There
was a cousin from Chicago, a wild lad, who made a speciality of this
diversion, and whose mistresses were bathed in
champagne.--Apparently there were numberless places in the city
where such orgies were carried on continually; there were private
clubs, and artists' "studios"--there were several allusions to a
high tower, which Montague did not comprehend. Many such matters,
however, were explained to him by an elderly gentleman who sat on
his right, and who seemed to stay sober, no matter how much he
drank. Incidentally he gravely advised Montague to meet one of the
young host's mistresses, who was a "stunning" girl, and was in the
market.
Toward morning the festivities changed to a series of
wrestling-bouts; the young men stripped off their clothing and tore
the table to pieces, and piled it out of the way in a corner,
smashing most of the crockery in the process. Between the matches,
champagne would be opened by knocking off the heads of the bottles;
and this went on until four o'clock in the morning, when many of the
guests were lying in heaps upon the floor.
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