The times., 1898-07-03
STAGE STORIES.
On Mott Street.

''The room is nearly empty tonight"
''You- roll yourr pills we'll but you are
slow. Hurry-giYe it to me-"
THE same cOuch-I like it"
Hand me the pipe My hands tremble
more and more and l am getting as yell
low as yourself. l will not smoke often
again. Wing
Once in life love smolders and dies;
now and then friendship flares a time. but
only opium burns like this"
"I had not noticed before how I'll I am.
My nerves tYiteh as though I had not
touched the drug in a month. had some
yesterIay-uo il was Tues-yesterdayI
think it was yesterday"
1T is coming. My fingers are growing
lifeess and my limbs cold. There is a
heavy weight on my chest and my ears
ring. The smoke is very thick, TOO, or is
il smoke at all?"
If one forgot troubles as easily as one
forgets when smoking one would not
| need 10 smoke in order to forget"
How heavy are my eyellds, and yet
! they DO not close. 1t seems TO me that
| there is another Customer coming but
do not know. My jaws are set tight.
! There goes the pipe"
I'm order-one-.zoes-visi visit-gotti-'
ION that hill there is a palace. The
/ vines grow oyer it-venOmous, green,
heartshaped, caressng. There are broad
open balconies in front where am stand
ing. But the lines are crooked and I'M
parallel. NOXious, poisonous, engulfing
weeds twine around in choked confusion.
What a pity. But there is gold every
where-scintiliating glittering, glowing,
glorious, gem-lighted gold. And it is
/ moving like water in streams that relent
only when they have fallen. but not while
falling-streams that catch the light and
| throw it into the remotely distant cor
| ners of the field In broad, transparent.
! silver lines until the river touches il,
( smiles, wavers and sends the gleam back.
/ must handle il though they be holding
me and as my fingers light
Music is playing softly and the river
/ has turned 10 wine like tle crimson
blood il enriches. Women come from
the palace and dance over ana around
me, hand in hand, smiling. bright-eyed,
yoluptuous. Their arms are white and
their bos0ms like perfect globes on
which the sun falls in loving touca All
are happy with their sport and mona see
me in the dance. Robes float GUITAR out
and the music quickens until the notes
tread on the heels of one aa9Eher. AMI
AdSAci anu AdStef go the women until ali
! passing me seem one and my senses reel
and the blood leaps through my distend-
ed veins TO the aiF-strange, weird, fas-
cinaung-the orchestra is"
Slowly out of the moving circle sin
gle face grows and glowers at me with
nenacing, dev6uring. yixen!sh, hating
jealous eyes. have seen those features
| in-in-sGmewhere. The body is sinewey
graceful, writhing, serpent-like-that IL
/ Wherel She is the same snake that bur
led its fangs in me before. The lines be
/ come more rounded and more dilatingl,
delicate. The head is sharp and the eye.
grow out and pierce me in glowing burn
ing hate l turn and run and run and
the bed clothes come up in great sweep
ing, massive, billowy waves and threa ter
to enguf me. Pull them downi Pul
them down and save me! And the ser
pent has wrapped its dark. noisome fes
tering folds about me and frightened II:
cleaning scales for an embrace. 1t
touch repeis, but the softer portions O.
my body bend. A rib cracks and breaks
Still the pressure continues: firm ungiv
ing and constant. i force my hands un
derneath and push, but TO no avail Pow
erful, muscular, uudulating, the coll
narrow and my very bones are crushed
and give way. My God, The reptile ha.
rounded its timber, delicate body abou
my chest, and is moving in tight, all
forcing, upyielding pressure The bloot
has gone to my head; / cannot breathe
my hands tingle and are inert; my eye
are forced out of their sockets: my bod,
writhes-hissing-it is hissing-red-alI-
dark and damp-breath-air-and tn
waves rise and the waters rush past m,