that bottled in Lacrimae Christi. Besides this, the eye is delighted, the sense of smell is regaled by the fragrant decomposition, and the ear is pleased with the hissing, crackling, and singing,—a liberation of so many out-door noises. Some people like the sound of bubbling in a boiling pot, or the fizzing of a frying-spider. But there is nothing gross in the animated crackling of sticks of wood blazing on the earth, not even if chestnuts are roasting in the ashes. ”

“ How lovely the fragrance, how lovely the fragrance, yes, for Jōzaṭaq Manda d-Haijē, the fountain of life, which shows silence and grants hope, which keeps the prayers of the spirits and souls of the true and faithful, good and kind people in the place of life and in the light dwelling. ”

“ Syrup of Orange or Lemon Peel
Of fresh outer rind of Seville orange or lemon-peel, three ounces, apothecaries' weight; boiling water, a pint and a half; infuse the peel for a night in a close vessel; then strain the liquor; let it stand to settle; and having poured it off clear from the sediment, dissolve in it two pounds of double refined loaf sugar, and make it into a syrup with a gentle heat.
Pride Costs More than Hunger, Thirst, or Cold.
2138. Indian Syrup ”

“ Fear not, my good lad, lest a superabundance of liquid should either weaken or chill your stomach; far from thy better judgment be that silly fear of unadulterated drink. I will insure you against all consequences; and if my authority will not serve your turn, read Celsus. That oracle of the ancients makes an admirable panegyric on water; in short, he says in plain terms that those who plead an inconstant stomach in favor of wine, publish a libel on their own bowels, and make their organization a pretence for their sensuality. ”

“ We may be all—as Jingles says—steeped in syrup, but it is the syrup of hum-drum that crystallizes about us, after having extracted from us and dismissed all individual flavour, like the candied fruit in a box, where currants, greengage, apricot, pear—all taste alike. We are so saturated with the same syrup that we all lead the same saccharine existences, have the same sweet thoughts, utter the same sugary words, and have not an individualizing smack and aroma among us. ”

“ It is like smoking a magic cigar or leading the life of a courtesan who follows her own fancy. The work then floats in all the grace of infancy, in the mad joy of conception, with the fragrant beauty of a flower, and the aromatic juices of a fruit enjoyed in anticipation. ”

“ I must also smoke a dozen of cigars, knowing—as in my present condition I must know,—what they are made of. The whole to end on each night with unlimited brandy (British) and water, and eternal intoxication. Oh, F. F., be warned! Take my advice; keep up your resolution, and don’t do it again. When afloat, drink nothing stronger than purser’s tea. When on shore be temperate in your pleasures; don’t turn night into day; don’t exchange wholesome amusements for rabid debauchery, robust health for disease and—well, I won’t mention it. ”

“ The fresh rose-leaves are converted by a very simple process into a conserve, which is also used as a medicine; it is likewise an essential article, with other ingredients, in the preparation of tobacco for their luxurious hookha.
A syrup is extracted from the fresh rose, suited admirably to the climate of India as an aperient medicine, pleasant to the taste and mild in its effects. A table-spoon full is considered a sufficient dose for adults. ”

“ This Syrup cools and moistens, and that very gently, it corrects the sharpness of choler, and gives ease in hot vices of the breast, it quenches thirst in acute fevers, and resist the heat of the disease; it comforts hot stomachs exceedingly, cools the liver and heart, and resists putrefaction, pestilence, and poison. ”

“ Without any special sign of pleasure, she rose and said: “We must eat first; we will not find anything on the way.” She set a plate before him and a jug, and then she herself began to eat, standing by the hearth, but of wine she drank not a drop. He, on the contrary, to make a quick end of the matter, ate a few spoonfuls, gulped down the wine, and lighted his cigar at the coals on the hearth. ”

“ But Jesus meant to overturn this old amphictyonic usage also. The men of old gave the good and then the poor; He, after the good wine, gives better. Sour, unripened wine, the poor quality which was drunk at the beginning, symbolizes the wine of the old law, the wine that has turned sour and can no longer be drunk. Christ’s wine, finer and stronger, which cheers the heart and warms the blood, is the new wine of the Kingdom, wine intended for the marriage of Heaven and earth, wine which gives that divine intoxication which will be called later, “the foolishness of God.” ”

