The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1882-11-29
Card Stories.

N~.anolitan Ambassador had been pre-
.ented TO Her Majesty Queen Victoria.
Lord Melbourne minated that they
would be expected to join IN a game OF
whist with the Duchess ~ Kent. Il
plav but n very poor game myself.
said Melbourne I'm tact. | scarcely
understand it but the Duchess j. very
fond of it, And l. AID the Neapol-
itan TO Everett. IAN n very bad player;
and should | chance 10 be \ our Excel
lency's partner. | invoke your forbear-
ance in advance to which the Amer
can envoy replied that he knew very lit
tie of the game himself. As he put i,
three dignitied ~personages. clad IN COR
peous attire. were solemly going 10 play
a game they impertectly u~nt!er.t 'od and
for which none Of them cared III the
least Upon reaching the Duchess
apartments the ambassadors were Tor
mallv presented and then. al her invita-
ton. sat down to play. As soon "a the
cards were dealt. a lady-in-waltlng
placed herself at the back Of the Duchess
and the latter said: Your Excellencies
viii excuse me il | rely upon the advice
of nv friend here, for | aust confess
that | am really a very poor player
This was almost too much for Everett's
gravity a cavity undi-turbed for the
rest Of the evening. since be found play
ing whist under such conditions mex
pressibly dull work.
Cavour did not find playing an upfa
miliar game dull work when he lost a
large sum at double dummy whist to a
member Of a Paris club. He paid the
money with the best grace imaginable,
merely remarking that he thought he saw
the game AMI II might not be such a bad
investment after all. the next night he
met the same antagonist, played high,
played steadily, played long, and rose
from the table a richer man By 10000
Marlborough was not above playing for
smaller stakes. though perhaps the
Great Captain did not play high out of
fear OF his loving Sarah, who had a
tongue and knew how to use it like the
lady whose liege lord con,rived that she
should not more than suspect the secret
OF his bad hours, until, coming home at
6 in the morning tired out with ATTEND
ing on a sick friend" he dozed at the
breakfast table and solemnly passing the
bread, said Cut !" '.That'syour sick
friend, i sit?" exclaimed the wife and
what followed may be imagined.
A card hating wife can upon occasion
set her scrupies aside. Soon after the
close Of the secession war General forrest
and his wife stopped at a hotel In Mem
phIs, and upon examining their purses
found the sun total of their wealth
amounted to $50 The General, be-
ing due that evening at = house where
poker was sure TO be played. proposed
that he should tempt fortune to the full
extent of his means, aud asked his wife
to pray for his success. She would not
promise, but he felt she was for him and
kneA how it would be. let him tell the
rest himself.
They had tables; one wa a quarter
dollar table, one a halt and ole a dollar
and a half. | wanted to make my s.
last as long as | could make it, 80 ! sat
down to the quarter table. By dinner
time | had won enough to do better, and
after we had eaten sat down to the dollar
and "a halftsble. Sometimes | won, and
then again Id lose, until nigh upon mid
night when | had better luck. | knew
Mary was sitting up anxious, and 1t made
me cool. | set my hat on the floor, and
every time | VOL I'd drop the money IN
the hat. | sat there until day broke,
and then took ms hat up in both hands,
smashed it on my head and went home.
When | got to my room there sat Mary
In her gown. She seemed tired and
anxious, and though she looked mighty
hard at ne, she didn't say a word. |
walked right up to her aud empsied my
hat right into the lap of her gown, and
then we sat down and counted it. just
81, 500 even, and that gave me a start. +"
The wife of Bishop Beadon loved
whist so well that when the prelate told
one Of his clergy if he was able to sit up
Rooms he must be well enough to do
duty at home, the invaded one silenced
him with: My Lord. Mrs. Beadon
would tell you that late whist acts as a
tonic or restorative % dyspepttc people
with weak nerves The Bishop bet
ter-halt would have sympathized with
Goldsmith old lady, who, lying sick
unto death, played cards with the curate
to pass the time away, and after winning
all hi. money, had just proposed to play
for her funeral charges when she tx
pred.
There have been stranger stakes still.
In 1888, when Henry and James Trotter
sat down at the Salmon Inn, Chester~ie
Street, to play d game Of cards against
Robert Thoms and Thomas Ellison, the
latter pair stalking IS. and the former a
child, the son of a Mr.. and Mrs. Leesh,
who gave up their boy to the winners.
Unless E-partero and his foe Marcia
are much belled, more momentous issues
were decided by the cards in a lone farm
house at Bergara, where they privately
met to arrange a truce between their re-
spective forces No sooner did EsparterC
enter the room than the Carlist chief
challenged him to a game at tressilio-a
challenge the Christine commander ac
cepted with alacrity. Espartero first won
all Marcia S money, then his own condi-
tions for the truce, article by article, and
finally the entire submission of the Car
list army. Within twenty four hours
Marcia had paid his debt and the first
Carlist war was at an end.
a Mr.. Purdy, as the end of his bachel
orhood drew nigh, let his old %cronies
know it was his intention to forswear
card playing after perpetrating matri-
mony. They tnereupon put their heads
together, and a day or two after the wed,
ding, invi ed him to a little dinner al
Delmonico 5, at which he was to receive
a 5000 silver service. Dinner done and
the presentation made, The party made
themselves and their guest merry over
some excellent wine, and, when they
thought the time had come, proposed q
game of poker, and after a little hesi,a-
ton Pmdy gave IN Just for this one
His hosts had fixed things nicely. aud
calculated upon winning the plice OF
their wedding gift. the dinner and The
wine. The game Went on til! long after
i ylieht appeared, but Us that time tie
intended victim had cleaned every .ne oI
them out, besiies retaining Lawful pos
session Of the silver service.
Even the sharpest OF sharpers may
meet more than his match. Robert
II.nnl:n lnrnDn;n. - -.