The Sun.
London, England, 1869-05-25 00:00:00

MACHINERY FOR GAMBLING

SWIA'DLING.

The following singular discovery in a Washington
gambling-house is related by one of the journals published
in that city:—The building 414, Pennsylvania-avenue,
occupied for some time as the " Congress Clothing Store,"
is now being pulled down to make room for extensive im-
provements contemplated by the present proprietor, Dr. D.
B. Clarke. In taking down some of the partitions to
remove gas-pipe, daylight was left in upon some
secret wires, which, being traced, were found to
extend through the rooms of the whole upper portion
of the building, and, with other apparatus, forming
one of the most remarkable pieces of machinery for
gambling swindling ever exposed to view. The gambling-
rooms were in the second storey front. Over them were
two garret-rooms. In the flooring of each of these upper
rooms a trap-door had been cut about sic feet in length
and three in width. The trap being taken up
shews an aperture between the floor and the ceiling
of the room below of a size to accommodate
the gambler's confederate ; a series of small
perforations in the ceiling afforded him a full
view of the cards liteld by the players at the
table in the roam beneath. By his side was the end
of a thin wire, which, passing along under the flooring of
the attic to the walls, ran down to the flooring of the room
below (playing upon nicely-adjusted pulleys at the angles),
and so on until it reached a point directly under the card
table. Here a very ingenious pedal arrangement came
into play, by which, with springs of spiral wire, a trian-
gular piece of iron was made to work up through a minute
aperture in the floor under the foot of the swindling
gambler. The operator of the machinery was as silent as
death, and not an indication appeared anywhere to give
him suspicion of the network of villany in which he was
entrapped. The punctures in the ceiling, which gave a view
of the cards to the confederate overhead, were screened
from view by an ornamental oval of green figured paper-
ing, and the aperture in the floor under the card-table,
through which the spring played, was concealed by the
carpet. Some years ago, it will be remembered, a some-
what conspicuous character, by the name of Donovan,
was implicated in some gambling rascality that led to his
serving a term in the penitentiary. This building was
the scene of his gambling operations, but, though the
establishment had a bad name, it was not suspected that
the villany there had any such diabolical backing as was
afforded by this machinery. For the last half-dozen years
the house has been occupied as a clothing store. The pre-
sent owner proposes to erect here a building suitable to
the importance of the locality, and the old gambling den,
with its mysterious machinery, will be among the tradi-
tions of the past.

SROCKLVG MURDER BY A SUSSEX

FARMER.

A shocking murder of a wife was committed on Sunday,
at A shburnbam, a small village in Sussex, a few miles from
Hastings. Near the village is a quantity of land called
"Gardener's Farm," which isfarmed byan old man named
Stubberfield. On Saturday evening there wereliving in the
same house with the son, his wife Matilda, their son, Mary
Deeprose (a companion to Mrs. Stubberfield), and several
farm-labourers and domestic servants. The boy, 8
years old, who occupied the same room as his parents,
states that early on Sunday morning, whilst it was
scarcely light, he saw his father kneeling upon his
mother, and squeezing her throat. Hearing his mother
say "Oh!'' feebly, and as if in pain, he said to his father,
" You're hurting mother ! " " You hold your tongue,"
replied the father, " I'm only tickling her ! " Stubber-
field then dressed himself, and having kissed his wife and
child, took his coat over his arm, and went down-
stairs. The boy then immediately aroused the other
inmates of the house. In the meantime, Miss Deeprose,
having heard a moaning noise in the Stubberfields' bed-
room, and thinking something was the matter, had gone
to the father's house for assistance. On her return in
about ten minutes she met Jeremiah Stubberfield at the
door, as he was about to leave the house, and tried to
prevent his escape, but did not succeed in doing so,
although she straggled with him for some minutes. James
Huneysett, a carter, who was one of the first persons
aroused by the boy, got up directly and went into the bed-
room,where he found Mrs. Stubberti d lying in the bed dead.
Dr. Simmons, who lived a mile and a half distant, was at
once sent for. It was six o'clock when that gentleman reached
the house. He was first led to suppose that deceased had
died sudden!y from natural causes. An examination of the
neck, however, revealed marks, and the doctor then came
to the opinion that the womau had been murdered. The
police were communicated with, and were quickly on the
spot. Search was instituted for the murderer, but without
success. It is said that Stubberfield had been in a
depressed state of mind some time. He had been married
nine years, was much respected, and understood to have
lived very happy with his wife.