e a few pounds of it was the
legitimate price for a wife, it is not surprising that it
should be more highly prized and come into more general use
than in any other section of our country. On the banks of
the James River it was first successfully cultivated by the
English colony, and this simple fact alone must forever
throw a charm around it, which will foster the pride of the
Virginian who has any respect for his ancestry, and hold him
under sacred obligations to use, cherish, and defend the
plant and its use--all of which he regards as no less a
pleasure than a duty. Here too its many virtues were first
discovered, and its soothing effects first felt and
appreciated.

"To the old Virginian it is indeed a cherished weed,
charming all manner of diseases, comforting in sorrow,
soothing the ills of life, and preserving to a good old age
and in a happy frame of mind all who use it. He believes in
its superior virtues, and ascribes to it more good qualities
than to any other known plant. He always carries it about
with him, and if perchance he gets out he is truly
miserable. He not only loves but worships it as a cure all.
His wife and daughters know its virtues full well, and use
it with equal grace and relish, believing it gives a lustre
to the eye and a freshness to the cheek rarely surpassed.
Among the variety of ways in which it is used none attracted
my attention so much as the novel manner of snuff-taking in
various parts of Virginia, West Virginia, the Carolinas and
Georgia.

"In some localities the practice is unknown, while in many
others it is very common. I first discovered young ladies
putting snuff into their mouths as if eating it, when my
curiosity was excited to an alarming extent, but on being
invited to 'dip' with them I soon learned that they were not
eating, but 'rubbing and chewing' it, as they called it, and
in such a lively manner as to soon convince me that they
appreciated it. I found the habit to be quite common even
among the young of both sexes--all indulging in it as if it
afforded real satisfaction to the appetite for tobacco in
some form.

"The young ladies however seemed the more attached to the
'rubbing process,' as it has been appropriately styled, and
defended it with equal logic