The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-03-03

w AOl1I IN w OAlOs
The Four Bank Clsrks-A Tale Of Gambling
In Brooklyn.
TuE SECRET OF THE LATE BANK DBFALcArIoNs-
FIVE YEARS EXPERIENCE AT EUCHRE POKER AND
THE nsCE-FIRsT STEP IN GAhBLIN6-RAFfLiN0
FOR TuRKKYs, AND WHAT CAME OF T-OadANiZA-
TON OF A POKER PARTY-A SHARPER IN Tue CHI
CLE-BANK DEFALCATION AND FLIGHT OF ONE OF
thu CLERKs-sTILL raE GAME GOES oN-hEAVf
PLAYING AND DEFALcATION NUMBER Two-FLl6Hr
or OSCAR 8. FIELD-THE PARTY bhohES of-
MORAL.
TO THE OF THE HERALD
the winter OF 1854 1855 party Of four young men,
all bank clerks engaged 10 meet alternately ~ the resi-
deDces Of eaoh city Of Brooklyn and pass the long
winter evenings playing euchre Their reunions we're
Of the most pleasant character betting being allowed
and evening after evening passed rapidly away They in
varaby up ten O'Clock and retired 10 their
pective hones satisfied with the mseves and their
ing . amusement The party CONSISTED Of Oscar s. Field,
lale teller Of the Atlantic Bank, Brooklyn; bookkeepe
IN another BrOolyn bank, clerk In bank in Wall street
aDd the writer. They were young men on whom no word
reproof had fallen from q fault fading world.
The meetings at the house Of Field particularly
pleasant for there home joys and comforts mingled
with the pleasures of the gane and each envied Field IN
the possession Of fond and loving wife, in whose happi
ness his whole being seemed enwraught Ofttmes was
the quotation applied TO them
Two souls with but single thought
Two heart that beat as
The winter passed away, and spring came. The parties
vere Of the shortened evenings broken
give way amusements. The next all effort
was made TO reorganze them, but from cause It
tailed and November passed without any meetings On
Christmas eve of 1855 there was turkey rattle adver
tired 10 off at house In marble block Court
street This house the residence Of who had
haen n tailo hut had thate
and al the time Of which write he kept oyster
loon and bar In the portion Of Brooklyn where he
established there but few, any of these saloons,
and therefore the Of Of the young
Of the city, who had better place in which 10 their
tune. There two rooms the second story-in
the bar and the other the in which the rattle
70 take place In this room ON Christmas eve the enchre
party OF the former winter together with others from the
seghborhood met ano the rafting for "cnances' com.
nepced The were raied of by ten O'Clock, and
supper followed at the expense Of the proprietor After
this OF the party commenced playing dice for
quarters and alter the whole party joined ia the
game There the four bank clerks before alluded
70 there sat dentist, doctor OF medicine,
livery stable keeper, . merchant from New York,
and others, around q large table, throwing alter.
