Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1888-04-28

the sensations. A Whit ut the narghile
that always accompanies the beverage,
and tho body seems to rise into the All
and float about, though, inexplicable
enough, the feet keep firmly pressed to
the ground. Then ones legs and arms
appear to drop Off and life and sensation
concentrate themselves, to ones think
ing, ia the back of the head, which feels
full TO bursting. Gradually strength
leaves the smoker the pipe slips fiom
the nerveless fingers will altogether
fails, and the body seems to rise and
float away in space. A heavy, dresmless
sleep usually succeeds such On indul-
gence in the drug, and, as n rule, the
novice awakes none the worse for the
evenings experiment. A little lemon
Juice removes any sensation of nausea or
light headache that may ensue.
Old aud experienced hemp-eaters go
methodically to work. They say that to
! relish hemp one must first abstain from
all stimulating food and drink for a brief
period for only after short fast can one
/ taste TO the full the delights of hashish
and render ones system fully suscepti-
1 bic to its influence. So for several days
previous TO the "orgie" the experienced
| hemp-eater eats no meat, drinks neither
wine nor spirits, lives mainly upon vegeta-
/ bic foods. light pastry, and ripe fruits,
and smoke little. On the day Of the
debauch he rises early and fasts till
/ the afternoon, when the friends who
are to Join him arrive. They pre-
pare for dinner by taking q strongly
charged pipe and inhalinG the thick,
white smoke. A light meal is then
served, il which plenty of sweet pastry
/ figures, and each of the company re-
tires to his cushion prepared for the eve
ning's indulgence. Musicians are sta
toned at the end of the apartment /;
dancing girls are introduced; or, If the
host is a wealthy man, he orders his own
slaves in. Hemp-boluses are passed
around, and the pipes well charged with
tine drug. For this purpose tobacco Is
first laid in the bowl upon this small
charge OF pure hashish extract is placed,
and the whole is fired by means OF @
glowing embor Of charcoal and saltpetre,
whicl#has been mingled with honey and
dried. Strong and well-sweetened coffee
is handed round, and while the dancing
and music 60 on the smoker begins
Lounging back. they suck the smoke
into the lungs and air passages. sending
il forth again through the widely dis
tended nostrils and, gazing upon the
forms and faces posturing and revolving
before them, the hashashiU swim of in
a sea OF blissful content that verges upon
ecstasy. As soon as the pipe is exhaust
ed. strong coffee without sugar is taken,
and this rouses the dreamers from their
vision of delight. Rut "bolus" OF
henp-cake and another pipe well
charged stimulates afresh the excited
Imagination and sends them of again
into their dream-lands. The singers
chant their lOye-songs and the slmehs
sway in their passionate dances. This
goes on for hours, fresh pipes
and coffee being passed round at inter
walls. the smokers waking from one
dream only to go Off into another Such
an orgy. indeed, is sometimes prOtracted
for two or three days. Then lassitudo
and exhaustion onsue, and the hashash
experiences a sort Of revulsion against
the drug, which lasts for some weeks
when the longing for it returns. In
many parts-among the Bektaches, for
example-there are regular gatherings
for bemp-smokng, just as the Nsailic Of
Syria meet certain days to drink hemp
tea. The poorer classes find opportu-
nifty for INDUCING in the drug in the So
called "meshash," or hemp-houses.
These are forbidden IN most Moslem
countries. But though the law may
prohibit it cannot suppress these places.