The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1873-10-09
seENE 1N AZ oP1uM sHor.

4
+ One who has never visited an. opium
4 shop can have no conception Of the /,
fatal fascination that holds its victims
fast tgbohndys4mind,i heart sOtalsand con-
sciences all absolutely dead to every
/ impulse but that insatiable,, eVer-iR-
lcreasing thirst for the dafnhing poison. ~
III entered one of thesesdeIs But 0hee!iu
but i can never forget the terrible
sights and sounds of that sspIace of
torment" The apartment was spkci-9 %
Esous, and might have obeeA pI6asatits 81
ibut foF its foul aodors and, still t0uisFi il
scenes. of ,nnntterahle Woe-=the foot. :,
prints of sin trOdden deep in the fur
rows of those haggard faces and -enna@
IiciateG FORMS. gH ftf41 anI t8Ei5fUl8S 10
( Onsal fonrsides of the room, fWare4 o
couches placed thickly against the I
walls, and others were scattered over
the apartment wherever there was
room for thema On each of these Iaydh
extended the wreck of what wasloneeg +
a man. Some few were Old777all Were, ~
5hollowed-eyed, with sunken .cheeks
and cadRverous countenances': many .
we're clothed in rags shaRingprOpably
smoked away their last dollar while
others were offering to- pawn their
only decent garment for an adt1itionaI
dose of the deadly dfaggo4d s9mii b4e5
A decEepit old man rails sdihimseH as
we entered, drew long sigh, and
4hen, with q half pttered impFecati0n
lon his. own folly, proceeded to fill his,
pipe. This he did by scraping of,
with q ifiveLinch steel needle, some
opium from lths lid of q tiny shelI bOx,il
rolling the paste into pill, and etheR
after heating it in the blaze of a lamp,
deposit it within the hollow of his
pipe. Several Short whiffs followed;
then the smoker would remove lahe q
pipe from his month Iand lie baelKo
motionlessi !; then replace the pipe, and, u
with fast-glazing eyes blow the smoke
slowly through his paIffd nostriIs.9b
lAs the narcotic heEFects of the lopIhnllE
began to work he fell back Omlftheit
couch in a statefof silly stuperf fcationi9
that was pitiable and disgusting.
Another smoker, mere youth, lay
with his face buried in his hands and
as he lifted his head there was. a)le0lll,i
of dispair- such as, have seldom; seeR.,.i
Though so young, he was a compIete
wreck, with hollow eyes, lshnken chest,
and q nervous atwftching in9 loVsryio
muscle. i spokettO him, and learned y
six months before he, had lost his
whole partimony by gambling, and
came hither to quaF forgetfuIlness
from these Lethean cups ; hoping h6
said, TO find death as WelIias Oblivianav
By far the larger peEportieHs ofatbedi
smokers were SO, entirely under the,
influence OF the stupefying poison as
to preclude any atteh1pt at c0HVersa-i 10
tion9 .andd we passed outb from ttism
moral pest7heHsei sick at heart assaweos
thought of these infatuated Victims of,
self indulgence and their starving u
families at home. This banefuI habit
once formed, is seldom given up, and
from three tol fiNegy ears indulgence
will utterly wreck the finest constitu=6,
ton, the frame becoming daily more.
emacfated, the eyes more sunk6n, aud
the coiunteHRhce more lc&davef0us, tIll9d
the brain eeasesitOl perform its fane-ov
tions, and death, places its seal on thsl6
wasted life. ,..,.sas s.e..,ss