Omaha daily bee., 1885-01-01
Harry of the West" in Hard Lucl

Harry OF the Vest I'm Hard Luck.
Washington correspondence Baltimore Her
aid.
"Yeu, sir, that's the very same table
on which MIR. Clay used to lose the great
er part of his congressional salary. As /
said, Clay and Bright sat down to play
at s o'clock. Now, Dick said Mr.. Clay,
as the game began, understand that l
cannot play later than IL o'clock. l
promised to attend church at Alexandria
tomorrow morning, and l don't want to
go there looking as if l had been up all
night"
"The blind was half a dollar, o dollar
to come In and no limit to bets. In
those days there was no limit, as there
generally Is now. All q man could de-
msnd was a sight for his money. The
cards were cut and Clay got the first
deal. He was a noted card shuffier. He
could hold his hands four feet apart AMI
fly the cards from one to the other with.
out a single card falling. His ~favorite
style was to mix the cards from the end,
and not from the sides, holding o half
deck in each hand, flirting the ends
with his thumbs, and mixing them into
a perfect pack with one movement. He
usually dealt with one hand with scarcely
a perceptible movement of the arm,
his long, muscular fingers enabled him to
throw each card to It's proper place. But
Clay was not a good poker-player. Like
most intellectual men, he played for the
excitement, not for gain, and as a rule
he was 80 careless about his bets that he
came out looser. He had a passion for
big bets, and he rarely failed is straddle
the blind or raise the bet after the game
got fairly started. So, If the luck came
his way, he would win heavily as long as
it lasted. But he was a great buffer,
aid bat high whether he had the cards
or NOT, The men he played with found
this out, of course, and he never came
out of a prolonged game without being
feeced.
For nearly two hours that night Clay
had everything his own way with Bright.
If he didn't hold a king full four times
hand running, followed by a jack-full,
then l hope to be shot for lying. Bright
tried his best to catch Clay In a bluff, but
1t was no use. Clay came to the front
every time with a hund that nothing but
tours could phase. A! 1880 Bright had
lost $500, and had borrowed $500 from
John Hancock. After that Clay's luck
deserted him, but he failed to recognize
1t. He continued to bet as high on q
pair of deuces as he had been betting on
an ace-full. BY midnight he had lost
all his winnings and $1,000 besides, all
the cash he had with him.
"I guess we'd better quilt said
Bright, as you want to 90 to church to.
morrow
con! blow the church, replied Clay
'do you suppose 1 want to hear a man
preach right on top of losing 81, 900 al
poker? Not much. You just lend me
$500 and let the game go on
$50 the gaml proceeded, and at day.
light Clay war indebted to Bright to
the amount of 81, 500, and that is the way
1t stood when the game ended. | hearc
afterward from Hancock that Clay
~liquidated that debt by giving Bright
deed Of 800 acrea of Kentucky land ant
transferring to him ak shares Ct stock in
a Louisville bank"
$50 Clay didn't go to church tina
morning." the Old Timer was asked.
Won, L "an Juet BoipS W teIl yot
about that. am not responsible for thu
story, as / was not there, and have nj
personal knowledge of it. But, as tolt
then, Clay went to his room hat Sunda!
morning. shortly after daylight, to go t.
bed. But he took a sudden resolution
to go to Alexandria, anyhow, and keel
his church engagement. He went in tn
carriage of a friend. Quite a crowt
followed him when he went out tt
get In his carriage. There a mum
Der of people were presented to Mr.
Clay, among them the rector of tn,
church. The story was that, while h,
was talking to the reverend gentleman
Clay put his hand In his pocket to pull
out his handkerchief, and In doing this
pack of cards wat suddenly spilled on tn
ground. Clay was not the least abaahed
but deliberately gathered up the cards
replaced them in his pocket, and re
marked to the minister and Others VIII,
were standing there that a friend ha
put the cards In his pocket as a practices
joke" .
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AZ