Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1876-07-06

Morbid Anatomy of the Propheticsl Functions,
| mean to devote chapter to the supcrstltlons
of SpieIbad; aod it will not be the shortest
CHAPTER of that invaluable work, nor the least
curious. In this particular superstition have
myself the profouodest faith; aud not without
reason. [ bad venerable relation once, as ex
cellent man as ever worst ipped at the shrine
of the great goddess Fortuas, and with pleas
aut habit of changing the subject when the
goddess had trowned upon his Offering, and
enrichiDg my balance at Mcssrs. Pennywise
and Shovelout's with large proportion ot the
golden results OF her smiles. 10 hlu occurred
one day the idea OF making up a lutte sun oil
FIVE hundred pou4ds, TO be placed to my ac
couot with Mcssrs. ?. and 5 as a pleasant
surprise for Christmas. Aud more admirable
idea it would. perhaps, be difficult 10 conceive,
or one more worthy of bling successfully car
ried out, But alas il had rne INV. |! hx'd
beforehand the polut at which the god ;e>s' :
favor wou cease tn bc caurtCd Aud the
goddess was a feminine goddess. aud wouldn't
stand mat For more thau Seve0 weeks my
good old friend played on splcDdldly. De had
already rolled up something over four huu
dred and eighty-6ve pounds. Auoth~r iay,
and the thug would be done. Would i; ?
Had he haunted the temple so loug ou-
ly to suppose that the goddess would sta"d
being deliberately h!rted with in that wa' !?
The last day came, and turned out u last day with
vengeance Ios cad OF winning he began
to lose. But that was nothiDg, for of course
one must lose sometimes The mischief of it
was that now be w,ut on losing First fifty
louis, then huodred, then a hundred more,
then his temper, then his head; then the
whole Of the famous four hundred and eighty
five pounds, then about two hundred and fi!y
pounds Of bis own to the back OF 1t; then we'll,
tleu luckily his account with the lucal BANKERS
dried UP, and he had himself to write to Messrs.
Penuywise aod Shovelout fer lrt sh supplies.
Not that the local bankers would not gladly
have advanced him any amount be liked to
name But he had promised himself, years
ago, never to borrow, aod he wouldn't break
his word, even to himself, and then be was in
passion. So be went home and had ht OF
the gout, which kept him fully occupied I'LL
the fresh remttances came aud Tor some days
after. And by the time it passed, he had re-
covered his head and his temper, and took
sobery TO playing silver again, AID 10 wluuing,
as, when he played silver, be always dad; as
surely as he always lost when he played gold.
My own 6rm conviction is, that If he always
played silver, and left of for the day the mo-
ment he lost his first god piece, he would
have doubled his income easily.
When to leave off? Aye, there's the rub.
You would know well euough? OF course you
would. my dear sir. | uever yet knew any Que
sit down TO play who didn't know 1t; any more
than ever kuew one who when the ''deVclue
had once fairly set 10, had the talntest idea OF
putting that piece Of exceedingly useful
knowledge into practice. My friend, the
high and well-Doro youog Baron Won 4,
knew wbeu to stop, tor | told him, when
he persuaded me-mcl to let him join
forces 10 one of my earliest campaigns
a year or two before the war. He was an Off
Ger OF Prussian artillery was the Baron vor
k, son of another high aud we'll born ba.
ron, high up iu the Prussian diplomatic ser.
vice; aud be had been aiugug his moDry about
the table right and LETT, and winning wherever
b. huug it. Presently the deveine came and
our baron lost as usual, got only all bis Wln-
nings, but the greater part OF his own private
supplies which. as he was under tngag, ment
to proceed to England on very interesting busi-
ness, was rather serious mater. | had been
playing my quiet jog -trot game thr while, aud
had put together pretty little pack:t Of sunc
seven or eight thousand franc not, $, and hav-
ing taken sort of hkiug for the young blron
who, tor Prussiau, was really rather pleas
ant fellow, consented readily enough to bis pro-
posal. So the bargain was struck The TWO
c.pitals were to be joined The high and we'll
born one pledged himself to play only 10 strict
acc c,rdance with my lUstrucl0uS, aud We were
to share our winnings in due proportion. Our
winnings! tla ha The very mex morning !
took my turn, played till the run was exhaust
cd, aud there Was nothing TO do out wait I'LL
another opeuiog offered aud lett my high aud
we'll born one 10 possession ot the held. tie
was to do nothing till ii certain combination
arose, then to put 90 onr form, then two, aud
so on. Privately, did not thl"k 1t likely that
such a combination would arise tor some time.
| to, K my walk short one, Tor was rot
easy IN my mind-aud returned: to hnd the
high and we'll born sue very serious. and ut
tie white about the gils, pushing on to the
table handful Of golden tredellcks. Aud
then kncw what had happened. was too
late to say, another drzen or SO OF tred
errkS from following their compauloDs INTO
the bank; but, before a third batch could be
lmperiiled, had succeeded 10 Withdrawing my
faithful colleague trom the table, and III extract.
ing from him the painfully supeItuous expla
nation of what had come to pass. he was very
sorry. He really had not had patience to wait
any logger, and-he bad lost it all. Was very
young then for my years, and for some time
cherished the idea that when the high and we'll
born one came to thiuk over the transaction, he
would, perhaps, be moved to make some resti-
tuition. Ha, ba once more
After the tragedy, the farce. One would think
that ifanyone would koow When to stop it would
be "old Blong'-I think my compatrlots gnut;,
orally know him as ''old Boug '-hlmssii. DID
you ever hear how that famous brown silk par
asol Of Madame Bong came to cost him eight
hundred pnuods II was not a very valuable
Que, as you will guess, when | tell you that at
Madame r gums, of Rouetten bad, they only
as all the world koows, that Madame ReQuio
condesccuds to sell anything under five. How,
ever, NJ. Blong thought three louis too much to
give for half yard OF browu silk on piai1
lance wood handle, merely because madame had