The Hickman courier., 1874-05-09
4 NIGHT WITH GAMBLERS.

In the year 1859 l was sOlourning
temporarily in the City of Mexico, and
having nearly month of leisure after
satisfactorily winding up the business
matters that drove me thither l devoted
a portion of it to exploring the darker
portion of the metropolis, meeting with
some curious adventures, making a few
acquaintances. One of the last wss 3
middle-aged man with whom I first
spoke one afternoon at bull-fght in
Necatilan Square.
A strong feeling of friendship speedily
sprang up between us, and with Don
Jaime Mercado-as he introduced him
self-as guide had little difficulty in
finding means of passing away the time.
And with him as companion one night l
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 Mexican
capital. The dense mass of houses, of
which the Merchants Arcade forms a
part, known as tIS Impedradillo, does
not form one compact street. On the
southwestern side of the cathedral
narrow lane runs into the lmpedradillo;
this is called the Callejon del Arco. 1t
is like one of those caverns which the
sea sometimes hollOws out In the face
of cliff
Even in the daytime, while the suns
rays pouring down upon the square are
almost binding, this alley is dark,
gloomy, forbidding. Advance within
it, though only few PAGES, and you
seem precipitated into the shades of
night; an involuntary chill creeps over
you, by no mears lessened as yop catch
a glimpse of some shadowy fgul1 lurk-
ing in an arch-way, closely shrouded in
cloak and sombrero, the black, evil eyes
watching your every motion. Then there
is an unhealthy dampness around you !;
water is constantly oozing out of the
walls under foot it is wet and Eimy-
almost unconsciously comes the terrible
fancy that one is treading in the gore of
the countless victims whose lives have
ended here.
Yet through this alley Don Jaime
Mercado guided me-be with drawn
sword, with cooked revolver. Three
several times we closely hugged the
mildewed walls, our weapons pointing
outward, to await the passing by of
some suspicious character. Either
these gentlemen were wronged by our
suspicious, or else they did not like
cold steel or hot lead, since they
quietly passed Us by, thoogh edging
close to the further wall.
At length Don Jaime paused before
heavily y-ironed door, striking three loud
blows upon it with to pommel of his
sword. Almost immediately this
opened, and porter bearing a lantern
held tha Light to our faess- IzsskdarssIS,
satisfied he raped a signal upon the
door behind him, which promptly
opened. =
This revealed long, steep flight of
stairs, up which we tramped. Here
serge curtain, surmounted by trans
parency bearing the legend s. Sociadad
Filarmonica,D swung noiselessly aside,
and we were in one of the most fash
ionable gambling halls of the City of
Mexico. For a minute the brilliant
light dszzled me, and l could distin-
guish little else than a low, indistinct
hum, mingled with the click of the
roulette balls and the mere musical
tingle of golden coin.
The hall was of extraordinary dimen-
sions, lighted by hundreds of wax ta-
pers. Two dozen long, green baize-
covered tables were surmounted by the
eager devotees of Fortune this Sauch
I saw, then was introduced to thE pro-
proprietor of the hall, dapper little
Frenchman whose name have forgot
ten.
He was extremely polite and atten-
tive, leading us to the elegantly fitted
up sideboard, pressing us to part..Ae of
the sparkling wines and luscious fruit.
He soon left 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 devotees, who came night
after night to tempt fortune, one mo-
ment tingling with a wild, delicious JOY
as the tickle dame deigns to smile up
on them, the next plunged into the
depths of despair as the croupier's rake
transfers the glittering offering to the
wrong side of the table.
"See. whispered Don Jaime into my
ear; "observe that lady in black, she
with the lace mask, Fho places her lit
tie pile on the redi double zero with
such queenly air. That is Sonora de
Los D. Ten months since she
was the idol of her husband, who pos
sessed almost princely wealth, but the
mania seized her. She visited the ta-