GRAMMATICAL SMOKING.

Dunstan Times, Issue 514, 23 February 1872, Page 1 (Supplement)

GRAMMATICAL SMOKING.

0 — As smoking is an innocent indulgence, and as it is customary with people of all classes-, to relate the news of the clay'with cigars in their months and as the generally cf smokeis make an awkward appearance in - consequence of their ignorance of the theory of punctuation in smoking, the following system is recommended : —A simple puff serves for a comma (,) ; puff, puff, a semicolon (;); puff, puff, puli', a colon (:) ; six pulls, a period (.). A pause with the cigar kept in the mouth, represents a dash( —), longer or shorter in continuance. With the under lip raise the cigar almost, against the nose for an exclamation (1) ; and to express great emotion, even to the shedding of tears only raise as before, the cigar to the end of the nose. For an interrogation (1), it is only necessary to open the lips and draw the cigar round the corner of the mouth. Taking the cigar fiom t e mouth and shaking the ashes from the end is the conclusion of a paragraph; and throwing it into the tire is a final and stylish pause N ever begin a story with a half, finished cigar for to light another while conversing is not onlya bi'each of politeness lut interferes with theabovesy stem‘of punctuation, and destroys all energy and harmony of expression.