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

THE SU'N, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, SEPtEMBER 15, 1861

THE WESTERN STATES.

E (Tim the Special Correspondent of the Times.)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, Aug. 30.

'Deere are drawbacks and hardships enough con-
nected with American travelling; but there is one
peculiar advantage more than counterbalancing all
the evil. In America there is nothing to see ; there
are no lions to kill. The town you arrive at to-day
is nothing but the town you quitted yesterday all
over again. Not only is there nothing to see, but
nothing that you are pressed or even expected to
see. You alight from the cars, are driven to your
hotel, write down your name in a book at the office,
are shown to your room, go down to your breakfast,
—the same printed bill of fare, same table atten-
dants ; you have travelled 300 miles, but find your-
self precisely as you were. Your palatial inn, the
broad street before it, the still wider avenue at right
angles with it, the lofty warehouses, the spacious
stores, the trim villas and gardens, are all familiar
objects, the hotel itself being by far the greatest
wonder of the town. Gonna! Canna ! you have
seen a hundred towns like the one now before you.
There will be no cicerone or valet de place to plague
you with medieval minsters, or to break your shins
against the remnants of Roman rubbish. No picture
gallery to inspect, no cradle of genius, no martyr's
shrine to worship at, nothing to see. It is the
easiest travelling in the world.
Take as a sample this Chicago, this "Queen of
the West,', this big city of the big State of Illinois;
a bran new place sprung up in one night as if by
magic. Five-and-twenty years ago I lived in Ame-
rica; I resided for three years in the States, and
even travelled west as far as the Mississippi, yet I
never heard the name mentioned; the site of Chi-
cago was hardly marked on the map. "In 1831,"
now learn, "it was an Indian trading post; in
1840 it boasted 5,000 inhabitants." Its population
exceeds at the present day 150,000 souls. Its
main thoroughfares stretch out seven miles in length.
Wonderful as its growth has been, it has, however,
fallen short of the expectation of its sanguine foun-
ders, who were bent on making it the biggest city
of the Union. At the time of my that visit to Ame-
rica Cincinnati was the city of golden hopes. It
was she that then bore the proud title of " Western
Queen," and the removal of the seat of the Federal
Government to her hills on the bank of the Ohio was
looked upon as a probable, and by no means remote,
contingency. Since then the shine has been taken
off Cincinnati by this new upstart on the shore of
Lake Michigan. Cincinnati has been designated
under the new appellation of " Porkopolis," and
seen to that distinction she scarcely has any good
title nowadays, seeing that the pork trade itself
flourishes at Chicago with greater activity than at
the rival city; and I am assured by some very ear-
nest patriots here that " we beat Cincinnati by a
yearly average of 40,000 hogs !" In 1838 Chicago
only exported 78 bushels of wheat ; in 1862 the ex,
port of breadstuffs exceeded 70,000,000 bushels. No
doubt Chicago, as the centre of three or four States
of unrivalled agricultural wealth, could not fail to
become a vast city. The inhabitants laid out a plan,
allowing ample room for any future extension.
They traced the widest streets in the world, planned
the broadest avenues. Everything was conceived
on that colossal, superlative scale which seems par-
ticularly to delight this biggest of nations. The
consequence is that we have as yet only the magnifi•
cent sketch and embryo of a town, we have dust
and glare, empty spaces, inconvenient distances.
I came to the West, as you are aware, with a
hope to be enabled to solve to my own satisfaction
the problem which puzzled my brain—" How do
these people fare under the scourge of this civil
war, and who is to pay for it I" The answer that
is given here to my question is by pointing to the
buildings at this moment in progress in every quar-
ter of the city. The town had originally been laid
on a dead level along the lake shore ; anything like
wholesome drainage was a material impossibility;
the people have been and are now striving against
the evil by raising every house and street seven or
eight feet above the ground. The primitive settlers
had no other building materials than wood or brick,
but magnificent quarries of white stone have lately
been discovered a few feet under the level of the
prairie, a few miles from the city ; and a miracle
such as the imperial nephews of great uncles
achieved in Rome and at Paris is being reproduced
here. Such glorious flags for the side-walks, such
excellent white blocks for the houses, the world
:hardly ever saw. Chicago, which is only half-built,
is being rebuilt all over. It is at this very moment
undergoing this transformation ; a proof that the
war not only never stopped, but rather hastened
and strengthened, its growth and prosperity.
Well, as to the town ; but what about the coun-
try ? In the country, lam told, most people have
profited by the war. There was no country in the
world where the minor landowners, farmers, and
labourers were more deeply in debt than in these
fertile Western districts. Over speculation is land,
successive bad harvests, and the decreased demands
from Europe had compelled the farmer to raise the
wind on any terms. The landed property was
heavily mortgaged ; the rural population was
on the brink of ruin. The war brought the
remedy of all evils. Provisions found a brisk,
open market near home. The man who owed
1,000 dols. could pay hie debt in greenbacks to that
amount, although in reality he hardly gave 500 dols.
real value, he received his full acquittal for the
whole sum. That what was benefit to the debtor
must be dead loss to the creditor is sufficiently evi-
dent; but, somehow, hardly one as yet feels in-
clined to complain. The spirit of enterprise, of gam-
bling in these countries exceeds all belief. The State
of Illinois had in 1852 only 95 miles of railway ; it
boasts now no less than 3,003 miles. By what
amount of jobbery, of downright robbery, these ex-
tensive lines have been achieved it would be idle to
inquire. The railways, et any rate, are there. The
end is attained—what signifies the means ? Ame-
ricans seem to be of Butler's opinion about " the
pleasure being as great in being cheated as to cheat."
Their eagerness for money-getting is equal to their
recklessness about money-losing. Their fortunes are
like so many castles of cards, which they delight to
see blown down at one breath. The unlimited issue
of Mr. Chase's greenbacks has been a glorious swin-
dle in the American style. It works wonderfully
well for the day; who gives a thought to the mor-
row ? The gain for the millions is immense ; who
would trouble his head about the few who may hap-
pen to be:osers by and by ? The man who comes to
this country with Old World notions has reason to
feel very small, and to look very foolish in his own
eyes. " There is nothing like civil war to fatten a
country; nothing like civil war and paper money!"
" Before the war," we are informed, " the total
circulation of the whole country, North and South,
was 362,000,000 dole. between paper money, gold,
and silver. Now, in the North alone, with only two-
thirds of the population, the circulation is computed
at 605,000,000 dole. Mr, Chase has, besides, the au-
thorisation by Congress to issue 300,000,000 dols.
irredeemable bank paper, besides 550,000,000 dols.
of legal-tender money. There are now 200 new
banks being organised to issue Treasury paper, and
there is no limit to the amount to be issued.,,
There is no doubt but by this Prodigious shower
of greenbacks the whole country h asbeen enor-
mously 46 The stocks hare
fertilised. advanced on
an average fully 300 per cent. The. Erie Railroad,
which formerly sold for five, is now 120. The Ga-
lena and other roads of this State, which were down
to 30 and 40, are now up to 130 and 140."
The same rule applies to every other branch of
commercial, agricultural, or industrial enterprise.
However fictitious and illusory, however ephemeral
this prosperity of the country may be, it behoves
every man to make hay while the sun shines. How-
ever worthless the greenbacks may be in them-
selves, the lands that can be bought, the houses that
can be built with them, are solid goods. The stretch
of private and public activity here is immense; the
travelling on every line of railway, the crowding of
all hotels, might well exceed all belief. Indeed, the
social machine is going at so stupendous a rate at
this moment that people are only anxious as to
what may happen in the event of its coming to a
full stop. Were the war to come to an end, and the
time for settlement to arrive, then it seems natural
to anticipate "a general smash, both financial and
commercial." The expenses of the war must fall
upon somebody, and the "vanquished enemy" win
in_this case hardly be in a condition to bear the costs,

