Litchfield enquirer., 1872-11-28

]; for Jlrp0ses of consultation. They were
 all 1ast-captains, with the exception oi
 Mashr C0mnandant Booth, who was tenn
 poraIly in command of Q frigate. Com
 modsre Perry, covered with laurels by his
 gallans exploit on Lake Erie, and natural
 1y ratIer an arrogant man, made a super
 ciliousFemark to Booth, which was sharp
 ly retkted. Perry reioined, in sheer !, sH you were my equal in rank, Sir,
 should hold you personally accountable
 for ytur language" -
 Shaw's blood was up at once. 'sDo ]
 understand you to say, Commodore Per
 ", that if Captain Booth was your aqual you would challenge him for what he has just said?'
 ''Ishould, most certainly" was the re-
 ''Ihen, Sir, repate every word that Captain Booth has said, and Paddy Shaw is your equal the world over.
 Perry was always cooked and primed for fight, and duel was expected as a matter of course; but judicious friends interppsed, and the affair was arranged.
 The growing strength of the junior off cers, and uneasiness of the government under the tyrannical course of the old commodores, finally broke up the combi- nation, and promotions were made accord ing to the necessities of the service The movment was failure so far as the ere ation of more elevated grade Tn the navy was concerned, and 1t was not until the extended maritime operations indispensa- ble in the suppression of the rebellion that Congress authorized the appoint ment of admirals.
 But the old commodores continued to maintain their power at Washington, the Navy Board remaining supreme in author ity, in fact, until the administration of MT. Tyler, when there was a reorganiza- tion of the civil branch of the service, ,sev- eral bureaus being substituted for the old board. The thing was failure. There was was division of power and responsi- biity, the old eommodores procuring themselves to be placed in authority, al- though in separate positions and under different official titles. The secretary, nominally the head of the department, was nothing but clerk; in fact, with less real power thon the chief clerk of the reg ister.
 And this state of things has generally obtained in the department. MT. South ard, the ablest man who ever held the of flee of Secretary of the Navy, exacted obe- dience and subordination from officers of every grade. And his immediate success sor, Governor Branch, of North Carolina, undertook some reforms in the service; but Mrs. Eaton blew up General Jackson s first cabinet before he had time to carry them into effect. These were exceptional cases, however. In the main, the older officers have had full swing in the navy, the secretary being of the smallest possi- ble account.
 GAMBLING IN WASHINGTON.
 Washington for many years had been a hot-bed for gamblers of high and low de- gree. There were dozen faro banks on the Avenue within stone's e's-throw of Gadsby's, on the corner of Sixth Street. Many of these establishments had club rooms attached, where members of Con- gress and others amused themselves with brag, vingt-et-un, and whist. Draw-po- ker came into vogue at later day. Gam bling, and for large sums, was common, particularly among Southern and Western Scores of them from Ohio, In- diana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Gulf States squandered their modest per diem, then eight dollars only, at the gaming ta- ble, and some impaired their private for tunes by the same indulgence. s. s. Prentiss was reported to have lost thirty dollars the first winter he was in Congress. .....
 The most notorious and dashing gam bier of the day was Edward Pendleton. He came from Virginia, wnere he was we'll his family being of the best blood in the State, and he married most and accomplished lady, whose father held responsible office under the government. Pendleton gave sumptuous at his clubhouse, which were we'll attended by some of the most eminent public men in the district. Mir. John J. Crittenden, John M. Bolts, John B. Thompson, of Kentucky, and Linn Boyd, afterward Speaker of the House, and others of lesser note were frequently his guests. Congress had enacted strin- gent penal laws to prevent gambling, but they were dead letter, unless some poor devil made complaint of foul play, or some fierce blackleg sought vengeance through the aid of the Grand Jury; and then the matter was usually compounded by the payment of money. ...
 Whist was a favorite game with the for eign ministers and the elder statesmen. MT. Clay, General Scott, MT. Bodisco, and Mr. Fox-nephew of Charles James Fox who represented William the Fourth and Queen Victoria, often played together, a hundred dollars being the usual stake. They generally played we'll. as Hoyle taught the game; but many of the mem- bers of the fashionable clubs of New York play with more skill than was dreamed of forty years ago. Governor Marcy was 8 great lover of whist, but he would never bet money on the game. There were al- ways inveterate whisters in the Senate. A story was current at one time of & pro- tracted sitting at tie card-table, at which Governor Stokes of North Carolina, and Mountjoy Bailey, sergeant-at-arms of the Senate, were two of the players. It ran in this wise: the Senate adjourned from Thursday over to Monday. The party sat down to cards after dinner Thursday evening. They played all night and all the next day, only stopping occasionally for refreshments. The game was contin- ued Friday night and Saturday, through Saturday night and all day Sunday and Sunday night, the players resting for a snatch of of sleep as nature became ex- hausted. Monday morning the game was in full blast; but. at ten o'clock Bailey moved an adjournment, alleging that his official duties required his presence in the l Stokes remonstrated, but the sergeant-at-arms persisted, and rose from the table. The Governor grum- bled and scolded, but finally gave it up, swearing that if he had suspected Bailey would break up the game thus premature ly, he would have seen him-anywhere before he would have invited him to join the party.
 MT. Webster played whist, but indiffer- ently only. The .Virginians were addict ed to that stupid game known as shoe maker loo. President Tyler was fond of loo, and on rainy day, when there was no great pressure of public business, he has been known to make up game at the White House, and play all day, having dinner in his chamber. His companions usually were William Selden, Treasurer of the United States, Gary Selden, his brother, store-keeper at the navy-yard, and sometimes Governor Gilmer, of Vir- ginia, with now and then another favor