The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1891-06-12

ree-and-a-half-dollar Waterbury and
steel guard. That gave me courage.
81 don't want money" l thought to
myself; 81 am desperately in love with
Parthenia, and l have six thousand
pounds. I'll propose to her"
did propose to her.
You know nothing of me, Mr.. st.
john she said, in establishment. She
said great deal more; so did /. The
| interview ended by her telling me to
see as much of her pepper as possible,
and to try and get down his back"
understood enough of the American
language to know what she meant
Mr.. Persimmon and | grew very
friendly. We saw good deal of each
olher, and in the evening we went into
the smoking-room and we played at
poker. When l say we l mean that
ibid, for Mr.. Persimmon declared that
he did not know enough about cards. :"
confess that l played a little higher
than l could afford, with the idea of
dazzling Mr.. Persimmon and so Great
ing favorable impression, which is
what Parthcnia meant by getting down
his back
If l had not been taken up with Par
ty, l might have discovered in time that
Col. Jabez Jackpotts, Senator Pat
Straddle and DR.. Clapperton Fudge
were professional sharpers. On one
fatal night they won five-siXths of my
little fortune, exactly twenty-five thou
sand dollars. 1t happened this wise:
The game of poker stripped of its de-
tails is very much like the old-fashioned
game of brag. AS played in the smoking
room of the Bithynia, the first player
puts up. e., stakes a small sum;
those who decline to play throw down
their cards, and the next man to the
left exercises his option of raising"
the stake, or going better" This goes
on dd infnitum till those who are
betting against the first man decline to
stake more money; when the other
players show their hands in succession,
and the highest hand wins everything,
unless the original player exhibits n
higher one. or puts up a stake 50
high that the others refuse to cover it,
in which case they all pay to him and
look as pleasant as they can. If this
takes place, though he takes the money.
he does not show his cards. His hand
may. in fact contain nothing: in which
case he is said to have "bluffed the
table
Now. the highest possible hand is
what is termed u straight flush, or
''fush sequence" to the ace-that is to
say, ace, king. queen, knave and ten of
one suit This hand it is impossible to
beat when it is held by the person who
makes the first stake; for even should
another player have the extraordinary
good luck to hold an equal hand, ties
pay.
The rules of the game of poker are
extremely strict. All money betted
has to be placed on the table-ruJiS SIR
r0ngle, as the French have it.
Now | had a straight flush in spades
dealt to me; was so astonished at my
great good fortune that my hand shook
as 'planked down. my ten dollars,
and declared that l stood pat
is to say, that / did not want to
better my hand by taking cards. There
were evidently lot of big hands out,
for each of the six men playing. though
it was plain that held a big hand or
was simply "bluffing," increased the
stakes. put on another one hundred
dollars when it came to my turn, for l
knew that | must win. Then one of
the players was frightened out, and the
stakes went on increasing until had
three Thousand dollars in front OF me,
for each man went better'-that IS to
say, increased his stake. Two Of the
players caved in.
''You can't bluff me, mister" re-
marked Col. Jabez Jackpotts; "Pll
double the stakes" and he put up
the requisite amount in notes.
Fool that l was, l doubled him
again, partly because l knew that
must win. partly because 1 wished to
dazzle Parthenia's pepper
But Col. Jackpotts raised" me again,
and SO we went on till twenty five