Indeed, people here evince no trifling anxiety as to
" what is to become of the Confederate Debt." The
restoration of the Union, whenever it b 3 echieved
by main force, will find the United States neither
a larger nor a mightier Power than it was before;
its liabilities will scarcely fall on conquered tribu-
tary nations. The Americans will have to settle
their accounts among themselves ; the expenses
not only of the greatest, but also of the most
lavish, extravagant, improvident war that ever
was waged will have to fall on the people ; the
people will have to familiarize themselves with
every variety of burdensome taxes. These taxes
are, as far as I can: judge, cheerfully enough paid
at the present moment. In New York, city and
State, the collectors of the inland revenue find no
obstruction in the discharge of their irksome duties.
People lay down their bank notes in high glee, and
only wish they were called upon for greater sacri-
fices." In the West, lam told, only those pay who
are inclined; the system is new and imperfectly
applied; the burdens weigh upon'the various classes
or individuals with nothing like justice or equality.
The fact is the Americans aro as yet merely playing
at taxation, as they have hitherto been playing at
soldiering. When the game becomes earnest, when
all citizens have been made to bear the burden for
two or three years, they will think it high time to
get rid of it altogether, or greatly to lessen the load
of interest. In fact they will refuse to pay it.
When the greenbacks have done their utmost, when
there shall arise that natural reaction in every kind
of business consequent upon the cessatioenorfmutohes
war and the rapid depreciation of the enormous
amount of paper currency in circulation,
which
would then be without employment, then will be
the w
the time to look out for the mighty crash. America
is, however, inured to such catastrophes
mtroph
tress will be only temporary ; the aetesri
al dis-
tress
being occasioned by the war, and noticeable in the
extension of railways and the encouragement of all
other branches of commercial and industrial specu- 1
lation, will be solid and permanent.
Such are the views tanen by the persona I see
most frequently, with respect to the great financial
question of the country. Here in the West, a vast
majority, no doubt, wish for a speedy termination
of the war; but their wishes find no ready utter-
ance, their vote carries but little weight on the des-
tinies of the country, Illinois, like the greatest
number of the North Western States, was originally
colonized by New Englanders, who are, even at the
present moment, the cream and salt of the commu-
nity. Bankers, wealthy merchants, land specula-
tors, school teachers, lawyers, and doctors are for
the most part Yankees, and they, naturally enough,
monopolize social and political influence. Under
them are the masses, chiefly aliens, Irish and Ger-
mans, at war with one another, and thus neutraliz-
ing each other, and lying at the mercy of that
Yankee minority whom they detest, but dread and
obey. The New Englanders here are Republicans,
Abolitionists to a man ; they insist upon the war
being pushed on,: upon no quarter being given, upon
the extermination of the Southern race, confiscation
of Southern property, &c. The war has done
nothing but good to themselves. Like the New
Yorkers they have been contractors, purveyors, &c.
Among the lowest :classes a different spirit is rife,
although, as I said, it makes itself nowhere audible.
The mere threat of the draught, for it will never
come to a reality here, created a vast amount of ill-
will and alarm. Up to the 31st of December, 1862,
Illinois has sent 130,000 men into the field, out of a
population of 1,711,951, outdoing all other Western
States by the zeal with which it responded to the
President's proclamation. This readiness for self-
sacrifice ought to spare the State the horrors of the 1
conscription ; and it is probable that no more may
be heard about it. The loss of the volunteers during
these two foregoing years was not so very seriously
felt in this part of the country, inasmuch as the Illi-
nois contingent, like all others, consisted of, to a
great extent, the riffraff the country could well
spare, and more especially of those foreign immi-
grants who were on their first arrival unable to
find profitable employment. It would be too much,
however, to assert, as some Republicans do, that
the agricultural interests of the country have not in
the least suffered from the removal of so many
hands from the sphere of their useful exertions, An
Illinois farmer, my fellow-traveller by railthe other
day, answered my question on that subject by
saying, "Look at me, stranger. Three years ago I
had 10 sons, all working with me at the farm; of
these seven have gone to the war, and three I know
will never return." The- gaps left by these young
volunteers is not easily to be filled up, nor can the
three homekeeping sons do the work of the seven
who are off to the battle-field. In the like manner,
whatever may be stated to the contrary, there is no
doubt but a great many large estates in these dis-
tricts are falling out of cultivation from want of
labourers. It is true the tide of emigration comes
in at these times more actively than ever; but the
newcomers—Danes and Norwegians in vast num-
bers—push further; they seek their settlements in
the more northern latitudes of Wisconsin and Min-
nesota; this rich and deep soil of Illinois, which
would have such attractions for them, is mainly in
the hands of railway proprietors and land specula-
tors, harpies who by their absurdly high prices
scare away the new colonists, and burn their own
fingers, leaving behind vast tracts of unbroken
forest and unreclaimed prairie.
The ideas of a Earopean as to the strength of
Government and the sacredness of the empire of the
law are liable to be as rudely upset by what here
occurs daily as his notions about paper money and
the real solid foundation of financial prosperity.
When, at the outbreak of the war, the State of Illi-
nois, anxious about the safety of Cairo, on the Mis-
sissippi, came to the resolution of occupying that
place with 300 volunteers, it was found that neither
in Chicago, nor in Milwaukie, nor in all Illinois and
Wisconsin, could be found muskets enough to arm
that little squad, so that half of them departed
hence with only double-barrelled shot
hands. Such was at that time the guns in their
security of these
Western districts, that the law and its unarmed
officers had sufficed for more than six
millions of
men. This is only another instance of the fact I
stated the other day about Boston in my times—that
is, a quarter of a century ago--being kept imperfect
order by only two old constables. But what do we
hear now ? At Vandalia, Fayette County, quite in
the centre of this State, Provost-Marshal Summer-
ville, while engaged in arresting deserters, was at-
tacked by a party of men who, swelling up to
the
number of 400 or 500, overpowered the militia,
horse and foot, took possession of Vandalia, and
demanded the release of the father of One of the
deserters, threatening, in case of refusal, to burn
the houses and destroy the property of the Union
men in the town. The authorities, overawed by
the armed mob, were compelled to deliver the person
asked for. Facts like these speak volumes. A
people may well be left to take care of itself when
Government is under no necessity to interfere with
its movements, to curb its passions, or strain its
resources. But when it wants men or money, what
do we see now in New York ? It takes 44 regiments
and batteries to guard against riots, to say nothing
of the" sprightly little gunboats darting to and fro
in the harbour and up and down both rivers with
clean, tasteful,' all ready' marines, quite
prepared
for action." That free America should have come
to such a state of violence is sad enough ; bat far
sadder that party run mad should exult at such a
national degradation, and should only see in it the
humiliation of the Copperheads, who now " roar as
gently as sucking doves."
Unless my inexperience of men and things on a
first arrival greatly deceive me, we shall soon re-
quire no less vast a display of force in the West. As
many as are willing are free to desert from the Fede-
ral army ; and the breakinr, up of the Confederate
force on the Mississippi has scattered many thou-
sand desperate characters loose into the thinly
settled districts of this western
world. The affair of
Vaudalia is perhaps only a first specimen of what
parties here may attempt with utter impunity.
Any strong measure adopted either to catch de-
serters or to enforce the draught can scarcely fail to
multiply similar scenes. But far more startling
tragedies are being played further south, on the Mis-
souri and Kansas borders, countries long used to the
raids of Bushwhackers, Jayhawkers, Redlegs, and
malefactors of every description, by whatever strange
names they may be known. A leader of one of these
meraudince, parties, one Qatiatreil, nothing but a

