The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-07-23
VISIONS IN OPIUM SMOKE.
The Story of an Unhappy Young Vic
tim of the Pipe.
From the Nelo York Times

the lobby of the Fifth Avenue hotel the
other evening. His appearance was strik-
ing. He was faultlessly dressed in a pepper
and-salt suit of light weight, but his face
was coloriess as that of a corpse. His eyes
were almost vacant in their expression, yet
at times a CLEAN would shoot from them.
| His movements were slow, yet his hand S
were continually twisting about and finger
| ing the buttons of his coat. He had the APP
pearance of an invalid, but to the initiated
| he showed what he waS-a confirmed opium
fiend. A gentleman kept watchful eye
upon him. At list the young man seated
| himself and began conversation with the
writer by asking which was the best line Of
| steamships to Europe. The next instant he
said: "Where is the nearest drug store"
| On being informed that it was on the
nearest corner, he confidentially and at the
| same time explanatory said: "Will you
| oblige me by getting me an ounce of opium
l have a severe pain in my head, and. being
a stranger here, they will not give 1t to me
without prescription" At the same time
he furtively slipped 50 bill into the writer s
hand. His guardian saw it, and, stepping
up asked: did my brother ask you to buy
| him opiumw On being informed in the
affirmative, he said: You must not. He
hasn't had any for over three years now,
and we are taking him to Europe. We are
trying to break him of the awful habit. "
Then turning to his brother, he said: 81
hope your will il strong enough, Jimmy, to
complete what we have set out to accom-
plish Tell this gentleman your story. 1t
will divert your mind and it may interest
| him."
The opium fiend turned his dull gray eyes
| to me and said:
"Would it interest you to hear the story
of man who daily suffers fortunes beside
which the inqulsition was child'S plays"
"To be sure it would" was the reply.
His story was as follows:
Il am the son of San Francisco mer-
chant and have seen Chinese opium eaters
and smokers from my infancy, and l never
| dreamed that | would become its slave. l
am a graduate of Yale college, and on my
| twentY-fourth birthday my father made
me a member of the firm and senG me to
| Hong-Kong TO attend to our branch house
there. 1t was in Hong Kong that hit
my first pipe. | was quite i'll from change
of water and from malaria. One evening,
a week after my arrival, l dined with a
mandarin, who was customer. l ex-
planned my feelings, and he suggested
| opium to alleviate my pains. In his house
| smoked my first pipe. | had read the
! Opium Eaters Dream and naturally
thought would visit some strange land in
my upcr. but didn't. 1t made me sick,
! and thought it most nauseOuS. However, |
slept splendidly that night, and really felt
refreshed in the morning. l I'd no
! dreams. The next evening my pains began
| again. and |, remembering my experience,
| hit the lipe again This time it did not
make me sick, AMI this time | dreamed. |
shall never forget it. l thought | was in a
beautiful garden with perfumed fountains
and magnificent flowers. Beautiful girls
we're walking about, and to my astonish-
/ HyN,, Noi,.
| They lowered about me singing sweet songs
and playing sweet music, and at last faded
away, leaving a cloud before my eyes from
which came slowly changing colorS, most
exquisite tints. rivaling any rainbow had
ever seen, and afar off came the strains of
music growing fainter and fainter as the
cloud grew more Opaque and then | sank
| into oblivion.
THE next night my desire to see these
beautiful things was more overpo wering
than my desire to get rid of my pain, but
| this time it took four pipes to send me off.
| l didn't see any beautiful maidens this time,
| but my dream took the shape of an ever
| changing panorama, and changing quickly
| too, like the slides in stereopticon. | saw
| my home, my friends playing tennis on the
lawn. 1 saw a horse race at the Bay Dis
trict track as plainly as if we're there
| saw the starters flag fall heard the shout
They're OFF, followed them around the
| track; saw the grand stand people rise en-
| maSse to cheer the victor. 1t seemed al
most an eter ity before this series of living
| panorama faded away.
you have never seen these things and
you do not know What it is to be deprived
| of them. l became a habitual opium
smoker until | was compelled to hit the
pipe morning. noon and night. Ny father
heard of it and called me home He tried
TO reform me but could not. With deliber-
| ate cunning would promise never to touch
1t again. He would then give me money
| and | would strike bee line for China
town. At last forbearance ceased to be a
J vir ne ID he cut off my allowance. 1 bor-
| rowed money from my friends to indulge
my passion. I cared for no one. Father,
| mother, brother, sisters, were of no con-
! sideration VIII teve. | was completely
| proStituted to the poppy devil. AT last my
friends refused TO lenl me money and
| reSorted to theft. | stole fro II my home
and pawned the articles, and now comes
tie awful part of my tale
| Il was engaged to be married to a beau
| tltul and accomplished girl. visited her
/ one night and stole her gold watch, which
pawned for So. This kept me a week in
| Chinatown. When ! came out was ar
rested on warrant sworn out by my be-
| trothed, who, backed by my father, sent
| me to San Quentin prison for thres years.
thinking to ref I'm me. Being suddenly
| deprived of the drug | became maniac and
was for three week, chained to the floor of
u dark cell. I tried to Kill the keepers, but
| gradually grew out of my frenzy. But the
craving for the drug was st IL there. Ny
betrothed died while l was III Jail. The
warden came to me and told me- but was
/ Indifferent. l did not care if the whole
world died if l could get one pellet of opium
| The three years expired and [ came out of
| prison total wreck. [ could not work
| there. l could not eat. and | wasted away
In my normal condition | weighed 1870
| pounds; to-day [ weigh no | snffer the
| most excruclating pains i'll the back of my
h al; my nerves and muscles are all un-
st ung. My brother is my constant guar
dian. l do not make move but what he
sees it. have no pleasures, nothing but an
| existence that is painful except at times
| When L sit down alone and think over my
dreams from the beginning, and that is al
most punishment. / am going over to
! the European springs and sincerely hope
| may be cured, for fully realize the fear
| full state that / am in
Yes, l have compared notes with other
smokers, and some never dream; Others
dream the same thing over and over, but
nave never met any one yet whose brain
| was as active as mine when under toe in
flence of opium. I ere are not words
enough IN the English vocabulary to express
the longi which l have for pipe at tuis
| very moment. Why, my dear sir, If you
| would pile $50 gold pieces one upon another