“ Thus the foam of the sea of past ages, driven by the winds into sheltered cavities and hollow places of the earth, comes at last to render service to St Nicotine; and in our meditative moods is brought vividly before the mind the fabled birth of the goddess of love, laughter and beauty. ”

“ The moisture in our mouth, too, is whitened by the breath. What an absurdity [88] is it, then, not to acknowledge that the blood is converted into that very bright and white substance by the breath! The change it suffers is in quality, not in essence. You will certainly find nothing else more nourishing, or sweeter, or whiter than milk. In every respect, accordingly, it is like spiritual nourishment, which is sweet through grace, nourishing as life, bright as the day of Christ. ”

“ Gardiner prescribed and live is beyond conception: their Spartan-like endurance shines out conspicuously under a treatment [83] which embraces ‘tobacco gruel,’ ‘tobacco wine,’ also, tobacco made up into a kind of soup, or syrup, with sufficient sugar. The patient is recommended to drink the decoction hot, as a medicine good against the plague. ”

“ What happiness there is in a dish of polenta, or of a few fried fish, in a cup of coffee, and in one of those apologies for cigars which the government furnishes, dear at a cent—the cigar with a straw in it, as if it were a julep, which it needs five minutes to ignite, and then will furnish occupation for a whole evening! ”

“ Take these and peel them, and divide them; then put them in a little Water and their weight of fine Sugar, made into a Syrup, over a gentle Fire: put them in when the Liquor is only warm, and when they are cover'd with the Syrup, stew them gently, if you would preserve them in their Shape; and put them, with the Syrup, into Glasses as soon as they are clear, or else mash them into the Syrup, and let them boil till they become like a Paste; keeping all stirring while they are over the Fire, or else they will burn to the Pan. ”

“ If the incense from a Roman censer obscure the clear light of the Sun of Righteousness, think not to blow it away by the breath of alcohol, their smoke will only mingle together, and make the cloud still thicker. ”

“ They come around lamps, set out on verandas in the night, in great numbers. A European fashion is to spread on tree trunks a sirup made of brown sugar and rum, and visit them once in a while at night with net and lantern. Catch your moth in the net, take him out of it by cornering him with the open mouth of your poison bottle, so that you secure him unrubbed. ”

“ It is a fine cooling Syrup for such whose stomachs are overpressed with heat, and may safely be given in fevers, for it rather loosens than binds: it breeds good blood, and is profitable in hectic fevers, and for such as are troubled with palpitation of the heart, it quenches thirst admirably in fevers, and stays hiccoughs. You may take an ounce of it at a time in the morning, or when you need. ”

“ On entering the bar-room, I found, as I expected, the old tradition monger seated by a special good fire of anthracite, compelling clouds of smoke from a corpulent cigar. He recognized me with evident pleasure; for my rare properties as a patient listener invariably make me a favorite with elderly gentlemen and ladies of narrative propensities. ”

“ I began to drink beer and smoke cigars when I was working under a German. The Germans, my brother, are a business-like race—such wild fowl! Drinking beer is a pleasant occupation, but I have never got used to smoking cigars. And when you 've been smoking, your wife grumbles: 'What is it that you smell of? It is like the smell at the harness-makers.' Ah, brother, the longer we live, the more artful we grow. ”

“ He held the cigar between his fingers and surveyed it contemplatively. “It’s all habit, I suppose; but I do think a good cigar aids one’s mental digestion. And I know that if I am in a bad temper, a quiet smoke will always pull me round.” ”

“ The years as they pass seem laden with great events, and we seem to hear the angel that hath power over fire calling to the angel with the sharp sickle,—"Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for the grapes thereof are fully ripe." ”

“ The Englishman alone smoked. To the high-caste Hindu the replacing of the cigar in the mouth after it has touched the tongue and lips is an offence against caste. The men had no objection, however, to the smoke made by another. ”

