The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1858-11-17

poorold Princess Royal '~~---- -sssassa
i lS.s. Correspondence fothe Boston -5ost.
i THE GREAT GAMBLING HOUSE IN
i WAS HING Ma SENATOR
! BREAKING THE BANK.
/ f WAsHNcroN, Oct. IS, 1853. {
/ One of the most celebrated and sue
| eessful sportsmen of this city died on
Sunday week. The occasion of his death
! affords me an opportunity of giving your
readers a sketch Of the man and de-
scription of his gambling house. Let
| it serve as q warning, not as an ex-
| ample. E ......5ss.
& He had been resident of Washing.
ton some fifteen or twenty years, during
which period he amassed greatzWealth
| by gambling; or, to use the mild and
4 honest language of the avenue, che real
lied an ample fortune out of the sue
/ cessful operations of his housed" 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, as
piriBg diplomats, and ambitious sports
| men from every part of the world. For
| many years past he has lived in the
most luxuriant style, having, like a GER
tain other rich man, "been clothed in
purple and fine linen and faring sumptu-
ously every day." In person he was
above the medium size, fat and sleek, of
pleasing address, and a generous dispo-
sition; exhibiting in his general deport-
meRt to strangers the characteristics of
a well fed, good natured clergyman rath7
er than those of beartless, unrelenting
gambler. svT -.
His reputation for generosity wal
widely established. IF college was to
be endowed, a church built, or private
charities to be dispensed, his was sure
to be among the most munifcent of the
donations. His wife, now widow, was
of good parentage; a woman of rare
social qualities which, combined with
the dazzling allurements of wealth, In,
sured her troops of admirers and court
ezans. Rolling along the avenue in her
magnifccnt eaaipage, which far exceeds
in richness and style that of the Presi,
| dent of the United States, or that of
any other gentleman in Washington, she
looked very queen-being quite un-
disturbed by any thought that her pres
ence sent dagger to scores of hearts,
whose patrimony, unlawfully obtained,
had contributed to her enjoyment, in
the same proportion that its loss had
added to the woes and wretchedness of
the beholder. 80 80 - !. Z
His establishment" was upon Penn
sylvania avenue, between the National
Hotel aud the Capitol Let US approach
and look at it. S
y You enter at a door of variegated
| stained glass, which, by the gas light,
reflects all the colors of the rainbow.
Ascending fight of stairs you reach a
door, pull the bell, and instantly a small
aperture opens, and you are greeted
! with a pair of red eyes and double
| row of ivory, set in black, which nom
inally belong to Sambo, but which, in fact
are the property of the proprietor. A
glance sufices You have filled Sambo's
eye and are deemed passa BILE. The door
is at once opened and you are ushered
! into the ante room-the vestibule of
| hell This room is. not large, hut ele-
gautly appointed-the chief attraction
| being the sideboard, which is of solid
| marble and white as Diana's breast
| Here are arranged in long and glisten-
| ing columns, sdecanters of. cut glass,
sparkling like brilliapts filed with the
choicest nectar, and blushing to the very
necks with the glowing vintage of the
olden time. If yon pass the rubicon
without tasting its sparkling bat danger.
Gus waters, it il not from any dearth OF
hospitality on the part of your persua-
| sive host. The spacious Sporting ha r.
! is now visible. The floor is covered
| with carp citing from the Orient, of i'm
mense cost and marvellous beauty. The
walls are adorned with supurb paintings
of the old masters and the new, white
pendant from the windows hang curtains
of embroidered lace, covered with gold
en- tar estry OF Oriental ,magnifcen ce ;
with mirrors of mammoth size rejecting
your form and features from a score of
glistening embrasures. Along the hall,
at cow, nient distance, are ranged cir.
calar tables of fpolished rosewood, around
which are seated numbers of thoughtful
anxious, dark visaged men, who heed
you not-their eyes having another at
traction. One would naturally suppose
this to be a theatre for jests, drollery.
and song, or baehanalian reyeiipgs, but
all is hushed, silent and sepulchraf.
'.No peal Of voice or sound, - - 49,.
/ Within those cher ished walls are found"
| You are oppressed with the fearful
stiffness and awful silence which per-
vades the place. A laugh, q joke, or
even curse would be sensible relief
But you hear nothing of this. Antc
casional long breath or half subdued
| sigh is all that tells tho ear that these
mad devotees are possessed of lungs and
| life s-s..-s. -
An hours inspection satisfies your Gu:
lriosity, and you are about taking your
| departure, when soft hand taps you Oh
the shoulder, and low voice, "Please
] don't leave, Sir, supper will be ready
| in few minutes'' At precisely io3
o'clock the doors of the dining hall are
thrown open, and 'ssupper's ready pro
1 claims an armistice between the combat.
{ ants, and invites TO more healthy and
rati onal duty. The long tables groaI
4 beneath their burden of gold and silver
4 plate, and the heaps of delicacies which
urmount and adorn them. Here are