The Placer herald., 1870-08-20
A UA.AL ~ AAlj.S.

One hot afternoon in the month of Au
gust, 1867, three men sat around table il
private room at the hotel Darmstadt, al
Ems, Germany, taking such comforts as
they could derive from the juice Of Rhenisl
grape and pack of cards The most con
spicuous figure OF the group was large
man with bald head, grayish blue eyes
heavy lght-colored mustache, airs about
him that would have done honor to the i'm
perial purple This parsonage had ever
hen achieved some fame, and was tolembl,
well known to reading people by the namt
If Bismark. Next to him sat another bald
headed individual, inferior to Bismark in
stature, with border of black hair about
he base of his skull that looked like the
rim of an old felt hat (ruthlessly robbed OF
its crown,) condemned to remain there as a
permanent fixture. During the Crimean
war the father of this man figured at the
Cabinet councils in St Petersburg as Count
Nesselrode, but the son was only known as
clever gamester and habituo of the fash
ionable European watering places The
third member OF the party was "a little fellow
$50 little that his feet scarcely touched the
hoor) with dark piercing eyes, swarthy skin,
and vivacltv enough for half dozen ordinary
men. At the time of which we speak h
was the French Consul at Stuttgard All.
Of them had been partaking freely of wine,
md each in turn shuf1led the cards with /,
i'm that the generous grape imparts even to
the most phlegmatic temperament The
Frenchman, in the interludes of the play
Kept up running fire of conversation, skip
ping from topic to topic with facility which
only Frenchman enjoy, until, warming as he
went on, he ventured the declaration that
France would one day mark her boundary by
ihe Rhine from Basel to the sea-
GA hundred fredericks to fifty" exclam-
Nesselrode, "that she won't
"Done, replied the Frenchman, "and let
the game be the fortune-teler. "
They shutiled the cards and the French
man lost
"Anoher wager y said Nesselrode, with
a glance at Bismark, who eyed his two com
pnions calmly, though never uttering a sin
gle word $3.50 that within five years France
md Prussia measure swords, and that France
Yields Alsace and the whole disputed border.
"C'est impossibteF' excitedly respondeo
he Consul.
Again the cards were shuffled. At the
ourth play Bismarck and the Frenchmal
II I'd each taken two tricks 1t was the Rus
slams lead He threw the queen of clubs
upon tbs table.
"King!" shouted the Frenchman in tri-
lmph as he covered Nesselrode's card and
extending his hand to seize the prize.
"Not SO fast, coolly remarked the Prus
sian Premier 81 believe the game is mine,
nd casting the ace he leaned back in hi
hair and laughed heartily.
"Uot Dieu| shouted the discomfiteG
player, "but cards always were liars" Ano
unable to conceal the chagrn and exctemel,
that overmastered him, he rose from the ta-
ole and quilted the room.
Three years have scarcely elapsed sine
he incident here narrated IAN incident whicl
Nesselrode told with hearty satisfaction il
he Ems ccfes that summer) and, now thai
he big cloud Of war that has hovered ovey
Europe has burst, the result may prove that
cards were not such liars after all.-Appie-
tons Journal.