Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1888-01-27
GAM BLING
scenes AZ The Roulette Tapie IN Now
Orleans.

ment grew more intense in proportion
as he lost. At last he became frantic
on perceiying that he no longer had n
cent in his purse. lie felt and fumhled
in vain with trembl ny hands all over
his wearing apparel, until in the pro-
found recess of huge pocket in his
overcoat he unexpectedly discovered a
bank note that seemed to have carefully
and prudently hidden itself TO escape
from the general wreck. Eagerly un-
rolling it, he joyfulIy eXcla med: by
heavensl 1t is for $1,000! I'll stake
it in lump. Fortune fayors the bold.
Then, leaning over the vorac.ous board
of black and red. as he raised his arm
To Il NO his last note on it. he caught
the eye of Steriain. who occupied his
usual seat as dealer and was kecnly
watching the movement lmmed ate:
~ the youth Strengthened himself up
still holding the bank note. and thus
postrophizcd Sterlain: "Ah! All! | see
that you greedly expect this $1,000
note TO swell your pile. Well! you
shall not have III and. to escape al
temptations. here it goes. Whereupon
he tw sted the note asst it had been waste
paper and holding it up to the flame of
the chandelier, he wrathfully hised these
words through his clenched teeth:
Burn, my poor note, and evaporate
into thin ar rather than be swallowed
mp. like your lost sisters, by bloatcd
monster whose NAV yawns for you"
After this he broke loose and rushed
away amid the loud laughter Of h :
fr ends. who shouted: bravo, Bravo"
We had in Louis ana at that time
many individuals full of original char
actcr. Among others was member Of
one of our best famil es. whose name
was ST. Amant, with the add tional
sobr quct of Bots Piquaut Prickly
Wood. given him on account OF his ex-
treme loneliness. He was. however.
good fellow and pleasant companion to
those whom he liked. and really at the
bottom lie had kind heart, but by
freak of nature he had been coated all
over with the quilts of the fretful por-
cupue, and was more prone to seek
than avoid quarrel. Fighting seemed
To improve his digestion and humor.
and he evidently, whether wounded or
not, felt better in consequence Of that
stimulating eXerciss OF which he was
fond. He was not thus inclined from
malice prepense. but from uncoutroll-
able temperament Perhaps we would
have been more accommodating les,
sensitive and aggressive, if he had not
had some cause 10 be iidgcty and irrit-
able. He had very light purse at his
disposal. Perhaps. also. as he was Of
gentle birth, poverty prickcd his
pride and ruilled his feathers But be
it as it may. Bois Piquant ST. Amant
was but too ready TO crow, flap his
WINS and strut deiian,ly on his we'll
spurred legs. Nothing, above all. de-
delighted m more than to get into
difficulty on behalf of friend.
One evening the Bots Piquant was
seated at the roulette table--not to
stake an, thing but to look on, for he
had not a silver piece to play on the
board He had at his elbow seated
also at the table, one of the most in
/ fluential citizens of historical ancestry
and hereditary wealth. Let De Nor
nay be his fictitious name. This gen.
/ tleman had been PLAYING heavily and
by Il lucky turn of the wheel of fortune
/ had won large sum. This fretted
/ Sterlain, who pushed with irritation a
big pile of dollars toward Mornay.
SAYING: PAY yourself Mornay in
/ his turn showed it to his neghbor, Bots
/ p quaint. Take it all for yourself. my
/ friend" he said. IL don't accept what
: so boorishly handed to me-" and he
rose TO depart. Bots Piquaut coolly
began 90 count the money, making
piles after piles of $40 each, and at the
completion of each pile repeated in a
stern tone: sir, it is not to me that
YOU would have thus handed over this
money! This counting of dollars and
repetition of the same words lasted
several minutes. The spectators ex-
pected. with much anxiety, an explo-
sion of wrath; but the bulldog did not
even snarl.
Not long after this incident another
one more severely tested Sterain's
nervous irritability. 1t was on Mardi
Gras evening. Davis saloons were
crowded, and Sterlan was in jubilant
sp rits. he even cracked Jokes, for the
roulette was winning largely. The
stakes had been high and confined
solely to Il few PLAYERS. in whose ven
lures. on account of their magnitude.
the numerous bystanders felt keenly
interested. SO absorb ne was it that
the small fry OF gamesters abstained
from risking their petty dollars and
gold pieces. and gazed with a sort Of
awe at the heavy pile of bank notes
,h,t communicated in frnnt az tho .r,ttt,-