Earller in the morning, Mrs, Skeflington-Smyth gave evidence of finding hee husband in bed. She did not notice anything peculiar at frst but later she noticed his face was a strange colour, She called Mr.. Lo Cremtlen, who rang for Dr, Meyer-bach. 'The previous night, she said, they had both been to a cod party. 'Later they dined at a frien house, and afterwards went night elub—the Cathay Towe She did not notice that her husband drank heavily' that night. She had gone home first, Her husband took her. He himself returned to the Tower later. Tt was quite usual for her husband to keep late hours, she Coroner: Can you say what was his usual consumption?—It he went out he usually drank quite a lot—1 do Rot mean enormously—but ho was in the habit of taking quite a large amount of alcohol.
"Coroner: Ho did not drink any of the local whisky? You sometimes {t is possible to buy whisky here which is made locally, Tt is extremely dangerous "Mre. SkeMfington-Smyth said that
that, they had been warned egninst doing 'Mr, Lo Cremtien said that after Mr. SkeMngton-Smyth returned the Tower, after taking his wife home, they drank "Old Fashioneds,' avcocktall, he explained to the Coroner. Later, they went to the Ambassador where they drank beer, After: that he went home, Ho himself had hada lot to drink, he said, and he left Mr, SkoMington-Symth on the pavement outside the cabaret.
"Wantehe Chow Opium?"
How the deceased smoked five pipes-of opium In a den in Chinese territory during the early hours of the day on which he died was related by Mr. HW. Wendt, German bar tender' of the' Paramount Hotel, on 'Thursday afternoon when the Coroner heard further evidence before adjourning the inquest until 10 a.m, on Tuesday, March 24 knew' Mr. Skeington-Smyth about a week before he died," Mr. Wendt told the Coroner. ' "Mr. keffington-Smyth" he continued, same to my room shortly after 3 am, on the early morning of March 9; He asked me to go out with him. Tdid not want to go as T was already in bed. Ho said he was feeling lonely and wanted me to go out with him. So I Mnally-agreed, I left.with him about 330 am. In a taxi waiting The deceased was in a very chang~ ing mood the witness said. "At one moment he said he was lonely, at the next ho was joking. "I think he had been drinking." he added. From the Paramount they took the tax! to North" Szechuen Road. They wore going to the Venus Cafe.
Coroner: Did you go to the Venus Caté?—No, we stopped about two blocks away....and he suddenly did not want to go....he wanted to de something exciting, something diftercut...;80 we walked up and down the froetg for some time. T tried to make Him go to the Venus because the district 1s rather dirty, "Then one of these' loafers down Srechuen Road came—a Chinese eoolle—and he offered to lead us toa we could smoke opium. che chow opium."
"Mr. Skefington-Smyth wanted to go," witness continued, "T tried to tale him out of it but he' was absolutely stubborn and wanted to 0. So finally said T could not Jet him go slone T went with him and this coolie Ted us through various streets of the [Chinese area. Finally he brought us In front of a Chinese house." The coolie knocked at the door and somofeody. answered from inside—and opened it, and he led us up the stairs to-a room on the first floor."
The room was small and horribly smelly, Mr. "Wendt said, and it. was Almost impossible to. breathe. There wore about ten persons present, all Chinese, and two of these were smoking opium. He made a last appeal to Mr. Skeington-Smyth to Teave but Mr. Skeffington-Smyth since he. was there, wanted to stop and smoke, The ¢oolle brought pipe and he smoked.
think he smoked, T cannot tell you exactly, but T think about tve or Six. ples." witness' said, during period of half to three-quarters of an hour. Then Mr. Skeffington-Smyth pald about $2 or $9 and they eft the Plage. One of the coolies fed them {fo Szechuien Road.
Coroner: Now 1 want you to' remember carefully, "What was the apparent -effect?—Immediately after the was apparently in. the best of moods and not affected at all.
Returned {o the Venus They walked down Szechuen Toad to the Venus. Mr. Skeitington-Smyth walked a ttle drunkenly, witness 1d, but his walk was absolutely the fame as before he smoked.
Coroner: Did he do any drinking In the opium den?—No, nothing at al when we got to the Venus Cafe," Mr. Wendt went on, "we sat down at table and he had' some soda water, no alcohol at all. Then he suddenly was feeling sleepy. He did not actually say so but he did not want to get up and dance. So I left him there and daneed, He stayed at the table and T got up and danced several times and we talked. We were in the cafe until closed, about 6.30 a.m. or 6 am, We had been there about an hour, Sud-donly I was feeling tired and.T wanted fo take a taxi home but Mr. Skeffing-ton-Smyth was suddenly not. feeling sleepy.any more and wanted to walk home to the Broadway Mansions. So we walked. That took about twenty minutes."
'The deceased was walking In much the same' manner us before. He was Little unsteady but he wanted to walk. Just before they reached, Broadway Manstons Mr. Sketfington: Smyth said he was tired, though to the witness his galt remained the same and he stowed no outward sgn. When they reached Broadway Mansions Mr. Skefington-Smyth asked him to go up and have a drink. There was nothing to drink, however, except water, which they drank, They talked for a'whilo and the deceased showed the witness some photographs.
Talked Nonsense Atter looking at the photographs: Mr. Skeffington-Smyth still wanted to Talk, "I told him T was tired and {wanted to go to bed." Mr. Wendt said, ind suddenly he started to talk non-tense. He did not want to go to bed.
mocked at the door of the next Yom, Mr. lo Cremtien's, but fortunately'he did not wake him up."
Coroner: Ho began to act foolishly?—¥es, more so than before.
Mr, Wendt said that he then Insisted that Mr. Skefington-Smyth go to bed. Ho took off the deceased's tie, and he went to bed undressing himself. Then he eft him and took a taxi home. Mr. Wendt, Io answer to a question put by the Coroner, said he was In Mr. Skeffington-Smyth's room Jabout twenty minutes. He saw him {Ho into the bath-room and clean his tect. He did not see him take anything whilst he was in there, If Mr, Skefington-Smyth had, he thought he would have told him.
Coroner: T suppose after you got into the Venus Cafe you did not notice what his eves were like, did you?—No, Teannot tell you.
Mr. Wendt anteed that it was Mr. Skefngton-Smyth's condition, which was worse than when he first saw him that night, which induced him to persuade Mr. Skeffington-Smyth to £0 10 bed. He was frightened Mr, Skeffing-ton-Smyth might start making a noise and: becoming a nuisance.
Coroner: Did. it occur to you to wonder what caused that, seeing ho had nothing to drink or about four hours before?—First I knew he had been drinking beer, secondly he had smoked opium, thirdly it was getting late, £0 taking all these reasons together T was not at all surprised to see him get unsteady.
Asked if he had ever taken opium, Mr. Wendt replied not until the night in "question. Then Mr. SkeMngton-Smyth asked him to try and he took tone small puff. It made him feel sick. Asked whether the deceased com-Dlained of feeling sick, Mr. Wendt replied that he did" after the first pipe, but after he smoked more he said he felt all right. 5
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.