The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-06-06
POKER WITH THE PRINCE.
A Story of a Royal Game In Which
He Lost.

A Story of Royal Game In Which
He Lost.
London Correspondence of the New York
Press.
He had played poker with the prince;
that is why we loved him. And this is
the story of his adventures, which he
told in the smoking room of Cunarder:
He was a man from San Francisco.
Every year he would go to an oasis which
he had discovered in the desert of Sa-
hara, connected by rail with Algiers, for
the cure of his rheumatism, and would
return to his western home by the way
of England. A round of house parties
there made him a sure visitor to the des-
ert of Sahara again. But this is aside
from his most entertaining story, which
we all liked to hear, and which he told
upon the slightest provocation:
Gentlemen, l have played many
game of poker, and play a good game,
as you know
Faith, we did. He had just won
cool hundred, having bluffed out jack
pot on a pair of tens.
1T was in 1886, 1 believe, when 1 hap
pened to be a guest-let me see where
it was-oh, 1 remember, it was at the
Duke of Rutlands place Belvoir castle"
story pronounced Belvoir "Beever," and
always pretended to forget just where
this historical game was played.
There was Billy Rose, whose father
at that time had just been appointed re.
ceiver of the Duchy of Cornwall and was
looking after the finances of his royal
highness and keeping a mighty strict rein
upon them, you can bet; there was the in,
evitable Charley Beresford, old Charley
Beresford-Beresford of the Condor, who
now has run the race and lived the life
and can tell you to-day more about that
fable of the earthen pots and the iron
pots floating down the stream together
than any other man living.
"Wen we were all there. First and
foremost, of course, was his royal high
ness the prince. Whatever the prince
wanted to do, why, we all did. And ! can
tell you felt mighty cheap for two days
because everything / wanted to do was
answered by the prince wants this, the
prince wants that
FINALLY, on the evening of the third
day. had been invited for only three
days-the prince proposed a game of
poker. / made up my mind then that /
would get square with him for all the
petty annoyances he had put me to since
l had been down there at Belvoir castle.
And 1 did it. That night we assembled
about 9 o'clock. It was as soon after
dinner as we could get away, and the
duke-good man that he was-did not
attempt to play, but lowered around the
table. If he had attempted to play it
would have broken up the whole game.
because the duke was II years old and
had a sublime ignorance of poker. We
had not played more than three hands
before the duke went to sleep and snored
most vociferously
Never one of his ancestors bugles rang
out challenge to the enemy Drawer and
more defiant than did those snores Of the
duke. But we played poker The first
two or three hands did not amount TO
much. Everybody seemed TO be sort OF
feeling his ground. We played for an
hour. I think. and we had English sover-
eigns TO pay for what we lost, for know
Ing each other so well as did Gordon Cum
mings, Billy Rose and the prince, to say
nothing OF Charley Beresford, there could
be no l. o. u. game run in that castle.
Il think It was just about as the dawn
was breaking over the magnificent de-
mesne which surrounds Belvoir Castle
when we came TO the final and crucial
test OF the evening, or, rather, I should
say, morning, for then Il was morning
Certainly never more beautiful morning
broke. The prince was dealing the cards
and went TO one OF the great mullloned
windows and looked out upon the mark