Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-08-30
OLD-TIME POkFR PLAYING.



Bright, of Indiana.
Henry Clay was an inveterate gambler,
| and the old card players at Washington in
| dulge in manv anecdotes about the man
ner in which he used to lose the greater
| part OF his salary rs a senator He WAS
| a noted card shuiicr. He could hold his
hands four feet apart and fv the cards from
one to the other without single card fall
ing. His fsvorite style was to mix the
cards from the end and not from the sides,
holding half deck in each hand, flirting
the ends with his thumbs. and mixing
them into perfect mack with one move
ment. He usually dealt with one hand,
with scarcely perceptible movement of
the arm, his long, muscular fingers enab-
ling him to throw each card to its proper
place.
One summer Saturday afternoon, when
the senate WAS not in session. Mr.. Clay sat
down at Hancock's restaurant to play
with Senator Bright, OF Indiana. When
dinner time came they were about even,
and when they returned to the card-table
after dinner it was almost 9 o'clock.
Now, Bright said Mr.. Clay, as the play
began, understand that can not play
later than II o'clock. promised to at
tend church at Alexandria tomorrow
morning and don't want to 90 there
looking as If had been mp all night"
The blind was hal dollar, dollar to
come in and no limit to bets. In those
days there was no limit, as there generally
is now. All man could demand was a
sight for his money. The cards were cut,
and Clay got the first deal Like most
intellectual men. he was not a good poker
player. playing for the excitement, rather
than for gain and as rule, he was so
careless aHAt his bets that he came out
loser He had passion for big bets, and
he rarely failed to straddle the blind and
raise the bet after the game got fairly
started So, il the luck came his way he
would win heavily as long as it lasted.
But he WAS great buffer and bet high
whether he had the cards or not. The
men he played with found this out OF
course, and he never came out OF pro-
longed game without being teeced.
For nearly two hours that night Clay
had everything his own way with Bright,
holding king g1ull four times hand run
ming followed bv jack full Bright tried
his best to catch Clay in bluff, but it WAS
no use. Clay came to the front every
time with hand that nothing but fours
could phase. At 1890 Bright had lost
81 800, and had borrowed $500 from John
Hancock. After that Clays luck deserted
him, but he failed to recognize it. He
continued to bet as high on a pair Of deuces
as he had been betting on an ace full. By
midnight he had lost all his winnings and
81 900 besides-al the cash he had with
him.
Il guess we'd better quit" said Bright
"as YOU want to 90 TO church tomorrow. I"
80, blow the church" replied Clay, "do
you suppose want to hear man preach
right on top OF losing 81 900 at poker !?
Not much. You Just lend me $500, and
let the game 90 on.
So the game proceeded, and at daylight
CLAW was in debt to Bright to the amount
OF u 500, and that is the way it stood
when the game ended. Hancock used TO
say, when he told the story, that Clay
liqudared that debt bv giving Bright .
deed to 800 acres of Kentucky land, and
transferring to him six shares of stock in
a Louisville bank
Clay went to his room that SUNDAY
morning, shortly after daylight, to go to
bed. But he took a sudden resolution
to go to Alexandria anyhow and keep his
| church engagement. He went in the
carriage Of friend. Quite crowd fol-
lowed him when he went out TO get in bis
carriage. There number Of people were
presented to Mr.. Clay. among them the
rector Of the church. The story WAS that
while he was talking TO the reverend gen.
tleman Clay put his hand in his pocket to
pull out his handkerchief and in doing
this pack OF cards WAS suddenly spilled
on the ground. Clay was not the least
absshed, but deliberately gathered up the
cards, replaced them in his pocket, and
remarked to the minister and others who
were standing there that friend had put
the cards in his pocket rs a practical
joke