I have not had a large experience in the matter of alcoholic drinks. I find that about two glasses of champagne are an admirable stimulant to the tongue, &Ⓐemendation is, perhaps, the happiest inspiration for an after dinner speech which can be found; but, as far as my experience goes, wine is a clog to the pen, not an inspiration. I have never seen the time when I could write to my satisfaction after drinking even one glass of wine.

As regards smoking, my testimony is of the opposite character. I am forty-six years old, &Ⓐemendation I have smoked immoderately during thirty-eight years, with the exception of a few intervals, which I will speak of presently. During the first seven years of my life I had no health—I may almost say that I lived on allopathic medicine, but since that period I have hardly known what sickness is. My health has been excellent, &Ⓐemendation remains so. As I have already said, I began to smoke immoderately when I was eight years old; that is, I began with one hundred cigars a month, &Ⓐemendation by the time I was twenty I had increased my allowance to two hundred a month. Before I was thirty, I had increased it to three hundred a month. I think I do not smoke more than that now; I am quite sure I never smoke less. Once, when I was fifteen, I ceased from smoking for three months, but I do not remember whether the effect resulting was good or evil. I repeated this experiment when I was twenty-two; again I do not remember what the result was. I repeated the experiment once more, when I was thirty-four, &Ⓐemendation ceased from smoking during a year &Ⓐemendation a half. My health did not improve, because it was not possible to improve health which was already perfect. As I never permitted myself to regret this abstinence, I experienced no sort of inconvenience from it. I wrote nothing but occasional magazine articles during pastime, &Ⓐemendation as I never wrote one except under strong impulse, I observed no lapse of facility. But by &Ⓐemendation by I sat down with a contract behind me to write a book of five or six hundred pages—the book called “Roughing it”—&Ⓐemendation then I found myself most seriously obstructed. I was three weeks writing six chapters. Then I gave up the fight, resumed my three hundred cigars, burned the six chapters, &Ⓐemendation wrote the book in three months, without any bother or difficulty. I find cigar smoking to be the best of all inspirations for the pen, &Ⓐemendation, in my particular case, no sort of detriment to the health. During eight months of the year I am at home, &Ⓐemendation that period is my holiday. In it I do nothing but very occasional miscellaneous work; therefore, three hundred cigars a month is a sufficient amount to keep my constitution on a firm basis. During the family’s summer vacation, which we spend elsewhere, I work five hours every day, &Ⓐemendation five days in every week, &Ⓐemendation allow no interruption under any pretext. I allow myself the fullest possible marvel of inspiration; consequently, I ordinarily smoke fifteen cigars during my five hours’ labours, &Ⓐemendation if my interest reaches the enthusiastic point, I smoke more. I smoke with all my might, &Ⓐemendation allow no intervals.