The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-09-09

1t is the Rendezvous for the worlds
High Life in summer Time.


now known. the confusion of tongues could
not have been greater. The throng that
crowds the magnificent promenade and fills
the spacious Kursan at this moment is
composed of an co.ors, races and national
tiles, for Ostend has rapidly become the
rendezvous of the worlds high life the
summer Monte Carlo. Natural beauty is,
of course, lacking. None Of the seaside
places along The Norh SEA coast of
France, Belgium and Holland has natural
attractions beyond the sea itself and the
splendid almost uninterrupted stretch of
smooth, firm sand.
Before long there viii be but one grand
line of sea walls and promenades from
DunlNirk, on the south, 10 Schevenmgen,
on the north. The fine is already nearly
continuous from Newport, on the Belgian
coast, to Heyst. between which we have
Mariakerke. Ostend, Wenduyne, Coo.
Blankerbersh, all hourishing all Offering
atTact!ons.an extremely healthful, all al
tordinS excellent bathing, and yet Ostend
VIII always remain uneXcelle d. 1t is Paris,
Berlin, London and New York. all by the
sea, and unsurpassed in The brilhancy and
lavishneSs OF its visitors.
Hither feminine beauty comes from the
north, south, east and west, TO be admired,
to be 1attered. to make conquests, hasten
ing to Monte Carlo in the winter season 10
make the same gorgeous display. There are
baroneSseS, duchesses, princesses, courted
and admired by men of tile and wealth,
With every wear The display increases I'M
til Ostend has come to be called the north
ern rival of Monte Carlo
All this is due TO the magnetic sttrac-
Of T. On, varE.,V oil
tons, tyres, titles aud conditions of the
gay world congregate around the tables,
where tens of thousands of francs change
hands every hour. There are hosts of
American men and women. some losing.
some winning, some indifferently, others
flushed with excitement; while others sit
patiently at the tables working out sys-
tenn with dogged persistency.
Just recently Ostend has been shaken TO
its foundation, but the shock has passed
and the hotel proprietors breathe freely
again. The Belgian parliament began an
agitation against gambling, and with one
stroke closed all the low public gambling
dens. that were a scourge to the country.
At one time il was feared that Ostend and
Spa would be ruined by the closing of all
their gambling establishments, but the
government compromised, and Ostend and
Spa were allowed to continue the gaming
under the auspices of private clubs con-
stituted under the most rigid bylaws and
under the constant surveillance of the mu-
inequalities, the police and the govern
ment.
So the transient tourist. known here as
the "tripper," unless he stops al one of
the first hotels, can take no part in the
pernicious sport he cannot even be tempt
ed for unless he decides to remain at least
three days he cannot gain access to the
clubs, nor can he even visit the rooms TO
Il ~
may cross the threshold but a duly elected
member of the club A man living in Os-
tend has to go to Spa 20 gamble and vice
versa, and so the clubs are called "cercles
des strangers. Every visitor wishing to
gamble has to present himself as a candi-
date for membership, be elected and pay
the entrance fee of 20 francs go. In for
ty-eight hours, If found to be respecte-
BILE, he has his admission card sent him,
and from that time he may lose as much
money over the tables as he chooses IT,
however, he has had the foresight to stop
at one of the first hotels, such as the Con-
tinental, PLACE, Ocean or Splendid, he is
passed through quickly, and may partici-
pate in roulette or ''rouge-et-noir'' the
evening of the day of his arrival.
l went through the formalities of be-
coming a member of the Cercle Interna-
tional des strangers, in order to better
judge of the gambling. II is significant
that, whereas the municipality demands
a fixed tax from the club of 100 francs for
every member admitted the club accepts
the members for 20 francs. paying the
other so itself. While no exception what
ever may be taken to the fairness of the
game, the club managers know that nine
ty-nine out of every hundred members
will play recklessly. In the three months
season last year the club ! entered last
Saturday night cleared 100000 francs net,
after paying to the municipality a fixed
tax of 100000 francs.
One Englishman whom I noticed partic-
ularly, man past middle age, sat at the
roulette table. with a continual contempt
uous sheer on his face, as if the paltry 100
and 500-franc notes staked were beneath
his notice. He threw 1,000-franc notes on
the table in rapid succession, and when
he had lost ten quietly took out a crumpled
check for f400, asked for change and began
again. His face never altered, he smoked
his cigar quietly, passed jokes with his
neighbors and never WINGED as the crou-
piers pulled in his counters to the tune of
$3.50, $500 and $500 at a time. At times ne
won but all mis- winnings were staked
again, and / left him there at o'clock in
the morning as fresh and calm as when he
started.
There were young Englishwomen, who
had never seen a roulette table, with their
fathers and mothers, flushed with excite
ment as they were told when and where
and how to stake a few pounds There
were boys of barely q, badly attacked by
the fever, and losing all they had; there
We're 'doWagers" playing their systems for
all they were worth, and the Americans
present-and some were from Chicago
were in the thick of il all.
At the Cercle Prive du Kursaal the gam
ing is a little quieter, the animation much
less AS for the Kursaal itself, toilets are
aglare and jewels ablaze. AT the dance in
the evening the dowagers parade their
marriageabe daughters to the strains of
Strauss waltzes, while the gilded youth
look on, admire, and from time to time
pluck up sufficient courage to ask a waltz
from some young woman whose dowrage
is known to be substantial
The Ostend Kursaal is one of the finest
and most comfortably appointed of any in
Europe, and the entertainment is of the
best. The orchestra is excellent, and the
best vocal talent to be had is engaged.
Never has the season been so early or
the place so crowded at this time of the
year, and the majority Of the visitors are
Americans and English.
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