St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-06-04
LOVERS OF THE POPPY.
The Deadly Opium Habit in the Gay and
Wicked City of Chicago.
Champagne Cocktail and Sherry
Served in japanese Teapots.

served IN japanese TeapOtS.
Fair Poker Misunderstanding the
Clergy--A Brides Devotion.
Chicago Letter.
There are perhaps dozen women be-
longing to upper tendon who are hopelessly
addicted to opium and have been for ten
years. One of these victims moves in the
best society. AS it is she doesn't care for
anything but the poppy. to which home,
husband and friends are sacrificed To
society she is an interesting invalid, to her
family a disgrace and to her husband a source
of incalculable annoyance and humiliation.
Another woman. who is also well known.
is indebted to her popularity for the vice to
which she is slave. In continual demand
and possessed of but slight strength she
took the drug to stimulate her for the
duties of hostess and soon found herself un-
able to dispense with its use. Her husband
positively forbade the purchase by her of
more opium. He further restricted her by
threatening to discharge any of the servants
known to make any purchases in any drug
store without first consulting with him.
For time his wife drove to remote drug
CSOAND
did not take her long to learn that the pres
ence of her elegant coupe in a street like
Archer avenue or Centre would arouse
suspicion and eventually lead to her ident-
lty IN spite OF her early hours and heavy
veil.
A MEDICAL ACCoMPLICE.
She spared herself all this annoyance by
quietly confiding to her physician, from
whom she received her first instruction. the
dilemma in which she was placed and de-
handing that he procure her the stimuant
IhlS was SIX years ago, and ever since
the physician has been at her mercy, al
though his fees from this patient alone are
sufficient to sustain him without any other
practice. 1t is said that this woman's vim
aigrette is filed, not with perfume. nor
Arabic salts, but with opium, which she
takes as soon as she enters her carriage Ell
route for party or entertainment, the
groom being directed to prolong the ride
twenty minutes unless the distance is suffi-
Gent to consume that amount Of time Her
vagaries are said to cost her husband an
average of $500 week and to his outraged
affection and homeless fireside his premature
age is due.
Another beautiful lady, who twelve years
ago married for money and found the cost
influence of the same fatal drug all the
time her husband is likely to be at home.
She Is rarely seen in society with him, and
would gladly hire an assassin to put him
out OF the way if she were not afraid of de-
lection.
HEAVY DRINKING.
The amount of drinking in high life is
simply immense. Women who do not have
1t IN their homes, and are afraid to have
their alcoholic drinks Struggled in, are as
regular as they dare to be in their visits to
the fashionable restaurants. At these
places, for instance. these wine bibbers
have their very fears anticipated and
their champagne cocktails and sherry
punches are served in a Japanese
teapot with deep but narrow cups of thick
dark ware which by reflection will make
the LIQUOR of light color in appearance.
Here ladies will sit and drink as much as
they dare, leaving untouched the toast or
waters. which are only ordered for effect.
Nobody would ever guess the contents Of
those innocent looking teapots The diners
have only to play with wafer in case of
any intrusion and accidentally spill some
perfume from their cut-gass bottles to
neutralize a possible lingering smell of
alcohol. The women who drink in this way
are not vulgar in the common significance
OF the term; but to drink wine openly in a
public restaurant, however select, would
be to lndorse their own expulsion from So
clety. Some very sad stories are told of
this class OF women, whom stress of cir
cumstances or animalism has so debased.
HE DRUNK, SHE IN TEARS
Not long ago the degenerate son of a
wealthy foundryman married a beautiful
young lady of twenty, who loved him so
much that she believed firmly in her ability
to reform him. She was refined, but Door
and ambitious. The young pair visited his
mother, who did not look with affection OH
the sons choice of companion for life
an opinion in which the rest of the family
concurred. For the sake of appearances,
the naughty mother-in-law sent out cards
for a reception, to which everybody re-
sponded but the groom and his Young
bride. the former being in his room drunk
and the latter with him in tears. Although
the mothers excuses seemed plausible
enough on the surface, the belief prevailed
that there was a skeleton in the closet of
very recent arrival. That night the bride
received her first lesson in intemperance,
and the practice has been kept I'D
with fatal assiduity. The young husbands
interest in a foundry necessltateS his pres
ence in the Office from eight to four and
all the rest of his time he spends in his
room, which contains a well-furnished
chamber buffet. AS the supply is con-
slant there is nothing to take the wife from
the apartment where she has lived in seclu-
sion ever since 1880. Her mother-in-law's
pride is all the defense she could WISH but
''indisposed," mot at home" or ZEN
gagged. is the only acknowledgement that
any of her friends calls have received since
her marriage.
WOMEN GAMBLERS.
1t is a well-known fact in the ministry
that in Chicago women will not tolerate
being talked to about the well-known vices
of society. More than one member of the
cloth has had his series of rich peoples mis-
doings brought to sudden close by letter.
or letters, the tone of which convinced him
that it would be jeOpardiZing his paStorate
to continue the TRADE. The result is that
the women who live in the madding whirl
of fashionable life and yet who are identi-
fed with all the fashionable churches in the
city, tolerate no reproof, and the growth Of
their ranks is something incredible. Gam
bling is the lesser of three or four vices.
since it Is limited to the short racing season
and the wagers are generally small. Poker,
however, is favorite game, and there are
rumors of scores of well-known wives and
widows who play for high stakes and pinch
their household accounts in order to save
money with which to meet their debts of
honor. Most of the gambling is done
in the afternoon, when the husband is not
home. Theaargus-eyed nurse girl and the
children are sent out for a drive, and from
noon till or O'clock the game of draw Is
played for all it is worth, scarcely half an
hour being spent for lunch. Spectators,
commission men. merchants and bankers
are not more frequent at these quiet
gaming lunches than lawyers and doctors.
and none know better how to account for
their casual call at Mrs. DIS than Mrs.
NJ, who has played with just such fire
herself, and in all probability was badly
scorched. For some reason or other,