robber, but pretending to have a commission from the
Confederate Government, fell suddenly upon the town
of Lawrence, in Kansas, beyond Leavenswortb, and
slew nearly the whole male population in cold blood,
plundering their habitations, and setting fire to
them. I shall enter into no particulars about that
a wful butchery, as it was already an old story by
the time I arrived in this part of the country, and
more than one account of it will have reached you
from other quarters. What is important to note is
merely that there was, naturally enough, a raising of
bucklers throughout Kansas; that a large body of
the " boys" of the country instantly set out on the
traces of the Missouri:robbers and murderers, and
that they have been slaughtering more than 80
persons, three or four of whom were known as
Quantrell's followers, the others being only sup-
posed to be sympathisers with his cause. The Kan-
sas boys declare they will have no rest till they
have laid the four border counties of Missouri, from
which the marauding party took its start, into a
howling and smoking wilderness. The reprisals
may be just, and vengeance may be a sacred duty,
but it is awful to think that this country, in which
three years ago 500 muskets could not be mustered,
should now betake itself to the practice of private
war; that it should set up the maxim of "an eye for
an eye, a tooth for a tooth," and that Government
should look on while the avenger visits on four
counties the sin of a few hundred ruffians.

A meeting of Kansas boys was held on Friday
evening last, the 28th, in which it was resolved that
" loyal men" should meet at Paola on the Bth of
September, all armed and fully equipped and orga-
nised, under the command of General Lane, who
trust he shall by that time have assembled 5,000
men ready for an onslaught into Missouri. At the
same meeting the commander of the department,
General Scholcfield, was denounced as imbecile and
inefficient, and his removal demanded. General
Ewing, who also commanded in the name of the
Government, telegraphed Lane, saying "that he
will defend Lawrence and Kansas, and requesting
Lane to use his influence to prevent unauthorised
raids into Missouri." Lane answers that "he will,
on the Bth inst., assemble 5,000 men at Paolo, and
tender his services to him (Ewing), and, if rejected,
he will appeal to a higher power." General Ewing
has placed two companies at Platte city to protect
the borders against avengers from Kansas. The
" loyal men" cause hardly less trouble and anxiety
than the " Bushwhackers."
From all these crude items of information it ap-
pears clearly that the worst passions of that fierce
border population are strongly excited, that Go-
vernment has lost all influence or control over them,
and is in as great fear of its friends as of its adver-
saries. Nothing seems more likely than we shall
have a long internecine struggle between the lawless
marauders on either side. Guerillas are also very
active throughout the region of Kentucky and Ten-
nessee,

THE HOMBURG GAMING HOUSES.

(From tite Atheuxum.)

About 10 miles north of Frankfort-on-the-Maine liee
Homburg on the hill, nestling am4d the forest-clad spurs of

the Taunus range. This well-built little town has the honour
of being the capital of a land a few square miles in size, and
combines with the advantages which its quality as a resi-
dency gives it the further merit of being possessed of excel-
lent curative springs. Persons with diseased livers and de-
ranged stomachs who visit these waters find, in addition to

the pleasant landscape, a chateau with an extensive garden,
promenades in the vicinity of the Kursaal, a pretty street
called the Luisenstrasse, and a first -rate band, which plays
the march from " Tannhauser" or the overture to "Der
Freischutz," while the guests imbibe the waters. But it is
not to these sources of amusement, or even to the waters,
that Homburg owes its reputation. The thing that attracts
thousands on thousands to a town which is as quiet as death
hexcept i
tably duringspread
thewatering
in
the
li seasonu raa is
l. wit h. e
Bb ol
aanr of green
cd
has
rieonvcloth
converted
the capital of the Landgravo of Hesse-Homburg into the
capital of hazard. Baden-Baben, in spite of M. Bona zet, is
but a star of the second magnitude, and Homburg outshines
all the other gambling dens of Germany.
The bank is held by a company whose manager is the
above-mentioned M. Blanc. In spite of the largo sums
which aro expended in beautifying Homburg and its vici-
nity—in spite of the very high rent which the Bath Com-
missioners claim, and in spite of the heavy salaries of the
directors, croupiers and servants—the dividend is rarely
less than 40 per cent. This enormous profit has a vezynatural
cause. With a few rare exceptions every player loses. Hence
the croupiers do not find their equanimity disturbed, even
should the bank be broken twice or thrice in the evening,
On an occasion of this sort, M. Blanc remarked about the
fortunate winner, "He belongs to us, as they all do; he
will bring back what he has won, and will leave his skin in
the bargain." When a gambler asked him whether he had
better back the red or the black, the worthy humorist re-
plied, "Back red or black, it is all the same; white
(Blanc) ale. ays wins."
In addition to M. Blanc, who has the chief management
as Directeur Gerant du Conseil d'Administration, there
are a sub-manager and two other directors. One of the
latter was formerly cook, and then for a long time a simple
croupier. His colleague died a short time back, and left a
fortune of £20,000 behind him. The substitute of the
managing director commenced his interesting career as an
actor, and took a company to the East Indies, with whom
he opened a French theatre. To his surprise his perform-
ances did not meet with the necessary recognition either in
Calcutta, Bombay, or Pondicherry ; and hence he was com-
pelled to bid farewell to the Land of Palms. He took back
with him a number of monkeys and! other animals, and
opened on the Boulevard de Temple in Paris a cafe, in the
principal apartment of which room was made for a large
cage with the Indian monkeys, The animals played their
antics, while a pretended negro wench waited on the guests;
and these novelties attracted numerous customers. When
the public curiosity began to pall, the proprietor established
a small lansquent table, which, however, soon assumed such
a character that the police interfered and shut up the house.
M. N---- crossed the frontier after this cross in Paris,
joined M. Blanc, and became his right-hand man.
Of greater importance even than these important em-
ployes is a shareholder intrusted with confidential duties.
He manages and looks after the professors and tempters.
What the latter are their name explains; they are pretty,
reckless women, generally Parisian lorettes, whose business
it is to seduce young men and old men to the gaming-table.
The most notorious of these ladies is a retired French actress.
While employed at a minor theatre, she was taken by one
of her numerous gentlemen-friends to Homburg. Here she
made the acquaintance of a Frankfort Creesus, who, sur-
prised by her boldness in punting, intrusted her with 30,000
francs, and she won 400,000. Trusting to her star, and deaf
to sensible advice, she went on playing for the highest
stakes and was ruined in a few days. She then entered
the service of the bank, and has since become one of the
cleverest seducers of gamblers.

