Week 3 – Mark Twain: “The Innocents Abroad”

 

“Never smoke any Italian tobacco.  Never do it on any account.  It makes me shudder to think what it must be made of.  You cannot throw an old cigar “stub” down anywhere, but some vagabond will pounce upon it on the instant….One of these stub-hunters followed us all over the park last night, and we never had a smoke that was worth anything….He regarded us as his own legitimate prey,…Now, they surely must chew up those old stubs and dry and sell them for smoking tobacco.  Therefore, give your custom to other than Italian brands of the article.”    (p. 122)

 

The smokers in our group have all confessed to smoking more than they ever did back in Georgia.  Complaints of coughing up green phlegm from smoking the cheap Italian cigarettes cautioned me when I, too, ran out of the stash that I packed.  There are very few menthol cigarettes to be found here, so I was forced to settle for what was available.  I found a brand from Amsterdam that have completely impressed me.  They are in a beautiful teal and gold package with St. Moritz headlined over a coat of arms etched in gold of a horse on the left of the shield and an angel on the right.  When I opened the package, gold foil protected each of the twenty sticks of premium tobacco leaf.  And that’s not all.  When I took out my first fag, the rich gold band between the filter and the leaf pleasantly surprised me, taking my breath away.  I felt like aristocracy and was not disappointed when I lit up to a smooth, not too menthol, smoking experience.  I don’t want to try Italian brands now.  I want to pack my suitcase full of these treasures to take home with me.  My plans to quit smoking while I am in Italy have been completely blown out of the water.  I will miss these little gems.