Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1893-04-21

had with him and exchange it for
chips. A dozen or more of those
present acted on the suggestion and
at once began such a game as has
probably never been duplicated in all
Europe or out Of it.
} The Prince of Wales had bought
chips equivalent in value to s8,0OO;
the Duke of Hamilton had invested
Ga, 600 and the Baron Selliere had
bought $40, 900 worth, too. The 9TH
er players had bought to the extent of
their several abilities, and from the
very beginning the play was simply
wild. The game was baccarat, the
Prince of Wales favorite, as was dis
closed couple of years ago in the
course Of the Cumming revelations.
For time the Prince won, to the
great apparent delight of the titled
toadies who were grouped about the
table eagerly watching the play.
Then luck began to go against him
and at every unlucky turn His Roy
al Highness Albert Edward, Prince Of
Wales and son of his mother, audibly
growled and bemoaned his fate just
like any common every day petty
gambler.
THE BANKERS WINNINGS S25O, 900.
The attendants were kept busy
serving champagne, and with each
new bottle the play increased in reck-
lessness, until, at about 3 o'clock in
the morning, when the banker calm
ly inquired, sis there no one who
wishes to play longer?" no one
responded. Every solitary one of the
titled gamblers had lost his last chip,
and when the banker carelessly asked
an attendant to count the great piles
of chips in front of him, that worthy,
after half an hours labor, reported
that the several piles footed a little
over ! 1000, 900 marks. mother words,
in less than four hours, the man
whose horse had won the great race
had proflted to the extent of about
$3.50, 900 through the adversity of his
royal and titled gambling friends.
Albert Edward took his loss very
badly, but made the best of bad
bargain, inquiring in a droll sort of
way as he and his friends left the
gambling parlor: els there anybody
here except the winner who would be
good enough to buy a bottle of wine
and a cigar or two?" This sally of roy
alty's raised laugh, for not man
in the crowd had so much as the price
of a bottle left in his pocket, and the
code would not permit the winner to
do the buying, as such an action on
his part would have been constructed
as an attempt to return a portion Of
his winnings to the losers. Baron
Kahlden stepped into the breach and
announced that the club would beg
the privilege of opening an appro-
pirate numbers of bottles. Nobody
made an objection to this gracious
proposition, the bottles were opened.
and just before daybreak the royal
party dispersed.
A GRAND DUKE DIsGRAcED.
The Grand Duke Constantin, grand
son of the Emperor Nicholas l., also
managed to get himself into pretty
serious trouble through his gambling
inclinations. Shortly after reaching
his majority he proceeded to seta fast
pace for himself, lost good deal
more money than he had any means
of paying and suddenly found him
self threatened with exposure by the
people who held his dishonored notes.
About this time his mother, who was
famous beauty in her day, awoke
one bright morning in her chamber
in the Marble Palace at st. Peters
burg to find that some one had stolen
the diamond studded frame inclosinp
the portrait Of her guardian saint,
which she, like every other religious
Russian woman, kept hanging in her
bed chamber. OF course this act of
sacrilege committed in the very pal
ace of the Gar of all the Russians
set all st. Petersburg by the ears.
All the resources of the Russian po-
lice were employed to ferret out the
thief, only to discover the missing
gems in a jewelers. shop and to identi-
fy the young Grand Duke as the thief
who had distracted them and sold
them. Foi this piece of work Con.
stantin was disgraced by being trans
ferred from a home regiment to a
regiment stationed in Siberia, where
he promptly made a bad matter
worse by marrying the humble daugh-
ter of the humble village postmaster.
The marriage, Of course, was can
celed, but Constantin has not vet re.
covered altogether from the effect of
these two escapades, although he is
nearly SO years old. At the time he
stole his mothers jewels his uncle,