"The " professor " is always a respectable-looking man,
dressed after the last fashion, and has a title. Ho calls him-
self marquis or count, or, at the least, a baron. He drives
his phaeton, seatters gold around, and contrives to slip into
high society. He has common sense enough to recognise at
a glance those whom he can attract to the table by decen-
live calculations and falsehoods. The professor is in the
regular pay of the bank, and receives special encouragement
when he delivers up a rich victim. He is not merely a pro-
fessor, but also a Greek, and is a first-rate hand at the trick
known in the swindling language as the " snuff box." He
persuades unsuspecting players to let him stake for them, as
he i 5 luckier than they. When he has a pile of gold before
him, he scratches his neck every now and then, and lets a
louis-d'or glide under his coat collar. Here he has a tube,
down which the coin slides into a bag made in the lining of
his coat.

Our extracts from the volume before us had better be re-
stricted to the comicanecdotes about gamblers, for the tragic
ones are too ghastly for the present season. For several
years a Countess carried on very high play at Hom-
burg. She remained at the roulette-table all day through,
covered nearly 'tall the numbers with louis-d'or, and con-
stantly lost. It is said that she annually sacrificed to the
bank the sum of £B,OOO. On one occasion she was left so
high and dry that she was compelled to sell her carriage
and horses: After losing for three years, her religious feel-
ings were enkindled, and she hastened to Rome to obtain
forgiveness of her sine. She received absolution, but on
condition that she would give up play. To promise is easy,
but the difficulty lies in keeping the promise. The gambling
mania gained the victory over the piety of the countess.
She returned,to Homburg, and seated herself once more at
the roulette- table. " I will no longer play for myself," was
her mental apology, " but for the poor."
The gambling chronicles tells us of two brothers, poor
PruF,sians, who played upon a calculation, and, as an ex-
ceptional ease, won. Asa
srsutelem.
,noTthheintgwloeapdrus tsosiraunisn,
hmoowre.
estvierer,lyhtandafinOMpleathinin
g cn a y
g more in their favour than a mere cal.
ciliation of recurring numbers and so on. They earned a
livelihood at Frankfort by giving
instruction
lesson ; one was a teacher
of languages, while the other imparted in Mathe-
matics. While the first was paying his court to a young
lady, the mathematician was watching the play at Homburg.
At length
hand, and
an the loverbrought gained h
ima fortunehis ends;
o f 0,00
his lady love gavet him
her this
moment the mathematician brought forward the experiences
" Every morning," he said
he had acquired at Homburg.

"an attendant cleans the roulette machine with whiting:
and is contantly obliged to press heavily on certain parts
which take a polish with difficulty. Through this some
spots on the brass are depressed in a manner imperceptible
to the eye but palpable IA Ito reotatot The relliz3g WI is

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

The brothers proceeded to Homburg and began playing.
The mathematician regularly mado his appearance two
hours earlier than his brother is 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. TLeir want of passion insured
them success, for they were as ciol 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
half a million of francs.

