Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1858-12-24
The Gambling He'll in Wash
inkton.
steps.

The correspondent Of the New York
Times takes considerably more out OF the
romantic stories which we first heard of
the great gambling establishment at Wash.
ington. Ac ording to this writer, the
display at the rooms of Pendleton was
vulgar and in bad taste, and the amount
of losses and gains has been enormously
exaggerated. But the corruptins inhu-
ence that the concern exercised upon
private and public morals was even grea-
ter than has been described. Certainly,
omething should be done to break up
establishments of this kind, which have
all the evils, and more than the evils, of
the great houses in Europe, where the
very publicity creates decorum and
restraint which do not prevail at Wash
ington. The following are extracts from
the article -
There Is no difficulty OF entering.
The road to hell is smooth and easy
If, when you undergo the ord al of a
scan and enter this Paradise of play, you
have cherished any delusons as to .gilded
mlrrors,' 'glittering gobets.' luscious
lounges, graceful quiet recherche So
ciety, and things of that class, you will
find you.self most speedily disenchanted.
The door by which YOU enter is a vulgar
common door. The rooms which you
enter, consisting of three apartments,
generally thrown into one long o5long
one, like these generally in them, have
gross and glaring look, and there is not
a touch of grace or gaye,y about them
or anything in or near them. Around
Pendleton's rooms,as Pendleton himself,
tt ere was always rough, rowdy air, in
effably disgusting Men caught hold of
silver cover with nails as rich in subsoil
as the most virgin earth of Wisconsin
Compared to longs Corner House. in
his day, the place certainly was Para
disc. At Longs you were locked into
a low, naked room, with a couple of
tallow candles instead of brilliant lamps.
and instead of champagne, came coarse
Virginia whisky. But even in its palm
lest hour, Pen lleton's never should COM
pare with the fashionable New York
houses. 1t is true these latter in their
turn did not equally in gayety or glitter
the brilliant saions of Paris or of Baden,
in which you find the attraction of love
as well as of lucre, and lose your heart
as well as money at the same time -
But what they want in spiritual charm
they make up in material. Abroad they
give you sentiment instead of SOUP
You cannot obtain at a Baden salon even
The delicate diet Of the hungry French
men. an en- sucre AT a similar salon
in New York you get canvas back and
ruracoa, cottN,He and champagne, curl
ously crusted port and partridge.
need hardly say that the stories
shoat of Pendleton having lost $780,
300 in one sitting, and other like pieces
If poetry, are mere rosy 6ctions. do
rot believe that, at Pendleton's or anv
,ther faro bank, here or in New York,
$4,000 was ever lost or won at ono
ittIng. The capital with which bank
pens the game here never exceeds $lO,.
100, aud, on suffering loss of $1,000
matter OF rare occurrencs-the bank
enerally closes for the night. At
Eve thousand pounds was the
NIT of loss, AMI he never allowed it 10
o beyond. There is story, somewhat
ncertain, ofa Western con.racfor hav-
,g lost $4,000 at Pend.eton's, but this ,
'the largcs. sum eveE fable ascribes to {
is faro bank AS a rule, the wealth -.
nd winnings Of gamblers are hiSaly col |