The San Francisco call., 1899-05-14
Sharpers, Promoters
And the Figures They
Cot in Speculation.


of Europe and America. Still, they are
unjust gains, says some moralist, who
perhaps here in England sits down to din
ner with a commercial swindler who lives
Sumptuously in a pleasant mansion stand
ing IN a fine park, while the victims or
hlS frauds, specially invited by lying cir
culars. prospectuses, pamphlets and by
smooth tongued agents to intrust to him
ehelr an, their provision for old age. or
Tor their children, are spending. their last
Gays IN the dreary and prisonlille work
mouse, or are gone mad or have COM
mitte9 n1lid suicide on finding themselves
scoundre 99 Now pMlG926yc Monte ca0 8Tfe 69
one ana every one who CANDLES knows
at every throw what amount of risk he
But one thing he cannot know. and that
is the character of the people who infest
the place. OF course shady characters
shady, but not always known as such
could not always be excluded from public
gamphng rooms, and thus honest people
have often been done" One cf the
cleVerest tricks ever played is related IN
S1rVen Les Tripets d'Allemagne" A
Polish Count, who had lost heavily at
Homburg; and was uneasily wandering
from table 10 table and watching the
play, was accosted by an individual who
whispered to him. at the same time point
ing to the croupier turning the wheel Il
have an understanding with that croupier,
who can make the bail go into red at viii:
when he takes a pinch of snuff and looks
at you stake 1900 francs on the red and
you will win. Give me 5000 francs half Of
which must give to the croupier. the
rest is for yourself" The Pole followed
the advice and won and handed 500
francs to. the obliging stranger who on
the Count proposing to repeat the opera
ton. said: No, not to-day; it might at
tract attention. wait until tomorrow"
On the following day the Count pre-
sented himself at the table. watched the
croupier, saw him take snuff and look al
him; Whereupon he Staked 1900 francs on
the red and lost. He looked for yester-
days friend, but he never made his ap-
pearance again. The fact was. his pre-
tended understanding with the croupier
was a fraud; the croupier never had his
half of the 5000 francs and the clever
swindler had walked off with the booty.
A chady Gambler.
In the autumn of 1891 one Charles
Wells astonished the visitors at Monte
Carlo by his extraordinary success at
the tables. Interviewed by a Times cor
respondent. he declared that he PLAYED
according to a system invented by him
self, as nearly infallible as human in
it is said; 100000 But those who watch
ed his play could not detect anything
new in II; he simply played boldly and
remained cool. whether he won or lost
'All this had been done thousands Of
times before. but Mr.. Wells was lucky
and won. He had steam yacht mag
nlfcently fitted up, with ballroom and
music. room and capable of accommodate
ing sixty guests. He stayed at Monte
Carlo and Nice during the year 1892 and
gave lavish entertainments on board his
yacht, which were attended by all the
elite staying on the Riviera. and The in
significant, common-lo looking little man.
made much of for was he not supposed
to be enormously rich and to possess the
ring of King Solomon. by which he could
win wealth untold at Monte Carlo? How
the noblemen and gentlemen of high de-
gree. the fashionable ladies of rank. who
all felt themselves honored in being ad-
mftted to his yacht and his presence,
must have WINGED when they found, to-
ward the end of 1892 that their idol had
been arrested at Havre for swindling in
France. and that shortly after he was
extradited to England where in Janu-
ary. 1893, he appeared a prisoner at Bow
street, charged with obtaining in Eng
land by false pretenses the sum of eos
900, he having swindled one lady alone
out of 91S,0O0