Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1858-11-08
Correspondence Of the Boston Post.
| WnshTuRtou Gambling House.

| OF MS gaming HOUSE, 4Cb ~ as a "a
ing, not as an example.
He had been q resident Of Washington
some fifteen or twenty years, during which
period he amassed great wealth by gambling,
or, TO use the mild and honest language oil
the avenue, ''he realized an ample fortune
out Of the successful operations of his house.
His "house" being the most elegant, and his
bank the most weighty and substantial in the
country, it has been for years the fashionable
and fascinating resort of wealthy planters,
fast Congressman, aspiring diplomats, and
ambitious spoItsmen, from every part Of the
world. For many years past he has lived in
the most luxurious style, having, like GER
tam other rich man, ''been clothed in purple
and ins linen, and faring sumptuously every
day." In person he was above the medium
size, fat and sleek, of pleasing address and a
! generous disposition exhibiting in his gem
eral department to strangers the Characters
tics of well fed, good natured clergyman.
rather than those Of heartless, unrelenting
gambler.
His reputation for generosity was widely
established 1t college was to be endowed,
a church built, or private charities TO be dis
pensed, his was sure to be among the most
| inunlicent of the donations. His wife, now
a widow, was Of good parentage; a woman
of rare beauty and accomplishments, possess
| ing social qualities, which, combined with
| the dazzling allurements of wealth, insured
her troops of admirers and oourteZaus. Roll
ing along the avenue in her magnificent
equipage, which far exceeds in richness and
STYLE that of the President of the United
States, or that of any other gentleman in
Washington, she looked very quecn-beng
quite undisturbed by any thought that her
presence sent dagger to scores of hearts,
whose patrimony, unlawfully obtained, had
contributed to her enjoyment, in the same
proportion that its lose had added to the woes
and Indebtedness of the beholder.
His establishment" was upon Pennsylva-
MIA Avenue between the National Hotel and
the Capitol. Let us approach and look at it.
You enter by a door of variegated stained
glass; which by gas-light reflects all the oolols
Of the rainbow. Ascending flight Of stairs
you enter a door, pull the bell, and instantly
a small aperture opens, and you are greeted
with pair of red eyes and a double row of
ivory, set in black, which nominally belong
to Sambo, but which in fact are the property
of the proprietor. A glance suffices. You
have filled Sambo's eye and are deemed pass
able The door is at once opened and you
are ushered into the ante room, the vestibue
of hell This room is not large, but ell
egantly appointed, the chief attraction
being the side board, which is of solid
marble, and as white as Diana's breast
Here there are arranged, in long and gls-
tening columns, decanters of cut glass, spark
ling like brllliants, filed with the choicest
nectar, and blushing to the very necks with
the glowing vintage of the olden time. If you
pass this rubicon without tasting its sparkling
but dangerous waters, it is not from any
dearth of hospitality on the part of your per-
suasive host. The spacious "sportng half
is now visible. The floor is covered with car
peting from the Orient, of immense cost and
marvellous beauty. The walls are adorned
with superb paintings of the old masters and
the new, while pendent from the windows
hang curtains of embroidered lace, covered
with golden tapestry of Oriental magnif-
cence, with mirrors of mammoth size, reflect
ing your form and features from a score Of
| cleaning embrasures. Along the hall, at
convenient distances, ARE ranged circular tables
of polished rosewood, around which are seat.
| ed numbers of thoughtful, anxious, dark-yls.
aged men, who heed you not-ther eyes
| having another and stronger attraction. One
would naturally suppose this to be theatre
| for iests, drollery, and song, or baeohaaliar
revelings, or pugilistic encounters. Far from
it. On the contrary, all is hushed, silent, Sc
| pulchral.
| "No real voice sound,
| Within those cherries walls ID fou1d."
You are oppressed with the fearful still
ness and awful silence which pervades The
place. A laugh, a joke, or even a curse
would be sensible relief. But you heal
nothing of this. An occasional long breath
or half subdued sigh is all that tells the cal
that these mad devotees are possessed of lungt
and lite.
An hours inspection satisfies your curiosi
ty, and you are about taking your departure
when a soft hand taps you on the shoulder
and low voice "Please don't leave, Sir
supper will be ready in few minutes" A
precisely 10 IL o'clock the doors of the din.
Ing hall are thrown open, and "supper
ready" proclaims an immediate armistice be
tween the combatants. and invites to a NOR
healthy and rational duty. The long table
groan beneath their burden of gold and silve
plate, and the heaps of delicacies which sur
mount and adorn them. Here are venisoI
from the brown forests of Maine, turkeys from
the broad savannahs of the West, canvas
backs from the placid Potomac, trout from Su
perior, and salmon from the st. Johns, to
gether with fruits. flowers, and wines for eve
~ taste and from every cline.
The repast over, you are permitted, with
patronizing invation to ''csll again. to max
your retreat to the open air, there to thanl
heaven that you are not a worshipper within
this magnificent yet cherries abode.
One nights work, few days previous t.
the close of the last session, made sad hav :
among the Golfers of this den. 1t is said tina
distinguished senator won on that nigh
$3.50, 900, which broke the bank and csuset
temporary suspension. new house
however, was soon purchased by him, ant
was magnfcently decorated, when the "KinI
of Terrors," the great unbesten and unchal
lenged, stepped in and closed the game Of liE
forever.