auvu
se system,
ab ceene p
A Polish Count alsobelieved in the existence of an infal-
libleh
baurtt ofha hidnsofteyrteant detogvaemrehdhint.g, Aheftienrvelaotseiztha
considerablee
rest in Homburg Bank Shares. Every morning there was
visible in the Kursaal a tall thin man with a long, redm h
twakheonfrfoemr
anhisEaggaiittlmmaannn, erb,utawndasfaicne,
rmeailgthtyt
our Pole, He walked restlessly round the table, and evi-
uadnuenad
lelrYasttwanor n wrestled with the temptation to punt. A professor
of the species we have described noticed his restlessness,
g bwaistehd t
ha speculationatereu rtere
opposite,''
e ho
said
"I havem y taen.
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,[and when he took a pinch and 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 croulier, 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
any portion of the B,ooof. It was a swindling trick which
succeeded once, by accident.
Another "professor" d.d not earn so much who was
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 himself 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 may 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 eircurastenees
ho lends on
Pledges. This latter business is transacted
in the open air. Every evening some player leaves the
Kursaal, returns without bresst-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 1,00011. 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 ;hat losses at play have compelled
them to pledge their precious soucenirs, receive the money
to redeem them, fetch tae jewelry back,
and pledge it again
the same day I They share the profits of the transaction
The Jew gains 200 per cent. by the
with Messire Shylock. Every autumn the Paris jewellers
send their travellers to Homburg and buy up the unre-
deemed pledges,transaction, and the jeweller has no cause to grumble.
As a type of the common professional gambler wo will
select a man who, in February of the present year, became
universally
known throigh a scandalous trial. We allude
King to Garcia, the
of the French Greeks, and therefore
called Garciapoulos tie first of his name (according to
Robert Houdin, the first Greek detected was a man of the
n
ame name of Apo °8). Ever since he has been known in
Parisian society his lie has been the same. In winter
he plundered the fashicnable society of the City of the Seine
by playing with cogged dice and packed cards, and in sum-
mer
he proceeded to homburg to lose his dishonestly ac-
quired money at the green board. Two years ago a turn
apparently took place a his fortunes. lie played ono day
from 11 a.m. till 11 par• with fabulous good luck. He be-
gan with a stake of 1a,50011., the highest allowed at Trente
et Querante, and by four in the afternoon ho had won
500,000 f. At this pout he asked leave of Blanc to exceed
the limits of the stakes, and received it at once. From this
moment he staked G1,000f., and for seven hours was the solo
player. All the tables were deserted, the most eager gam-
blers merely looked on, and a
perfect silence prevailed.
Garcia broke the bask five thrice, there being 350,000 f, in
it on each occasion, and whou the Kursaal was closed at
11 pan., he rose a winner of 1,750,0001., or £70,000.
a wen ire
The next morning Garel
• t ay from Homburg,
after releasing all the gamblers imprisoned for debt. The
shareholders maw him
hires
t3m er i
c
h
go with long faces ; but M. Blanc
only smiled and shrugged his shoulders in a nwie4alant
way, for he knew the demoniacal power of attraction which
gambling exercises over :ucky players. Garcia returned the
next year, and at ithin a week had repaid the bank one mil-
lion francs, Ile hurried to Paris, sold out another million,
carried them to the Homburg bank, and within six days he
was thoroughly cleaned cut. 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 spout a part of last winter in Nice. When he re-
turned to Paris he movEd in the highest circles, was a mem-
ber of the
Cirque ImParial, the Jockey Club, &c, On
February
he invited another gambler, Calzado, to
the Kruse of the Countess Barucci, where
they would
accompanyr ary
3,
fi6
young fellows and plenty of high
play. Theo
Countess"B
kept a saloon in which fashionable
and equivocal character* were accustomed to assemble. On
this evening there were present a Prince Demideff, a Due
de Gramont Caderousse, a M. de Miranda, a Marquis P—,
a director of the Italian Opera, and a Sous-Prefet, as well
as ladies who, in the retort of the Criminal Court relating
to the events of the night, are merely designated femmes et
fines. The play was high, and for a time conducted hon-
ourably. When the gamblers, however, began to grow ex-
cited, Garcia quitted the room, and on his return proposed
Baccarat instead of Trate 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 en the table for others. The play began,
and in six deals De Miranda load lost 120,0001. to Garcia.
The enormous amount saved hint : the spectators declared
Garcia a swindler. The exchange of the cards was alluded
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 hid packed the cards ho brought
with him. He took to flight, scattering bank notes around
him , but his accomplice was seized and searched. Alto-
gether 85,000 of bliranda's francs were recovered, and Garcia
must have carried off 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-
ing
to the gamblers. 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 not to be placed
