The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1883-06-27
A PALACE OF EVIL.
~ae Great Gambling Place of Europe.

The injury sustained by Marseilles, Nice
Genoa and especially Mentone, from tn.
neighborhood of Monte Carlo and its gam.
ing tables are the subject of an earnest ar
Hcle by Edmond Planchet in the current
number of the ReDue des de1r Mondes.
These cities, he says, will not cease their
protests until France, for the sake Of moral
cleanliness, and Italy, for regulations sake,
enact that the last public gambling establish.
ment in Europe be abolished Petitions
signed by great number of persons were
sent to the French Chambers. De Freyci-
uet would not entertain the subject and tho
motion was laid on the table. In spite of
the Minister'S opposition the Senate sent
him the petitions month later. In that
short time the relations between France and
Pianchet goes on to say "that gambling
establishments have the power to enrich
people instead of making fortunes for in
dnstrial associations, the Principality of
Monaco would long ago have been white
with marble palaces and have distanced the
rest of the coast in luxury and prosperity.
Not SO. Sadness shows in the faces of the
miserable inhabitants and more wretched
soldiery Saddest of all is the contrast be.
tween the beauty of nature and the ugliness
of vice. The gambling fever has extended
from Monaco to the Massena and Med
'terranean clubs at Nice. All classes of
society are affected by it. Small tradesmen
ruin themselves at play aud ON gala days the
roulette fourishes in the open air. Society
il demoralized. Suicides are numerous. At
Mentone the cottages built to accommodate
the rich English and Russian invalds are
empty. The doctors caution them against
the excitement of gambling and the chill air
OF the Mediterranean that pierces their lungs
when they leave the overheated rooms at
night"
OF the many pictures that have been
drawn of the beauties and the horrors OF
Monte Carlo there is none more touching
than is given in letter from George Sand.
"Strasge contrast" she writes. 1--WE leave
he magnificence of nature to find ourselves,
Of sudden, amid the filth of modern civil
ization from the pale rays of the new moon,
the great rock sleeping in the shadow ani
The odor of orange groves, to the fetid odo,
of fever and the rattle of the roulette,
Young married women gamble while nurse,
suckle their children on the sofas. pretty
little girl of five drags herself to one of these
and falls asleep, overcome with fatigue, heat
and ennui. Does her unnatural mother
hope to win her marriage portion? An
Did foreign lady sits at the gambling table
with little lad of twelve, who calls her
mother. She seems indifferent about losing
or winning The child plays, too, with the
manner of grown person. He is used to
it.
Restless or frightened shadows wander
around the cafe in the Nast amphitheatre
formed by the mountains steep sides. They
look chilly perhaps they only look ana long
for the slight refreshment they no longer
have the means to purchase. Some go of
with eMpty pockets. Others aecost you and
almost beg for seat i'll your carriage back
to Nice. Suicides are not rare. The wait
ers at the hotel seem to have profound
cOuteiupb ioi tue uHiuch.s w utH one Oh
these complains of being badly served the
waiter answers by Struggling bis Shoulders
aud saying SO it would not work TO.
nightr
I'VE dine as best we can in room full
of little tables the people scramble for, deaf
ened by the chattering of adventuresses on
the lookout for dinner and a friend to pay
for it. We return to the rooms to watch
for something dramatic. The villainous
smell drives me away. We rush to the
beach and reach the town, situated on lit
tie headland deliciously carved amid the
waters. The poor little place seems to
shrink, rs l did, from the bad air of the
gambling house, and to seek refuge among
the beautiful trees that surround it.
"We climb the rock to the gloomy and
sorbiddng old CASTLE 1t looks tragic in the
moonlight The palace of the Prince is
charming. 1t reminds me of the fanciful
home of the Governor ut Majarca. AT nine
in the evening the town is silent and desert
ed. We return by the beach, where only
the plash of the waves breaks the silence.
The moon has sunk below the horizon.
The gasligats enable us to see the base OF
the great rock and throw greenish streaks
across the white marble balusters. The
roulette is still going, the nightingale singA
q child is weeping"