The Sun.
London, England, 1814-06-16 00:00:00

(No. XN .)

,(:).1 all the degrading vices. Which, tholigit net .a
direct offence against the Cation, yet ittvol4s
number of the most fatal -passions and erintinal
propensities—of 'all the dangerous indul'gencii.,s
which
.threaten the happiness of the individual
and evidenee,the degeneracy of a people, there is
not one so ignominiously conspicuous as Gaming.
Its origin and object are equally base. It is the
child of Avarice and Idleness, and the parent of
Guilt and Shame. The character of the professed
Gambler kis one of the most worthless that can be
conceived, and when this incurable mania seizes
upon every breast, and overspreads a country, there
Can be no surer proof of a general- laxity of prin-
ciple and depravity of morals. Such, 1 lament to
say, is
.the case •in France. The gaming-table is
a prominent part of the entertainments among the
highest circles—the gaming-table is the grand re-
sort of the middling classes,--the -gaming-table is
the object of, the hopes ,orthe needyand the •
streets,,and gardeniand yilads. arc deformed With
the very lowest
,in society throwing dice on the
grout*td from their hands,. instead of a dice-box,
on the event of which, perhaps, dependl either a.,

comparative acquisition, or excessive Misery.
I have spent evenings in the hotels of Princes;—
there, Hazard and Faro were the chief sources
of pleasure.: the Converzatione Rooms_ were de-
.
sertefl, and even the attractions of the sportive
dance failedto. fix the vagrant feet of the inveterate
votaries of cards and dice. Loveliness and youth
would have been left to bewail the more potent
influence of "chance, did not loveliness .and'youth
partalie of the epidemia, and join in those destruc-
tive pursuits which so speedily eradicate the
bloom of the one and the innocency of the other.
Cupidity is the =Hero' of Cupid. I have also vi-
sited the public rooms devoted to the world of ad-
venturers who RIC so prone to,“.set their all upon
a cast,"and, unhappilyfor them,: " stand the

hazard of the die.", These arc extraordinary

places, and it is there only that I have seen the
apathy of the French roused into astate of fear-
'Jill and desperate excitation—Hogarth7s picture of
the Gamesters in the Rake's-Progress realized.
As London with all its :faults is not, I believe,
polluted with such institutions (for the Subscrip-
tion Houses, or Wells, are more reject and difficult
of access), I shall venture to describe one of the
three grand Public Gaming Mouses Which I
spected in the Palais Royal.., This 'temple of
Fortune consists of a suite of eleven spacious
. ,
rooms; five or six of which are, at this period,.
crowded nightly, not only with the Citizens of
Paris but with y multitudes of -strangers, Officers,
&c. of all ranks and denominations. On entering,
you must leave yOur hat at
.the door, for the re-
covery of which a ticket is given you ; 'and on
your exit it is returned, where' a small basket is
visible for the receptiOn Of a sons or two, 'ad li,-
bitim, for the benefit of the servants,, who attend
for this purpose. • In four of the apartments-are
large tables, of the size of billiard-tables, at which
are played the game Rouge et Noir, the chances of
which are decided, at 'some olthem, by the deter-
mination of a small ivory ball in a wheel whiCh
is divided into certain niches; 'eolour, and num-
bers, and at others by the cards. These tables'
dre marked in a variety Of ways, so that many

games are played, and depend upon every revo-
lution of the wheel and ball, and every deal of
the cards. I endeavoured to. make myself master
of :the !natter, but.could ascertain nothing further

of the myitery than that as the Betters staked

their, money upon red or black, they lost or
gained according as the ball fell into a red or black

iche, or the cards turned up red or black ; and,

in the same manner, other chances, such as
" par." and " impar " (odd or even) and "pow "

and " tnanque," (i. e. above or below the middle

number) were decided.

There were many other

bets depending, the nature of whicb I could not
ascertain ;-but n some of them the odds seem to
be very great, as much as 20 or 30 to I.

At other tables Faro, and at others Hazard,
were the order of the night ; and all bad their

numerous adherents, though Rougo'et Noir seems
the most popular. The snms staked are from one
frank to any amount : I have seen many hundreds

upon the table at the same time ; there is, per-
haps, seldom less than twenty pounds----generally
about thrice that sum-=depending upon each ap-
peal to. the Fates, which occupies two or three
minutes.

If the play is fair.
.(a point I am not 'competent
to determine), I was informed at my Banker's,
that the run in favour of the persons who support
these establishments is about 3 per cent. an ad-
vantage which must afford them prodigious emo-
lument in the course of twelve months continual
practice, where 'thousands are. eversr night won
and lost. There 'are =six-persons at every table,
employed by the keepers, viz, two on each side

at the and cn-. ;It eta) duty of
these in the Mitre; to deal the cards, or re,
VolVe the wheet and ball, and settle the stakes
those at the ends, took- to: the fnir attiitstrnent-of the
st keS in,those qua; tern.' These tiflicial atte-ndants

'are relieved; like centinels, by fresh hands every
two hours. The diSplay of heaps of gold qiul silver
before them is of the most tenipting• brilliancy;
consisting, at, this. era, of the coins of all tuitions,
which are very necessary, as it• is not uncorrmou
to see French Napoleons and Louis-d'or§, tugliA
guineas and crowns, Dutch ducats, Spanish dou-
bloons, Russian roubles, as well At the 'various
monies of Prussia, Italy, and Germany on the.
table at the same moment. Paper is rarely seen,
except in very large notes of the Freud' Bank,
which arc, a priori, converted into-specie for the

putpose of gaming. •
One of the most constant visitors to these

haunts is the renowned Marshal Bcucher, who
plays pretty deep, and, as it appeared tb me on
one .oi two occasions, with peculiar ill luck.

Perhaps the French are taking their revenge upon
hint in this way. I cannot but be sorry that he
atfOrds them an opportunity, as there is_Certainly
no other person of his rank who does•So ; but the
Marshal is a •plain, blunt soldier, and does not

rnix much with ceremonious State Parties.

I have already noticed that the intoxication of
gambling descends to the lowest of the-people,
and that it is-common to see it greedily pursued
on the pavement and in all the suburbs. What

1 have heard of the excesses and inveterate habits
Of the French prisoners in England is fully con.
firmed by the extent and rooteditess of the
vice apparent in tliis country. The system
of plunder, the disregatal of all moral obli-
gations,. and the unsettled state of thing 3
introduced by the infamous robber at.the helix! of
the Government, has pennded the whole mass of

the population, and induced an inclination to rely
more upon chance, or dishonest artifices, than
upon honest industry and steady exertion. Let
us hope that a better Government will be able to
establish bitter feelins.
I any afraid l hUve tired you. with s'o much un-
lucky lucubration on one subjeet-L-if so, my next
will, I trust, be more various, and therefore af-
ford a chance of yaw' picking up some amusement
from

VIATOR.