The Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1822-1829, 1825-08-15

a"' P'CNSHseu my SEEING many q
Partisan lions, he offered himself a.
my Cicerone, proposing that We
should begin by making. the circuit
OF the building that surrounded us
} With its history and the remarkable
events of which it had been the scene,
was already conyersant but Of lis
detail and appropriation, which, rs
lac assured me, constituted It's sole
interest in the eyes OF the parisians,
was completely ignorant.
After taking a cursory view Of
most of the sights above ground in
this multiiarlous pile, was conduc-
ted to some of its subterrahe0us
wonders--to the Cafe du Savage,
where q man is hired for six francs
night 10 personate that character,
by beating great drum with all the
grinning, ranting, raving of mad
men--to the Cafe des Ayeneles,
whose numerous orchestra is entirely
composed Of blind men Il women; *
to the Cafe DIES Varieties, whoss small
theatre, as we'll as its saloons and
labyllnths, are haunted by "A set of
Syrcns not less dangerous than the
nymphs who assailed Ulysses. e.
merging from these haunts, we found
that a heavy shower was falling !;
and while we paraded once more the
stone gallery, my friend suddenly ex-
claimed, as his eyes fell upon the
numbers of the houses one hun
died and fiity-fonr !-positively we
we're going away without visiting
one of the -" gambling -hou.
SEES was the meaning of the term he
employed, though he expressed it by
a word that the fashionable preacher
never mentioned to :. ears polite"
=. have never yet entered, said |,
4 PandGmoninm of this sort, and j
never will : refrain from it upon
principle Principals obsta = ] am
OF DR.. J0hnson's temperament, car
practice abstinence, but not tempe
rance and every body knows that
prevention is better than cure."--
lido you remembers" replied E,
:. what the same DR.. Johnson said to
Boswell, My dear sir, clear y0nr
mind Of cant > do not ask wy Ter
play but you must have oren read,
when you were good littlc boy, that
y ice TO be hated needs but to be SEEM
and cannot have forgotten that the
Spartans sometimes made their
slaves drunk, and showed them to
their children to inculcate sobriety.
Love Of virtue is best secured by
hatred of its opposite to hate it you
must see it: besides, IA man of the
world should see every thing"
" But it is 50 disreputable," | rejoin-
cd. Glow completely John Bulllsh -
exclaimed E. :" Disreputable /!
Why ! am going to take you To an
establishment recognized, regulated
and taxed by the government, the
upholdcrs Of religion and social or
der, who annually derive six millions
of francs from this source Of revenue
and as to the company, i promise
you that you shall encounter men of
the first responsibility, Of all sects d
parties, for in France every one
plays at these saloons, except the
devotees, and they play at home.'-
He took my arm, and walked up
stairs with him, merely calculating
as we reached the door, {" Mind,
don't play
Entering the ante-room, we we're
received by two or three servants,
who took our sticks and hats. for
which we received tickets, and by
the number suspended around, per
ceiNed that there was a toierable nu-
merous attendance within. Roulette
vas the game to which the first
chamber was dedicated. In the mid
die of long green table was a en-
cular excavation, resembling large
Gilt basin, in whose centre rotary
apparatus, turning an IVORY ball III a
! groove, which after sundry Syfa-
lions, descended to the bottom OF the
basin, where there Was a round OF
little numbered compartments on Pr
geon holes, into one Of which 1T IL
nally settled, wien the number WAS
proclailned aloud. Besides this APP
paratus there was painted on the
green baizea table ofyaIious success
si,c numbers, with divisions ofodd q
even, &c. ON which the players de-
nosite their various stakes. lie who
was in the compartment OF the pro,
claimed number was winner, ana
if he had singled out that individual
ono. which OF course MAS Ot very rare
occurrence, his deposite was doubled
! -. ,,,nv times The