Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1883-03-14
GAMBLE&'S PARADISE.
Monte Carlo And Its Gambling Helis.-
A Vivid DESCRIPTION.

Monte Carlo And Its Gambling hcliS.-
A Vivid Description.
The injury sustained by Marseilles,
Nice, Genoa and especially Mentonc,
from the neighborhood of Monte Carlo
and its gaming tables, are the subject
of an earnest article by Edmond
Planchet, in the Paris Revue des deuX
lMondes, These cities, he says, will
not cease their protests until France
for the sake of moral cleanliness, and
Italy, for regulations sake, exact that
the last public gambling house in Eu-
rope be abolished. Petitions signed by
"a great number of persons were sent
to the French Chambers last April.
De Freycinet would not entertain the
subject and the motion was laid on the
table. In spite of the minister's op-
position the Senate sent him the peti-
tions a month later. In that short
time the relations between France and
Italy had changed
"If it were true" Planchet goes On
to say, "that gambling establishments
have the power to enrich a people in
stead of making fortunes for indus
trial associations, the principality of
Monaco would long ago have been
white with marble palaces and have
distanced the rest of the coast in lux
ury and prosperity. Not 50. Sad
ness shows in the faces of the misera-
BILE inhabitants and more wretched sol
liery. Saddest of all is the contrast
between the beauty Of nature and the
ugliness of vice. The gambling fever
has extended from Monaco to the Mas
sena and Mediterranean clubs at
Nice. All classes Of society are affect
ed by it. Small tradesmen ruin them
selves at play and on gala day the
roulette tlouriShes in the open air,
Society is demoralzed. Suicides are
numerous At Mentone the cottages
built to accommodate the rich English
and Russian inyalids are empty. The
doctors caution them against the en-
element of gambling and the chill air
of the Mediterranean that pierces their
lungs when they leave the overheatel
rooms at night"
OF the many pictures that have
been drawn of the beauties and hor-
rors of Monte Carlo, there is none
more touching than is given in let
ter from George Sand. strange con-
trast," she writes. I'VE leave the
magnificence of nature to find our
selves, of sudden, amid the filth of
modern civilization, from the pale
rays of the new moon. the great rock
sleeping in the shallow and the odor OF
|
the orange groves to the fet.d odor OF
fever and the rattle of the roulette.
Young married women gamble while
nurses look after their children on the
sofas. A pretty little girl of five drag5
herself TO one of these and falls asleep,
overcome with fatigue heat and
ennui. Does her unnatural mOtherhope
to win her a marriage portion? An
old foreign lady sits at the gamirg ta-
bic with little lad who calls her
mother. She seems Indifferent about
losing or winning. The child plays,
too, with the manner of a grown per-
son. He is used to it.
"Restless or frightened shadows wan
der round the cafe in the vast amphi-
theater formed by the mountains
steep sides. They look chilly; per-
haps they only look and long for the
slight refreshment they no longer have
the means to purchase Some 60 off
with empty pockets. Others accost
YOU and almost beg for seat in your
carriage back to Nice. Suicides are
not rare. The walters at the hotel
seem to have a profound contempt for
the unlucky. When one of these COM
plains of being badly served the
waiter answers by Struggling his
shoulders and saying, so it woull not
work tonight
I'VE dine as best as we can in a
room full of little tables, the people
scramble for, deatened by the chatter
ing 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 us away. We rush to the
beach and reach the town situated on
little headland deliciously carved
amid the waters. The poor little place
seems to shrink, as we did, from the
bad air of the gambling-house, and to
seek refuge among the beautiful trees
that surround it.
1--WE climb the rock to the gloomy
and forbiddng old castle. 1t looks
tragic in the moonlight. The palace
of the prince is charming. 1t re-
minds us of the fanciful home of the
governor at Maiarca AT 9 o'clock in
the evening, the town is silent and de
serted We return by the beach where
only the plash of the waves breaks the
silence. The moon has sunk below
the horizon. The gaslights enable uS
10 see the base of the great rock ant
throw greenish streaks across the
white marble balusters. The roulette
is still going, the nightingale sings,
child is weeping"