The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1856-02-20

| LADY GAMBLERs.-Lady Aylesbury is cele-
brated as one ofthe leaders of that gay and dis
sipated circle of London fashion, Of which the
lady Jersey is the acknowledged queen
Though by no means Il strong minded woman
in the sense understood here, being neither old,
ugly. and as consequence particularly moral,
she is in some degree entitled to the appeila-
tion, for her perfection in certain physical ac-
compshments in which excellence is usually
the attribute of man. She is a hrst-rate whip,
charming horse- man; makes book on the
| Derby, and during the railway mania, was
leading ''stag," or, remembering hel sex, VIC
should rather saw ''doe," on the stock ex-
change Her feats in this latter field, and the
| fame accorded TO them by DIsraeli, in eco
ningsby," where, under a fictitious name, she
is most graphically pictured, surrounded her
with halo which has not yet passed away, and
her presence ill the park, as preceded by her
-outrders, she directs with the grace OF an anna
zon her fiery blood-steeds down the row, starts
;hrob in many blaze veins, and wakes great
wonder among the lounging gapers of the rails.
| Of her operations during the railroad madness.
she made no eoncealment. Indeed, her light.
airy carriage might be often seen hanging IN
Cheapside, between two burly omnibuses, or
gliding fairy y-like among huge bundle OF bag
gage carts. During ''the fine term"-whleh
in such manias precede the storm-lord Ayles-
bury, who was good deal of the Dolly Span
ker school, looked on his lady Gays exploits
with stupid delight. At one time she was
said to have realized near one hundred thou
sand pounds, under the advice of the great rail-
way potentate, Hudson, of whom she was from
her rank and fashion special pet, and cut OF
whose keeping she used with most playful CO.
quetry coax the most important secrets OF rail-
way state. .Er3r =
But when railway stock fell, and their king
fell gloriousv with his kingdom, lady Ayes-
bury saw another sight. From day TO day she
clung to fast falling eastern counties and mid
lands in the hope that good ray would come
to light up the darkness of the scenery. But
all in vain. Lady Aylesbury had to leave the
field with the loss OF some seventy thousand
pounds, which thenceforth became charge
upon the marqu!sate manor OF Jerveau Abbey
in Yorkshire.
4 liking Hudson like all ex-kings, was, OF
course, cut and voted by all his arstrocratic
confederates swindler. He at once descend
ed from a French artistic to plain family
cook, fell from cotelotts to chops, and led his
lovely railway queen from her Gibraltar palace
by Hyde park gate to a second palr back IN
Half-moon street. So hasit been with Belizar-
ius, Boiling broke, Robert Schuyler and Mr.. Con-
fdence Greer, most derided by those in adver-
sty, who most fawned and courted in prosper
ity.
i Whether the madness flows on with the Mis-
sssippi or wantons among undiscovered ls-
lands in southern seas; whether it dives deep in
a California mine, or faunts among the tulip
f gardens of Haarliem, the disease presents the
same diagnosis The Nblo Transformation was
no greater than that which the hall Doors OF
Hudson presented the day before and the day
, after his fall On the one might be seen the
carriages of half England's mobiles, including
F. NJ, the duke of Wellington, who occasional
f y took little dip in midlands: on the other.
Z not even cabman or omnibus cab so poor to
do his calling. Sill during his short but splen-
/ did reign, never were parties so prolific of
+ pleasantness as those of George Hudson. 1t
was told ofthis very poor, departed marquis of
: AYlesbury-and the story, if not true, is ct
least well founded-that at party less distin-
guished than usual, of which lord Aylesbury
f was the most distinguished of the invited guests,
dinner being for some time delayed for his ar
rival, the railway potentate apologized, saying
smiiingly, "we must wait, you know, for the
f prima DONNA Mr.. Osborne suggesting tim
idly on this, that that phrase was usually ap-
piled to the gentler sex, "ah, to be sure" he
cried, Il was never much of hand at French"
Perhaps the strongest feature of that railway
mania was the violent excitement with which
the ladies of England leaped into it. These
bright gamblers gathered each morning around
the share list with the same eager passion with
which they might be seen around the faro ta-
bles of Baden to-day, or around the gambling
booths of Paris some half century since
They were far more daring and INSCRIPTIONS
than men. and if many lost, many also won.-
Indeed, even book-making on the turf is not
confined to lady Aylesbury. The late lady
, Lovelace, better known as "the Ada, sole
daughter of my house and heart" of Byron,
was a melancholy example of this passion
For some years, wholly unknown to her hus-
band, she had, through an agent, Mr.. kree-
lake, bet large sums on the turf, and was, down
to the period Of ofTeddington's year, large win
ner. Tempted by her success, and no doubt
hoping to make a large coup, she ventured be-
yond her depth, and laid immense sums against
this horse Teddington At the settling, Mr..
, Kreeake being unable to meet his bets, the
story had to be told. Lord Lovelace, with un
bending honor, paid the whole amount, some
what near f60,ooo, but lady Lovelace never
recovered from the pain and suffering such an
exposure brought and died in Italy soon after
After all, what is life but, with most men and
women. a faro table Or racing field-players,
some of weak brain and hand, and some Of
strong, some with fair and some with foul for
tune, all gaming on to the grave. But gam
bler's grave has but few mourners to drop
tear upon it.
/ PHILOSOPHY OF RA1N.---To understand the
philosophy of this beautiful and often sublime
phenomenon SO often witnessed since the crea-
ton of the world, and SO essential to the very
existence Of plants and animals, few facts
derived from observation and a long train Of
experiments, must be remembered.
/. Were the atmosphere at times OF uni
form temperature, we should never have rain,
hail, or snow. The water absorbed by it in
evaporation from the sea and the earth's sur