Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1859-05-04
An ynterssti1lg STORY
THE TRAVELLERS STORY
OF
A TERRIBLY STRANGE BED.

SHORTLY after my education at college was
finished, happened to be staying at Paris
with an English friend. We were both young
men then, and lived, am afraid, rather a
wild life, in the delightful city Of our sojourn.
One night we were idling about the neighbor-
hood of the Palais Royal, doubtful to what
amusement we should next betake ourselves.
NV friend proposed visit to Frascati's, hut
his suggestion was not to my taste. knew
Frascati's as the French saying Is, by heart {;
had lost and won plenty OF hve-franc pieces
there, merely for amusement's sake, until 1t
was amusement no longer, and was thorough
" tired, in fact, of all the ghastly respectl-
bilities of such social anomaly as respec.
table gambling.house. For Heavens sa Ike, ="
said l to my friend, "let us go somewhere
where we can see a little genuine, blackguard,
poverty-stricken gaming, with no false ginger.
bread glitter thrown over it at all. Let US
get away from fashionable Frascati's, to a
house where they don't mind letting in man
with ragged coat, or man with no coat,
ragged or otherwise. livery WELL said my
friend, "we needn't 60 out of the PalaiS
Royal to find the sort of company you want;
Here's the place inst before US as backguard
place, by all report, as you could possibly
wish to see." In another minute We arrived
at the door, and entered the house.
When we got up stairs, and had left Our
hats and sticks with the doorkecper, we were
admitted into the chief gambling room. We
did not find many people assembled there.
But, few as the men were wac looked up at US
on our entrance, they were all types-lame'l'
tably true types of their respective classes.
We had come to see blackguards but these
men were something worse. There is com
side, more or less appreciabe, in all black
guardism-here there was nothing but TRACE
dy-mute, weird tragedy. The quiet in the
room was horrible. The thin, haggard, long
haired young man, whose sunlsen eyes fierce
" watched the turning up Of the cards, never
spoke; the Aabby, fat.faced, pimply player,
who pricked his piece Of pasteboard perscver.
inoly. to register how often black won, and
how often red-never spoke; the dirty wrin-
kled old man, with the vulture eyes and the
darned rreatcoat, who had lost his last son,
and still looked ON desperately, after he could
play no longer-never spoke. Even tue voice
of the croupier sounded us if it weres rangey
dulled and thickenel in the atmosphere of
the room. had entered the place to laugh; ;
but the spectacle before me was something to
weep over. soon found it necessary to take
refuae in excitement from the depression OF
spirits which was fast stealing on me. Un-
fortunately I sought the nearest excitement,
by going to the table, and beginning to play.
Still more unfortunately as the event will
show, won-won prodigious'y; won lncredl-
bly,; won at such rate, that the regular
PLAYERS at the table cro"ded round me; and
staring at my stakes with hungry, superstltious
eyes, whispered to one another, th 1t the Eng
lish stranger was going to break the bank.
The game was Rouge ct Noir. had played
at it in every city in Europe, without however,
the care or the wish 10 study the Theory Of
Chances-that philosopher stone OF all gam
blers And gambler, in the strict sense Of
the word, had never been. l was heart
whole from the corroding passion for play
Nv gaming was mere idle amusement. !
never resorted to it by necessity, because
never knew what it was to want money.
never practiced it so necessarily as to lose
more than could afford, or to gain more than
could cooly pocket without being thrown
off nv balance by my good luck. In short l
had hitherto frequented gambling:tables-
lust as I frequented bathrooms and opera
houses-because they amused me, and because
I had nothing better to do with my leisure
hours.
But on this occasion it was v.ry different
now. for the first time in my life, I felt what
the passion for play really was. Ny success
FIRST bewildered and then, in the most literal
meaning of the word, intox Gated me. In
credible as it may appear, it is nevertheless
true, that only lost when attempted to es-
tima,e chances, and played according to pre-
vious calculation. If left everything to
luck, and staked without any care or consld'
Grafton, was sure to win-to win in the face
of every recognized probability in favor Of
the bank. At first, some of the men present
yentured their money safely enough on my
color: but speedily increased my stakes to
sums which they dared not risk. One after
another they left off playing, and breathlessly
looked on at my game.
Still, time after time, stakcd higher and
higher, and still won. The excitement in the
room rose to fever pitch. The silence was
interrupted by deep, muttered chorus of
oaths and EXPLANATIONS in different languages,
every time the gold was shovelled across to
nv side of the table-eveu the imperturbab'e
crouper dashed his rake on the floor in
(French) fury of astonishment at my success.
But one man present preserved his selt-posscs-
sion; and that man was my friend. He came
to my side, and whispering in English, begged
me to leave the place satisfied with what
had already gained. must do him the jus.
tice to say, that he repeated his warnings al.d
entreaties several times and only left me and
went away, after had rejected bis advice 7
was to all iutents md purposes gambling.
drunk) in terms which rendered it i,nrnssible
for him to address me again that night.
Shortly after he had gone, hoarse Voice
behind me cried =" Permit me my dear sir!
-permit me to restore to their proper place
two Napoleons which you have dropped:
Wonderful luck, sir! I pledge you my word
Of honor as an old soldier, in the course of
nv long experience in this sort Of thing, l
never saw such luck as yours never! Go
on, sir-iSucre mile JomJes! Go Oh bol lily,
and break the bank!'
turned round and saw, nodiing and smi
ling at me with invcterate civiity, u tall man,
dressed in frogged and braided sur;out.
If had been in my senses, l should have
considered him, personally, as being rather IL
suspicious specimen of an old soldier. He
had soggling bloodshot eyes, NANCY mus
tachios, and broken nose. His voice be-
trayed barrack-room intonation Of the worst
order, and he had the dirtiest pair of hands
ever saw-even in France. These little per-
sonal peculiarities exercised, however, no re-
uelline influence on me. In the NAL excite.
ment, the reckless triumph Of that moment. !
was ready to fraternize" with anybody who
encouraged me in my game. accepted the
old soldiers Offered pinch of snuff; clappel
him on the back, and swore he was the hon
estest fellow in the wcrld-the most glorious
relic OF the Grand Army that hal ever met
with. "Go sn!" cried my military friend.
swapping his fingers in ecstasy" e" on. aud
win Break the bank-.ulLe tomnerres! my
gallant English comrade, break the bank! i
And I did go on-went on at such rate,
that in another quarter of an hour the crou,
pier called out: Gentlemen! the bank has
discontinued for tonight" All the notes, and
all the gold in that bank" now lay in heap
- 4 n ~.k.,l