in the way of respectable persons who visit 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 quit, and M. Blanc will
not be allowed to reap his harvest much longer when the
Landgrave 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 ; ani 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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SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TIMES.—We learn from our Ameridan correspon-
dence of yesterday that, while Mr. Seward is patting
Canada a visit, the American press is urging it in
the most pressing language to put itself under the
protection of his paternal Government. The New
York papers supplement their threats to this
country of annexing Canada by force with the
most tempting invitations to Canada itself. The
unassisted speculation of our readers would proba-
bly be exercised in vain to discover what advan-
tages the United States can offer the Canadians
in exchange for the temperate freedom and material
Prosperity they experience under the Govern-
ment of the Queen. But the New York World
certainly holds out a prospect which might tempt a
young and growing community. If th© Canadians
obtain admission into the Federal Union, they are
told that they would be insured exemption for ever
from all the horrors of war ; they would be saved
" the enormous expense the mother country is try-
ing to impose upon them in the way of fortifica-
tions ;" they would have the boon of absolute free
trade with the Federal States ; they would have
" the benefit of Yankee energy and capital to deve-
lope their resources ;" and lastly, " they would gain
a share in the destiny" of the great Yankee nation.
This language really sounds like the mere cry of an
ignorant rapacity. But as it seems from our Corres-
pondent's letter of yesterday that it actually repre-
sents the feelings of not a few well-informed Ame-
ricans, it may be worth while to draw some atten-
tion to it. The extraordinary part of the matter is
not so much that the Americans should display such
entire ignorance of the feeling of this country re-
spectin g its relations with Canada, as that they should
be so hopelessly blind to the most patent facts of
their own condition. That a people in the agonies
of a bloody and exhausting war, and threatening
war every day to the most powerful and warlike
States of Europe, should hold it out as the principal
advantage of union with their country that it in-
sures exemption from war for ever, implies an
amount of audacity or fatuity which is quite incom-
prehensible. Such assertions would be ludicrous if
they were not fatally mischievous. It is this reck-
less disregard in their leading writers of the terrible
reality of their position which makes it possible for
the American people to be led away into the ruin-
ous madness which possesses them. Ali folly and
crime depends more or less upon ignorance, and
the most terrible feature in the condition and
prospects of the American Union is the pertina-
cious and shameless way in which their leading
press spreads every bad passion and fosters every
pleasant delusion. People get to believe lies if
they tell them and hear them told often enough,
end the writers and readers of the New York
World may have been really cajoled by Mr.
Seward's rhodomontade and the incessant asser-
tions of the New York press into a belief that the
Southern rebellion is a mere domestic quarrel, that
the South is not a belligerent, and that the North
therefore is not at war. But the Canadians, who are
separated from the draug,hting, the marching, the
garrisons, and the gunboats of the States, may look
on matters with a cooler eye. They will not sail to
see this simple fact—that while they are enjoying
perfect peace, and are able to afford a quiet and un-
disturbed holiday to Mr. Seward and his wearied
correspondents, the Foreign Ministers at Washing-
ton, the United States are engaged in a terrible war.
As to the " horrors of war," they know that a rich
and prosperous Northern State was lately invaded
by an enemy whose generosity alone prevented him
from inflicting all the miseries of plunder and devas-
tation. A State immediately on the other side of the
St. Lawrence has just suffered from bloody riots in
a vain effort to avoid the hardship of a military
conscription, and in spite of this the people are
being draughted off to fill up the ranks of a more
than decimated army, or compelled to pay 300 dol-
lars to provide substitutes for slaughter. To invite
Canada to join the Union in order to escape the
horrors of war is much the same as to invite a man
to Newcastle to avoid burning coals. But this
egregious step would save the Canadians " the
vast expense the mother country is trying to im-
pose upon them in the way of fortifications." It
might save some of it, though, to judge by the ex-
tent of the Federal debt, the taxation of the Cana-
dians would probably become heavier than ever
it has been under our rule. But the most im-
portant part of fortifications is the men to man
them; and if the Canadians saved bricks and mor-
tar by annexation they would certainly have to
provide men instead, and would see some of
the strongest and bravest of their population sent
away to fight distant battles in a cause with which
they have no concern, either in its boginningoniddle,
or end, The political advantages offered by the
World are equally problematical. Annexation
