Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1880-06-03
yOTARIES OF CHANCE.
Victims OF the Gaming Table from the
Earliest Period.
now ROMAN GANEsTERs USED TO WORK THE
DIcE-PREvALESCE or PLAY IN
FRANCE ASD ENGLAND.
Church.
From the New York Truth.

DICE-PREVALESCE or PLAY II
FRANCE ASD ENGLAND.
From the New York Truth.
According to well constituted and
reliable authorities gambling unques-
tionably commenced in heaven. Her
cules used to shake the bones with the
high priest Of his temple, the stakes
being the gods favor against a pretty
woman. Even Jove himself frequent
ly got into trouble with Mrs. Juno as
he came staggering home at daylight,
loaded clear up to the muzzle with
nectar, and with the neck of Il turkey
in his couvulsive clutch.
The Hiudoos and other oriental
races were desperate gamblers, as were
also the Greeks and Romans. Roman
gamesters used to have special slaves
to pick their dice up and put them in
the box, and worked two boxes so a.
not to lose time, which in this case was
certainly money for somel|ody. When
the Emperor Augustus had no other
opponents he would throw railles with
the children about the place. Calig.
ula, who threw dice on his way 10 his
sisters funeral, was an unlucky player,
and when he was cleaned out would
have some capitalist slaughtered and
confiscate the property to keep the
game going. Claudius is represented
by Seneca as being condemned to pick
up dice forever in hell, dropping them
into bottomlcss box. Nero would
stake 400,000 sestertii (s100,000) on
cast, and s25,000 was favOrite
wager with Domitian. Cato got drunk
and gained like q maniac, and though
julius Caesar was blue ribbon man,
he had the other weakness quite as bad.
The Greeks were not a bit better.
While Philip of Macedon was winning
their liberty at the battle of ChGrona,
the Athenians were dicing merrily,
and Themistocies, on his way to fight
the Persians, halted his army to watch
two wayside cocks spur one another to
pieces. One favoriie Greek game was
played with shells pitch black on one
side, and tossed into the air, the player
calling the color for it to fall. Ii may
be some comfort for gentleman from
the rural districts to know that the
skin" game is no modern institution.
Loaded dice have been found in
Athenian ruins and among the ashes
of Herculaneum.
The brother of that most yiriuous
of French monarchs, st. Louis, was an
infatuated dicer. Charles Wis broth
er used to win all his money from him
and force him to pay. Constable Du-
Guesclin, the greatest of Gallo war
r4ors of his time, amused himself dur
ing his long imprisonment by gam
bling all his property away. Philbert,
Prince d'Orange, who besieged Flor
enee for the Emperor Charles v,
gambled away ali his soldiers pay
when they mutinied and actually sur
rendered to the enemy, who were
about to capitulate.
Gaming in Russia and Germany, up
to few years ago, held quite as much
prominence as elsewhere. AK Ia
Chapelle was the oldest German gam
ing resort, and previous 10 the creation
of Homburg and Baden, as play
centres, colossal contests at chance
went ON there. In 1873 an Irish lord
lost over 100000 there at billiards.
A little Italian adventurer on stake
of s5 won $4,000 at hazard, lost it,
won it again, and finally went broke.
At Homburg an unlucky Muscovite
lost million francs in six weeks.
The gaming proprietors at Baden
Baden paid $4,000 year for the
privilege of the tables, and contracted
to spend s125,000 in beautifying the
place. The obscure games at Spa
netted their proprietors 100000 an
nuallv. Homburg was run by q COM