To his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales : a letter / by the Rev. George Trask.
- Trask, George, 1798-1875
- Date:
- [1861?]
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: To his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales : a letter / by the Rev. George Trask. Source: Wellcome Collection.
2/4 page 2
![[2 ] I might dwell on the expensiveness of your habit; but what are hundreds of pounds, annually consumed in smoke, to a royal purse ? “The gold and silver,” I add, however, “are the Lord’s.” I might dwell on the waste of time—“ the stuff,” my lord, “ which life is made of; ” but an English earl has shown that the victim ot tobacco, in one form, must waste a twentieth part of his life in his indulgence. This must suffice upon this point. I might pour ridicule upon your habit, my lord; for never does prince or subject appear so ridiculous as when he becomes a puffing locomotive, or a smouldering volcano ! I do not address you, however, in your individual capacity or position, but as a prospective monarch; for I wish to induce you to abandon a habit which will essentially impair your ability to rule over the most powerful nation on earth. In the first place, my lord, your habit may prove fatal to self-control, and, by enslaving you, incapacitate you to rule others. You early made use of this poison. You use it freely, and already it may have gained the mastery. The man who is mastered, is one who has lost the power of resistance—one who is subject to some despot, some passion or imperious appetite. Artificial appetites are despotic masters ; and the appetite for this poison, once formed, is eminently such ; it becomes a ruling passion, swaying its victims at will. We have many political demagogues in America, who make a vast uproar respecting foreign despotisms, who disgust us by their vulgar and boisterous boastings of liberty, whilst they themselves, victimized by this nauseous drug, are abject slaves ! They care more for this popular poison than for God, man, or state. Thus is it with us, my lord. How is it with you ? Which has the ascendency, you or your meerschaum ? “ As the eye of a servant is unto the hand of his master,” is not your eye upon this fond idol ? Is it not among your last indulgences at night, and your first in the morning ? What luxuries flowing from the munificient hand of God—what fruits— what food—what pastimes—what friends—what studies—what sciences -—what affairs of state—what province in all the vast amplitude of your dominions, occupies half so much time or attention as your fond cigar, or your idolized pipe ? Here, here is a power—let no one deny it—which carries “ kings into captivity, and binds princes at its pleasure.” No man, my lord, who has the soul of a man, can contemplate the mission of England and America—a mission, under God, which is to spread constitutional, liberty and Christ’s religion over the earth—but must regard you, England’s coming king, with intense interest and genuine good will. We wish you to be a prince “ who shall have power with God and man”—“ a tower of strength and salvation.” But how can you, my lord, victimized by this narcotic, unable to rule yourself, rule a kingdom of such dimensions ?—a kingdom which stretches “ from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth,” and whose “ morning drum-beat encircles the globe ? ” Ah ! my lord, blast not the hopes of expectant millions of England and-America! Be not the prey of artificial appetites ! Act upon the sublime sentiment of Jeremy Taylor : “ He who hath the fewest wants is the most like God ! ” With the great Apostle say, “ I keep under _niy body, and bring it into subjection.” 225 00835193](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b3047081x_0002.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
