The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-10-03
WOnEN WHO 0AMBLED.
Historic DANES Who Have Won and
Lost Big Fortunes at the Cards.


History is found to contain many in-
stances OF women, queens and slaves
alike, in whom the passion OF gambling
has gained a complete mastery. These
women seem TO lose all restraint over
themselves. they become transformed.
and in the end. when all their finer in
stlncts have deserted them, they sink
into the uttermost degradation.
1t is notorious that English women
are fond of betting. With the majority.
OF course, this is merely a harmless
amusement. Others have been known
10 lose everything that they possessed.
and finally to have gambled their souls
To the highest bidder and then to have
wretched lives. Goldsmith's story of
the old woman who, knowing that she
had not long TO live, played cards with
her undertaken for her funeral expenses
is well known. Parallels are TO be found
in everyday life.
The women OF France, perhaps on ac-
count of their warmer blood, were at
one time the most ardent gamblers in
the world. In Louis NIN.'s reign so
many families were ruined through the
passionate love of the mothers and
daughters for n game known as "hoca"
that it was forbidden by law on pain Of
death. At Versailles an exception was
made to this rule. and here the queen
herself frequently lost large sums OF
money.
The frenzied gambling OF Nine. de
Montespan has become proverbial in
France as LIE Jeu de la Montespan!
At Basset she would play for as much
as 5000. 900 and would grumble heartily.
and the king also. IL no one dared to
cover her stakes. One Christmas even
ing she lost an immense fortune but
recovered, with three cards, $500
Three months later she lost s640 000 but
won il back almost Immediately. In
1852 the crash came. AT "hoca" alone
she had played away as much as
$500, 900.
In Louis XV.'s time matters were in
much the same state. ON June %, 1862
for instance, the Due de Richelieu un-
dertook to teach Nine. de Barry lans-
quenet i'm her boudoir. Within few
minutes however. he had lost no less
than 100000 This immensely amused
the king. who was looking on, and who
was delighted with his favorites good
luck. Mime. de Pompadour, IL Will be
remembered, gambled for enormous
stakes.
In Charles is time women played
freely. That they had few scruples
about so doing is shown from the fact
that the kings wife Henrietta Maria.
Bassompierre, a well known sport"
and Buckingham i'm 1926. played for
stakes i'm window overlooking Cheap
side. while they waited for procession
TO pass.
In Charles lis time. however. women
gambled to an extent hitherto unknown
in English history. In those dissolute
days the pleasures of the English court
were not far different from those of the
French The Duchess Of MaZarin. for
instance. a niece Of the famous cardinal,
ended her days in beggary. Nell
Gwynne lost 800. 900 to her rival the
Duchess of Cleveland. and this at enc
sitting The latter. in her turn, squan-
dered an immense fortune at the basset
table.
So fast was the evil spreading that In
1896 Chief Justice Kenyon threatened To
send any lady To the pillory, however
high in rank she might be. who should
be convicted before him of playing faro.
This provoked from Gilray, the we'll
known caricaturist an imaginary pic
ture Of the first ladies i'm the land stand
ing in the pillory. Beneath was the in
scription: Daughters Of Pharaoh"
During the following year many ladies
were heavily punished for refusing 10
comply with the law. Lady Bucking-
ham, for instance, together with Lady
5000 for playing faro. Ladies at the
present day do not openly gamble for
stakes which amount to thousands Of
pounds 1t rests only with their con-
sciences to say how much they lose at
Monte Carlo, and in private deals dur
ing the course of the year.-Philadel-
phia Evening Telegraph.