The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-15 00:00:00

diverted from its ordinary course by these invisible grooves;
hence certain numbers are sure to win repeatedly during a
day, while others never turn up."

The brothers proceeded to Homburg and began playing.
The mathematician regularly made his appearance two
hours earlier than his brother in the Kursaal, and noted
down all the winning numbers, though without punting.
Those which came up freqently during the two hours were
then backed by his brother. Their want of passion insured
them success, for they were as cool and as calm as the bank,
They won I,ooof. a day. When this sum was attained
they infallibly left the green table, and did not return till
the next morning. In this way they are said to have gained
halt a million of francs.

A Polish Count also believed in the existence of an infal-
lible system, but had not yet discovered it. After losing a
considerable part of his fortune in gambling, he invested the
rest in Homburg Bank Shares. Every morning there was
visible in the Kursaal a tall thin man with a long, red
moustache, who from his gait, manner, and face, might
have been taken for an Englishman, but was in reality
our Polo. He walked restlessly round the table, and evi-
dently wrestled with the temptation to punt. A professor
of the species we have described noticed his restlessness,
and at once based a speculation upon it. " I have an
understanding with that croupier opposite," he said myste-
riously to the Pole, who knows the secret of making the
ball roll so that red must win. Stand just here, and when
you notice that the croupier takes a pinch of snuff and looks
straight at you, stake 12,000 f. on red. Pay me 8,000 f., of
which I must give a moiety to the croupier, and the rest is
for yourself.", The Pole hesitated, but finally accepted the
offer. Ha proceeeded to the indicated spot just opposite the
croupier,land when he took a pinch end looked at him he
staked the 12,000 f. on the red. He won, gave the professor
the B,ooof. and proposed to punt again. " No," said the
swindler," not again to-day, for it might attract atten-
tion." On the following morning the Pole was again
at his post opposite the croupier, staked his 12,000 f. and lost
them. He looked around furiously, but the professor had
disappeared, and did not return. The croupier who, when
he took a pinch, was wont to look straight before him, had
not the slightest cognisance of the affair, nor had he received
sauncycepeodr
et ido no
no:eft, hbeyBa,cocoi
dOfe.n t
Another "professor" did not earn so much who was
It was a swindling trick which
aware that the bank likes to hush up any scandal with gold.
He fastened a rope to a tree in the vicinity of a sentry,
waited till some persons were coming along through the
park, and hanged himself. There was a disturbance, the
sentry hurried up, and the hanging man was cut down and
recalled to life. All Homborg talked about the occurrence,
and the bank administration at once sent I,ooof. to the pre-
tended unfortunate gambler. A couple of months later he
hanged himselt again in the same way and received I,ooof,
but with a hint that " he had better hang himself elsewhere
in future."

