Before I budge an inch I hail Aurora with a pinch; After three cups of morning tea A pinch most grateful is to me; If then by chance the post arrive, My fingers still the deeper dive. When gallant Nelson gains his point I sink in deep to middle joint; And soon as ere the work he clinches, Oh, then I take the pinch of pinches. . . . . . For rich or poor, in peace or strife, It smooths the rugged path of life. Rev. W. King of Mallow From: The Gentleman’s Magazine CCLXXXIX July to December 1900 Punctuation per original.
Even more snuff poetry from The New Monthly Magazine. 1839, Part the Third. “Knows he who never took a pinch, Nosey ! The pleasure thence which flows? Knows he the titillating joys Which my nose knows? “Oh, nose ! I am as proud of thee, As any mountain of its snows; I gaze on thee, and feel that joy — A Roman knows.” <<<<<<<<<<<<-±>>>>>>>>>>>> Friendship imparts to life a zest, And smooths his passage rough, Then cares for him who gives this test, At least a pinch of snuff. A snuff-box and a friend unite In semblance to an inch; For both our vacant hours delight, And serve us at a pinch. Both close or open as we will, Both yield us what we’re pleased at; And both, if taken with due skill, Are gifts not to be sneezed at.
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@jpsavage great stuff @lunecat lol
Before I budge an inch I hail Aurora with a pinch; After three cups of morning tea A pinch most grateful is to me; If then by chance the post arrive, My fingers still the deeper dive. When gallant Nelson gains his point I sink in deep to middle joint; And soon as ere the work he clinches, Oh, then I take the pinch of pinches. . . . . . For rich or poor, in peace or strife, It smooths the rugged path of life. Rev. W. King of Mallow From: The Gentleman’s Magazine CCLXXXIX July to December 1900 Punctuation per original.
In case of anybody speaks Hungarian here, I have just completed the interpretation/translation of the above poem of Rev. W. King of Mallow: A tubák dicsérete (Rev. W. King of Mallow versének szabad műfordítása) Egy tapodtat sem mozdulok Tubák nélkü nem tudok. Auróra hogyha pírral festi át az éji kéket Én remegő orrcimpákkal pattintom fel szelencémet. Három csésze tea reggel Meg pár csipet tölt el kedvvel. S mire ideér a postás Kijár újabb két szippantás Csatából tér Nelson a hős, a tengereken ő az úr Sokáig élj, Horatio! Ujjam megint tubákba túr. S mind a munkát elvégezni hogy lehetne gyors iramban Ha nem egy adag jó dohánnyal mind a kettő orrlikamban? … … … Legyen béke, legyen viszály Legyél koldus, legyél király Tubákkal sokkal szebb az élet Nicotina, szeretlek téged!
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@JAZ Good job. Even though my ancestry is Hungarian I could never get my grandmother to teach me. Used to listen to her and our neighbor on the party line (telephone) but pretty much incomprehensible. Not the easiest language.
Pushto واچوہ نسوار چہ نشہ دو سر کے زی رازی دی تورو چنڈو پسے دہ انڈیا نہ مادوری رازی Take naswar (Snuff) to get high Even Madhori* comes from india to take a pinch of this black stuff. *An indiam bollywood actress.
@JAZ I thought that tobacco in Hungarian was ‘dohány’ and not ‘tubák’… Not a crit just an observation. Maybe I am just old school - the language has changed a lot since I studied there. :-B
not really poetry, or snuff related, but since im tired, my current combination of smooth pipe and VNV nation instrumental inspired me to just randomly freely write (first time its done this, maybe ive just actually discovered the pipe properly? i hope so)- Smoke drifts steadily through the air, like the exhale on a cold winter morn. a soft rhythmic breeze calms the soul, in the harsh world we were born and i stop to think- what am i doing here? the deep sunrise answers me- living! it said, as it envelopes me in its warm embrace, reassuring me that it would keep me safe. the motes curl around me, lifting me to places only dreamt of in fleeting glances, fantastic romances and a touch of some lonely fancies. my heart sings, a soft, beat to match my lungs- a steady, repeat my mind wanders, yet stays focussed a sensation beyond words begins to be unfolded.
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Taking snuff isn’t a waste of time it clears my thoughts and ease my mind healthy choice of snuff you see smoking fags ain’t for me I’d rather snuff then take a puff I really love this powdered stuff It fill my head with scents and dreams of exotic places I may never see Snuff is thrifty as can be for a few coins you can become as content as me. Original by Basemant_Shaman 12:45 Pm. Feb 24 2014
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'Ι cannot explain it, ’ you said, 'Ι cannot explain it, ’ Ι find snuff impossible to understand however it may play with colors they are all black.
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@JAZ I thought that tobacco in Hungarian was ‘dohány’ and not ‘tubák’… Not a crit just an observation. Maybe I am just old school - the language has changed a lot since I studied there.
@Ubert, “tobacco” in Hungarian is indeed dohány - a word of Turkish origin ultimately derived from Arabic - but the word for “snuff” is tubák which is of German derivation. One can also make a verb out of it: tubákozni “to take snuff”. “Plug tobacco” is bagó, a word also used colloquially for “cigarette” (hence bagózik “he smokes a cigarette”).
@Hapax cheers for that, never heard that before, my mates in Hungary just call it ‘dohány por’ most likely coz they are new to it and it is not exactly popular in Hungary like in places where they can say they have a ‘snuff culture’ , Bayern springs to mind so no surprise that tubák is an old German loan word.
@Hapax does that mean that there is a Hungarian brand of snuff or am I being prematurely optimistic?
Prior to the First World War, Hungarian tobacco factories also manufactured snuffs of various kinds, but snuff always played second fiddle to smoking in Hungary (possibly the lack of a maritime no-smoking tradition?). It might be worth asking the on-line Hungarian Tobacco Museum if they know of any Hungarian snuff brands (they mention that the main factories certainly produced some). I did think of buying a wholesale quantity of organic Szamosi tobacco from some small-scale Hungarian tobacco producers and grinding it down into a proper Magyar snuff (probably easier said than done…). By the way, there’s also the old word burnót for proper powdered snuff (as opposed to schmalzlers), but I haven’t heard anyone using it. The verb can also be tubákol- . I think Hungary (and everywhere else) could benefit from more home-grown organic snuff, and fewer mass-produced foreign cigarettes.
Not sure there was a maritime no smoking tradition. Certainly there was a mining no smoking tradition. Snuff is particularly difficult to take on the deck of a breezy rolling ship, but manageable below decks. Plenty of pipe smokers in the maritime lore I’ve read - mostly officers though, and Horatio Hornblower smoked cigars. I think many of the crew chewed so as to have their hands free.
6 Photo Kailash Snuffbox, thumbnail to the nose My decongestant. (5-7-5 haiku)
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@Xander, You could well be right - I am certainly no expert in maritime history - but I do recall that when they introduced tobacco to the Royal Navy around 1700 they only allowed smoking to take place above tubs of water in the forecastle. Elsewhere in the ship, it was snuff for officers and chew for the crew (which sounds like a haiku too…)