The scene was a perfect pandemonium, while boisterous laughter and loud curses mingled with and intensified the general excitement and confusion.

Both the men and women were drinking freely, and some of them were in a wild state of intoxication, while others had long since passed the stage of excitement and were now dozing stupidly in the corners of the room.
Manning and his companion stood for some time gazing at the scenes around them.

The detective's mind was busy with somber meditations upon the human degradation that was here presented.

Here were women, many of them still youthful and with marks of beauty still remaining, in spite of their life of dissipation.

Their eyes were flashing under the influence of intoxication, and from their pretty lips were issuing blasphemies which made him shudder.