National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-04-07
unnHr WITH aAMRLERS.

NIGHT WITH GAMBLERS.
In the wear 1859 was sojourning temperate,
in the City OF Mexico, and having nearly montl
of leisure after satisfactorily winding up the bust
mess matters that drove mo thither, devoted ,
portion Of it to exploring the darker portion o
| the metropolis, meeting with some curious adven
tures, making few strange acquaintance. On,
OF the last was middleaged man, with whom
FIRST spoke, one Afternoon, at bulihght in Ne
catilan square. - ..,-.. ..-..t
A strong feeling Of friendship speedily rprans
up between US, and with Don Jaime Mercado-ai
he introduced himself-as guide, had little din
4 Guilty in finding means Of passing away the time
And with him as companion, one night found
myself cautiously treading the Callejon del Arco
or Blind alley OF the Arcade" long notorious
| as one Of the most dangerous places in the Mexi
can capital. The dense mass Of housc5, Of which
the Merchants Arcade forms part known az
the 1mpedradillo, does net form one compact
street.. On the southwestern side Of the Cattle.
| dral, Q marrow lano runs into the Impredradillo
this Is called the Callejon del Arco. 1t Is like
one Of those caverns which the sea sometimes hol.
lows out in the face Of 9 cliff.
| Even in the day time, when the suns rays pour.
| ing down upon the square are almost binding,
this alley is dark, gloomy, forbidding. Advance
within 1t, though only q few PAGES, and you seem
| preciptated into the shades Of nights involun-
| tary chill creeps over you, by no means lessened
as you catch glimpse Of some shadowy figure
lurking in On arehway, closely shrouded in cloak
and sombrero, the black, evil eyes watching your
every motion. Then there is an unhealthy damp
| ness around you; water is constantly ooIing out
| OF the walls; under foot It is wet and slimy-al-
most unconsciously comes the terrible fancy that
one is treading in the gore Of the countless vic
| Tins whose lives have ended here.
Yet through this alley Don jaime Mercado
guided me-he with drawn sword, ! with cooked
revolver. Three several times we closely Rugged
the widowed walls, our weapons pointing out
ward, to await the passing by of some suspicious
character. Either these gentlemen were wronged
by our suspicious, or else they did not like coal
steel or hot lead since they quietly passed rs by
| though edging close TO the further wall. .-...
Atlength Don Jaime paused before o heavily
iroLed door. striking three loud blows upon 1t
with the pommel of his sword. Almost immedi-
ately this opened, and porter, bearing lantern,
held the light up to our faces Evidently salts
fed, he raped q signal upon the door behind
| him, which also promptly opened.
This revealed long, steep fight Of stairs, up
mich we tramped. Here serge curtain, sur
mounted by q transparency bearing the legend
"Scciedad Filarmonica," swung noselersly aside,
and We were in one Of the most fashionable gam
bling bells in the city Of Mexico. For q Minute
the brilliant light dazzled me, and could dis.
tinguish nothing else than low, indistinct hum,
mingled with the click Of the roulette balls and
the more musical Jingle Of golden coin.
TIE hall was Of extraordinary dimensions,
lighted by hundreds Of wax tupers. Two dozen
leIg green, baize-coyered tables were surrounded
by the eager devotees OF fortune; this much
saw, then was introduced to the proprietor Of the
hall, o dspper little Frenchman, whose name l
have forgotten.
He was extremely polite and attentive, leading
US to the elegantly ftted-up sideboard, pressing
US to partake Of the sparkling wines and luscious
fruit. He soon lett us, however, to greet some
other visitors and then We Joined the crowd
around one Of the tables.
1t was devoted to rouge ct noir, with its circles
Of deyotees, who came night after night to tempt
fortune, one moment tingling with wild, deli
cious Joy as the tickle fame deigns to smile upon
them, the next plunged into the depths Of despair
the crouper's rake transfers the glittering Of
fering to the wrong side of the table.
