I heard my friends extol by name
Each one his own peculiar mixture.

And tried them every one in turn
(_O varium, tobacco, semper_!);
The strong I found too apt to burn
My tongue, the week to try my temper.

And all were failures, and I grew
More tentative and undecided,
Consulted friends, and found they knew
As little as or less than I did.

Havannah yielded up her pick
Of prime cigars to my fruition;
I bought a case, and some went "sick."
The rest were never in condition.

Until in sheer fatigue I turned
To you, tobacco's white-robed tyro,
And from your golden legend learned
Your maker dwelt and wrought in Cairo.

O worshipped wheresoe'er I roam,
As fondly as a wife by some is,
Waif from the far Egyptian home
Of Pharaohs, crocodiles, and mummies;

Beloved, in spite of jeer and frown;
The more the Philistines assail you,