Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1871-05-18
Opium Smokers Den.

"a
A writer in Good Words, who is giving
descriptions of "Night Rsmbles," in the
East End of London, draws this picture
of an opium smoking den, the keeper OF
which is supposed to have been the orlgi-
nal of one of Dickens characters In Ed
win brood: :"
A black moustached, swarthy Lascar,
who passes for ELIAS husband, lies rolled
up in rug. He pretends to be asleep.
but now and then gives grunt of in
ouiry, and Eliza answers him in his own
tongue. She is sallow faced, carelessly
dressed woman, reclining on the other
end of the led, with her opium pipe,
lamp, etc, ready to her hand. Some
wet clothes are hung up to dry before the
little fire. She is asked whether she is
getting ready to go to church or to chap
| ell next day. "Ah, no." she answers, in a
| canting whine, "that's what can't do, but
it's where 1 should like to go if was
prepared" When asked how she came to
take 10 opium smoking, she says that she
can speak Hindi and Hindustiui, and
used to be with those that spoke them,
and one would say to her, "Have Whit 2
and another would say to her, "Have a
whiff?" and she knew no better, and GO
she got into the habit, and now she can.
not leave it Off.
In intervals between her talk she sec BPS
prepared opium from a little gallipot,
sticks it on the needle that crosses the
broad shallow bowl of her ruler-like pipe,
turns the bowl to the orifce in the glass
cover of her lamp, humors the pill with
| ~ l. of onpfhar raaH1a fn oct
| it to kindle, and then takes a long pull
sometimes sending back the smoke
through her nostrils and her ears. -.
"It's very healthy, gentlemen, she
says, when we remark upon its not I'M
pleasant odor. "When the cholera was
at out mol ,dy took it that lived in house
where they smoked opium"
There used to be half dozen and
more of these houses in the East End, but
the two in Bluegste Fields are the only
ones now known to the police. The
Strangers Home officials exerted them.
selves a good deal to put the others down
but dodgers in the Strangers Home are
still, during the day, pretty frequent Gu:
toners ct the two houses in Victoria
Court.
s'Craving for drink, gentlemen I! Eliza
pres emily exelaims, wanting to have a
smoke, and not to be able to get opium, is
a hundred times worse than that. I used
> drink about IS free as any, didn't l,
sir ?" appealing, almost proudly, to our
dragon for confederation of her state
ment. "But I've broke myself of that
but if you can't get pipe when you
want it, it's like as if you was havir g
electric shocks one after another, or as il
you was having a knife scraped along
your bare bones" A drachm of opium is
the largest amount which Eliza owns to
having smoked in day.
Across the court and up another dark
little staircase into "Johnson's" dirty bed.
room. johnson is Chinaman, but he
has an English wife, who s.t9 before the
fire grumblilg because they have to pay
A.. week for house that let's in rain
There are few dirty prints ON the walls
and little oblong chimney glass with
/ the backing almost worn off. On the
dirty bed reclines johnson, corpse com.
plexioned, sapless-looking man, whose
face twiteheI rs if he had the tic douleur.
eux until he succeeds in lighting his
charge of o ,ium. When asked why he
smokes opium, he answers that he could
not ego to slip Sleep, if he did not
smoke it, and when an inquiry is made G.
to the number of pipes he could smoke in
day,says five hundred dozen, if he could
get them. A Chinese ledger in Chine3e
c, June "a slender, taper-fngered, black
nous. ched, almost obsequiously polite
young fellow, who is sitting at the table
re aiding Chinese hist )ry of the TAPPING
Rebellon) bears his white cleaning teeth
in broad smile when be hears his land
lord give this hyperbol;cel estimate of his
powers.
The two Cinnamon can not talk ,
each other in Chinese, as they come from
different province. From what they say
to each other and ourselves in "pigeon
Engl' b, we gather that the lodver came
10 England 90 ships cock, aud - now
staying to see a little of the country, ~
porting himself by selling penny packe >
of scent in the street. At Johnson's hint
he brings out the box in which be keeps
his stock, and soon disposes OF suudry
little white and pink parcels of come afro
cieusly sickly.scentc stuff. Johnson next
shows US the mod Gums of opium, which
he sells his Gust omers for 3D., Sd, Is Sd,
and 20 on, and then taking stickless
gas .ndle, he shambles off the Rel and
down his narrow staircase, TO light US
ont. As he stands at his doorway and
looks out into the fog he holds the cludle
al we his head. When the light ftl on
his filmy-eyed, twitching, sicl 'y-yellOw
face, it looks not unlike that of a gelven-
ICED corpse.