Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-28

the Caucasian princess Trina DembizZi,
who boasted the bizarre title "Sernistiya
Imperatritsa'-the Birthstone Empress.
The empress was an expert in the science
and practice of drug-taking. and the use
of drugs in society; she cultivated only
drug maniacs' society. and she compiled a
privately printed book called Memoirs of
a Morphinist," which contained list of
40 Moscow men and 300 women of wealth
and position who were given to drug
taking.
The princess was wholly perverse and
unnatural. She described morphinism as
"a glorious crime which feeble mans
laws cannot check. and she further rev.
eled in the scandals and tragedies which
newspapers daily report as a result Of
the cocaine and morphia craze.
She kept track OF every suicide in good
society and set herself to ferret out the
cause. always, said Kozhevnikoff's law
yer. under the suspicion that her god
dess. Morphia. was the source OF the
tragedy" And when she found out that
this was indeed SO. she went deeply yelled
to the victims funeral. or sent wreath
Of violets inscribed Where thou has;
gone we shall soon follow
The Drug Maniacs' Club founded By
Princess Dembizzi. had eighty members
who met once month and recounted
their individual Joys and torments. The
more important experiences were writ
ten down and analysed by doctors, of
whom there were nine among the eighty
members. The princess had fine IL
brary on toxicology, and she paid for
books drug taking by Erlenmeyer.
Demetrescu. Higher, Jennings and other
medical men. being translated into Rus
sian and circulated among friends.
Her abnormal mind Is shown by the
fact that she took no delight in surrepti-
tious literature which praised drug TAX
ing tof this Russia produces vast quanti-
ties). She sought out writer's who ex-
and the more they raved and menaced
with ruin in this world and the next the
more their writings pleased the queer
princess
The chief exploit OF the Dembizzi CO.
terie was the invention OF "sulphurism "
Sulphurism Is the chronic alternate TAX
ing Of different drugs. Princess Den.biz-
ri was victim. or. as she put IL, 'tri-
umphator." in this business She describ-
ed the torments In the transition stage
from one drug to another as worse than
the pains OF giving up the drug habit.
but added that 1.-THE reaction was worth
the torment" At Christmas she got mel
ancholia because her favorite poodle died
and she took poison.
She left $4,000 the drug maniac Ii
brary, dozen poems and the weirdest
collection OF unnatural art and furniture
that ever eye has seen. Her taste in art
was for the shockingly ugly pictures of
the pessimist artist Zhukoff, who de-
lights to picture humanity being sucked
dry by vampires or crushed under Jug
gernaut wheels Copies of his ugliest
productions hung over her bed.
She had a smoking room with furniture
OF contorted shapes, resembling, says a
friend. "1ignifed cripples." The furni-
ture was made by the Kieff art student.
vsevolod Kschetin. who died at the age
OF twenty-three from voluntary Saturn
ism-that IL, from lead poisoning pur-
posely inflicted, lin order,' as he said
sharp sensation in the desert Of life
The case of Nadexhda Egoroff is typ
ical Qf those who fell under the malign