“Well, from there we went to the same old opium bungalows and the same old ‘Chink’ ‘hit the pipe’ for us,--afterward, however, taking us into a female ‘joint,’ where we saw several regular denizens of the place. It is all part of the show; but I am glad Conners did not take us to it when you and the other ladies were along.... One of the women there had been a belle of Philadelphia: another, a runaway wife. Gradually, they have slipped down the ladder of shame and remorse, until their poor, wavering little hands could hold the rungs no longer, and so they fell into that ‘Slough of Despond,’ with the ‘pipe’ for their favorite companion. I was glad to get away from it, for it made my heart ache. With infinite understanding there would be infinite tolerance; and if we knew the springs of action, the circumstances and environment, of these poor, stray souls, perhaps we shouldn’t judge them very harshly. “But to return to my story: ‘Chuck’ was in his element. Never did I know that such unmentionable slang, such mere depravity of phrase, could come from human lips, although my experience has been a varied one! The night you ladies were with us the ‘choicest gems’ of his vernacular were bottled up: last night the cork was drawn--with a vengeance! And yet, after all (though I’m glad you did not hear him), it was only words. At heart, the man is kind and generous, and he lives up to his code closer than many another who has had every advantage. “Of course, he asked all about you. He said you were ‘Der real t’ing,’ ‘der right stuff,’ ‘der whole cheese,’ etc. ‘Next day,’ said he, ‘all der fleet wanted t’ know who der swell little skoit was. “And,” I sez, “why dat’s der Princess Nicotine!” I sez.’ “He was anxious to know your opinion of him, and so I said that he had made ‘a great hit’ with you. This pleased him mightily. I then said that he ‘was tearing every skirt’s heart wide open!’ ‘Stop dat--stop dat!’ he said; ‘Go ‘way back! She was kidding of yer!’ “We wound up by dining at the Chinese Delmonico’s on tea and rice and chop suey. Of course, I ordered some, but not daring to eat it I slipped my plate to ‘Chuck,’ whose chop-sticks soon made short work of the concoction. He ordered _more_, afterward, and I wish you could have seen his expression when he had at length reached a stage of repletion and exclaimed ‘Hully gee! dis is goin’ some! I wouldn’t change me feed-bag dis minute wif Rockefeller!’...