would give the Canadians " the boon of absolute
free trade with the States." As our correspon-
dent suggests, the influence of mutual interests
would probably enforce this concession sooner or
later, whether Canada were annexed or not. But it
is equally important for the Canadians to remember
that, if they were by this means to gain free trade
with the States, they would lose free trade with
Greatßritain and the rest of the world. As matters
stand at present, they can regulate the duties on their
own commerce at their will; but if they became part
of the United States their trade would at once be
subject to a system of heavy protective duties
whether they liked it or no ; and they will scarcely
think the trade of the United States sufficiently
important to make that of every other country in
the world a matter of indifference. Annexation, too,
would, we are told, " give them the benefit of Yan-
kee energy and capital to develops their resources."
We hope the Canadians have too much knowledge
of political economy to be influenced by this unfor-
tunately expressed offer. Yankee energy is not of
a particularly attractive sort, and capital will go to
Canada to develops its resources from England or
America indifferently if it see a fair chance of a pro-
fitable investment. Moreover, even if the war were
to end to-morrow, all Yankee energy and capital
would be required for some time to meet the demands
which the war has created and to remedy its terrible
devastation. The capital of England is much more
likely to be at the service of the Canadians than that
of a country newly burdened with a heavy debt
and already possessing vast tracts of unreetaimed
wilderness. As to the value of a share in the des-
tiny of the great Yankee nation, we must leave the
Canadians to form their own estimate. The people
who once formed the United States have, no doubt,
an important destiny. It does not look very hope-
ful at present, enveloped in the glare and the gloom
of war, devastation, and debt. But we will only
ask the Canadians to consider that they would have
to give up some certain and present advantages for
the sake of this doubtful and distant destiny. At
present they are to all intents and purposes in pos-
session of perfect self-government. The appoint-
' ment of a Governor-General by the Cro
wn is almost
the only restriction on their political freedom, and
his authority is as little check upon the free action
of their Legislature as the veto of. the Queen is
upon the English Houses of Parliament. As a
member of the Federal Union, they would not have
half the independence they now enjoy ; and they
must remember, too, that as matters took at present,
the destiny which they are invited to share would
very probably involve a sacrifice even of this inde-
pendence to a military despotism. They enjoy,
moreover, at present the certainty of an equal and
impartial administration of the laws. They are
sure of personal liberty, of the freedom of the
press, and of complete security for property. In
contrast with all these advantages let them ra-
floet on the presence of Mr. Vellandigham on
their soil as an exile for no other offence than that
of free speech, upon the state of siege in which
New York is held, and upon the reminiscences
of Fort Lafayette suggested by Mr. Seward's visit,
and they will be perfectly able to judge for them-
selves of the sort of exchange they would make.
We urge all these considerations on the attention
of the Canadians without any anxiety for their de-
cision. Our hands arc clean as far as they are con-
cerned. We have set them up as a nation, lent
them money for their public works, and supplied
them with troops and munitions of war; and if
they make their choice to stay with us, and will
but show a reasonable willingness to bear a fair
share of the necessary burden of defence. we shall
be heartily glad to keep them, and quite ready to
help them to the best of our abilities. We only
stipulate that we cannot and ought not to do all ti,n3
fighting for them. If, however, with their eyes
open to the prospect, they prefer annexation to the
United States, we are equally ready to let them go.
We are quite sure they have no other alternative
but these two. They could no more exist as an in-
dependent nation by the side of the United States
than a lamb by the side of a wolf. They have to
choose between union with us and annexation to
the Federal States; and by the choice they make
wo shall abide. By way of bringing these consi-
derations to a point wobeg to suggest for their par-
ticular consideration at the present moment the fol-
lowing question :—They have lately shown an ex-
cessive unwillingness to provide even a reasonable
force of militia to resist a possible invasion by the
United States. If they were annexed to the Union,
they would immediately have the conscription
forced on them by gunboats and artillery. Which
will they choose,—to fight freely and willingly for
the defence of their own homes, or to be dragged
at the cannon's mouth to feed an alien struggle in
the heart of a distant, foreign, and unhealthy
country ?
POST.—We learn that the Emperor Napoleon has
conferred the title of Duke upon the Count de Per-
signy, a statesman to whom much of the success of
the Empire at home and abroad is undoubtedly
owing. We are only giving expression to English
I public feeling on the subject when we eongzatul4e

