The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1875-09-03

oSNA 0~ay 2SVStOU9yt Q16 >COmtu3uu6i N tho
most apparently tpifipg matter. and ne;
jo'ced ~ every Opportunity to console
himself SON fine, he pressed me. on the: .
sss Ct kindness to permit him to pay
to. Still undetermined, ri leaned with my
back against the bary and looked through
the noisy throngs of old miners and new
arrivals, into the gambling saloon beyond,
where players Of all countries, complex
ions and temperamcnts, were gathered,
in earnest but quiet knots, around faro,
roulette; and monte tables, with their
dazzling banks. An idea. full Of q pleas.
urable excitement. seized me. The cards,
thought, will decide this anna BILE contest.
l Captain" I said, II have never bet !
sixpence on card in my life... Since !
arrived here, ! have not once looked: on
at play, even q. i, merely curious .specta.s
tor. 1ido not know THU. game Of monte ;.
have never known, any game OF cards.
Now monte shall dispose. Of these three,
rascally, ounces for: usE Twill stake them
on card; If theysAre lost; there will be
IN end Of Noursdispute.tand' you can tell
your father you paid: me-" II they win.
we will divide the spoils.'' .'N'~.: -
"Agreed! and you will be~sure'to win.
Satan is always kind to the green game.
ster." ~ =. ;. : '.s}!i ~
We approached table where already
. competing throng vas gathered, eagerly,
feeding the monster with dollars, ounces,
greater or lesser pouches of dust. This
table was covered with green baize. on
which four equal squares were described,
by means Of = strip OF gold braid. In
the midst was bank of perhaps twenty
thousand dollars in coin and dust. Pres,
entity the used.up, listless, yawning deal
er, who sat behind his: bank with a revol-
yer at his back, some brandy and water
at his elbow, and long cigar held almost
perpendicularly between his tight lips,
and managed, too, with sort of skill, SO
that the burning end came within half
an inch of the corner Of his right eye,
which was closed, with that extraordi-
nary, staggering conceit, peculiar to the
soap'lock orders Of the Bowery p, es-
entity this very fancy parsonage tossed
from the pack Of small Mexican cards,
which he had just shutf1ed deliberately,
four ''popes," as he called them. and
which he more particularly described as
Eel ray, shayty, sinkwee and kcrvalgo,"
that is. king, seven, five and horse, this
last being, believe. peculiar to the monte
cards. Then gents were invited to
snake their game" or more facetiously
to "size their piles or to ''pungalee
down, which the Spanish scholar will
discover to be sort of fancy Castilian,
proper to the latitude Of San Francisco.
Gentlemen did ''pungalec down. &C.
cording to their substance or their tenn.
pers. and I, with several others, for the
card seemed q favorite one, staked all my
three ounces on the seven. Then the
dealer raped with his knucklcs on the
table, to call down the last bets; but no
more appearing, he began to draw, very
slowly, one card at time from the top
Of the pack he held in his hand, and to
dispose Of them before him alternately,
on winning and losing pile. AS a card
corresponding to one in square fell on
the right or the left hand pile, he called
its name, and either paycd the stake or
swept it into his bank, Thus the king,
the five and the s'kervalyo" lost, but the
The cards being shuffled, four more
were thrown out. and again the seven is
among them. Once more ':gents'' arc in.
vited to ''pungalee down. and 7, choos.
ing to add spice Of vulgar diablerie to
my adventure, select the seven again for
all six Of my ounces, andinvokc tho favof
Of witches.
Seven wins; I draw off twelve beauti-
full doubloons. Next deal, no seven; so
wait. And now I have it; round
dozen is my stake; become an object of
interest to the bystanders, some of whom
evidently consider me, if not handsome,
certainly superior sort Of fellow. Seven
wins, Of course. My three bothersome
ounces have become twenty.four splendid
doubloons-round, yellow and heavy -
fair to see and pleasant to hear.
Three hundred and eighty -four dollars
and since my breakfast the day before,
had not eaten a morsel! fairly blessed
Fate; and as for the number seven, set
him up on a throne Of philosopher S
stone, with crown of Midas on his head
and a briEmer of vino d'oro in his hand.
And the captain, princelv fellow, worthy
to BE- king, waived his right to
share with me. He had plenty, he said,
displaying pocketful of doubloons, and
nugget as big as a doughnut. New
corners were not usually suffering with q
surplus, and he dared say that had not
more than 4 few hundred dollars.
should need it all to start with; when
his pile should tumble, he would be hap:
Ply in holding me his debtor to the extent
Of dozen ounces or SO. =" ,
/ l~condescended to accept his terms, and
the same hour next day saw me flourish
ing q professional shingle on the broad
side Of. an adobe house in Sacramento
street, and a; professional card, in the
most imposing and attractive stylt, in
The Alta California. had soon a lu-
crative private practice; from seventy.
five to hundred: dollars was not too
much to earn in = day, when an exclusive
pen in tHowe's circus cost tifty.five dol
lars,, when ten dollars was demanded for
the 5.phinest of dinners at Wheeler's,
when stout boots cost forty dollars a
pair, and Ipotatoes a dollar pound-to
say. nothing ofspurious champagne at ten
dollars 4 bottle, and five dollars for the
honor of Prof lessor Lewis Thompson 8
tonsorial fingers in your hair.
A KENTUCKY BRIDAL TOUR.
From the CONFECTIONERY
There came one day to a little inland
town in Kentucky a young rural couple
who had just been bound by the 'silken
bonds Their destination was the de-.
pot, and the bridegroom was evidently
quite impatient for fear the train should
arrive before he could reach the office.
Buying one ticket, they stood on the