Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1867-02-19
Interior Of a Tigers Den.n

house herein described was, during the war,
the great resort of Commissaries, Quarter.
masters and other gentry who We're wont to
travel with trunks full of"Confed, )" of which
they wished to be relieved:
2 The demise of a gentleman s'in the fancy
line" resulted ON yesterday in the invasion of
one of the most elegantly furnished and ex-
tensive gambling establishments of this city,
by vast throng- of men and women of every
grade, calling and position. The rooms of
this famous establishment, from their central
and fashionable location, afforded easy access
to the largest and most fashionable. assembly
which we have seen in this city for months.
+ On the day previous to the sale, hundreds of
well-dressed fashionable people were stroIiug
, through the. different apartments, examing
the unusually rare aad costly parlor, dining
room, saloon and chamber furniture All
through the war this establishment did
roaring business, and was nightly thronged
by the elite of the civil and military circles
Of the Capital of the Confederacy When
famine prevailed elsewhere, the tables Of this
establishment always groaned beneath the
luxuries of every cline. Countless millions
changed hands over the green tables which
excited so much curious examination from the
judiciary and clergy on yesterday. OF its
class, the Tigers Den in question was always
the best, and, at the end Of the war, the pro-
prietor re-furnishcd it in the most costly and
substantial manner. He was man of good
taste, and while there Herc evidences of reck-
lessncss OF cost about every article in his es-
tablishment, it was furnished with grave
decorous taste which would have reflected
credit upon the refined taste of the most Gull
tivatcd man of wealth. Carpets, bookcases
chairs, tables, paintings, chandeliers, mirrors
Misunderstanding, table china plates, &c.
H-o Tor6 01l ; fIN, !,
wants connected with the establishment were
all quiet, grave and we'll behaved men, the
rare types Of the now almost extinct race of
family servants, The paintings were not nu-
merous, but they were exceedingly appropri,
ate, and strictly in keeping with the charac.
ter of the place Immediately in rear, for
instance, OF large and mysteriously shaped
tables covered with the inevitable green
cloth, there were suspended capital paintings
two grim, stern, misunderstanding tigers
and lions. ''Ye tiger" looked down upon the
faro table, while the lion frowned ominously
upon the victims of roulette. Both of these
tutclar divinities of the temple looked ple~
thoric, cruel and truculent, as if they had de-
voured many thousand pigeons, greenhorns
aud boobies, and rather liked their diet.
Long before that most eloquent, popular
and veracious of auctioneers, Mr.. Cook, com
mcnccd the sale, on yesterday, a vast throng.
of people crowded the large rooms and block
ed up the staircases of the tigers elegant
jungle. The church was superbly reprcsent-
cd by bishop Of great cmnencc and dis
tinguishcd learning and eloquencc; of priests,
elders, deacons and lesser church lights we
can make no enumeration; but curiosity to
see the haunts of eye terrible tiger attracted
vast number of them, now that tho place
was harmless and the owner gone to his long
account. Judges; prosecuting attorneys and
edltors-the lights Of the three professions
took solemn notes of what they bchcld, and
were rudely jostled, pressed into corners,
Jammed into door-ways and hustled by a
surging and irreprcssible crowd Locomo>
zion was almost impossible, SO dense was the
throng, and the bidding was so spirited that
the auctioDeer was spared all superfuous la
mcntations over unhcard of "sacrifces -
Everything was of the best description, and
the prices paid were, we imagine, greatly in
advance Of those usually paid for second
hand furniture. The auctioneer had COM
paratively easy time, of it, as the crowd bid
for the contents of the Tigers Den, as if
they were contcnding for the possession of
holy relics. The crowd was SO great that the
ladies Lad rather hard time of it; but their
curiosity must have been amply eratifcd,
Tor they explored every portion of the estab-
lishment. We noticed a group of pretty
women puzzliBg their brains over a roulette
table; and they were about leaving the mys
terious article of furniture in despair, when it
was explained to them in a remarkably lucid
and eloquent manner by an intelligent deacon,
who had not forgotten the now abiured weak
ness of carly youth. As lotteries. rafffes.
&c, are fast becoming religious institutions.
the study of this splendid Tigers Den must
have been Instructive to those pious persons
who are embarkingin such things
The auctionecr made speedy work of the
contents of this large gambling cstablish>
ment, and by this time mirrors, chandeliers,
paintings, &C., which have looked down in
their day upon many scene of wild excite
ment and desperate hazard, have been trans
icrred to quiet and orderly christian houses
holds, whore worse kinds of gambling than
charitable rafics and pious lotteries arc ever
tolerated.
In making himself comfortable in this
world, the gambler exhibits a wise, although
cpicurean philosophy, for he does not precise
ly know what sort Of quarters will be proyi-
ded for him in that great and mysterious land
Of shadows and spirits to which all of us are
fastening. 1t may be that there arc other
things than costly mirrors, soft carpets, lux
urious beds, brilliant chandeliers. rich viands
and voluptuous paintings and cOuches in store
for him there. ...--z
VIRGINIA MINERALs.-The notices in
this paper concerning the mineral wealth of
Virginia, and especially reference to the
large deposit of manganese in Rockbridge,
have attracted attention in the North, aud
yesterday application was made through this
Office from Philadelphia for large quantity
of manganese. We have not doubt that
there will be a large demand for any of the
minerals of Virginia which her enterprise
Tno 1oI-a1or 80 u,
of all minerals entering into the fabrication
of mann Eacturers in any mannnr al--a..s L..