the Duke de Persigny on the new mark of distinc-
tion which the Emperor Napoleon has bestowed on
him. M. de Persignsai during his two missions as
Ambassador to this Court, did much honour to his
cateatry and to himself. In all the anxious, intri-
cate, and often difficult diplomatic negotiations with
which he was entrusted he won golden opinions
from all the English statesmen with whom he came
in contact, Earnest, acute, and gifted with unusual
penetration, the French Ambassador was indefati-
gable in the service of France. But what men, and
specially those Ministers with whom the current
business of affairs brought him in contact,especially
admired in him was a sincerity, a candour, and that
high sense of honour which, to us, is so clearly ex-
pressed by the idea of "a perfect gentleman." At
the unpleasant periods of the Conspiracy Bill and
of the annexation of Savoy and Nice, when distrust
and suspicion were so rife, no one for an instant ever
doubted whatever was alleged by M. de Persigny.
The Re Galantuomo himself had not a higher re-
putation for chivalric honesty than the French
Ambassador. When we add to these personal
claims on our liking that the English alliance has,
from the earliest days of Napoleon's advent to
power, been the unswerving object of this states-
man's policy, and that in the couneil, or from his
embassy, his voice has always been heard in its
favour, we add what is indeed well known, but
what cannot be too well appreciated. It is by
listening to the advice of such men, with whose
notions his own have most fortunately coincided,
that the Emperor has been able to do all the great
things that he has achieved for France. It required
prodigious powers of mind on the restoration of a
dynasty so strongly.aesociated with ideas of war,
of conquest, and even of revenge, to be able
frankly to discard them, and to enter upon a new
era which has proved a fresh revolution and a
new glory. It is marvellous when we come to
think of what the Empire has done for France.
Prostrate after the great war, she occupied but a
position of mediocrity under the Restoration, while
under Louis Philippe that position was still further
lowered. Yet at this moment no voice is more
powerful in Europe, whilst her eagles are borne in
triumph in every quarter of the world. Aiied with
us in the Crimean war she broke the power of Rus-
sia, and with her own arm alone she has freed Italy
under that guiding star of Napoleon which has
again shone in the splendour of victory on immortal
battle-fields. Add to all this that the prosperity of
France is prodigious, that every Frenchman who
has a house, or land, or a business, finds his pro-
perty nearly doubled in value; that railways (with,
by the way, large dividends), telegraphs, and every
application of modern science are spread throughout
the country; that not only Paris and Msrseilles are
nearly rebuilt, not only the Louvre finished and
Notre Dante restored, but that every town and
village in France has its new road, its waterworks,
its bridge, its church to boast of, all owing to the
Empire. Rich at home and respected abroad, need
one be surprised that eur neighbours are eminently
satisfied with the Empire ? Now, it is only justice
to M. de Persigny to say, what is well-known to
many persons, that he actually foresaw all that has
come to pass. If he worked for the cause of
Napoleon and threw his whole soul and every capa-
city of his being into the success of the Empire, it
hr's been because he understood what France was
and what she needed. He devoted himself with
passion to what he deemed the salvation of his
country. The results are what we see. France has
every reason to be proud of the men who have con-
tributed to make her what she is. The Emperor
performs only a graceful duty when he confers the
title of Duke on a man who has led the vanguard
of the new Empire. To M. de Persigny the public
acknowledgment of what is his due must be grati-
fying, but his heart must beat with great happi-
ness, and a just pride, when he looks at the
prosperity of his country, and her position in Europe,
and recognises in both the fruition of his dearest
aspirations. His many friends in England will
wish him many years to enjoy his honours, and to
continue labours which will add distinction to the
present, whilst in the future they promise a noble
record in the page of history. That high character
to which we have referred has always given great
weight to his words. His devotion is undoubted,
and so is his fearlessness. One of the commonest
remarks about him is, " He is the only man who
dares to speak the truth to the Emperor," meaning,
not that others are not also frank and loyal, but
that he is almost the only man who, regardless of
consequences, would boldly tell unpalatable facts,
or dare to eive the most unpleasant advice if at
any moment he thought it to be his duty. M. de
Persigny is one of those natures so thoroughly ap-
preciated by all who come in contact with him,
that, however many opponents he may have—and
the very straighttorwardness and impetuosity of his
character almost creates them—he is a man who has
but few, and deserves to have no enemies. In Eng-
land he left many pleasant memories and many sin-
cere friendships. The genial hospitalities of
Albert gate, and the agreeable impressions which
his embassy left in English society, will long be
remembered. The best wishes of troops of friends
accompanied him when he quitted London, and
their congratulations on his now ,Hgnity will re-
mind him of that neighbour land for whose alliance
with his own country he has always striven, and
where a sincere interest will always be felt in the
Duke de Persigny.