"See," whispered Don Jaime into my ear, lob
serve that lady in black, she with the lace mask,
who places her little pile on the red double
zero with such aQueenly air. That is Sonora de
los D. Ten months since she was the idol OF
her husband who possessed almost princelywealth
but the mania seized her. She visited the tables
nightly, losing enormously, giving orders upon
her husband for the amounts, which were gladly
taken, for Don D, everybody knew, would sac
riice his last thaco rather than dshonor his namo
by refusing payment. Her husband soon discov-
cred the truth, and paid her debts, but there was
O stormy scene between them, 1t is said. and two
days afterward he was found dead in the street,
slain by the stroke of cuchillo in the hands OF
hired bravo. The truth is not known for certain,
but many believe that she paid for the murder.
Since then she has been q nightly visitor here,
losing almost constantly. The last Of her hus-
ham &c nd yxh hat "a -
WE'LL she has choice, to be sure-the suicides
grave, or-the pave"
At the next table CALIFORNIAN of swart fea-
lures and sinister aspect, not lessened by the
strips Of court-plaster that dagonally cross his
face from eye to jawbone, deals monte for the
benefit" OF the moths who hutter around the
golden piles in momentary expectation Of raising
them fret into their own pockets; but, alas!
though riches have wings, they do not fly in that
direction.
The low cries, "Cavallo en- la peurtar' "Scto
moZoI" C'The Queen in the gate?'' 'The Knave
winnerr) at intervals announce In set phrase the
progress Of the game. The golden stakes are
transferred from hand to hand, their sharp, me-
tallc click contrasting with the soft, rapid shuttle
OF the cards. But then the betting almost ceased,
when q man pushed himself forward and seated
himself in front OF the benches, while o servant
deposited an iron box before his master. When
opZas appeared, causing even the impertubable
dealer to start with wonder, and glance of joy
to fit across his face-two things that had not
occurred before within the memory Of man.
The stranger played heavily, for the bank had
no limit, and in less than an hour the banker
slowly uttered: Gentlemen this bank is clossdr'
The stranger ordered his servant to gather up the
gold, and then scattered o handful Of ounces |
among the crowd, vanished amid the confusion, |
by this maneuvre escaping probable blow from |
q cuchillo in the alley without.
THAT man is an enigma" muttered Don Jaime, !
with o long-drawn breath. This is the third
time that have witnessed the same thing; each
time he broke the bank and then vanished, lust |
how nobody could tell, though I have heard that |
the best cuchillo in Mexico has been hunting for
him this past month. No one knows who he is, |
where Re Came fforn, I2r where be lives: Some
even say that he is the-the devil!' And hers /!
the superstitious Spaniard deroutly crossed him.
SELF "But let him be what he may, wish he |
would impart his secret 10 me!'
Around the adjoining table the faro players
were gathered, where smooth, oily, cat-like |
Southerner dealt, 8 huge bowie, with ten-inch |
blade sticking, in the table before him. Shutting
the cards he placed them In the silver box then,
while waiting for the players to make their game
he said, tapping the silver hilt OF his bowie:
Gentlemen, you see this9 1 play on the square, |
and I warn you all that the first man catch try
ing to confuse the stakes will have his hand |
pinned to the tsbleI'
As no remarks followed that blunt statement, |
one would infer that such trick as confusing |
the stakes" by suddenly shifting from q losing |
card the money stsked thereon was not entirely |
unknown. We watched the deal nearly out, |
when, improbable as It may seem, seedy looking |
"gresser" suddenly shifted his stake, his quick |
eye detecting the losing card ere # was fairly |
uncovered.
Thud! went the knife as swift as the Iightning's ,
fash, true to the eye as Kit Carsons long liar
klns,h and the greaser's hand was pinned to the |
tablet Instantly all was confusion around the
table, each man instinctiyely shrinking back as
the gltterng blade flashed before his eyes, while,
with single sharp yell of pain the greaser bent
low over the gold-laden table.
His pain must have been intense, for the broad !
blade had penetrated through the back Of his |
hand, severing one or more Of the bones, fasten-
ing the palm upon the trlfing stake he had |
wished so much to cover. And yet, as stood at |
the end Of the table, distinctly saw the rascal
slip his left hand beneath his body and clutch |