Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1872-09-04
GAMBLING AT GERMAN tls SPAS.
-. N 7 y n ~ - n u n n"
By N, S. Dodge, in the Golden Age. ]

At Dauen-Dhccu, NelbDAucntH dnC
equally fashionable watering places or
the banks Of the river Lahu, the Govern
ment farms out, or did SO four years ago
and had done SO for many years, the
gambling tables to three brothers. 1T is
/ for the interest OF this firm Of brothers
to keep these legalized gambling opera
tions respectable. Russian mobiles, and
Polish counts, French, noblesse, and
English dukes, German jurists,s and
| Spanish cavaliers, may thus frequent
the rouge ct noir apartments amid a
constantly shifting companygof specta
tors without damage to their rank The
lights burn brightly overhead. The ut
most decorum and punctilious ceremony
obtain. The veteran croupier who, with
impassive face, shuffies the cards, po
litely saying, as he prepares to show
their black or red faces, Yates lejen,
Messieurs, speaks in the low tones of a
well-breds gentleman. There are other
rooms where the company is less select
aud where common roues and sharpers
stake silver on the chances. Here moth.
ing is current but gold. A pile of Ma
poleons lies by the side of each player.
Old gentlemen with. ruby faces, beauti-
full women in full dress, with small
gloved hands and rounded arms, men oi
mark, known throughout Europe as
statesmen or soldiers, army officers on
leave, noblemen travelling the usual
I" Swiss round" aand aspiring sons OF
American millionaires, seat themselves
with ceremonious etiquette around the
table. There is nothing to offend good
taste. losses or gains are alike tindif-
ferent. French only is spoken. Per
sons withdraw or enter without remark.
One might suppose the whole affair to
be tea-table gathering of neighbors.
But to close observer there is appa-
rent great deal below this superficial
calmness. A new conner enters; by de-
grees his careless air becomes fixed, the
gaze darkens, the eye sharpens, the
whole attention is engrossed There is
the hesitating deposit, the satisfactory
return, the brayer second risk, greater
success, and then, step by step, now a
great pain, now a trivial loss, until borne
on to conquest or to ruin by the torrent
of excitement the victim plunges heart,
life and soul into the play. 1t may be a
man who takes his seat at once. 1t may
be a lady, timid, standing behind the
players, and hiddenly handing her sover.
eigns to friend at the. table, until, fixed
by the alterations of loss ard gain, she
pushes to the front aud takes her seat
with the rest. Once yielded to, this over
mastering passion for chance-will the
| psychologists please tell luswhy sweeps
down all barriers of morality.
1t is not of this phenomenon, so often
described, SO haltingly explained, that |
began to write. The thing as it is ex-
lists. Analyze it as you may 1t is
rather of phase in the history of Ger
man Spa gambling that occurred four
years ago that have word to say.
There came there when the chief of
the three brothers was in Paris and the
reins of government we're in the hands
of his younger brother, company OF
adyenturers from Belgium, with capi-
tai Of 100000 francs, and an iniallible
system for playing rouge ct noir, who
boldly challenged the bank of Lenoir,
and sat down before his croupiers and
defed them. They called themselves in
their pride the Contrebanque di Noiburg
They had their croupiers and punters,
even as Leuoir had his; they had their
rouleaus of Napoleons; they had their
contrebanquist seal; and they began to
play.
Of course the great contestants over
shadowed all smaller players. Rumors
of the Belgian money and skill that were
to break down the great house of Lenoire
drew crowds of the curious to the spa |
cious apartments. All minor pnnters
and gamblers ceased their piddling play |
and looked on in silence, The contre- |
banquists seated themselves opposite the |
Lenoirists. 1t was TO be the great battle
between chance and money on the other
side. Rouleaus of gold were heaped
upon the table; packages of bank notes
were piled by themselves; the gentlemen
on both sides passed polite salutations
across the green cloth, and the game
commenced war for war, till one or
the other should be utterly yanquished
II happened, as we have said, that the
senior Lenoir was then in Paris. The
younger brother, though he showed no
sign Of quailing bat met the foe man
fully, became nevertheless uneasy. He
had not been used to so high play. Luck
was against him. The stakes were con
tinually increased by the Contrebanque,
and he telegraphed to his brother for in
-Gel
What the head of the great gambling
house replied we onlookers of course
did not know. But there was NO end of
talk about kegs Of bullion and portfol-
los of bank notes which the senior was
sending daily from Paris to the Spa as
for his brother to con
tinue the campaign without showing the
white feather. But the losses of the
bank were fearful. The tactics of the
contrebanquists were irresistible. They
on terrible as a Macedonian
Dhalanx. Tuesday the bank lost twenty
sight thousand horins, Wednesday thirty
,ix thousand, and Thursday forty.one
thousand. There were, of course, tenn
1orary recOveries. Young Lenoir would
win 80 many times that grave
Did men would shake their heads and I
Jay that luck had turned. But the /
lose of another day told another story.
rhe balance q losses and gains was an /
increasing in amount
against the bank. Dispatches in cipher a
vere continually arriving from Paris. 7
Kegs Of specie, bearing on their heads
he enigmatical seal of the Bank Of
france, kept on arriving. Well known
packages, half covered with red sealing
wax, we're. frequently delivered by ex-
,ress messengers at the door.
At last came Friday-eblaek Friday"
-oung Lenior called it-when the bank
ost sixty-eight thousand forms. The
lnlookers said il was Waterloo defeat
OF the old house. Asrouleau after rou-
can was being swept from the table by
u Al l., -