Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1834-12-01

agreeable than his presence at his lordship's no.
lei. Cotton Immediately proceeded to the vale
tudinaran earl, and by his happy intrepidlty OF
Speech extracted an indemnify from the "olo
The sum thus wrung from the
astounded and reverend lord was one hundred
pounds sterling. The earl at first most reuc-
family told his secretary to pay Mr. Cotton TWO
francs. "Keep your francs, saio
Cotton, 81 will have none Of them. insist up
on one hundred pounds in British money. IL
your lordship has forgot the sterling haoits 9'
your native country, still cherish tnem anu;
will not cede single shilling Oh my ov ue to the
author of Lacon, by MIR. E. B., the secreta-
nv. the EarI's English solicitor, Mr.. s. STAND
mo nv i'm dumb amaZement at Colton's Marcy
coup. de- maitre With his sum, the latter useu
TO boast that he had run into i've hundrea tnou-
sand francs at gaming. The TACT Is, that ne
was an immense winner by his desperate play,
t;lI he became the terror Of all the tables. He
used to visit Frascati, carrying silk handker-
chief stuffed with biiets de banqde, and risk the
highest stakes with extraordinary luck, and TINS
for many months Messengers were cOntlnu-
ally despatched to the head quarters OF Inc lar
mer-genera ofthe tables, to report the progress
Of the bold and badly dressed Engllshman.-
One dav at 145, Cotton had played more mo.
derately than usual he had nearly realized
twenty eight thousand francs at rouge ct NOR;
in passing through the rOulette-room, he looked
at printed card thre " down ten thousand irancs
exciaiming there goes for my dinner" which,
by .the-by, seldom exceeded the price OF twenty
five or thirty sous. He lost; another; and announcer
and another similar stake. shared the same la'e.
| 4" This won't do,"-exclaimed he, with periect
sanyfroid, I" must not allow these French re-
io,cs to floor Lacon." Down went double
stake-the croupier raked it up. The deter
mined gambler and his two hangers on playing
for their patron ripled the stake and LOST; tlli,
besides refunding his winnings, Cotton had d.
minshed more than half the stock OF his ioul-
ard. Great was the gaity of the bankers, and
courier ertraordinaire was despatched to M.
Benezet, the Rothschild of the H-s, with a
bulletin of the hitherto invincible EnglishmanS
defeat In the mean time, Lacon had railleo,
and scarce had the joyful messenger announc,
ed the victory of the firm, when second
breathless, painting estatette, and pale as MN
who Priam's curtains drew at dead OF night,
rushed into the sanctum Of the lord OF chances,
and told him that the tables had suddenly turn
ed. that the diable d'Anglais had not only reco-
vered ali his losses, but won eighty-hve thous-
/ and francs OF the banks funds. Cotton alteI
this exploit went home, and as usual, cooked
his own dinner His money was secured IN a
strong iron box, which was fixed in the moor OF
his lodgings in the Palais Royal; for he would
not have deposited even five pounds with the
bank of France. He generally carried loaded
pistols and always had brace placed under
his pillow at night. When the Duke of n
was here, at Charles the Tenth's coronation,
Cotton said to his poor retainer H-n, since
dead, The Duke is on my ground, and must
nav me contribution money" He wrote plain
tive letter to his grace, who sent him an order
on D-d-n, for twenty-five Napoleons. Col
ton and his factotum went to the bank IN the
Rue de P, to receive it. The former had
| lust committed the extravaganza OF new iur-
nshed up second hand hat, and made himself
uncommony for him, smart in the rest OF MS
lhabiments. Even in his usual shabby costume,
he was generally decorated with diamond-rngs
and breaches OF great value. On the present
occasion he displayed those glitterlng and ex-
pensive ornaments to profnsion; and, moreover,
sported gold repeater, with chains and seals
| of a most striking and costly kind. The BANK
er D. received him into his private cabinet with
the most obsequious official grace, bowed him
and his humble friend to seats, and waited to
hear his brilliant-loOking visitors business. IL
was soon told Can it be possible-s.i-rl You
are not the Mr.. Cotton, Sir, mentioned In this
his grace's order, Sir? The arrived petitions,
SIR, can't be yours?' "Let's see," said g.;
eyes, that's it, but there's trlhing mistake
find i'm the dukes note to you; in his graccs let
ter to me-('where is it HIP At home sir. y
the sum was stated at twenty-five pounds En-
glish: however you can easily rectlfy that little
error" Mr.. D. thunderstruck at the consum-
mate style Of the " distressed, sick, and suffer-
! ing clergyman, reused however, W pay hioie
than the amount written down in the dukes note;
and, in spite Of loud circumstances, Cotton was
constrained 10 put up with only twenty five Lou
| u.s. At this time, our hero had more than four
teen thousand pounds sterling in his strong box,
| and pictures for which he had laid out upwards
| of ninety Thousand francs! The same original
addressed splendid letter. with copy of sub
! timely flattering verses, to the Duchess OF 81:
A, when at Paris. requesting in an OH hand
way, the loan Of a bagatelle, viz. one hundred
pounds sterling. No answer being returned,
the irritated parson poet addressed second,
not second-best epistle to her grace, unsay-
ing his proceeding sayings, and, as have been
told, threatening the duchess's lile-that is, TO
write her grace's birth, parentage, education,
&c. nothing more just, reader Ii failed to pro-
duce a profitable effect; the nerves of her lady
ship were firmer strung and the strings of her
silk purse tighter drawn than those of the super
anuated old earl's. Cotton prided himself as
being knowing one" in the fullest sense of
the term; still his suspiciousness, and avarice,
and vanity, were rocks on which he often split
An artful foower-whom, by-the-by, he treated
like starved dog-fattered him into the folly
that he Lacon, was an excellent connoisseur of
paintings, which was as much out OF his latitude