During the play-hours a swarm of men meet be seen round
the Kursaal, who can be recognised as Shylocks a long way
off. They are waiting for gamblers whose last gold coin the
croupier's inexorable rake has drawn in. Such persons
always believe they could win it all back if they only had
a small sum of ready money. When a usurer of this sort
knows a player to be safe, he discounts a little bill for him
at cent. per cent., but if he does not know his circumstences
he lends on pledges. This latter business is transacted
in the open air. Every evening some player leaves the
Kursaal, returns without breast-pin or rings, without watch
and chain ; stakes again, loses his last coin, and rushes from
the room. The pawnbroker does a roaring trade in this way.
On a gem worth I,ooofl. he will advance 300, and that only
for a month. If the pledge is not redeemed in that period
it is sold. The Parisian lorettes carry to the Homburg
Jews most of the ornaments which they have beguiled their
admirers into buying for them. Some of these honourable
ladies carry on pledging as a profession. One fine day they
appear without jewellery at the drinking fountain, complain
to some charitable soul that losses at play have compelled
• them to pledge their precious souvenirs, receive the money
to redeem them, fetch the jewelry back, and pledge it again
the same day I
They share the profits of the transaction
with Menke Shylock. Every autumn the Paris jewellers
send their travellers to Homburg and buy up the unre-
deemed pledges. The Jew gains 200 per cent. by the
transaction, and the jeweller has no cause to grumble.
As a type of the common professional gambler we will
select a man who, in February of the present year, became
universally known through a scandalous trial. We allude
to Garcia, the King of the French Greeks, and therefore
called Garciapoulos, the first of his name (according to
Robert Houdin, the first Greek detected was a man of the
name of Apoulos).
Ever since he has been known in
Parisian society his life has been the same. In winter
he plundered the fashionable society of the City of the Seine
by playing with °egged dice and packed cards, and in sum--
mer he proceeded to Homburg to lose his dishonestly Ito_
quired money at the green board. Two years ago a turn
apparently took place in his fortunes. He played one day
from 11 a.m, till 11 p.m. with fabulous good luck. He be-
gan with a stake of 12,500f1.,
the highest allowed at Trente
et Quarante, and by four in the afternoon he had won
500,000 f. At this point he asked leave of Blanc to exceed
the limits of the stakes, and received it at once. From this
moment he staked 60,0001., and for seven hours was the sole
player. All the tables were deserted, the most eager gam,
blers merely looked on, and a, perfect silence prevailed.
Garcia broke the bank five times, there being 350,000 f, in
it on each occasion, and when the Kureaal was closed at
11 p.m., ho rose a winner of 1,750,000 f., or X 70,000.
The next morning Garcia went away from Homburg,
after releasing all the gamblers imprisoned for debt, The
only
smiled
shareholders a
nada
:hhr
ui mg
ggeod whiisthshloonngldefrasceisu a nosecha/ant
; but M. Blanc
way, for he knew the demoniacal power of attraction Which
gambling exercises over lucky players.
within Garcia t
returned the
next year, and
a week had repaid the bank one mile
lion francs, He hurried to Pads, sold out another million,
carried them to the Homburg bank, and within six days he
was thoroughly cleaned out. Thus the millionaire returned
to his old condition, and was again compelled to cheat in
Paris during the winter, in order to try his luck at Hom-
burg in the summer.
Garcia spent a part of I:st winter in Nice. When here-
turned to Paris he moved in the highest circles, was a mem-
ber of the Cirque Imperial, the Jockey Club, &e.
On
February 3, 1863, he invited another gambler, Calzado, to
accompany him to the house of the Countess Berated, where
they would find some rich fellowsyoung and plenty of high
play. The " Countess" kept a saloon in which fashionable
characters were accustomed
and equivocal chara t to assemble. On
this evening there were present aPrince Demidoff, a Duc
de Gramnnt Caderousse, a M. de Miranda, a Marquis P—,
a director of the Italian Opera, and a ^- e
mee-Prefet, as well
as ladies who, in the report of the Criminal Court relating
to the events of the night, are merely designated femmes et
flies. The play was nigh, and for a titne conducted hon-
ourably. When the gamblers, however, began to grow ex-
cited, Garcia quitted the
room, and on his return proposed
Baccarat instead of Trente et Quarante, at which they had
hitherto been plaYing* Some of the visitors did not take
part in it, and these noticed that Garcia secretly exchanged
the cards lying on the table for others. The play began,
and in six deals De Miranda had lost 126,0001. to Garcia.
The enormous amount saved him : the spectators declared
Garcia a swindler. The exchange of the cards was alluded
I to, and Garcia was compelled to confess it, when one of the
party brought the covers of some packs from the ante-room
to which Garcia had retired for half-an-hour. The cheat
now confessed that he had packed the cards he brought
with him. He took to flight, scattering bank notes around
him , but his accomplice was seized and searched. Alto-
gether 8,5,000 of Miranda's francs were recovered, and Garcia
must have carried oft 41,000 with him. The court sentenced
him to five years' imprisonment in default, and Calzado to
18 months,
It need not be expected that the scandal served as a warn-
ingbl
gamblers, to the Play produces a mental excitement,
which is a necessity for men of a certain class. Let these
play if they like, but the temptation ought net to be placed
in the way of respectable persons who vieit watering-places.
The air of gambling rooms is heating, and robs many a man
of his senses. M. Sirven adds, that the director at Baden-
Baden has received a notice to gait, and M. Blanc will
not be allowed to reap his harvest much longer when the
Landerave of Hesse-Homburg, now eighty years of age,
closes his eyes, Unfortunately for our stern moralist,
who, we suspect, has burnt his wings
pretty se-
verely at: Homburg, and is'' taking out" abuse, the
mighty potentate of Hesse-Cassel is granting fresh con-
cessions every year ; aril it is not likely that his succesors
will be so virtuous as to resign the best part of their in-
come for love of honesty. We hope they may.

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