The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-03-16

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| Tom JONES'" fidieuled the public mania for
| lotteries in farce that was put on the stage
| ut Dfury Lane in 1871, the scene being laid IN
lottery Office and the action Of the drama
| exposing tine gulihility OF the victims and
| the Knaviafl sharpness III the hostelry keep
efs. q comieal pamphlet vas gotten up about
| THIS time, which puTported 20 be Il prospectus
81 q lottery Tor ladies, by which they were 10
obtain as chief prize husband and coach
| rnan for s. or s23, this being the price Of each
share. Husbands Of inferior grade. both In
purse and person, were put forth as second,
third and fourth rate prizes. Some Of the
lotteries, however, served good purpose In
1875 an act was passed for buildin4 bridge
ut Westminster by lottery, consisting If i25-
900 tickets, at S2j each. London bridge at
that time was the only means Of comInurfica-
ton, by permanent roadway, between the
city and Southwark. The lottery was a grand
success, and Parliament sanctioned others
until Westmins ter bridge was completed. In
l174, the Brothers Adam, who built the Ade-
phi Terrace ard other streets III tire s5tTdtIti,
disposed Of them in u lottery consisting Of
no prizes the first drawn ticket emitting the
holder to prize Of S25, 600, the last drawn 30
| one Of $125,00G.
GOvERNMENT LOTTERIES.
Parliament toward the close of the last
| century by several successive acts Oh Parlia-
ment established various lotteries and the
various Chancelors Of the Excheauer looked
upon them as q perfectly legitimate way Of
increasing their revenues, and they were
managed both in town aud country by CON
tractors on a regular business footing. The
most ingenious devices were laid 10 draw in
the uuWaly both r.ch and poor, TO invest in
chances. In 1915 they spread about poetic
handouts, and i've years later they engaged
sdch @tlstS as George Cruikshank to draw
comic sketches ridcung the parsimonv Of
| those VINO refused 10 invest or lauding the
wisdom ana luck Of those who purchased
chances.
EFFECT or LOTTERIES.
Fifty suicides followed the drawing of one
the lotteries, and many cases Of madness and
suicide are recorded in the annals of the last
century and beginning Of this. Early in the
reign of George II the footman OF a lady OF
quality dreamed that he had disposed of the
savings 81 the last twenty years IN two lot
| terry tickets which, proving blanks, he sui
clded. He left the following statement among
his papers detailing the manner in which he
would spend the $4,000 prize he was to win
''As soon as | have received the money will
marry Grace Towers; but, as she has been
cross and coy, / VIII use her as O servant
Every morning she shall get me q mug OF
strong beer, with toast nutmeg and sugar
in 1t; then / viii sleep till TO- after which !
will have large sack posset My dinner
shall he on the table by /, and never without
pudding | will have q stock Of wine and
brandy laid in. About in the afternoon
will have tarts and jellies and q gallon bowl
of punch. At 10 hot supper Of two dishes
II / am In o good humor and Grace behaves
g%e'' -" NAc''AA
about H."
The poor footman's plans came out as the
milk-Inaid's egg in the sDeling-book did. |
Another ease recorded by Mr. Malcolm of a !
negro man, who cried: ''Balloon lemons, |
quality Oranges, holiday lines, with GER
tain drOilness Of speech and manner that
procured him trade, obtained a prize Of $4,000, |
became raving mad, and died in q few days
from excess OF JOY.
PRAYERS FOR LOTTERY.
Lotteries have been sanctioned BY Popes, |
and their proceeds devoted to religious pur- |
poses In Amsterdam they once got uD
lottery to build church steeple, and in Hol- |
born, in 1896, d geutlewoI0an whose husband |
had presented her with a ticket, put up |
prayers 10 the church the day before the draw !
ing in the following manner. 1.-THE prayers Of |
the congregation are desired for the success
Of person engaged in new undertaking" |
Ladies Of quality have frequently established
lotteries FOR the building and repairing of !
churches and converts and for other religious |
or benevolent purposes. Three English ladies' |
set on foot lottery with tickets at fifty cents
apiece, for the purpose OF Fedeeming persons |
who had fallen into Turkish slavery. Others |
instituted one for their COnfessOr, who had |
been made d bishop that they might buy
hlm carriage and horses to support his |
Episcopal dignity. Louis XIV was very fond /
OF the lottery, and on days that were not fast |
days went to dine at Morley, with Madam
de MaintenOn and other ladies. After dinner
ne talked with his ministers, and then played
at cards or helped to draw the lottery, the
tickets Of which cost nothing and were all
prizes. They were composed OF trinkets,
jewels and silks
THE LAST LOTTERY.
Lotteries yielded the English government
up to 1926 between $1,000 go and S200O0G0;
but 50 perniciOus were their effects, and 50 |
grea the mania becoming for gambling, that
the government finally resolved TO put an
end 10 them, and on Wednesday, October Is
In VA draw
Great parade WIS made over it. and every
effort made to sell all the shares. but the
managers We're unsuccessful. Charles Lamb, |
in speaking of it, says: Life will now be- |
come flat, prOsaic routine Of matter of fact, /
and sleep itself, erst 50 prolific Of numerical |
COniiguratiOD3 and mysterious stimuIant3 to |
lottery adventure, will be DISTINGUISHED Of its |
figures and pigments. People will cease to |
harp upon the one lucky humble suggested |
In a dream, and which forms the exception, |
while they are scrnpulou9ly silent upon the |
ten thousand falsificd dreams which cOnsti- |
tute the rule, Morpheus will stride Cocker |
with handful OF peoples, and our pillows no |
longer haunted by the work Of numbers"
CHRISTOPHER BARTHOLOMEW.
The case Of Bartholomew was one Of the
saddest on. record as illustrating the lottery
mania. He inherited good fortune from his
parents, was prosperous ia trade, but ac-
Quired the itch for buying lottery tickets. |
At one time he owned two London hotels and
the finest tavern In IngIetOn, rented lands for
$4,000 year, and had more hay stacks than
any man In England. He kept his carriage
and servants in livery, and was reported
worth $4,000. On one OCCASION having met
with some lottery Successes, be gave q public
breakfast at his gardens ''to commemorate
the smiles Of fortune, as he said on the tickets
Of admission to his fete chdmpetre. He finally |
parted with all his property, which he squan-
dered in lotteries, ana lived for the last thir-
teen years Of mis- life In great poverty, sub
on pg,
in better days, and BY the paltry pittance he
could pick up by setting on juries. IN 1907 he |
met friend whom he told that he had d pre-
sentiment that a certain number would draw |
a prize. The friend was persuaded to pur- |
chase a sixteenth. The share drew 10000. |
He was pursuaded to buy an annuity Of 800 /
a year, but 50 great WAS his propensity to /
invest In lottery tickets that he soon disposed :
of this, and died absolutely penniless Ii cir
cuKustanCes Of great restitution IN 1903
A gentleman said to represent a syn,qIlcate
Cf -l7eEb {feta EaG [