Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1885-01-04
CLAWS HARD LUCK.
How the Statesman Kept Appointments mt
Poker and ut Church.

Washington Letter 10 Baltimore Herald.
ayes, sir, that's the very same table on
which Mr.. Clay used to lose the greater part
of bis Congressional salary. AS | sad,
Clay and Bright sat down to pay at s
o'clock. Now, Dick said Mr. Clay, as the
game began, understand that | can not
play later than II O'Clock. | promised To
attend church at Alexandria tp-mprroT
morning, and | don't want to go there look
ing rs II | had been up all night"
"The blind was half a dollar, a dollar 10
come in and no limits to bets. In tho'~
days there was no limit as there generally is
now. All a man could demand was Il sight
for his money. The cards were cut ami
Clay got the first deal. He was Il noted
card-shufler. He could hold his hands tD .
feet apart and fly the cards from one TO t
other without a single card falling. His
f~avoritc style was TO mix the cards from the
end, ana not from the sides, holding a hal
deck in each hand, flirting the ends with
his his thumbs and mixing
them into a perfect pack with
one movement. He usually dealt with GU
hand, with scarcely a percep'ible move
ment of he arm, his long, muscular fingers
enabling him to throw each card TO it,
proper place. But Clay was not Il good
poker player. Like most intellectual mon
be played for the excitement, not tor gain
and, as a rule, he was SO careless ABOUT his
bets that he care out loser. He hd pas
sion for big bets, and he rarely failed to
straddle the blind or raise the bet after tn"
game got fairly started. SO, il the lack
came his way, he would win heavily as long
as it lasted. But he was a great buffer,
and bet high whether he had the cards or
not. Tie men he played with toumd this
out, Of course, and he never cane on. 0! "
prolonged game without being tleec"d.
For nearly two hours that night Clay
had everything his own way with Bright
If he didn't hold a king.iul, four tintS
band running, followed By n jaak tail, then
| horc | may be shot Tor lying, ii:lgh'
tried his best to catch Clay in Il bIlI, bat
it WAS no use. Clay came to the front every
lime with Il hand that nothing bat tnnrs
could phase. At 1890 Bright lost SI.j)1,
ard had borrowed 500 lrgm John Han
co,h. After that Clay's luck deserted him,
but tie failed to recognize it. lie continued
90 bet as high ona pair OF deuccs as he had
been letting on an ace,full. BY midnight
be- hai lost all lis winnings and 81 1890 be.
sio,s. all the cash lie had with him.
guess we'd better quit said Bright,
rs ,0u want 10 20 to chcrch to morrow
Oh, jlow the church, replied Clay;
Do jou suppose | want to hear a man
preach right on top Of losing 81 900 at
IoS,r? Not much. You just lend me 500
and let the game 90 on.
50 the game proceeded, and at daylight
Cha, WAS in debt to Bright to the amount OF
$I,au0, and that is the way it stood when
The game ended. I heard afterwards from
Hancock that Clay liqurdated that debt By
giving Bright a deed of go acres Of Ken
lucky land and transferring to him six
shares of stock in a Louisville banG."
80 Clay didn't go to church that morn
ing the Old Timer was asked.
We'll, | was just going to tell you about
that. ! am not responsible for the story, as
edge oft. But, as told then, Clay went to
his room that Sunday morning, shortly at
ter DAYLIGHT, 10 20 to bed. Bat he took a
sudden resolution to 20 to Alexandria and
Keep his church engagement. He went in
the carriage of a friend. Quite a c.oEd
followed him when he went OFT to
get in his carriage. Thee a
number Of people were prosen.ri to
Mr. Clay among them the rector Of the
church. The story was that while he was
talking to the reverend gentleman Cay pat
his hand in bis pocket to pull out his hant-
kcrchict, and in doing THIS a pacb Of cards
was suddenly spilled on the grounl. Clay
was not the least abashed, but deliberately
garh,red up the cards, replaced them in his
pocket, and remarked to the minister and
Other, Who were standing there thai Il friend
had pat the cards in his pocket as Il practi-
al j. kc.n