Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-10-05

selves. AT every fresh opposition he
simply opened his purse and q golden
shower fell ON them.
It required hard head to withstand
the attacks made ON him when it be-
came known that he had bought ND
both prince and municipality and pro-
posed to make Wiesbaden par excellence
the gambling city Of the continent. But,
despite of all, he pushed ON his plans to
wonderful success. A great park was
laid out and stately buildings arose, all
dedicated to the goddess of chance Slim
was the chance the votaries of the game
had in his gorgeous halls. He threw ont
his money in millions, but he knew the
weak, foolish heart of man, the egotism
of each and every one of us, that leads
us to ignore for ourselves the immuta-
BILE law CT numbers. So he counted up
on his returns, and never counted in
vain.
As say, ne had hard head to with
stand the attacks made upon him. Ev-
cry day the post brought hundreds Of
letters containing propositions or threats
from people who had lost their money
and demanded its return with fierce
threats, pitiful supplications and warn
ings of intended suicide, place, date and
hour carefully specified, so there could
be no mistake, and more than one at
tempt was made upon his life. But the
equanimity of Francois Blanc was equal
to all adventures. Threats. prayers,
temptations, left him untouched. This
man of ice, self possessed, cold, indiffer-
ent to the ruin of the thousands of VIC
Tins of his will, had a fad or fancy
1t was for raising red and white roses,
and while the mad throngs We're f1utter-
ing in frenzy around the tables in his
halls ut HombIrg, Wiesbaden and Monte
Carlo he, hoe or trowel i'll hand, would
be training and tr;,nsplanting his roses,
sOlicitOus over an opening bud or de-
ploring the ravages of an insect, or,
again, refusing all invitations, he would
sit down with his wife to dinner Of
boiled turnips and bacon, washed down
with glass of vichy water and milk.
Z his was the town and these the scenes
constantly occurring there.
Now for my adventure. In 1870, just
before the warcloud burst, covering all
that part Of the world, was stopping
Tor some weeks ut the Hotel Nassau. 1t
stands i'll the main street, opposite tho
park gate leading to the Casino. All the
world went to Wiesbaden to he amused.
However fashionable frivolity and vice
may be elsewhere, here it was strictly
de rigueur, and to pretend TO decency
and sobriety would he to stamp ones
self q heather and barbarian, all I'M
versed in the glorious flower wreathed
Primrose Way of our orb.
The daily routine for the throng be-
gan with coffee i'll bed at s p. m. then
dressing gowns We're donned, and the
baths in the underground floors of the
hotel were sought and a bath had in the
hot mineral waters which were con-
Quoted to all the hotels direct from the
hot springs Of the town. Half an hour
in the bath, then light breakfast, pre-
paritory to sallying cut for IN hour on
the Spazicrgang around tho quellen
to drink the water, listen to the band,
see and be seen, but, above all, to gos-
sip and tell lies. At IL a. IN. the gam
bling began in the Casino, and with a
rush the seats around the tables would
be filled. Then speedily there would be
rows behind rows of eager players or
spectators, an! what a sight it all was
to the cool headed observer!
At the time Of which speak many
We're my idle days, in which I was free
to seek pleasure. used to find much
enjoyment in frequenting the Casino to
watch the people and to play the role Of
"looker on in Vienna" which, by the
way, is star role and therefore rather
agreeable. One evening while watching
| the rouge ct noir / noticed Il lady just
in front Of me, magnificently dressed in
| all save that there was an entire absence
of jewelry. She was literally dressed to
kill, and, although near so, yet to the
casual observer she seemed no more than
| 40 or even less. She was we'll pre-
served woman Of the world and was
| known as the Countess de Winzerole.
! This was the adventures who had mar
ried Van Tromp some two years before.
| What a career had been that of this
| woman!
She had been mistress from first to
last Of a dozen men, noblemen, diplo-
mats, soldiers, but being an inveterate
gambler one after another saw, with
dismay, the cash, estates, diamonds,
carriages, costly furs and laces be show
cred upon her all go whirling into the
ever open NAV of the Casino or in the
drawing room games of the bonton in
Paris or Petersburg. One brave youth,
an officer in the Prussian guards, had,
in his infatuation for the countess; and
impregnable, as he Thought, against
bankruptcy by reason of his great for
tune, tried to satisfy her cravings fol
splendor of encourage and her infatua.
ton for gambling. The result was that
one day tho crack of pistol shot was
heard in the countess chamber, and the
servants rushing in found the young
bankrupt dead, lying across the bed,
with bullet through the heart The
next day horde of clamorous creditors
besieSed the house, where the countess
calmly told them she had sent for hel
bankers and on tie morrow they would
be paid. That night his comrades buried
their dead friend with military honors.
| oh 4l,at ,o