The Penn's Grove record., 1884-01-12
America, l should 9et have understood

4 sdllDg~Ne5Sel W HStHSt lit 10 AS4"'SN
to All Sing, the famous card-player, l
cannot say; but at least he has that
bland and childlike smile for which
Bret Harte's hero was remarkable.
Being of an adventurous and specula-
tive disposition, he has Of late become
Disconnected with his stewardship, and
would have set up a a washerman had
England offered him any scope for dis
playing his cleverne.ss with soft soap
and chloride of lime. But that was
not to be /; and so he has taken a room
in which he is prepared, in return for a
small fee, to entertain visitors with a
pipe of opium, and to take care OF them
until the effects of the drug have passed
away. My friend the suogeon and l
did not visit Mr.. Lee with any idea of
indulging in his seductive narcotic, u
only to see how his customers Jared {;
and when we entered his den we found
two Chinese sailors stretched prone and
oblivious upon a kind Of ragged dlYan
IN one coTne and a third in the act OF
inhaling the pungent smoke which was
evolved by the aid of a glowing coal
from a modicum of opium placed III
the small metal bowl of a slender stem
med pipe. The choice spirits in the
breathed stertorOusly and lrreg-
ularly, and their faces occasionally
broke into quiet smiles, as childlike and
bland as those in which All Lees
wooden countenance was perpetually
wreathed; but they did not move, and
seemed upon the whole, to be enjoying
themselves amid the dusty rugs and
torn finery of their lair. With the other
man, however, the cast was altogether
different. He was evedintly a novice
in the art of inhalation; for he cOughed
and spluttered d%readfully, and after
each spasm his fiat face grew more and
more yellow, till it took the hue of a
suntiower. AT last, however, he be-
came silent; and gradually sank down,
limp and unconscious, to the floor. All
Lee examined him through his broad
spectacles for an instant, and then in
the most business-like manner made
room for him on the divan, dragged
him thither by his shoulders, and laid
him beside the others. Having done
this friendly Office for his patron, the
opium master approached us, still smil-
ing. and asked if he might have the
honor of of preparing pipes for US. We
declined; but although we presented
him with more backsheesh than would
have paid for a whole days smoking,
the old fellow did not CEASE to implore
US to Try the virtues of the drug. In
his marvellous jargon he explained will
the extravaganza of a quack, that
opium smoking was a sovereign cure
for all the ills that flesh is heir to. II
was a specific for coughs and colds
this, perhaps, because the Doctor
coughed frequently-it would drive
away the ague; 1t would Danish bad
spirits; and it would lengthen life. Die
he, smoke ? we asked. In course CT
time we elected that he did not. Why
not ? we inquired and then there was
fencing worthy of a Turkish diploma
fist. AT last my companion proclaim
ed himself to be a doctor, and ut once
the Chinaman's manner changed, He
no longer attempted to conceal that he
believed indulgence in Opium to be
worse than folly. 1t had, he confessed,
killed his old father at Ningpo; and,
warned by the terrible example, the son
had consistently avoided the use Of the
drug. And yet he carried on the trade
We told him what we thought of him,
but the smile upon his face waxed
more chlldlike. When we spoke oul
minds more plainly the heather simply
ignored ON reproaches and proceeded
to show us the implements of his trade.
He took down from a rack about a
dozen pipes of various shapes and sizes.
Of some the bowls were of metal, of
others of earthen ware or porcelain
and the long stems were either of bone,
of bamboo, or of copper, according to
the quality and workmanship of the
bowls. He also displayed a small col
lection of tweezers, tongs, shoppers.
and prickers and he was giving us the
history of each separate treasure when
we were disturbed by one of the victims
on the dlvan The man was awaking;
and his awaking did not seem to be en-
tirely pleasant, for he grunted and
groaned and babbled incomprehensible
~msnosyllables which might well have
been uttered by a choking animal in its
last agony. In a few minutes, how
ever, he became calmer AMI in a few
nor he slowly lose, and without a
word SUNK out of the room, as if still
in a dream. All Lee leered after the
bedraggled scarecrow as it departed
and when it was out of earshot inform
ed us that the man would probably re-
turn within an hour or two for another
pipe, and that he was rapidly killing
himself.
Meanwhile the doctor had grown Sc
inquisitiye that he insisted upon trying
the effects of the drug upon himself.
''If fellows can kill themselves with it,
he said, "lt must be very delightful y
and having chosen a pipe and cleaned
it as well as he could, he gave it to All
Lee to fill and sat down in a crazy
wicker chair by the stove. The China.
man placed a piece of opium, not much
bigger than a pea, in the bowl, put the
mouthpiece of the pipe between the
doctors lips. held a red ember to the
mass of sticky drug, and babe my com,
panion inhale. The doctor did inhale.
But he must have inhaled in an i'm.
proper manner, forh he narrowly escaped
suffocation. His chokings and Splut
terings were far worse than those of the
inexperienced sailor. His eyes seemed
as if they were about to start from Their
sockets, his face became livid, he liter,