Madison times. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1884-1???, 1885-01-24
CLAWS BAD LUCK.
Also His Had Poker Playing, Like
wise His Presence of Mind.

"Yes, sir that's the very same table
on which Mr.. Clay used to lose the
greater part of his congressional salary.
AS l said, Clay and Bright sat down to
play at s o'clock. Now, Dick said Mr..
Clay, as the game began, understand
that cannot play later than II o'clock.
I promised to attend church at Alexan-
dria to- morrow, and don't want to go
there looking as il 1 had been up all
night
'The blind was bali 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 de-
mand was a sight for his money! The
cards were cut and CLay-got the first
deal. He was ao..1ioted card shuffler. He
J. could hold his hands four feet apart and
fly the cards from one to the other with
out single card falling. His faverite
style was 10 mix the cards from the end
and not from the sides, holding a hall
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 perceptible movement of the
arm, his long muscular fingers enablirs
him to throw each card to its proper
player. Like most intellectual men, hi
played for the excitement, not for gain
and, as a rule, he was so careless abou
his bets that he came out loser. He hat
S passion for big bets, and he rarely failet
to straddle the blind or raise the be
, tafter the game got fairly started. So,
the luck came his wav, he would vii
heavily as long as it lasted. But he wa
: a great buffer, and bet high whether h
had the cards or not. The men he play
). ed with found this out, of course, and h
never came out of a prolonged gam
without being fleece1.
II "For nearly two hours that night Cla
had everything his own way with Brigh
% If he didn't hold king full four time
hand running, followed by a jack full
then hope may be shot for lyin,
Il Bright tried his best to catch Clay in
bluff, but it was no use. Clay came
/ the front every time with a hand ths
nothing but fours could phase. At 10:3
Bright had lost 81 800, and had borrowe
D. $500 from John Hancock. After tina
CLAWS luck deserted him, but he falle
to recognize it. He continued to bet
y high on pair Of deuces as he had bee
4 betting on an ace full. By midnight
had lost all his winnings and $1,000 b
ct sides, and the cash he had with him.
u az guess we'd better quit said Brigh
as you want to go to church tomorrow
ooh blow the church. replied CLAY
a do you suppose 1 want to hear a ms
IL preach right on top of losing $1,000
poker? Not much. You just lend n
$500 and let the game 60 on
so the game proceeded, and at da
light Clay was in debt to Bright to Il
amount of 81 800, and that is the way
10 stood when the game ended. l heal
afterward from Hancock that Clay liqU
II dated that debt by giving Bright dee
Is of 800 acres of Kentucky land, and tran
v ferred to him six shares of stock in
). Louisville bank
"Clay went to his room on that Su
II day morning. shortly after daylight,
d 20 to bed. But he took sudden resol
@ ton TO 60 TO Alexandria anyhow, al
: keep his church engagement. He wei
in the carriage OF friend. Qui.c
n crowd followed him when he went o
to get into his carriage. There hur