The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-08-25

A lady in much distress Of mind asked me
how she could raise certain sum of money!
She had already tried to pawn some dia-
monds, and found that brokers were only
advancing. even on $500 of security, insig-
nifcant sums ranging in the teens. Wouldn't
be good enough to talk some pecun.ary LA
bity of my own over before her husband?
Then she would get large sum from him
afterward, ostensibly to loan me. This was
very nice scheme for me, and asked what
sort of difficulty she was in that she couldn't
make full confession to the gentleman who
had contracted, according to the prayer
book, to pay her bills. Well, she had got
in debt to Mrs., and must pay her.
Then, knowing Mrs. was neither milli-
ner nor dressmaker, but a lady OF like sta
tion with herself-both boarding in fash
ionable HOTEL asked if it was borrowed
money.
mo. Lost Lost at lottery.''
Mrs.-has a fine parlor in an uptown
hotel, it seems, and the other ladies', to the
number of fifteen or twenty, get together in
her room and play the game called lottery"
the pot sometimes being as big as twenty
dollars. This grew interesting, so with Mrs.
-'s permission went up to play ''lottery"
Eight ladies sat around marble center Ia
BILE, while a ninth had gentleman's soft hat
in her lap, in which were ninety numbers on
little wooden buttons. Each lady had put in
fifty cents into the pot, and had three cards
before her with numbers in squares. As
Mrs.--called 26, Al, 10, 3S, each little wo-
man hungrily eyed her card, either moving
up her glass chip triumphsnty or dejectedly
groaning as she failed to find the number
called on her row of figures. "Lottery?"
The precious dears were playing the simple
game OF keno, and getting as excited and
eager over their eight dollar pot as if it were
G1 000 ---Eiphlv 6asiraH fn faaah
the game, but l thought I'd bring it up
to perfection before l went in, so / showed
'em how when one lady got her row COM
plete, she should say ''keno'' (which was
correct), instead OF "fulr' as they hiIh-
erto had done. Then / told them they
should ''verify' by the dealers stringing the
buttons in tens, twenties, and so on in lines
on the table. Before that she had always
dumped them from one hat TO another. Then
L fixed it that the winner take the pot and all
the rest should come up again and so on till
the buttons were all out, instead OF beginning
a new game at the end of one call, as they
always had done. Thus, you see, tried to
do these wretched gamblers all the good 1
could. And wanted to help my little friend
who was in debt heavily at the bank. 81
called OFF, for an hour. 1t was certainly sur
prsing how many big pots she won, especial
ly as instituted the buying of cards at fifty
cents apiece, and some greedy ladies got five
to wa;ch at time, and cou dn't see half their
Dumbers.-A they all had their hands full
with their own business, could take a row
on my friends card and call 'em straight off,
to poor Ems astonshment. who would excit-
edly shrek ''Keno" to my extreme terror,
lest the captain OF the precinct heard her, aud
instantly demanded percentage on the game
or pulled us on the spot. Thanks to my
magnificent way of drawing Iout of the old
hat, Ems nearly out of debt, and Mrs. IS
room is in full blast till twelve and one at
night (no limit), and it l,oks to me like
prosperous enterprise. Having looked up the
gambling law, l find it refers entirely to men,
Women are not amenable. Twenty-Five cents
are now deducted from each pot for the deal
er (which proves remunerative), and don't
know of any better place to lese a few dollars
than playing Lotto at the strict church-going
Mrs. IS.