The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1901-05-31
A MANIA FOR GAMBLING.
The English Seized with q Crazy De-
sire to Bet on Any Problem
or Proposition.

| Gambling in fashionable society ap-
| pears to be exciting heated comment
in England as well as on this side OF
the water. Many family quarrels have
arisen there over bridge debts.
One young woman in London lost
her whole quarters allowance in one
evenings play at the house of frleno.
She hadn't the courage to confess TO
her father, and cooked up story OF
| street robbery; but the truth came Out
later and the young plunger was sent
to the country. Another young WON
az is seriously i'll with nervous pros
tration and her losses at bridge, and
her inability to make them good are
responsible for her illness, says the
New York Sun.
One college boy of good family
forged his fathers name in order 10
pay large sum lost in playing bridge
with society women. The father OF
another young fellow settled note
for $1,000 which the boy had given to
his hostess in payment of gambling
debts contracted during four days
visit at her country house.
1t is question whether Americans
have ever taken up the problem bet
ting, of which writer in one of the
| recent English magazines tells. He
prefaces his story by saying that the
pastime, as a fad, has given place to
| other fads; but that itwas much in
| vogue a few years ago and is still pop
| ular in some country houses. AS an
illustration of the principle Of the
game, he tells an incident of his own
| experience.
At a dinner in private house one
| of the guests happened to express
wonder as to the height of the dinner
table. Immediately the problem was
| taken up and pool made, with five
| pound shares. Every diner made
| guess at the height of the table and
| wrote the guess on piece of paper
| After dinner the tables height was
measured and the pool went to the per-
| son who had made the best guess.
This problem gambling became
| mania. There was never time or
place when it wasn't practicable, and
| thousands of pounds were lost and won.
| on the pools. The practice fell into
discredit, however, when it was found
| that it opened the door to trickery, and
that many social lights of considerable
| brilliancy were not too scrupulous to
add to their income by the tricks.
| One old gentleman, so says the
| writer, measured the number of yards
of wire in the net of French syphon.
The sight of syphon always led him
to wonder how many yards of wire
were in it. That usually started pool
and the old gentleman, who was most
respectable business man of excellent
reputation, invariably pocketed the
pool.
Another story told by this chron-
icler of problem gambling concerns a
willy old man of much wealth and fame.
He was staying at house in the west
country, near which narrow winding
lane led, between high perpendicular
banks, to the top of a small hill The
other guests in the house were young
and aggressive, and the old gentleman
| grew tired of the staggering and
reckless drinking and betting of young
England. One day he looked from the
billiard room window toward the lane
and remarked carelessly that man
could not gallop from the bottom to
the top in less than 20 minutes.
The young men laughed him to
scorn; and, with some contempt for
| conservative age, offered to bet him
any money that it could be done in ten
minutes. The mild-mannered old man
took all bets, and one of the young
men agreed to undertake the ride on
the next afternoon. The entire house
party met to see the start. All the
youngsters felt sorry for the poor old
duffer, and plunged recklessly.
The rider started. Five hundred
| yards up the lane he met flock of
sheep and was delayed. At the next
turn he was wedged in drove of pigs
driven by small boy. A quarter of a
mile further herd of cows filled the
lane. When a half dozen loose horses
met him he grasped the situation.
"Pd like to know what he paid those
stupid-faced fools for driving their
menagerie down that lane" he said,
sadly, to his friends, after the simple
old gentleman had poeketed the prob
lem profits.
The writer also has things to tell
about famous jockey who was, so the
tale goes, entertained last year at
many of the famous country houses
whose owners had sporting proclivi-
ties. The jockey appreciated the honor
and paid high for it. Betting was high
and among players who could afford to
lose. The jockey was determined to
ride winner and plunged absurdly.
On one occasion he lost during wee s
visit $4,000, and on his last visit to
an English country place he parted
with $4,000. "The play" says the
teller of this tale, twas strictly on the
square; and, if the loser had not been
an idiot, he would not have lost more
than few hundred pounds"
| Happy, Though Married.
| A southern lady met a colored
widow, gaudily attired, laughing and
fa1kiOU and Saemipn in tba l,oc4 of