“ And a syrup made of the juice and sugar, is very effectual to all the purposes aforesaid, and so is the distilled water of the herb and flowers made in due season, especially to be used when the green herb is not in force to be taken. The decoction of the herb and roots outwardly applied, doth wonderfully help all sorts of hard or cold swellings in any part of the body, is effectual for shrunk sinews or veins, and heals green wounds, old sores, and ulcers. ”

“ One of the commonest offerings made in ceremonials is the smoke of tobacco. Gods and spirits are believed to be fond of it. In smoking to their honor, a puff is blown in turn to each of the four points, and then perhaps up, and possibly down. In the Pueblos, every religious act is accompanied by the scattering of sacred meal. This sacred meal is a mixture of corn meal and pounded sea-shells. It is sprinkled everywhere to secure kindly spirit influence. ”

“ Well, I promised, so help me, I would tell the truth about them barrooms that has perished away, and the truth I will tell, and the truth with me used to be that more than likely it wasn't really cigars that used to get me feeling that way in the mornings, and I will take up a different part of the subject in my next chapter.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN—Peace and Contentment
PROHIBITION,” said the Old Soak, “is doing more harm than you can see with the naked eye. ”

“ It's no small a matter for a body in their fifty-nint' year to be moving so much in church. Mr. Grant sames a godly man, any way, and his garrel a hommble on; and a devout. Here, John, is a mug of cider, laced with whiskey. An Indian will drink cider, though he niver be athirst. ”

“ I certainly can do it with a safe conscience; for my needle has been an inestimable blessing to me during years of ill health. It is sometimes said that the needle is to a woman what the cigar is to the man—a tranquillising, equalising influence, conservative and restorative. ”

“ And all these human beings stifled under the white sky, in a heavy atmosphere laden with the perfumes of women, the odour of negroes, the fumes of cooking and the smoke of gums, which the devotees bought of the shepherds to burn before the saint. ”

“ Give a wine glass full of my cleansing syrup, morning, noon and at bed time, and drink, as a common beverage, the following: take a handful each of cherry bark and princes pine, put them into two quarts boiling water, and let it steep well; then strain. Abstain from spirituous liquors and salt meats. ”

“ With the lighted end of a cigar applied as moxa to the wound, a quantum sufficit of ardent spirits, a couple of men to make me walk about when drowsy by the application of a stick, and, above all, with the serious resolution not to do any thing so mean as to "leap the twig," I should not be afraid of any snake yet created. ”

“ Next Day, when I went to my Garden, and stooped to pull up a Weed, a large Quantity of a Saffron-coloured Liquor, which smelled like Tobacco, flowed from my Nose, upon which my Tooth-ach was immediately removed. During the whole of my Life, neither Blood, nor any other Liquor, except a ferous Phlegm, had flowed from my Nose, but upon this Occasion I never saw any Liquor of a deeper yellow Colour. ”

“ And the six wax candles still alight.
The living flowers on the dead man's breast
Blew out a perfume sweet and strong.
The spirit paused ere he passed to rest—
“God save your soul from a night so long.” ”

“ And when they do not offer the tobacco, they stand with the arms elevated and the hands stretched out, palms down, as they cry towards the clouds. And they say that the Thunder-beings know about them, their worshippers. ”

“ We drink only tea—too much of it for our nerves, I dare say—but we will gladly give that up if you will abjure alcohol and cigars. There certainly is no poetry in the aroma of tobacco in the curtains, next day, and we pass the morning with it when you have gone down-town. ”

“ For a cigarette, I have observed, that hangs loosely from the teeth shows an artistic temperament, just as in business circles a cigar that is tilted up until it warms the nose marks a sharp commercial nature. ”

“ Conclude by warning the boys not to smoke the deadly cigaret, never to begin; and if they have smoked, then first urge them to make the last cigaret the last forever. Tell them that Jesus wants boys with clean lips and pure hearts. The cigaret habit has roots which go deep into the heart. This is what makes the grip of the habit so strong. Jesus said that "Every plant my heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up." ”