The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1872-09-19

wears ago. and had done so for many
years. the gambling tables to three bro
thers. 1t ) for the interest Of this firm /
of brothers to keep these legalized gam /
bling operations respectable. Russian |
and Polish counts, French noblesse, no |
bles. and English dukes, Germanjurists, |
and Spanish cayaliers, may thus frequent
the rouge ct n0ir apartments amid con-
stantly shifting company of spectators
without damage to their rank. The lights
burn brightly overhead The utmost |
deeorum and punctllious ceremony
obtain The veteran croupier who, with
impassiye face, shuffles the cards. POI
htely saying as he prepares to show
their black Or red faces, Yates lejen,
Messieurs, speaks ia the low tones OF
well-bred gentleman There are other
rooms whore the company IS less select,
and where common roues and sharpers
stake silver on the chances. Here moth
ing IL current but gold.
IT Is not Of this phenomenon, 50 often
described 50 haltnely explained, that
began 10 write Tie thing as it is exists.
Analyze it as you mayi 1t is rather ola
phase in the history Of German Spa
gambling that occurred four years ago
that / have a word to say.
There came there when the chief Of the
three brothers was Ia Paris and the reins
Of government were in the hands Of his
younger brother, a company Of adyen-
turers nom Belgium, with capital Of
300, 900 francs, and All infallible system
for playing rouge ct noir, who boldly chal-
lenged the bank Of Lenoir, and sat down
before his eroupiers and defed them.
They called themselves in their pride the
Contrebanque iii Noiburg. They had
their croupiers and punters, even as
Lenojr had his; they had their rouleaus
Of NapoIeons; they had their contreban-
qust seal; and they began to play.
OF course the great contestants over
Swallowed al smaller players. Rumors
OF the Belgian money and skill that were
TO break down the great house Of Lenolre
drew crowds Of the curious to the spacious
apartments. All minor punters and
gamblers ceased their bidding play and
locked on IL silence. The contreban-
quists seated themselves opposite the
Lenoirist It was to be the great battle
between chance and money on the other
side. RouleaUs Of gold were heaped up
on the table; packages Of bank notes
were piled by themselves; the gentlemen
on both sides passed polite salutatlons
across the green cloth, and the game
commenced, war for war, till one or the
ether should be utterly vanquished.
1t happened, as we have said, that the
senior Lenoir was then in Paris. The
younger brother, though he showed no
sign Of quailing but met the foe manfully,
became nevertheless uneasy. He had
not been used TO 50 high play, Luck
was against him The stakes were con-
tinually increased by the Contrebanque,
and he teIegraphed to his brother for in
structions.
What the head Of the great gambling
house replied, We onlool1ers of course did
not know But there was no end of
talk about Kegs OF bullion and portfolios
Of bank notes which the senior was send
ing daily from Paris to the Spa as rein
forcement for his brother to continue the
campaign without showing the white
feather. But the losses of the bank
were fearful The tactics of the Con
trebanquists were irresistible. They
marched on terrible as a Macedonian
phalanx Tuesday the bank lost twenty
eight thousand forms, Wednesday thirty
six thousand, and Thursday forty-one
thousand, There were, of course, tenn
p0rarv recoveries Young Lenoir would
sometimes win so many times that grave
old men would shake their heads and say
that luck hal turned. But the close of
another day told another story The
balance Of losses and gains was uninter-
Tuptedly increasing in amount against
the bank Dispatches in cipher were
continually arriving from Paris. Kegs
Of specie, hearing on their heads the
enigmatical seal of the Bank of France,
kept on arriving. Well known packages,
half covered with red sealing wax, were
frequently delivered by express messen-
gers at the door.
AT last came Friday black Friday"
young Lenior called it-when the bank
lost sixty-eight thousand forms The
onlookers said it was a Waterloo defeat
for the old house As rouIeau after rou-
leau was being swept from the table by
the Belgians, however, the senior brother
suddenly arrived. 1t was like Napoleon
joing the grand army. Not that it
changed the luck. The daily combats
continued on Saturday. and on the after
noon and evening, as is customary, of
Sunday, but still, though the Emperor
was with the eagles, he did pot bring sue
cess. She Contrebanquists still went on
victorious. like Polyphemns, however,
who took only one of his prisoners out of
the cave at time, and ate them off at
leisure, so these Belgian gamblers CON
tented themselves with winning so much
before dinner and so much before supper,
say twenty thousand fiorins for each meal,
and then going to their pleasures.
On Monday, when they had won their
allotted sum at evening, and were about
to leave the tables they had swept so of
ten, one of the leaders flushed with suc-
cess and love of gold, said.
Not yeti Let US win ten thousand
forms more! Sothey stopped, and set
the bank yet ten thousand forms. Pride
made them confident 1t made them
blind too. | remember the picture
their eagerness the Lenoir croupier's
pretended Indifference; the yolnger
brothers position near by, where he
could supply the gold; the crowd of ladies
and gentlemen the hush when the cards
were shuffied and the buzz when they
We're shown; and above all, the middle
sized, square-shouldered, imperturbable
man, whose elbow rested on a sideboard,
and who, chatting with those who stood
around him. seemed less interested in the
fearful contest than any person in the
room-Lenoir, senior.
For nearly two hours the resumed play
went on, stalking heavily, with the pride
of nine days success, the Contreban-
quists lost Doubling their stakes. they
lost again. Maddenehby this turn of the
game, though not frown was seen on the
face of their leader, nor a whispered oath
heard, they doubled their stakes a third
time, and third time lost. The interest
In the play now became intense. Not a