Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1895-01-24
OUR MONTE CARLO
COURT BEAUTIES WHO LIKE TO
"BUCN THE TIGER"
NINE. DE MONTESPAN'S CAREER
Royal Scandals Over the Game OF
Faro-Marie Antoinette's Passion
for Gambling-Ladies Rob to Get
Money for Gambling.

| Gambling by women at the nvrs,
races, to which Nellie Bly, referred thu
! other day, is the more modern form il
which the gambling instinct of the ser
finds expression. Every now and thel
a little Whit of scandal at gaming anC
| of play for high stakes in high life i:
blown to US across the ocean. In thes,
cases the women are as much con
cerned as the men. Indeed, the lOvt
of play is as strong in women as il
men. 1t was only the other day thai
woman, who had lost heavily at the
races, tried to commit suicide by
jumping into the river.
In Monte Carlo the feminine clients
frequent the casino with an avidity
quite equal to that of the men, and lin
ger at this spot of fascination till they
lose sums that astonish even the mil
lionaire from the west. Here may be
seen in most democratic relatior, arts.
tocratic old dowagers from England
answering to the description of Thack
ery's Lady Kew; German countesses
French marqu1ses, Russian princesses
italian ladies of quality and gayly.
dressed women that one sees on the
boulevards of Paris, each eagerly stalk,
ing gold on the red or black, anxiously
watching the croupier, and sometimes
appropriating in their voracious ex-
element, another players chips.
Besides the women gamblers in this
country and in England, there are
professional women bookmakers and
pool room keepers. Their customers,
and there are scores of women who
play, are exclusively women. In society
poker for money, and many other
women who would like to play, but
lack the courage. Another favorite
form of gambling by women is stock
speculation.
The most noted woman gambler
among the royal set is eX-Queen lisa
bella, of Spain, who has often lost
and won large sums. History proves
that she is not the only notable per-
sonage who has taken pleasure in this
pursuit.
An ancient English allegory por-
tray ing the imaginary origin Of gamb-
ling, depicts the character as a woman,
the daughter of the goddess of fortune,
and the god of war. She was repre-
sented as misfeatured and wayward,
though not without destinations, for
she was sought and courted by all gay
and eXtravagant men and women.
From childhood she could only find
pleasure in cards, dice, counters and
games of chance and lotteries. Her
mother, Fortune, endowed her with
residences near the palaces of kings,
where every pleasure m1nistered to the
delighted senses. The visitors de-
parted, some happy with precious
spoils, others miserable, disappointed
and despairing, and escorted by the
demon Suicide.
In Greece cards were not known, but
the fashionable Athenian ladies got
rid of their husbands money betting
on cock aud quail fighting and backing
their favorites at the Olympian and
other games. Above all there was the
dice box, which had an irresistible fas-
cination for Greek men and women.
In Rome also dice were in great ia
vor. and SO much evil was wrought by
Their means that prohibitory laws We're
enacted by the very errperors WHO
were the greatest gamblers. Some CT
the emDerors established lotteries and
eurried favor with the women by gil
ing them tickets that entitled them 20
prizes.
Among the fourishing Italian repub-
lies the vice lasted through the middle
ages, and the Florentipe and Milanese
ladies gave their liege lords 10 end OF
trouble. In 1910 a chornicler writes:
'"rhe ladies are shamefully decoHettes.
In robes of silk and gold. Their hair
is frizzled like barbarians; they wear
golden belts like Amazons; walk the
street with their shoes turned up at
the point, and spend all their time at
games of dice"
Evelyn mentions the game of basset,
which was invented in Venice, and be-
came so popular in England that every
lady of pretention had a basset table
in her boudoir or dresSing-room. In
England and France it was not until
the sixteenth century that the gamb-
ling mania attacked the women with
any severity. Henry ". would play
with anyone he happened to meet with,
and, as the king and his courtiers
played, every day. ladies, whom he
could never bear out of his sight, took
part in these games likewise, and the
queen herself, during her various ILL
nesses, used to invite the Marshal de
Bassompierre into her apartments to
play at hazard for money to pass away
the tedious hours of convalescence.
Marie de Medici was an encourager
of gaming, and during her regency
after the death of Henry ", the rage
for gaming became more violent and
ladies of high rank were not ashamed
to open gambling-houses, and even to
cheat when they could not win other
wise One French countess was dis
covered by friend cheating her
tradesmen and women whom she had
invited to play with her. She replied,
on being questioned: "Why, [ only
cheat them of what they are always
cheating me-"
In the first years Of Louis XIV.
wives robbed their husbands and
daughters plundered the pockets of
their parents to crafty the propensity
to the game of 'shoca," and when
many families We're ruined by this
means the king forbade the game in
Paris on pain of death. 1t was al
lowed at Versailles, however, and one