The Portland daily press., 1895-05-18
WOMAN AS GAMBLERS.
Alarming Increase of the Passion
Among Young English Girls.

English Women Who Are Plungers on the
Turf and the Stock Exchange-High
Play at Fashionable Country Houses.
OF The 5000 and more suicides which have
taken place at Mont Carlo and in it's yicin-
ity during he last decade-the entire popu-
lation of the principality of Monaco not ex-
ceeding 4.000-one ia startled to find an ex-
traordinary large percentage Of women,
each successive year showing an increase
in the number of these feminine victims OF
rouge-et-noir. says writer in the New
FORK Tribune. Every nationality is repre-
sented in the lis.s so carefully compiled bj
the influential society organized for the
suppression Of the so-called Casino, especi-
ally so the fair sex of Russia, GRAFT Britain
and of the United Statas; and if this at
first sight seems incredible, it must be
borne in mind that the management of the
establishment adopts the most elaborate
precautions TO prevent these SO frequent
tragedies form becoming known to the gen.
eral public through the press. Yet it is only
natural that there should be a large num-
ber of women among these Nome Carrie
suicides. for there is no more reckless nor
ptCaAShoto SdlupiCT tudh tuo uduk Va
Eve. She rarely knows when TO stop play
ing. or to distinguish the point beyond
which it is dangerous to tempt fortune.
Even when luck is persistently against her
she still holds out. convinced that IL is
bound 10 turn in her favor at last; besides
which she has, generally speaking, as little
knowledge of the yalue of money as she
has of figures. All this contributes to ren-
der her an easy and profitable prey to those
who trade upon this particular phase OF
vice. and hence 1t is not SO astonishing. af-
ter all, that. when brought face to face
with inevitable RUN, and forced TO choose
between dlshonor and death. SO many
snould select the latter alternative.
1t is a u-istake to attribute the repsonsi-
bility for the prevalence of this mania
among her sex to the new woman, the
scapegoat of the present era, who is OBJ
liged to shoulder the burden of SO many
sins and vulgarifies. The passion for gam
bling is as old as the history of the world.
since no one can deny that Eve took u
speculative lisk attended by unfortunate
results when she ate that fateful apple. If
there is any development in the vice, it is
to be found in the fact that it is no longer
restricted to women of a certain age. as in
days past, when the old Countess of Buck
inghamshire. after having been given up by
the doctors and having made her peace with
the Church. played cards with her UNDER
tHkel until she expired, the STAKES being
her funeral expenses. 1t is rapidly spread
ing among young married women, and even
among girls. and. what is worse, they no
longer restirci their ventures to the card
tables. but take ''fiers' In stocks and on
the turf. Thus, Mrs. ''Diek" Russell, of
Wilmington Hall, the daughter of lena,
Lady Scott and the elder sister of the
Countess of Russell. was shown by the le-
gal proceedings which she instituted
against Mr.. Al thur Sebright. of the Stock
Exchange. to have squandere ed nearly $780,
600 in speculation while still young girl