nasely for the pool, and oet'ing that they would
throw certain number (nine) at one throw with
three dice. Wine flowed abundance and daylight on
Christmas had long dawned when the party, with blood
shot aching heads broke up and wound their
way home ward many Of them having received their first
lessons in gambling Many lost-some wOn-mos OF them
$685. while the proprietor Of the Institution found that he
had q very handsome out Of the turkey rattle
he having received quarter from every fourth pool
He man Uhe said proprietary 70 allow such
golden opportunities to pass without improving them 80
The fumes from the Christmas debauch had cleared
from the brains OF the party they received invitations to
attend another supper at the same place, where WATCH
together with ducks chickens ana turkeys, woud again
be rsfed Off On New Years Of 1855 they again met
again they rsled pgan they supped, and again the dice
vas th own again the nght ana morning was passed In
drunken debauchery. The proprietor pleased, and
treated with that o rather
renee, which gained him many friends after that even
ing turkey rallies were almost OF nightly occurrence
The institution changed s character. and from the
former oyster aud ice cream saloon II became sort
Of CLUB room, and after a certain hour in the
evening but the members were allowed to
enter the the second story. The character
Of the games changed aso and caros were introduced
euchre, up, pitch trump, and poker were the
games ordinarily played Some few of the party
were experts at these games-Fleld being excellent
euchre player and daring buffer. But the dentist before
auaee was ''snarp" player at all the games; aud
fnoueh he eomme lced with veiy smail "a ..ta he
potsession Of quite superiority OF funds. His
trade pay him better than his profession. The hard
very lucky at dice, aud one evening he
found himself in possession of diamond pin and rug
together with considerable cashthat which he had
when he ed the The bank clerks gene
rally the osers and was astonishing whnt large salaries
they have received. A hundred dollars so los
ana a, one sitting was not thought OF by these exem
pary young men, and IT was very amusing TO the resto
tbe t TO hear the whch they accounted for
In, possession of such large One of them had
ceved legacy from deceased aunt another had drawn
prize IN the Delaware lottery third amused the
company night by informing them to the luck he
had bad that Gay "bucking the tger''-all Of which
s,uts The party believed as matter of course for they
were gent encn every of them and would play
with who would steal. "They only played for
amusement" the oft repeated assertion which all
COLI ectlvely implicitly believed, but individually, in
their minds they did not believe
Such sa,e OF a,rs could not last long, aud one even
ing one Of the paftya New York bank clerk-was not
al his accustomed poet II a matter Of surprise 10
all, for durmg the past month he had never
GUMS SUMS of money Che whole Of his auns legacy and and
much more) every one thought that he would certainly
sodeavor TO redeem himself but hour after hour passed
away and still he not The games tagged and gloom
seemed TO settle the spirits Of the company while the
spirits al the bar we're active demand. Wonder what
could have become OF Charley mumbed the DENTIST rak
ing few quarters quitting vigorously his segar. az
won OF him last night and he demanded which,
iered ana though ali in their minds knew the TRUTH they
dared not speak At length loud was heard at the
lower door and after the money disappeared into the
pockets Of the respective owners the proprietor went
down stairs to open II, while the party were Immediately
engaged reading the Sunday papers, and no vesge Of
card playing could be in the rO0m The proprietor
returned and with him policeman and Of the clerks In
the bank where Charles - was employed. The compa-
Z" Have any OF you seen Charles -, this evening"
inquired the policeman.
No had seen him since the night previous and all
inquired the reason Of the strange proceeding When told
that he defaulter for three thousand dollars
and bad not been TO the bank that they eazed each
other in blank amazement, with guilt stamped upon their
couDtenances. The policeman left and the party,
alter enoeavorng TO their conscences with express
sions that had they known II, they would
have played with him. that they supposed was all
right, &C., retired their respective homes Field In
particular seemed feel the dsgrace which had been
brought upon promising young and his friends by
the cursed habit, which ne found gaining strong
hold upon himself and the writer In conversation with
HIM tneD heard him resolve that ne would play for
money again. How much misery he might have saved
himself friends and family had he kept that resove
aud doubt had he turned from the precipce which
he was then impending, no disgrace would have At
sacbed to his name But bis COMPANIONS some oil them,
were constant winners and not desiring TO break the
party soon, Field touud the peut folds cntwined
around him. ana breaking all his well formed resolves he
again plunged into the deep abyss Tearing from his mind
the eteon he had just learned he bindly plunged for
ward IN the darkest Of all nights The friends Of Charles
paid up his dcalcation, and he LETT for tour In
Eur ope
The game continued with the balance Of the party, with
e exception Of three four who arrested their steps
party, James -, also o bank clerk arrested
charge OF forgery and his trial took ace the dentist
lef Brookyn for Ohio. He has since been heard
frem II has been calculated that he must have made
six thousand dollars out of the party. SIS arrest
broke up the party for the time. He sent 10 the
State this III