Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1894-12-20
A FORTUNE AT CARDS.
IT WAS WON BY JOHN SCOTT, THE
"eENTLEMAN GAMBLER

OF all the gentlemen gamblers of the
close of the eighteenth century in Eng
land a single one is noted for the i'm
mensity and the regularity of his win
nings. This was John Scott, who, be-
ginning as a penniless captain, wound
up his career as millionaire general.
On the subject of the campaigns he con-
Quoted history is silent, but contempt.
rary London was full of talk of his mar
velous luck with dice and cards, and
the marital misfortunes of his later life
gave more material for the gossips.
Writing to Richard Bentley, from
Arlington street, ON Feb 25, 1855,
Horace Walpole says:
''The great event is the catastrophe
of Sir John Bland, who has fiirted away
his whole fortune at hazard. He t'other
night exceeded what was lost by the
late Duke of Bedford, having at one Pc
riod of the night Though he recovered
the greatest part of it lost e32, 900.
The citizens put ON their double chan
neled pumps and trudge to st. James
street in expectation of seeing Judgment
on Whites - angels, with flaming
swords, and devils flying away with
diceboxes, like the prints in Sadler's
hermits. Sir John lost this immense
sum to Captain Scott, who at present
has nothing but few debts and his
commission.
Sir John Bland, to conclude here the
history of that luckless dicer, shot him
sci dead after losing the last of his for
tune in Kippax park.
Captain John Scott was of that branch
of tho numerous Scott family of which
Sir Walter was a member, and his an
cestor in the thirteenth century was that
famous chemist, Michael Scott, who
won the name of Wizard. A later Scott
distinguished himself in the time of
Charles II by marrying, when he was
himself only ID years old, a lady who
was three years his junior. The bride
was Mary, countess of Buccleuch, in
her own right the richest heiress in Scot
land. The marriage was a secret one,
and none of the friends and few of her
family were informed of it until the
day after. The youthful bridegroom did
not profit greatly by this match, for his
bride died at 13. Her sister Anne, who
succeeded to her titles and estates, made
a marriage with the pet son of Charles
II, Monmouth, and had numerous
family.
1t was 60 years later, or about 1850,
that young John Scott, son of the Laird
of Scots Tarvet, entered King Georges S
army. Two years later he was in Lon
don and in the midst of the most reck-
less set of spendthrifts, rakes and game.
sters that English society has ever
known. Sir John Bland was only one
of a thousand rich young Englishmen
who threw away his fortune over the
gaming table at Whites. The one his
toric loser of that era was Charles James
Fox, Pitts rival. Fox gambled away,
all told, no less than S., 900, 900. Scott
was the very antipodes of Fox. When
he died, at ripe old age, he left for
tune as great as that with which Fox
had begun, and every penny of it had
been won at the gaming table. Fox was
ripe scholar Scott was almost illit-
crate. Fox said that losing was the next
greatest pleasure to winning. Scott
never lost, or so rarely that it did not
affect the serenity of his career as a
winner. Fox would go home in the
morning after night in which he had
gambled away 100000 or e20, 900 and
Immediately lose himself in a study of
Sophocles or Eschylus. Scott, like the
sensible fellow he was, would button
his coat over the portemonnaie in which
he carried away winnings of an equal
or even greater amount and immediate
ly go to bed so as to be fresh for play
in the evening.
When Scott found himself in London,
and amid the wild young men of his
era, he determined that gaming was
his only chance of getting money. When
he engaged himself to throw series of
mains with Sir John Bland, he had, as
Horace Walpole puts it, nothing "but
few debts and his commission. His
shrewdness taught him that there was
nothing in dicing, at which stupid
man has as good a chance as bright
one, and so he speedily gave up hazard
and applied himself to whist, at which
game heaven fights on the side of the
skillful player. Never in the history of
play did men gamble for such high
stakes as Scott and his victims did at
Whites between 1853 and 1880. Scott S
system was an exceedingly simple one.
He gave himself the best of it in ev-
cry possible way. He never went to the
gaming table unless his head and his
stomach were in the very best order.
He never lost his composure or his good
nature for an instant. He played a per-
fectly fair and honorable game, and at
first he made it rule never to play for
more than fixed sum, which he could
afford 10 lose. He won SO steadily that
it WASH long before he was prepared
to risk any sum which even the wealth.
lest or the most reckless of his adver-
saries would venture to propose.
A story which illustrates capitally
Scott's patience in the face of hard luck
has been preserved. One night, while
he was at the card table, news was
brought to him that his wife, the first
Mrs Scott, had given birth to girl
"Ah," he said, II shall have to dou-
BILE my stakes to make a fortune for this
young lady,
But in a few hours he was eS, 900 to
the bad Retaining his inyariable seren-
ity, he said he was sure of his luck re-
turning, and at a. m. he went home
the winner Of e15, 900. That's the sort
Of play that went on at Whites night
after night during the years that John
Scott was winning the largest fortune
ever accumulated by gentleman gam
bier. Exchange.