New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-10-26
CLUB LIFE ABROAD.
CONTINENTAL CLUBS.

IN. HOME OF GAMBLING IN pARIs-EcoEN' |
+ rs,c1r1Es OF THE JOCKEY CIun-A
STRANGE RUss1M STORY. /
. Climb life AZ understood either in the United
states or In England is absolutely uhknosa on
the Continent. with the solitary eAoep''on
the Union and uossbly also of the Union Aericoie
at Paris, there Is not single one ot vl' Ns
Continental clubs which does not par"'he lno,e ~
less of the nature Of tripot OF s""Ds
This may appear in the light OF som. VIZ .si.
ing assertion. But 1t is Dasea Oh Une .%.,.
they one and all derive the main eouiOe -
revenue, not from the dues OF the hiemc' Nv.
yet from the proceeds Of the restaurant D"O ~.
the enormous profits Of the cara %"u Go,
lette tables The principal feature OF d oo"u-
mental club ia not the breakfast or dining room
as in London nor the smoking-room as In view,
York but the sale de jeu. 1t Is there thac Oh
the interest and life Of the institution are con-
oentrated. For the tables de jeu constitute 'he
nivot on which the entire establishment resS ana
around which it revolvcs And lnasmuch as 'hcy
ARE kept going for the sake Of profit there Is pu1
little barring their exclusiveness to dls'lnsuisn
the club from an ordinary Hrst-class ganiolhe
establishment. Indeed the only appfeciaoie oi'-
ference Is to be found in the fact tnat wheieao
the tables at Monte Carlo are run 1or the peneu'
OF ten or twelve stockholders, those OF tne oefcc
de Ia Rue Royale, the smartest clup IN farlS, are
run for the benefit Of Its 500 or l,oOo members.
I have merely cited the Cercle de Ia Rue Royale
az On example, for the same thing may De SAID
OF every one Of the leading clubs OF the CONTINENT
In English and American clubs the managing
committees devote their principal attention ana
efforts to securing the services Of the best steward
and chef whereas in the case Of those on the Con-
tnent the main object fs to obtain good
croupier-he sometimes figures under dlnerent
name-and an efficient staff OF attendants Tor the
sale de jcu Until o'clock In the afternoon
the club, as o rule, is absolutely deserted, ana
the servants look askance at any one who ventures
to stray within its portals before that hour. But
shortly afterward the members begin to arrive In
shoals and after spending few minutes
at the windows or on the balconies look
ing onto the street, they all make
their way to the sales de jeu, where they
stay until o'clock. But few remain to dine
at the club notwithstanding the excellence OF
the fare and the nnodjcty Of the prce-a modicity
attributable to the fact that the profits OF the
tables de eu are so large that the club can afford
to dine and wine its members at merely nominal
cost At the Paris Jockey Club, where the dinner
de jour is exceptionally choice and the cuisine
unimpeachable, not more than from twenty-five
to thirty out OF its thousand members ever con-
descend TO honor either OF the three beautiful
dining-rooms with their presence Everybody ap-
pears to prefer to dine either at home or at one
OF tSe Boulevard restaurants Toward 0 and 10
o'clock the members begin to reasonable once
more at the club-or rather in that portion thereof
devoted to gambling-and there they remain play.
ing or watching the games, until either financial
reasons or the dawn of the ensuing day induce
them to take their departure for their respective
homes and beds.
As stated above the Union at Paris forms an
honorable exception among these clubs. inasmuch
as baccarat is seldom, If ever, played there. the
games being, as rule confined to ecarte and
whist The result is that although In the latter
part Of the afternoon there Is a fairly good at
tendance of respectable and steady-aoing elders OF
the noble Faubourg, such as the Dukes OF
Broglie, Of AudiTretPasquer, and OF NoaliieS'
who drop in for o quiet game OF plquet ana
chat, the club becomes deserted toward dinner
time, and remains so during the rest OF the even
ing-even the card-rooms being left unfenanted'
This, however, does not prevent the whole place
being kept brilliantly lighted up until an advanced
hour of the night. OF all clubs on the CONTINENT
It. is the most exclusive as also the oldest II was
| the Bourbon restoration, by the Due de Gulche,
the Due de Fitzames and the Comte de Montalem-
bert. who. as members of Whites, Brookss and
Boobies during their exile in England, had become
| ACQUAINTED with London club life and imbucd
| with the desire OF organizing something OF the
| same kind at Paris. The number Of It's members
| was limited at the time to 350-a figure at which
| It still remains-and the utmost care is exercised
| in the election of the members, who almost with
out exception belong to the Legitmist aristocracy
| Each candidate is voted on by the entire club, one
blackball in thirteen being sufficient TO insure
billing Foreign Ambassadors and crowned heads
in the present or past tense are the only ones who
are spared this ordeal Faithful to the some
what inhospitable British traditions OF its found
ers the club although possessed Of ample space in
| its magnificent quarters on the Boulevard dc la
| Madeleine. does not permit the friends or ac-
ouaintances of its members to cross its threshold
The Union Agricoe, popularity known as the
"Pommes de Terre,' on the Quai d'Orsay, is
somewhat more kindly disposed towards strangers,
since 1t reserves q special diningroom for the
guests Of it's members, and permits their access to
| certain of the smoking and reading rooms.
| Though les exclusive than the Union, it Is like
the latter composed almost entirely OF the denzens
| Of the Faubourg St. German, the Duo de La
Roclefoucauld- Doudeauville being the president.
The Jockey Club, which comes next in point Of
excusiveness, was founded in 1888 by the Duo
d'Orleans, the Prince de Ia Moskowa, Mr. Charles
Lnfitte and Lord Henry Seymour, the brother Of
the late Lord Hereford and Of Sir Richard Wallace.
Its quarters are on the Boulevard DIES Capucines,
and its great circular balcony on the first floor Of
the corner, formed by the boulevard and the Rue
Scribe, is thronged every afternoon during the
season by members who gaze upon the passing
ho1o
begin. Formerly, in the days of the Second En-
pire. It's members had the reputation OF consti-
tuting the fastest and smartcst set in Paris, and
H. .l..L h1aL IL hats Of thirty aud fnrfu Yea rs