The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-06-13
MAN IS THE ONLY GAMBLER.
.,,oNG ANNALS HE ALONE RISKS
ALL ON GAMES OF CHANCE.


was Completely Given Over to
n ,Innia in Early Days.
From the New York Press.
narty of humorists, in trying to hit
H .,ror distinctive title for man lin con-
,+adisrinction to the other forms of an
,,,j life) decided that he might be called
Gambling animal" A cooking ami
nal had been proposed, but then some
are suggested that the monkey was
casting chestnuts when he had occasion
IA use the cats paw. II would not do
n call him laughing animal" because
the hyena would come in for his share
~ the honor. In considering Franklin's
nile. a "tool-using animal" one of the
wits pointed out that the Baltimore oriole
and the Indian talor-bird sew with their
bills which are their most appropriate
needles. But gambling animal"-yes,
nau certainly is that The folly of ven
.tring his own property on the chance of
winning that of another is peculiar to Pla-
ms featherless blped.
The most sheepish of sheep will not
draw lots for choice of pasturage, nor will
me silliest cur be tempted to risk his din
rer at odd and even" Even the learned
pig that suburban miracle which tells
people their fortune: the cards, has
never learned the Walt trump Man
is the unique animal content to stake his
money and happiness on the treacherous
surn of die, or the chance deal of a pack
of cards.
Gamblers in All Ages.
Now gambling is a fashion by no means
new Caus Caligula once converted his
magnificent palace into gambling house,
where, the chroniclers tell us, he fleecc1
the young nobility of his times. If one
may credit Horace, they could cog a die
IN the Augustan age as excellently as in
tbe English Georgian. The Emperor
Claudius, who was so exceeding prodigal
in his play that ne adventured 100000 ses-
terces on the cast of q dice wrote a trea-
tise upon gaming In those hours which he
spared from the pursuit itself; for which
fact Seneca. in his sarcastic relation of
the Emperor's apotheosis, fetches him,
after many adventures to hell where ne
Is condemned 70 play with a bottomless
dicebox without any cessation; in this
way his hopes were to be fed continually
but never satisfied.
II is well known that Nero was the
most infatuated gambler of his days.
Plujarch records chat the Romans match
ed quails for Wagers and describes Antony
iamenting before the battle of Actium. rs
though his genius covered before that of
MS adversary. Indt the Qudli OF Augustus
were superior to his. SophoCles says of
Palamedes that he invented dice 10 serve
instead of dinner. which Office they full
fl to this day for many man whom they
have robbed of the means of paying for
his dinner" The CONFUSION of nature
which destroyed PompeH surprised a
party of men at the hazard table, where
they were discovered 1000 years later with
The dice firmly clnched in their fists.
Cards. which were brought into Europe
about the middle part of the fourteenth
century. had not been introduced long be-
fore gambling with them became the
rage At the beginning of the fifteenth
century we read that this passion was 50
prevalent in France that persons who
were addicted to it endeavored TO restrain
and guard themselves by voluntary pie6S
es with the difference, however that
there was penalty for breaking the
pledge. Illustrated manuscripts of that
period show not only that women played,
but that the players stood and did not sit
around the tables.
CameStcrs of Oiden Days.
The Chinese. who are reckless gamblers.
have several kinds of cards. The general
name for them, however. is che-pae, or
paper tickets, and the kind most common
" used are called tseen-wan -che-pae-"a
thousand times ten thousand cards"
This pack has thirty cards; three suits
Of nine each and three independent cards,
which ore superior to the rest. The cards
are two inches and half in length and
about half inch in width. The suits
are named respectively mine myriadS of
strings of beads" mine units of cakes
and mine units of chains" The Chinese
have several queer names for their other
varieties of gambling cards; one is called
the hundred boys cards" another
"chariots, horses and guns" and third,
curiously devised on the principle of some
Of our historical cards is called "a thou
sand times zen thousand mems names
cards"
In an old life of the Duke of Espernon
i. is related that in 1868 a famous Italian
gamester, Pimenta hearing what a
humor of play reigned at the French
4 court" caused a great number of false
| dice to be made and secretly conveyed
them to Paris. he only knowing the Sc
| cree. He, therefore, by means of emissa-
\ res. bought up all the dice in the market
| and supplied his own in their stead. This
done, he obtained an Introduction at court
and gambled TO so good a purpose that
he cleaned out great part of the nobi-
itys pockets. Playing with the Duke OF
Espernon, he "got all his ready money
and many of his jewels and after this,
won of him a piece of amoergris valued
a 10000 crowns, the greatest that ever
was seen in Europe" This piece w7s
arterward sold to the Republic of Venice.
fnmed English OameNterS'
But it was not the French court alone
that was possessed of the gambling
rage" In England as early as the reign
of John Lakeland the chances of the dice
constituted the chief amusement of the
great. Matthew Paris reproached the
barons who wrested Magma Charta from
King John with spending their time in
luxury and gambling with dice when their
presence was required in the field. Later
the merry monarch sambled notoriouslv
with his courters. Il will bet my soul
TO an orange on the gamer called His
Majesty to Rochester. Which brough,
out the cool rejoinder: "If Your Males
~ will bet odds | will take them"
Henry Cheney, created by the virgin
Queen Baron Of Tudlington. played at
dice once with Henry II of France. and
won from him a diamond of great price
at one cast. When the King asked him
what he would have done had he lost he
replied with true British braS; Il have
sleeps tails enough in Kent, with their
wool, to buy a better diamond than this!
Later the young Englshmen of. fashion
were in the habit of losing 10000, tlOOE
or $500 an evening at Almacks Lord
StavordaIe not yet of age, lost fll.0OO In
one night but won it oil back at one
throw OF the dice. He thereupon swore
great oath: Now if l had been play
ing deep | might have won millions"
1, 40 9 II-rf for Il