Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-07-19

| sand enough and money enough to sit out
the game. There was a night session and an
tives and the others had dropped out one by
| one on the score of public duty. Excuse
| me, gentlemen, but there's a dollar shy.l
Well, it was getting on toward 2 o'clock in
| everybody staeyd in. HIM dollar better.1
| The pot was opened on four deuces and the
man stood pat. That was this same Con-
gressman. There was nothing less than a
good pair out and everybody seemed to have
improved his hand in the draw. I'm still
with you'll The betting was lively. just
then servant rushed in and said there was
a call of the House and the Sergeant-of- Arms
was at the door.
"I'll play this hand out if the whole
United States was at the door, said the
statesman.
"tKeep him out Il minute, Jim.'
"IOck the door!'
"But the big foot of the sergeant-at-arms
was thrust into the crack of the inner door
as Jim was going out to bar the outer one
I'm sorry, gentlemen, but
I'm not, interrupted the member. 1'll
meantime let me have fifty
The sergeant-at-arms produced his order
book and the fifty soon went to swell the
pile. IN draw ON you for hundred pretty
soon came from the plucky Illinoisan. One
Of us laid down his hand at this and another
began to look nervous. There were several
l. .. us in the pile already and l was
down to my last dollar-(fifty cents better)-
and had to call. had IL king full and-well
the Illinois Congressman and his four deuces
ana the sergeantat-arms and the United
States treasury and that jack pot, with
abont $500 in it, ali went off together
1.-The - 1 talk too - much.''
How They Gamble in Gotham.
A stroll along the corridors of the down.
town hotels late at night will leave the dis
tlnct impression that the prohibition of
gambling doesn't prohibit. 1 happened to
call on friend one warm evening recently
and found nearly every room on his floor
was occupied by poker party, OF by some
sort OF game. 1t was warm night and
the doors were wide open, showing men in
lrtsleeves around the tables. empty bot
ties and glasses on the floor, while the
piaintive sound Of "Who's shy?" tioated
along the corridors
Breaking Your Luck or Neck.
There is an iron column of the Elevated
Railway structure exactly in the middle of
the walk where Broadway intersects Sixth
avenue. This is a much frequented and pop
ulous section, and it keeps couple of po-
licemen pretty busy to prevent trucks and
conflicting street cars from blocking the
street: it also keeps pedestrians pretty busy
to keep froW being run over Between the
broadway cars and the Sixth avenue cars
and the long unprotected stretch of diagonal
crossing there is often the liveliest work for
people on foot to avoid being under foot.
Nothing but the law of gravitation, that pre-
vents car drivers from chasing people up the
side streets, renders it possible for anybody
to come that way with reasonable safety.
when to this is added the curious supersti-
tion that 1t is bad luck for foot party to be
divided so as to pass on opposite sides of
anything, you will understand the important
part played by that iron column.
;. Two rows of tagging run on either side of
1t, SO that a couple need not break their
luck. But when it comes to breaking your
neck or breaking your luck, the latter is
usually let aside 1t is certain to cause dis
may, however, and it is not uncommon to
see lady sheepishly turn back and pass
around the column on the other side so as to
heal the fracture in her prospective fortune.
Scores of people do this trick every day.
CHARLES THEODORE MURRAY,